since I've posted here and thought I'd like to enter a couple high key studio photos of flowers that I had taken while just playing around. So, here they are flower1 . flower2 

...Thought I'd share some shots from a recent monsoon outing.

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Hey everyone...it's been a while since I've posted anything new. But, this Bi-Weekly Challenge is right up my alley. Having a day job and a family really cuts into my photography. So, as the only time I really get to go shoot is at night, I've gotten quite good at it.

Tell me what ya think.

P.S. Sorry about the size! I'm working off a different computer and don't have the full size images.

here are my submissions

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I forgot to isert the pic in the lkast submition (DOH!)DESCRIPTION_HERE

This is simply a different persective of Multnomah Falls, a little smaller and a bit more personal.

Taken with my Canon 10D and converted to B&W with PhotoShop. I like it, what do you think?

Three years ago, when I first moved to Phoenix, AZ, I was pretty excited. You see; I was cursed when I was younger with what I later discovered as Wanderlust.

I love to travel and go places that I've never been to before, but it wasn't until after I moved here that I decided to take up photography and view the world through a lens, logging my travels and preserving them.

I quickly discovered during my first summer here, that the best times to go out exploring is dawn, just as the sun rises DESCRIPTION_HERE and late evening just before sunset DESCRIPTION_HERE when the days heat finally begins to wane.

But I've always found the summer nights DESCRIPTION_HERE here to be greatest when I'm out with my cameras alone DESCRIPTION_HERE enjoying the peace and tranquility under the billions of stars (pic coming soon) that can be viewed under a clear sky.

Living in Phoenix, AZ for the past few years has exposed me to numerous extremes of weather, from 115 degree heat to the freezing snowstorms located in the northern reaches, dust storms so thick that they alone can cause massive pile-ups on the freeway leading to the west, though these have their wonders, my personal favorite is the frightiningly beautiful monsoons that come in from the south.

The lightning flashing every 10 to 15 seconds with such force that the following thunder can shatter windows.

The rain comming down in quantity enough to flood streets making them impassible in a matter of minutes.

And there I stand, atop a 6 story parking garage overlooking downtown trying to get the shot that I've wanted since moving here. Blinding flashes overhead making the scene seem as if in direct sunlight. Lightning striking transformers unfortunate enough to be the highest thing in the area.

I saw a total of three explode in brilliant green fireballs.

I set my tripod in the covered area under the hatchback door of my Nissan Xterra, diligantly poised at my chosen composition.

And nothing, the storm is moving to avoid the scene that I want, as if teasing me! So, I spend four hours on that rooftop diving back into my truck when the storm gets too wild or the rain too heavy, and get nothing.

Disapointed and discouraged, I pack my gear and head home. The storm now too far to work with.

I pull into my driveway, open the garage door and drive in. In the rearview mirror I see some lightning realatively close, so I drag my weary, carcus still wet from the rain, out of the truck and see another flash directly overhead, somewhat hopeful, yet still hesitant, I set up my equipment again in the garage door opening, set my aperture and manualy focus because there is not enough light to use auto, trip the shutter for a 15 second exposure and get this...DESCRIPTION_HERE on the first try.

I shook my head, sighed, stated "I shoulda stayed home to begin with", packed up, and went in the house, closing the door behind me.

I love water, it is the life blood of nature. Without it we can not veiw such splenders.

Enjoy

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On my home from work one hot July night here in Phoenix, AZ, sick of putting up with the traffic that I knew was forthcoming, and tired of seeing the same old things flying by at 70 Mph on the way home; I decided to take an alternative rout.

Cruising at a comfortable 35 mph on the side streets, with the stereo up playing the soothing melodies of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, I caught a passing glance of rushing water out of the corner of my eye, and as the song states "I turned to look but it was gone".

Feeling spontaneous, I turned around at the next intersection and went to see what had gotten my attention. There it was, just sitting in the courtyard of a small, but homely looking hotel: The Fountain.

Reaching over to the passenger seat I checked to see how many frames I had left on my last roll of Fuji Velvia; I had two. Grabbing my trusty Slik tripod with a Bogan ball head attached, I secured my Canon Elan II to the quick release, and got out of the car.

I set up my tripod, metered, and selected a 15 second exposure at f8. Knowing that any vibration would result in a less than savory image, I chose to initiate the mirror lockup custom function and connect the three-foot shutter release. I exposed my last two frames.

Upon getting the film developed the next day, I realized that the first image was ruined by my accidentally bumping the tripod; blurring the image, but the other, the thirty-seventh frame, the one you see before you, was exactly the way I saw the image in my head.
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