1. Daily shots for the dailies forum on Dgrin

Dailies

These images are ones shot to post in the daily community on smugmug. I've been participating in this community for about twelve years. For the first few years, I tried to always post a shot taken either that day or the day before. Now, although I try to shoot everyday, I don't necessarily post the images on the same day they are shot.
Read More
8/19/12 - Black bear; best viewed in the largest sizes.  Photographed at Bear Country, SD.  When I took this shot, there were probably about forty bears within the range of my camera.  They were all moving around.  It was a hot day; this one has just gotten himself wet down by a hose. I found the bears to be difficult to shoot, as their faces were so dark.  I had to use the exposure compensation to lighten the face enough to pull out the detail there.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the comments on my daughter's cat.  Much appreciated.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
678 / 1959

8/19/12 - Black bear; best viewed in the largest sizes. Photographed at Bear Country, SD. When I took this shot, there were probably about forty bears within the range of my camera. They were all moving around. It was a hot day; this one has just gotten himself wet down by a hose. I found the bears to be difficult to shoot, as their faces were so dark. I had to use the exposure compensation to lighten the face enough to pull out the detail there.

Thanks for the comments on my daughter's cat. Much appreciated.

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

black bearbearanimalmammalwildlifenature

  • 7/28/12 - Wild donkey in Custer State Park in South Dakota; best viewed in the largest sizes; note the ladybug on its nose.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your warm response to my shot of Washington on Mt. Rushmore and for making it the #1 shot of the day.  A thrill for me, for sure!  Have a great Saturday!
  • 7/27/12 - Washington on Mt. Rushmore.  Mt. Rushmore is photographed so often and the shots tend to look very similar, so I was searching for a way to capture a more unique image.  This was looking up through a slot in two huge rock formations.  Unfortunately,  you don't get a good view of the entire carving.  I think the bit of Lincoln that shows is rather distracting but decided not to cut it out.<br />
<br />
Thanks for all the comments on my shot of the burro.  I thought he was cute, too.  We went back to the Grand Tetons today and had much nicer weather conditions for shooting, so I hope I got some good pics.  Hope your day is good!
  • 8/15/12 - A camping project;  I've wanted to try this for years and finally gave it a shot while we were camping with our kids in South Dakota.  I learned that we couldn't quite light everything we wanted to in 30 seconds, so the next time I'll try it with a longer exposure.  I used a single LED flashlight but would like to try it holding two in the same hand but with one being white and one being red.  It is also difficult to paint the light exactly where you want it to show up.  Also, I was hand holding the camera for this, when it should definitely be mounted on a tripod.<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for your enthusiastic response to my shot of the hummer and for making it the #1 shot for the day.  I am definitely going to try your suggestions of moving the bird off center and trying it with a black bg.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
  • 7/22/12 - Badlands National Park; best viewed in the largest sizes.  Another of the many posters I did for Badlands National Park, trying to do something like the posters in the visitor center.<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for the comments on my shot of the wolf cubs.  Also, thanks to a lot of folks who commented on various shots from some of my other galleries today.  Thanks for looking!
  • Badlands National Park; best viewed in the largest sizes.  The national park visitor centers always have wonderful park posters, generally along the lines of a silkscreen fine art print.  I decided I wanted to try to do some of these for Badlands.  Here is one!<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for your warm response to my shot of the hot bear on the log.  You guys certainly make me feel great!
  • 9/26/12 - Badlands National Park; best viewed in the largest sizes.  I had a lot of dfficulty getting into the Internet here to post.  Access is very intermittent and slow.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the comments on my shot yesterday.  Much appreciated.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome!
