Category Archives: Creative
Trinidad Taxi and my first Cinemagraph!
Back in Trinidad. I was setting up this scene when I saw the beautiful taxi and quickly grabbed the shot. I didn’t see the motorcycle behind him with the exhaust pouring out the tailpipe. I think that adds so much to this scene. I used my Topaz Lomo style processing in Topaz Adjust 5 which I feel fit this scene very well.
Below is my first Cinemagraph! I know its dark and corny, but I just wanted to do one! Pretty easy to do really, just follow Mark’s short video tutorial that I posted along with the post yesterday. I can see these being really fun to do!
My home in Cojimar
The terrace that Hemingway writes about in “The Old Man and the Sea” is the La Terazza Bar in Cojimar, about 20 minutes from downtown Havanna. Cojimar is a very interesting, small fishing village. This particular home is near the end of the main street. The gentleman was kind enough to let us take his picture while sitting in the colorful entryway of his home.
I have a couple of things I want to share today.
1. Be sure to head over to Tony Sweets blog today to see his stunning floral photography with his new D800E.
2. Mark S. Johnson’s post today is about how to create a cinemagraph. What is a cinemagraph? Take a look at these on the Ann Street Studio Blog. I’m going to give one a try today and will share the results in a future blog post. Looks like great fun!
Parked
I photographed this car last year. I loved the Lafayette sign above it. I’m pretty sure the car has not moved since last year. It was very dirty and seemed to be in the very spot I found it previously. I was not going to photograph it again and then, like I spoke about in a previous post, I thought, what can I do differently. I moved across the street and this time and included the woman. Last year, when photographing cars, I was all about clean scenes without people. This is something I’m prone to do. My comfort zone is clean images without people. Add to this, my negative self talk which has been, I’m not a “people photographer.” As such, I’ve never been comfortable photographing people. I envy those who are. We had a few on this trip who I’ve learned from. While this is not really a “people picture” adding the human form is new for me and I’m very happy with it. I think it adds to the image.
How about you? Do you stay in your comfort zone? Is it hard to try new things? What did you do to beat that demon?
Only the shadow knows
Can you tell I’m having fun revisiting my San Miguel trip in 2006? Sometimes its not necessary to include the actual subject. In the case of the lead image, I excluded it and photographed just the shadow. I like the simple graphic created by the color and shadow. In the image below, I included both the lamp and shadow. And much like the recent discussion about what to include and not include, I decided to include just a bit of the door and feature the lamp and shadow.
Curled up with you…..
As the cold settles in, I decided to warm up with a look at some old flower images. This particular image is a favorite that I’ve used for presentations. This time, I used different processing techniques, learned watching a recent Nik Webinar. I used filters I’ve not used before in Color Efex 4.0. I really like the soft glow I was able to add while keeping the center sharp. For final detail work I used the new Topaz Detail 3 which is just wonderful. Today is the last day to get 40% off of all Topaz software. Click on this LINK and use the code topaz2012
Man, time flies!
I’m still into the archives looking at unprocessed files for fun. These images were made back in 2009! My Mom was right, time goes faster the older you get!
I was in a creative mood last night as I worked on these images. I hope you enjoy. Topaz B&W was used to create the looks in all images.
16mm Fisheye
During our Cape Cod workshop, Jeff Lovinger let me borrow his wicked cool 16mm fisheye lens. Guess what? I’m gonna own a 16mm fisheye too. So much fun! This was processed from one image using Nik Viveza.
What is it? Does it matter?
What is it and does it matter? Your thoughts?
Nature Story & Design Elements
As we were in Devils Garden, I was sitting, relaxing and enjoying some shade. While chatting with one of the participants, I noticed this scene. I was struck by the unique nature story that was in the mostly flat wall about 8 feet above ground. How did this happen? What caused this unique story? It just seemed odd to have these stones left behind but none the less I found it very photogenic.
From a compositional perspective, I immediately thought of Freeman Patterson, who taught me that photography is organizing shapes into a pleasing composition. An Evergreen tree is not a tree, it is a triangle, a face an oval, etc. For me, this image was all about triangles sitting on a strong base of a rectangle. See below for a diagram of just a few. I believe you’ll see more once you see these. Thinking about your images as shapes will help you create stronger more pleasing compositions.
More from the Vegas Gehry Building
I’m addicted, I admit it. I love Frank Gehry buildings. They are challenging to photograph. They make me think. They are beautiful to look at. As such, here are a few more favorites from a 2nd run at it on our way home from the Utah tour. Click on an image to make it bigger,then you can navigate with the arrows at the bottom right. Let me know how you feel about this instant gallery I created. First time trying it. Oh, by the way. The color comes from colored lights that come on as it gets dark. The lights are constantly changing colors. So much fun to shoot but a challenge with exposure.
