Phun Phriday! # 47 - Bokeh

You may be looking at this photo and saying "What????"  Remember: One, this is Phun Phriday! and Two, the title says Bokeh.  So don't look at the silly little Christmas doll, look at the lights and reflections of lights off the red beads on the tree behind the doll.

While the Christmas decorations were still up and in full bloom I decided to try a little experiment on something I had read about and always said I would try, but never did.  So I tried it, and to be honest it's kind of cheesy, but under the right circumstances could be useful or more appropriately, Phun!

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if most of you have done this kind of thing before, but I also wouldn't be too surprised if only a few of you had seen it before.  First it is not done with Photoshop. This photo comes straight out of the camera.  If there are a few of you that are interested in how I did this please say so in your comments and I'll do a full blown tutorial.  If not, or if you've already done this, then great,  I got my Phun Phriday! post done and we'll move on.

Speaking of moving on.  Tomorrow, for January 1, 2011, I'm going to post what is probably my number one favorite photo that I took in 2010, and true to my analogy about the meal and saving the best until last, this is a photo that you have never seen on my blog before.

As you know by now photography should be Phun and that's why I have my Phun Phriday! posts. Have you done something Phun, weird and/or creative lately?  If so, leave a link to it in your comment or just tell us it's there so we can go find it.  If not, I'd really love to hear from you anyway. OBTW, if you do post something for Phun Phriday! it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog.  Thanks!

Happy New Year to all!  Have Phun and be Safe!

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Sunset Sunday - 45

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

This is the final Sunset Sunday for 2010 because it is the last Sunday of 2010. As several of my recent Sunset Sunday shots have been, this one is SOOC except prepping it for posting.

I'm going to take a little break here for a few days. I will probably post a Phun Phriday! post on New Years' eve, but at this point I'm not even guaranteeing that. I'm not going anywhere so you might see comments from me on your blogs, but if you don't it doesn't mean I don't care and I will be back.  I'm going to do my best to kick my photography up a notch in 2011 and I'm pretty excited about that.

Do you have a beautiful sunset/sunrise to share? We'd love to see it. Post a link in your comment, or just tell us it's there and we'll click on your name to find it.

OBTW, if you do post something for Sunset Sunday it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog. Thanks!

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Merry Christmas

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He Is The Reason

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Phun Phriday # 46 - Blessed

Yes it is Phun Phriday! and I know it is going to be a wonderful Phun day for most of us but I thought I'd post this photo to remind us all of where it all started.

I did have phun creating this image for you because it is HDR, but even with HDR I wasn't happy with the nativity scene as it was just too bright, so I used the Photoshop masking feature to bring in a darker version of just the figures floating on the water and their reflection.

I have reserved my absolutely favorite photo from this years pursuit of Christmas season photos for Christmas Eve, which is tonight. I'll post it at 4:00 PM MST, That's 6:00 PM on the East Coast of the US.

Have a Phun and safe day and evening.

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Wise Men Still Seek Him

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Star of Wonder

Photographically/artistically this is one of the worst photos I've posted but this is about following The Star. Star of Wonder, Star of Night . . . Guide us to thy Perfect Light.

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Last One

This is the last photo I'll post of the Salt Lake Temple this year.  Christmas is not about the Temple, but I just can't help but show you this one with all the beautiful red lights on the trees. 

Starting tomorrow will be more about the "Reason For the Season".  I'll have one every day with an extra very special one that I will post Christmas Eve and I've even got one for Christmas morning.   I look forward to sharing Christmas with you. 

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Christmas Bonus

Two posts in one day??? That is a Christmas bonus. I grabbed this snapshot the other day of my sweet little two year old granddaughter checking out Santa's beard. Yes, I retired from the Army and so Santa wears Desert Camo BDUs at our house.

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Christmas Week

It's hard to believe that Christmas comes this weekend.  I'm so excited as we gather with family to celebrate the birth of Christ and share gifts. Speaking of gifts, I hope you are familiar with the Christmas Carol of the Little Drummer Boy.  He has no gift to give except his talent of playing his drum.  What better gift can we give than that of our talents.  On Karen's blog she encourages all of us to give the gift of our talents this season by taking photos of those who may not have the means or think about getting their own. 


Each of you gives your gifts through your beautiful blogs with your photos and your thoughts.  THANK YOU! 


Along with Karen and Chad I had to share my view of certainly one of the most beautiful places on earth during the Christmas season, that of what we call Temple Square, in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.  As we get closer to Christmas, I'll be focusing less on the decorations of the season and more on the "Reason For the Season". 

Note to Karen:  No, I didn't add the moon in, I took this photo three days earlier when it was really there at the right time (and about 45 degrees f).  I hope you're good and jealous ;^)

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Sunset Sunday - 44

What a Dilemma . . . how do I combine the Christmas Theme with Sunset Sunday? Finally I went looking for the reddest sunset I could find, then I tweaked the saturation of the red. All I had to do then was enlarge the border and give it a nice Christmas green color. Not great but it does accomplish my purpose.

Do you have a beautiful sunset/sunrise to share? We'd love to see it. Post a link in your comment, or just tell us it's there and we'll click on your name to find it.

OBTW, if you do post something for Sunset Sunday it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog. Thanks!

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I love Christmas.  I love everything about it.

