tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44430768814940909392012-02-16T06:43:14.720-05:00Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.comBlogger4891100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-1931679748728712192012-01-10T21:04:00.001-05:002012-01-10T21:04:37.308-05:00

Am sleepy.  So here's a deer at Cade's Cove on Sunday. Maybe more updates soon.  Maybe not.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-46775061889201352202011-12-21T22:59:00.000-05:002011-12-21T22:59:06.472-05:00

I took this shot on a whim this evening on the way to dinner.  I was really surprised with the pinkish hue of the sky!  It's not something that I really saw just looking out at the dam, it really only showed up during the long (30 seconds!) exposure.  Photo very lightly edited in Lightroom.  I like how it turned out, especially considering how little prep work I did.  I may try to get back there

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-34602774374769296222011-11-24T17:28:00.001-05:002011-11-24T17:37:07.036-05:00

So, I cooked this year.  Very sleepy now.  But here's what the food looked like, and links to recipes: Almost done... Assembled, yet blurry: Forgot the cranberry sauce until after eating everything else!!! Recipes: Stuffing: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/hungry-girl-apple-onion-stuffing/ Squash soup: http://www.foxnews.com/imag/Food/Healthy+Fall+Recipe%3A+Roasted+Squash+Soup

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-42722477207899321522011-11-13T10:16:00.001-05:002011-11-13T10:16:12.178-05:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0Downtown, Seattle47.605022 -122.33437tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-45627347077224403212011-11-10T06:00:00.000-05:002011-11-10T06:00:15.661-05:00

This photo does a reasonable job capturing the iridescence on the male ducks head: Missus duck is still not amused.  Notice how you can see her little feet under the water.  For some reason I think that's so cool. Flashin' a little blue-and-purple flair: Dinnertime: And now she's finally spotted me.  I love how the females are drab (relative to the males), but then they have that

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-57840301090031894402011-11-09T05:30:00.000-05:002011-11-09T05:30:00.616-05:00

Well, actually just ducks, like the bird-y kind. Mister duck, after emerging from underwater: This is what he looked like just a second before: These photos were pretty hard to take anywhere close to decently - the light at the dam was getting pretty low, and I didn't have the good birding lens on my camera.  Even so, some were nifty.  Like this one - look at how the duck's head is still

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-74530450520582633072011-11-08T05:30:00.000-05:002011-11-08T05:30:02.958-05:00

From behind Tremont - I wish I could remember the name of the waterfall! Anyway: I think I like these better.  I prefer the black-and-white version myself: I may revisit this and try to pull out a little of the detail that's apparently lost in the conversion...

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-40923458845863779662011-11-07T17:00:00.000-05:002011-11-07T17:00:00.473-05:00

Not a great picture, but this bird is pretty neat.  Saw it up at the UT Arboretum.  It's a Northern Flicker.  I haven't seen one before, although they're apparently pretty common.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-73525522555153897902011-11-07T06:00:00.000-05:002011-11-07T06:00:13.832-05:00

to take pictures of it!  Most of these are heavily cropped, I have no been too sneaky lately. Woodpecker at the aboretum.  I like how the leaves and branches frame him: A different woodpecker at the arboretum.  I think I like the second photo better - the little guy looks like he's got a purpose. This is a neat little bird that startled me at Ijams when I was there.  It was right by the

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-80552857891613633942011-11-06T23:27:00.000-05:002011-11-06T23:27:01.651-05:00

I thought it was some kids repeatedly banging sticks on the ground or something....

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-87067904252725447262011-11-06T18:00:00.000-05:002011-11-06T18:00:00.443-05:00

Some more evening shots from up at the dam: Upon looking more at this one, I think I'm going to reframe it and cut off a lot of the black area at the bottom.  I don't think it adds anything to the photo at all. Purdy clouds over the tree line: Too much HDR playing: The natural feel, overlooking the Weir Dam below Norris Dam:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-15645458993861440122011-11-06T06:00:00.000-05:002011-11-06T06:00:06.610-05:00

They look so innocent, don't they? Awww, lookit his little foot! Caught in the act. Those are the nice squirrels at the UT Arboretum.  Now, compare them to the squirrels at Ijams: What the hell?? Ok, so you photo-aware folks might blame it on my flash.  But just look at them.  Do they look innocent to you? DO THEY?

