Photo: 800 Miles

800 Miles

On the highway at night. Just 800 miles to go!

This photo is low quality, but I decided to use it anyway. Anything taken at F1.8 is blurry. It was raining a lot which made the road slick, though that may look like distortion here.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/60, F1.8, 50mm, ISO800, 2008-11-02T18:31:31-05, 20081102-233131rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Stormy Sunset

Stormy Sunset

A sunset near the dump in Orange City, FL. The clouds were quite dark with sunrays peeking through below. I think it looks nice, ominous too. :smile:

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 28-135mm, 1/1600, F3.5, 28mm, ISO100, 2009-08-24T18:16:07-04, 20090824-221607rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Life in the Fast Lane

Life in the Fast Lane

Looking back at a sunset on a busy road from a moving van. The road is Nova Road in Ormond Beach, Florida (could be county or Holly Hill, not sure). The colors really caught my eye. The setting is less than ideal, but it’s the best I could muster as the sunset faded quickly.

I added a lot of contrast and some vignetting. After using curves, I toned down the saturation with the sponge manually in the areas that were too bright to print.

Canon PowerShot SD790 IS, 1/60, F2.8, 6.2mm, ISO160, 2009-07-01T20:33:10-04, 20090702-003310rxt

Location: Nova Rd. and Hand Ave., Ormond Beach, FL  32174

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Poem: The Night

Out of the darkness and into the light
The past is distant and the horizon bright
But in the fog of the night, there is a warning
Be fast and unseen, for danger is queen

The shadows on the wall seem so tall
The evils of the world take over all
But in the day they cringe in seclusion
Seems they are nothing but an illusion

Simplicity is an over-valued trait
Most systems are neither simple nor elegant
The world is too complex for perfection
There are just too many inflections

Colors and light dance in the night
Mystery abounds in the shadowy realm
But in the day there is no bite
Everything is plain and clear in the light

It’s difficult to preach from experience
More easy is it to read from a script
But to a new conscript, experience is nigh
The script becomes a blip, and the preacher high

At the helm of darkness, a solemn-eyed misfit
Yearns for acceptance among his criminal peers
But only in their destruction can he see
How much he fears his very own tears

Peace without justice is a prison worse than all
Tyrants remain and stonewalling reigns
But with justice comes freedom higher than law
Anarchy was never a good system, after all

Speak with ease through danger and you shall see
Most of life’s dangers will merely appease
The threat is real for eyes unseen
But known and identified, it isn’t mean

Kindness and gratitude are enviable traits
But mired in tactics, they’re filled with hate
A gift given, but left unseen
Should not be identified, or placed as a lean

It is without fanfare, that you should speak
For the fall of the mighty and the rise of the meek
The meek are not weak, they’re smarter than all
They hide no skeletons, nor run from creaks

A ballad in the night sings loud and calls
Forces of darkness seek only believers
Burn them with hatred and tragedy you’ll find
But accept them as one and blessings you’ll mind

Photo: Road into the Night

Road into the Night

Sunset on the highway at dusk. Into the dark clouds…

The cloud formations caught my eye. There are dark clouds across the whole sky, with sunshine underneath. This was right near dusk, so I had to hold the camera still with a 1/30 second shutter speed at ISO400.

For editing, I added some contrast, darkened the corners, and toned down the clouds that were over-saturated from adding contrast in an RGB colorspace. This one is fairly grainy.

Leave me some comments, loyal readers / viewers. :grin:

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 28-135mm, 1/30, F4, 47mm, ISO400, 2008-11-14T17:47:49-05, 20081114-224749rxt1

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: White Christmas

White Christmas

Christmas is here early! The trees are frosted with ice.

Actually, this is Daytona Beach, Florida, where it doesn’t get cold enough to frost the trees over. I saw this tree in the parking lot at the grocery store; the stark contrast with the background caught my eye. There was a streetlight right near it.

