| Photo of the week September 30 |
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Where did we take it?
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Durango, Colorado
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What is the subject?
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An impressive picture of a train heading straight towards the camera
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| Details, please? |
Canon EOS 60D with Canon EF75-300mm lens at 135mm, f/9, 1/80 sec, ISO 800 |
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How did we get it?
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The Durango and Silverton railroad operates
Photographer's trains usually twice anually. This took us along it's route, the stops and
allows the photographers to unload and get pictures of the train as it runs by. The only
trick to get this picture is that we're shooting a mostly black subject. The camera can be
"tricked" into overexposing the shot, which would make the black locomotive appear gray. This
can be overcome by either (1) using exposure correction to force the camera to expose it properly,
or (2) shoot in raw, then use software to adjust the digital file to the correct exposure.
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| What's so special about it? |
We're impressed by these century-old steam locomotives, and the Durango and Silverton maintains
and operates a fleet of these. When we took this photo, the Durango and Silverton burned
coal in their locomotives, making the smoke plume more impressive. After the railroad was
suspected of starting a wildfire (rightly or wrongly) from the soot coal burners emit, they have
changed all their locomotives to burn oil.
This is one of our favorites, showing the locomotive bearing down on
the camera.
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| Photo of the week September 23 |
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Where did we take it?
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Reykjavik, Iceland. Although the tour was arranged by Royal Caribbean, the
tour operator was Elding, which
we highly recommend.
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What is the subject?
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One of many pictures we took of Humbpack whales breaching in Reykjavik harbor.
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| Details, please? |
Canon R5 with Canon RF200-800mm lens at 800mm, f/9, 1/640 sec, ISO 400 |
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How did we get it?
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First, we had a tour guide crew that knew the area. Humpbacks don't breach (jump out
of the water) all that often, so we were fortunate enough to find a pod of whales that were
playing. Once we were fortunated enough to find a pod playing, we put the camera on AI Servo
focusing mode, extended the zoom to full zoom, and kept the camera at the ready.
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| What's so special about it? |
Whales are impressive creatures, and finding them playing is a fantastic experience. The power
of Whales to move tons of water fascinates us.
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| Photo of the week August 27 |
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Where did we take it?
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Cape May, New Jersey
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What is the subject?
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A wave hitting a piling and the resulting splash
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| Details, please? |
Canon 5D Mark III camera, Canon EF 24-105 f4 lens at 105mm, f/4, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1600 |
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How did we get it?
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We're fascinated with moving and splashing water. We went to the beach to catch a sunrise.
A few minutes after the sunrise, we moved to a piling and waited for a wave to crash into it.
In this case, a high shutter speed was necessary to stop the motion of the water. Being shortly
after sunrise, there wasn't a lot of light to work with, so we shot the picture with the aperture
wide open, and ISO at 1600.
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| What's so special about it? |
We love stopping action with moving water. This one, with the sunlight illuminating half the spray,
produces interesting brightness of the splash.
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| Photo of the Week August 19 |
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Where did we take it?
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US Highway 24 and Colorado Highway 9 near Hartsell, Colorado
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What is the subject?
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A mountain brook winding through a small valley with a person fishing
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| Details, please? |
Canon 5D Mark III camera, Canon EF 24-70 f2.8 lens at 24mm, f/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 200 |
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How did we get it?
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In our frequent photo expeditions through Colorado's mountains, we happened upon this
beautiful scene. No special techniques needed, nature presented us a wonderful scene, and
we captured it.
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| What's so special about it? |
It's a natuarally serene scene, with a brook running through a valley. The sky
really adds to the
picture; the clouds are just perfect. We actually didn't notice the fisher until
we printed it in a large format.
This photo prints beautifully in large, panoramic format. We've made a print on acrylic, and it
really brings the wall to life!
Keep watching our Photo of the Week, as immediately across Colorado Highway 9 is a ranch with
a herd of bison, two of which are incredibly rare albino bison. A picture of them is likely
to make it to our photo of the week!
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| Photo of the week August 12, 2025 |
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Where did we take it?
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Cocoa Beach pier, Cocoa Beach, Florida
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What is the subject?
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An ocean scene with a pier at sunrise
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| Details, please? |
Canon R5 camera, Canon RF 24-240 lens at 123mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400 |
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How did we get it?
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I was at the beach at sunrise, about to call it a day as the sun had risen significantly.
I noticed the waves splashing, and the rising sun illuminating the splashed water. So,
I got in position where the sun was mostly obstructed by the pier supports. A high shutter
speed is necessary to catch the water splashing.
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| What's so special about it? |
We are intrested in pictures capturing water in motion. This one does that, and the sun
illuminating the splash in red hues just adds to our interest in it. The clouds in the background
make for an interesting sky (in addition to contributing to refracting the light).
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| Photo of the week August 5, 2025 |
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Where did we take it?
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Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral, Florida
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What is the subject?
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Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)
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| Details, please? |
Canon R5 camera, Canon RF 800mm f/11 lens, f/11 (obviously), 1/1000 sec, ISO 400 |
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How did we get it?
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This picture required features of Canon's mirrorless cameras:
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Eye tracking autofocus: Canon's advanced cameras have the ability to track a subject's eyes, and the
photographer can choose whether to look for people eyes, animal eyes, or now automobiles.
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AI Servo autofocus: Photographers can usually choose between one time autofocus or continuous focus. Canon
calls this AI Servo mode.
- Rapid autofocus: With the bird flying rapidly, the camera has to focus very quickly.
The Canon 800mm f/11 lens is incredibly light, making hand holding feasable. With this is place, it was a matter of
tracking the birds as they flew, and it is much easier to track their flight when they are flying towards the camera.
I'm not hawking Canon cameras here, I'm sure Nikon and Sony have the same capabilities.
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| What's so special about it? |
We like the photo for several reasons. We love various photographs of water in motion, such as the
drops caught in mid air and the bird's beak streaming through the water. The reflection of the bird adds
to the beauty of the photo, as well as the colors of the bird.
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