Les Impressions de Moi

2011 Festival of the Dead Parade

2011-11-02T23:09:00.001-06:00

Went and shot pics of the Missoula Festival of the Dead parade tonight. First time I went to this parade. There were almost as many people as the Christmas parade gets. Missoula's parades are pretty eclectic. All home made and everyone gets to express themselves pretty much as they want.

I am not sure about all this festival is supposed to represent. There were political statements and prayers and a lot of other things I just could not figure out. What I could figure out was that everyone was having fun, it was peaceful, no violence, everyone just seemed to be there to get out on the town.

This is small town entertainment at its finest these parades. Fun to go to and fun to shoot.Of course you can go to my website at: www.lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com and see a lot more pics of this parade.

Fall 2011

2011-10-26T23:24:00.002-06:00

Getting frosty around here at nights now and the leaves are really starting to drop! Fall is definitely here in Montana now and the gloves are going to start going on. Last year we did not have a Fall, we had a sudden and severe Winter and the leaves did not even have a chance to change color or drop from the trees. This year the color change and drop is happening fast, but it is happening!

The native trees are all turning a golden or greenish gold and some of the ornamental trees are really producing spectacular colors. Pretty soon we will start having snow and then I will start whining about how cold it is and it will be hard to get my butt out there to shoot! Fall is short in this country but it still is and always will be my favorite time of year.

Another Model Shoot

2011-10-04T23:24:00.000-06:00

Once again I had a great time at a model shoot with my club, Western Montana Photography. We had great models and a lot of the photographers showed up and all had a good time.

I always learn a lot at these shoots. There are photographers of all levels from Pros to amateurs. We all share ideas and sometimes equipment. You never stop learning at artistic adventures.

I shoot in camera raw and I shot a lot of frames. Nine gigabytes worth. I really took advantage of having fantastic models. I brought my studio set up to the gig. We had three studios going that the models rotated through.

We even had a green screen studio set up. It was packed the whole day with everyone moving from studio to studio to shoot, all of us shot a lot of pics.

The models were great! They did everything we asked and more. They really played our cameras well. A lot of friendships were made and good business contacts too. It was a long day and I was bushed by the end of it, but it was so worth it!! Go to my website www.lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com to see all the best pics I shot from the shoot.

Model Photography

2011-09-29T01:18:00.000-06:00

Had a good time tonight doing some Model photographing. It was at the monthly meeting of our photography club. The Models were great, very pretty and I was able to get some really good money shots.

There were about five of us photographing the models, taking turns and doing group shooting. Everyone had a real good time.

I was shooting with an unfamiliar light source so it took me a few frames to get down my settings, but once I got it the good shots started coming.

I shot a lot of frames!! It was actually a lot of work. Fashion and Model photos require a lot of prep time and good communication between photographer and model. It is so worth it though, because you can get a lot of satisfaction when your shots come out good!!

Go do some Model shooting! I highly recommend it!!

Whitetail Morning

2011-09-27T15:21:00.000-06:00

I went up into the Sapphire Mountains again this morning. I decided to take a new trail I had not yet tried. It headed down toward the river, but about half way there I came across a small heard of Whitetail Does.

I got a lot of interesting poses out of them to shoot. Framed by trees. We have both Whitetails and Mule Deer here in the same area. Some days I will only see Muleys and somedays only Whitetails. Usually, if I go after the one, I will see the other!!

It was well before sunup in the morning and still pretty dark so I had to bump up the ISO to 800!! My auto focus was having a hard time, so I was overriding it manually alot. They didn't come out as sharp as I would have liked but most were usable. All in all, a successful morning.

Garnett Ghost Town

2011-09-26T11:01:00.004-06:00

Went back to Garnett Ghost Town yesterday. It was a group trip with a local photography club I joined the other day. The turn out was low as it was just me and one other guy from the group. We had a good time anyway, and shot lots of pictures. We got there early and were able to get a lot of pics before the crowds of people started to show up.

