February 27, 2012

Still Life

February 27, 2012

Still Life

Still Life

Switzerland (2012)


Is the above photo an act of desperation? In the First-World-Problems sense, it might be. I haven't been making and taking enough time for photography lately. So I find myself doing this, setting up some fruit under the LED lamp in the kitchen. At least I used my homemade beanbag and ran the exposure up to 6 seconds to get the DOF I wanted! I think it doesn't look too bad, but it is kind of ordinary.

Part of that has been the weather or daylight hours (Excuses, excuses!), part of has been just the end of winter blues, part of it has been I-don't-know-what. Maybe I feel like I've run out of places to take pictures of. Can you believe that? I'm in Europe, how often does that happen! First world problems, indeed.

I do think that, objectively, my pictures have improved in the last year and a half since getting the ol' D40. Also, my thinking on what I want to do with my photography has grown considerably in the two months of doing this blog so far. Maybe grown isn't the right word, maybe just been thought about. With that growth and improvement, maybe just because of the winter down time, I on the one hand, feel eager to explore and make pictures, and on the other hand, feel disappointed that I don't have anything new already. I would like this blog to be something a bit different than it is, but haven't made it that yet. I want to show only my best-best work, but see that I haven't been doing that. Noticing that I have errors in some photos after they've been up on display. I don't want that. But note also that the above picture was taken less than an hour ago.

I think the only solution, for me at least, is to go out and shoot some more. The sun is staying up later, and the days are lasting longer. Sure this place can be rather colorless at times, but there are other things to shoot. That grass thats greener on the other side of the fence isn't necessarily so.

Get out there and shoot some things that work. Shoot some new things and mess around. Have fun, after all this is just a hobby.

February 26, 2012

Cows

February 26, 2012

Cows going to pasture

Cows going to pasture

France (2011)


I'm still exploring the duotone color space, this time its green and blue. I hope that doesn't seem too harsh.

Across the street from us is a small dairy farm. Around 7 o'clock every night they put the cows out to pasture for the night. There is definitely a lead cow, a rather bossy lady, thats her in the lower left corner. I have no idea how this dominance order is chosen, other than, well, dominance. Anyway, it's kind of a spectacle. The cows are pretty happy to be let out of the barn, and so they cross the street into the field, and either immediately drink from the trough, or relieve themselves. Then, off they go, following the leader out into the near night, looking for a nice tasty patch of grass to munch on, and nap on, good weather or bad.

February 25, 2012

More Driving

February 25, 2012

Driving Pictures is an ongoing project I have, capturing the experiences of driving around the Genevoise.

Driving Pictures Driving Pictures

February 20, 2012

Lyon, Take Two

February 2, 2012

Revisited this great city, and I took another shot at this scene.

Lyon (take 2)

Lyon, Take Two

France (2011)

February 19, 2012

Donkeys

February 19, 2012

The neighbor donkeys.

Donkeys I
Donkeys II
Donkeys III
Donkeys IV
Donkeys V

February 17, 2012

Polarizer

February 17, 2012

New equipment!

The View

The View

Switzerland (2012)

Crozet

Crozet

France (2012)


I bought a circular polarizer. I'm doubly excited because the weather has also warmed up in the last day or two. Some people have even gone so far as to wear shorts! I don't think it's that warm. But I do think it's warm enough to get outside and make some more photographs this weekend.

I was trying something with the first photograph, 'The View'. One of the quotes I'm trying to use to improve my photography is "Don't make good photographs, make useful photographs." The photo above is trying to show you the viewer what my view is on many days. Sometimes the mountain is there, sometimes its hidden behind haze. When it's visible, its like an eye magnet for me. I didn't do anything tricky in the photo, other than use a polarization filter, the setting sunlight was falling on the Alps just like that, brightest on the top of Mont Blanc. I think it's probably partly the haze stuck down in the valley. Also though, the long industrial feeling buildings are here too, and I think that the way they are layered at the bottom is good. Even the power lines, while unfortunately covering the mountains, are a part of my daily view.

One thing that I think might give me a little trouble, is keeping track of which photos have the filter, and which do not. Maybe I can use total exposure to help me keep track. Since the filter removes about 1 stop of light, I ought to be able to see that in the exposure of the photos.

February 16, 2012

Saone

February 16, 2012

I don't know when I'll see the Saone river next, we have no trips planned to Lyon before moving back to the US. It will probably be a while before we start thinking about (maybe) visiting that great city again.

Saone

Saone

France (2011)

February 15, 2012

Willamette Falls

February 15, 2012

Believe it or not, that first picture is not HDR. It's pretty dramatic, right?

