Year: 2022

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50 Years

I graduated in 1972 from Radnor High School. This year is our 50th reunion—fifty Fxxxing years. I never thought I would make it this far. I went back for the 40th reunion and had a blast. I took Debra with me, and she got to meet all my old friends and visit the firehouse I worked out of. Radnor Fire Company in Wayne, PA, was the first fire company in America to have a motorized fire truck. I was a firefighter, Fireman of the year, and assistant chief during my many years there. Those years were some of the finest in my life. While we were there, I went on a nostalgic ride on the 1954 Mack, Wayne 2. This truck was there when I joined in 1972 and then was sold to a fire company in Vermont. The Radnor Fire Company repurchased it and restored it. It’s a genuine fire truck. Noisy, open cab was what fire trucks were all about. My friends there took the truck out while I was there. Debra got to ride in the cab, and I rode on the back step with Don Wood, a past chief and my Physics teacher in high school. Oh what fun that ride was.

The reunion was fun as I caught up with many old friends. But, showing Debra, where I grew up and sharing my experiences, were excellent. We go back this August for the 50th reunion, and I am sure I’ll have some great photos from that trip.

 

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Ernslaw Burn

Ernslaw Burn, a funny name.  You’d think it was a location for a forest fire or something.  No, it is one of the most magnificent places I have ever visited.  It is in New Zealand and like a lot of places in New Zealand it is magic.  The burn is a bowl-shaped hollow high up in the mountains with glaciers and waterfalls falling inti buy the hundreds.  On one of my workshops to Ernslaw Burn we ferried participants up a high and long valley by helicopter.  Once there, we were free to explore and take it all in.  Words can’t describe it but hopefully some of these pictures will.  Maybe I’ll try another workshop in New Zealand in the next year or so now that the pandemic is subsiding.

Please Visit . . .

If you are interested in seeing more work by Kevin Raber and purchasing his work for your own, please visit RaberEYES.com

Kevin also runs workshops for photographers all over the world at Rockhopper Workshops

Kevin also has. a major website for all photography enthusiasts with articles, forums, tutorials, community, and more at photoPXL.com

Kevin also shares his work daily on Facebook and Instagram

Kevin Raber, April 2022

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Love Abstracts In Architecture

In my travels, I enjoy walking around cities.  I do this for a few reasons.  First, I love to do street photography.  This is a chance to shoot people and the environment to show spontaneous and candid life.  The other is looking at the architecture and trying to find abstracts in unique and beautiful buildings.

In this series of buildings, I found so much it was crazy.  This is the opera house in Iceland.  Known as Harpa it is an amazing building both inside and outside.  If you ever get to Iceland make sure you spend some time photographing this building.  Iceland is one of the most photo-rich lands you can visit.  It’s pretty easy to get a good photo there.

 

Please Visit . . .

If you are interested in seeing more work by Kevin Raber and purchasing his work for your own, please visit RaberEYES.com

Kevin also runs workshops for photographers all over the world at Rockhopper Workshops

Kevin also has. a major website for all photography enthusiasts with articles, forums, tutorials, community, and more at photoPXL.com

Kevin also shares his work daily on Facebook and Instagram

 

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Gold Leaf Indianapolis

The pandemic has slowed us down from going out and photographing as we used to.  Travel has been extremely curtailed and as such, I have been looking for new ways to expand my photographic art.

A number of years ago, a great friend who sadly has passed away showed me some prints he had made using gold leaf.  He learned this technique from Dab Burkholder, who is one of the best photo instructors I have met.  Thus, I saw a workshop online where Dan was teaching this technique.  I signed up for it, bought his kit, took the class, and quickly became addicted.  I now have over 100 images I have gilded, as it is called.  The procedure is a bit of work but the end result is many times unpredictable, but always satisfying.  I will feature all my gilded images in the near future with an album I am doing, but for now, please enjoy this 9×12 inch gold leaf photograph of downtown Indianapolis.

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Moonrise Over Antarctica

On a trip to Antarctica a few years ago we were sailing in a channel between two large mountains photographing feeding humpback whales.  It was a wonderful evening with photo opportunities of the starboard and port bows.  I was at the stern of the ship and heard a lot of shouts coming from the bow.  Something must be happening.  A few seconds later, as we moved forward, we got the glimpse of the moon rising next to this mountain.  The sky was pink, magenta and the snow had a special color to it.  It was a great look, and I got great shots.  You know it’s good when the captain of the ship comes out and turns the ship in a circle so he can take a picture with his point and shoot.

A month ago from this post I revisited my images.  I loved this shot and decided I needed to see it in BW.  Thus, I worked on the BW conversion.  This is what I got.  I tuned it for dark sky’s and subtle grays.  It kind of reminds me of an Ansel Adams photo.

Hope you like it.

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The Rock Stars Of Iceland

Iceland is a land of beauty in so many ways.  One of the special things is the horses in Iceland. They are unique to Iceland and they are just plain cool.  They are sturdy little horses that can put up with the harshest weather.  Their tales and mains are long and flowing.  You see horses all over Iceland and if you stop and visit with them, they will come right up to you and show signs of affection, especially if you have an apple or carrot in your pocket.

You cannot import any horses into Iceland.  If you export an Iceland horse that is fine, but that horse and/or offspring will not be allowed back into Iceland.  They are doing their best to keep the breed pure.

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Time For Breakfast

One early morning the year before the pandemic I visited Great Smokey National Park. It’s about an 8-hour drive from my home and I like to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding areas.  This morning I enter the park way before sunrise stopped at a spot I was familiar with and waited.  I knew that every morning around sunrise the horses that have been out in pasture are called back to the barn for breakfast.  This particular morning it was foggy with a deep yellow sky as sunrose started.  Sure enough, like clockwork, the horses showed up.  I took my photos and moved on to the next location.  Shot on a Sony a7r iii with a 100-400mm lens.

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Something Small From Something Big

This is an image at the bottom of one of Iceland’s largest waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss.  I have been to this location dozens of times.  I have photographed from every angle.  Because it is so big as a photographer, I usually try to get the whole waterfall in.  I do my blurry time exposures.  I get it with morning and sunset light.  I go behind the waterfall and get low and sometimes climb the hill to get a high short.  But, am I seeing it all.

In the last few years I have been putting on my 100-400mm Sony lens and now looking for the picture in the picture.  In this case, there was something beautiful going on, as the waterfall would turn into a mist and gently land on the tricks at the bottom of the fall.  There was a whole other landscape taking place here.  The delicate moss, the miniature waterfalls flowing through this moss, and amazing detail you could never see unless you looked at it through a long lens.

So, next time you are out, look at the big landscape and then start looking for the smaller landscape inside the shot.  Picture in a picture.  I have a 24×24 inch print of this hanging in my hallway.  It always stops people as they explore all the detail.  Print it out.

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The Nap

Napping Polar Bear - Svalbard Norway Trip
Napping Polar Bear – Svalbard Norway Trip

 

Seems that all animals like to take naps.  They might have something going in that department.  Who doesn’t like a nap?  My cats and dog as nap specialists.  Seems that Polar Bears are pretty good at napping, too.  This napping Polar Bear was found in Svalbard on one of my many trips there.  I was in a zodiac (rubber boat) and was safe.  These guys are big though and as always when tracking any kind of wildlife, being quiet is so very important.  Shot with a 400mm lens with a Nikon D810.  I have a ton of Polar Bear images from numerous trips there.  I have a sold out trip in September to do this trip again.