A photography forum of which I am a member has a challenge going among some of its members to post a photograph a week. Many photographers take on a “Photo A Day” personal challenge but we decided to start out easy and do one a week. I decided I’d participate and will post my Photo A Week here as well.
Photo A Week #1 – October 2-8, 2011
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Taken at the 22nd Annual Antique and Custom Car Show put on by the Battlefield Region AACA on October 1, 2011 (because that’s the day I thought this thing started). More photos from the show are on This Page of my web site.
October 1, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Sigma 17-70mm lens – ISO 200 – 1/1250 @ f5.6
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Photo A Week #2 – October 9-15, 2011
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Taken at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Chandler, AZ on October 14. I really loved this shot because of the sense of power and energy it imparts. There are other photos from this event on This Page of my web site.
October 14, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Nikon 70-300mm lens – ISO 800 – 1/500 @ f13.0
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Photo A Week #3 – October 16-22, 2011
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Taken at a friend’s home in Phoenix, AZ. I’m not real sure what I like about this photograph but I do. I think it’s the peace and serenity, which is a perfect representation of the small garden in which it sits, contrasted with the raw energy of the race a few days previously.
October 17, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Nikon 70-300mm lens – ISO 400 – 1/125 @ f6.3
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Photo A Week #4 – October 23-29, 2011
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Taken in Centennial Park on October 23, 2011. I like the way the bloom was highlighted from within by the sun.
October 23, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Sigma 17-70mm lens – ISO 400 – 1/4000 @ f8.0
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Photo A Week #5 – October 30 – November 5, 2011
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Barred Owl (Hoot Owl) taken at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. I’ve never seen an Owl in the wild until today which is what made this an easy choice for my Photo A Week. There are some additional shots of him Here.
October 30, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Sigma 150-500mm lens – ISO 800 – 1/60 @ f11
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Photo A Week #6 – November 6 – 12, 2011
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This is one of my backyard “Friends”. He was eating Sunflower seeds from my bird feeder and when I went out with my camera he jumped up in the tree and posed for me. I don’t think he was real thrilled with me coming outside, but he will get over it quickly. They love the sunflower seeds at my feeder!
November 5, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Sigma 150-500mm Lens @ 500mm – f6.3@1/160 – ISO 800
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Photo A Week #7 – November 13 – 19, 2011
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Taken at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. I don’t particularly like this photo so it’s subject to change. It was windy and cloudy this morning with not much elese to choose from though.
November 13, 2011 – Nikon D90 – Sigma 150-500mm Lens @ 500mm – f6.3@1/160 – ISO 800
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Photo A Week #8 – November 20 – 26, 2011
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From a 1948 Rover at the Lane Motor Museum here in Nashville. A really cool place to spend a couple of hours when it’s pouring down rain outside. Lots more photos from the facility are on my web site at This URL. They claim to have one of the largest collections of early European cars in the country, and I must admit that it is quite extensive.
Nikon D90 – Sigma 17-70mm zoom – Nikon SB-700 – 1/60 @ f-6.4 and ISO 800 – The flash was on an off-camera cable and held as far to the left as I could get it.
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Photo A Week #9 – November 27 – December 3, 2011
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Once again I’m not real thrilled with my choice this week but since part of the “Challenge” is to stretch ones wings into unexplored territories I’ll use this one anyway. I did like the way the morning sun cast a marching progression of shadows along the side of the Parthenon here in Nashville.
Nikon D90 – Sigma 17-70mm zoom – 1/250 @ f16 and ISO 200
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Photo A Week #10 – December 4 – 10, 2011
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I was thrilled to get this one. Blue Herons are very shy and normally take to their wings when a human is first seen. This one was the exception to the rule and wasn’t very concerned about my watching him. He was on the shore of a lake about 82′ away from me and I was just inside the woods where I wasn’t highly visible. He saw me but as long as I stayed in the woods he seemed to be content with the situation.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm – 1/640 @ f11 – ISO 800
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Photo A Week #11 – December 11 – 17, 2011
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Part of this challenge is, to me, to stretch our wings a bit and try things that are outside our normal comfort zone. Shooting anything with flashes and reflectors is waaaaay outside my comfort zone so these don’t stack up technically to some that I’ve seen, but it’s a challenge for me to make them look decent.
