The Colour of Courage

Snowing Colour

Snow falls on Osborne.

Romance

To show the romance of a tulip, allow the colour to emerge but not all at once.

Basket

In no hurry, this gentleman peddles slowly down the street. What you may not notice is he is taking a drag on his smoke and just movin' along, taking in the sights and sounds of the neighborhood.

Shot in the Exchange District in Winnipeg, Manitoba back in the fall of 2011. When I happened upon this guy I didn't have time to change my settings so I shot with what I had. My shutter speed was 1/6400 and aperture was f/5.6. What is most ridiculous to me is my ISO setting. For those who have been following my posts, you'll be a little surprised to read it was set at 800. I do not know what that was about and since this was more than a year ago, try as I might, I cannot remember for the life of me!

Still, I liked the shot and decided to work with what I had. Currently on a quest to incorporate interesting colour and textures into my photography, I imported this image into photoshop and played around until I found something that worked well with both the original composition and the one in my head.

Can't See the Forest for the Trees

Contrast and colour in composition can be necessary to the whole. The yellow burst in between the grey trunks and the deep dark background is necessary to engage viewers.

I went back to this location a week after I shot this. The leaves had fallen. The scene no longer drew me in. Without the yellow, apart from searching for this same spot, I would have just moved on without a second glance.

Hungry for Colour

I am hungry to take pictures and hungry to see the world around me before much of its colour gets buried beneath a blanket of snow. September's colours are deeper and darker than many of spring's or summer's. They take on a warmer hue as the temperature cools. Funny how that works.

My garden's produce is mostly cleaned out. The sunflowers remain as do a few tomatoes that cling to the shrivelled vine.

This flower caught my eye because of its fiery tones and also because of some movement. If you look closely you'll see a bug just off center. I'm not sure what kind of bug this is. Perhaps it is not one that I should leave to its own intent with my garden but the season is all but finished.

I kept my ISO at 100 which I mostly try to do and shot at a speed of 1/160 with an aperture of f/2.8. I used my 60 mm macro lens. This really has become my favourite lens. I reach for it more often than not.

Once on my computer I added a "driftwood" texture layer in Photoshop and that was about it. The colours were autumn's - no need to enhance or deepen.

Different Together

Artist's Calm

I snapped some shots of my sister's workspace while waiting to take some head-shots for her work as an artist. I loved this little area in her studio and couldn't resist shooting.

It invites me into her process of expressing to the world what she sees.

I shot at a speed of 1/60 with f/2.8 using only natural light. I bumped my ISO to 200.

After importing into Lightroom to do some initial processing of the RAW image, I added a layer in Photoshop. I used a canvas look with weathered edges that seemed to enhance what was already there.

Finding the Exception

When on an urban shoot, I am delighted when I come across the exception to the rule. Here in the midst of high-rises and old brick walk-ups was this beach-type building. I can picture it on the sand overlooking the sea instead of flanked by a back-lane and street, both filled with neighbouring businesses.

The exception is often what makes an image interesting. What is different about your subject? Does it stand out?

When out and about, take a look around and find the exception and begin to shoot (pictures, that is). The result might surprise you.

Garden's Canvas

Colour Dance

Colour Burst

As beautiful as this season is, I feel I could use a burst of colour this morning and here it is.

Winnipeg's Exchange

I got to hang out for a bit this afternoon in Winnipeg's fabulous Exchange District. I love the atmosphere, the architecture and the art that surrounds me in this community. Here are just a couple of snapshots of some aging architecture coated with colour.

Trees

Happy trees full of life, love and colour!

Set Apart

I love this little cluster of trees. Set apart from the rest, these three stand strong together. Though wind has them weathered, their colours remain and are brighter than the masses'.

Colours

If colours were seeds these might be their blooms.

Though our weather is anything but typical for January, the landscape is still often presented in shades of grey. Eager for a burst of colour, I return to images from another time. True to their nature, these tulips' colours cheer my soul this morning.

It is good to return to our image archives from time to time, to revisit what we've seen and experienced. To remain there would rob us of today's captures, but a visit? Sometimes a visit to the past is exactly what inspires our future.

Emerging Colour

Searching for Saturation

The colour is still here. I might have to look a little harder for it but when it shows itself, it is immediately worth any effort spent searching for saturation on a neutral canvas.

The texture is striking. The berries are freeze dried, giving greater depths to lines and etchings than when plumped with summer's juices.

Winter's photography is not always so barren or bleached.

PS After posting the above, I went for a trail walk. The sun was just starting to rise. I did not have to search for saturation for the picture below.