Capturing Spectrum

Capturing Spectrum
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

There are some things about photogrpahy that we never notice until we view an image large in post processing. Something we weren't expecting to capture that makes the photo more appealling. This is one of the fountains found at the St. Louis Zoo. What I noticed when I went to process it, was that I captured the spectrum from the sun on the mist in front of the fountain. It was a nice addition to the shot and ultimately made me enjoy the shot even more. Hope you all enjoy it too! :)

Winter Waterfall

Winter Waterfall
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Another shot from the frozen waterfall at Creve Coeur Park. I was able to get down in it a bit without slipping and killing myself. LoL. I'm really going to love this UWA lens. Hopefully going to get out today to do some more test shooting. Weather permitting of course. :) Enjoy!

Abrams Falls Flare

Abrams Falls Flare
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

So I've always wanted to share this shot because I really like it, but at the same time I kind of don't. I wish the color was perfect and the sun flare wasn't changing the tones in the shot. But at the same time, as I've spent time debating whether or not to post this one, I've grown to kind of like it. It's just a spur of the moment shot and I just happened to capture the flare that way. It ended turning out ok I suppose. Let me know what you all think about it. Extreme Sun Flare over Abrams Falls bad? or good? Enjoy!

Frozen Wide Angle Waterfall

Frozen Wide Angle Waterfall
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

So here is the same waterfall from Creve Coeur Park that I shared with you guys earlier in the summer. Christmas eve we got a good four inches of snow and then among our running around on Christmas day, we stopped by to shoot it. Jenea with her new Nikon D3100 I got her for Christmas, and my new Sigma 10-20mm UWA. I can already tell that I am going to love this lens and the angles it gets when I get down low. It's wonderfully sharp and I have absolutely no complaints so far. :) Enjoy!

Sigma UWA

Sigma UWA
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is my Christmas present that I got this year. A Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 ultra wide angle lens. I've had a bit of a chance to get some test shots with it, but have to finish up processing them so I will probably have one up tomorrow hopefully. Can't wait to use this one in WDW in Febuary. Enjoy! :)

An Appropriate Shot

An Appropriate Shot
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Another Merry Christmas Greeting from your bud Dishippy! I thought this shot would be very appropriate for Christmas day for a couple of reasons. One, it's an ornament, duh. Obvious I know. :) Two, it's an ornament my mom got at the Christmas store in Downtown Disney on our last trip in 2008. And three, and this is the best one, on Christmas day it will be exactly two months until we leave for our next trip to the World on Febuary 25! Finally! I cannot wait to unleash my camera and sharpen my skills at WDW! Again, I hope all of you and your families have a great and safe holiday. Merry Christmas!

Wishing A Merry Christmas

Wishing A Merry Christmas
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

My girlfriend and I were at my mom and dad's house for a family Christmas party over this past weekend. Amidts the chaos of 30 or 40 of our closest relatives I was able to get a couple shots of my mom's beautiful Christmas tree and some of her Disney ornaments. She always gets a few from the Christmas stores in WDW when we are down. And it seems that every time I post a shot that I took with my 50mm, I end up saying how much I love my 50mm. :) And I love that 50mm! LoL But I do want to extend a thanks to all of you that I've become friends with over the past year. I've really grown as a photographer from watching and talking with a lot of you. Thanks again and I hope you and yours all have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy!

I See You Too

I See You Too
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

For whatever reason, whenever I go shooting at the zoo, I always seem to have some of my best luck inside the Reptile House. Which is weird because I am slightly affraid of snakes, but love the photograph them. This guy was moving around his enclosure when he saw me trying to get a shot of him and he turned almost all the way around almost to say, "yeah, I see you too!" Enjoy!

Arch Against the Clouds

Arch Against the Clouds
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

When I was shooting the arch from this spot, I really couldn't help but get excited about being able to sick that UWA lens on the arch after Christmas. I really enjoyed how the clouds created some different contrast. Enjoy!

Downtown STL

Downtown STL
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

A shot of downtown St. Louis taken from udnerneath the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It was a chilly day that day and it was quite windy on the Arch grounds so the shooting was breath. Even though it was cloudy that day, it seemed to add good contrast to the shots. Enjoy!

The Serene Abrams Falls

The Serene Abrams Falls
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Here's another shot from Abrams Falls which is in the Cades Cove area of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This was definitely the most serene part of our trip. It didn't even feel that we had hiked 2.5 miles to get there. The amount of water coming over the falls every second was really pumping out some negative ions making for very good feelings in the waterfalls basin. Enjoy!

Mosaic Bokeh

Mosaic Bokeh
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is from a small mosaic table and bench set that can be found at Laumeier Sculpture Park. I spent quite a bit of time enjoying these pieces because of all the different colors that can be found. This of course is one of the benches taken with my 50mm f/1.8. Enjoy!

Wide Open Integra

Wide Open Integra
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Here's a little fun that I was having shooting with my 50mm 1.8 a while back. This is a shot of the back end of my 1999 Acura Integra. I was going for as much bokeh as I could accomplish. Enjoy!

