Daily Image - Aug 2016 Archive

01 Aug 16. Returning home from a productive day in the park and driving along the Madison River we noticed two cow elk midway across the river seemingly just standing there head to head having a nice conversation. By the time we got off the road and walked to the river's edge they had decided to cease doing whatever it was they were doing and amble ashore to have a bite to eat. We slowly walked to within a few yards of them and then just stood quietly as they ate their way towards us apparently not the least bothered by our visit. Eventually the one with her head up walked up to with in few feet checking us out thoroughly as if she wanted to know where I wanted her to pose. At that point I thought we should leave them to their meal and left to continue heading back to the condo. Besides, watching them eat reminded me that it was time for our evening meal also. Other than a tiny bit of cropping, this is a straight from the camera image. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /10.

02 Aug 16. While out walking one morning about 9 weeks ago we noticed a large bird moving from tree to tree. Eventually we got a lock on it and it turned out to be a Barred Owl. This individual is a local resident and we have seen it off and on for the last couple of years. They are fun to watch both perched and flying, especially when flying as they make absolutely no sound. And when sitting perched on a tree limb they tend to blend in quite well. As a school child I remember well the teaching that animals see in B&W, but in the last couple of decades I know that there is no longer agreement on that subject. I'm not sure what is driving the debate, but I would be interested in learning the actual science behind it, if any, and wouldn't be totally surprised if it is something besides solid science driving the discussion. Now you know the photo is of an owl, but if you hadn't read this first I'll wager that you might have a feeling for just how well they blend in with their environment. This individual will sit for a prolonged period of time letting you shoot away as long as you don't make any loud sounds and rapid movements in its direction. A couple years back I shared a color shot of this critter perched on a branch of a fir tree in our back yard; this time around it is in B&W and the bird was at the very end of the drive. We don't always have to go to Yellowstone to get critter shots. I've cropped the image a significant amount to feature the bird prominently, but I likely should have shared the full frame so you could see the bird/environment interaction better. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 800; 1/125 sec @ f / 6.3.

03 Aug 16. A short narrative for today in that I thought I'd share with you the original color version of the Barred Owl just to illustrate even in color how well these birds blend in with their environment. The bird is perched about 20 feet above the ground on a tree that is no more than 5 feet off the road. Yet if we hadn't watched it fly there we would not have noticed it. What initially made us aware that it was in the area was its hooting and had we not recognized what we were hearing I doubt that we would have had even the slightest idea it was nearby. Same info as for yesterday's mailing save for not having run it through the B&W plug-in. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 800; 1/125 sec @ f / 6.3.

04 Aug 16. With a totally involved day and being too tired tonight to do justice to the creation of any image, I decided to go with one I've sent previously but this time as a Theatrical Thursday interpretation. This is the shot of Picture Lake I shared back at the end of January, but this time I've attempted to create a very different mood from that of the original which was also moody but naturally so courtesy of the fog. This version is an attempt at suggesting a dreamy state with everything soft and the colors a bit darker, somewhat along the lines of a Rembrandt. Take a peek at it up close and also at some distance away. I think you will experience it differently at each distance. If you've forgotten what I wrote about it before and want to refresh your memory jump out to the blog and read the narrative for 25Jan16. I took the base image, cropped off the top which was comprised of a whole lot of bright white area and mountain tops and added some micro contrast enhancement to pull the trees out of the fog, then ran it through a plug-in to created the final look . Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/20 sec @ f /16 on a tripod.

05 Aug 16. This is another soft focus shot of a dahlia petal with just the rim of one petal in focus. To get the effect the lens is shot close to wide open effecting the very narrow depth of field which is amplified by focusing very close to the subject. This effect is best achieved with the use of either a close up (macro) lens, by placing extension tubes between the camera body and prime lens, or by using a bellows. I have all three available but prefer to use the macro lens as it is the easiest to employ. Any flower will work for this technique as you are so close to your subject and using such a narrow plane of focus that the flower, or any other subject for that matter, cannot be identified. Other than a slight color enhancement and a small bright spot removal, this is straight from the camera. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/2500 sec @ f / 5 with the 105mm macro

