Tag Archives: rural

#22/52: Wild West Hotel, Nebraska

19 Jun

1800's Western Hotel

1800′s Western Hotel

During Pioneer Days in Palisade Nebraska I found this beauty of a hotel. Not sure when it was built, but the locals I talked to thought it was sometime in the 1880′s.  It now houses JD Photography and part of the the Bostock Exhibit photography display of glass prints from the late 19th century.

Hotel Porch circa 1880's

Hotel Porch circa 1880′s

If these walls could talk what would they say about the people who stayed in this hotel? Cowboys, adventures, pioneers, politicians, or even outlaws and rustlers most likely passed through here. Some might of even stayed a while and visited the saloon across the street, which is still standing.

Processed in Lightroom 4, sepia preset with vinnette

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Save On Gas, Use Horse Power

15 Jun

Draft Horses (SOOC)

Draft Horses (SOOC)

A sight you don’t see very often a team of horses mowing the grader ditches. Makes one wonder if the Nebraska state budget is in that dire of straits, or if gas prices have just gone up a little too much. We found these Belgian mares north of Lincoln Nebraska and also saw them four days later, raking the same ditch, but these images came out the best.

I don’t remember their names, but they are full sisters, one a seven year old and the other other eleven.

Team of Belgians Mowing

Team of Belgians Mowing

Edits were done in Lightroom 4 with a decrease in exposure, increase in clarity and opening up shadows on the horses to bring out detail. The sky was still washed out so I used the adjustment brush and decreased the exposure in the sky to get a better balanced image. Voilia! Clouds appeared.

 

Related articles
  • Horses (littlemarichris.wordpress.com)

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#20/52: Nebraska Corn Fields with the Clouds a Brewing

12 Jun

Nebraska Corn fields during the summer

Nebraska Corn fields during the summer

The clouds in Nebraska take on a life of their own and offer a landscape panorama that takes your breath away

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#19/52: Buffalo on the Prairie

1 Jun

Buffalo on the Nebraska Prairie

Buffalo on the Nebraska Prairie (SOOC)

A lone buffalo stands guard between Omaha and Lincoln Nebraska at the Lee Simmons Wildlife park. While he may not be wild, or even real, the buffalo inside the park are real. It is ironic this buffalo stands next to a fence, which to me symbolizes how barbed wire and man civilized the prairie to the point where the only buffalo can only be seen in captivity.

The above shot is straight out of camera shot, a little over exposed. When I adjusted the exposure the scene was just too contrasted for the texture of the bronze buffalo. So I turned him to black and white in Lightroom 4.  This is a reach for me as I LOVE the blue of the sky and high contrast.

I adjusted the clarity in the clouds and reduced the shadows in the grass.

Buffalo in Nebraska

Buffalo in Nebraska

What version do you like best?

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#18/52: Cows in the Sunset

24 May

Evening in the country

Evening in the country with the cows

The grass is belly high, the cow have calves by their side and the sun is setting on the horizon. How I love the Midwest!  Angus and “black baldy” cows are the norm around this part of the country and after “talking” to them a little I got their attention.

Editing notes: Used Lightroom 4 to increase the exposure and increase clarity in the grass and the brush to decrease the exposure in the sky. The last thing I did was use the masking brush and open up the the highlights in the cows, their black coloring was hard to separate individuals.

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#17/52: Holy Family Shrine

22 May

Holy Family Shrine in Gretna Nebraska

Holy Family Shrine in Gretna Nebraska

Holy Family Shrine, Gretna Nebraska

Holy Family Shrine, Gretna Nebraska

The Holy Family Shrine can be seen as people travel on I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln Nebraska, although many do not know what they are seeing. It sits high on a hill and for those who take the time to venture off the beaten path.

It is very peaceful to walk through the gardens and reflect in the chapel.  It is rumored that the Thorncrown Chapel in the Ozarks was the inspiration, but this I do not know for sure.

