Tag Archives: chicago photographer

Photo(s) of the Day – Purposely Lost in the Highlands of Scotland

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Aside from my latest post on the Cliffs of Moher, my focus has been primarily on Scotland because, admittedly, I was completely awestruck the entire time we were driving through the country. From Edinburgh all the way up in to the farthest reaches of the Highlands, I was amazed at the scenery, the people and, of course, the photographic opportunities. Don’t get me wrong, I have several hundred photographs to sort through from Ireland, which is also an amazingly beautiful country in it’s own right but my focus in the last several days has been taking a trip down memory lane and sorting and editing those from Scotland.

One of the things I loved the most about Scotland was driving through remote areas where a small cottage or thatch roof fishing hut would suddenly pop up. There was nothing or no one else around for miles but there was this little structure smack in the middle of the very rustic landscape.

Tracey Capone Photography © 2012

Not all structures were remote. We came across one very beautiful home when we got a bit lost in Dumfries, in the northern most Highlands. To me, this was quintessential Scotland. Beautiful rolling hills, of course complete with sheep, surrounding a farmhouse, in this case the beautiful blue sky complementing the butter yellow of the house’s facade.

Tracey Capone Photography © 2012

There was no shortage of amazing scenery in Scotland, that’s for sure. Even a run down little shack made for a good subject…

Tracey Capone Photography © 2012

I look forward to going back to Scotland to explore more of this amazing country. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for reminding myself of my wonderful trip with my photographs.

Enjoy!
*tracey*

Tracey Capone Photography © 2012

Photo of the Day – “Sonata”

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"Sonata" - Tracey Capone Photography

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”  - Alice Walker

Photo of the Day: Platinum

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"Platinum" - Tracey Capone Photography 2012

I promise… last dogwood photograph! They’re sort of becoming like mac n cheese. I LOVE mac n cheese, but, if I were to eat it every day for several weeks, I would slowly but sure grow tired of them. I don’t want that to happen with my favorite dogwood so I promise, I am stepping away from the computer… slowly. (I promise this now but, in an effort to procrastinate while getting ready for my trip, I may just get struck with a very coincidental urge to work on another of the 200+ photos… but I promise, I will try!)

Today’s Photo of the Day is “Platinum.” I wanted to try something a little different today as I have been focusing on the color of the dogwoods in other photos and wanted, instead, to bring focus to the beautiful patterns they create instead.

I suppose I should get back to knocking things off the ever growing list of things to do before I leave next week. I don’t know at what point it actually starts looking like I’m making a dent in it but hopefully that will be soon!

Enjoy!
*tracey*

Photo of the Day – Sun n Sand

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"Sun n Sand" - Tracey Capone Photography 2012

It’s coming down to the wire… this time, two weeks from now, I’ll be driving from Manchester, England to Edinburgh, Scotland on the first of many legs of the UK Road Trip between Manchester and Shannon, Ireland. That said, with a couple of wholesale orders to complete, money to exchange, an International Driver’s License to obtain, and turning a packing list in to a reality, the next week and a half is going to be pretty crazy. I’m thinking time out with the camera is going to be few and far between but I’m hoping to step away for a bit over the next few so I can continue to enjoy the beautiful Chicago weather and the ever changing scenery.

In honor of the upcoming road trip, I decided to make my Photo of the Day one from my last trip, driving from Santa Monica, CA to Tulsa, OK on Route 66. The Sun n Sand motel was one of the many wonderful, retro motels we came across along the way. I loved the orange and yellow of this sign, especially against the grey sky from that day. It was, quite literally, a bright spot in the final leg of our tour.

That road trip was full of so many fun memories, I can’t wait to create more in a couple of weeks! (and given we will be driving on the other side of the road and car, something tells me there will be LOTS of laughs to remember… and that will only be in the parking lot of the car rental facility) I will, of course, be sharing along the way!  Do you have a favorite memory from a road trip you’ve taken? 

 

Enjoy!

*tracey*

 

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Photo(s) of the Day: Dogwoods

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Cornouiller - Tracey Capone Photography 2012

About a week ago, I posted about my obsession with magnolias which sadly, are all but gone at this point, thanks to high winds and the ever changing season. However, with the changes in temperature and the advance of Spring comes my favorite flowering tree, the dogwood.

