I M H O  &  Photography

B&W Shapes | a 7 Image Story

B&W Shapes | a 7 Image Story

B&W Shapes | a 7 Image Story   In black and white photographs, shapes and contrasts make all the difference.  It's all about the lines, the curves, and the contours along with how they contrast and/or blend.  A strong photograph without color will generally also...

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Nikon D200 Potpourri | a 7 Image Story

Nikon D200 Potpourri | a 7 Image Story

Nikon D200 Potpourri | a 7 Image Story   The D200 was my first digital SLR camera.  As you can see, it's a fine camera capable of rendering nice photographs.  Of course, my learning course was steep at first, but eventually I began to capture some decent images. ...

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Hawk Poses | a 7 Image Story

Hawk Poses | a 7 Image Story

Hawk Poses | a 7 Image Story   It's all about a single hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, that posed for me at several locations along my walkabout today through the forest.  While walking along the trail, I spotted the hawk in a tree about twenty yards off the trail.  It must...

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People Portraits | a 7 Image Story

People Portraits | a 7 Image Story

People Portraits | a 7 Image Story  Although my photography does not capture people portraits often, occasionally a nice people image gets in front of my camera.  These people images represent some of my better portraits.  Notice they are mostly captured with natural...

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Spinning Wheels | a 7 Image Story

Spinning Wheels | a 7 Image Story

Spinning Wheels | a 7 Image Story  Photographing racing cars in a race!  How hard can it be?  Set the shutter speed real high on a sunny race day and bang away.  But wait, the wheels are frozen in time and the background is in focus.  Looks like the car is standing...

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Bike Illinois | a 7 Image Story

Bike Illinois | a 7 Image Story

Bike Illinois | a 7 Image Story   Illinois has many picturesque biking trails; long and short.  These cyclists are riding a charity event in the relatively flat land of northern Illinois. Biking can be a family affair for younger and older cyclists alike.  And while...

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Storm Clouds | a 7 Image Story

Storm Clouds | a 7 Image Story

Storm Clouds | a 7 Image Story  Storm clouds fascinate many people including me.  Most of us can not just go out and find a nice storm to photograph.  Good storm images tend to be captured on the fly while photographing something else.  The photographer happens to be...

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Minolta XTsi to Yellowstone | a 7 Image Story

Minolta XTsi to Yellowstone | a 7 Image Story

Minolta XTsi to Yellowstone | a 7 Image Story  This trip to Yellowstone was my first.  My newest camera at the time was the Minolta XTsi Maxxum.  It had several new electronic features, but the basic camera was more consumer than the more professional Minolta XG-9. ...

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Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | a 7 Image Story

Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | a 7 Image Story

Kodak Signet 30 to Garden of the Gods | a 7 Image Story  My first trip to the Garden of the Gods with my first camera, the Kodak Signet 30, was an intense learning experience.  Luckily, a few photos turned out reasonable well.  In the Garden of the Gods, on a clear...

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The Bald Eagle | a 7 Image Story

The Bald Eagle | a 7 Image Story

The Bald Eagle | a 7 Image Story   The majestic Bald Eagle, national symbol of the United States of America, resides only on North America.  Bald Eagles are just magnificent creatures.  The B&W format forces attention to the features of the eagle and its...

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Minolta SRT-102 to Yosemite NP | a 7 Image Story

Minolta SRT-102 to Yosemite NP | a 7 Image Story

Minolta SRT-102 to Yosemite NP | a 7 Image Story   My first trip to Yosemite NP was also my first trip with my new Minolta SRT-102 SLR camera.  Although my previous cameras were 35mm film cameras, they were all rangefinders or viewfinders.  Obviously, the camera was...

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Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story

Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story

Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story  Depth of Field: the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects in acceptably sharp focus in an image.  Seems like a simple enough concept!  Applying this simple concept might be a bit more difficult than it seems.  To help...

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Nikon 1 V3 for Insects | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Insects | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Insects| a 7 Image Story  The Nikon 1 V3, and the V1 before it, captures a wide variety of image types quite well.  With the right lens and a little patience, it will capture really nice insect images.  The camera body and lenses are relatively small...

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Nikon 1 V3 for Travelers | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Travelers | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Travelers | a 7 Image Story  The Nikon 1 V3, and the V1 before it, travel very well.  The camera body and lenses are relatively small and light.  They fit easily into half of a briefcase allowing plenty of room for a computer and paper work.  See my...

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Nikon 1 V3 for Birds | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Birds | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Birds | a 7 Image Story   The Nikon 1 V3 makes bird photography possible for amateurs who do not specialize on birds.  As an amateur, who captures mostly wildlife, landscapes, and aviation, investing in very expensive 400mm - 600mm telephoto lens just...

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Nikon 1 V3 for Walkabout Wildlife | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Walkabout Wildlife | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Walkabout Wildlife | a 7 Image Story  What the V3 does well, it does very well.  Now, the V3 is my preferred carry camera for capturing daily walkabout images including local wildlife.  It shoots much like a DSLR in continuous mode.  Although a bit...

