I really didn't think I was going to get anywhere this week. At least not anywhere that had a sky and horizon I could both see and work with. We're having a heat wave....a tropical heat wave. (Can you see me dancing with the fruit basket on my head?)
I have three words for my experience this week. BUGS......WEEDS......SWEAT. The only "big sky" in my area always seems to be linked to hilly, grassy hay fields and ponds. So I really had to search. It was only 86 degrees at 7:30 p.m. instead of 94 degrees, so HEY, that was a help. There was not a breeze to be had.
For the photograph of Billie above, I was actually laying flat out in the tall reed/grass so that I could get enough sky in the photo. It was one of those Pennsylvania weather patterns where, at some point, we should expect a storm to crop up, so you can begin to see the clouds rolling in to the right. In the photo below, I moved to my right more to capture more of the cloud pattern.
For the photograph of Billie above, I was actually laying flat out in the tall reed/grass so that I could get enough sky in the photo. It was one of those Pennsylvania weather patterns where, at some point, we should expect a storm to crop up, so you can begin to see the clouds rolling in to the right. In the photo below, I moved to my right more to capture more of the cloud pattern.
Did I mention there were bugs? And do you know that if you are sweaty, when you lay down in grassy weeds, a lot of weed debris sticks to you and stays with you?
Thankfully, our little Billie is a trooper. You just promise a walk and a possible squirrel sighting and she pretty much will do as you ask. I love the little wild daisies in this photo. This expression is directly proportionate to the number of times I said "squirrel."
I also don't think I mentioned that I made......um...................ASKED......................my husband to be the Billie handler. Bet he never does that again in 86 degree weather, especially since I did not even stop for a soft serve ice cream at Mill Street Dairy Bar on our way home.
A few technicalities. I am obviously below Billie, which is the best way to capture enough sky in the photo. I positioned her on a little rise in the hill so she would be even more above me. I used a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. ISO 200, 1/125, f/8. Since the sun was behind me, I did not use an external flash, either on camera or off. The sun gave me adequate light to work with, and I only needed to place Billie in a spot where the light would be reflected well. I bumped up the color of the sky in the first photo in post process. Not so much in the second photo. I pretty much left the clouds and the color the way it appeared in the second photo.
As a reward we went for a little walk in the area, and the sun began to sink even further into the horizon. We often have some great color in our skies in the summer during sunset periods, but on the night of my buggy, weedy, sweaty session, the color was a dull pink.
Nevertheless, I decided to take one last photo, this time with Billie placed below me instead of above me, and a nice vista with the setting sun behind her back. Because the light was behind her, this one needed off camera flash. I used my SB700 at 1/2 power.
Thankfully, our little Billie is a trooper. You just promise a walk and a possible squirrel sighting and she pretty much will do as you ask. I love the little wild daisies in this photo. This expression is directly proportionate to the number of times I said "squirrel."
I also don't think I mentioned that I made......um...................ASKED......................my husband to be the Billie handler. Bet he never does that again in 86 degree weather, especially since I did not even stop for a soft serve ice cream at Mill Street Dairy Bar on our way home.
A few technicalities. I am obviously below Billie, which is the best way to capture enough sky in the photo. I positioned her on a little rise in the hill so she would be even more above me. I used a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. ISO 200, 1/125, f/8. Since the sun was behind me, I did not use an external flash, either on camera or off. The sun gave me adequate light to work with, and I only needed to place Billie in a spot where the light would be reflected well. I bumped up the color of the sky in the first photo in post process. Not so much in the second photo. I pretty much left the clouds and the color the way it appeared in the second photo.
As a reward we went for a little walk in the area, and the sun began to sink even further into the horizon. We often have some great color in our skies in the summer during sunset periods, but on the night of my buggy, weedy, sweaty session, the color was a dull pink.
Nevertheless, I decided to take one last photo, this time with Billie placed below me instead of above me, and a nice vista with the setting sun behind her back. Because the light was behind her, this one needed off camera flash. I used my SB700 at 1/2 power.
Every once in a while our blog group takes a departure from the text and selects a theme. I hope you enjoyed SKY. Try to stay cool, bug and weed free this weekend. Don't forget to check out more sky-themed photos in the blog circle starting here with BARKography by Kim Hollis of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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