Monday, 2008 · Popularity: 43% · sports pics
Auburn University football practice is in full swing now and although the second practice on Thursday was rained out, Friday’s practice looked good from the sidelines, and brought many onlookers and media.
As I understand it from the OA News and from the Auburn Tigers CSTV the scrimmage on Saturday went well with about 100 plays being executed. The play was closed to the public and media outside of Auburn relations. These four shots above were taken from the end zone of the secondary practice fields on Friday [full gallery here].
Auburn’s next two-a-day is on Monday with the later practice at 5:45pm, it has been a nice overcast day for football, nice for this time of year.
Monday, 2008 · Popularity: 48% · family, photo shoot
It took a while to edit the images but I have completed the upload for the wedding photos from the Bryan and Sara Fillmer wedding. All in all there were about 4,000 photos, which I edited to 4 galleries and about 300 final images, with one additional gallery that includes my picks.
Below are some of my personal favorites from the wedding, if you want the short version of the wedding, you can click on the gallery called photographer’s picks, which is about 20 of my favorites and is more of what is shown below. You can view each gallery individually (best viewed in the slideshow format link in the upper right corner) from the links below.
Wedding Gallery and Quick Picks
To view more images from the gallery above, just click on photographer’s picks. To view the other galleries you can click on the links below. Be sure to click on the slideshow format to view all images in a larger, continuous manner.
You can also just go to my main photo gallery, Auburn Images, and click on weddings, then click on the appropriate links.
Friday, 2008 · Popularity: 47% · journal, sports
Today I went to check out another Auburn football practice, the first two-a-day this year with three more to go. For those who don’t live in the SEC Conference or know anything about football in the state of Alabama, this pretty much starts the craziest time of the year, at least in Auburn.
Football is king in Alabama, and when you happen to live in the city of Auburn, even football practice gets big attention. The parking lot was full at the practice field in Auburn and I managed to walk up, take a few shots, and then the sky just opened up. It hasn’t rained consistently here in almost two years, and today, it poured. I couldn’t even get in the car fast enough to get the 200 football players sprinting for the locker room.
And Then There Was Rain
By the time I got in the car and through the traffic jam that ensued, there were only a few poor souls left chasing down the yard markers and flying debri, but I was there as well.
I will try again on Friday. I did manage to get these shots and a few others (see practice gallery) since the rain happened to be blowing away from the window of my car. I love the guy in the truck, content with the fact that he is soaked, no doubt glad to just be sitting.
There is no two-a-day on Friday as they are going to do a full scrimmage on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium (closed to all public and press). I think I read a report that said they wanted to take about 100 snaps on Saturday, but Friday they should be in full pads at 9:30am, hopefully with no rain.
Thursday, 2008 · Popularity: 46% · image of the day
Monday, 2008 · Popularity: 62% · journal
This past weekend I was in 4 different major airports, ATL, DFW (was supposed to be ORD), DEN, and MIA. I decided early on that I was going to do a shoot of each airport, as viewed by me, through a 50mm lens, and this is it. This is part 1 of part 3. Our flight was so delayed leaving ATL that I did not shoot one image in DFW, but I have been in that airport so many times it didn’t really bother me that I missed it.
All images in each part were shot with a Nikon D700 (in full frame FX mode), hand held, with a 50mm Nikkor f/1.4 lens. Comments, suggestions, critique, or criticism are all welcome. These are shown in the order they were taken.
To see the larger sizes all at once just click on the first image to open the light box gallery and you can scroll through the larger sizes that way. You can also see the largest sizes (and a few bonus shots) in the Auburn Images Photography gallery (ATL in 50mm).
Atlanta Airport As Seen at 50mm
To me, each image tells a story. I could discuss each one below the image but each person’s story is different. One of my favorites here is the guy waiting at the gate.
I think this is mostly because he is on the phone with a bluetooth device and right behind him is a pre-paid phone dispenser. While at the gate frustrated passengers discuss the finer points of air travel with the gate agent, he is happy with just going through the menus on his phone. Almost a peaceful way about him since he isn’t involved in the line at the gate.
Wednesday, 2008 · Popularity: 58% · image of the day
We have been in a drought for about two years now. Just over the last few weeks we have finally started to get back those 90% humidity days with afternoon thunderstorms. Finally, the grass, trees, plants, and everything else that needs water is getting a small break.