I really think these old buildings look cool in black and white so I developed most of them that way.

I am getting older and sometimes I feel like these old buildings must feel!

I am getting major Déja Vue sitting here writing this! I wonder what that means???

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these pics!! We have several ghost towns here in Montana and I hope to get to them all.See all the pictures at my website: www.lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com

Love bugs

2011-09-24T06:50:00.001-06:00

I came across these two ants and they looked like they were kissing. In reality they were just meeting up and passing some chemical info to where the latest happenings were, etc.etc.

I joined a new local photography club today through Meetup.com . I did this because I want to meet some new people in photography to share ideas and techniques with, etc. etc. Tomorrow we are going to Garnet Ghost Town, for a day of photographing. Even though I have been there before (see my website www.lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com ) there is a lot more shooting to be done there, besides, I will be going with a group this time and maybe that will inspire me to do better.

What with Facebook, Myspace, Meetups, and the rest of the social networking websites doing so well, maybe we are a lot more like those ants then we know!! Just looking for someone to share a little chemical conversation with, heh????

More Bighorn Sheep

2011-09-17T20:33:00.001-06:00

Today I took a short trip to the Sapphire Mountains near my home. I went to explore some new country and look for some animals to shoot. The first trail I went down yielded some good squirrel pictures.

I moved to a different area and after a short time I came along a small herd of Bighorn Sheep ewes and lambs. I spent quite a while with them and took a lot of pictures.

It was a beautiful day and I was having a lot of fun! The Sapphire's are a gorgeous mountain range with lots of streams running through them. These are just a few of the pictures I took. To see a lot more of them go to my website; Les Impressions de Moi . If you come to Montana and want to explore the range, be sure to bring some Bear Spray!! There are a lot of bears in this area too!

City vs. Country Critters

2011-09-17T05:25:00.000-06:00

Little critters always make good shots, because they are cute and everyone likes them. I live in the Rocky Mountains, the Northern Rockies of Montana, USA. Here we have a lot of little critters. But you don't have to live in the Rockies to photograph them. If you live in the city or urban areas, try going to the parks in your area. There you should find lots of birds and little critters to shoot. Set up a Bird feeder in your yard or common area and you should have birds and squirrels coming in to feed.

Now let me warn you city dwellers. The critters you will be photographing aren't the easy going, laid back country critters like we have here! No No! You will be dealing with hardened City Critters! City Birds and Critters are a crafty lot. They will bite the hand that feeds them so do not get to close! Now you don't have to worry about not making eye contact as the little critters don't mind eye contact. I have never heard a city critter say " hey! what are you looking at humpty dumpty!!!" or something like that. No, don't worry about Disrespecting or Dissing city critters.

These photos are of country critters. They don't live in parks they live in the wild. But park critters are just as cute and your photos will be just as pleasing as these. So, grab the longest lens you have and head for your parks City Dwellers!!

Belted Kingfisher

2011-09-12T13:03:00.001-06:00

I spent about four days chasing one of these guys along a small river. This morning I set up at a likely spot, pre-focused on a likely branch and waited. Now this was shot-gunning at its finest, but sure enough after not too long a time, up flies a Kingfisher and lands on the very branch I focused on!! I was so startled that I reached up too quickly to click the shutter release and scared him away before I could get the shot! I was beside myself! (and kicking myself too)

After that, I headed to a duck pond to see if I could find anything there to shoot. To my surprise I found a female Belted Kingfisher!! I could not believe my luck as these birds are quite shy and usually fly off when you try to approach them for a shot. This bird did just that but I set up and focused on the branch it had been on hoping that it would come back. Sure enough, it did! It started working for food diving for a fish now and then. I was able to get tons of pictures. (digital tons anyway)

I also got some good shots of a Magpie and some shore birds, but after all the time I spent trying to get the elusive Kingfisher I was elated to get these shots.

