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Well a week of golf prison has begun. Actually they are great to you here in Augusta, nice southern charm. They feed you well, though my Weight Watchers points are pretty restrictive, but hey I’m not starving. The facilities are very nice and the entire event is extremely well organized.
Just wanted you guys to see what it’s like here. Above, the massive press center that will soon be filled with hundreds of press members from around the world, and all the major U.S. news agencies and magazines. First two shots below are the cafeteria, free for the press, and below that our humble pie shaped office space for Nikon’s loan and repair facility, with Mike Anskat my friend and our repair technician for this event. We get to see a number of old friends during the Masters, many of whom I only get to see and visit with once a year.

God is so good to give us friends that become our family when we are on the road away from our own families. Lots of great time is spent catching up and talking about photography, the latest gear, and of course our families back home.

Thank you father for your gracious provisions.

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: D7000, 10.5 Fisheye lens and 14-24 AFS f 2.8 for the office shot. Fisheye shots corrected for distortion in Photoshop CS5.

Yesterday I drove on into the Masters from Lakeland and did a little shooting on the way in. I love early morning light and driving through any rural are of America you see all kinds of neat things in that kind of light. I was passing by a pond and then caught the reflection of the trees and and had to go back and shoot it. Just a little further down the road a second pond with a little wooden dock offered up another opportunity to frame an image. Both images were perfect for using Nik’s Color Efex PR 3.0 filters Glamour Glow, I’m starting to really love that filter and finding lots of images it really enhances.

How about extraction? I get a lot of comments about that technique so how about a little lesson?
Extraction is nothing more than pulling the more interesting details out of the overall scene. The examples below are of a wooden cross tie wall I saw driving into the outskirts of Augusta, it was painted a wild color and after making the initial image below, I closed in for an interesting pattern.

A few minutes later while sitting in my FJ at the car wash I saw some neat patterns of beading water on the windshield so I made a few shots. One (below) had a interesting pattern as just a small part of the frame, so I cropped it out, (the advantage of the 16 mega pixels in the D7000!)

After cropping out the pattern I liked, I then used the Nik Silver Efex 3.0 filter called Pin Hole camera and got the result below. Pretty cool, don’t you think??!!

The point is that we are surrounded but really cool things to photograph, just open your eyes and your mind and start seeing, instead of observing……

Speaking of seeing, it’s clear to me that much of the world is lost. They really can’t see the reality of what is happening around them. I had an experience last week that clearly shows what the result is, of this lost world we live in. Over last weekend I was at a beach walking along with my camera over my shoulder. A Hispanic family, (grandmother, grandfather and two little grand daughters), were loading up their vehicle to leave. One of the little girls was really cute and was wearing very large, adult size, bright white sunglasses. She looked so cute, and she looked up to me and said “Hi”. I stopped and talked to her and her grandmother. Then I asked may I take your picture? She said no rather shyly, which I thought might me a maybe, so I asked again, still with the grandmother standing right there. The little girl said no again with much less conviction.
I thought I might be closing in on her agreeing, just then the grandfather came around the car and in a rather stern voice said, “she said no.” Realizing what he was thinking, I said sure and went on my way. The point is we live in a world with so much evil that many people feel they must assume that everyone is up to no good. I’m certainly not a danger to small children, I have six grandchildren and happen to love children. The point is not whether or not I’m a danger, but that enough evil people live in our world that we have all had to become much more careful.

This is the problem with a world of sin where people say if it doesn’t harm anyone it’s none of your business, the issue is, evil does harm everyone. When we get to where we can’t trust each other or have to be suspicious of everyone, evil is winning. What is the answer? For us personally it is to embrace God, accept Jesus, and be changed, rejecting evil in our own lives. For the the world as a whole, I’m afraid many will never seek that transformation, and so, in fact the world will be filled with evil. So, I don’t blame the grandfather, he was doing what he should do, and watch over his little ones, I would have probably done the same thing if I had been in his position, it’s just a shame that all intentions have to be questioned.

The longer I walk with Him, the more I come to despise the evil in the world myself, and can see how it has distorted our relationships. I won’t stop being out going, and friendly, and trying to share God’s love, but I know that not everyone will be open to it. That’s the world today…….

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: All images D7000 and 24-120 AFS VR. I think it is becoming obvious that as every day system I’m really loving this camera and lens combination.

After the storm and the clean up I was able to get down to business to shoot some planes. I didn’t get incredible light like I’ve had in the past, but did the best I could under the circumstances. Hope you enjoy the take. This is a great place to shoot but the planes are so stacked you have to shoot a lot of low angle shots to eliminate the backgrounds. I tried to do some extractions as well to shoot the close in details. God is so good, it seems impossible that I could get paid to have so much fun! Enjoy…….

the pilgrim

Top, Electra 18, above, side guns on a B-25, directly above, Corsair with wings folded. Below,
John Leenhouts, Stearman, below that, Nose Art, B-25. Bottom, B&W version of lead image.

*Photo Note: D7000, 24-120 AFS VR f4 and 12-24 AFS f4. Hand held VR.

Below, P-51 Mustang.

I went to the After Party for Photoshop World Wednesday night and got a chance to see Kelby’s band play again, I’m always amazed at how talented they are. Before the evening was over they invited my boss, brother, and friend Scott Diussa on stage to play with them, actually more of a series of solo performances. When you see Scott tear into a song, on his guitar, you can see first hand what years and years of practice produces. Scott is a really great guitarist. While I confess to not knowing a lot about the genre’ of music he plays, I was engrossed in both his talent and the sheer joy he has playing. It was like seeing, in musical terms, how you feel out with your camera when you’re really in the zone and everything is hitting spot on.

So I put my newly learned concert photography skill set, ( still very new, and under construction ), to work. Enjoy the fun they were having. Life is short; work hard, play hard, and serve Him with all you have! Don’t hold back, He didn’t……..

Whatever you do, do it with all your
heart, and soul. Thank you my brother
for a great evening and lots of smiles….

the pilgrim

*Photo Note: All images hand held
withe VR on. D7000, 24-120 AFS
VR. All shot at F4 – ISO 6400.

Shot live at the Photoshop World After
Party at B.B. Kings in Orlando, Florida.

See, I cut his foot off, I know better than that!!!