Monthly Archives: August 2009
8/11/2009
Track: art in the artifacts of change.
Of course this is not really a picture of a footprint. The footprint only provides a point of focus for what is essentially a study in texture and shape…and the way the low sun of early evening interacts. Rock, sand, snail shells, and broken crab. A feast of color, light, and texture.
For this kind of shot, you have to wake up your eye…your inner eye…the part of you that sees image possibilities in the chance arrangements (if you believe in chance) of the world around you. The Art in the artifacts of change. (Maybe I should copyright that phrase before someone steals it 🙂
Sony DSC H50 at about 285mm equivalent to frame the shot. F4.0 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
In Lightroom, simple added Clarity and Vibrance, a touch of Recovery for the crab shell, a touch of blackpoint for overall depth, and the Landscape sharpen preset.
8/10/2009
Feather and Rock
This caught my eye in passing, and I literally walked right on by. I was after the grand landscape and could formations image I was envisioning from further down the beach. Then I thought, “the big view is not going anywhere, I have time,” and turned back to circle around and find this one rock in a beach full of rocks. And here it is. I like the curves the waves have made of the feather on the rock. The sun was coming in behind me low, and the only way to take this shot without getting the shadow of the camera in it was to use my body to create an open shadow big enough to contain the whole rock.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro (31mm equivalent). F4.0 @ 1/100th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped slightly in Lightroom at the top to eliminate some bright area where my shadow did not reach. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Blackpoint slightly to the right. Landscape sharpen preset.
8/9/2009
Big Sky, Little Stream
Happy Sunday!
I went to the beach to do some videoscoping…but who could resist this sky? Technically, not a difficult shot, at least with the H50, and Lightroom to back it up. Programed auto all the way. Apply some Recovery for the sky in Lightroom. Punch it up with Vibrance and Clarity. Sharpen a bit. That’s it. The scene itself makes the image.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/800th @ ISO 100. Programed Auto.
Lightroom as above.
However…I took both a horizontal (more sky) and a vertical (more stream). I can not decide which one I like better. Different images. Same scene. I would be interested in your likes…and your reasons for them. (Both of these benefit from the largest view your monitor will allow.)
Big Sky, More than a Little Stream
8/8/2009
In the Heart of the Rose
Macros always provide a striking view. Somehow the most ordinary objects become interesting when seen at larger than life size from an uncommon distance. With some things…flowers in particular…macros reveal shape and form we normally overlook. This shot was taken from centimeters away, with the camera lens actually down inside the flower. It was early evening, and the light was soft. The hardest part was selecting the point of focus. With a shot like this, it has to be the stamens, otherwise the whole shot looks out of focus. If the stamens are sharp we can tolerate some softness in the petals.
Sanyo VPC CG10 at about 38mm equivalent. F3.5 @ 1/40th @ ISO 50. Programed auto.
Just basic added Vibrance and Clarity and Landscape sharpen preset in Lightroom.
From The Yard, Kennebunk ME.
8/7/2009
Marsh Grasses and a Slice
We are late today since SmugMug has been down…but here we are with a shot of early morning light across the tall marsh grasses and a slice of a tidal pool beside the river…bit of mist in the background. This is another working low shot, using the flip out LCD on the H50 for a more interesting perspective. I tried to hit the sweet spot, where enough of the water and reflected sky shows to make it a secondary focus point in the image.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F4.0 @ 1/250th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
A bit of Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. Blackpoint to the right. Added Vibrance and Clarity and Landscape sharpen preset.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.
8/6/2009
Strange Shapes from the Sea
After a storm Parson’s Beach is a rich trove of amazing things from the sea. I always like the shapes the seaweed takes and makes. This very low angle shot, taken from beach level below the seaweed itself, emphasizes the bizarre forms. I really like the flip out LCD on the H50, but I am forever dragging my lens cap and strap in the sand. I have learned to check it before I stuff it back into my camera bag with the camera.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide and macro. F4.0 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped slightly from both bottom and top in Lightroom. Added Vibrance and Clarity, blackpoint to the right. Graduated filter effect from the top to reduce the brightness of the background.