08 Aug 16. We set out today to find some serious shade plants for a wall section that is in total shade. In the process we visited a couple of local nurseries to see what might be available. Much to my surprise we found some shade plants on our second stop with profuse foliage which I didn't think possible considering the deep shade location for which we needed them. Always nice when you are pleasantly surprised. The first nursery we visited didn't have anything that would work, but they did have lots of stuff at which to point a camera including a nice pond the kind of which I would have loved to put in our yard but we have neither the location nor the finances to so do. But we can always visit that nursery and enjoy it whenever we desire and as the nursery is very photographer friendly, I can use it for photographic purposes whenever I want. That pond is the subject of today's submission and what you are seeing is just one small portion of one section. I'm thinking there must be some fish in it somewhere, but so far we haven't been able to spot any. Just may have to digitally add them at another time. I've cropped the original to get this view, darkened the duckweed on the lower left edge, and brightened the water some to bring it out of the deep shadows. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/40 sec @ f / 5.6. Hand held.

09 Aug 16. Not too distant from where this shot was taken at Grizzly Flats, on the road from Norris to Mammoth Hot Springs, in the NW section of Yellowstone National Park, I was chatting with another photographer and bemoaning the fact that I never see bears. He commented that I should have been with him a couple days prior when he was shooting sheep in the Lamar Valley. He said he had been shooting for about two hours, figured he had gotten all he could, and turned around to find a BIG grizzly not 100 feet from him looking intently his way. It immediately dawned on him that there was a good chance that he was either the main course or dessert and that neither option wasn't sitting well with him, so he quickly but quietly packed up and made a slow exit. Said he wasn't looking forward to such an opportunity again soon. I said I was sad I hadn't been with him to get some nice bear shots. Based on the name of this location, Grizzly Flats, I assume that at some time, perhaps even still, there were a lot of bears around there, but I've never seen one in this part of the park. It is a perfect location to hang out, not just for bears, so perhaps one time we'll come across one or two just ambling about. This is pretty much straight from the camera save for the B&W conversion. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/125 sec @ f /10.

10 Aug 16. Continue driving in a southerly direction from Grizzly Flats and in short order you will be following the Gibbon River. Follow that a ways working your way to the Madison Junction and you will pass Gibbon Falls. This shot is taken from the base of the falls looking downstream. Not obviously from water's level but at a location co-located with the base just higher up. Here there is a large parking area and plenty of low walls that allow you to get right to the cliff's edge without fear of slipping down and joining the fish. However, should you desire to do just that, except for the slipping part, there are trails that will allow you to get right down to the water. Thinking I might just want to give one of those a go next time around. Just need to find a companion hiker as Jan won't be with me on this type of venture. I worked this up in 7 different versions but this was Jan's favorite so you are seeing it as if it were painted with an oil glaze. It was the perfect lighting conditions the day I shot this and the blue sky was reflecting magnificently in the water along with some of the clouds. Some days you just luck out and all the conditions align perfectly for you. Then again, some days not. This spot is roughly 5 miles from the Madison intersection and another 14 miles to the West Entrance. The base image received a little color balance adjustment - the sky was a bit blown out in respect to the rest of the shot - and then I modified it using a plug in, Topaz's Impression 2. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f /10.

11 Aug 16. Being Theatrical Thursday I get to try anything, so today I tried taking a single image, making several copies of it, rotating each copy a few degrees. then layering all of them on top of each other and lowering the opacity of each layer so the layers below would show through. The result is something akin to shooting a moving object with a slow shutter speed although in this case you get to control the degree of movement. This dahlia blossom was shot in the garden outside the P.O. in Silverdale and it was quite a busy visit when last I visited. Several other photographers all trying to come up with the "great" shot. I was playing around with very limited depth of field (very little in focus) and have some fun as the wind was providing for a bit of an opportunity. Since all I wanted was a small area to be sharp. I just let the wind do my work and shot several frames of the same thing figuring one of them might just be the thing. This one was all in focus, so I made t blurry. Nothing was done to the original capture save for what I described above. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 4.5 with the 105mm macro.