Pygmy Nuthatch

2011-09-12T05:40:00.000-06:00

Well, here he is...my favorite bird of all, the Nuthatch. This is a Pygmy Nuthatch. A very small bird with a big personality! Very hard to shoot in the wild as he never stops moving. Continuously flitting from tree to tree in search of grubs and insects in the bark of trees. This little guy spends most of his time walking upside down on Pine Tree trunks and branches. I guess he can see the insects and grubs better this way. There are 4 variations of the Nuthatch here in the USA and I like them all. Where you see Mountain Chickadees, You will find the Nuthatch. He usually travels in a group with them, or they with him, not sure, but at any rate they can usually be found together. Both the Nuthatch and the Chickadees have very distinctive calls and are very vocal. Learn their calls and next time you are in a grove of pines you can easily locate them. Have a good long lens as they are very small. If you have the time, rub some Suet into the bark of one of a grove of Pines, and wait. Sooner or later they will find it. This will cause them to hang around for a moment or two and you can have a better chance at a money shot. Good Luck... you will need it!!

Unexpected shot of the day!

2011-09-10T12:51:00.000-06:00

Found a small herd of Bison this morning when I went out to do some wildlife shooting. Managed to bag several of them with some good shots.(Photo that is!!) Saw a deer and an Osprey but they were too far away to get a shot. I also shot several small birds and a squirrel too, but the Buffalo were the big deal of the morning.

However, there was one shot of a Dragon Fly that I think really turned out nice. Sure, it isn't as dramatic as a Buffalo, but the shot is really cool.

Just a little Dragon Fly but with the grain and texture of the wood playing with the composition by juxtaposing each other it draws your eye to the insect. All in all and Bison aside, it is my favorite shot for the day.

Black & White

2011-09-09T21:27:00.000-06:00

For all the "Arty" types out there, here are a couple B&W's. Now... I am not one to think you can photograph anything in black and white and call it art. Many way too self-confident college wanna be types will buy into this hook line and sinker! They will photograph their crotch develop it in black and white and say voilà!! Art!!! Well... to put it succinctly... NOT!

I don't care how put off and bored your girlfriend pretends to be about everything, she still doesn't validate you as an Artist!! You still have to have an eye for art, a taste for art and the ability to determine what is art and what is a picture of you and your buddies drinking at the local bar in B&W with some Gaussian blur thrown in for good measure. Can you say "No Taste!!" Well, you know who you are, and if not you probably never will.

Well! I got that off my chest didn't I!! In case I offended anyone out there, I did it for art!!! L'art pour L'art as the French would say! C'est la vie!!!

Keep going out!

2011-09-07T12:45:00.000-06:00

Went out this morning looking for wildlife at a wildlife viewing area near my home. The hard part about photographing birds in the wild is trying to keep up with them. Especially the little birds! They flit and flutter around so fast its hard to keep them in sight let alone in the lens and in focus!! A case in point was this little bird that was no more than an inch or so long. Teeny tiny little thing, it was fluttering around fast and furious. I managed to catch it, but I had to use manual focus as it was in heavy brush that was throwing the auto focus off. The photos did not turn out as sharp as I would have liked, but they did turn out.

I think they were not as sharp because I had the camera on rapid fire mode. At 500 to 800mm, I think that it causes enough shake to effect the photo. Think I will go back to one shot at a time and see if that helps. This little guy was fidgety and was gone in a moment. Caught a couple of squirrels chasing each other around a tree. Made for an amusing mirror like shot of them.

No money shots on this trip though, but one never knows so I keep going out!