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-13076059549676836592011-11-05T23:14:00.000-04:002011-11-05T23:14:31.029-04:00

So when I sat at the computer this evening, there were something like 800+ photos I hadn't gotten around to looking at.  That number is closer to 300 now.  Which is still too many! Some shot from the UT Arboretum a week or so ago: Random log in the pond: What I consider to be a pretty nice picture of the afternoon light shining through a fall leaf: Wildlife!

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-36267197722934861522011-11-03T08:00:00.000-04:002011-11-03T08:00:15.994-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-53846143880255261602011-11-02T21:58:00.003-04:002011-11-02T21:58:42.460-04:00

Not really, just another shot from Tremont. I am mildly happy with this photo.  I wish I could figure out what I dislike about it.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-51609802804396718112011-11-02T09:00:00.000-04:002011-11-02T09:00:08.682-04:00

So, break from HDR, here's a normal picture from Tremont: I need to calibrate my laptop monitor... this picture looks pretty terrible on it.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-29215791130758682412011-11-01T21:13:00.004-04:002011-11-01T21:13:48.922-04:00

Like any kid with a new toy, here's some more HDR from Norris Dam.  These two are composed from the exact same photo, just way different parameters applied during the HDR processing.  The first is at least a little realistic, while the second delves waymuch into the surreal. It was actually right around sundown when I took these, so the light is probably a stop or two brighter in the photos than

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-53884518108082646832011-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:002011-10-31T08:00:12.053-04:00

I managed  to get off my lazy behind again today, and went up for a short hike to the waterfall behind the Tremont Institute.  It's my favorite quick and easy hike in the area - very easy to get to, and only a 2mi roundtrip.  I really wanted to get some decent shots of the foliage, but I mostly failed in that endeavor.  However, I did emerge with quite a few good long-exposure shots of the falls

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-73459787408495444072011-10-30T15:30:00.000-04:002011-10-30T15:30:00.394-04:00

Here's another example of HDR from Norris Dam.  First, the normal "properly" exposed image.  As you can see, the trees on the left are pretty well-lit and you can see what's going on.  However, the stuff on the right is very shadowy, and it's hard to pick out any detail.  What HDR let's me do it use multiple exposure, some where the stuff on the right is just the right brightness, and

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-46897503909146465012011-10-30T05:00:00.000-04:002011-10-30T05:00:02.595-04:00

Here's another favorite photo from the trip to the UT Gardens. It might not be the best photo ever, but I like how I was starting to think about looking at things in a different way.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-14271319304810842722011-10-29T22:28:00.000-04:002011-10-29T22:28:30.222-04:00

I needed to get out today, so I decided to take a trip up to Norris Dam and do some photography.  I was trying to get down there for a good sunset, but it was a little less than impressive.  I also seem to have arrived after a lot of the nice light was gone from the other surroundings.  Still, I gave it a shot. I did take a few sets of bracketed photos so I could play with some HDR again.  This

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-25918251191496860422011-10-29T08:30:00.000-04:002011-10-29T08:30:00.312-04:00

Because I'm a technical dork, here's the same photo, but with the "white balance" setting modified in Lightroom.  The first is mostly how it looked out in the field, the second is me pretending it was really sunny out.  This is another study in what light looks like passing through things. Which one do you like better?

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-59053003141399353512011-10-28T07:30:00.000-04:002011-10-28T07:30:01.443-04:00

This one is merely OK.  Not sure what I was going for here.... In addition to looking at light coming through objects, I played around a little bit with silhouettes...

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-8829980965197594782011-10-27T20:12:00.002-04:002011-10-27T20:12:55.931-04:00

I must correct my post from Tuesday.  This is actually a rose.  I think. Apologies.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-6568440781706487912011-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:002011-10-27T07:00:12.696-04:00

This photo would have been helped greatly by a tripod.  I had to keep the aperture relatively open so that there was enough light coming in to handhold it.  I should mention that all of the photos from this trip are handheld.  Cause I'm that awesome.  Yeh. Anyway, I dig the pattern and texture in the center of the flower.  I actually do sorta like how the rest of the flower is out of focus, it

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-48844649949974258092011-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:002011-10-26T06:00:01.965-04:00

JAPF (Just Another Pretty Flower)

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-71693857793564537462011-10-25T21:41:00.002-04:002011-10-25T21:41:20.007-04:00

