Epcot Center Fireworks

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Playing catch-up. These shots were taken a couple weeks ago at Epcot Center. We were located in Italy with a great view. This is my second attempt at Fireworks this year.  

Epcot Center

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This year's Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Build Business national conference was held at the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Disney World. The resort backed up on Epcot Center and Friday night was a social event with a private reception for us in Italy.  

I had a couple hours before to the reception, so I did a short photowalk with my friend, Ted. I got a few shots in before Ted arrived. Once Ted got there, we started walking and spent some time in Morocco. With the park open, there were too many people to get nice expansive shots, so we focused on details. Epcot is amazing in the construction details - Morocco in particular had fantastic tile work and sculptural qualities in the buildings and decorations.

After Morocco, we moved on to Japan, which didn't have the same amount of interesting sites. We had to cut our time short in Japan to move over to Italy for the reception and the fireworks show (next post) 

Fairport Harbor Triathlon

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Today was the annual sprint triathlon in Fairport Harbor, organized by the Lake Metroparks.  It was a beautiful day for the race - sunshine, 70 degrees, and slight breeze.  Over 400 people participated in the race.  I gave up racing a few years back, but several of my friends still compete, so I go to support and take pictures.

This year I tried some techniques that I have not used previously. Before things got busy I took a few shots of the staging areas using my wide-angle lens. For the race, I switched to my telephoto lens. I wanted to give it a try. The telephoto would allow me to get back far enough and provide some interesting depth of field.  

For processing I wanted to get away from my standards. I used Matt Kloskowski's desaturated sports photos presets for Lightroom. I photographed several of my friends while they were racing, but the photos of my friend and neighbor, Brent, turned out the best. 

I did learn a few things from looking at my photos. I don't spend enough time or make the effort to find the best angle for a shot. For example, the third picture of the kayaks with the pennants should have been turned slightly to get the sun positioned better between the flags. The tight shot of the kayak is not one I would normally publish, but for learning purposes, I could have shot a more interesting part of the kayak. And in the running and cycling pictures, I didn't have the best angle, which caused some feet to be cut off or distracting objects in the shot. Overall I'm happy with my first attempt, but it takes a lot of practice to get through all the little details. 

The Wild West

The Centennial Land Run Monument is a fantastic sculpture depicting the move to the west. The monument is made of over 30 sculptures of horses and wagons.  I've edited these pictures with a vintage feel. 

Old Building

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Here's a post I missed a few weeks back.  I was at a hardware store that I don't usually go to and there was this cool old building next door. It's not the perfect time of day for this shot, but it was a scouting exercise.  

This photo was shot on the iPhone and followed with some post-processing in Lightroom. 

Oklahoma City National Memorial

This week I made my first trip to Oklahoma City and spent two and half days there. Monday morning I had some time to check out the city. My first stop was the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It’s truly unfortunate for the circumstances that created this memorial park, the loss of so many innocent lives. The memorial is incredibly thoughtful in a design that honors the victims. 

The Field of Empty Chairs represents the lives taken on that dreadful day, April 19, 1995. The chairs are organized in nine rows representing the nine floors of the building. Each chair has the name of an individual killed on that floor. The field is located where the Murrah Building used to stand.  Every night the base of each chair illuminates creating a peaceful glow in the field.

Other areas of the memorial include the Gates of Time, Reflecting Pool, Survivor Wall, The Survivor Tree, Rescuer’s Orchard, Children’s Area, and The Fence. Each area hold specific significance recognizing those who were killed, survived or helped in the aftermath of the explosion. 

In looking at the different areas of the memorial, the Field of Empty Chairs resonated with me the most. Seeing a physical representation with the name engraved for each victim really strikes an emotional chord. I’m glad I took the time to visit the memorial.

To learn more about the memorial, check out the official website at:http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/secondary.php?section=2&catid=30

 

Fairport Harbor Mardi Gras

Excited for the Fairport Harbor fireworks on July 5th, I staked my spot on the hill at the end of Eagle Street. What I didn't realize, is the fireworks would launch a bit east of there and be blocked from view by a large tree.  It wasn't a total loss, as I got a few nice shots of the of the carnival in the beach parking lot.  

