Photo Stream /pics/dimaging/281766 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 An orchid I saw while in Hawaii. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=121726&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 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 The obligatory track shot from the platform on the last car of the train. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=140438&1=1 Self Portrait while in Boston http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=119260&1=1 Ferocious cat? Hardly. I got lucky and caught a post-nap yawn. :-) http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=121826&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 Many moons ago, a friend of mine adopted a couple of my cats because I was moving and couldn't have cats in the house. She decided to keep them. This is one of the cats, Adobe. I was visiting them near Orlando this past weekend, and he was being curious, friendly, and checking out the camera. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=110306&1=1 Pepper tolerated one more photoshoot, and even got curious about the camera. I guess I need to adjust the f-stops to control DOF a bit better. Fortunately, I caught her eyes in focus. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=108704&1=1 I'm posting a few shots from a recent trip to the National Automobile Museum. They are all handheld at 1600 ISO. Lighting was brutally low, inconsistent and just odd. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out anyway. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=137554&1=1 The loveliest green lady in the world, without that distracting blimp. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136538&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 It looks like they FINALLY found a replacement for the dirigible docking station on the Empire State Building. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136510&1=1 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 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 Sun Set Flower Taken at sunset, July 3, 2004, Manisota Key, Florida. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=75631&1=1 These are not paper cups. And had they not been $9.95 I might have purchased one or two. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136521&1=1 I converted this to black and white, but the original had very little color. This is more or less straight out of the camera, with a bit of exposure enhancement. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=120099&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 I also got a shot of the Stardust last night. This one bears preserving through photos, since they're rumored to be tearing it down next yeat. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=109307&1=1 http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136533&1=1 We were out on the Strip last night and I grabbed a few shots here and there. This is tne Wynn hotel from an unusual angle just before sunset. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=109269&1=1 Another flower shot. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=121366&1=1 I'm posting a few shots from a recent trip to the National Automobile Museum. They are all handheld at 1600 ISO. Lighting was brutally low, inconsistent and just odd. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out anyway. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=137552&1=1 Pepper endured another photoshoot as I got used to the camera. This one is the besto f those shots. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=108685&1=1 Pepper, my ever-tolerant subject, was taking a rest in the early-morning sun of the dining room. Although a colorful image, sepia seemed to capture the mood a bit better. Mild processing in Photoshop. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=109314&1=1 The Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=129522&1=1 Beautiful clouds tonight at sunset. I was facing east when I took this. Only afterward did I realize it was ISO 1600. I thought those exposures seemed a bit short. :) I am getting used to the new camera, though. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=109104&1=1 Hoover Dam as seen from the Arizona side. the water level is really low. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=127187&1=1 The Grand Canyon South Rim. This is a pretty good photograph and it's not even the smallest bit as impressive as the real thing. I literally don't have words for how stunning and beautiful the Grand Canyon is. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=140435&1=1 It looks like many birds have the same opinion of the sign. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=127186&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 A lovely bird of paradise outside the Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa in Corona, CA http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=127191&1=1 The Portal to Serenity http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19162&1=1 A close-up of my desk cactus for the lovely JKK. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=135472&1=1 I'm posting a few shots from a recent trip to the National Automobile Museum. They are all handheld at 1600 ISO. Lighting was brutally low, inconsistent and just odd. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out anyway. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=137553&1=1 This is an update of this photo: http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=19162&p=2 Same location, different angle, and taken a few years apart. :) I think I like the original better, but they both have appeal. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=135951&1=1 This is one of those photos that I think is right for the wrong reasons. It's not a technical masterpiece. Far from it , in fact. It's blown out, noisy, and the cat is dusty. But I like it just the same. Let me know what you think even if it's negative. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=129527&1=1 The futon in our guest room. http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136249&1=1