Happy Easter

If Winter Continues...

...so must we.

It's a Foggy Morning

The Cross

Seed

Crossing

This is a pretty common sight in our city, Winnipeg.

It was a foggy morning when I took this shot. Using my tripod, I gained stability where I would have lost it with my 1/30 shutter speed. My aperture was set at f/5.  ISO was 100.

Once on my computer, I brought the image into photoshop and added a texture layer to give the structures a little bit of substance, something for our eyes to grab hold of through the fog.

Ready. So Ready.

Hope

Busy

Weathered and Worn

Sometimes the weathered and worn become more beautiful with time.

I took this image with my 60 mm prime lens at a speed of 1/125 and my aperture set to f/2.8. Once on my computer I increased clarity and brightened it up in Lightroom before adding a texture in Photoshop. The scratches in the textured background seem to enhance the appearance of agedness of the daisy.

The River is Green

In Chicago, they dye the river green for St. Patrick's Day's festivities.

It is really, really green.

Canadian Winter

Leave room.
Leave room for the viewer's story.
Leave room for the subject to move.
In this shot, I didn't include the whole body and face. The viewer can fill in the blanks and well imagine themselves or someone they know stick-handling the ball.
In this shot, I didn't fill the frame. I left room for the subject to move across the ice.
Leave room.

Winter in Rural Manitoba

I was a little more aggressive with the processing for this image. In photoshop, I added not one but two texture layers and played with their opacity until they were both just right. I wanted to play up the beautiful sunshine on this cold winter day. The heavier texture was manageable because this image has some strong design elements, the hydro poles. Without the poles, the textures would have overwhelmed the composition.

Intricately Beautiful

One More

I didn't think I had it in me to take even one more winter picture this season. I was wrong.

I shot this image at a speed of 1/320 and aperture of f/5.6. My focal length was 27 and ISO 100. Once on my computer I added a texture layer and increased the contrast to make it pop.

Kodak Brownie

What adds to the subject and what takes away? This is important to consider when composing our shots. In the background of this picture we see sweet bokeh bubbling up from the top of the camera, which adds. When the picture was still in colour, the gold of the bokeh was too much and ended being too loud and distracting. Also the art piece on the wall to the left of the camera was just as distracting as the golden bokeh. Converting to black and white was the answer.

Oh deer

There were several deer in and amongst a group of cabins. I was able to get close enough to get this shot.
Cropping can make all the difference! I cropped out the distractions and simplified the composition. Leaving space for the deer's line of sight was important to me. It adds a bit of intrigue - we want to know more and it is also calming.

Studio Flowers

I have a bouquet of flowers sitting in my studio. When the morning light comes, it sure makes me smile and I cannot resist grabbing my camera to take pictures. It is interesting that each morning, or afternoon or evening, something new catches my eye. It is never the same.

Once on my computer I brought this image into photoshop to add a texture layer. After sharpening the focal points and brightening the image up a bit, I was done.

My shutter speed was 1/13 (used a tripod), aperture f/2.8 and ISO 100. I used my 60 mm macro lens.

Spring's Hope