Tag: blue sky Page 2 of 3
We woke up on the last day of our vacation, packed up camp, and headed to Antietam National Battlefield. Antietam is a large park, and since we were heading home and didn’t have a ton of time to explore, we chose to do the driving tour. The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862 and was one of the bloodiest days in American History. With over 23,000 casualties on both sides, the Confederate Army retreated back to Virginia, leading President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Now, the war wasn’t just about preserving the Union, but also abolishing slavery (NPS).
One interesting thing, all around the park are monuments like the one pictured above dedicated to state’s militias who lost their lives at Antietam. While driving around, we never saw a monument to the Michigan Militia. So, I did some research and found out that there are people working on raising money exactly for this purpose. They already have the land for it, but they need funds to construct that actual monument. There is a book that you can purchase to help the cause titled Michigan at Antietam. If you are a Civil War buff and would like to help, I recommend you check it out.
Before this trip, I really didn’t know much about the Civil War and what I did know I learned in High School. Visiting all of these battlefields really sparked an interest and has me reading a lot about it since I’ve been home. I’m glad I got to visit these places and learn about one of the toughest times in our country’s history. I really think more people need to do that, especially today. If we forget our history, we are bound to repeat it.
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They say the best camera is the one you have on you, so I have been making a point lately to leave the DSLR at home and to work on my iPhoneography. Will my phone ever become my serious camera? Not anytime soon. But, this practice is good because I don’t bring my DSLR with me everywhere I go and there are times when all I have with me is my camera phone. I want to be able to get the most out of those photos.
Just like you would never shoot your serious camera in auto mode, to get the most out of your phone photos, you have to get away from the native camera app. I use the Lightroom Mobile app (which is free and you don’t have to have Creative Cloud to use it), but there are other quality shooting and editing apps out there. Before taking the picture, the app lets you adjust your exposure, white balance, and your focus point. On the iPhone 7, Lightroom is able to shoot in RAW which is awesome because after the fact, you are able to get more out of your photos. After you take a picture, Lightroom Mobile allows you to do basic edits of the image and then you can save it to your camera roll and share it out on social media.
I recently did a comparison between two photos of the same thing, one of them was shot with my D3100 (which is not a high end camera by any means) and one was shot with my iPhone. While the iPhone camera has come a long way, and apps like Lightroom Mobile allow you to be more creative with your images, it still does not measure up to a DSLR.
Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.
During our recent time in Traverse City, we decided to head to Leelanau State Park for sunset. We were a little early for sunset, so we headed out to the Lighthouse at the tip of the Peninsula. The clouds were really interesting at this point in time, but looking at this photo, you can see movement in the clouds. A little closer to sunset, we headed up to an overlook that looks over the dunes and the bay below. This would be an amazing spot for sunset if the sun was in a different spot in the sky. According to The Photographer’s Ephemeris, the middle of June would be a great time to photograph the sunset at this spot. So, we continued on towards the beach and by this point, clouds have rolled in and the sun could only be seen in the opposite corner of the beach, so this shoot was kind of a bust but I was able to get this kind of interesting, reflective shot from the beach near the lighthouse. The moral of my story, not every shoot results in breathtaking images. Sometimes, you have to just relax and enjoy being outside and try another time.
Above I mentioned The Photographer’s Ephemeris. I recommend TPE to every photographer! You are able to put your pin at a photos spot on a map and it shows you where the sun and moon will be in the sky at any given day. Obviously it can’t tell you what the cloud cover will be like, you’ll need your favorite weather app for that, but the web app is free and there is mobile app for when you are on the go. It was integral to planning our Chateau Grand Traverse shoot from a few weeks ago.
For more information about Leelanau State Park, visit the Michigan DNR. Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.
