Friday, July 31, 2009

Going South To Go West

Going South To Go West
Before the Southern Pacific 4449 arrived this coal train lead by BNSF 5707, BNSF 6009, and BNSF 9176 came out of the yard in Owosso on its route out west. This was the first train we'd spotted since arriving about three hours earlier. It was also starting to rain. So I grabbed the rain jacket for the camera and pounded out a few frames. It was strange weather though as we had rain with party cloudy conditions on either side. The real problem I have was keeping the rain off the front element and I'd failed on most of the shots. I have many frames I just dumped for that nasty light blob right in the middle of the subject.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Guarding the Capitol

Guarding the Capitol
Drie and I headed out to Lansing for Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk, our first organized Photowalk. As we approached the rear entrance of the Capitol building the view was obscured by this State Properties Patrol Vehicle. I liked the contrast though and decided to play with it a little. I never got what I wanted, but this was fun.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SP4449 Resting

SP4449 Resting
Adalay, Lawrence of Berkley, and joseph645, and DNO_Dennis headed up to Durand, Michigan Sunday afternoon to witness the arrival of the Southern Pacific 4449. After arriving they sat for sometime allowing the masses which had assembled for the arrival to get up close. Having worked with the Steam Railroading Institute I grabbed many shots of the crew in the cab so it seemed natural here too.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

No Parking, Clearly

No Parking, Clearly
Drie and I headed out to Lansing for Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk, our first organized Photowalk. Toward the end of the route was construction on a sewer project which closed a street and parking along some others. I found the bags they placed over the meters in front of the parking structure to be funny. I ended up shooting two version of essentially the same photo though and I didn't think the shallow depth-of-field conveyed the humor of the situation. The one with the "PARK" sign in focus just didn't seem interesting any more. So, I uploaded both.

Monday, July 27, 2009

No Parking

No Parking
Drie and I headed out to Lansing for Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk, our first organized Photowalk. Toward the end of the route was construction on a sewer project which closed a street and parking along some others. I found the bags they placed over the meters in front of the parking structure to be funny. I ended up shooting two version of essentially the same photo though and I didn't think the shallow depth-of-field conveyed the humor of the situation. The one with the "PARK" sign in focus just didn't seem interesting any more. So, I uploaded both.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Leviathan Pulling on to the Turntable

Leviathan Pulling on to the Turntable
The Leviathan 4-4-0 No. 63 made it's first public appearance at the Train Festival 2009 in Owosso, Michigan. This is the newest steam locomotive having been just completed earlier this month. Though it was inspired by the locomotives of the Golden Spike Ceremony, this new 4-4-0 is powered by oil rather than wood or coal. Every half-hour or so they pulled the locomotive on to the turntable and spun it around.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Hiawatha

Hiawatha
Adalay, Lawrence of Berkley, and joseph645, and DNO_Dennis headed up to Durand, Michigan Sunday afternoon to witness the arrival of the Southern Pacific 4449. The very cool Hiawatha car brought up the rear of the train.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Oldsmobile Park

Oldsmobile Park
Drie and I headed out to Lansing for Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk, our first organized Photowalk. We met at Oldsmobile Park about 5:00PM where we started shooting. This will be the last season for Oldsmobile Park as it's getting a next change next year. The thing that struck me about the stadium though was the statues around the front. I found this one especially interesting with the stadium sign in the background.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

SP4449 Zipping Past

SP4449 Zipping Past
SP4449 Zipping Past
Adalay, Lawrence of Berkley, joseph645, DNO_Dennis, and I headed up to Durand, Michigan Sunday afternoon to witness the arrival of the Southern Pacific 4449. By the time the train finally turned and headed for Owosso the sun had set so I cranked up the ISO, set-up the tripod, tossed on the ultra-wide, and got what I could.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Scrubbing the Sunlight

Scrubbing the Sunlight
We hit the Mill Race Historical Village this morning while on an expedition for some photos. While wandering the grounds looking for views to capture I spotted this washboard in the window of a house at the back of the property. A little odd, but pretty cool.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

It's a Bright Sunshiny Day

It's a Bright Sunshiny Day
We hit the Mill Race Historical Village this morning while on an expedition for some photos. It was a beautiful day and the flowers around the village were blooming. This home with its wonderful garden was just one of the many terrific opportunities to pull out the camera and pop off a few frames.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Nankin-Mills

Nankin-Mills
We took a trip Sunday the fifth out to Northville and down Hines Dr. in search of photos. When we happened across Nankin-Mills we had to stop. It wasn't open unfortunately so we only walked the outside of the building.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

On the Edge

On the Edge
While at the Mill Race Historical Village in Northville we caught a glimpse of this row boat stuck on the edge of the dam about to go over. It looks like this tiny little boat had been there for a little while and I would guess it won't go anywhere anytime soon.

Monday, July 06, 2009

On the Fence

On the Fence
We hit the Mill Race Historical Village Sunday morning while on an expedition for some photos. These daylilies lined the fence by one of the homes there. We waited for the sun to escape from the clouds and popped off a few bright shots.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Tawas Point Lighthouse Just After Noon

Tawas Point Lighthouse Just After Noon
On our way to the "3rd Annual Spring Fling on Mackinac Island" we stopped by the Tawas Point Lighthouse for a few quick photos and a nearby Earthcache. At nearly 1:00PM we were at the lighthouse with probably the worst possible light, but didn't want to miss my first opportunity to capture this lighthouse. Walking all around the building this view with the sun over the building really intrigued me but there was certainly no way to capture what I saw with my eyes in a single exposure. The image I held in my mind was even closer with a wider lens then the 18mm provided by the 18-35 I was carrying, but that's the widest lens I had. I really didn't hold out much hope for an HDR either but wanted to try a hand-held HDR at least once. I set the auto bracketing to 9 frames (4 up, 1 on, 4 under) and popped off all 9 exposures in about 2 seconds. Those 9 frames were run through PhotomatixPro for this single image which represents pretty well what I saw with my naked eye. It's not quite what I'd hoped for, but I'll call it a success.
More good information about the Tawas Point Lighthouse.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

464 Approaches the Crossing

464 Approaches the Crossing
Following our Sunday trip to Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad we took the short drive to the only public grade crossing on the Huckleberry Railroad at Genesse Road. Here we waited for the 4:00PM departure, pulled by Rio Grande 464, to pass by. Of course this was not an ideal lighting situation, but it's always fun to watch steam locomotives roll by.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Power For Cider

Power For Cider
Sunday, we took a little trip to Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad with the goal of finding some interesting photos. Arriving just before 10:00AM we enjoyed the 152 (painted as US152 for a video being shot there) before moving on to the Masters Cider Mill. They were just in the process of firing up the boiler for the morning so we didn't have much action there. This barrel (which I believe was used as a water tank) sat not far from the vertical boiler. The bright red handles for the many valves stood out from the boiler waiting to be used.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Idle Scoop

Idle Scoop
Sunday's trip to the Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad included a stop at the Atlas Mill. This scoop sat idle on some bags over by the front entrance.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Tawas Point Lighthouse Reappears

Tawas Point Lighthouse Reappears
On our way to the "3rd Annual Spring Fling on Mackinac Island" we stopped by the Tawas Point Lighthouse for a few quick photos and a nearby Earthcache. On our way back from the walk (a very cold walk with the blowing wind) the lighthouse reappeared through the spare trees. The bright spire could not have been missed in the stark light of early afternoon.
More good information about the Tawas Point Lighthouse.