Taken on Monday night as a storm blew through. It was so nice to see a few storms roll through here in the last few weeks. It has been so long since we have had rain here in the lower south, it is a very welcome sight. It also gives me a great chance to practice my lightning photography.
Monday, 2008 · Popularity: 79% · image of the day, journal
We had a nice weekend of hot weather, but it finally started raining. We have been in such a drought that any rain at all is a welcome site. After the rain cleared out our unknown bulb started blooming, rapidly. We were given this and told it was a “4th of July plant” and it started looking very star trek like before the blooms opened.
Cahaba or Shoals Spider Lily
Once the blooms opened we could see that it was indeed what is known locally in Alabama as the Cahaba Lily. Hymenocallis coronaria (Cahaba Lily or Shoals spider-lily), is known within the state of Alabama as the Cahaba Lily (outside the state it is known as the Shoals spider-lily) because it grows on the banks of the Cahaba River. It is actually an Amaryllis bulb and should multiple quite nicely in our garden.
You can see from the image that it has several more blooms to go, hopefully we can get some more rain over the next few days and it should be very happy. What is funny about this Lily is we actually got it from Texas. My father-in-law ordered it online, probably at Jackson & Perkins, but we took it from the box in Texas, back over here to Alabama and planted it in the garden back in March/April.
The image was taken very late in the afternoon. I love photography of flowers, but the conditions have to be just right to be able to get a sharp image, with a good background, and in good light. Especially when photographing a white flower, special care should be taken not to overexpose the white part of the flower.
Thursday, 2008 · Popularity: 84% · image of the day, journal
This week has gone by in a blink. Yesterday we planted 5 oak trees before breakfast trying to avoid the mid-morning heat and by about 10am it was to hot to do anything outside. I looked over at our rose bush today, a red Double Knockout Rose (or aka a Double Knock Out Rose) and it was in full bloom.
Thinking again like I was yesterday, I went out to try and capture a photo of the bloom before it got way to hot outside. As my luck would have it, the wind was blowing like crazy.
The Red Double Knock Out Rose Bloom
Normally this time of year they are covered in red double bloom flowers but this one was not planted to long ago and it sat in the hot dry drought we have going on for several weeks looking rather pitiful. Two days ago Deb put some rose food around its base, and now, blooms everywhere.
This variety of rose is a sister to the Knock Out Rose which can get to be a very large, tree, shrub sized rose bush. The Double Knockout is quite a bit smaller and well suited to our very young garden. I took this shot this morning, about 7am, before it got really hot outside.
The wind gave me fits as it decided this morning was the morning to blow, continuously, but I was still able to enjoy a small amount of time to smell the roses this morning before I went to work.
Monday, 2008 · Popularity: 86% · image of the day, journal
What a busy weekend it was this past week. Being a holiday weekend with the 4th of July on a Friday it was just a little chaotic but all tranquility of a Monday has returned. I think I would have to qualify a Monday or Tuesday in January or February as the most tranquil, but this one will do.
For those of us in the south, the summer bring little rest from the heat but a rare foggy morning is one of those reprieves for July. We have been in a horrible drought for the last few years and this summer has proven to be more of the same, except a few mornings where fog blankets the grass and trees.
Our tree swing has quickly become one of my favorite places to eat breakfast and today, it wasn’t cool, but it wasn’t hot either. I took the photo of the tree swing about 5:30am right out my bed room window, and by the time I grabbed a bowl of cereal most of the fog had burned off, but still left a quiet misty pasture to look at while I ate.
The spider webs I just love early in the morning. They are transformed into some pearly design only nature can create. Now as I write this post, it is full blasting sun at what feels like 95* or higher. Guess if we didn’t have the heat the cool foggy mornings would get boring, but I don’t think so.
Saturday, 2008 · Popularity: 80% · journal, low light
Last night we went to see the fireworks display in Auburn. It was a very enjoyable night to have even just an hour or so to hang out with some friends and family while we waited for the fireworks. The fireworks display that the city of Auburn Alabama puts on each year is great, and we have been to see fireworks all over the country.
This year they started a little early, we presume because a storm was on its way, but they were still great to see. I decided to take my camera equipment and do some fireworks photography this year. I have not shot any public fireworks display in many years, but still came away with a few good shots (see full gallery here).
Normally when doing fireworks photography you want to setup using a sturdy tripod so you can use your remote shuttle release in manual mode, but I found another Auburn photographer on Twitter (ToomersCoffee) who also got some great shots hand holding with a faster ISO.
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.