  • 7/19/12 - Inside Wall Drug in SD; best viewed in the larger sizes to see all the interesting details.   Wall Drug is a big tourist attraction in the Badlands area.  The owners of the original drug store were having trouble making a go of the business and got the idea to advertise free water.  It was a huge hit and, from that modest beginning, the store has grown to be a purveyor of everything tacky that can be imagined.   It also markets some very nice things.  The store is gigantic, with lots of different sections.  I, personally, would not take the time to visit it, knowing what I do now about it, but it attracts thousands of tourists...perhaps, more than are drawn to the Badlands National Park.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the comments on my latest shot of the buck elk.  Much appreciated!
  • 9/11/12 - The Apothecary at Wall Drug in SD; best viewed in the larger sizes.  This was taken in quite low light.  Wall Drug was extremely crowded so I did not bring my tripod.  I just braced myself against a wall and hand held the shot.  This was shot at 1/60th sec. with a shallow dof and that is why the stud is blurred.  And, no, this is not an HDR shot.  I use tone mapping, dodge and burn to achieve similar looks.<br />
<br />
We've had quite a bit of discussion about using neutral density filters lately (see Ilene and Paul's posts) and I found a nice Gavin Hoey tutorial about them.  If you watch this tutorial, near the end Gavin also shows you how to get rid of chromatic aberration in CS6.  It is a bit harder in CS5 but you can do it in RAW.  Here is the link:  <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYG9HoE1i4I&list=UUB9r-KZLgvgtfQl3TvAgNJQ&index=3&feature=plcp">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYG9HoE1i4I&list=UUB9r-KZLgvgtfQl3TvAgNJQ&index=3&feature=plcp</a><br />
<br />
Thanks for your comments on my shot of the Needles Highway scene.  As Paul pointed out, I should have cloned out the branches in the upper left.  Some of you wanted to see the color version, which can be found here:  <a href="http://fotoeffects.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Sylvan-Lake-and-Needles/25229846_pjjcmw#!i=2026528725&k=6wn2dNh">http://fotoeffects.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Sylvan-Lake-and-Needles/25229846_pjjcmw#!i=2026528725&k=6wn2dNh</a>.  Sorry for the confusion on the dates.  I'm terrible about dates and rarely know what date it is.  I did check to see the date on my previous posting, but, apparently, I had the wrong date on it, as well.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
  • 9/24/12 - A concave mirror in Wall Drug provides a bird's eye view of a small part of the store.  I thought it provided an interesting perspective.<br />
<br />
Thanks to everyone who commented on my pelican kaleidoscope for Prostate Cancer Awareness Day.  <br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.  We have lousy 'Net access here, so I don't know how much commenting I'll be able to do.  I'll try, though.
  • 9/22/12 - Grain elevators are the ubiquitous symbol of America's agricultural heartland; best viewed in the larger sizes.  I admit I'm quite fascinated by them and am always trying to grab a shot as we drive by.<br />
<br />
I appreciated the supportive comments on my shot of the car engine and the good wishes for my having the D800E.  I'm looking forward to getting lots of shots.  I managed to get all my plugins set up today, so I'm ready to go, if I just have 'Net access so that I can post.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome!
  • 7/20/12 - Smoky campfire; best viewed in the largest sizes.  <br />
<br />
I do appreciate your warm response and comments on my shot inside Wall Drug.  You guys are always so supportive!
  • 9/12/12 - Badlands of South Dakota poster; best viewed in the larger sizes; I was trying to create something like the posters in the national park center stores.  I did quite a few posters and I like this one better than most, although I wish I'd done a different lettering and said "Badlands National Park."  Michael Hanne asked to see the original shot; here it is:  <a href="http://fotoeffects.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Badlands-National-Park/24217253_xRJPjw#!i=1974602189&k=KWbxQzz">http://fotoeffects.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Badlands-National-Park/24217253_xRJPjw#!i=1974602189&k=KWbxQzz</a><br />
<br />
I do appreciate your warm response to my shot inside Wall Drug.  I constantly work to improve my ability to capture dof and still have a way to go.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
  • 9/7/12 - Beetle; best viewed in the largest size<br />
<br />
I appreciated all the comments and support on my shot taken near Dubois, WY.  Thanks so much.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
  • 7/14/12 - Elk bucks; best viewed in the largest sizes.  Photographed at Bear Country in the Black Hills of SD.  Quite a neat place to get some good wildlife shots.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the comments on my shot of the outside of the antique store.  Much appreciated!  Have a great day!
  • 7/18/12 - Elk buck; best viewed in the largest sizes.  Photographed at Bear Country in the Black Hills of South Dakota.<br />
<br />
I sure appreciate all the comments on my shot of the Badlands poster.  I'll probably have a few others to share soon.  Hope your week is going well.  We drove to Lander, WY today and discovered a wonderful museum there.  I took a lot of pics and will share some when I get them processed.
