Follow Up

Just a few words and pictures to follow up on my experience with Elmarit 90mm.  The first picture is a black and white of a flowering agapanthus in my garden just as the sunlight was filtering through the plants. The photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.
This next photo was taken at the minimum focal distance of about 3.0 feet at f4.0. I was sitting on a bench, stuck my foot out, focused on the tied laces. You see the sharpness at the point of focus and the softening of the image as you go away from the focus point.

The other images are indicative of the quality of the lens as you get the focusing down. It seems that I'm now on target with about 70 percent of my shots. Not bad as I have a feeling my eyesight isn't what it used to be.
The horse photo was taken on our walk and she welcomes the attention and carrots that we bring.

Old farming equipment is also a familiar site and makes for interesting photographs. This one was taken from beyond a fence and through some over grown grasses and weeds.

I will finish up with a enhanced photograph of this flower taken through a chain link fence. I processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0 and then with Topaz Filter Adjust 4 I enhanced the detail of the image.

Happy Hollow

Thought I would share some pictures from our day trip to visit Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose, California. The park has just reopened after a major renovation and the results are very pleasing to adults and the children who visit. The weather was beautiful and our grandson had a wonderful time.
All the photographs were taken with my Leica M-9 with a 35mm Summarit 2.5 lens and later post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0 and Topaz filter Adjust 4.  The challenge for me was in using just a 35mm lens and to see if it is possible to get some interesting shots without the use of a telephoto lens. For me the answer was yes there where times I would have like to have a longer lens but having to move and plan my shots more was a small price to pay for a lighter load.

All the children seemed to love the chance to intermingle with the animals.

A black and white close up that was converted using Nik Software Silver Efex Pro.

Roller coaster madness the small roller coaster provided plenty of thrill for all ages.

Checkout those facial expressions as usual click on any of the photos to see a larger version.

There are lots of interactive educational exhibits that allow for the capture of some candid pictures.

Interesting Week

It has been a interesting week with some interesting images. This week I'm highlighting the Leica M-9 and some of the more unusual or sometimes different and interesting images I acquired. They were taken during my daily walk, trip over the Golden Gate Bridge and a stop at the local repair garage.
The picture to your right needs no introduction, the Golden Gate Bridge is world famous and I took this shot from the vista point on the north side of the bay. It was one of those days where the skies were clear and cloudless with only a hint of lingering haze on the horizon.
Of course anytime you stop at any of the vista points there are lots of opportunities to get some photos of others enjoying the view. Here is another photographer setting up his camera in the middle of others trying to look at the view.

There is a bronze statue of a sailor in the middle of the vista point and people were lining up to get their pictures taken with it. These two men caught my eye as they were playing to their friends camera as I also took this shot.

On we went up the coast towards Jenner and Bodega Bay where we stopped for lunch, the fish was excellent. here is a decaying pier being used by the seagulls. I really like the simplicity of the picture and the way the pier gives depth to the photograph.

In the restaurant we meet a couple visiting from Germany with their 7 month old daughter I asked if I could take a picture. In these days and times when it comes to young children I would rather ask than to make people uncomfortable about having their children photographed.

After getting their permission I took this photo which I later converted to black and white using Nik Software plug-in Silver Efex pro.
These next pictures are from my daily walks and the first one highlights the thoughts of the owner of the property.

It seems they don't want anyone on their property and haven't wanted so for a very long time. In the next picture I saw this on the side of the trail and liked the texture and colors on the discarded planter.

This last picture I got at the local garage of a vintage Maserati it was parked in the middle of some modern prestige type vehicles but stood out like a sore thumb.

All photographs were post processed using the new Adobe Lightroom 3.

Santana Row

Santana Row in San Jose, California a modern outdoor shopping center with a European theme. I took several pictures with a Leica M-9 with a Leica Summarit 35mm lens. The photos run the gamut from flowers to people enjoying the warm sunny day.
I thought that I would work a little on my street photography and found with this first picture that I was some what out of focus as I didn't gauge the distance as well as I might have. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have done it so in post processing I decided to tweak the photo in Topaz Labs filter Simplify 3. The result is a image that looks like a colorful painting and rescued this shot. 

Artistic view of outdoor cafe seating.

Father and son playing chess in a courtyard

Entering a wine shop

Sunday Brunch

Hotel Entrance

All of the above photographs were processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7, Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Topaz Filters.

Into the Valley

Thought I would share a few shots taken with the Leica M-9 on a recent walk into the valley. Spring is waning here Northern California and even thou we have gotten the occasional day of light to moderate rain fall the colors are changing. In this post you see one of my favorite areas to shoot landscape photos. There are interesting backgrounds and unusual objects available all within easy walking distance from the house.

Photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7 and Topaz filter detail 2. There are two old sheds in this grassy field that make for interesting subjects along with the high grasses and changing colors.
Not far from the above photo sits a house with several old tractors that have seen better days. As they age and the paint drops away a rust appears everywhere that makes for a great photographic subject.

Photo was processed in Adobe CS5 and Topaz filter Detail 2 to enhance the natural patination that has occurred through many years of weathering .
In this last photo I wanted to show the color and texture of this spring time flower with a soft bokeh background.

Photo was processed in Adobe Lightroom 2.7. Simple subjects like this flower abound in the valley and there always seems to be something new to photograph.