Willamette Falls

Willamette Falls

Oregon (2011)

Paper Mill

Paper Mill

Oregon (2011)


I like the way that this duotone came out.

February 14, 2012

Cabin Time

February 14, 2012

Trying out the duotone look on some photos at from a friends cabin last summer....

Scenes at a cabin 1 Scenes at a cabin 2 Scenes at a cabin 3 Scenes at a cabin 4 Scenes at a cabin 5

Scenes at a cabin

Oregon (2011)

February 13, 2012

Waffle Window

February 13, 2012

It's fun making posters! I just wish that LR3 was a little more flexible in the text setting in the Print Module. Maybe I can make something work with the LR4 book module, the print module doesn't look any different in the beta.

wafflewindowpdx

Waffle Window

Oregon (2011)

Also in a duotone version.

February 12, 2012

Summer in PDX

February 13, 2012

Now a little something to remind us that it's not always so cold out. This is how Portlanders greet summer. Note, it was very thickly clouded that day...

SUMMER!!

SUMMER!!

Oregon (2011)

SUMMER!! 2

SUMMER!! 2

Oregon (2011)

February 11, 2012

Bicoastal

February 11, 2012

Two pictures from last summer's trip to the US, one I took on a walk in New York, and the other in Oregon.

Mama

Mama

New York (2011)

Yard

Yard

Oregon (2011)


Boy, this cold weather really makes it hard to get out and take some new pictures! I guess it's a preview of what it'll be like next winter, back in Syracuse. The winter's are far worse there. I can plan ahead and leave lots of pictures un-processed for the winter!

February 10, 2012

Portland (again)

February 10, 2012

Another picture from my hometown, last summer.

Building Detail

Building Detail

Oregon (2011)


The US National Bank Building (see here) in downtown Portland.

February 7, 2012

The Cold Wind

February 7, 2012

A bit of reportage; it's really freakin' cold!

Cold Wind Blows Across Europe

A Cold Wind Blows Across Europe

Switzerland (2012)

Cold Wind Blows Across Europe

A Cold Wind Blows Across Europe

Switzerland (2012)


The second picture is from the car, so the positioning isn't optimal. I would have liked to be a little more to the right, but I like the bundled up commuter, so I take what I get.

Also, I was playing around with 50mm on my zoom lens, thinking harder about what my next lens choice will be. I can only really think of a couple more that I think I woud want, ever, so I was "playing with one of them". I really like the perspective I get with the 50mm, even on DX. Also, I'm thinking of doing some portraiture of my family when I'm back home next. So the 50 might be next. Honestly the other lens I'm contemplating is a super wide angle one, but it's screw focus, so I'll have to wait for the old body upgrade for that. I think a 135mm old manual lens would be great, and inexpensive too. I don't have anything with that kind of reach currently, so when I decide to get that it'll just be a surprise all around.

Another thing that motivated this was that I realized how useful a narrow depth of field really is, and how frustrating it can be when you can't get it. My zoom dens can't get to wide, f/5.6 at 50mm, which doesn't offer too narrow of a depth of field. The DoF really is one of knobs to turn on the isolation plane of photography, so I think I want to be able to really use it.


Thats all for now....

February 6, 2012

Giants

February 6, 2012

Another from last summer's trip to the US.

Old Growth

Old Growth

Oregon (2011)


This is a very difficult shot, the lighting was so extreme. I'm not sure what I could have done differently, but I suppose it's possible that this kind of situation cries out for HDR. I suppose I was reluctant to do that hand held (no tripod at the time, nor yet, but soon!), but I think next time I'll give it a try. I think I would like to go a bit wider next time too. Next time...

Forest Fungus

February 5, 2012

From my walk in the woods last week.

Forest Fungus I

Forest Fungus I

France (2012)

Forest Fungus II

Forest Fungus II

France (2012)

Forest Fungus III

Forest Fungus III

France (2012)

February 4, 2012

Cave

February 4, 2012

One more from last summer, actually from the same hiking trip as yesterday's picture. See if you can find the third person in this picture!

Cave

Cave

Oregon (2011)

February 3, 2012

Rest

February 3, 2012

It's a cold snap here (about 15F), so no new stuff this weekend probably. So, I'm still going through the pictures I took last summer when we were back in the US.

Rest

Rest

Oregon (2011)

February 2, 2012

Cats!

February 2, 2012

Luigi

Luigi

Oregon (2011)

February 1, 2012

Dogs!

February 1, 2012

One from last summer, when we were back in the USA.

Homer

Homer

Nevada (2011)

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