2. Projects

Pic of the Day -2009

All pictures in this gallery were captured or processed on the day of posting or the day before, bringing true meaning to the "Pic of the Day"!
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Apr 22 - I have created another new community on SmugMug - Honest Feedback. <strong><a href="http://www.smugmug.com/community/Honest%20Feedback%20and%20Critique/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a></strong> to visit and join the community.<br> This Daily Community is a great place to absorb the creativity and talent of others while you continue to hone your own skills on a daily basis. Here, others will tell you what they love about your photos and it really helps to build your confidence as a photographer. While I love our community here, sometimes I need more. If you have an important opportunity on the horizon, you may want and need real honest feedback. You can see by the above picture that seeking some honest feedback on my portfolio prior to my submission would have been a good idea. That is why I have created the community and I invite you to join! There is a lot of talent in this daily community. So here is a chance for you to really learn from others with more experience while helping those that are earlier in the learning curve. <bR> <font size=3> The Honest Feedback Community is</font> <BR> - A safe learning environment where you can get honest critiques of your work <BR> - Open to anyone and everyone looking to truly improve their photography. <BR> - Not a time consuming daily post. You don't have to post everyday, just post when you need help and check on the community to offer support to the other members (no need to feel guilty for being two days behind on commenting -;). <Br> - A place where you can freely comment on your own work allowing for more interactive conversations and responses to those who have visited your gallery. <BR> - Give back. Share your own talents and knowledge with others. <BR> - A gallery that you may not want to feature prominently on your website (My gallery is not on my menu and would be a little hard for other visitors to find). <br><font size=3> - A place to get real feedback from others on:</font> <BR> - Composition <BR> - Lighting <BR> - ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture settings. <BR> - Post Processing <BR> and much, much more! Please join us! <strong><a href="http://www.smugmug.com/community/Honest%20Feedback%20and%20Critique/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a></strong> to visit and join the community.<br>
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Apr 22 - I have created another new community on SmugMug - Honest Feedback. Click here to visit and join the community.
This Daily Community is a great place to absorb the creativity and talent of others while you continue to hone your own skills on a daily basis. Here, others will tell you what they love about your photos and it really helps to build your confidence as a photographer. While I love our community here, sometimes I need more. If you have an important opportunity on the horizon, you may want and need real honest feedback. You can see by the above picture that seeking some honest feedback on my portfolio prior to my submission would have been a good idea. That is why I have created the community and I invite you to join! There is a lot of talent in this daily community. So here is a chance for you to really learn from others with more experience while helping those that are earlier in the learning curve.
The Honest Feedback Community is
- A safe learning environment where you can get honest critiques of your work
- Open to anyone and everyone looking to truly improve their photography.
- Not a time consuming daily post. You don't have to post everyday, just post when you need help and check on the community to offer support to the other members (no need to feel guilty for being two days behind on commenting -;).
- A place where you can freely comment on your own work allowing for more interactive conversations and responses to those who have visited your gallery.
- Give back. Share your own talents and knowledge with others.
- A gallery that you may not want to feature prominently on your website (My gallery is not on my menu and would be a little hard for other visitors to find).
- A place to get real feedback from others on:
- Composition
- Lighting
- ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture settings.
- Post Processing
and much, much more! Please join us! Click here to visit and join the community.

