Gone To The Dogs

Canon 60D, Sigma 70-200mm, f4, ISO100, 1/1000s, 200mm

Every time we make a trip to the Minnesota Zoo, I totally forget about the prairie dogs until we get right up on them. They're very social and are quite fun to watch. Monday's trip included our first experience with puppies, too, so it was even more fun - man they were tiny! You can almost see one in the foreground climbing on the skull, but I didn't even see it in the viewfinder because I was focused on the family on the hill. I loved the posture of the dog on the left - looks like he's ready to fight!

As you head to the west of the Twin Cities, where the prairie lands run as far as the eye can see, these guys thrive and are quite common. Fortunately, our zoo allows us to enjoy them without making the trip!

Midway Stop

Canon 60D, Tamron 17-50mm, f16, ISO400, 17mm, HDR, 9 Exposures

Last week, I struggled to find anything along Harbor Drive in San Diego that attracted my eye until this alley/road made itself visible. Immediately, I thought of an episode of Perfect Inspiration from onOne Software where the host, Brian Matiash, talked about loving those wonderful vanishing points and knew what kind of shot this was going to be.

The combination of Brian Matiash and onOne Software is one that has been perfect for both of them, so it seems anyways. Brian is an amazing photographer, teacher and knows the Perfect Suite inside and out. He also has a great ability to connect with photographers on the internet and this series of Perfect Inspiration highlights the great qualities of both the software and Brian's skills. If you are not familiar with the series, I highly recommend checking it out! Great stuff!

The USS Midway is huge and eats up a lot of landscape in the harbor, but taking a straight on pic of the ship seemed to be so touristy. It wasn't until the vanishing points from the tracks and fence along this road presented themselves that a decent composition came about that I liked...and I liked it a lot. Didn't hurt to have the light on top of the ship give off a cool starburst, too!

The main trouble with this shot was fighting the traffic of vehicles leaving the pier at the end of the road. The shot would be set up and another car would come out of the distance. Pack up and move to the side, wait for the car to go by, then set up again. It's a wonder 9 exposures were even possible. Tried to get a landscape version, too, but gave up after about fifteen minutes of getting up and down from the pavement!