I do realize that the saturation is a bit too much. I was going for more of an artsy look. Then again given the subject matter I will admit it was pushing the envelope just a bit.

hey guys.... thx for looking... yes I did increase clarity and saturation JUST a tiny bit.

Ummm took a walk in the forest early this morning. I am sure many of you could do better.... but I am happy with what I found. Just sharing. Enjoy.

Got up early yesterday, and was treated with patches of really heavy fog, and a few rays of sunshine here and there. Enjoy.

Hello Davidrb, thankyou for pointing out that I had to deactivate the shutter release AF. I was aware of that. On my Nikon, by selecting AF-ON in the back button menu, this automatically cancels the AF feature of the shutter release. My only regret now is that I did not understand this earlier.
But, thanks to folks like yourself and all the other people here, I am really appreciative of all the help you have offered, not only with this issue but with other experiences as well.
I will admit, that the concept is exciting... AND addictive lol.

No Nikon.... I am not serious.... I was just making light of a frustrating experience

SOOOOO. I wanted to experiment with the back button focus option on my camera today. There is an extensive thread on this subject... so I wanted to see how it works.
As a subject I needed a moving car, or bird, or ANYTHING that would move fairly quickly through the field of view in my camera.
So.... I went out and stood on the street corner next my house. I looked up... no birds... ok I thought.... I will wait for a car. I waited... I waited more. I thought about holding up a sign... photographer experimenting here, I don't need money just a moving subject!! Please help.. god bless!
Well that wouldn't have worked, nobody would have seen it.. because there were no CARS... no BIRDS. Not even a %^&*% squirrel for FIFTEEN MINUTES.
SO I gave up... decided to go back in the house.
I walked maybe TWENTY ^&^*$#$% FEET... and I hear not one but TWO CARS coming done the street!!! They could have come down the street DURING those fifteen minutes... but NOOOOOOOOO that would have been asking WAY TOO MUCH of the ….whoever is in charge of making stuff happen!!
I am obviously going to have to find a busier street... but what will happen then? That busy street will suddenly go DEAD QUIET... like a sudden apocalyptic event has just happened and all life except myself just ceased to exist. Yes yes… you are laughing.... but I bet I would be correct...hahaha

OK.... so I finally understand the concept of BBF. Obviously I knew the back button was there on my Nikon.... but I just ignored it in favor of semi depressing the shutter button. The manual says... use the AF-L AE-L on the camera to select exposure and recompose, but says very little... in fact nothing about the more creative uses of this feature.
I have obviously missed out on a lot of opportunities by considering this little button as valueless.
Now I feel a new surge of creative experimentation.
Oh the joy of digital!! if I have 200 fails... it doesn't mean a thing.... it has always been about that one shot that stands out above the rest for me.
With this knowledge now.... maybe there will be a lot more keepers. We will see. :)

THANK YOU Tomcat! Finally someone who can say it in plain English!
Yes... my Nikon does have a button on the back of the camera to the right of the viewfinder.... and it is AE-L/AF-L and yes I can select program the function in the menu. Some of you guys could have said that rather than all this BBL nonsense that sounds like a secret handshake or something :)

I have read everything in this thread and it is all very interesting but it begs the question.... is this "back button focusing" some kind of secret code or something????
I STILL have NO clue what the heck back button we are talking about.
WHY don't we just call it the AE- L AF-L button, if that is what it really is [ on the back of the camera as indicated on Nikon cameras] or is it the AF selection mode button behind the shutter??? I DUNNO.

A little clarity and less "Mason" double talk would be helpful for the sake of clarity. I realize you will all think I am an "outsider moron" for asking this question... but I will say again.... I have NO clue what the heck you guys are talking about.

I do NOT understand BBF. I have trouble understanding the auto focus option on my Nikon. I have read just about every offer of explanation... and yes even the manual. I just DONT get it. Yes I would like to photograph wildlife... sporting events, but I totally gave up on that. Instead I use manual focus, as in set the lens to infinity and use a very small aperture. For macro NON moving subjects I use AF. I dont have any idea why I cannot understand this process, but I praise those folks who can, and wish you all continued success.

Hi,
There is really VERY little post processing. I make light work for me. The only post processing was to crop some and adjust the white balance.
I usually use spot metering @ 8% with manual controls or with the Ev set at -1.0 to -2.0

The early morning near my house is a great time to look for those little details that so many people just pass by in their rush to get to work.
Fortunately, being retired, I have the time to stop and look around.

WOW... impressive. Very 50's film Noir look with these!
I could say that the first one with the man in the hat is the best.... but they are all excellent work, with a beautiful emotive feeling.

Just gonna post a few pics. wanted to share with you guys so you know I am still alive.... has been a very busy few weeks for me on the home front.

yes I am behind the blinds! If you had just OPENED THEM


early morning sunlight