Keep Going

2011-09-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

Well today I got up early and took the "Big Gun" out along the river to see what I could see. At first it wasn't much. I walked quiet a way along the river and only saw some Ravens. Then I saw a Blue Heron but by the time I brought the camera up all I got was a picture of it flying away. Right after that I saw a nice King Fisher fly by but no shot!! It was really on the move somewhere. Then I did not see anything for awhile. I wanted to stop and turn around and go back to the car, but something kept telling me to go just a little further. And a little further still. By this time I had had it. Wasn't seeing anything and starting to get tired carrying the camera and tripod on my shoulder. So, I turned around and started to head back when just then I saw the first Osprey fly up and land in a tree above me on the side of a cliff. He had a fish in his claws that was partially eaten. I took a lot of pictures of him/her! After awhile of taking pictures I left it to eat its fish and headed back down the trail again. Wasn't too long when I ran into the second Osprey. I saw him flying along and land on a branch across a slough from me. Well, I took a bunch more pictures of this one too!! If I hadn't pushed myself to keep going I probably would not have got the great shots I got of those two birds. So the moral of the story is, keep going just a little further and you just might find the money shots you were looking for!

Failed Moon

2010-12-21T01:34:00.008-07:00

Well sometimes things don't work so well. I tried to get some shots of the lunar eclipse, and things did not go as planned. First the basics. I used the Big Gun Sigma 150-500 lens. This performed very well and I had no problem filling the viewfinder with lots of moon at 1.6x for my sensor. Put it on my tripod and tilted it up to about straight up angle. It was VERY difficult at this angle as I did not have an angle viewfinder. But, I persevered and after fighting with focusing while at this angle and fighting off the cold, it was 19 degrees out, I thought I was ready to take the picture.

So, I take out my wireless shutter release and discovered I had left it on from quite awhile ago and yes, the batteries were dead and I had no spares!!!! So much for getting that crystal clear shot since I had to use my finger to press the shutter release. NO, I did not bother with mirror lock up, another mistake I would find out!!

After much adjusting and just as the eclipse was coming full, CLOUDS rolled in and I found myself shooting through a light cloud cover, blurring things even more!! Needless to say, I did not get one usable shot.... not one! Here are the only ones worth looking at and they are poor shots at best.

Photographing Astronomy is a real art, and I think I will leave it up to the experts in that field... at least for now.

Christmas Parade 2010

2010-12-05T01:34:00.008-07:00

I decided to go watch the x-mas parade downtown to practice some night shooting. With an f4 lens and no flash I wanted to capture the night with existing light only. I wanted the night lights to really stand out and give a very party or festive atmosphere to my photos. Wish I had an f2 lens but I didn't so I cranked up the ISO to 1600 and with my lens having image stabilization, I thought I might get some good effects at shooting a moving parade at night.

I got the effect of the lights that I wanted, and the picture noise is acceptable at that ISO with my camera. I achieved some good panning shots too!! The temperature was in the 20's and i was shooting with gloves on which caused some camera shake problems as hitting the shutter release was a little more difficult.

The parade was short and went by fast then the lighting of the tree ceremony and bonfire took place. I don't often shoot at night so this was really fun and challenging for me. There are a lot of ways I could have shot these night photos. Many many different ways. There is a whole other world of photography out there at night!!!! But you already knew that didn't you...

Drilling for Gold

2010-12-02T18:18:00.006-07:00

I took some pictures awhile back of a Ghost Town in the mountains of Montana, not too far from where I live. The living conditions must have been terribly harsh. What struck me the most, though, was a set of drills in a big rock. I guess they would drill a series of holes and then stuff them with dynamite. Then they would blow the rock apart and look for gold in it or under it. Man, what incredible hard labor that must have taken!! Now if we want gold we just buy it on the INTERNET!! My, how times have changed!!

Where have I been???????

2010-12-01T18:51:00.006-07:00

Sorry about the time lag between posts friends, but, the monkey was on my back again and I had a hard time getting that little bugger off!!! Everyone has monkeys. They come in many different forms. They all look a little different, but the effect usually is similar. We become not ourselves but someone else. Someone we do not necessarily like!

Getting rid of that monkey can be the most challenging thing we do in our lives. Learning to live with it even harder!! I have been eating a lot of bananas and chocolate milk lately... must mean something I think but I am not sure what! Bananas are far from a native fruit grown in my garden but I like them anyway. They have some stuff in them that my body craves now and again...

