IMG_0345  Early morning spiders are busy at work.  

IMG_0346  another one

IMG_0346 catching the light

IMG_0347 again!

20Dshooter... (actually, I am now a 40D Shooter... but not changing the handle!)

I took these with my new canon 50mm f/1.4 lens on the EOS 20D.

Hibiscus
small drop on small leaf
Tiny drop on large leaf
walkway to backyard

There is a Pit where they keep musicians, like they do at the zoo, where it is safe for the public.  But, getting to the pit can be dark and dreary.

The musicians in the pit are generally a well natured group.
But, just in case, each pit has a zookeeper (ok, conductor) to make sure everyone stays in line!

The musicians are given a score (guitar player taking pics)to focus on, and that easily tames them.  

See how happy and focused the musicans are? Keyboardists, bassist ,  bass and when they play well together, the music can seem electric!

Three great dogs, 2 of which have a face only a mother could love.
Baby
Bailey
Barney, on the other hand is a good looking dog!
Barney
The bear is a Cal Bear (#79). Mike and Barney

I took most of these while walking through Huntington Library in Pasadena.
 young and old
 This is an older technique that is still used in film, but it was quite popular a few years ago in photography (probably overdone!).  The idea is to bring the focus on just one thing with a splash of color.
2 yellow flowers
I did these with "layers" in photoshop.  You copy the color photo to a different layer.
Then convert the copied layer to black and white.
purple flowers
It will look like the entire picture is black and white, but the color is underneath the top layer.
2 ducks
To get the final effect, use the eraser in the black and white layer to remove areas you want the color in the layer below to come through.  

It can take a little bit of time, but the results can be very cool!

These pictures were taken at Lake Shasta late at night.  The camera was handheld, and the highlights were made with either a burning stick (stuck it in the campfire, then walked over to a darker area for the photo), or a flashlight.   Typical exposure duration was 15-30 seconds.  All shots were taken with a Canon EOS 20D.

the first is of Mike writing his name with a burning stick.
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This one is of Angela, David lit her face and body with a flash light (very quickly) then walked around her and drew the flower.
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Finally, this one is of Mike, with very fast exposures with a flashlight as he walked across the frame and made faces.
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