Photo Stream /pics/dimaging/281766 View full size for full effect. I have a friend who has a nice view of the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas and wanted to take a shot. We're about 3 miles away and I used my 300mm lens at full zoom. This shot was in focus, but the heat of the day (it's almost 100) changed the image. This photo has been adjusted for levels, but there have been NO Photoshop filters applied! This is pretty much the way it came out of the camera. It’s amazing what heat can do. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=108672&1=1 I'm still getting used to my new camera, and Pepper the cat was a semi-willing participant. She blinks a lot faster than my camera shutter. Of 12 shots, this is the only one where her eyes are open. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=108629&1=1 Pepper the cat was sitting on the wall staring at some birds. Seemed like the perfect feline pose and she paused long enough for me to grab a quick shot with my wife's camera. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=100528&1=1 Sea Oats blowing in a light breeze at sunset. There's no better way to relax than to sit by the Gulf of Mexico and take photos of the sun setting. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=75634&1=1 The premise of taking photos of lightning is easy. Wait for lightning, take lots of long exposures, and hope for the best. After about an hour, this is what I ended up with. I got lots of OK shots, and no truly great ones, but this one decent strike stuck out. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=75633&1=1 I was taking pictures of the sunset when I heard a helicopter approaching. I pointed my camera up, waited for what seemed like the right moment, snapped the shutter, and hoped for the best. This is what I got! Not bad for hand-held, pointing up and barely enough time to aim, much less set it up. And he was DIRECTLY overhead. :) http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=75632&1=1 Sun Set Flower Taken at sunset, July 3, 2004, Manisota Key, Florida. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=75631&1=1 Peppermint was falling asleep just sitting there. Must be a lazy Sunday. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=73119&1=1 Another nice scene from Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=46889&1=1 One of the lakes in Stone Mountain Park. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=45411&1=1 I caught the sun coming through at least three different layers of branches and leaves all at different focal lenghts. That gave it a very interesting, almost claustrophobic, feel. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=45410&1=1 This is actually a color picture. It's a waterfall in Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=45382&1=1 A rose, in any other color, would still look as sweet. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=26971&1=1 Our hibiscus tree is quite the center of insect activity. I have no ideas what these bugs are, but they look otherworldly. They were nice enough to pose for several minutes while I took shot after shot after shot, and fought with the autofocus on my camera. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=25402&1=1 I took a series of shots of this tree at sunrise in late November 2003. A few were with no flash, and a few were with the flash. The no-flash shots were OK, but the tree in silhouette wasn't very dramatic. Somehow the flash made the photo and despite the gorgeous sky the ree is the star of the shot. :-) http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19189&1=1 I need to retouch many of my photos, but not this one. It is posted exactly as the camera captured it. This was shot about 5 minutes after sunset, so it's a pretty long exposure. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19163&1=1 The Portal to Serenity http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19162&1=1 A swan in a lake. As serene as could be. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19161&1=1 A young sufer just out of the water right at sunset. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=18851&1=1 This is a photo of my condo's electric meter, flipped on its side. It was taken at night with ambient light, lit from behind by our porch lights. I did very little post processing, basically balancing the exposure, sharpening a bit, an adding the sepia-tone with grain. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=12438&1=1 This was a really great macro shot, but it begged tohave some painterly techniques applied to it. So I did exactly that. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=12427&1=1 Peppermint apparently doesn't appreciate the paparazzi. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11849&1=1 of 130 or so shots taken tonight while walking around Lake Eola in Orlando with Mrs. Mospaw, 3 were really great. This isone of them. Can anyone say postcard? :-) http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11792&1=1 This spider was enjoying a late-night meal on our hibiscus tree in the garden. The lighting came from our security light, and this shot was made in fully automatic macro mode. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11602&1=1 My wife pointed out this tiny little spider in our garden behind a hibiscus bud and I used it for an excuse to try out my macro features. The spider is so tiny I barely saw it. The bud the spider is behind is about 3/4" long. The red backgorund is our fence. This is an unretouched photo. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11601&1=1 OK, I don't want to bore everyoen with all of my sunset shots, so this is the last one. Nice dramatic clouds. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11547&1=1 Here I was snapping up lots of sunset shots (I took 138 tonight) and this bird wanders rightinto the frame. Such nerve! The brid sure did make the shot, though. :-) Unretouched. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11546&1=1 'Twas a good evening for sunset shots. There was a speed boat zooming back and forth in the bay and I was fortunate enough to capture him zooming by at just he right moment. Photo is unretouched. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=11545&1=1