This is a model of a Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II (more commonly known as the “Warthog”) that I built a few years ago. It is 1/32 scale so from wingtip to wingtip is 1′-9″ (or about 53cm). It was shot on the workbench in my basement using an SB-700 and SB-600 into 36″ silver umbrellas, one on each side. The background, such as it is, is a big piece of black cloth I’ve had in the basement for years.
The cockpit shot is a stack of 7 images. One flash on the right side shooting almost straight down and another on the left and considerably lower. To give an idea of the actual size the red “Remove Before Flight” flag on the ejection seat is about 1/8″ across.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm – 1/64 @ f11 – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #12 – December 18 – 24, 2011
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This is a Common Loon taken at Radnor Lake on December 17. I missed the original exposure and had to recover it in post processing. The bird would swim for a minute and then dive underwater. He would then pop up 50 to 100 feet from where he went down, sometimes facing in a completely different direction. The shot before this one he was facing into the sun and I was burning a lot of the detail in his face out so I exposed the shot a full stop underexposed. When he dove and then popped up in this location I forgot to reset my camera and underexposed this shot. All things considered it worked out OK except for a little noise in the shot.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 150-500mm – 1/640 @ f10 – ISO 640
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Photo A Week #13 – December 25 – 31, 2011
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Merry Christmas to one and all.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm – 1/1600 @ f3.5 – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #14 – January 1 – 6, 2012
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This Maroon-Eyed Tree Frog at the Nashville Zoo looks like it is floating in the middle of the air. Obviously it is stuck on the glass of its cage but the flash completely washed the glass out of the photograph.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm – 1/160 @ f32 with Flash – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #15 – January 8-15, 2012
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Looks like this is the best I’m going to manage this week unless I can shake this head cold.
Taken on 1/8 at the Nashville Zoo this little guy is a Haitian Anole. He was probably about 10″ long from nose to tail and paused in his prowling long enough for a portrait.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm – 1/160 @ f/16 with Flash – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #16 – January 15-21, 2012
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Not a lot of leather driving helmets left around these days …
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm – 1/160 @ f/4 with Flash – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #17 – January 21-28, 2012
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Taken at a Dragon Dance in Centennial Park performed by the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville in celebration of Chinese New Year.
Nikon D90 and Nikkor 70-300mm – 1/1600 @ f/4.5 – ISO 200
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Photo A Week #18 – January 29 – February 4, 2012
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My best friend Sophie.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm @ 55mm – 1/60 @ f/4.5 – ISO 400 – With flash bounced off the ceiling.
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Photo A Week #19 – February 5-11, 2012
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This F-86L has been a part of Centennial Park for as long as I can remember. I recall visiting the park as a young boy and seeing this airplane mounted above me. For years he has stood his solitary post. Head held high, a little bit dull and tarnished now he nevertheless maintains his vigilant poise.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm @ 35mm – 1/1000 @ f/3.5 – ISO 100
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Photo A Week #20 – February 12-18, 2012
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Union Station – Nashville, TN
Nikon D90 and Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm – HDR Merge of 4 Images
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Photo A Week #21 – February 19-25, 2012
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Ring-Billed Gulls at Centennial Park in Nashville, TN shot on February 18. The sky was a completely featureless light gray in preparation for Sunday’s rain so I added a gray vignette in post processing just to break up the expsnse of white.
Nikon D90 and 70-300mm @ 220mm. 1/400 @ f/11 in manual mode.
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Photo A Week #22 – February 26 – March 3, 2012
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This locomotive is in Centennial Park in Nashville and, like the F-86 I have used before, has been there since I was a child. I’ve photographed it many times as it is always a compositional challenge that I haven’t found an answer to that I like.
