Spring time means ox shoeing

With the advent of warmer weather and the promise of spring, much work needs to be done at the Farm. One of those tasks is re-shoeing the oxen after the winter footwear has worn down. This is painstaking work and the beast likes to thrash around, but it is very interesting to watch and record. I used three lenses - the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 and the Nikon 12-24mm, the latter often with diffusion on the SB-800.

The blood is not normal, the shoe needed to be heated as to effect cauterization of the cuts.

Messing with sepiatone and tinted files

I am discovering that there is more to digital imaging and processing than taking photos and spending time on the laptop - you can go back to those original RAW files and mess with them all you want. The sepia and tinted looks are more or less an extension of b/w files with some artistry thrown in the mix.

These Ross Farm files were captured on May 5, 2009, on my 46th birthday - they seemed to be ideal for this effect. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Magnificent winter day at the Farm!

There are times when all the elements just seem to come together for great images - light, weather, subject material and the photographer's ability to see. Never taking all the credit for my own work, Saturday's visit to the Farm seemed to be the ideal scenario - but where was everyone? Nonetheless, I went about and did my usual thing and even was able to go for a sleigh ride and get some interesting captures with the 12-24mmm/SB-800.

I am glad I am comfortable and proficient with flash, it's simply another great tool to capture images.

Making snow shoes

This seems like a very practical way to get around in the wintertime during the 1800's, snow shoes were hand-made by expert craftsman to last. Barry was meticulous in creating these for the onlookers as I visited my favorite place on a bitterly-cold Saturday afternoon. It is utterly amazing how wood bends and shapes when heated.

I used both the fast zooms on the D60 as flash just didn't seem right.....

Cutting the autumn grass

Cutting the lawn in the 1800's was a far different endeavor than what it is, today - although the people did have a ride-on mower. It involved a more hands-on approach and the odd bout of stubbornness, plus you needed to be careful where you stepped=)

You don't see this to often at the Farm, so I took advantage and recorded lots of files. Fill-flash from the SB-600 helped in some cases.

Back to school

Now that the summer is pretty much over, there are no school groups coming to the Farm for awhile. The workers were doing their usual toiling but few were there to watch. As always. I got some nice captures. I plan to go back in a couple weeks, the autumn leaves should be doing their thing by then.....