Clingman's Dome Panoramic

Clingman's Dome Panoramic
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

I know that this isn't the best pano I've done, but I wanted to share the view with you all anyway. This is from the lookout tower atop Clingman's Dome in Smoky Mountain National Park. It is the highest point in the smokies and was a great view. The half mile incredibly steep trail up the hill to the lookout was easily the hardest walk we did all trip long. But this view was amazing and worth it. I took four shots facing away from the sun to see as far as possible. We were at just over 6,600 feet and it was awesome! I made HDR's of each single RAW file then put together my panoramic to try and bring out the details and a bit more distance. Enjoy!

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Movement in the River

Movement in the River
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Yet another shot from in the river at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Something about the movement of water always interested me and then I got my SLR and I can't stay away from it. Those negative ions must attract me and my camera. :) Enjoy!

Fountain and Flowers

Fountain and Flowers
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is the small fountain inside the temperate house at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I actually just held my camera down at an angle to get this shot as I couldn't be standing in a flower bed. :) Enjoy!

Flowers and Bokeh

Flowers and Bokeh
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

So switching gears out of the Cheekwood series, but not too fast. There is still some Chihuly in this shot, this was from a day towards the end of the summer where we went out shooting at Missouri Botanical Gardens. I really liked these white flowers and the Chihuly arch was in the distance and I was able to line this up and widen my f/stop. Enjoy!

Persian Atrium

Persian Atrium
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

A view of one of the entire atrium windows with the persian lilies. This was the side in the shade, while the window which was behind me while shooting this had sun shining through. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Sun on the Hill

Sun on the Hill
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is a bit of a wider angle on the sun sculpture. I wanted to include the mansion at the top of the hill as well. The vibrant colors in the pieces really contrast the landscape and background. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Colorful Cattails

Colorful Cattails
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Another shot of the red cattails, but a little closer to a group of them. I really enjoyed the colors that were in these pieces. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Detail in Fiori

Detail in Fiori
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is the next group of pieces in the same reflection pool. I wanted to get tighter on these pieces to capture the detail and variation in the individual pieces. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Fiori Reflection

Fiori Reflection
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is a close up of some of the fiori pieces in the reflection pool at Cheekwood. It's my girlfriends favorite shot out of the bunch because it's hard to tell where the piece stops and the reflections begin. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Float and Shadows

Float and Shadows
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

The shadows the were cast by the trees and the early sun really did wonders on the japanese garden and the glass floats that could be found there. Enjoy!

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Sweeping View of the Japanese Garden

Sweeping View of the Japanese Garden
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Here's another shot of the japanese garden at Cheekwood with the Chihuly moon sculpture and the floats in the zen garden. I wanted to get another angle that was a bit wider and that showed the contrast these pieces created against the surrounding landscape. Enjoy!

Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/22
Shutter Speed: 1/10
ISO: 100
Auto Bracket: +2 0 –2

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Wide Open Macchia

Wide Open Macchia
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

A shot of the Macchia in the lobby of Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. These Chihuly pieces were so great and color variation from piece to piece really caught my eye. With this one, I wanted to play with some wide open stuff. Let me know what you think! :) Enjoy!

Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/8
ISO: 100
Auto Bracket: +2 0 –2

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Pink Fiori

Pink Fiori
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

Here are those pink fiori pieces from yesterdays shot. I really enjoyed how the sky reflected off of them. Enjoy!

Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/20
Shutter Speed: 1/20
ISO: 100
Auto Bracket: +2 0 –2

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Sunlit Blues

Sunlit Blues
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

These blue spear reed looking things were sticking in a fountain just next to the purple herons and some other pink pieces which you can see in the background. The sunlight was coming through the trees and exploding these pieces with color and really changing their look with the changing light. These glass pieces in this installation and at all the other outdoor Chihuly exhibition I've seen belong outside where they can let the sun do it's magic. Enjoy!

Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/5.3
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 100
Auto Bracket: +2 0 –2

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly

Shaded Purple Herons

Shaded Purple Herons
Originally uploaded by DisHippy

This is a group of purple herons under a tree in the shade. They were almost metallic looking but the variety of the color scheme is what I really enjoyed about these pieces. Enjoy!

Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/20
Shutter Speed: 0.5 seconds
ISO: 100
Auto Bracket: +2 0 –2

About the series
This series of shots were taken on 10-22-2010 at Cheekwood Botanical Garden. Dale Chihuly, world renowned glass artist, was having a garden exhibition where he installs pieces into the gardens to enhance the appeal of both the gardens and his work. This is the fifth Chihuly exhibition that I've gone to and the fourth that I've been able to shoot. I really enjoy the mixture of the glass and the gardens, and it makes for great photo opportunities.

"I love to juxtapose the manmade and the natural to sort of make people wonder, is it manmade or did it come from nature? That's a very important part of my work."
Dale Chihuly