The canopy over the top of the locomotive has (4) 6″ square structural steel tube columns on each side that hold the roof structure up. From the side they ruin the composition and would be very difficult to clone out. This is about as close as I’ve gotten to a shot of it that I like so I’ll use it for Week #22.
Nikon D90 and 17-70mm @ 17mm. 5-shot HDR rendered with Photomatix Essentials
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Photo A Week #23 – March 3 – 9, 2012
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One of the Meerkats at the Nashville Zoo will be my photo for this week. They are one of my favorite exhibits at the zoo and I can’t walk past their pen without stopping for a few minutes and enjoying their antics.
Nikon D90 and Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm. Nikon SB-700 speedlight. 1/500 second at f/11 and ISO 400.
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Photo A Week #24 – March 11-17, 2012
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I posted a shot of my best friend Sophie in Week 18 above. She is our adult female (Another Shot of Her). Here is my other best friend Casey our 10 month old kitten. I Have Better Shots Of Him but to adhere to the rules of the challenge this one was taken during the appropriate week.
Nikon D7000 – Nikkor 70-300mm @ 155mm, ISO 400, 1/160 @ f/14, with SB-700 for fill.
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Photo A Week #25 – March 17-23, 2012
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I posted another Heron for Week #10 but this is a completely different lake in a different part of the county. This photograph is a bit softer than I would have liked but it was shot at a distance of 42 meters with a 150-500mm lens. The rules of this area preclude visitors from getting off of the designated trails since is a “State Natural Area” (actually it’s just plain old woods like everything else in this area) but I try to abide by them.
Nikon D7000 – Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm, ISO 800, 1/200 second @ f/8
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Photo A Week #26 – March 25-31, 2012
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Halfway through the challenge! Week #26 of 52 is now complete.
A young performer at the JAST Cherry Blossom Festival at the Nashville Public Square shot on March 24, 2012.
Nikon D7000 – Nikkor 70-300mm @ 100mm, ISO 200, 1/160 second @ f/6.3 with SB-700 for fill flash
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Photo A Week #27 – April 1-7, 2012
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Week number 20 above shows Union Station in Nashville from the front. This is a night shot of the clock tower taken from the opposite side and about 2 miles away.
Nikon D7000 – Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm, ISO 200, 5-shot HDR
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Photo A Week #28 – April 8-15, 2012
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Eye Of The Tiger! This is a White Bengal Tiger at the Nashville Zoo. I don’t have many good shots of it since it spends most of its time sleeping against the fence at the back of their paddock. Today it was awake and pacing the area and I managed to get a couple of decent shots of it.
Nikon D7000 – Nikkor 70mm-300mm @ 300mm, ISO 1600, 1/250 second @ f/8
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Photo A Week #29 – April 15-21, 2012
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This is one of two Blue Jays that were enjoying the spring weather at Centennial Park this morning and using the time to build their nest for the year. I watched them for about an hour and they never slowed down, constantly picking up sticks and paper and heading back to the tree that they were working in.
Nikon D7000 – Sigma 150-500mm @ 450mm, ISO 400, 1/500 second @ f/7.1
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Photo A Week #30 – April 22-28, 2012
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Two weeks ago: Eye of the Tiger — This week: Eye of the Lynx (specifically an Eurasian Lynx named Udo who lives at the Nashvile Zoo with his mate Ilvie).
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 150-500 @ 270mm – 1/160 @ f/5.6 – ISO 1600
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Photo A Week #31 – April 29 – May 5, 2012
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I used to have a lot of Hardware Bugs but over the years things have gotten more reliable and they seem to have declined. I had to root around in some old, retired computers to find this one. Still have a number of Software Bugs but not so many Hardware Bugs any longer.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 17-70 @ 70mm – 1/160 @ f/16 – ISO 200 – SB-600 and SB-700 flashes
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Photo A Week #32 – May 6-12, 2012
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Taken at the 27th annual Tennessee Renaissance Festival. This is one of my favorite annual events and I normally go a couple of times while it runs. There are more photographs from the event Here.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 140mm and SB-700 flash – f/4.8 @ 1/200 second and ISO 200
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Photo A Week #33 – May 13-19, 2012
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Taken at the 2012 Great Tennessee Airshow at Smyrna, TN on May 12, 2012. This C-130H is being used as a support aircraft for the US Navy Blue Angels while Fat Albert, their normal support aircraft, undergoes preventive maintenance. It was a gloomy, cloudy day with scattered rain showers so the humidity was very high. The extremely high pressure generated by the near-supersonic speed of the propeller tips created contrails that formed corkscrews around each of the four props.