It was a beautiful night, in the mid- to upper 70s. The clouds were perfectly setup for a stunning sunset. Boats were on the lake, awaiting the fireworks, and the rides were in full motion at the carnival.  

Once the fireworks started I moved to a better spot on the beach, minimizing the obstructions. After the fireworks, the lights on the boats were twinkling and reflecting and glass-like water. 

Carnival

Carnival

Firework

Firework

Reflection

SuperMoon

My first attempt at photographing a super moon. Tonight is supposed to the best view of the moon, so weather permitting I'll setup for it. 

Super Moon

Check your equipment

I made that mistake tonight. Left the SD cards on the table at home. Headed out to the beach to take pictures of the lighthouse at sunset. Got out to my location and turned the camera on - "No Memory Card". It happens to everyone, but that doesn't make it any less painful.  

Pickle Bills

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Pickle Bills is a local restaurant on the Grand River in Northeast Ohio.   It's known as a lobster house, but has a menu with quite a variety of choices. The decor is very eclectic, with a heavy influence from the sea.  I had dinner there on Thursday, and used the camera I had with me, my iPhone and the Camera+ app. I was really happy with the results.

 

 

Molly

My parents' dog Molly laying in the yard. Molly has a few tumors that are inoperable, so we are keeping her happy and comfortable as long as she is not suffering.

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Ship in the Grand River

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I was headed out to Headland Beach State Park this evening to hike out to the lighthouse. On the way I drove by the river and noticed a large cargo ship on the river. There happened to be a parking lot on the Fairport side of the river.  It was too early to photograph the ship, so I decided to stop on my way back from the beach.  

When I returned the sky was changing colors, just a bit, but gave a nice backdrop for the ship.  

This shot is a 3 exposure HDR using Lightroom and Photomatix. 

 

Cargo Ship on the Grand River

Lighthouse from a New Location

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The Fairport Harbor Lighthouse at Headlands Beach sits on jetty along the west side of the Grand River. From Fairport Beach the lighthouse is only accessible by boat. From Headlands Beach, you can hike to it.  This photo was taken from the walkway south of the lighthouse along the jetty. Using a neutral density filter I was able to smooth the water. The sky didn't have much happening, but after post-processing it looks a bit like a water color.

What's most exciting for me is this location provides a nice composition that isn't shown much. This photo was taken in a scouting hike, looking for new locations. I know what to do now, so I can be better prepared the next time the sky cooperates. 

Headlands Lighthouse

Amber Mac

Thursday afternoon at the Ohio Growth Summit I had a the pleasure of meeting Amber MacArthur. Amber is the host of several technology shows and podcasts, as well as an author and accomplished entrepreneur. She was the closing Keynote Speaker for the conference. 

Amber is one of the nicest I have met. She was very engaging, told me a funny story about one of her co-hosts, and seemed genuinely interested in chatting for a few minutes with anybody that approached her.  

I've admired her work on The Social Hour, a podcast on the TWiT network, for several years. I was happy to have the opportunity to meet her in person. Amber, thanks for coming to Ohio. 

Amber MacArthur

Wildlife

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I found an area of Headlands Beach State Park that I was unfamiliar with, the dunes nature preserve. This area of the park has walking paths among the dune plants, and late in the evening the deer come out to feed. This was my first opportunity, albeit unplanned, to photograph animals in the wild. ​

I'll be heading back there again soon. It amazes me the beautiful scenery that's around area. ​

iPad photo editing

I've been using the iPad to edit photos for a couple years now. I still use my MacBook Pro for the majority of my processing, but some photos are fun to work with on the iPad. Especially those that were shot with my iPhone. My go to app is Camera+. The iPad version of the app has a number of features not available on the iPhone version, including the ability to use multiple effects. The iPad app also allows editors to paint in or erase out the effects on specific areas of the image. The iPhone version only allows percentage adjustments to the entire image.

The two photos below were taken with the iPhone while out walking the dog this evening. I transferred the images to the iPad for editing.

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