I didn’t have a tripod with me, so I had to hold the camera. The first thing I tried was setting the camera on the ground pointing upward, but I couldn’t get the right composition. My 28-135mm lens only goes down to F3.5, and I didn’t want to go above ISO800 to avoid too much grain, so I held the camera by hand pointing upward, really still, and fired off ten shots. This was the best one. It came out clear even though I had to use a 1/3 second shutter speed due to the darkness. The image stabilization gyroscopes in the lens helped.

Most of the leaves have fallen off this tree. Winter must be here!

Merry Christmas everyone. It’s just 34 days away.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 28-135mm, 1/3, F3.5, 28mm, ISO800, 2008-11-19T18:04:58-05, 20081119-230458rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Sublime Sunset

Sublime Sunset

My last work with the Sigma 105mm macro lens. This is a closeup of backlit clouds against a cotton candy sunset. The colors are my favorite part of this; the lens really brings them out.

I used to think sunsets were only good as panoramas, but it’s just as interesting to focus on a small piece of the sky.

Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma EF 105mm 1:2.8, 1/200, F3.2, 105mm, ISO200, 2008-09-04T19:48:58-04, 20080904-234858rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Light the Way

Light the Way

A car with yellow headlights illuminates the road on a dark, cloudy evening.

This car had lights that were unusually colored. I bet they had a yellow filter over them, but they looked brighter than normal too.

For editing, I decided to go with really warm colors, much more so than the actual scene. It gives a better mood than bluish tones. Also, I dodged the ground to make it look like the headlights are brighter, while adding contrast and burning the corners to make the scene more eye-catching. Because I shot this at ISO400, I brought out a good bit of grain with the editing.

I borrowed a Sigma 105mm lens from a friend to take this and other photos, which I recently returned. It was a lot of fun to play with. I might have to buy my own if I can save up $400. It’s hard, being unemployed and all, but it’s so worth it. :cool:

Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma EF 105mm 1:2.8, 1/160, F2.8, 105mm, ISO400, 2008-09-04T19:41:01-04, 20080904-234101rxt

Location: Golf Ave., Ormond Beach, FL  32174

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Fiery Hearts

Fiery Hearts

I had this idea of drawing a heart with a laser pointer. I set the camera up on a tripod, set the timer to ten seconds, and then drew this with the laser in the 3.2 seconds the picture was exposed.

Actually, it wasn’t easy like that. It took me 50 tries to get right. Have you ever tried to draw a heart on the wall with a laser pointer? I did two of them, and getting them to look anything like hearts, timed to 3.2 seconds, is quite a feat itself. This was the best I could do. I like the hearts—they look jagged, which is good because hearts aren’t perfect, nor is love. Perfection just doesn’t exist, and life would be boring if it did. The only perfect state is continuous personal growth; you can’t become perfect and then stagnate, wallowing in your perfection.

I drew the hearts on a window because the reflections on the glass turn up much brighter in the camera. In Photoshop, I brightened the laser trails and heart outline to make it more distinctive, while adding contrast and darkness to the surroundings. This was at ISO1600, so the end result is grainy and riddled with artifacts, but spirited nonetheless.

When your hearts meet, let them have fire!

Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma EF 105mm 1:2.8, 3.2″, F2.8, 105mm, ISO1600, 2008-09-06T02:26:48-04, 20080906-062648rxt

Location: Thripp Residence, Ormond Beach, FL  32174-7227

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Twilight Sundown

Twilight Sundown

I saw this sunset out the window on the Granada bridge over the Halifax river in Ormond Beach. I was a passenger in the car, so I was able to snap this out the window. It was quite dark, almost night. I had to go all the way up to ISO1600 and all the way down to F1.6 to get a 1/60 shutter speed, so the full size version is quite grainy, but it seems artful.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/60, F1.6, 50mm, ISO1600, 2008-08-15T20:20:47-04, 20080816-002047rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.