On the bluff with Grandpa Jim

Yesterday was a pretty full day for our family. Grandpa Jim had invited us down to go exploring the family hunting land to see the fall colors and maybe get some really cool pictures.

He couldn't have had a better idea. The area we went to go visit is probably best travelled by ATV. You can walk it if you like, but we had a bit of a time problem, and one of the people on the trip has 4 year-old legs.

These first 2 pictures are my first attempts at doing panorama's with the new Photoshop Elements v 6.0. I think I'll need Mark's help with this and my camera, I'm noticing some dark spots that must be dust in my camera some place. Mark, you are the Photoshop guy!

To take these pictures I follow the following steps:

1. Take a meter reading in P mode of the center picture
2. Switch the camera to M (full manual) mode and use the settings from step 1.
3. Take 3 pictures quickly using these settings.

This seemed to produce the most consistent exposure across the separate frames.
These next two pictures require reader intervention. I really like both of these pictures, but I'm really wondering which one is better?

Maybe they are both kinda junky? Leave me a comment!

This first one is a horizontal. I was really surprised to find ivy out here. This is the foundation of a old barn that had burnt to the ground.

This is the vertical of the same shot. I actually think the debris at the bottom adds to the picture and gives it more texture.

The contrast between the finished concrete and the weathered concrete provides patterns of interest to me. The moss and the ivy also bring life to this spot.
The last thing is the reason we drove out here. We came out here to shoot some family pictures. At least that's what Brenda had in mind.

This was a candid I got while the girls were waiting for me to get set up. I just love this one!

They called this area the yellow forest. 2 weeks ago, these leaves were all yellow and on the tree. Mark and Mark...this might be a place to go next year! The views were spectacular!

I got some great family portraits and I'd love to share them with you. But many of the readers of this blog will be getting to see them in a much more solid fashion. The Christmas card photo is fantastic! Others of you...will just have to wait and see the final version in a frame!