3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

Nebraska

Day 101/365: Cabin on The Nebraska Prairie

by

Day 101: Cabin on the Lake
Day 101: Cabin on the Lake

I love this little cabin on the farm pond. I could sit out here, fish, soak in the sun, relax, and just escape.  This past week was encompassed several days of chasing geese  hoping for the perfect nature shot of Canada and Snow geese circling and gathering in mass.  I didn’t get my perfect wildlife shot, but I think this picture is worth the effort.

If you look in the sky you can part of the large gathering of geese, they landed on the other side of the hill, away from any accessible road. I like landscape photography, unlike animals and small children they don’t move.

Some of my best shots have been landscape images, including my recent Framed Cornfields image and the Great Goose Chase. If you want to view some video make sure to read my Day 100 entry. I have a special treat for you there.

Day 100/365: The Great Goose Chase

by

Canadians and Snow Geese in Nebraska
Canada and Snow Geese in Nebraska

You know spring is close when the Canada and Snow geese start heading back north.  Nebraska is in a migratory flight path for many species of birds, including geese, who use the corn and wheat fields as feeding and resting grounds. So on my 100th day I bring you the great Nebraska goose migration.

This year, because of my 365 project, I had a purpose for driving around chasing after thousands of geese and getting a photo of this spectacular site.  Thousands of geese fly over and then start to gather and spiral as they descend in what actually looks like an organized landing pattern. They are very skittish and typically chose sections of land that are difficult to gain access from the gravel roads.

Trying to walk out and sneak up on them is not easy. Goose hunters normally set decoys and sit in blinds waiting for hours. I don’t have that much patience, and you never know where they are going to land. So you watch the skies and chase the clouds of birds in the air. Many of my photographs the past couple of days were part of my goose chase.

The geese  don’t stay long in one spot, some flocks will stop and rest and others will be taking off and continue heading north. In less than a week hundreds of thousands, if not millions of geese will fly over.

Below is a video a friend across the road from her house at a neighboring pond.  Turn up the volume to enjoy the sounds of nature.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DENynSh9wns]

Day 99/365: Cornfield in Nebraska

by

I went chasing migrating geese today and snapped this framed view of the cornfield. Played with various affects in Photoshop. Enjoy!

Photoshop CS2 Shadows and Highlights
Photoshop Shadows and Highlights (fewer shadows)
Plug in Action from Prairie Woman "Sunshine"
Prairie Woman Action "Black and White Beauty" w/opacity to background
SOOC Original

Day 91/365: Zebra Stripes

by

Day 91: Zebra Clutch wallet at Coop de Ville

Yes, I bought it. I guess every three years I need a new wallet. I’m drawn to classic style with a bit of flair. Black and white will go with everything, any color purse, and I can carry it by itself. Ok, you can’t see the whole wallet, but just the fabric the watch is sitting on, but trust me it’s a soft faux suede with leather like corners and silver buttons. I LOVE how it feels.

The watch I liked too, but today it just had to be an accent piece in my photograph. This is a teaser for the Coop de Ville series of pictures which will come later, don’t forget to subscribe at the bottom of the page to an email update, or click on the WordPress link at the top (if you’re signed in of course) There’s also the RSS feed, if that’s what you prefer.

Photoshop notes: I cropped and straightened the photo slightly, then added the standard layer actions/ My Finepix S1500 camera does a poor job in artificial light, I should try using the white balance more often or the lighting option and see if that improves things, but I often forget when I ‘m in a hurry. So I adjusted the color (decreased the yellow and green), desaturated and sharpened the embellishments. The original SOOC (straight out of camera) is below.

SOOC for comparision

Day 90/365: Bangles at Coop deVille

by

Bangle jewelry bracelet
Day 90-: Bangle bracelet,

This week I went shopping at one of my favorite stores, Coop DeVille & Feathers, in Louisville Nebraska. Both stores are a woman’s shopping heaven. Everything from funky jewelry, purses, whimsical gifts, and decorating doodads made out of the most unique items. Everything is displayed in the most creative fashion the whole place is a feast for the eyes in an array of color.

These bangle bracelets  is just of one of my favorite pictures, love the way I captured the sparkle and shine, but I took so many that I’m going to break the rule of the 365 project and post pictures from the same day in this series. Hey, it’s my project, so I can make the rules.  Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.  In the meantime you can visit the Coop de Ville & Feathers Facebook page.

Photoshop Notes: Cropped, added standard action layers, added more sharpness to the rhinestones, adjusted layers brought the right marker to the edge of the histogram,adjusted the color to get the original pink color of the bracelet. The original image is  below.

SOOC (straight out of camera)
Related articles