W A N D E R I N G S: February 2008

Photomerge

So, we had weather today that's not terribly common around here... thick fog. There's a tree not far from our house that I've always liked, but the background is somewhat distracting. I figured fog would clean it up a bit, so I went out to photograph it. The problem is that it's a little too big to photograph without including the fence (at least with the lens I had on my digital camera). I decided to photograph a couple of frames with the hopes of putting them together in photoshop. My hopes weren't terribly high, but digital files (unlike film) are free, so I exposed a few frames.

I hadn't used photomerge (a function in photoshop used for stitching or merging together multiple images into one). I gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I couldn't find anywhere that the files didn't match up tonally or texturally. I was also hand-holding the camera, so I expected some difficulties. Anyway, it may not be the best photograph I've ever taken, but I'm excited by the results.

Tree in Fog (left)

Tree in Fog (right)

Tree in Fog (merged)

Tree in Fog, Sugar City, ID 2008

Melt Dang It!

Melt Dang It!, Rexburg, ID 2008

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Snow Disaster?

In the local newspaper on Monday was a story about Madison County's high snow levels in the valley. Apparently Madison County has declared it an official disaster, whatever that means. I guess it's so we can get help when everything melts (assuming it ever warms up). You can read the story here

Anyway, Kevin and I decided to take a drive after work today to see how my favorite winter road is faring. There were some pretty impressive drifts and in some spots the road was completely drifted over and impassable. Kevin had a lot of fun climbing on the drifts. Here are some photographs:

Kevin Watching a Truck Drive on Snowy Road, Rexburg, ID 2008

Kevin and a Snow Drift, Rexburg, ID 2008

Snowy Road with Stop Sign, Walker, ID 2008

Snowy Road, Walker, ID 2008

Waxwings & Swans

Sunday after the Rexburg Temple dedication, Jon and I took a drive up to the Chester area to check out the snow and see if we could find any nice landscapes to photograph. We ran into a big flock of Bohemian Waxwings along the Henry's Fork near Fun Farm and were content to try to photograph them. I really need a nicer long lens, but it was still fun. It was great watching the waxwings feed on recently emerged midges. There were also several dozen Trumpeter Swans in the area and I managed to snap a quick picture as a pair flew by. We didn't take any landscapes, but it was great to be out in the warm weather (I think it reached freezing for the first time in weeks).

Bohemian Waxwings Feeding on Midges, Chester, ID 2008

Trumpeter Swans, Chester, ID 2008

Winter Trees

After sort of sleeping in, grading photo history exams, watching President Hinckley's funeral, and eating a fantastic onion bagel and pastrami and swiss sandwich for lunch, I was going a little stir crazy. The weather and roads have been horrible lately, but there was finally a break in the weather by mid-afternoon so I decided to head up towards Ashton to look for Great Gray Owls, see how much snow they had and perhaps make a few photographs.

I didn't find any Great Gray Owls (although there are quite a few Bald Eagles and Trumpeter Swans in the area), Ashton has a lot more snow than we do, and I made a couple of photographs (although nothing too ground-breaking, just pretty pictures of trees).