FALL INTO WINTER

Did you notice my play with words in the title? It fits the images I'm posting on this Christmas Eve. And, if you happened to run across this website by accident or by purpose, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and Joyous New Year 2017!!

Cripple Creek, Co.

Quail Lake, Colorado Springs, Co.

Baby Pine, Bear Creek Rd., Colorado Springs

Walk Bridge, Bear Creek Rd., Colorado Springs

HOW TO SHOOT THE MOON

There is a learning curve every serious photographer must go through when shooting in difficult situations.  It doesn't get any more difficult than when shooting after the sun goes down.  First of all, make an assessment of what you want to do with your moon shot and start with a plan based on that assessment:


1. Pick a clear night sky, preferably at moon rise, and a location providing a view of the eastern     horizon. Since it will be dark, bring a flashlight or arrive at your location in advance of sundown so you can set up your shooting spot. At the horizon, the moon will look much larger with the naked eye than when it is higher in the sky.

2. Review the rules of shooting bright objects in darkness.  Shooting the full moon with a telephoto will require your camera white balance be set for Daylight or on Auto.  Shooting at night will require, in most cases, using a tripod. Meter the moon while at the maximum magnification of your telephoto lens (200mm or higher).

3.The camera settings providing the best result should be as follows: camera in full manual mode and the lens set to manual focusing. The ISO should be set to 100 or 200. Now use your live view monitor to check the sharpness. Use the close up button to blow the image up and adjust the focus easier. If you have the camera mounted on a tripod, to prevent even more unwanted jiggle, you can use the camera's automatic self timer, or if you have one, a remote shutter release. If your camera has it, lock up the mirror.
  A. Starting point: ISO 200, set aperture to F11; set speed to 1/250.
  B. Use speed setting to adjust as needed depending on your location and lens size.
Now take some test shots to determine what looks the best to you.


With Photoshop and other creative photo post-processing software, you can create practically any kind of moon image you want. But for taking pictures right out of the camera, try these ideas:

1. Photograph the moon as it rises behind city lights, sets behind a mountain, or reflects onto the water of a lake. Photograph the moon near an airport, where you can shoot a jet just as it passes into the light of the full moon. Find an interesting subject on land and shoot the moon behind the silhouette of a windmill or water tower. Clouds draping over parts of the moon look dreamy. Change your color setting to monochrome and shoot in black and white. And again, experiment with Photoshop. You can do a composite using several images that will be magazine worthy. And even if you decide to use a wide angle lens, a night time shot always looks better with the moon in it!

MAX OUT YOUR DSLR SENSOR!

From Outdoor Photographer is an article that will help you expose every shot out of the camera correctly. On cloudy days or back-lit subjects, you'll learn how to get the correct reading for sky, foreground and everything in the middle!  http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photography-gear/cameras/max-out-your-dslr-sensor/

VISIT MY BUSINESS WEBSITE

Greetings! If you're new to this blog website, be sure to click on "older posts" as this site posts most recent posts first. Practically everything that I have posted since 2008 is still here to view!

When you're done viewing this site, please visit my business website, Michael Bluhm Photography. Just click on the link at the top right of this page. I currently have seven galleries of photos. The largest one is COLORADO, because I live in Colorado Springs. Save the links to both websites so you can see what's new!

STAR PHOTOS

Do you know the difference between star trails and and star maps? Here's an article that explains. http://nogreensquare.com/2014/12/20/startrails-compared-starmaps/

MY NEW BUSINESS WEBSITE IS COMPLETE

Follow the below link to my new portfolio website of landscape images. Everything is for sale, and I have photo paper prints of standard sizes, canvas prints and metal prints available. Use your smart phone while on the go and browse through my galleries!  I will soon have an app you can download to your phone for easy access to the website. When visiting this blog site in the future, look in the upper right area of the page and there will be my link to Michael Bluhm Photography.  My host is Smugmug.com and the tools they provided for building the website were fantastic!  Here's the link >>> here<<<<.

BUSINESS WEBSITE IS BACK (TEMPORARILY)

Well, the owner of Redframe, my business website generator, formerly apologized to those of us who were affected by the server crash. The websites have been fully restored and my site, http://www.mbluhmfotos.com, is back up. It will remain active until May 21.  I have until then to decide if I will keep the website or choose another company to work with.  In the meantime, anyone who wants to view my galleries can do so temporarily.  If you are interested in purchasing any of the images you see there, please go ahead and order from the website, or you can contact me at colomvb@yahoo.com.  Of course, THIS website, mbluhmphotos.com (blog) is, and always will be available for viewing!

MY BUSINESS WEBSITE NEWS

Hi there!  Sorry I haven't posted for a while.  I've been pretty busy rearranging my financial life.  Not to worry; I always land on my feet!  I recently had to cancel my subscription to my website generator because their servers have been down for over a month!  Therefore, I am currently unable to display or sell my photographs.  It was for the best though.  I was paying them several hundred $ a year and was ready to change to a less expensive company anyway.

I shopped around for several different website generators and then it dawned on me.  Google BlogSpot doesn't charge me anything for THIS website, and I've had it for 8 years!!  So...you soon will see my new business website link here once more. There, you'll be able to view all of my best landscape photos full size in several galleries.  It will be hosted by Google, like this one.  I'll keep you posted.  Here's one of my photos to keep you interested: