Playing with Exposures
Canon PowerShot S30

I had big plans for this little bud. I discovered it next to the walkway to the beach the day before the storm hit. My *plan* was to get shots of it each day as it started blooming...wrong! The next day the clouds and winds came in. No more blooming occurred while I was there. The last time I looked, all but a couple of the little yellow thingies had been blown away by the wind. :-(.

Click the thumbnail for larger views at several different exposures.

I also want to note a continuing problem I am having with outdoor shots. I can't read the settings on my lcd or see the previews clearly in bright light. So I am am sort of *running blind.* Not that that is not already obvious. [sheepish grin] Think I need to shop around and see if there is one of those lens shades that will fit my little camera. I just keep looking at it's compact size and wondering where in the heck one could be attached. More investigation is required, but if I could find the right one, that would be a worthwhile investment.

Now this was not planned, total accident. I had set my ISO to 200 as I was trying to catch the wind in some palm trees. When I spotted Tony on the beach I started snapping away. Flipped back to auto for a shot or two as well.

I had not intended to blow out the beach, but when I saw this shot, it made me think of some artsy photos I have seen.

Some of the edges on the auto shot look a bit blurred, but in the full size versions you can see that it is the hair on his head and legs blowing in the wind. In the full blown versions, you can also see the sand and water drops that were sticking to his skin and clothes in the wind. In this reduced shot there seems to be a good bit of aritfacting around the body edges. A full-size crop of the white one, with slight color/contrast enhancements we aren't using here is currently my desktop wallpaper. All that white space makes room for icons.

I keep thinking that this would be a great poster for the "will work for beachhouse" campaign that began for real last spring. Add the sad little boy shot from the day we were leaving Gulf Shores last trip to the mix and I think his little mug might just raise enough funds to get us that beachhouse. Anyone want to contribute? Cash, checks, money orders & PayPal accepted. If the donation is large enough, heck I will even set up to accept credit cards in the usual manner.[grin]

Click thumbnail for larger view of this and the "artsy shot."

Tropical Storm Hannah is On the Way In

Hiding behind this thumbnail, you will find a few shots where I was attempting to get focus on the front of the image and catch the motion of the wind by using an ISO of 200 and various adjustments. Mostly I end up blowing out the background. And funny, the wind does not seem so wild when it's frozen. LOL, this was a bit calmer moment any way. Shots were taken from inside a hut that is normally the outdoor bar when weather permits. (Red flag was artifacting badly even at low compression.)