No Special Effects (Two Photographs)
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This solitary Great Blue Heron and the lighting just worked. While I prefer the colour version, the black and white does tend to highlight the bird in a different way.
Special Effects (Three Photographs)
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My objective here was to create two black and white landscapes with a slight etched-like look. Technical details: I intensified the colors and contrast using neutral density filters in Lightroom (reducing the exposure and/or opening up shadows), before taking these into my black and white software (Tonality CK) where I emphasized the greens and added a little glow. The original overblown color version of one is included.
The Duck Smiled (Three Photographs)
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We ascribe human feelings and expressions to animals (anthropomorphism). It comes naturally and sometimes subconsciously, even when we know better. For a photographer this is great news. In the example of this duck it might just give these photos the bang they need. On a technical note, I have been increasingly using spot metering on my cameras and it’s working out very well. The light meter settings on modern cameras are often ignored but are worth experimenting with.
Grasshoppers (Two Photographs)
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Another example (see my Friday post on dragonflies) with two subjects. As subjects, grasshoppers generally can be expected to do something entertaining when they try to hide. This was the first time I saw two grasshoppers together, so I gave it my best shot. Nearly there. Macro lenses doing close up work have shallow depths of field and my best guess was not perfect. Still, the photographs, at least in my collection are unique.
Dogs and Some Comments (Three Photographs)
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The best advice I was ever given on photography was to make more photographs. Emphasis on make. But from that advice came my habit of walking around with a camera whenever I could or was comfortable to do so and trying not to get to stuck on a specific subject. Over the years, while I have narrowed my subjects I never avoid an opportunity to take new or different things. I found these dogs on my walks around town, the shots were taken in B&W on my Fuji and processed in color and one filtered back to B&W. In the shot with a bicycle some errant feet were removed.
Mating Damselflies (Three Photographs)
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This was a challenging shoot. I took about sixty shots with two separate cameras. I wanted both dragonflies in focus, and they were flapping their wings and moving about. The first of these shots was taken with macro kit, 105mm lens and flash in a soft box at F18. The latter two were taken with a 200-500mm lens at 500mm at F11. With two subjects I needed the greater depth of field. On the first shot I should have lowered the power of the flash, but I was worried it would take too long and the dragonflies would fly off, so I switched to my other camera with the longer lens. The first shot was taken at F18 and this resulted in some noise. I had noise at ISO 400, at F11, on the 500mm I was shooting at ISO 3200 (otherwise known as “if all else fails”). The successful noise reduction was done with Macphun’s Noiseless. CK
L’Odyssée
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L’Odyssée is the name of this work. I find it amusing. It’s in a park off a main street, facing a hotel that is linked to several government buildings. The photography was straight forward B&W. The artist duo Cooke-Sasseville describe this work below. I have had a chance to look at more of their work on-line and I like the whimsy. This work also makes for some great photography opportunities.
“A park is taken over by three oversized pigeons eyeing a Campbell’s soup can… These birds give the impression of not understanding how to open the can or not knowing that it contains a large amount of food. A reference to pop art and Andy Warhol, The Odyssey becomes the representation of the perceived impenetrable world for which contemporary art is often criticized.”