And I think this is a rose too.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-4013755814193598152011-10-25T21:28:00.000-04:002011-10-25T21:28:07.696-04:00

This past Saturday we had our second field trip for the UT Non-Credit Photography Class.  I had to be at the UT Gardens at the unseemly hour of 08:00.  On a Saturday! Now, granted, the best photos generally come early in the day or late in the evening.  But.  08:00!  I survived, though.  In general it was a good experience; however, I was a little disappointed that we only did portraiture for

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-10775813370995753452011-10-22T06:00:00.000-04:002011-10-22T06:00:03.624-04:00

And this is just the waterfall.  Not a lot of flow this day.  Also really weird lighting, very inconsistent across the scene. This leaf is kind of cool,  all backlit and stuff.  I nearly lost my retina though - it's amazing hard to hold a leaf in front of your lens while pointing it at the sun and trying not to let the leaf rotate!

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-23127668728582442032011-10-21T06:00:00.000-04:002011-10-21T06:00:00.681-04:00

For some reason, I was compelled to shoot this mushroom.  It was just sitting all by itself, no mushroom friends to be seen, all alone in the leafy wilderness of the forest floor.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-8209198451357486922011-10-20T20:30:00.000-04:002011-10-20T20:30:01.623-04:00

Too lazy to ID this.  Sorry.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-26213765125312427932011-10-20T11:00:00.000-04:002011-10-20T11:00:06.631-04:00

First, a sort of standard, sort of overexposed shot: Now, doing something creative in a different shot of the same place:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-54107450160097461952011-10-19T22:32:00.001-04:002011-10-19T22:32:32.791-04:00

The weather Monday was fantastic, and pretty much required a hike, despite being exhausted from a trip out to Kansas.  So rather than spend a bunch of time planning, I decided to revisit a previous hike to White Oak Sink and try to get some sunset shots. This led to a couple of problems.  Firstly, I totally misremembered both the length and difficulty of the hike.  So, it ended up being about

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-25811562781055233212011-10-18T07:25:00.001-04:002011-10-18T07:25:39.519-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-82519513958187542022011-10-16T07:30:00.000-04:002011-10-16T07:30:00.206-04:00

Today's theme is portraits. Tom took a few opportunities and "encouraged" some folks to model for the rest of the class.  It was  pretty hard  to get good photos out of these, because there were like 40 of us or something, and Tom was often in the frame showing the models what to do.  I did have a few turn out ok though. First up, we had to practice freezing motion.  Tom contrived to get one of

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-64757562704269805562011-10-15T11:00:00.000-04:002011-10-15T11:00:02.889-04:00

Today's theme is art and architecture. Playing with exposure of the First Tennessee Building (I think).  I kind of like how it turns out all gold-ish in this photo.  It could stand to be straightened and cropped a bit, though. A mask, in profile. The same mask, at nearly the same angle, but taken with a much different exposure, and a wide-angle lens. The statue of Charles Krutch in, oddly

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-17079354555252955592011-10-14T10:00:00.000-04:002011-10-14T10:00:07.138-04:00

Today's theme is Tom. Tom is our instructor, and owner of Tom Geisler Photography.  He's a funny dude. Tom instructing one of my classmates on how to stand in the good light. Tom demonstrating how to do a classic "laying on a rock in World's Fair Park" pose.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-72436295615520202732011-10-12T12:00:00.000-04:002011-10-12T12:00:05.917-04:00

Today's theme is abstract-ish thingies. This, I believe, is a table in Market Square. Fence decorations. Finally, the lonely remnants of a concert poster in Market Square.  For some reason, I thought this would be a good photo.  I'm not sure *why* I like it, but I do. So, these aren't really abstract, but, well, whatever.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-67721513460251919662011-10-11T19:53:00.000-04:002011-10-11T20:55:51.751-04:00

I'm going to post some photos from my class field trip over the next few days.  All photos will be the actual JPEGs straight from the camera, as is the intent of the class. Today's theme is plants. Some leaves, apparently a little show on the shutter speed. Water droplet. I really should know what this is, but my brain is teh broked. Water droplets on a rose-like thing.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-25497775235952052772011-10-10T10:30:00.000-04:002011-10-10T10:30:00.622-04:00

