Autumn Crossing

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.

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.

Corona

Our mind completes a circle. This is why it works to take a picture of part of something round. We fill in the blanks and complete what is missing quite easily. This works for close-ups of people's faces, sunsets, pumpkins...you name it. If it is round, or close to round, you can get away with not including the whole of the round.

I chose to present this image in black and white, void of colour, to accentuate the textures and shape of the sunflower.

Using my 60 mm macro lens, I shot at a speed of 1/160 with an aperture of f/2.8.

PS If the title "Corona" puzzles you, look it up.

Beauty from Brokenness

This morning I chose to wander with my camera instead of going for a power-walk. As it turns out, it was just as good for my heart...maybe even better.

On my hikes and walks, I much prefer to bring a lighter lens. I used my 60 mm macro lens for this shot. I chose an aperture of f/4.5 with a shutter speed of 1/100. Once on my computer I brought this into Photoshop and applied a texture layer, one in a Driftwood series I particularly like. After application, I erased some texture from the petals using an opacity of 50%.

Finding Light

This morning the skies are heavy and the light low.

I challenged myself to take pictures even though I felt less than inspired. Wandering and even crawling around my home, I took a couple dozen shots and ended up gravitating towards this bottle on my kitchen window ledge. Even on a darker morning, this vessel seemed to hold the light, treasure it. I found my inspiration.

I shot at f/2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/320. Forgetting my ISO was at 400 to allow for the lower light in my previous shots, I kept it there. Bumping up the ISO often increases noise or grain in an image. With the textures found in the screen and mottled glass I decided that was just fine; it did not compromise the integrity of this shot.

In processing, I added a colour layer to enhance the green already found in the image.

That's One Fuzzy Petunia Plant!

Close. Closer.

Get close.

Now closer (and maybe turn your head to the side).

It amazes me what I can see through my macro lens. The excellence of creation and its detailed design boggles my mind. A whole new appreciation for that which is sometimes comes through the lens of my camera. What do you see through your lens?

Delight of Dandelions

On my trail walk I saw many many many dandelions today. Determined to see their beauty, I looked through my lens and gained a different perspective than the one that seemed so easy to come by. Plenty to choose from, I captured image after image of these textured blooms.

I decided to turn them into black and white images to show off their textures the best I could. The bright yellow I saw on my computer screen just seemed to distract me again and scream "weed!" - this is what I ended up with.

The Robin's Return

Downhill

A valley can be beautiful and green and full of life. A valley can also mean the opposite of a mountaintop when speaking about life experiences, contrasting euphoric successes with deeply challenging times. When we say, "it's all downhill from here," we can be speaking about ease of effort or we can be referring to deterioration. Context is key.

When we look at this image, we are on the high ground looking down. The picture alone speaks of life and beautiful abundance in crops and harvest. But what if we are coming up to a place in our personal lives where we know we will be meeting challenges? We might see this picture in a different light. What is our response in times of challenge? Do we turn around and avoid looking at what is to come? Do we stay on the hilltop, afraid to go down? Or maybe go down, slowly like entering an icy cold pool of water, little by little, unsure of whether or not to commit to full immersion.

I'd like to think that if the valley is a valley of challenge, that I would have the courage to journey on and through. I think I'd go slowly and sometimes I might turn around to look back, wondering if I made the right decision. Once through the valley, I might turn around and see that the very challenges I managed to face (and this would not be in my own strength!) did actually produce a harvest, a good harvest. And maybe the valley was green after all.

I took this picture in the rolling hills of Alberta, Canada. I don't often like to take pictures so centered but it seemed to work for this particular image. Before seeing it as completed, I brought it into photoshop to add a texture layer. Sometimes layers add. Sometimes they take away. Here, I think it added.

The Wrigley Building

Spotlight

I took these images during a particularly chaotic time. The hues are quiet even though the textures and movements may not be. There is a sense of calm.

Taken at Hillside Beach, Manitoba

1. Swirl

2. Knee Deep

3. Seed