It's that time of year to celebrate family:

Tony J. Wilhelm

The Week in Pictures

Just a few things seen along the trek of another week...

A foggy sunrise

Little Rocky

This is how you go fast.

Watching you...

This is how you hear real music.

Is that happy or what.

Last few flowers hanging on by the old bike.

New Graffiti

A moonrise just before sunset

All this will take it out of you...

Tony Wilhelm
 

Fall Water Themes

Fall is setting in across the country.  Here in Florida we don't usually see all the brilliant colors that some of the rest of the country sees, but after months of heat and humidity we can finally open the windows and enjoy the outdoors. Most of the time...  Actually my air conditioner has seen very little use in the last three weeks.

A bit of a water theme for today.

I will post pictures from our travels to North Dakota soon.

Tony Wilhelm

Hurricane Isaac / Pensacola Fl

Although we are not taking a direct hit from Hurricane Isaac, we are seeing some of what the storm has.  We're not sure what to expect entirely, but here are some photos from an outing to the beach earlier today.



The railing in the first photos is usually 6 feet above the water.  The early surge has it going over the wall.

Trash line from the waves

The waves in the Gulf of Mexico are reaching heights nearly to the top of the Pier.

People lined the beach, braving blowing sand to take photos of the waves.

The entrance to Ft. Pickens.  The road has already seen damage.

I took out my back-up camera and handed it to Maria.  Here's a few from her.

 I am planning another outing as the storm moves closer.

Tony Wilhelm

Life on a Harley

Late last summer I bought a Road King from my Brother-in-law.  Kudos to Mark it is a beautiful bike.  I've  been on, around or owned motorcycles most of my life with just a few empty spaces in there.  Most of the bikes I've owned I've had to resurrect from the dead so to speak.  They were the kind of bikes that if I rode for three hours I would spend four hours working on it.  This is by far the nicest bike I've owned, and of course I love riding it, which I proved by doing 4 round trips between Indiana and Florida between late September and November last year.
Now we have a bit of a situation.  Not too long ago the bike developed a wobble in the rear.  One day going around a corner two blocks from the house I heard a snap and was almost thrown from the bike.  I called the dealer and their best guess was wheel bearings in the rear.  I finally broke the bike down yesterday.  The bearings are fine, but what I found wasn't so fine.  It seems I have about 6 broken spokes.  I guess tomorrow I'll find out what it costs to re-spoke a rim.  I may be buying a solid rim...

Hopefully I'll be back on the road sometime next week.  Then I'll start my journey of photos from the road series.  Maybe Maria will join me?

Tony Wilhelm

Worlds within worlds

This month I joined a social group on-line and their challenge.  The challenge is called Single in May.  The idea is to take a picture with one lens every day of the month.  This doesn't mean one can't use other lenses during the month, just that every day you take at least one picture with the selected lens.
My lens choice is the Pentax SMCP A 135 2.8, which was produced from 1985 to 1989.

So far, at the mid point of the month I have a couple of my favorite shots:

By any standards, this is still a stellar lens.

Tony Wilhelm
 

The perfect angle...

Static subjects are nice in that they are there, and not moving when you want them.  Just how many trips does it take to get the one shot that counts?  That question may never be answered fully.

3 mile bridge is our "landmark" in Pensacola.  Early this morning I tried a different angle to get "that shot".  I'm not entirely displeased, but not exactly what I wanted either.  This shot was taken using my K20 D and an older Pentax SMC A 135 2.8.

How could the boys resist a chance to go fishing?  Some good bites, but unfortunately the tide wasn't working with us this morning.

An hour or so later I shot this in a different location, with the same set-up.  This shot really shows the qualities of the older lenses on the newer bodies.  Crisp and sharp, this one was a keeper.

Tony Wilhelm

New Beginnings

This blog is an opportunity for me to share my experiences behind a camera.  Whether I'm working on a commercial assignment, doing an engagement session or just experimenting with new techniques I will share some of the final products and thoughts behind what made them work or not.  Questions and comments are welcome since that is how we grow in any stage of life.

Cherry Blossoms
Shot with a Pentax K10 D this spring using a zoom lens I purchased on ebay for $14.  The color output of the CCD sensor in the K10 D is simply amazing, and remains one of the best even though it was officially released in January 2008.  Although there are (and I have) newer, better cameras the K10 D still holds its own in the photographic world.

Tony Wilhelm