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Reflections on 2018 | a 7 Image Story

Reflections on 2018 | a 7 Image Story

Reflections on 2018 | a 7 Image Story  2018 was again a year like all years, filled with those events which alter and illuminate our time. (Thank you, Walter.)  For me, 2018 was a year filled with very little travel while focusing my clicks closer to home.  My camera...

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Soft Sepia Aircraft | a 7 Image Story

Soft Sepia Aircraft | a 7 Image Story

Soft Sepia Aircraft | a 7 Image Story  Some airplanes look really nice in B&W Sepia, some don't.  Weather and background also make a big difference whether a B&W will work for a given airplane at a particular location.  My preferences tend to be sharp...

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Petri Color 35 to Europe | a 7 Image Story

Petri Color 35 to Europe | a 7 Image Story

Petri Color 35 to Europe | a 7 Image Story  Although my trip included many places in Europe, it started and ended in London.  Oddly, I really did not get much time for photographs except when in London.  In preparation for my trip, I needed a new, smaller 35mm camera...

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Panoramas | a 7 Image Story

Panoramas | a 7 Image Story

Panoramas | a 7 Image Story  A great pano provides real context to the story; particularly if the story is about landscape.  These images were all stitched, but many newer cameras provide the capability to capture a pano in the camera.  Sure there are some...

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Summer 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story

Summer 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story

Summer 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story  It’s that time again to share a few images from this summer.  They are in no particular order; just random images I find interesting from this summer. A day at the airport is almost always a good day.  This day, after working...

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5×7 Dry Plate Restorations | a 7 Image Story

5×7 Dry Plate Restorations | a 7 Image Story

5x7 Dry Plate Restorations | a 7 Image Story  5×7 dry plates were popular with photographers during the late 1800s and early 1900s.  This story started for me after I went to an estate sale where I bought a 5×7 view camera in very good condition and a box of exposed...

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Way Cool | a 7 Image Story

Way Cool | a 7 Image Story

Way Cool | a 7 Image Story  The obvious question: what do you mean by "way cool."  Way cool, as a term, has been used for many years now.  To me, it's a feeling of accomplishment, uniqueness, a bit of luck, and the WOW factor.  These images may not be my best in...

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5×7 Dry Plate | a 7 Image Story

5×7 Dry Plate | a 7 Image Story

5x7 Dry Plate | a 7 Image Story  5x7 dry plates were popular with photographers during the late 1800s and early 1900s.  How in the world did I get started on this project?  Well, I went to an estate sale.  The person selling part of their estate was a collector.  He...

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Spring 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story

Spring 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story

Spring 2018 Hodgepodge | a 7 Image Story  It’s time to share a few images from this spring.  They are in no particular order; just random images I find interesting from this spring. The aerial  image captures the scene out the windshield flying north along the western...

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Why post an image a day? | a 7 Image Story

Why post an image a day? | a 7 Image Story

Why post an image a day? | a 7 Image Story  Why post an image a day for over 5 years?  Yes, 5 project 365 projects in a row.  Utter craziness, right!  Well, maybe.  Basically, I started posting an image a day to help motivate myself to capture more images on a very...

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Project 365 Learnings | a 7 Image Story

Project 365 Learnings | a 7 Image Story

Project 365 Learnings | a 7 Image Story  Completing a Project 365 is not for the faint of heart.  What’s a Project 365?  It’s the marathon of photography; post an image every day for a year.  Although I have completed five Project 365 projects, I considered quitting...

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Crop or Not | a 7 Image Story

Crop or Not | a 7 Image Story

Crop or Not | a 7 Image Story  To crop or not to crop: that is the question:  Whether  ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune...  Most pros don't crop.  Their motto: move your feet to get the image right in the camera.  That’s...

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On a Clear Day | a 7 Image Story

On a Clear Day | a 7 Image Story

On a Clear Day | a 7 Image Story   Most people like a clear day.  Some days are obviously clearer than others.  These 7 images represent some of my clearest days, although not the absolute clearest.  (My clearest day was in Alaska while flying northwest out of...

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Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation | a 7 Image Story

Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation | a 7 Image Story  My journey with the Nikon 1 series cameras and lenses started with the V1, skipped the V2, and embraced the V3.  The V3 fixed several annoying V1 traits.  Also, handling, auto-focus, and metering improved dramatically.  About...

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Snow Makes the Image | a 7 Image Story

Snow Makes the Image | a 7 Image Story

Snow Makes the Image | a 7 Image Story  Snow images range from being really boring to very dramatic.  In each of the images in this 7 Image Story, the snow makes the image.  Sometimes, it provides a nice background, which separates the obvious subject and makes stark...

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Reflections on 2017 | a 7 Image Story

Reflections on 2017 | a 7 Image Story

Reflections on 2017 | a 7 Image Story  2017 was a year like all years, filled with those events which alter and illuminate our time.  (Thank you, Walter.)  For me, 2017 was a year filled with very little travel; focusing my clicks closer to home.  It was a year filled...

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