As you may or may not know, I'm taking a intro photography class at UT for a couple of months.  To hone my skills, I offered to take some shots at a soccer game for a friend whose son was playing.  These are some of the more reasonable results.  All were shot in manual exposure mode - we took an oath not to shoot in anything else until the instructor releases us!  They're also pretty much

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-86304293828614291342011-10-09T18:47:00.001-04:002011-10-09T18:47:48.442-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3Court South, 8511 Walbrook Drive, Knoxville, TN, United States35.924788 -84.06458tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-50608620006848056152011-10-03T22:55:00.000-04:002011-10-03T22:55:21.571-04:00

I took these last week.  I wanted to do some (quick) playing around with long exposures at night.  Check it.  These are from an overpass over I-40, taken with a 50mm f/1.8 I like this one a lot better though:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-34260472347004926432011-09-26T08:00:00.000-04:002011-09-26T08:00:17.157-04:00

Yet another cicada husk: And an even creepier closeup of the same thing:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-46267753080244988592011-09-25T19:13:00.000-04:002011-09-25T19:13:40.526-04:00

First, apologies for the really poor quality pictures from the previous post.  Not sure what happened there. Now, the recipe!  Note that I'm terrible at keeping track of the quantities of herbs and spices I use.  I just throw them in until it's tasty. Ingredients: Italian sweet peppers (some number of them) 1lb ground beef olive oil 1 c israeli couscous 1 red onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic,

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-43025873740108417592011-09-25T19:03:00.001-04:002011-09-25T19:03:10.405-04:00

Recipe to follow

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-53164224332833093882011-09-25T07:00:00.000-04:002011-09-25T07:00:00.990-04:00

A young buck near the parking lot at Norris Dam.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-33242750266788968102011-09-24T20:32:00.000-04:002011-09-24T20:33:36.536-04:00

Starting to go through my backlog again.  Here are a few wildflowers from my Aug. 24th hike at the Norris Dam Marine Railway Trail. First, a lobelia (downy, I think) with some dewdrops on it.  I love dewdrops. No clue what this one is, but again, more dewdrops! An upside-down bluecurl: ... and this one is properly oriented ...

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-58028416596527435842011-09-19T20:38:00.001-04:002011-09-19T21:04:11.922-04:00

SB-600 flash and 300mm f/4 lens. Fairly sad cellphone pic, but these probably complete my kit for awhile.  I had a smaller SB-400 flash, but it's totally automatic with no manual settings.  The SB-600 hopefully gives me a bit more freedom to play around, once I figure out how to actually use flashes reasonably/artistically.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-80399186399632877702011-09-18T14:28:00.000-04:002011-09-18T14:28:21.335-04:00

Seems as though there's another race coming up, so I gotta get back in "shape" for it.  This time it's the Moonlight for Sight 5K supporting the Lions Club and their Sight Conservation Program.  Registration form is here.  I did this run last year, and it was pretty fun.  It's a decent area, and running at night is a pretty different experience. So anyway, here's the data: (Apologies for the

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-13268998123843243822011-09-16T21:49:00.002-04:002011-09-16T21:49:19.077-04:00

Quite a range of things this week: Tomatoes Sweet potatoes String beans Butternut squash Bell peppers Apples Pears! and the obligatory eggplant (blech!)

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-2870888445716078662011-09-14T21:34:00.003-04:002011-09-14T21:34:54.922-04:00

Here is the moon.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-90128504251574948212011-09-13T06:00:00.000-04:002011-09-13T08:09:44.400-04:00

This doe (I think) was really not happy to see me wandering down the path at Seven Islands.  She kept chuffing at me until she got disgusted and pranced away.  I suspect she had a fawn somewhere close, hidden in the grass.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-41482594873692225602011-09-12T11:30:00.000-04:002011-09-12T11:30:01.197-04:00

From Seven Islands:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-47647065989745900462011-09-11T07:56:00.000-04:002011-09-11T07:56:00.383-04:00

Just a couple of birds... Blurryhawk: Needs ID: Needs ID (but probably a mockingbird): Needs ID: This is my favorite (I mostly dig the red eye).  It's some kind of Towhee.  Can't really figure out which kind though.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-42733053742458467022011-09-10T06:15:00.000-04:002011-09-10T06:15:00.298-04:00

Here's a whole slew from Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge: Bugs and whatnot.... Flowers... Rose pink Indian pink

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-16093570348187448692011-09-09T11:19:00.000-04:002011-09-09T11:19:00.736-04:00

Still playing catch-up.  Sheesh! Cool insects from Seven Islands.... Unidentified fly-ish thing: Unidentified wasp-ish thing: More indigo buntings, from Ijams and/or Seven Islands: Female goldfinch from Melton Dam: Male goldfinch at Melton Dam, checking out some nefarious goings-on: Oh snap, he was checking out some finch-graffiti artist! Female does not approve....

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-72763449451730249612011-09-08T23:06:00.000-04:002011-09-08T23:06:00.578-04:00

Now, for a change of scenery, some scenery! First up, just a shot of one of the big fields at Seven Islands.  In the rear-left you can see the road that runs down the middle of the preserve. The next two are kind of cool.  I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out where they were taken.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-27083248079918336472011-09-08T22:23:00.000-04:002011-09-08T22:23:17.091-04:00

So, I have to return my loaner AF-S 300mm f/4 to my friend tomorrow.  Seeing as the weather has been cruddy most of the time I've had it, I haven't been able to get in much time actually using the silly thing! So today, despite the cloudiness, I headed up to the dam to see if I could roust up any wildlife.  I managed to find a big ole spider that ran up to a tree as soon as I spotted it.  The

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-10446621648977016092011-09-08T19:56:00.001-04:002011-09-08T19:56:08.775-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com3West Hills Village, 3100 Lake Brook Boulevard, Knoxville, TN, United States35.94897 -84.030472tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-10109033345814538422011-09-08T19:27:00.001-04:002011-09-08T19:27:05.475-04:00

Ok.  It's really garlic bread.  But Swype wanted to use gaelic first.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-61544808406054564912011-09-08T18:26:00.001-04:002011-09-08T18:26:24.598-04:00

Quick photos of today's box: Contents: tomatoes corn! bell pepper eggplants :( zucchini cucumber yellow squash a watermelon (it's about time!)

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-49453627740013492762011-09-07T06:30:00.000-04:002011-09-07T06:30:01.671-04:00

A smattering of birds, mostly from Ijams, I think. Indigo buntings: Woodpecker -I'm not totally sure, but it does seem to resemble the Red Cockaded Woodpecker.  Will search and see if I managed a better angle.  It could also be a juvenile of another species. Couldn't ID this one, even in color. Couple of goldfinch shots: No ID on this one either.... which is odd, it should be

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-20904946805496391122011-09-06T05:45:00.000-04:002011-09-06T05:45:00.861-04:00

More from the July Ijams trip.  First up, an interesting angle on another butterfly: This picture was actually taken in broad daylight.  It's neat how the flash really changes the composition of a photo: These are my favorites from that trip.  This caterpillar didn't look nearly as awesome until I got home and saw the detail on all the little protrusions.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-91085269976862777152011-09-05T13:13:00.000-04:002011-09-05T13:13:22.635-04:00

Wow, so apparently I have something like one and a half months of photo backlog... so here's a start at clearning out some stuff.  These are from a July trip to Ijams. Caterpillar: One of the weird spiders with the pyramid-ish backsides: Futterbly:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-61796774556055199122011-09-04T07:00:00.000-04:002011-09-04T07:00:02.098-04:00

I forgot to mention yesterday, these shots were all with a 1.4x teleconverter.  Even with it attached (also borrowed), I was pretty pleased with the autofocus speed.  I definitely wish Nikon would come out with a 300mm with Vibration Reduction, though.  I'm just not that steady on my own. Patient grasshopper: This shot was cool - I actually had no idea there were insects on this plant until I

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-17861736216262623662011-09-03T23:04:00.001-04:002011-09-03T23:04:19.607-04:00

A friend at work kindly loaned me his baby for the weekend, a Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4.   It's pretty sweet! I went to Ijams this morning,  and actually didn't come back with too many keepers.  I think I was still getting used to the lens, it it *might* require some adjustments with my camera body.  In particular, I don't like how well it was focusing on birds.   Anyway,  a few initial samples:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-69770250275804063232011-08-30T20:03:00.001-04:002011-08-30T20:03:24.825-04:00

Recipe possibly forthcoming

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-69686230556279906612011-08-28T22:49:00.000-04:002011-08-28T22:49:35.583-04:00