12 Aug 16. Growing in our pond as well as in tubs in various nurseries around here are found 6" diameter green plants called water hyacinths which produce a lovely fragile flower about 5 inches in height that blooms for perhaps 3 days before dying. All the petals on the flower save one are a very delicate purple with the one exception also being that color but with a bluish purple shape with a deep yellow center. The design is not unlike that on the back of the head of some cobras. Their beauty is best seen when back-lit and especially so with a bit of rain on them. Jan liked this garish version better than the straight shot so that's what I'm sharing. So just reduce the saturation to turn the reddish purple to a light violet and you'll have the actual appearance. The plants themselves are quite attractive even without the flowers so they make for a nice addition to any pond. On my 16" screen (diagonal measurement) the flower is roughly 3x life size, so a true macro. I cropped the base image a wee bit, then ran it against a plug-in, Topaz Glow. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/400 sec @ f /11 with the 105mm macro.

15 Aug 16. Got a call last week form an old navy friend saying sorry for the short fuse but he had Friday available and would we like to meet him in Port Townsend. That being one of Jan's favorite places to visit and shop, we said yes and made our way there as soon as she got back from church. Taking Hwy 104 W we turned off on Hwy 19 also known as Beaver Valley Road. About 10 miles along that road you come to the Egg And I Road, the former location of the home of Betty McDonald who wrote among other things The Egg and I and more importantly, the Mrs Piggle Wiggle series of books. The road obviously being named for her book. At that intersection resides an old barn that is on its last legs. As we drove past it on Friday morning the field directly across from it was peppered with perhaps 100 dairy cows of various colors. I really wanted to capture that shot, as well as one of the barn, but we were running late and traffic was hot behind us. So I stupidly passed it up and made it on time to Port Townsend. We had a nice time visiting in the city, doing some shopping, and breaking bread together. All the way back home I wondered if the cattle would still be in the field when we got there but as it was generally milking time I wasn't surprised, although obviously disappointed, that they weren't. The barn however was, so we pulled off the road and I took a few shots. The image you are seeing today, clouds included, is pretty much what we saw, save for me having removed a couple of annoying elements. There is a sign attached to the fence surrounding the acreage, not visible is this framing, that reads "beware, mean bull!" I looked all over for him contemplating that I could get a better shot on the grassy side of the fence, but after some deliberation - with myself - I decided, perhaps needlessly, that on that occasion discretion was the better part of valor. I've cropped the base image some, removed as I said some distracting elements, and adjusted the contrast just a bit for better color saturation. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/300 sec @ f /14.

16 Aug 16. As some of you may recall, I've shared two different images taken at two different times of a grouping of blue bottles on my cousin's seawall. You may also recall my somewhat tongue-in-cheek suggestion of sending any spare blue bottles you may have to his wife to add to her collection. So it should come as no surprise that as I was walking down one side of the main shopping area (street) in Port Townsend and saw a short cement wall with bottles aligned on the top that I felt a need to shoot it. (This way I can send her some yellow bottles.) I took a couple of shots including one that shows a small cart full of glass bottles at the base of this wall with a sign that read "hand dug bottles $2 each" with an arrow pointing to the bottles in the cart. My immediate thought was that the display of bottles would make a great B&W. In fact it did, and I came up with 4 different approaches to a monochrome presentation. Jan liked this one the best, so that's the one I'm showing. The other three are a sepia with heavy vignetting, a pure B&W, and an outline only approach. All of them are interesting in their own ways, but this one is perhaps the more unusual approach of the 4 different versions. The color of the bottles is as they were, I haven't adjusted it but I have obviously converted the rest to monochrome. I would have preferred the display to not have two of the bottles on the left side, the skinny one next to the salt shaker and the one furthest left with the white plastic cap, but it wasn't my display and the owner wasn't around for me to request their removal for my shot. So in they stayed. I've cropped the original a small amount on the left, and obviously converted to B&W. The color was achieved via the employment of a gradient map. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/125 sec @ f /14.

