Cream of the Crop of 2009

[Steve Carter]

For me, 2009 was certainly a difficult year in all things but photography. So far in 2010, I haven't been inspired to take anything but test shots for a newly acquired GPS logger. So I'm glad we have this thread, it's helped me appreciate some of the photos ops I enjoyed last year.

My main photo interest is Railroading, but as you can see it's not all there is.

An awesome sunset over the Olympics featuring the Twin Sons of Different Mothers Bridges, more commonly refered to as the Tacoma Narrows Bridges.

Among the ghosts of Gertie!

Sunrise over Mt. Rainier.

Reflecting Heron in Flight

The Emerald City looking a little blue.

Try this link, it looks much better there: http://www.pbase.com/ottercove/image/121019572

A Fox Island/Gig Harbor Sunset

Another take on the same above.

Never ending oportunities to show this scene in a different light.

Duck swimming in molten gold.

From molten gold to historic steam out in Mineral.

Graceful Bald Eagle in Puyallup.

Duck at Nisqually Reserve

Blue Herron taking flight.

Pt. Defiance Park. I believe this is a Lily, correct if you can.

Pt. Defiance Park. Don't know the name and my Master Garderner wife is already asleep.

Pt. Defiance Park and strike three.

Just a little closer and I'll make an impression on you!

Somewhat more powerful than the last subject and yet dwarfed by the volcano.

That's precision!

Sunrise through the fog in Gig Harbor.

The last shot of the year - my impression of that Blue Moon.

 

[Leia]

Stunning collection from livestock to an unbelievable train. 2009 was great for you.

 

[ChrisW]

Steve---- Really awesome collection of works you have presented to us. I just dont know which I like better, so I will have to say all. The shot of the steam is pretty cool, I like the effect on the ground.

Great work and look forward to what you have to offer in 2010!!

Chris W.

 

[Twick]

Great set. Tough to choose a favorite but I'll gave to go with Gig harbor and the fog.

 

[steveeshom]

As others have said Steve, great collection!! While I'm not a birder I have to say one of my favorites is "Reflecting Heron in Flight". Something about it draws me in.

 

[JLMCPICS]

Great work Steve!

 

[NinaS]

beautiful work, I'm in awe with some of your scenics

 

[JaniceL]

Great work. You have a broad range of subjects. They are all beautiful, the Blue Angels (?) precision flying is awesome.

 

[rach]

Many wonderful shots here, but the one of Gig Harbor literally made me gasp. So beautiful!

 

[DWHonan]

Steve, I usually only get to see your railroad photography, and I always forget that you shoot so much more than just trains. Your ability to use available light and sense of composition are remarkable. Thanks for sharing this great collection with us.

 

[Steve Carter]

Hey Dave, welcome aboard!

Oh, and thanks so much for the compliments. Certainly trains are at the top, but the passion for photography is the driving force.

Looking forward to seeing some of your anti-railroad photos.

 

[BobH]

Steve, I usually only get to see your railroad photography, and I always forget that you shoot so much more than just trains. Your ability to use available light and sense of composition are remarkable. Thanks for sharing this great collection with us.

As a matter of fact, that is exactly the reason we started this forum. Steve, Robert and I were talking about photography after one of the model railroad club meetings and we came up with the idea of a place to showcase something more than just train photos. Not that there's anything wrong with train photos mind you, we all really enjoy taking them, but we also have other subjects we like to photograph too. Also, railroadforums is first and foremost about railroads. My concept was to create a place that's about photography, and specifically photography in the Pacific Northwest.

So they convinced me to go ahead with the idea, and helped me get the ball rolling. It's been about 9 months since then, and the place is continuing to grow and expand. I'm hoping that this spring and summer we can continue the growth and attract more members.

We've got some neat plans for the place, things like meetup and maybe some classes, but we need to get a certain number of participants before they can really work.

 

[JaniceL]

Before I forget, what kind of GPS logger do you have?

 

[Steve Carter]

Before I forget, what kind of GPS logger do you have?

It's a Holux- looks like an oversized canister of Kodak film. Works well, eats batteries for snacks, so now I have one more device to power up in my truck.

 

[JaniceL]

It's a Holux- looks like an oversized canister of Kodak film. Works well, eats batteries for snacks, so now I have one more device to power up in my truck.

I've been considering something like that so I can pinpoint my shots on my hikes. I have a GPS but I don't like to keep it powered up for tracking and drain its batteries. Darn batteries.

Thanks I'll check it out.

 

[Steve Carter]

Like most electronic devices that interface to a computer, at least half the value is in the software that comes with the device. I've only used this product, so I can't make any first hand comparisons, but the software seems pretty reasonable.

It allows you to download logs from the device, create a project (link the photos to the logs) and finally add the co-ordinates to the photos exif data.

I save the project in the same folder as the photos, so I can then load the project to see where the images were taken. There is also a link to Flickr, but I use Pbase, so I can't say how well that works.

There are several manufactures of these things, including Sony.

 

[Steve Carter]

I just tried uploading an geotagged image to my Pbase account, and it worked just fine. Normally I manually tag the images I post there, but if the data is part of the exif, then Pbase will allow it to be seen on a map.

Take a look:
http://www.pbase.com/ottercove/image/121322981
Third line under the image is a link to "view map".