There are MANY more photographs from this event on This Page of this web site.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 300mm – f/8 @ 1/640 second and ISO 800
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Photo A Week #34 – May 20-26, 2012
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One of the Queen’s Court at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.
There are more photographs from this event on This Page of this web site.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 70mm and SB-700 Speedlight- f/6.3 @ 1/400 second and ISO 400
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Photo A Week #35 – May 27-June 2, 2012
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The last one from the Tennessee Renaissance Festival for this year since the event ends Monday. This event is a great place for a photographer and I’m already looking forward to the 2013 event!
There are more photographs from this event on This Page of this web site.
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 180mm and SB-700 Speedlight- f/5.3 @ 1/200 second, ISO 400
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Photo A Week #36 – June 3-9, 2012
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This is a West Coast Nettle shot at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN on June 2, 2012. These creatues are so amazingly graceful in the water I honestly think I could sit and watch them all day long.
There are more photographs from the aquarium on This Page of this web site.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 17-70mm @ 21mm – f/4.0 @ 1/160 second, ISO 3200
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Photo A Week #37 – June 10-16, 2012
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This is one of two Cougar cubs recently introduced to the Nashville Zoo. Today was the first time I had seen them so it seemed logical for one of them to be this week’s Photo of the Week.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 150-500mm @ 350mm – f/6.0 @ 1/100 second, ISO 400
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Photo A Week #38 – June 17-23, 2012
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This grist mill is at Cannonsburgh Frontier Village in Murfreesboro, TN. I have dozens of shots of this building; covered in snow, fall foliage hanging over it, from every angle, you name it. I have yet to get one that I truly like but I keep trying. One of these days I’ll hit the right angle at the right time of the year but I haven’t gotten it yet.
I’m also not a big fan of black and white photography but this building just cried out for it. A color version of the same shot is Here.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm – f/8.0 @ 1/50 second, ISO 200
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Photo A Week #39 – June 24-30, 2012
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This is one of 5 new Clouded Leopard cubs recently introduced to the Nashville Zoo. It was the first time I’ve seen them but it won’t be the last!
Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 70-300 @ 112mm – f/5.0 @ 1/25 second, ISO 800
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Photo A Week #40 – July 1-7, 2012
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Until today I had never seen a Red Fox in the wild when I had a camera with me. This shot was taken at Deerwood Arboretum and I was sitting under the canopy cooling off after walking around the area. I’m not sure who was more surprised when he walked around the corner, me or him, but we both just watched each other for a minute or two. As soon as I started raising my camera up he was gone though! I got this shot as he was runnning away, and since I’ve never had an opportunity to photograph a Red Fox it was an obvious choice for this week’s Photo of the Week.
Nikon D7000 with Sigma 150-500mm @ 300mm – 1/800 second @ f/8 and ISO 800
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Photo A Week #41 – July 8-14, 2012
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Hi! Welcome to my zoo!!
D7000 with Nikkon 70-300mm @ 300mm – 1/200 @ f/29 and ISO 1600 (I know, it was pretty dark where I was for the previous shot and I forget to reset the ISO)
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Photo A Week #42 – July 15-21, 2012
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Morgan 3-Wheeler at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville
D7000 with Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm and SB-700 Speedlight- 1/60 @ f/8 and ISO 200
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Photo A Week #43 – July 22-28, 2012
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Another shot of the (quickly growing) Clouded Leopard cubs at the Nashville Zoo
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 155mm – 1/50 @ f/5.6 and ISO 1600
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Photo A Week #44 – July 29-August 4, 2012
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Hey Mom! Hey Mom! Watch This! Hey Mom! Hey Mom!
