Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant facing the storm

With the Japan Nuclear disaster leaving the news, but will forever linger in the people in Japan, I thought it would be interesting to see where the nuclear reactors are near my house. I am definately not a proponent of nuclear power, but it is quite awe-inspiring to see the massive cooling towers spewing steam into the atmosphere. I took is with my new Canon 24-70mm 2.8L and my Canon 5D Mark II.

The Pitons from Jade Mountain

For our honeymoon we were lucky enough to get an opportunity to stay at a Jade Mountain "Sanctuary" on the Anse Chastanet resort.  We had an amazing view of the Pitons and Soufriere Bay.  A lot of people ask me how much post processing I do to my images.  Well here I made a perfect example as to two exposures of the same scene with and without filters. The only things I did in Lightroom were crop and sharpen.

And here is the photo with the Polarizer and the 3 Stop soft ND filter. It's a subtle difference but notice how the sky has darkened and the foreground is popping with color in the photo below:

<

Back with lots to come....

I admit I have been neglecting my blog but I have been busy in the field, and most recently was in St. Lucia with my wonderful wife for our long awaited Honeymoon.  We spent 7 amazing at Anse Chastanet and Jade Mountain resort in the Soufrière Quarter of St. Lucia.  So why there? I found a intriguing photography workshop being hosted there by Joe McNally, a National Geographic photographer.  Well I knew I could not do the workshop but figured what an amazing place for a honeymoon!!!  I am going to probably do an indepth review of the resort later, but in short this place was STUNNING!

We came back to snow in Pittsburgh, and I hear my friends in Calgary sure have had some cold weather too so here is a photo that sure warmed me up!

The Road to Autumn

When travelling home to Pittsburgh I noticed this road erupting in color.  The sun from above made the fall leaves glow.  I think it was a good idea I decided to pullover get on the road and take this shot.

Columbia Township Sunrise

The good thing about the oilfield is that you are outside all the time and you can catch some pretty amazing stuff that you would never seen stuck in an office.  When I was in the field in October, I arrived pretty early on the wellsite and saw a great sunrise erupting in the sky. Well this shot made me happy as I missed all of the fall colors this season in northern PA!

Autumn at Ohiopyle Falls

Ok I admit it. After just one non-waterfall post, I'm back at it again.  Pennsylvania has an abundant supply of surface water and a very hilly topography.  Add that together and you can find lots of waterfalls in the state.  I have visited Ohiopyle State park several times this year and I find something new each time.  Ohiopyle is thought to have been derived from the American Indian word ohiopehhla which means white frothy water.  

<

Adams Ridge Sundown

Did I mention I always carry my camera with me?  Well on my way to drop off the garbage at our Condo complex, I saw a great sunset developing.  I lucked out in finding a great electrical pedestal to rest my camera to get a steady shot.  Turns out I had to use HDR processing to get all the detail of the clouds, trees and the sun.  I just can't wait until the green hues of summer turn yellow, orange and red!

Let's Fall!

I took this shot on Darwin Wiggett's Winter Magic tour in February.  I just loved how this tree was hanging stuck in the air waiting to fall someday.  It reminded me of the new season upon us.  Certainly, in Calgary where I am from is in a completely different situation than Pittsburgh, where I am llving now.