These next couple of shots are from a photowalk I took at a local park. This was the first day I felt totally comfortable with the new gear and felt a connection with the camera.

This first boat was just sitting next to the apartment complex by the lake. With some creative "in camera" cropping, I was able to draw all the attention onto the subject and not the big ad on the side of the apartment stating "The Place to be in Raleigh".

I used the 70-300mm VR lens set at 300mm 5.6. This gave me the nice shallow DOF. The image was then edited in Camera Raw. I took away a lot of Clarity to get the milky smooth Bokeh. Then used the Adjustment Brush with a good amount of Clarity and Sharpening to bring out the detail in the "in-focus" area of the shot.

I just really love the fall colors in this shot. Too bad this poor boat is not living up to it's boating potential and is just sitting here falling apart. No more Rowing "Gently Down The Stream" for this guy.

This next  boat  was another of the abandoned  boats adrift on the lake. The writing on the side of the boat really drew me to take this shot. I think the boat used to be just sitting in the woods upside down and someone left a message for the owner to get the boat or they were going lose it. Think it adds a little something to the feel of the shot. Plus I just loved the nice reflection on the lake.

This was also shot with the 70-300mm VR at 300mm at 5.6 again for that nice shallow DOF. While editing this in Camera Raw I tried several different looks and decided on a Duo Tone looks. The fact that you can add this look without converting the photo to BW is just amazing. You still get the hint of the original colors while still getting a nice stylized look. Plus a good bit of Clarity was added to bring out the grittyness of the boat.

Well all, thanks again for stopping by and reading my rants. Please feel free to sign guest book or leave a comment  on any of the photos.

Peace.