17 Aug 19. You likely may recall my saying several times since the inception of these mailings that in my opinion there is probably no place in the world more beautiful than the PNW WHEN the weather is at its finest. Last Friday was one of those very few days and the area beauty was simply spectacular. A couple years back I shared a shot of one of the WA ferries passing the Lady Washington in the fog shot from the deck of a local PT Townsend eatery. This shot was taken about a block further down the street from that spot this time from the water level as a ferry approached its terminal passing several other nautical craft in the vicinity. Although not quite as dramatic a shot as the former foggy one, this one just exudes with color, albeit mostly blues. The swells in the water were caused by another ferry which had just left the terminal a few minutes prior. I was standing on a small dock for visiting craft which was rolling side to side making photography somewhat fun, but there weren't any vessels along side perhaps due to the exorbitant fees being charged to tie up and a sign stating you are being filmed. A good way to discourage those pesky summer tourists and visitors from spending their money in your shops. I had to straighten the original capture - sea legs not as good as they once were - and selectively dodge and burn a few areas to balance out the lighting. Otherwise, straight from the camera. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f /14.

18 Aug 16. In a small, perhaps three foot, section of the back yard along the north side of our childhood home, next to a neighbor who buried her garbage in her back yard and indirectly helped a hoard of Norwegian rats to thrive, grew a patch of Red Hot Pokers. They were bright orange, exuded a pleasant if faint fragrance, and attracted a LOT of bees. I used to like to sit on the grass and just watch them. I still like to watch them as they climb inside and disappear for a few seconds before moving along to either another petal or plant. I especially liked to listen to them buzzing around and on a really still day the sound could be quite loud. These weren't the only insect attracting flowers in our yard but they were the absolute best. I still really like the flower and we are slowly adding them into the landscape with the hope that in addition to adding some nice color they will attract winged visitors. Located in the outskirts of Pt Townsend is to be found the Far Reaches Farm that is home to many unusual plants. We have visited there many times only to find it closed. This latest trip last week was different and it was open so we spent some considerable time there, me with the camera and Jan looking for plants to buy. She came home with a couple strange ones and I got a few flowers recorded for posterity. This shot is of course that of a Red Hot Poker and nectar seeking bee. Being Theatrical Thursday I've messed with it a bit but only to the extent that would highlight the shapes of the petals. I took the base image, gave it a little contrast enhancement, and then manipulated it with a plug-in. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 7.1.

19 Aug 16. Today's macro is a 2 shot combo of a cone flower in front of the pond. Currently there are only 6 plants, but the goal is to have a large section of the landscape covered with these lovely plants. They are among my favorites as they are not only colorful but the blooms last for a dozen weeks or more and they are great for attracting winged insects. I thought making this a bit on the soft side, and somewhat glowing, might serve as a romantic rendition of the flower. Maybe even a bit dreamy. None of it obviously is in focus, but it took a combination of soft focus and then some manipulation with software to achieve the effect. It sorts needed a nice insect to make it complete but as I couldn't coax any volunteers to settle on it long enough to include them I had to settle for this. I suppose I could have cloned one in but I was to lazy to do it. The top 2/3 is one image and the bottom 1/3 the other and I've sliced them diagonally across the screen. The trick was to do it in a manner so you couldn't see where one begins and the other ends. Two images senselessly blended together on an angle were then manipulated with a plug-in, Topaz Impression 2. Nikon D300s; 105 mm macro; Aperture priority; ISO 400; 1/800 sec @ f / 3.3.