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Photo of the Day – “Ethereal”

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"Ethereal" - Tracey Capone Photography

I love Spring. Not only for the photographic possibilities but for providing a sense of renewal. While I do love winter (you have to at least like it if you’re going to live in the Midwest), admittedly, by the end of the season I am in the photographic doldrums and don’t really feel much like getting out with the camera. That could explain the 1,000,000 photographs I took of my two cats the last few months.

Spring though, Spring offers you a chance to start fresh. New buds on the trees, flowers popping up all around, everything moving and changing so quickly you could be out with your camera every day and capture something new.

In between preparing for my trip to Scotland and Ireland at the end of this month (hopefully MANY photos to come from that one!) I have been fulfilling a promise I made to myself to step away from the computer, set aside the shop, and get out with the camera whenever possible and I am so glad I have been.

Today’s Photo of the Day, “Ethereal” is moving past my magnolia obsession back to my obsession with dogwoods. (I am pretty sure I have about 200 photos of dogwood branches and flowers that I haven’t even shared) I used the very small amount of blue sky to my advantage to come up with this lovely teal color that works both in contrast to and in conjunction with the butter yellow of the dogwood flowers.

I plan on getting back out there today, despite the chill I can already feel in the air. It’s been a few days since I was out there last time and I can only imagine the changes that have happened since then.

Do you have a favorite season to photograph? What about a favorite subject in that season?

Enjoy!

*tracey*

Photo(s) of the Day: Magnolias No. 1 & 2

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"Magnolia No. 1" - Tracey Capone Photography

Spring is in the air! And, while that means great things for the makers of Zyrtec and Claritin, it also means wonderful inspiration for photographers such as myself!

Yesterday, I headed out and about in Chicago to capture some of the blooms that are only around for a short period of time. First up are some of my favorites, the magnolias. In Chicago, it seems like the second we get a severely windy day, the magnolia flowers are off the trees quick as they came so I was very happy when I came across some beautiful, untouched blooms.

"Magnolia No. 2" - Tracey Capone Photography

“Magnolia No. 1” and “Magnolia No. 2” are now available in my shop, along with a number of others perfect for a Spring motif.

Enjoy!

*tracey*

Photo of the Day: “The Valiant”

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"The Valiant" | Tracey Capone Photography

New to the lineup is today’s Photo of the Day, “The Valiant.” I loved this car when I came across it walking around Chicago. It was so Don Draper, so sleek, such clean lines. I admit, I am NOT a fan of the box cars of today but give me a boxy vintage car and I’m in love!

Wouldn’t it be fun to hop in one of these on a beautiful Spring day, windows down, tunes on the radio (I’m guessing this doesn’t have an auxiliary jack for my iPod ;)  ) and no particular destination in mind?

Enjoy the weekend!

*tracey*

Photo(s) of the Day: Playing with the new lenses

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Sigma 70-200 2.8/ natural light/ no edits/ 200mm/ 1/20sec at f2.8

I’ve previously made mention that I’m in the process of upgrading my equipment now that I am  officially doing this full time. It started with the camera:  my ever-reliable D90 has become my backup body and I have moved in to using a D700. I can honestly say, and this isn’t an exaggeration, while I’ve only spent but a few weeks with it, I truly think I love this body more than chocolate. The D90 was wonderful, overall, but this D700 FX is allowing me to reach even further as a photographer and I cannot wait to get it out and about in Scotland and Ireland next month. With upgrading my camera came upgrading my lenses because, and I will always hold firmly to this belief, creatively speaking, they are much more important in the long run and well worth the investment.

Having just received the new lenses in the last few days, I haven’t had the chance to fully break them in but that’s the beauty of having two wonderful subjects right here in my home. Yes, I know, more photos of Jack and Charlie. Hey, some people post hundreds of pictures of their kids; at the risk of sounding like Crazy Cat Lady, I just happen to be posting photos of my cats. ;)

Between these two and the 10-20 I got about a month ago, I am so looking forward to the weather being more consistently amazing here in Chicago (this week we’re getting a preview of Spring but you never know when that will change) as well as hopping in the car and getting out on the roads through Scotland and Ireland. I can’t even imagine how much fun I’m going to have with the wide angle lenses in the Highlands and at the Cliffs of Moher.

The week is winding down. I don’t know about you but it’s gone really quickly for me. I hope it has for you. Just one more day until the weekend!

Enjoy!

*tracey*

Nikon 24-70 2.8/ natural light/ no edits/ 70mm/ 1/50 sec at f2.8