Seed

Glow in the Dark

Fireworks

This image originally had a black sky background but I wanted something a little different, a little unusual. The fireworks were white so I didn't touch those but I added a texture layer in Photoshop and lightened the background. Then, back in Lightroom, it still wasn't exactly right so I changed up the colour a bit, moving it into the blues. After sharpening the light bursts, I was done.

And one more interesting fireworks image taken at The Forks in Winnipeg...

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.

Fading Memories

Solitude

We all need it at some point: solitude. Some more than others but each of us, all of us, need this.

I shot this image on a beautiful autumn day. It felt more like summer than fall but the colours were definitely autumn's.

With the bright sky, I opted for an aperture of f/9.0 and fast shutter speed of 1/320. Though I didn't need the depth of field the f/9.0 provided, I didn't want to blow out the image because of the bright light. Choosing to bump up the speed also ensured a properly exposed image.

Once on my computer I added two texture layers, breaking up the negative space a bit. While some negative space was important to this composition of solitude there was too much I found it to be too stark, too bare, for the solitude to be inviting. There is a fine line between the solitude sought after in a chaotic world and the solitude that speaks of loneliness. Once I applied the layers, it was exactly as I wished the image to be.

Homestead in History

Aged, tired and beautifully rich with stories and life, I am sure, but quiet enough for us to remember our own.

I love to add textures and layers over-top of images of old structures, like homes and barns. Playing with the colour and feel of each image is so rewarding once the right mix appears before my eyes. I know it is right when what I see marries with what I feel and it becomes one.

I shot this at a speed of 1/500 and an aperture of f/10. The speed was necessary as I was in a moving vehicle when shooting. The depth of field afforded with f/10 was adequate to the image.

Sunfire

Coming Home

After a day out fishing, the gull glides onto the golden beach. Home.

I used my zoom lens to get as close as possible to the gulls without scaring them away. I composed this shot using the shoreline to help draw attention to the subject. Including all of the gull's shadow was important. Too often we see shadows cut off in images. Bringing the image into photoshop to add a texture layer enhanced the image and brought a real sense of coming home at the end of the day with the golden hue.

Fallen Umbrella

The wind catches it just right. Flying out of my hands it reaches up then splashes down into the puddle I'm standing in.

Textures and layers can join up with imagination to create engaging and magical photos, ones we lose ourselves in as our own experiences meet together with a little daydreaming.

At my hard drive's expense, I save most of the images I take. Though there are some I know need to be junked, sometimes there are a few that can not just be salvaged but turned into better images than the ones I originally thought to be the best. Not often but sometimes. At the very least, the archived "duds" allow me some playtime where I can let my imagination run free.

Sparkling

The cork is popped and the champagne poured. The bubbles rise up and over the edge of the glass, sparkling and fizzing all the way. It is time to celebrate spring!

In my photography, I love to let my imagination go and see where it takes me. Ordinary tree seeds caught in foliage turn into something magical and celebratory.

I used my 60 mm macro lens to capture these tiny seeds. Using a texture and shading layer, I enhanced the image, adding a little more magic to this glass of bubbly.

Resting

There are a few buses parked in a fenced in field in our neighborhood. The buses are aged. The years have taken their toll and yet they don't seem done to me. They continue to give in the way of memories. You don't have to gaze at these for long for a memory or two to come to mind. Even at rest, we can well imagine their glory days as we are transported back in time.

I took this shot through a chain linked fence. The plastic that was threaded through the fencing didn't allow for my lens to poke through. As a result the edges are softened. No matter, I brought the image into photoshop and played with some textures, further aging the image and creating even more of a retro feel. Not all images are lost to limitations!

Apple Blossom

The sweetness of new life and her vigorous growth are inspirational to those she touches. From the source of her life, she sprouts and grows at astonishing rates. How can I not reach for more when I bear witness to such growth?

Once again I used my favourite lens to get this shot, my 60 mm macro. I enhanced the softness of this image with two layers in processing, drawing attention to the sweet young blossoms in a gentle and pleasing way. Just enough shading and a touch of texture and I was done!

Spring's Flow

There is a flow to spring that is refreshing and invites me to move after the stillness of winter. The bursting forth of life after a season of dormancy and rest stirs something inside me to the same.

Today I choose to grow (accepting the growing pains that come along with it) and hopefully, eventually, bear fruit.

I chose to use my macro lens for this capture, to blur the seeds in front and behind my focal point. Together with the lines of the composition, it lends a movement to the picture that would be lost to full clarity.

Choosing textures and shading that move the eye around the image was also intentional.

Composition is fluid and grows from thought to sight to capture to processing to output. And then it may lie dormant for a time but once someone else sees it and brings their perspective formed by experience to the image, it begins to grow again.

I Captured the Hydrangea

The gentle colours in this hydrangea were not to be captured in full sun. The light was too harsh and the shadows too dark for romance and tenderness.

I moved my potted treasure to a room with a north window. The window coverings were a soft ecru fabric, allowing just the right amount of light in to blanket these blooms. Still too shadowed at the front, I pulled out my reflector and bounced the window's light to the shadowed petals. I mounted my camera on a tripod and used the shutter release cable in order to allow me some room to move to hold the reflector at a good distance from the plant. In processing I added a texture layer for the final touch.

I captured the Hydrangea.

Lines and Shades

Lines and Shades
Shapes and Textures

 

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.