Snaps and Frames

I spotted this cluster of ladybugs in a friend’s yard today. I went back later with my camera and a 60mm macro lens to make this snap. I also used an off-camera Nikon SB-800 strobe with a small soft box to light the insects, which were in deep shadow under a shrub. Lady bugs are the only insects that don’t creep me out. As I was shooting, they were crawling all over me. I guess they must have thought I was just a big aphid.

I took a Sunday drive with two photographer friends of mine today and these are the snaps I found along the way. In my job as a newspaper photojournalist, I don’t get to experiment with black and white photography much. The day was gray and foggy, so the conversion to B+W seemed natural. I spent the first half of my career shooting Tri-X film and printing my photos in a darkroom. I sometimes miss those days–except for the smell of fixer on my hands and clothes.  All teses photos were shot with my new Nikon D4 and a selection of  Nikkor Lenses (24-120mm f/4, 300mm f/4, and a 60mm macro.)

I’ve been hooked on shooting fall color lately. Spokane is beautiful this time of year. I sometimes have to remind myself to slow down and appreciate the palette of colors fall brings each year. Photos Colin Mulvany/©The Spokesman-Review

American cranberry bush

Elm tree, Cannon Hill Park

        Embedded Maple leaf, Spokane, Wash.

           Wilted Zinnia bloom, Spokane Wash.

I was invited by three of my friends to take a photo excursion into the Palouse Country Sunday. In my five day a week job as a newspaper photojournalist, I usually take snaps of moments, but today I just enjoyed shooting static subjects. My creative energy  was focused on looking for light and composition. My hunt was fruitful– from a 10-year-old farm girl’s ripped  jeans, to some cool old car relics that seemed to be in every farm yard we passed. I like to tell my students: There are photographs to take all around you; you just have to see them. Today was a good visual exercise and a reminder  that good snaps can be just a round the corner of a country road or in my own back yard.

                                      Farm girl, Rosalia Washington

                Volvo Duett, Malden Washington

                            Volvo Duett interior, Malden, Washington

                               Corn, Rosalia, Washington

                              GMC late ’30s panel truck shell, Malden, Washington

                               GMC late ’30s panel truck shell 2, Malden, Washington

                               Broken car  window, Malden, Washington

                               Palouse field , Steptoe Butte, Washington

When I stopped at home today for a quick lunch, I spotted my neighbor’s bush covered in melting icicles. I shot a few snaps with my 60mm macro lens then downloaded the files as I ate my sandwich. I kind of shrugged my shoulders at the results, wishing the icicles had more sparkle. Returning to the bush, this time with my flash tethered to a cord, I positioned the strobe directly underneath the icicles and blasted away. Much better contrast and color–and I got my sparkles:) Nikon D700 Nikkor 60mm 2.8 lens, Nikon SB800 flash.

As the temperature rises above freezing, an evergreen bush on Spokane's South Hill sheds its icicles Monday afternoon, Jan. 23, 2011. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Looking for a feature picture today, I spotted a group tree squirrels probing for acorns amongst the leaves in Corbin Park.  The little buggers were soon  on to me as I slowly inched my way closer.  Most scampered up the nearest tree, but this brave one, with an acorn stuffed in its mouth, seem to enjoy the attention of my lens.  Nikon D700, Nikkor 300mm f/4

With winter fast approaching, a squirrel gathers acorns amongst the leaves in Corbin Park Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

I think people who observed me this morning chasing the falling leaves with my camera must have thought I was crazy. Photographing  a leaf as it floats to the ground is not easy as it looks. It comes down to luck, and in this case about a hundred bad and blurry frames to get this one snap. Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-120mm f/4, Nikon SB-800 strobe 

A maple leaf floats to the ground ending its life cycle for the season Oct. 26, 2011, on the South Hill in Spokane, Wash. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

I was  having a conversation with my photo editor in her office when I looked out window and saw the crosses of  the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, Wash. lit up with the last of the evening sunlight. I exposed for the golden light on the crosses, which made everything else go dark. Nikon D200 Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens 

The fading evening sunlight kisses the crosses on Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, Wash. Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

I’ve been walking to my car on the top floor of the Spokesman-Review parking garage for 23 years and have never seen this layered angle of the Steam Plant and St. John’s Cathedral together. Of course it was the light that spurred me to pop my trunk and retrieve my camera for one last photo to end my day. I bet this would make a nice print. Nikon D3s with a Nikkor 80-200 mm lens, ISO 200 at f/7.1, 1/160

The last rays of the day strike the Steam Plant smoke stacks in downtown Spokane, Wash., Oct. 7, 2011. Photo by Colin Mulvany

Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is OK to take a non-work related photograph. Sunset pictures are as common as candy, but it was the graphic look of the silhouetted power poles stacked up against the orange sky that made me pull over. Thankfully this morning, I had put my 20-year-old Nikon 300 mm f/4 lens in my trunk for another assignment. Its telephoto effect worked perfectly on this highway scene leading into Medical Lake, Washington. Sometimes a pretty picture is just that. Looking at this image just makes me feel good. Nikon D3s with a Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens ~  Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

Silhouetted power poles lead the way into Medical Lake, Wash., Sept. 19, 2011. Photo by Colin Mulvany