And here is the more conventional view.
Strange Shapes from the Sea Too
8/5/2009
Flood Tide!
Tides continue unusually full along our coast. These pools are rarely this brim full, and rarely so still. It was that kind of morning, and, as you can see, evn the mist had not burned or blown off yet, though the sky promised (and delivered) a clear hot day.
The textures of the grass, brought out by a using a graduated filter up from the bottom to increase Clarity (local contrast) and overall contrast, is as much the subject of this image as the pools.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/320th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
As above, I used graduated filter effects from the top (darken) and the bottom (lighten and increased Clarity and Contrast). Also my standard added global Clarity and Vibrance, and the Landscape sharpen preset.
Something similar:
The Long and Thin of Reflections
Cropped for effect, with similar treatment in Lightroom, except for some added work with the Local Effects Brush to bring up the trees a bit. Again the texture of the grasses in the foreground are important to the image.
8/4/2009
Web in the Dewy Meadow
You see a lot of dewy web shots done with a mist bottle in the studio or against a black backdrop in someone’s yard. This is the the real thing, as provided by the creator’s hand and cool morning breath. Beads of moisture so fine as to be invisible from any distance along each strand of the web, itself all but invisible, catch the light and weave this tapestry in the grasses. You have to stand in the right place, at the right angle to the sun, to bring it to life.
For this shot I backed off to find a sweet spot where the effect was maximized…far enough to need 380mm equivalent to frame the web.
Sony DSC H50 at 380mm equivalent. F4.5 @ 1/400th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped top and bottom to isolate the web more effectively in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance, blackpoint to the right, Landscape sharpen. I boosted the highlights slightly to increase the shimmer of the web.
Look at this closer shot at Original or X3 size by clicking the image and then choosing the larger size at the top on my smugmug site. It looks amazing as an 8.5×11 print! I will have to have one made at 11×14.
Web in the Dew
8/3/2009
Morning Marsh Meadow
Low light. Heavy dew catching the light in tiny star points. Mist closing the distance. It is a mood…a distinctly morning mood, on the marsh, near the sea, where meadow grasses mix with the reeds, and heather, just coming into bloom, mixes its pinky-purple hue.
Sony DSC H50 at about 200mm equivalent. F4.0 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Cropped and straightened in Lightroom. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Blackpoint to the right. Landscape sharpen. Graduated Filter effect from the top to reduce brightness and increase contrast slightly. Graduated filter effect from the bottom to increase brightness, Clarity, and Contrast.
And a close up: same position at 465mm equivalent. Cropped for effect.
Morning Marsh Meadow
8/2/2009
Compound Curves
Happy Sunday. A sunny day picture to celebrate (and, believe me we are celebrating every sunny day in Maine this summer). I was out early to the beach for this shot. By the time I left there was no parking to be had within a mile of here, but it was the light, of course, that brought me out early. Not a perfectly clear day…still lots of mist in the air and a foggy density out over the ocean, but the light was strong enough to penetrate well, and bring the scene to life.
I like the way the curves in this image echo each other…though I can’t say I was conscious of it while framing. The dark, dominant curve of the seaweed intersects the corner of the frame, leading the eye into the image. Sometimes I am very aware of where elements in the image meet the frame, and sometimes my practiced eye for the image just takes care of it without conscious intervention. The practiced eye is a photographer’s most valuable asset.
Sony DSC H50 at full wide. F5.6 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Programed auto.
Recovery in Lightroom for the sky. Recovery also has the effect of making mist and fog look more luminous, as it did here, emphasizing the inner light. Blackpoint to the right. Added Clarity and Vibrance. Landscape sharpen.
From Around Home Kennebunk ME.