Sunday, March 11, 2012

Black and White show and tell..


I am fascinated with black and white photography. Here, I am applying what I've learned from Love That Shot's B&W workshop, using a 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Variations on the whisper theme..


I was out photographing the flowers for our Beyond Layer's "whisper theme.  When I think whisper, I think dreamy, hazy, lots of white.  But, sometimes you end up on a different path.  This is the same tree as used in the whisper post below but what a difference. I tried adding the dreamy effect but the photo would not allow it.  In this photo I ended up removing the color entirely and then slowly added it back.



About the photo:
Annabelle texture from Kim Klassen.

f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/100 sec
Asahi f/1.4, 50mm fixed lens

Whisper...


The trees are in bloom, here in Northern California.  Here's a dreamy take on the pretty flowers on the tree in our front yard.


About the photo:
No textures this time.  Several level adjustments and lens flare filter were used.

f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/640 sec
Asahi f/1.4, 50mm fixed lens

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Painterly Effect....




About my photo:

f/21, ISO 1600, 1/40sec

Asahi f/1.4, 50mm fixed lens

Kim Klassen "Poetic" texture

Monday, February 20, 2012

Eyes wide open...



I believe there are no coincidences.  Things happen for a reason.  Kim Klassen shared a story today about being grateful that she was able to help someone less fortunate than her.   The gist of her story was to keep your eyes wide open for opportunities to do the same thing.  I fully expected to be in “the right place, at the right time.” today for someone who needed it. The twist was, it was me (and a friend) who needed assistance when my friend lost her wallet.  A very kind soul found the wallet and it was returned to my friend.  

About my photo: 

f/1.4, ISO 3200, 1/640sec

Asahi f/1.4, 50mm fixed lens

Kim Klassen textures: Shine, Sweet Treat

It should be noted that I had an assistant today who basically directed the photo shoot.  Here is a behind the scenes shot of Binx helping me stage things.



Sunday, January 29, 2012

Vision and Blur


I love being in the forest when it's snows.  You can hear the wind through the trees and feel the solitude.  I love the look on Kye's face, pure bliss.  Kye belongs to my sister Cyndi. She sent me the original photo awhile ago.  I edited it in CS5 using Kim Klassen's nutmeg texture.

Vermont after and before


So here's the deal.   I took this shot while chasing fall colors in Vermont. I edited the photo in CS5 using several adjustment layers and the  Dirt overlay from  Love That Shot.  The fall colors were in full bloom while I was there but it was very overcast and ready to snow.  I loved the original shot as I can feel cold just from looking at the photo but I think it's really a case of  "you had to be there".   So I took some artistic license and added a warmer, blue sky.  Part of me wrestles with this notion.  The photo is no longer real but is instead digital art.  That said, it's a nice picture.

Here is the original picture SOOC (straight out of camera):

Can you feel the cold?