Popcorn

This is the last kernel (popped of course) from a group of a dozen or more that was given to me by a student in my DigPhoto class the other day. One of the points I was trying to make with the handful of popcorn was that to truly enjoy something one should take some time with it, no matter what it is. Perhaps you might be able to think of a few things to which this philosophy might apply, but in this case it was the art of making a photograph that I was attempting to make an analogy towards.

This is, I think appropriately, a "macro" shot, where the idea of photographing small things requires the photographer to "get in close". In this case close was a matter of less than an inch, and the only thing I really felt I wanted to do to the image in "post" was to crop it to a more square format than the original. The color has not been altered, or have any of the levels of light or contrast. The extremely narrow depth of field is apparent, and certainly a typical characteristic of a shot with a magnifying lens. I really like the way that depth of field draws the eye toward the middle of the kernel where the color seems to be brightest and where the surface textures are most apparent. Rule of thirds (balance), shape, form and texture all play a role in this image.

Overlapping Brothers

In trying to express the bonds between siblings I sometimes feel that a single picture doesn't do justice to the mood.

This shot was made with the Hipstamatic app and the double exposure button, which does take some getting used to in aligning and exposing images.

Early Morning Light

Early morning while driving past the golf course in Trenton. The foggy day was an expectation as I had seen a couple of "patchy" spots of fog driving through the Mud Creek Road, but it was the sun that froze me in place and caused me to pull over and iPhone this shot.

The sun backlighting the large tree and at the same time balancing a focal point with the smaller tree was of particular interest to me. There was a definite feeling or mood of calmness in this shot, which i think fog tends to do anyway, but the distinction here was the fog masking depth as it usually does, but in this case with the sun "burning" through. The colors were posterized even in the "live" presence.

Male Mosquito at Sunset

I saw this "creature on the window out back and had to get a photo. How marvelously engineered these long-legged creatures seem to be! The element of line took over for me here with the legs all coming together at one point in the image, dividing segments as the sun settled into the horizon. Unedited, this was an easy piece for my phone to capture.

Yellow Foggy Morning

 The sun this morning was amazing, although the fog had a great deal to do with that. I first noticed how "glowing" the sun was through my rearview mirror, with the color being almost a "golden glow" in the way that it lit everything up. I shot one-handed quickly from the window, taking three or four different versions of the image here at the top. This ended up as my favorite because of it's clarity and the position of the telephone poles. I cropped the image tightly around the rearview mirror, and I liked the drops of water that stand out so sharply.





The second shot of the trees was actually a "no-look" as I just held the phone against the window and clicked off a number of shots, with the one to the right being the one I selected. I did increase the contrast and "tune-up" this one a bit as it was pretty "blasted out" by the bright sun, but I enjoy the effects that the sunlight has on the branches of the tree and the way it shines through and illuminates some branches more than others.

At Dessert

Jen and I had our first meal at Olive Garden and when it came to the dessert, it only took a minute to make a choice. Here is before and after!

Windy Waves

Here we are sitting in the living room, nice and warm, but constantly aware of the wind buffeting the house. While the windows aren't rattling or such, it is quite a view out to the south to see the waves, glistening in the late afternoon sun, moving quickly across the bay.

I took a shot or two out the window, but quickly discovered I was too far away, so I fastened a 200mm lens to my camera and went down to the shore to get better shots. I set the f-stop as open as I could and found when I got back to the studio to look at the shots that the narrow depth of field was pretty interesting. Here are a few of the shots I got. I'm not sure they show the wildness of the wind (too close to the action I think), but they were made with "flow"!

Spring Snow Day

Working with the idea and value of HDR, I thought I would try to make an image today that most closely represented the reality of the day and also make an image that was manipulated to create a mood or feeling for the day. Two very different concepts that do not neccessarily have to be at odds with one another.

I will briefly describe processes as I post the images here:

The image of the snow covered tree is the subject for all of the photos I am using here. The one to the right was made as a single shot, high (1600) ISO , 1/125 second, and f-8. I then went into adjustments, tweaked the color in the darks and mid-range to a bit of blue, and "bumped" the contrast about 10 points. A "cooler" image because of the blue, and I kept the slight glare from the window I was shooting through as I think it adds interest and effect.


The series of shots below were made with the same camera, the same framing (tripod lock-down), and no adjustments at all, only using two images (aperture priority, one f-8 and one f-11) with the resulting shutter speeds. I then blended the two into a single (below images, with the two foundation shots smaller size) "HDR" image. I know this is a technique that is sort of ubiquitous at this point, but I find the concept as well as the possibilities for exploration fascinating.

HDR Blend

Robins of Spring

This morning was amazing as we had more than a dozen robins scattered around the lawn and the field pecking away at the grass and whatever else they might find to "nibble" on. It was just as spring arrived, a sunny day, and beautiful. The unfortunate aspect of this shot, as well as the group of others that I took, was that I had a setting based on aperture priority and the exposure in the sunlight was all out of whack. I was pressed for time with other responsibilities, so I just doctored these in PS rather than going out to retake them. Above is a passable photo with the robin tilting his head and looking up toward me as I take the shot.

New Profile Picture for UM Farmington Class

I just did this tonight to get my UMF profile set up for the Master's class later this month. Imagine working ahead of schedule, relatively unheard of for me!

The white drawing is an inverted ink drawing that I blended onto a PhotoBooth image in my studio. Hmmm, art "ghosts" maybe?