January Snow Day, the Nikon Way

I do like shooting with the Samsung Note II, editing photos with the great SnapSeed App, and putting the finishing touches on the photos using Autodesk’s Pixlr app . . . 

. . . and I mean no disrespect to those tools by presenting photos taken on the same day with my Nikon D7000 and Nikkor’s 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. These photos were then edited using DxO’s OpticPro 10.

By the way, I got a notice DxO’s software is on sale right now and until the end of the month. I did not check out how much; I just mention it in case anyone is intrepid and moved to be interested in it.

So, how much of a difference is it from the phone photos? Well, it’s not a fair comparison because these are all zoom shots . . . there is no zoom on the Note II (don’t even try to mention digital zoom).

Each of the following photos were edited on the fly and subject to how my mood struck me.

Oh, yeah . . . click on the photos for the larger view in another tab or window, or go to the SmugMug Gallery HERE. Note that the gallery also has the shots from the Note II mixed in there. Further complicating things, there are more shots in there than I present here (not many, but some).

In case people missed it when I mentioned it was snowing . . . it was snowing. Also, the lack of wind made for very nicely adorned trees and shrubs.

The cones offered a convenient contrast to the muted snow and trees . . . 

As part of playing around with DxO’s fine modules, I also tried some of the films emulations offered in DxO’s Film Pack. 

As B&W shots go, it’s not too bad, but as with most films (and their emulation counterparts), the resolution is not as good and, of course, you lose the color.

And the color was interesting . . . 

Mind you, as overcast as it was, the colors are not brilliant-punch-in-your face . . . still, they offer something for them who want some color in their photos.

I had the bright idea to try and catch falling flakes . . . photographically, I mean. I set the camera in manual focus, and shot a number of frames . . . the results are less than spectacular (I’m only posting a few).

There were enough flakes falling that I figure I would catch at least a few by cranking the ISO so as to up the shutter speed, focusing somewhere out there, and snapping away. Well, not as easy as I imagined. 

I might have had better luck using a lens with less zoom, and focusing closer. Still, it kept me occupied for a little while.

As mentioned before, snow sort-of screams — insomuch as snow can scream — to be shot in B&W . . . rather, shown in B&W. Still, when there is some color in the shot, one can find it difficult to just remove it. 

For example . . . I like this shot . . . 

But I also like this shot . . . 

My neighbor’s swing set serves as an opportunistic target precisely because of the color it add to the shot. 

On the other hand, the B&W version evokes more of a ‘winter’ mood.

One more time . . . 

. . . and a different B&W treatment . . . 

Here’s a few more comparisons . . . 

I think the dogwoods are better served in B&W, although the color versions show the red buds in good contrast to the white snow and white bark.

The flakes were very light, and built on each other. I should have gone out with the macro lens for this next shot, but, you know, cold, snow, wind . . . I used the zoom lens to focus on one of the petrified wood pieces on our deck.

Anyway, that will be it for this snow event . . . I need to now return to the Caribbean cruise, and the many remaining photos. 

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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