Author: Mike Hendren

Photography is a way for us to express how we view the world around us. It can reveal how we see things - our perception of reality. At times, it provides a creative medium that allows us to alter that reality. Photography also provides a way to capture time and then travel back there whenever you wish. Every time you look at a photo, it can transport you back to that moment, allowing you to relive and remember …

Ripples …

Ripples …

While recently browsing some of my older photos I came across this image I took on a sailing trip in The Bahamas over twenty-two years ago and I remember it so clearly. It was a near perfect, cool morning in November, and I was up before the sun and on deck with coffee and camera in hand. There was really no breeze and the ocean was flat with just left over memories of the previous waves, giving me a slight ripply effect in the reflection of the sky. As the sun rose to peek at the scattered puffy clouds, I could see the beginnings of deep orange in the east fading to dark blue to the west. So calm … and so calming. I still relax every time I view this photo, so decided to make it the wallpaper on my desktop.

The mornings at anchor on the sailboat are some of my favorite memories of those trips. I remember a morning anchored in the inside passage of the Florida Keys. It was another very calm beginning and after the sun rose, a slight offshore breeze began to stir the water. I was ready to go, but my wife was still sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb her. So I pulled in the anchor by hand, pulled the genoa out, and the boat slowly glided through the water towards the channel. I still think of that morning as another perfect beginning to a day on the water.

I hope this image will help you get to the same relaxed state of mind …

Please feel free to download this image – It makes a nice Wallpaper on a laptop. Image dated Nov., 2002, taken with Canon EOS D30.

A New Direction …

After several years of inactivity here on the blog, I’m back.  This lack of attention was not even for any good reason other than the normal distractions of life.  You know how it is to get caught up in the daily chores and various projects; those times when you’re not truly busy but just doing busy work.  Plus, like most of you who write, either in a journal, a blog, or your work I have writer’s doubt when I confront the “blank page”.  As you’ve discovered, the cure for that is to simply start writing but that is easier said than done sometimes. Right?

In order to find inspiration, I’ve done a lot of reading, refreshed the look of this site, and changed the name to align with my other media sites. I also plan to change the nature of the content here, away from being photography-centric to more of a general interest platform. I’ll be keeping up with news and technology improvements to better reflect our rapidly changing world.

Also,  after almost 20 years of an “almost” obsession with photography and digital cameras it’s become more of an afterthought, not even a hobby. Back then I always had a camera with me. Now  it’s just my iPhone which is the only camera I own at the moment. But now I’m ready to get going again, and even caught myself browsing B&H Photo this morning.

Part of the new theme is the header image, just a sliver of the entire image, but still interesting, and it’s intriguing that it was generated by AI (Artificial Intelligence)!  The detail, and the light and shadow are very well done.  I normally prefer to use my own photos, but I had nothing that was even close to what I was looking for so I downloaded it from https://pixabay.com.  Pixabay is an online image site that offers over 1500 free and royalty free images, and that is their mission,  Free Images.  There, I found a 4096 x 4096 pixel image that was almost exactly what I had in mind for the header and just needed cropping to the right shape and size.

Coming up next … a brief look at AI unknowns. Will they determine whether it turns out good or bad.?

Losing Sleep Over Daylight Savings

Saving Time ?

Tap – tap … tap – tap … Our little maltese, Sophie, is tapping on my shoulder telling me it’s time to get up.  Noooooo … it can’t be, it’s only 5:15 am.  It’s just that by her internal reckoning, it is (what used to be) 6:15 am and we’re late.  🙂

I really don’t like daylight savings time.  Switching our clocks twice a year seems senseless to me … Spring Forward … Fall Back … no thanks.  I’d rather just pick one time and stick with it.  (May have to move to Arizona.)

Our little dogs, of course, have no concept of time and could care less what the clock says. However, what they do seem to have is an innate sense of when certain things are supposed to happen each day.  For instance, they’re normally bugging me a few minutes before the time I normally feed them.  So even though they can’t tell time and have no sense of it, Daylight Savings does affect them … or rather, it affects me.

We normally get up around 6  am, and if I happen to sleep in a little bit, Sophie (the little one) will be bugging me to wake up, get up, and take them outside.  This year, since daylight savings ended, she’s been waking me an hour early at a little after 5am every day.  Just a week ago, 5 am was 6 am and she doesn’t care what the clock says … she knows which part of the day it is regardless of what numbers the clock hands point to, and she lets me know it.  I guess I just need to go to bed an hour earlier so I can get a full nights sleep, or maybe just a longer afternoon nap … yeah, that’s it.  :-}

Olympus E-M1 Mk II Tips

I finally made the upgrade to the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II …

e-m1-mk-ii-oly-website

Last week I finally (Again!) made the upgrade to the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II, and so far it’s everything I thought it would be. It’s fast – fast for Turn ON, AF, and Playback, and the Shutter Release feels almost instantaneous. It has great IBIS, and all the features we love about the OM-D line, plus some other great improvements. There’s an improved deeper grip and the menus are a little different, no less confusing than before, and still as deep and complex. But I do like it it and will soon be parting ways with my E-M1(Mk I).

I want to address a couple of the things that seem to be most confusing about this camera. I agree Olympus cameras can be complex and frustrating, even after four years of using and writing about them. But, they are still my overwhelming camera of choice. Partly for that very complexity that allows us so many choices and variations in camera setup.

Continue reading “Olympus E-M1 Mk II Tips”

… A Long Road Home

End of the Day … and More …

In late 2017, I was driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma to visit my Dad, who at age 95 was in a nursing home, and having severe medical problems.  Shortly after I started the trip I was notified that he had passed away.  About an hour later, I was gifted this beautiful sunset which now serves as a poignant reminder of my Dad … of a life well-lived, and now free.

Milky Way II

Milky Way II

Hoping to get back home soon to that beautiful dark sky in southern New Mexico …

E-M1.2 and Olympus 12mm f2 lens.  ISO 1600, f2, and 15 seconds.

 

Milky Way – Olympus E-M1 Mk II

My First Milky Way - E-M1 MkII

We’ve recently moved to southern New Mexico where the sky is much darker than any place I’ve lived.  Light pollution is virtually non-existent.

One night after sitting on the deck with no lights on for about 30 minutes, I stepped out into the yard and looked up  … the stars took my breath away!  There were so many and they were so bright, plus the Milky Way stretched up across the sky, looking like a long string of millions of bright jewels.

So a few nights later, armed with the E-M1.2 and Olympus 12mm f2 lens, I gave it a try.  This is one of my better attempts at ISO 1600, f2, and 15 seconds.  I know I have a lot to learn about astrophotography, but I was happy with my first try.  There will definitely be more … 🙂