Shot at Centennial Park in Nashville, TN.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 300mm – 1/1600 @ f/8 and ISO 200
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Photo A Week #45 – August 5-11, 2012
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There are several Hyacinth Macaws at the Nashville Zoo that are always loud and raucous and having fun. To me they always look like they have a grin on their face as well.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 300mm and SB-700 Speedlight – 1/200 @ f/5.6 and ISO 400
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Photo A Week #46 – August 12-18, 2012
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I’m starting to run out of my favorite subjects at the Nashville Zoo to shoot for this Photo A Week, but at the same time this Photo Challenge is also drawing to a close since this is Week 46 of 52.
This is a Ring-Tailed Lemur, another of my favorite residents at the zoo. This one is quite comfortable in his tree today, but in the winter when it’s cold several of them will group together in a big “Lemur Ball” to share warmth.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 300mm – 1/60 @ f/8 and ISO 1000
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Photo A Week #47 – August 19-25, 2012
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Five more weeks and this challenge will be finished. It has been difficult at times to come up with something different but at the same time it has truly been a challenge that has forced me to get out and find something interesting to photograph. The shots here don’t come close to being representative of the hours and miles invested because for every one shot I have posted here there are 225 that I didn’t post. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though, it has really been fun!
One more shot of my best friend Casey, this time in a bit of a dramatic pose. He was laying on my desk with a single desk light camera right. I color-corrected the incandescent color temperature and thought it turned out quite well.
D7000 with Sigma 17-70mm @ 70mm – 1/40 @ f/4 and ISO 200
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Photo A Week #48 – August 26 – September 1, 2012
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I’ve never shot Humming Birds in flight before so this was a first for me. Believe me when I say those little critters are QUICK! I had my camera on a tripod and was standing about 10′ away triggering it with a wireless remote control. When it fired they would immediately dart from one side of the feeder to the other quicker than I could see. They are so amazingly tiny and quick and amazing to watch.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 100mm and SB-700 Speedlight- 1/500 @ f/6.3 and ISO 1000
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Photo A Week #49 – September 2-8, 2012
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A Caribbean Flamingo at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. For some reason the Flamingos aren’t high on my “Favorite Exhibit” list and I don’t really know why. They are quite pretty and photogenic, but when I go to the zoo (normally about once a week) I generally just pass right by their area without stopping. Today I decided that fair was fair so I stopped for a while and got this shot for my photo a week.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 180mm, 1/800 @ f/6.3 and ISO 400
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Photo A Week #50 – September 9-15, 2012
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My third attempt at shooting Hummingbirds and this session yielded a few shots much better than my first attempt a couple of weeks ago.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 210mm, 1/1000 @ f/5.3 and ISO 800
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Photo A Week #51 – September 16-22, 2012
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One last shot of one of the Ring Tailed Lemurs at the Nashville Zoo before this challenge is ended.
D7000 with Nikkor 70-300mm @ 300mm, 1/250 @ f/5.6 and ISO 1600
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Photo A Week #52 – September 23-29, 2012
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Transitions … My favorite time of year is in early fall when we begin to transition from the oppressive heat and humidity and haze of summer to the cool temperatures and blue skies and colorful trees of fall. It’s the time of year when I love to get out and walk and enjoy the colors and smells of fall in Tennessee.
D7000 with Sigma 150-500mm @ 230mm, 1/3200 @ f/8 and ISO 1600
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It’s difficult for me to believe that virtually an entire year has passed since this challenge was started. It was a lot of fun even though at times it was difficult to find a good shot during the appropriate week. Winter’s cold and rain and summer’s heat and humidity made me want to stay home at times, but that’s why it’s called a challenge. I think I’m going to do it again, but I’m just going to enjoy the fall for a couple of months.
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