Experimenting in HDR

We went to the Franconia Sculpture Park on Saturday. We usually go there once a year to see what new and weird sculptures they have. Emphasis on weird.

This sculpture was installed recently, and it's huge--over 23 feet tall. Some of those parts are from actual steam shovels.

Here's another head-scratching creation.


Techie Corner
I figured this would be a great place to experiment with HDR. That sounds like some kind of drug, doesn't it? Actually, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It's a fancy way of saying that you want to have a wider range of light and dark tones in one image than your camera can handle. To achieve this wider range, you have to take at least three images and vary the exposure. (under-exposed, over-exposed, normally exposed) Then Photoshop (and other programs) will combine all the varying exposures into one image.

Both of the images above are HDR creations. If I exposed only for the sky, the sculptures would be too dark. If I exposed only for the sculptures, the sky would be a washout.

Here are single images of both the sculptures. This is the best I could do without HDR.

Fall Beauty

I absolutely love the colors of fall! God has all the best brushes and knows how to use them to create true works of art.

We planted this tree in 2005 and it has been growing like crazy! That's OK by me.

Fence Post #4

Last Saturday we finally got the rest of the fence up. Hooray! All that is left is to cut off the excess from the 4x4s, cap them, and make a gate in one part. That will all probably get done next spring. It's a huge improvement on the back yard already, just the way it is!


Someday, we plan to add a retaining wall on the side of the yard and extend the fence further. But that's another project for another day...or year...or decade.

A Cold Day in the UP

I'm wrapping up my Michigan vacation pictures with a couple images from the Upper Peninsula.

It was raining when we left Mackinaw City and headed north over the wet and wiggly grates of the Mackinac Bridge. Thankfully, the rain cleared off shortly after we left town. We had to stop along the way so I could throw on a warm jacket over my rain jacket and motorcycle jacket. I was turning into a popsicle! (The almanac high temperature for that area that day was 46 degrees, but the windchill factor on the back of the motorcycle made it a tad more brisk, I'm sure.) We visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park and I got this shot of the Upper Falls. It was so beautiful there!

After that, we headed further north to Whitefish Point. Maybe during the summer this is a fantastic place to be, but on this day it was extremely desolate. The blustery wind on the beach felt colder than the motorcycle ride!

The visitor center was about to close, so we didn't stay long. There also wasn't even a gas station up there, so we had to stop in Paradise on the way back for gas. Now we know why the town is called Paradise! It sure seemed like paradise after being to Whitefish Point!

Techie Corner
I wanted to slow down the motion of Tahquamenon Falls, so I used the smallest aperture I could. If I had brought my neutral density filter along, I would have used that too.
Shot at 1/6 Sec @ F27, ISO 200

Beacons of Light

As promised, I'm highlighting our Michigan trip again today. The Great Lakes need plenty of lighthouses, so the shoreline of Michigan is abundant with them. I got this shot of the Charlevoix South Pier Light on one of our day trips. This lighthouse replaced a wooden one in 1948. The turbulent weather definitely played a role in this image!




Here is a shot of the first lighthouse we saw on our trip, the Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse. It's been in service since 1916.



This is the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, built in 1892. It was decommissioned in 1957 after the brightly-lit Mackinac Bridge was built. We took a tour and climbed the 52 steps to the top. Whew! There isn't a light in the tower any more, which is a good thing because there isn't much room up there!




On our way home we saw the Sand Point Lighthouse, built in 1867. By 1939, there had been so much dredging and filling of the harbor that this lighthouse was no longer close to the water and became obsolete.

That's the end of the mini history lesson for today. Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip.

Mackinac Bridge

We got back from a week long motorcycle trip to Michigan last Saturday. The weather was brisk and damp most of the time, but I managed to get some pictures.

I love bridges, so of course I had to get pictures of the Mighty Mac. I've been over the bridge a few times in my life, but this is the first time on a motorcycle.

The first two days through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP were very gloomy and drizzly and depressing (despite the gorgeous fall color all around us.) But as we approached the bridge Sunday evening, the sun actually decided to peak out for a short time, highlighting the bridge nicely. What a welcome site!

The Mighty Mac turned 50 years old last year and it's still as beautiful as ever. The center span between the two towers is almost a mile long and the whole bridge is 5 miles long. It didn't seem that long when we crossed it. Except when we had to cross one day when it was raining and windy and the outside lane was closed due to construction and we had to ride the metal grates in the middle of the bridge for over a mile. Whew!

Here's another view. I love the cut-outs in the towers.


Here's a view most people don't bother with--the underside of the bridge. I also like geometric patterns, so I thought this was pretty cool. The water was so pretty too, lots of blues and emerald greens.


Thursday, Oct 2nd, we spent the day on Mackinac Island. I got this shot during a carriage ride. I guess the turbulent weather was good for cool looking skies, at least.

I'll be posting more pictures from our trip soon.