  • May 5 2009 - Elvis has left the building and one of the babies have left the nest.<br> I was able to get fairly close. <br><a href="http://jeffgroves.smugmug.com/gallery/4951487_X8e7v/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a> to see <font size=3 color="yellow">more owl pictures</font>
  • May 5 - "Mom is never far away" - There is mom quite close by keeping a close eye on her babies. They have, after all, not yet left the nest.<br> Here are a few answers to some interesting questions that came out of yesterday's post (more than some of you want to know). <br> Sonolady - Will you get to see them fly? - I doubt it very seriously. They will leave the nest soon, not to return. Once they leave, they will not go very far for a few weeks and we will hear their unusual squeal, but the foilage gets thinker with each Spring day, so it is unlikely that I will see them. I do, however, see mom and dad flying quite often. They are usually being chased by a broken-hearted mother crow. <br> <br> fotoeffects, it is wonderful to have this nest in my backyard, now going on the 4th nesting season. An Eagle scout lived behind me at the time and put these boxes up as his final project. It is the kind of box they prefer. As a matter of fact, the same parents will come back to the nest every year and if something should happen to one of them, then the other will remarry and may bring his/her new spouse back to the nest. <br> <br> JenniferD, they do not keep me up at night. They are actually fairly quiet during the late hours, but they do tend to make a lot of noise around 10am and again just around sunset. Speaking of noise, the adults make the well known "who, who cooks for you" sound, while the babies sound like an alien screaming from a B grade movie. <br>Generally responding - we didn't see them until Sunday. We can hear them in the nest, watch dad show up with food and that is it for the most part. Then the special day comes they stand on the edge, Mom and Dad close by trying to talk them down or encouraging them to jump - lol, we are not real sure. So we only see them for a very short period of time. <br> <BR>Last but not least, here is an excerpt from the reply email that I received from the UNCC professor that studies these little guys. That is when I learned that they were actually three babies in the nest. -----Original Message----- From: R. O. Bierregaard, Jr. Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 9:04 AM To: JeffGroves Subject: Re: The Owls have emerged from their nest. Great shot! I did come by on Thursday to band the 3! youngsters. This was our 4th box with 3 young this year--a new record. I was surprised they were still in the box. Young this large have usually flown the coop already. I think they're still there because there isn't an easy branch to jump to. They won't be there for long. Keep me posted as to when they leave the box, please.
  • May 4 - "Hoo you looking at?"<BR>These baby Barred Owls have just emerged from their nest. I am fortunate enough the have a perfect view of this nest in my very own backyard. It is always a wonderful and exciting time when the mom and dad come back and start nesting. * If you go back and look at the <a href="http://jeffgroves.smugmug.com/gallery/4496559_EFnrw/1/528074858_CQpxG#514391700_f7TjE">panoramic shot of my backyard </a> taken on Apr 17, in the center of the picture on the other side of the fence line you can easily see this box in the tree. I am fortunate that the opening faces my deck.
  • May 3 - Melvin Seals and The Jerry Garicia Band perform in Charlotte for the 10th anniversary of The Tyber Creek Pub. Please take time to look at a larger format of this one.<br><br>Update: Joe, I actually covered the event. <br><a href="http://jeffgroves.smugmug.com/gallery/8080032_H3Vtb/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a> to see <font size=3 color="yellow">photos of the party!</font>
  • May 2 - This is "Hoover" our albino catfish. He was the size of my little finger when we got him 5 summers ago and now his head is the size of my shoulder. He is about 2 feet long. When we feed the fish (goldfish, koi and him), he comes up and sucks all the food up.. hence then name.
  • May 1 - Taking a break from my strobe flash shots, here is my photo dedicated to the use of Natural Light. <Br>Actually took the shot 2 days ago, but wasn't thrilled with it, so it evloved to the beer fountain shot on Apr 29. Oh yeah, <br><a href="http://jeffgroves.smugmug.com/gallery/7402288_YmBwL#525992700_NtPVy"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a> to see the <font size=3 color="yellow">set up for the beer fountain shot on Apr 29</font>. <br> Barely got a POD in today and I know that I am now 2 days behind on commenting. Will catch up tomorrow! For now I say thanks to everyone's comments on my initial beer shot as well as my snake pic yesterday.
  • Apr 30 - Its warm, take your shoes off and enjoy the feeling of the wet grass between your toes.<br /> Copperhead - The dof is horrible in this shot, but I was at shutter priority 250 watching a crow chase an owl and felt like I was in a bit of a rush to catch this shot. After that, I came back inside and put my shoes on.
