Milwaukee Zoo Peacock

The peacocks at the Milwaukee County Zoo love to roam around, even on the rooftops. On a warm March day, this peacock displayed his feathers and provided a great shot from the side.
Shot with
- Nikon D700 camera, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
Processed with
- Photoshop crop, Smart Sharpen filter
- Slight boost to green saturation

Jumping Through Hoop

This little creature was also on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum (Sunday March 14th). It was my first test with a macro lens. The art work was a series of skeletons running in circles jumping over hurdles and through hoops. The display carried a somber tone. I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
Shot with
- Nikon D700 camera, 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens
- 105mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO 1600
Processed with
- Photoshop 4x6" crop, unsharp filter, curves enhancement

Brass Cottonwood

This was shot on Sunday March 14th at the Milwaukee Art Museum. This piece of art was a series of brass wires forming "balls". The balls were in groups making a large piece of art about 5 feet in diameter. I shot this photo really close, getting only the tips of the brass wires in focus. The other wires in the background made a fun blurry texture.
Shot with
- Nikon D700 camera, 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens
- 105mm, f/3.2, 1/125 sec, ISO 1000
Processed with:
- Photoshop 4x6" crop, unsharp filter, saturation & curves enhancement

Holmes Moors

This foggy photo reminded me of the English moors of a Sherlock Holmes story. I wonder who is lurking beyond the fog?
Shot with
- Nikon D700 camera, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
- 125mm, f/13, 1/400 sec, ISO 3200
Processed with

- Photoshop/crop/monochrome-channel mixer/curves to boost contrast

Tree Collection

Another class assignment was to photograph a subject by taking a series or collection of 8-12 photos. While driving down to Illinois, I saw this tree in the middle of a Kenosha farm. I pulled over, and I walked about 200 yards through knee-high snow. It was foggy out and snowing heavy, so the background in the photos went white. The contrast was low, similar to the final photos. I was inspired by this idea of many individual photos of a tree from a magazine a few years back -- and here is the final product.
Shot with
- Nikon D700 camera, 70-200 mm lens
- each photo was between 170-200 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec, ISO 800
Processed with
- Photoshop crop, layers, contrast
- Nik Color Efex 3.0 - Cross Processing
- Photoshop color adjustment, drop shadow
- Added a texture layer (same one used in "Frosted Trees" below)
- It took about 2 hours to assemble, process, adjust, and finalize.