Meigs Creek Falls today, noon-ish, 30 second exposure, f/25, ND8 filter: The exposure needed to be a little shorter, the falls themselves are a blown out.  However, I really like the silky-smooth effect at the bottom of the falls.  I think I might get a darker ND filter, or *maybe* consider stacking a couple of ND8s.  All in all, not bad for 15 seconds of planning :)

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-62917607808848886552011-08-27T22:44:00.000-04:002011-08-27T22:44:06.763-04:00

Bluecurls from the Marine Railway Loop at Norris Dam.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-83411534139080753542011-08-25T23:17:00.000-04:002011-08-25T23:17:17.629-04:00

So, yeh, here's a couple of bugs.  The first is an Ailanthus Webworm Moth I spotted on my door one night earlier this week. The next isn't actually a bug anymore, it's just the husk of a cicada larva.  Picture is lightly edited (only a little white balancing) otherwise it's straight out of the camera.  This is from my hike yesterday (more on that later), and I was playing around a little

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-1582794635963825492011-08-21T19:12:00.001-04:002011-08-21T19:12:11.745-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-54807687918952162082011-08-21T18:47:00.001-04:002011-08-21T18:47:19.738-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-22953258120440279762011-08-21T14:15:00.000-04:002011-08-21T14:15:08.639-04:00

Pics from the box from Thursday before last.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-35174294604566684802011-08-20T12:37:00.001-04:002011-08-20T12:37:47.012-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-90770107105990375072011-08-15T22:17:00.000-04:002011-08-15T22:17:17.089-04:00

Before: After: Somehow, the car actually ended up stopped at 99998, 99999, 100000, and 100001 miles.  I think that means there are too many stops on my way home from work.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-20901284822459307832011-08-15T22:15:00.000-04:002011-08-15T22:15:19.442-04:00

These guys (girls?) were right next to the sidewalk on my way into work this morning: I suspect it was a Momma-turkey along with a dozen of her little baby turkeys.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-59847903684220274522011-08-09T19:17:00.001-04:002011-08-09T19:17:28.741-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-9013367222635713812011-08-09T19:05:00.000-04:002011-08-09T19:05:12.815-04:00

Look what I almost walked into at the Greenway this afternoon: Yep, that seems to be a pretty large (to me) copperhead.  It probably would have been more than two feet long had it not been coiled up wanting to strike me.  And me with just my cameraphone! It actually lunged at me before I saw it.  I think.  It's a little hazy.  I think I disturbed it about to snack on that poor little

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-17992504554102117022011-08-09T18:10:00.001-04:002011-08-09T18:10:53.458-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-53600005123853680192011-08-09T17:00:00.001-04:002011-08-09T17:00:11.273-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-65211429620692864112011-08-09T16:54:00.001-04:002011-08-09T16:54:43.218-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-67942425448859631652011-08-06T19:38:00.000-04:002011-08-06T19:38:25.922-04:00

Apologies for the lack of posts, just haven't felt very motivated to edit anything I have laying around right now.  But, just for you, here's an Indigo Bunting from Ijams:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-90437816282201476422011-08-04T22:44:00.000-04:002011-08-04T22:44:28.262-04:00

This week we have: Cucumbers Tomatoes large and small Peaches An eggplant CORN! Red and orange bell pepper Beans And, surprise, more zucchini

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-36359324886176015832011-07-31T21:48:00.000-04:002011-07-31T21:48:21.115-04:00

Flowers from Ijams... Spiderwort: For this one, I played around a little bit with some off-camera flash: Chicory: Unknown:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-78151444245254621912011-07-30T20:02:00.000-04:002011-07-30T20:02:23.624-04:00

I apparently know roughly 31 kilowords.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-53432504558196989572011-07-30T15:19:00.000-04:002011-07-30T15:19:56.222-04:00

Some butterflies and whatnot from Ijams. Japanese beetle: Grasshopper (zoom for detail on the leg): Flying ant-like thing in a chicory blossom: Butterfly or moth out drinking some nectar: And continuing the feeding insect meme, here's a dragonfly eating another insect. OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-70462252848939229342011-07-29T21:02:00.002-04:002011-07-29T21:02:22.073-04:00

Meant to post these photos from Ijams yesterday. Garden Coreopsis: Dayflower with weird looking junk: More Dayflower (Asiatic, I think, but won't swear to):

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-8339983032341501272011-07-28T19:45:00.000-04:002011-07-28T19:45:57.886-04:00

Weird lettuce from Kroger Orange cherry tomatoes (CSA) Yellow bell pepper (CSA) White onion (CSA) Sweet banana pepper (my "garden")

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-19305552104850019162011-07-28T19:24:00.001-04:002011-07-28T19:24:56.741-04:00

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-91503003056819214262011-07-26T21:59:00.000-04:002011-07-26T21:59:35.423-04:00

So, this seems to be post #400.  Neat.  Didn't really figure I'd keep it up this long, and semi-consistently. In honor of this occasion, I will now post flower pictures that I intended to post anyway.  Hah!