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Choir is Cool

21 May

Nebraska District Music Contest

Nebraska District Music Contest 2012

Music in our schools is not dead, in fact it’s cool to be in choir at Elmwood-Murdock high school in Nebraska. The choir consists of 50% of the high schools enrollment and they are a source of pride for the school and community. Yes, this is a small school, but normally only those students who have good voices join the choir, which is normall a small percentage of a population.

However, a good choir director can find the inner voice in a willing student and bring out beautiful music. Below is the result in a piece performed at the 2012 Nebraska District Music contest. Enjoy  ”The Awakening” by Joseph M. Martin

Music contests are somewhat formal and below is the same song sung at the school concert. I like the below version better as the students are more emotional. Both versions give me chills, but I love the expression on the faces at the end in response to Mrs. Colbert getting emotional and tearing up.

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#16/52: My Favorite Barn, Edited with Lightroom

30 Apr

Barn against a Cloudy Sky

Barn against a Cloudy Sky

This barn (okay, it’s really a corn crib) is one of my favorite photography subjects, yet this shot is my favorite. With the help of Lightroom, yes I finally took the time and learned Lightroom 4 and I’m in love! This is the first time that I can actually say that this is truly what the barn looked like that day.

From what I understand in reading various photography blogs and sites a camera has difficulty collecting all the dynamic ranges of lights and darks. In simple terms you expose for the sky or your subject. That leaves the other parts of you picture over or under exposed.

The newest version of Lightroom 4 has an amazing capability of pulling out shadows, highlights, whites and blacks without leaving artifacts in the image. This was shot in RAW and I’m very impressed, puts my Photoshop CS2 to shame. The later versions of Photoshop do have more advanced algorithms that achieve the same thing, but I can only compare the programs I use.

I will still keep using Photoshop, Lightroom is only another tool to use and does not have text or graphic design capability. I still love adding drop shadows, borders and creating custom layouts.

Stay tuned for more Lightroom 4 examples, and possibly redo’s of previous photos as a comparision.

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#15/52: Prom Season 2012

23 Apr

This year is my daughters first year at prom. She did what all teenage girls do before prom, searched for her dress (bought it online), had her nails done, her hair done and then had her Mom take way too many pictures before prom.

Elmwood-Murdock does prom a little different than the bigger schools where kids rent limos which takes them to dinner and prom. The school prom committee raises money throughout their high school years and rents coach buses which picks the kids up at the school, where everyone rides together to a dinner, dance, and  then takes them to the after prom party. This years prom was held at Dave and Busters in Omaha.

Students walk out of the school on a red carpet while parents get a chance to take pictures paparazzi style. Really a lot of fun, at least from the Mom perspective. Enjoy the images of the Elmwood-Murdock 2012 Prom.

Red Carpet Walk at Prom 2012

Red Carpet Walk at Prom 2012

Glamorous Hollywood Walk at Prom 2012

Glamorous Hollywood Walk at Prom 2012

Yellow Prom Dress and corsage

My daughters yellow Prom Dress and corsage

Blue Prom Dress with Sequins

Blue Prom Dress with Sequins

Prom Dress Fashion Shoot

Prom Dress Fashion Shoot

By the way, all these images were edited in Lightroom 4 (still in the 30 day trial period) starting with the RAW files. I seriously miscalculated the exposure and almost all the images were over exposed. I am now soooo super impressed with Lightroom capabilities.

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#13/52: Sun’s So Bright, Gotta Wear Shades

12 Apr

Blinding Sun in Nebraska Big Sky Country

Whoever called Nebraska a boring fly over state has never really opened their eyes. I see such spectacular scenery every day driving home from work it takes my  breath away. Made me think of the One Hit Wonder song.  ”Futures So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” by Timbuk 3.

Enjoy this video blast from 1986, back when MTV actually played music videos. Can anyone remember where they were when they heard this song?

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