What do monkeys and bananas have to do with Photography you ask????? Well if you can make Photography your monkey then you have something there!!! As far as the bananas go... they are just like flowers and pretty little girls. Without them you can't feed the monkey!!

FEED THE MONKEY!!!!!!!!!

Bye to Old Man Winter

2010-04-28T20:58:00.010-06:00

well I am back!!! Old Man Winter kept me down and from blogging, but I am back now and spring is here and it is time to get back to blogging!!

A few days ago the weather was really nice, so I grabbed my camera and a 55 - 250mm lens and headed out the door to see what there was to see. I ended up heading over the the University of Montana and found tennis matches going on! Perfect! Time to brush up on my sports shooting skills. Shooting sports is not my specialty, but it is a lot of fun as the action is quick. As they say in sports photography, if you saw the action, you missed the action.

You really have to anticipate the action well, the timing when the ball is in view, in play, snap at the right time and you have a great money shot with the ball right in the action. A spit second later and you missed it. The lens shutter should be down and the mirror up right at the anticipated action point which is why you never see the action if you capture it!! That is why you always see sports photographers constantly checking their shots on the LCD.

To burst or not to burst... that is the question. I took a lot of photos using the burst feature of my SLR. I like it for action shots. You end up with a lot more pics to pic through at the end of the day for good or for bad depending on your POV. If you like to keep the number of throw away shots closer to the number of keepers.then turn off that burst and One-Shot your way through it. Less pics to choose from but if you anticipate well you may have just as many keepers as throw aways!!

Frozen Rivers

2009-12-09T17:57:00.007-07:00

Yes, the rivers are especially beautiful this time of year. The weather has been very cold and the rivers are all freezing up! It was time to take out the camera, put on some more clothes and go out to see if I could get a money shot.

It was snowing when I started but then the sun came out quite strong, but at -4 degrees Fahrenheit one did not really feel the warmth! Still the camera operated fine and I did get some good shots, probably one or two money shots as well!!

In the Winter, good shooting light does not last long. That nice morning sun quickly turns into strong glaring light. Sunrise and Sunset are short lived, so you have to be ready and waiting to get the good light. Waiting is cold business though!! Still after you get back home and warmed up, it is exciting to see if you actually captured any thing worth while, or see if your camera froze up and your lenses fogged!!!

More often than not you have captured a couple real jewels and then you forget how cold you were and how bad your bare fingers hurt holding the camera, and what a pain keeping the snow out of everything was. You forget and actually start planning to do this insanity again.... maybe.... just maybe tomorrow might yield a good snow shot or two..... maybe.......

To see more Winter pics from today go to my photo website at:http://lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com

Skywarn Event

2009-12-08T22:23:00.007-07:00

Well, all right all right I know this is supposed to be a blog about all things photographic, however, I used to be a HAM radio operator and a friend of mine still is. He invited me to participate in an event called "Skywarn". This event is so that HAMS can learn about and be prepared for weather emergencies and natural disaster responses. It is in conjunction with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These people, with their hobby, are providing a service to everyone as well as having a good time on their own. At the time I was there, there was a good showing of people. A lot of contacts were made also showing that the network of people and volunteers is strong. The HAM community is full of friendly and dedicated people who volunteer a lot of their time and resources for the good of the community in which they serve.

For more info about this event and Amateur Radio in general, contact:
Lewis Ball (AE7UZ)
Hellgate Amateur Radio Club
P.O. Box 3811
Missoula, MT 59806
406-239-2405
Meetings are the second Monday of each month at 7p.m.

Winter Sheep

2009-11-24T22:15:00.006-07:00

The Sheep are down in their winter range now and they are all very healthy looking. I went over to Bonner, a little town on the east side of Missoula, to photograph them. They are in Rut and one of the Rams got a little PO'd at me for taking his picture. He just started at a fast walk right toward me and when he got a little too close, and his intent was clear "leave my ewes alone!" I had to stop shooting and wave and shout a little to get him to reconsider ramming me with those big horns of his.