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-72514362415879168042011-07-26T06:01:00.000-04:002011-07-26T06:01:01.007-04:00

First, a couple more dragonflies from around Ijams. Flowers! Garden coreopsis: Spiderwort:

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-5069950921595339082011-07-25T18:58:00.000-04:002011-07-25T18:58:39.819-04:00

Everything is bearing fruit now.  I seem to have the following plants: 2 tomato 3 jalapeno pepper 2 serrano pepper 4 bell pepper 2 or 3 as yet unidentified peppers (one of these looks suspiciously like a jalapeno/serrano cross!) Pics (complete with bad off-camera flash experiment): It might be hard to tell in those, but one of the serranos and one of the tomatoes are both 8-12" above the top

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-58328739220851176342011-07-24T16:30:00.001-04:002011-07-24T16:31:04.475-04:00

What's that back there...? SNAKE! That guy was probably 3-4 feet long.  I'm guessing he was an eastern water snake, but it's pretty hard to tell without a better view of the body and underside.  Here's a view of the little marsh/pond where I found him: Also, dragonflies!

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-20156210756317655242011-07-23T20:21:00.001-04:002011-07-24T19:36:40.266-04:00

I had some chicken I had already sliced earlier this week, so I decided to make some fajitas for dinner. I based my seasoning on http://busycooks.about.com/od/homemademixes/r/fajitaseasonmix.htm .  I used ancho chile power instead of chili powder, and didn't bother with the cayenne or the bullion.  Everything was pretty much eyeballed. Applied to chicken and put back into the fridge for 30

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-2905158582346362462011-07-22T21:03:00.000-04:002011-07-22T21:03:13.345-04:00

I have a few more of the squirrel from yesterday, but they are in the same vein.  So here's other stuff! Birdhouse @ Ijams: Dayflower @ Ijams Unidentified yellow flower @ Ijams: Unidentified white flower @ Ijams: My ID-fu skills were weak :(

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-37752499110542674262011-07-21T21:31:00.000-04:002011-07-21T21:31:03.560-04:00

As I was walking along the River Boardwalk at Ijams last week, I was startled by a squirrel running out in front of me.  It was weird though, because it didn't make itself totally scare like they normally do.  Instead, it tried to climb up the climb, and couldn't, so it started wandering down the middle of the boardwalk in front of me.  It was obvious that it was away from me, so I was a bit

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-54565983354947189692011-07-21T21:22:00.000-04:002011-07-21T21:22:30.340-04:00

This week we got: Tomatoes (normal, some sort of heirloom varieties, yellow, and yellow cherry) Zucchini (the light green kind, and a round one!) Eggplant Canteloupe Lots of peaches Onions Potatoes Corn on the cob Some sort of beanlike things Cucumbers Pics! I had an ear of corn with dinner, it was pretty sweet and tender.  I approve.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-21361568575034998732011-07-19T22:13:00.002-04:002011-07-19T22:13:49.528-04:00

Giant ladybug! That is all.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-27873979871511784442011-07-18T22:15:00.000-04:002011-07-18T22:15:49.051-04:00

Random shots from Ijams this weekend. Tennessee state flower (taken at close range with the 70-300mm): FLY!!! (Close crop taken with 70-300mm)

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4443076881494090939.post-70437184758732539292011-07-16T22:47:00.000-04:002011-07-16T22:47:48.851-04:00

Went for a photo walk at Ijams this morning.  Lots and lots of dayflowers out.  Here's one picked at random from all my photos.  I think it's an Asiatic Dayflower, but I haven't really verified that yet. And a crop from that image: Not stunning, but I didn't get around to looking at the ones I took with the macro lens.  This one is from like 1.5m away with the 70-300mm.

Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12856170672689363559noreply@blogger.com0