The Colors of Summer
Almost ripe enough. (Taken with the Fujifilm XF-1.)
It is the season for thunderstorms.
Last week it was hot for us in Maine. At the end of the week, thunderstorms rolled in to provide relief. (Photos taken with the Fujifilm XF-1 in RAW format and processed with LR4.) Where I live is too close to the mountains to see the storms approaching and get photos. By the time you see them, they are right on top of you. So man-made light shows instead. These are the Independence Day fireworks in Denmark, Maine. Being unfamiliar with their show, I didn't quite get the vantage point I would like.
All, Nikon D600 with 24-85 AFS-VR. Last night there was an amazing sunset that got more colorful the later it got. The mosquitoes also became more plentiful.
Nikon D600 with Tokina 16-28 f/2.8.
GTOBack when I was trying to get cars for the recent magazine cover photo shoot, the first car I tried to get was a friend's '67 Pontiac GTO. He had to be out of town for business travel and was disappointed to not be involved in the end. So when the car was available recently, I took a few photos for him.
He is not done with it quite yet. Somtimes it is difficult to get all the correct parts from the old car parts suppliers: one of the four replacement wheels is not right so I can't show that side of the car. I think he plans on selling it eventually. Longest dayIn this part of western Maine, daylight stretches out to 15 1/2 hours on June 21st. Here are images from the end of the day.
Kezar Lake sunset. I used a graduated ND filter in Lightroom to balance the exposure of the sky with the foreground. The Nikon D600 has an amazing dynamic range. This was taken with the Tokina 16-28 f/2.8 with a large convex front element that does not accept my rectangular graduated ND filter.
This is a more expansive view of the beach. It was a cool evening (50's) so there was no one swimming, only a couple of young girls from a nearby cabin walking around. The sound of music from nearby Quisisana was mostly drowned out by the wind.
Next it was on to Moose Pond for later.
Apologies for the very obvious credit, I need to change a setting in Lightroom to make it more discrete. Bug LightBug Light is a small lighthouse in South Portland at the entrance to the port. What was once a shipyard for Liberty ships is now a park adjacent to the lighthouse. The park is a peaceful place where people walk, fish, excercise, and fly kites. It is also a great place to observe the comings and goings of the city of Portland. Saturday the wind was such that planes were flying in from over Casco Bay to land at PWM. White (mostly) sails gleamed in the sunlight. Ferries ran out to the islands and back. A tug came in with the Atlantic Pearl. Kayaks, fishing boats, and other small craft bobbed on the wake of the larger boats.
The city of Portland across the water.
A sense of scale.
Magazine Cover Shoot or Cars & Ice CreamLake Living Magazine needed a cover photograph which combined elements of two articles for the summer issue: classic cars and their owners and local ice cream shops. Definitely summertime themes, both. So Laurie (LL's publisher) selected the shop: the Mosquito ice cream shop in Raymond. Perry (writer) supplied one of the models: her niece Lily. Travis (owner of the Mosquito with his wife Darcy) supplied the step ladder and the ice cream (sustenance). I "supplied" the cars: Gordon and Sue's 1972 Corvette and 1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass. And Gordon and Sue supplied the other model: Samson (he is the furry one). There were thoughts of having more cars from other friends and acquaintances, but weather and scheduling prohibited that. Everyone was generous with their time and we ended up with one of those perfectly clear days and just enough time to make it for the publishing deadline. We arranged the cars, putting the Vette on the left to catch the late afternoon sun and to have Lily's face lit. Then Lily interacted with Samson and us as onlookers while I clicked away. When it looked like we had a setup that would work, we asked for the ice cream. Real ice cream here, not a prop. Lily, Samson. Samson, Lily.
Rearranging the cars. Getting acquainted.
Are we ready for the ice cream yet?
Someone is ready.
Share?
Eventually Lily lost track of which side belonged to whom.
A drip on the car.
All gone. That must mean the photos are over too.
There were over 150 images to choose from. Four made it to the final selection list. Those four are amongst the images above. We'll see which one makes it to the cover. On the technical side, all images were made using the Nikon D600 with the 35-70 f/2.8 AF-D Nikkor. A Nikon SB700 Speedlight was used as fill-flash for a few images. The step ladder was green fiberglass. Or blue. |