After that they seemed to accept me as part of the landscape and went back to their buisness of eating and rutting, rutting and eating, ya know...... sheep stuff!! I shot almost 500 frames in a couple of hours. It was very cloudy and the sky quite dark with snow clouds so I could only shoot with very slow shutter speeds. Any movement on the part of the sheep made it very difficult to get a crisp image. The Sigma performed fine and even though contrast was low, the auto focus seemed to perform quite well.

It might take a couple of days of sorting and proccessing, since I shoot in RAW, but I will have the best pics up on my website: Les Impressions de moi. There were a lot of big old rams as well as a few young ones in this group. There was another heard nearby also. All in all a lot of sheep for this area as there are more heards up the Blackfoot a little farther.

Windows 8 ???

2009-11-23T05:27:00.007-07:00

(Picture is of Linus Torvald, inventor of the Linux Kernel)

Sooooooo!!!! I just read an article this morning that Microsoft already has Windows 8 slated to come out in 2012!!!
What ever happened to Windows 7??? hhmmm???

A freind of mine just yesterday bought Windows 7 and he is the first one I know personally to do it. I just read an article the other day that the bugs are still not worked out of 7, and already Microsoft is ready to replace it!!

Do yourselves a favor will you? And go to this website and check out the best operating system in the world today!! AND IT IS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.ubuntu.com That is right FREE!! NO CHARGE!!!!

Ubuntu is a Linux based operating system that is faster, more powerful and carries a smaller footprint than any Windows or Mac operating system. It has thousands of applications available for download and comes with the apps you need most already on board, ALL FOR FREE!!!! But just because it is free do not mistake it for cheap or lacking any thing as it is truley the most advanced operating system you can get!

Thanks to Linux and Ubuntu and to other Linux based platforms like SuSe, Mandrake, Red Hat, Fedora, etc. we do not have to be slaves to the ever more costly and ever more unuseable Windows and Mac operating systems.www.ubuntu.com

No fool like un old fool!

2009-11-20T18:43:00.002-07:00

Well, sometimes trying too hard can make a fool out of yourself. i.e. I was out looking for some good Fall wildlife pics along the river. Up ahead I spot some Geese floating along. I had the "Big Gun" out and ready so from quite a distance away, I start shooting. Well, the lens was performing great. Really getting some good group shots.

So I decided to stalk up closer and get some real close-up shots. I am doing pretty good as there was willow brush between myself and the geese most of the way. After awhile of slowly and quietly sneeking up on them, I finally was in position to throw up my camera and start clicking away.

As I am looking through the tele lens setting up my first shot I notice that the goose doesn't look right. A few more seconds of looking and I was red faced and looking around, hoping no one just saw me spend 5 minutes sneeking up on A BUNCH OF DECOYS!!!!!!!!!

Credentials

2009-11-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, Welcome:
While you were away doing whatever it is you do... I was getting my Press Credentials in order! Now I will have no problem getting into the situations I need to bring you the coolest stories and pics possible. You know me, nothing is off limits!! If it is interesting I will bring it to you post haste!! Besides, who else are you going to turn to when you want truth in the news and not fluff?? That's right, me, right here and right now!

I recently purchased a really big gun that will help get those unreachable photos. A Sigma 150-500mm zoomer!! Now no matter what, the shot will be got!!! OK, terrible grammar but who cares? Great pictures is what we like around here and now we have a new tool to help us achieve just that.

So now you know that you can tune in here everyday for the real thing! Without the Bling!!!

We will keep searching the area for the best stories and best pics to bring you, so visit often and keep up with life here. Les Impressions de Moi. And be sure to visit my photo website http://lesimpressionsdemoi.printroom.com to view and purchase cool stuff!!!