So on our trip to Niagara Falls, we only managed to stop at the falls the first night. It was cold (and the other days were colder with rain/snow/sleet), but I had the thought to try some HDR to see about getting a nice shot of the falls but maintaining the color from the lights.

The results are mediocre at best. In particular, the bottom right corner is screwed up in the shadows (and I don't know how to fix it), and it seems (at least with the green lights) the color has shifted a bit.... but being my first attempt, I figured I'd share just the same.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 22mm, 2.5, 1.3, 0.6, 1/6, 1/3 sec respectively at f/4. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera RAW and HDR processing Adobe Photoshop CS5.

If you mouse over each smaller thumbnail, you will see the series of shots used to create the HDR image. Individually, you can see that no single shot could capture everything - either the lights on the falls would over expose or the shadow areas would just become fields of black.

Looking at it again really illustrates just how bad the HDR processing is, and I definitely think it warrants trying another processor to see if I can come up with better results... but for now, you get the idea.

- Bill

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/20 sec at f/5. Image Stabilization on. ISO 800. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw. Toronto Zoo, Toronto, ON.

- Bill

Ok - time for a little cuteness overload...

I'll be honest, when I pass the primate enclosures at a zoo, I frequently don't pause for very long (though I guess my gorilla photo from the other day conflicts that statement)... For whatever reason, primates just usually don't interest me very much. On top of that, the lighting conditions in primate houses are usually not conducive to photography in the least.

However, when we saw this little newborn (only a month old at the time of our visit) bouncing around, climbing over its mother, and fearlessly exploring its new environment, I fired off a couple shots. Luckily, I was able to quickly select the right settings and get the focus right to get this one definite keeper.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/60 sec at f/2.8. Image Stabilization on. ISO 800. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw. Toronto Zoo, Toronto, ON.

First, the enclosure was horribly lit with patchy incandescent lighting - so some areas were bright with a warm, yellow light while other areas were dim and impossible to shoot. So that meant a pretty slow shutterspeed and a relatively high ISO and a wide aperture. Then it was all behind plexiglass, so there were reflections and fingerprints to deal with. Finally, getting sharp focus on a small little monkey's face as he ran and swung through the space was a challenge.

Fortunately, I managed to pull it all together, and with a slight crop ended up with this. I know there is a little blur in the tail and feet, but I think it imparts a bit of the feeling of motion - and since the face is in focus, it seems ok to me.

- Bill

Ok - still swamped trying to get all the things I need to get done taken care of... So I'm just going to share a quick variety pack from the Allen Garden's Conservatory on the outskirts of downtown Toronto. This small conservatory has a Victorian style greenhouse conservatory and is free to the public (wow!). We just barely got there with enough time to explore the whole place before they closed, but it was worth the walk out to find it.

I wish there were places like that here in downtown Pittsburgh...

- Bill

Kind of got sucked into other stuff tonight, so just another quick photo to share today. This one has a bit of blur to it from subject movement and semi-long shutter speed (1/50 sec). However, I liked the expression so much, I decided to keep it just the same...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/50 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode 1. ISO 400. RAW conversion in Adobe Camera Raw.

If this were sharper, I probably would have spent the time to clone out the stick behind his head, but as it is, it just isn't worth that effort.

- Bill

Ok - Anya and I took a trip up to Toronto and Niagara Falls. I am only about half-way through processing my photos, but I figured I would start sharing some photos.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM at 500mm, 1/640 sec at f/6.3. OS Mode 1. ISO 400. RAW conversion in Adobe Camera Raw.

I have tons more coming, so stay tuned.

- Bill

Just stopping by to share an assortment of that jumping spider I shot on a blue background...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/160 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

Another trillium, and again with the glycerine-water. The shape of the flower really lent itself to try for the single large drop hanging from the bottom petal. Unfortunately, I think I missed that and should have been more precise in putting a larger drop right where I needed it.

I honestly debate if I like this shot...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/2.8. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw. Trillium Trails, Fox Chapel, PA.

I didn't make it back out the trails, so I'll have to wait another year to try any of these shots again.

- Bill

I've been a combination of busy and lazy recently, so I just wanted to stop by real quick to post another view of that robin's nest...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/40 sec at f/8. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw. Trillium Trails, Fox Chapel, PA.

- Bill

This isn't the first time I've asked this question here, but we'll look again at whether a shot looks better with or without flash. The settings are slightly different (a different aperture and thus depth of field), but these shots are pretty close.

1/250 sec @ f/5 with flash	1/800 sec @ f/2.8 with no flash

This nest was in a rather odd location, and if I head back to try for more trillium shots, I'll have to see if the eggs have hatched and how things are going.

- Bill