22 Aug 16. Last Sunday we paid a visit to our "local" horse racing track - more about that for Tuesday's mailing - where for me the best entertainment was a gaggle of Canada Geese about 24 strong who were giving a flight demo throughout most of the day, no doubt in response the the Blue Angle's performance the week prior for Seafair hydroplane races. As a kid growing up with the Seattle Seafair I knew every boat, driver, and statistic but I don't even know who was in this year's race and don't care. The Blue Angels used to be a big thing also but after 30 years in the Navy and 3 of them in Pensacola, FL where they practiced every week, they aren't even close to the big item ticket they once were to me. The geese on the other hand were doing well to capture my imagination, and even though they were some distance from us, the zoom tele let me keep a close eye on them. This shot is one of them doing a low level launch flying parallel to one side of a small pond. It reminded me a practice flight maneuvers keeping VERY close to the ground simulating a stay under the radar mission. I still remember flying with a friend when stationed at China Lake in which I watched the shadow of the wing tip as we made a tight turn come within inches of a very large and hard rock! Some things just seem to stick in your mind long after they happened. The base image was severely cropped on both the top and bottom and just a wee bit on the left and right sides to remove partial geese. That's it. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 8.

23 Aug 16. As I mentioned in yesterday's mailing we paid a visit to the "local" racetrack Sunday a week ago. It was our first time and in my case likely the last. We went with two other couples from church, one of which used to breed and race horses, so it was nice to have someone with knowledge of the sport with us to explain all the ins and outs. Sadly, first race of the day ended with one of the horses breaking a leg right in front of us and had to be terminated. That put a damper on the whole day and sport for me so I don't see me going again. Just too sad! But the day itself was a very nice day, we had excellent seats, under cover from the sun and right at the finish line, and GREAT company. From where we were seated we had a perfect view of the entire track except for the part directly behind the big screen on which you could watch everything, and a commanding view of Mt Rainier. As this track is the only one I've ever visited my next comment may be inaccurate, but I do believe this track has to have the best view of any track in the world. You can take a look at today's submission and make a decision for yourself. You've heard me mention my favorite photographer as a youth was Josef Scaylea, and this type of Mt Rainier shot is typical of his work. The base image was given a small amount of contrast enhancement on the mountain, cropped to remove a lot of distractions, and then converted to B&W. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f / 8.

24 Aug 16. Although the big 3 geyser basins are located between Madison Junction and Old Faithful, there is another located in the opposite direction that is quite different, larger, and accompanied by some long hiking trails. It's called the Norris Geyser Basin and it is located right at the Norris Junction. On our first visit to the park after retiring we visited it with a group of photographers from our MD camera club, but in subsequent visits, until the trip this past May, we had totally neglected it. I was on my own this particular day with just Maggie to keep me company, so we could spend as much time as I wanted wherever we went. This was an early afternoon shot taken from a board walk near the eastern edge of the basin. It was a bit on the chilly side, actually cold enough to spit a few flakes, and somewhat stormy. When I saw the ice formations on this particular pine I couldn't resist playing with it and took several different approaches in attempting to get the shot I wanted. I couldn't get it properly framed in-camera, so the shot has been cropped to give me the desired perspective. Not sure as to why the ice looks as it does, but my gut feeling is that it is a combination of melting snow contoured by wind. Any ideas you may have are likely equally valid. When you visit Yellowstone put the Norris Geyser Basin on your bucket list. As I said above, I've cropped the original to get the look I wanted and added a tiny bit of contrast adjustment. Nikon D30s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f /11.

25 Aug 16. I've shared two previous versions of this image but I thought you might like this one for something not so bizarre on Theatrical Thursday. It actually has several problem areas and normally I would work to prevent them from occurring, but in this case the problems tend to make the image more dramatic. The grass, which is the subject of the shot, is a lot like pampas grass but I don't think it is such. I've seen this stuff on several of our beach areas but I don't precisely know what it is. That aside, it is a lovely ornamental grass and I would like to have a clump of it in our landscape. Unfortunately, I don't know what to ask for so likely it won't happen. So for the time being I'll just have to appreciate it wherever I come across it. The base image was adjusted to remove a few distractions, then a filter (Topaz Impression) was run against it to create the result. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f /11.

26 Aug 16. In our front landscape we have a group of 4 plants whose name I don't know as we've lost the piece of paper telling us about them but they are quite similar to St John's Wort. The plant buds out with a yellow to reddish bud surrounded by green pointed leaves, which then bursts open as shown in the image finally ending up as a lovely light yellow berry. They are really pretty and I'm hopeful that they well become a key section of the landscape with time. If we ever find out what they are we may just have to purchase a few more. I cropped off some junk on the left, and then use a plug-in, Topaz Impression 2 to give it a little accent. Nikon D300s ; 105 mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/1600 sec @ f / 3.5.

