New Film Cameras

A couple of years ago a man gave me 2 Nikon cameras and a few lens that go with them. Both cameras use film and not an SD card and were made in the 1970's. At the time they were top of the line cameras and one even has interchangeable parts, which is a great idea. For the most part they have remained on the shelf during these last 2 years. Yesterday I decided it was time to learn how to shoot with them. Thanks to YouTube, I learned how to adjust them and actually take photos with them. It is like learning how to drive a stick shift all over again. Today I took one of them out for a test drive and shot some scenery. Everything about these cameras is manual, so you have to adjust the lens, F stop and shutter speed all manually. It forces you to slow down and really consider what you are doing. That is not all bad, but makes you more careful and conscience of what you are doing. Sometimes it pays to slow down and do things the right way. Sorry no pictures from today. That will come after I finish shooting a couple rolls of film, send them into a photo development place and get them back. One reason you have to be more careful, is that it is more costly, considering the cost of film, postage and development, which is about $10 - $15 per roll. Not only that you only get 24 shots per roll, not 2000 per SD card. As a dear lady told me years ago, "You need to take time to smell the roses."

Sun Star Bursts

About a year and a half ago, one of the ladies at Camera Club (Kathy Deforge) showed us how to create star bursts with our cameras. The procedure is really rather easy. All it takes is to line up the sun with a distant object, set your aperture to F/22, use the lowest ISO as possible and take the photo. Seeing I almost always shoot in Aperture Priority, this is not a hard task and the results can be quite breath taking. I always thought you had to have a special lens filter to do this (which I have used in the past). Below are several photos I took recently, which show the results. What do you think? One other thing - You need a sunny day. Good luck with that here in cloudy, gloomy NW Wisconsin.

Specialty Calendars

   Many people have asked me where I have my calendars printed and bound. The answer to that is at "Distad's Print Shop" namely my home office. With my own color laser printer, specialty paper and binding system I can print them fairly reasonably and quickly. This also enables me to do "Specialty Calendars" for people who want photos taken of their house, property, family, pets, or even have a photo album of old photos that they want put into a calendar. Recently someone wanted me to take photos of a couple of farms, especially the barns, and make a calendar for them. That was simply a lot of fun to do!
   If you are interested in having your own specialty calendar done, please let me know soon. The cost would be $8.00 per calendar with a minimum of 10 calendars.
Contact Information:
Frank Distad  P.O. Box 98 Trego, Wi.
Cell Phone: 715-939-0601
Email: Fdistad@Gmail.com
Or simply message me on Facebook. 
Thanks and May God richly bless you and Have a great and Merry Christmas.

Soar Like an Eagle

Over the years the Lord has provided many opportunities to take photos of eagles. Every time I see one of these majestic birds, I am amazed at their beauty and gracefulness. Yesterday on County Road K, up in a tree, was this glorious eagle, just sitting there waiting for me to snap a few photos. I took a few from inside the car and then dared to get out and a little closer. Then it happened, he started to take flight. All I can say is WOW! Below you can see a few of the photos I was able to take. Enjoy and let me know which one you like the best. Thanks. Then go read Isaiah 40:31. It is worth the read.

One Day Photo

This morning I had an appointment in Barron and afterwords I decided to take a day trip to the Ladysmith area and take a "few" photos. What a Day! In a short amount of time the Lord allowed me to take several photos of barns, lakes and wildlife, even a one seat outhouse!. I was amazed at some of the old colorful barns and especially the ones that are falling apart. In front of one of the barns were 2 horses eating their lunch. As I stood by the fence, they decided to come and visit me so  I could take some portrait shots of them. They were good models. As I was getting ready to take a few photos near the river, the geese took off with a thunder. There were also some turkeys that I was able to shoot as they took off. Now that was a great day of taking photos.This why I love photography!

November Sunrise

So far I have not heard anyone complain about the exceptional weather so far this November. We realize that before long winter will be upon us, but in the mean time, Praise God for this beautiful weather. One thing about it is the sunsets and sunrises have been dramatic and fun to photograph. Last night I was able to capture this windmill in the sunset. I really love the contrasting colors. Then this morning I headed to Sarona and shot the barn and pond scene in the sunrise and also the barn with the sun behind it. Silhouettes have always been a favorite of mine.

 

2017 Calendars for Sale

Can you believe that tomorrow is November 1st already. That means the Election, Thanksgiving, Hunting Season and Christmas are just around the corner. In the past few weeks I have been working on getting the 2017 calendars ready to sell again this year. This year there are 4 different calendars to choose from:
1. Flowers. I must have taken a few thousand photos of flowers this year and everyone is a little pieced of God's Glory. 

2. Barns: Northern Wisconsin is covered with barns that have real character and natural beauty.
3. Retro Barns: The same barns, but altered to give them an aged look.
4. Area Scenes: Lakes, Lighthouses, Waterfalls, and Area Landmarks.
   Below you can see the cover pages from these calendars. All of the photos in these calendars were taken by myself during this past year. The calendars are $8.00 each, plus $2.00 each per order for postage and handling. They are printed right here in my office with a laser printer that does a great job and I use quality laser paper. Let me know which calendars you want and how many of each. Order a bunch and I will print them for you. Thanks... You can email me at FDistad@Gmail.com or message me on Face Book or simply call at 715-939-0601 or 715-635-9426 They will also be for sale at the Spooner Elementary Craft Sale on November 12th.