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Phun Phriday! # 45 - Tis the Season

(f16, 2 sec, ISO 160)

It's that time again . . .  Phun Phriday! and only one week until Christmas Eve. 

If you look closely you'll notice that the lights are a little brighter on both ends of the line and the windows on the far left side are duplicated.  To accomplish that I simply opened the shutter and did not begin the zoom for about 1/2 second and then did a short zoom and then stopped  for about another 1/2 second before the shutter closed. 

As you know by now photography should be Phun and that's why I have my Phun Phriday! posts. Have you done something Phun, weird and/or creative lately?  If so, leave a link to it in your comment or just tell us it's there so we can go find it.  If not, I'd really love to hear from you anyway.

OBTW, if you do post something for Phun Phriday! it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog.  Thanks!

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Erosion in Black & White

I did this one in Black & White because in my opinion the colors overpowered the real beauty here. This is the same arch as shown here only shot from a very different perspective.

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Colder Days

Last week, the same day as I took yesterday's photo, I got some close-ups of weeds with frost on them in the thick fog.  On the one above I laid it over a photo of some wallpaper I had taken and blurred just for texture.  The one below is without any added texture.

Do you like either one of them, and which do you prefer?

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Sunrise Through the Morning Fog

Don't check your calendar.  It isn't Sunday and as a matter of fact this is not a sunset, but as the title says, it is a sunrise with the fog settling in the valley over the Great Salt Lake.  Good morning to you.

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Curious

Found this on a frozen pond about 10 days ago.  Any ideas? 

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Sunset Sunday - 43

Thursday evening was our sixth and last night in Mesquite, NV and the sun and the clouds got together to give us a nice send off.  Another SOOC posting.

Do you have a beautiful sunset/sunrise to share? We'd love to see it.  Post a link in your comment, or just tell us it's there and we'll click on your name to find it.

OBTW, if you do post something for Sunset Sunday it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog.  Thanks!

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Phun Phriday # 44 -Beauty of Zion

It's Phun Phriday. We're out of town this week - having Phun! While we were in Zion National Park on Wednesday I was lucky enough to get a shot of the prettiest thing in the park and I got to stand right next to her.

As you know by now photography should be Phun and that's why I have my Phun Phriday! posts. Have you done something Phun, weird and/or creative lately? If so, leave a link to it in your comment or just tell us it's there so we can go find it. If not, I'd really love to hear from you anyway.

OBTW, if you do post something for Phun Phriday! it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog. Thanks!

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Return to Zion

You may recall that I went to Zion National Park back in March of this year.  I went back again yesterday.  Last time it was with Chad but this time I brought my wife.  No offense to Chad, but this is better.  However, when Chad and I go on our photo expeditions I do get more and probably better photos as we work well together that way. 

I took my wife up to Weeping Rock and to get there we had to cross over this bridge. 

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Fire Sale

Yesterday my wife's sister and her husband took us touring to a place called Valley of Fire State Park, about 50 miles North East of Las Vegas, Nevada. I got several photos I am happy with. This is one of them.

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Sunset Sunday - 42

(f3.5, 1/40, 14mm, ISO 160)
Taken Oct. 28, 2010

Do you have a beautiful sunset/sunrise to share? We'd love to see it. Just post a link in your comment, or just tell us it's there and we'll click on your name to find it.

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In The Fog

(f11, 1/2500, 42mm, ISO 160)
Taken Thursday morning, Dec. 2, 2010

 Posting may be spotty for the next few days as I will be traveling to Southern Utah/Nevada.  I have already scheduled my Sunset Sunday, and I'll probably be able to get on and read and post comments.  I will try to keep up as best I can, but I hope to be having too much fun to spend a lot of time on line.

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Phun Phriday! # 43 - Kindergarten

Let's see now, it's Phriday and we're having Phun, so it must be another PHUN PHRIDAY!

When it comes to HDR processing I'm still in Kindergarten when compared to people like Dave and Karen and thousands of others.  But I am having PHUN and just like Kindergarten prepares you for the later years, I'm learning my way around Photomatix in preparation for bigger and better things in the future.

The other night I was headed home and saw this plant with all the lights glowing and the steam coming out of the pipes and thought it would be Phun to capture, so I took several exposures to see how a night shot like this would turn out in HDR.  After processing in Photomatix and getting the image you see above, I thought I'd try to set some of the options differently and so I clicked on a button that I thought let me start over, but instead it gave me the image below.  Kind of a HDR treatment to an already HDR photo.

It's probably not something I would hang on my wall but it was a lot of Phun nonetheless. 

As you know by now photography should be Phun and that's why I have my Phun Phriday! posts. Have you done something Phun, weird and/or creative lately?  If so, leave a link to it in your comment or just tell us it's there so we can go find it.  If not, I'd really love to hear from you anyway.


OBTW, if you do post something for Phun Phriday! it would put a big smile on my face if you added a link to my blog.  Thanks!

Don't be shy - leave a comment or email me.  I look forward to hearing from you!

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Winter Wonderland

(f6.3, 60 Sec, 39mm, ISO 160)

Taken this past Monday night.  I made the mistake of not checking to see if there would be a moon out, and there wasn't.  Maybe next time.

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Welcome Neighbor

                    or NOT!

The question is is it posted to keep thieves and vandals away, or did their insurance company lawyers (sorry about using such language on my blog) make them put it up in case someone goes in there and gets killed when if falls in on them?

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