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My World: A Few of My Most Recent Photos

Dave Butcher

New member
I have not posted in a long time and have been very busy with work. I was promoted a couple of months ago to Maintenance Supervisor and before that I was working as Project Supervisor for a couple of major projects with the company I work for. With the two different promotions I have not really had a lot of time for any kind of photography. I have been averaging 50 to 60 hours a week at work between the two additions to my work load.

I took Memorial Day weekend off, literately, I turned off my cell phone and the tech that was covering my property was told that unless the property was on fire it could wait till I came back to work the Tuesday after Memorial Day Weekend. Then on the 15th of June I was washing down the pool deck at the property and went to move some lounge chairs and stepped and went down. I did the splits and felt a sharp pain in my right leg. I thought at first that I had broken my leg and the Fire Department was called to transport me to the hospital. Well it was not a broken leg but a severely pulled hamstring. After over a week of being off work and sitting around the house I went out this past Sunday. While out I did not do any bird watching or bird or wildlife photography I sat in a central location and waited and listened to the scanner.

There were three fires within about an hour and I was able to catch one.

I pulled up on this one and it was a two story apartment building that had fire in two of the apartments and I was luck enough to get these shots.

The first one is of the Crew from Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Truck 8 opening up. The firefighting laying down on the roof was looking in the hole that they had just cut.

When I got home and processed the photos I submitted four of them to the Las Vegas Review Journal and they picked up three of them for the online edition of the story.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/east-valley/50-people-displaced-by-las-vegas-apartment-fire/

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Dave Butcher

New member
This is another one that I shot at the fire. It was also picked up by the Review Journal for the online edition of the story.

6-25-17%20E%20CHARLESTON%20FIRE%20WM%200002-XL.jpg
 

Dave Butcher

New member
this is another one from the same fire and it to was picked up for the story. The day of this fire the temperatures here in Las Vegas were well over a 100 degrees by noon.

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Dave Butcher

New member
I still like the black and white stuff a lot. This photo I ran through Photoshop HDR and Silver Efecs before I was satisfied with them. I did not submit this one as it took me a couple of days to get to the point where I was happy with it.

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Dave Butcher

New member
This is one that I had taken after the Memorial Day weekend on my way home from work. By the time I got to the fire everything was wrapping up and they were releasing companies. Of all of the photos I shot this was one that I like the most.

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Dave Butcher

New member
The last photo I want to share is one that may cause debate here. I know it may look like a snapshot instead of photo journalism but I like it and it has placed high in a couple of photography contests.

I was out walking the Las Vegas Strip on the Sunday before Memorial day and the scanner came alive about a protest on the Strip. It took me about a half an hour to walk to the area where the protest was at and by the time I got there this was the last of it. I was across the street from the Venitian Hotel and Casino and saw security come out the front entrance of the Hotel. I snapped the photo and did not really think much of it until I got home.

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Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
This is another one that I shot at the fire. It was also picked up by the Review Journal for the online edition of the story.

6-25-17%20E%20CHARLESTON%20FIRE%20WM%200002-XL.jpg

Dave,

The color works well as the team of firefighters wear uniforms and matching gear and the colors help to show that identity.

Asher
 

Dave Butcher

New member
Dave,

The color works well as the team of firefighters wear uniforms and matching gear and the colors help to show that identity.

Asher

Thank you Asher I did very little post processing on this photo.

Here is the unaltered photo. I just opened the RAW file and just saved it as a JPEG. On the one that I shared here I adjusted the Levels and Curves and fine tuned it a little. I also removed the power line in the photo.

_MG_7507-XL.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thank you Asher I did very little post processing on this photo.

Here is the unaltered photo. I just opened the RAW file and just saved it as a JPEG. On the one that I shared here I adjusted the Levels and Curves and fine tuned it a little. I also removed the power line in the photo.

_MG_7507-XL.jpg


Dave,

I actually prefer the cable to stay there as it provides a better idea of the actual real milieu. Debris and imperfection helps to give a sense that its all real and not a training session. Here, I have more of the feeling of risk and battling the circumstances and interferences that actually face.

Asher
 

Dave Butcher

New member
Dave,

I actually prefer the cable to stay there as it provides a better idea of the actual real milieu. Debris and imperfection helps to give a sense that its all real and not a training session. Here, I have more of the feeling of risk and battling the circumstances and interferences that actually face.

Asher

thank you for your input Asher. I removed the wire thinking that it took away from the photo. Here is the same photo with just a touch of post processing and my watermark on it.

6-25-17%20E%20CHARLESTON%20FIRE%20WM%200002v2-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Yes it is impressive! Thanks to the firemen. Brave souls .......they don't have to shoot folk and that is a relief! They only have to shoot water, but it is still very dangerous. Most firemen who die on the job, do so from heart attacks. Apparently exertion at high temps makes the blood exceptionally liable to clot and that is what precipitates heart attacks. However, most firemen have no idea of this risk!

We think of police being in the "line of fire" and their families worry each day whether or not they will return home safely but I would guess that the fireman is more at risk!

Asher
 
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