  • Apr 29 - Its been one of those days.<br /> I had an idea for a POD about 10am this morning and just wasn't able to pull it off. So here I am 9 hours later.
  • Apr 28 - Just playing with the guitar - in the only way I know how. For members of the Honest Feedback and Critique Community, there are three variations of this picture posted there seeking input and discussion. Interested in joining the community? <a href="http://www.smugmug.com/community/Honest%20Feedback%20and%20Critique/"><font color="red">Click here </font></a>
  • Apr 27 - Harmonica
  • Apr 26 - Piano<br /> <br /> Thanks Sonolady. No, none of them belong to me. The piano and the clarinet belong to my wife, Brenda and the guitar is Caroline's, my red-headed stepchild.<br /> When I play the stereo it sounds off key. I don't have a musical bone in my body (but after a few glasses of wine I can sing just like Eric Clapton and Elton John. Nobody has ever told me that, but I know it in my heart. ;)
  • APR 25 - Guitar<br /> SB800 camera right w. snoot - 1/20<br /> SB600 camera left diffused - 1/32
  • Apr 24
  • Apr 23 - Macro Fly - This guy was in my office window all afternoon yesterday just begging me to put on my macro lens and get a shot of him.
  • Apr 22 - I have created another new community on SmugMug - Honest Feedback. <strong><a href="http://www.smugmug.com/community/Honest%20Feedback%20and%20Critique/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a></strong> to visit and join the community.<br> This Daily Community is a great place to absorb the creativity and talent of others while you continue to hone your own skills on a daily basis. Here, others will tell you what they love about your photos and it really helps to build your confidence as a photographer. While I love our community here, sometimes I need more. If you have an important opportunity on the horizon, you may want and need real honest feedback. You can see by the above picture that seeking some honest feedback on my portfolio prior to my submission would have been a good idea. That is why I have created the community and I invite you to join! There is a lot of talent in this daily community. So here is a chance for you to really learn from others with more experience while helping those that are earlier in the learning curve. <bR> <font size=3> The Honest Feedback Community is</font> <BR> - A safe learning environment where you can get honest critiques of your work <BR> - Open to anyone and everyone looking to truly improve their photography. <BR> - Not a time consuming daily post. You don't have to post everyday, just post when you need help and check on the community to offer support to the other members (no need to feel guilty for being two days behind on commenting -;). <Br> - A place where you can freely comment on your own work allowing for more interactive conversations and responses to those who have visited your gallery. <BR> - Give back. Share your own talents and knowledge with others. <BR> - A gallery that you may not want to feature prominently on your website (My gallery is not on my menu and would be a little hard for other visitors to find). <br><font size=3> - A place to get real feedback from others on:</font> <BR> - Composition <BR> - Lighting <BR> - ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture settings. <BR> - Post Processing <BR> and much, much more! Please join us! <strong><a href="http://www.smugmug.com/community/Honest%20Feedback%20and%20Critique/"><font size=3 color="red">Click here </font></a></strong> to visit and join the community.<br>
  • Apr 21 - An oldy but a goody!
  • Apr 20 - Working hard! - Thanks to Photographer Ron McCann for catching me working hard at Saturday's Track and Field event!<br /> Yeah, it looks like I am having fun, but that is hard work . ;)
  • Apr 19
  • Apr 17 - My Backyard. Slightly less than a perfectly aligned panoramic view of my backyard. Worth a look in a larger format. <br> Can you see the odd box in the tree in the center of the picture, just over the fence? That is an owl house. <a href="http://jeffgroves.smugmug.com/gallery/4496559_EFnrw/1/528074858_CQpxG#528074858_CQpxG">The babies came out</a> and said hello on May 4.
  • APR 15 - I owe.<br /> Now that I have this chore behind me, I should be able to catch up on my commenting! Happy Tax Day!
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