  • 8/11/12 - Horses in the late evening light; best viewed in the largest size.  I took this a few weeks ago in South Dakota and intended to use it as a daily and then forgot about it.  We were out for a bike ride and I saw these horses, so I rode back to the RV and got my camera and walked back.  I've seen other folks images of horses with lovely backlighting and when I saw the light o the meadow and behind the horses, I knew I had to get some shots of this.<br />
<br />
You folks were so kind to me about my bald eagle photo.  Thanks you so much for making it the #1 shot for the day.  There have been so many wonderful eagle shots on smugmug in the past; I don't think mine even compares to many of those, but I do so appreciate your response to my photo.  Thanks, too, for the suggestions about reducing the highlights on the head.  You were certainly on target with those.  I already had lowered the highlights; unfortunately, I overexposed the head on my eagle shots, even though I did focus on the eye.  I should probably have used the exposure comp to reduce the highlights in camera but I did not think of it in the excitement of watching the eagle.  I actually washed out the highlights a bit on the head in most of my shots and wasn't able to bring them back in RAW as much as I'd have liked.<br />
<br />
Have a great day! Feel free to leave constructive comments, as I am always looking for ways I can improve my skills.
  • 7/16/12 - Black bear; best viewed in the largest sizes.  This was also shot at Bear Country in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  The park is very aptly named, as they have many, many bears there.  You are often have a view of as many as thirty or more bears at one time, all of which appear to be very healthy.  It was quite hot the day we were there and the bears were all obviously suffering from the heat.  Many were seeking water.  The folks who managed the park were going around spraying them with water.  I liked the light on this fellow.<br />
<br />
Thanks to so many of you for your comments on my shot of the bighorn sheep and her baby.  I admit that capturing that image was certainly a thrill for me!<br />
<br />
Have a good day!
  • 8/19/12 - Black bear; best viewed in the largest sizes.  Photographed at Bear Country, SD.  When I took this shot, there were probably about forty bears within the range of my camera.  They were all moving around.  It was a hot day; this one has just gotten himself wet down by a hose. I found the bears to be difficult to shoot, as their faces were so dark.  I had to use the exposure compensation to lighten the face enough to pull out the detail there.<br />
<br />
Thanks for the comments on my daughter's cat.  Much appreciated.<br />
<br />
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
  • 8/17/12 - Bighorn sheep; best viewed in the largest sizes; photographed at Bear Country in South Dakota.<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions on my shot of the smoky sunset shot.  After mulling over your suggestions, I think I'm going to try to burn in most of the stuff in the foreground so that it is really dark.  I'll also crop some of it out.<br />
<br />
Hope you are having a good week.  Enjoy!
  • 7/15/12 - A bighorn sheep mother and her nursing baby; best viewed in the largest size.  The bighorn sheep were shedding and there were big patches of fur everywhere on the tree trunks and bushes.  The baby's nursing was quite rough; he really yanked on his mom with every suckle.  She did not put up with it for very long before she moved off and he trailed after her.<br />
<br />
Thanks so much, everyone, for your warm response to my shot of the big elk, which was in the #1 spot the last time I checked.  It had gone back and forth with Rob Moody's wonderful shot, though.  I do appreciate your taking the time to comment!
  • MarkALeePhotography

    on June 13, 2018

    great shot ,you got a lot of nice work,

  • Greg&Rose Photography

    on January 22, 2018

    I am in awe of this fantastic photo

  • Gene Hyder

    on September 14, 2017

    Awesome shot.

  • harmoniphotography

    on September 10, 2017

    Wonderful, but I would not want to be in it's path!

  • Tony Porter

    on September 10, 2017

    Wow quite the shot!

  • BIRDS-WILDLIFE-AUSTRALIA

    on February 8, 2017

    Beautiful shot !! Such fine detail and pose ! Great close up !!!

  • Judith Sparhawk

    on July 28, 2016

    This is a great shot of this bear. I especially appreciate it, looking at the very bad shots I got of a black bear in Alaska recently.

  • Rick Willis

    on October 20, 2015

    Super Shot...

  • Kazimiera W.M

    on October 20, 2015

    Great presentation of your portfolio.

  • jimholmquist

    on April 27, 2015

    Awesome shot and detail!

  • Photo Sharing
  • About SmugMug
  • Browse Photos
  • Prints & Gifts
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Owner Log In
© 2022 SmugMug, Inc.