29 Aug 16. The drive into Yellowstone National Park from the west side has you following the Madison River for several miles. Initially it is on your left, but somewhere around 7 miles in you cross over and the river then remains on the right side of the road. The first pull-out after the river on your right generally has some species of bird hanging out and frequently this will be your first sighting of elk. If the two legged cyclists aren't around from this point on you should be seeing an abundance of game. If the cyclists are there there won't be anything to see as their constant yelling to one another scares all the game away. The stump in this photo usually has either a Great Blue Heron or two hanging out, and/or a number of ducks. Occasionally on the shore behind it you will find a Sand Hill Crane. This is usually our first stop on the way in and frequently our last stop on the return leg. In the spring you may see bison and elk but not together and during the fall rut the area frequently will be host to a large number of cow elk. However, with the continuing decimation of the elk herds by the wolves, the number of elk in this area is constantly decreasing. Heading back in late September for one week to see what remains of the fall herds that used to almost carpet sections of this area. Hopefully there will be a nice sized herd as well as a little fall color to accent any pictures. I took the base image and gave the stump a bit of micro contrast enhancement, then brought the result into Topaz Impression where I first gave it a sketch look, then changed the blending mode to multiply, added a little bit of texture, and finally added a vignette to force your eyes to the two ducks and stump. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f / 9.

30 Aug 16. Lake Hebgen is the large lake the lies adjacent to the property on which sits the condo. It is actually just a big aneurysm of the Madison River caused by the building of a dam downstream. The lake is huge and abounds with trout. BIG trout weighing up to 12 pounds. So it is a huge attraction for those who like to wet a line where it is catch and fry, not catch and release. The shore of the lake is also home to a large number of bison, and it is generally not too hard to find several of the beasts whenever you are anywhere near the lake, and that includes the location of the condo and neighboring homes. On the day this photo was taken the weather was threatening to become nasty and while it did turn a bit inclement, it never got as bad as the clouds in this capture suggest it might. With the firs burning not to many miles distant from this site, I was thinking about how it might look at night if we were there now. With the right winds and a sufficient amount of smoke, I'm wondering if there might be some interesting photo ops. I'll assume if there were they likely wouldn't make for good B&W images, but I can see the potential for some serious sunset shots. This was a mid-day capture so no spectacular color, but a combination of yellow grasses and blue skies did make for a nicely colored landscape. This was taken in-between groups of grazing bison. The base image was cropped a small amount and then I used a B&W plug-in to do the conversion. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/5000 sec @ f / 5.6.

31 Aug 16. As you make your way east along the road between Tower/Roosevelt Junction and the East Entrance, one of the first places you encounter where you can see wolves, assuming a) you know where to look, and b) you have the equivalent of either a mini Hubble telescope or about $30K worth of camera equipment, is Slough Creek. This area will frequently have a half dozen or more wolf watchers on one of two small hills, but there is much more to see there than the wolves and if you get a bit distant from those wishing to cavort with the canines you can encounter bison, elk, and pronghorn along with many smaller mammals such as coyote, fox, rabbits. squirrels, and assorted other food animals. In addition you will encounter some truly lovely landscapes including a number of small bodies of water. One of my favorite spots in the area is a small grouping of aspens both in the early spring as they are leafing out and again in the autumn when they turn a brilliant gold. The stand is right along the side of the road and there is a nearby pullout where you can park and safely work the stand. Either from roadside, or in the small valley alongside the stand, you can get some very nice shots. In the past most folks have tended to ignore this group of trees, but in the last two years I've been experiencing an increasing number of individuals stopping to shoot them. One thing is guaranteed, even if no one else is interested, as soon as we stop to work the area there will be a succession of vehicles stopping with the occupants looking to see what's going on with many of them getting out to shoot and getting in the way. The base image received a small amount of cropping, then given a slight boost in micro contrast adjustment and that was it. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/800 sec @ f /10.