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Blogging Chester County Downingtown HDR Photo Journal Photography Projects Sunsets Tone Mapping

Sunsets – Week 2

It is very early in the morning, and I have finally finished my last edits and touch-ups of Week 2 of my sunset series taken that Shamona Creek elementary school.

It is been a couple of weeks since the last time I posted, mainly because the weather has been rather dry, and there have been very few clouds wandering the skies.

So without further ado, I offer up Days 8 through 14 of my continued series of sunsets:

Day 08 - 120320 sunset Shamona Creek es 022 efex
Day 08 – 120320 sunset Shamona Creek es 022 efex

What I find very spectacular about this particular photo is I was able to capture the crepuscular rays, which seems to be a theme for this week’s images!

Day 09 - 120409 sunset Shamona Creek es Panoramic 02
Day 09 – 120409 sunset Shamona Creek es Panoramic 02

The panoramic above, is actually a combination of four images that I took very quickly so that I did not have to worry about the cloud movement.

It also offers up a good overview of the location that I have been shooting from for the past two weeks.

Day 10 - 120412 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 03
Day 10 – 120412 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 03

This image captures the sunset fire of the back-lit weeds, growing amidst the cornfield, and also underscores my looking beyond the general sunsets for more elements within my images.

Day 11 - 120417 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 10 efex
Day 11 – 120417 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 10 efex

This is another two shot capture also shows some more crepuscular rays.

Day 12 - 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 02
Day 12 – 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 02

Technically, I should not be including this within my series, only because it was not taken in the same location as the rest of the collection, but it was taken on my way to the hillside where I have been doing my shooting.

The hardest part about this shot, was trying to figure out a way to accentuate the backlit dandelion seed heads, without losing the overall feel due to the brilliance of the setting sun.

Day 12 - 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 06
Day 12 – 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 06

In the shot you can see the newly installed garden planters!

Day 12 - 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 07
Day 12 – 120420 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 07

Again the onslaught of the ever-present dandelion seed heads, which all kids love to pick and blow off the seeds, to the horror of every person that needs to maintain a lawn.

One of these days, I’m going to collect the required amount of dandelions and finally try to make some wine out of them!

Day 13 - 20120501 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 33
Day 13 – 20120501 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 33

There is very definitely turbulence in the air as you look at this image, along with more crepuscular rays.

I also struggled during processing not to overly emphasize the colors that are inherent when dealing with high dynamic range (HDR) images.

Day 14 - 20120512 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 46
Day 14 – 20120512 sunset Shamona Creek es hdr 46

The final image of this week, goes back to the backlit weeds during the early evening sunset.

Every day I continue to look West as dusk approaches to see if it will be another chance to capture more images from the Shamona Creek elementary school hillside that I have spent so much time at during the past couple of months.

I hope you enjoyed my images from Week 2, and you will check back soon to see what I have added for Week 3!
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astronomy CCPaPhoto Chester County Downingtown Facebook Long Exposure Marsh Creek State Park Photo Journal Photography Science space Weather

No Super Moon – Still had a good time!

120505 Super Moon 007
120505 Super Moon 007

Last Thursday, May 3rd, Nina Downing Cazille posted on the Chester County PA Photography Facebook page, a Yahoo! News story, that suggested on Saturday night, that not only was the Super Moon going to be visible, possibly Saturn and maybe a dusting from Halley’s comet!

There was some spirited discussion on who might attend, and much speculation about the weather, since much of the past week or so, has been very cloudy and rainy.

When I woke up on Saturday morning, and looked out the window, only to find the skies still thickly clouded.

This was not good.

With coffee in hand, I went to the Chester County PA Photography page, and started a new thread, trying to finalize the details for our rather impromptu meet-up, later in the night.

Throughout the day, I kept looking at the sky, and try to figure out which way the clouds were moving.

In the mid-afternoon, I took both my kids down to East Ward elementary school, to burn off some energy in preparation for the evening, and when we started to leave, I was beginning to see increasingly larger sections of blue sky, which was very encouraging for a night of photographing the Super Moon.

By the time dinner had been prepared and consumed, the cloudy skies had returned.

Just before I left, I quickly checked the radar for clouds, and the hourly animation strongly suggested that there were big clear pockets of clear sky, coming down from the north, and would be over us within an hour or so.

Using Creek Road (Rt. 282), I got to the boating side of Marsh Creek State Park, within 20 minutes, and was able to find easy parking because many people were already packing up and leaving for the night.

After parking, I started to get my gear, but hesitated from getting it all out, because I still feared that no one was going to show up.

When I reached the predetermined meeting point, I was very delighted and relieved to see several other people standing there with their cameras!

  • Nina Downing Cazille
  • Shannon Chambers McMahon
  • Tony Babcock
  • Elaine Erwin-Babcock
  • I know I am missing some folks!

It was very nice to know that I am not the only crazy one!

After the various introductions, I headed back to my car, and grabbed my gear, heading back to the group to setup for the rest of the evening.

As the night wore one, we talked about various topic, and exchanged various stories about photography, family and life.

We also tried to identify which towns were glowing against the sky line, as well as experimenting with flashes and flash-lights.

At 23:35, when perigee finally arrived, the clouds were still as thick as when we started, but it did seem a little brighter, which could also have been from us standing in the dark for the past three and half hours.

It was not long after, that we packed up our gear, said our good byes and headed home. In reading the subsequent posts on the Facebook page, it seems that everyone had a good time!

– Andrew
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Blogging Chester County Downingtown HDR Photo Journal Photography Projects Sunsets Tone Mapping

Sunsets – Week 1

As many parents know, once two siblings get together after along day, their combined energy level seems to quadruple if not more.

So with the lengthening of the days, I started to take the kids out for a late afternoon energy release at Shamona Creek Elementary here in Downingtown.

We have been here many time before, but not at sunset…

So started a personal project of trying to capture 30 days of sunsets!

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 1
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 1

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 2
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 2

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 3
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 3

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 4
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 4

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 5
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 5

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 6
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 6

 

Sunsets (Chester County) - Day 7
Sunsets (Chester County) – Day 7

These images represent just a few of the photographs that I have taken during the early phase of this project, and more can be found over on Flickr.

Let me a comment, and let me know what you think.

– Andrew
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Blogging Chester County Downingtown Events Photo Journal Photography

Mayor Josh Maxwell at Victory Brewing

Since talking and working out the details on the image he selected for his Facebook page, Mayor Josh Maxwell has announced that he is running for State Representative seat in Harrisburg.

Mayor Josh Maxwell at the Victory Brewing Company Fundraiser 01

When it was announced he was having a fundraiser at the Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, I decided to bring my camera and go down to listen to what he had to say during his first fund-raiser.

Hope you enjoy!

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Announcements Blogging Chester County Downingtown Events Facebook

Mayor Josh Maxwell’s Facebook page

Wow!

I was a little surprised when I saw my picture, as the mayor’s main banner image on his Facebook page.

Mayor Josh Maxwell - Facebook page
Mayor Josh Maxwell – Facebook page

Needless to say I’m very honored with his choice of my image for his Facebook page.

Thank you Mayor Josh Maxwell!

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