Photoshop CS5
Photoshop CS5 was released today and I downloaded a trial. Didn't spend much time with it but what I saw I liked. I love the content-aware feature. I took this photo I had of Ashley from our visit to the rail trail a few weeks ago ...
What I didn't like about this photo is the fact that Ashley had a tree growing out of her head. With CS4 I could clone it out with time and patience, but with the content-aware feature of CS5 I was able to achieve this in less than 2 minutes ...
The other new feature I played around with for about 15 minutes or so was HDR toning. So I went back into my archives and dug up this photo from almost two years ago.
Always felt that this photo was only so-so. It really doesn't pop and kind of on the boring side of things. So I put it through a HDR treatment. I was shooting for something more dramatic and more interesting to look at. Here is what I ended up with after about 15 minutes or so...
Not 100% happy with the results I achieved, but I think I like this better than the original. I should probably spend some time and try to remove the pile of branches on the left hand side.
I'm still not sold on the HDR functionality. I've been using Photomatrix Pro for some time now for my HDR photos and I've been pleased with the results I get. All in all I've got to say I like CS5 and I'm looking forward to learning more about it.
Red Tail Hawk
Went out for a ride this afternoon needing to get out of the house. Only went about 1/4 mile down the street and saw this Red Tail Hawk. After seeing him/her I was able to go back home and grab my camera.
At first the hawk did not notice that I was there until another car came down the street. At this point the hawk took a look around to see what was going on.
After noticing us the hawk placed himself so he was standing over his meal. At the same time he puffed up his chest trying to make himself look bigger.
I say he but it could of been a female since male or female both look the same.
I've been living in leominster for over 40 years and I can say that this is not a common site in this area. I can remember as a kid there was a Red Tail Hawk in the French Hill neighborhood that we followed for a few days. I've seen them circling around especially around the Nashua river, but never seen them after capturing supper.
I need to start carring my camera with me more often, almost missed this chance.
Fall Colors
Been bringing my camera to work this week. I just had to, every time I come around a corner I see something like this.
I'd have to say that the fall foliage is at it's peak. I wish I didn't have to work so I can have the time to do some photography. I hear that Saturday we are going to have some rain so that will be no good. Look like I'm not going to have as much time to capture the colors this year as I would like.
Speaking of work, it's pretty spooky at the office.
We go to town decorating the whole place along with haunted house and all. This is one of those "It's not mandatory that you decorate, but you will decorate" type of deals. I don't mind since we get to see some of the creativity that can be found in the unlikeliness places. The best thing is tomorrow from 3pm - 5 pm we will be hosting some of the local children's homes for trick or treating, crafts and games as well as a haunted house or two.
I will bring my camera to work again tomorrow and hope to get many more pictures.
Sholan Farms
Went to the Sholan Farms yesterday apple picking.
I was amazed at the amount of apples on the ground. This past week has been a very windy week which explains it. We even lost power one day last week due to a tree taking out a power line.
I love the straight lines seen at the orchard.
This weekend happens to be the scarecrow festival. Everyone is welcomed to bring in some clothes and build your own scarecrow. For those of you with a competitive nature, you can enter your scarecrow into a contest.
Plenty of hay to use for your scarecrow. Seems a lot easier than when I was a kid and you had to rake the leaves to gather fill material.
The festival is still going on today. They have music, face painting, hay rides, games and a petting zoo. We picked 1/2 bushel of apples and purchased some apple crisp mix while there.
I noticed these apples when we were heading out. Not sure what kind they are but at the moment they are sure colorful.
Soccer time again
Soccer season has started again. Ashley moved up to the U10 travel league. Interesting thing I found is they play other Leominster teams quite often.
Took a whole bunch of pictures but not many of what I've been looking for. These are okay but they don't pop like I would like them too.
This is starting to get more interesting to watch now that Ashley is getting older. Not seeing the magnet ball so much and starting to see positional play.
Used my 18-200 VR lens for this shoot. I was thinking about using my 50mm but I'm afraid that it won't have enough reach. Being outdoor day games makes it a little easier to use a variety of lenses. Plenty of light and I didn't seem to have much trouble freezing the players. Maybe I'll try out my 70-300mm lens next week even though it is a little on the slow side.