3/30/11

Caddo Lake.

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The first in a series of photographs from the South.

Inside Caddo Lake State Park in Karnack, TX is the Big Cypress Bayou, a huge lake full of bald cypress trees with their hanging Spanish moss, and an array of wildlife you just don't see up north. Unfortunately I didn't have much time for pleasure on this trip - I only say a tiny portion of the bayou. There's a steamboat called the Graceful Ghost that gives tours, and sadly I never could make the time to take one. Maybe one day.

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With the advent of high dynamic range, you don't see silhouettes in nature photography much anymore. You're expected to make sure every element in a photo has its own lighting so every element can be enjoyed. However...I still believe in silhouette.

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The water was a consistency unlike anything I'd seen before. It wasn't just wet, it looked almost creamy. Maybe it has something to do with the nearby swamps, but where I stood, on the swaying dock and along the riverbank, it looked...yummy.

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Be back later with more!

3/26/11

Spring dreams.

Wow, I haven't posted in years!!! Or weeks. As you may recall I went to Louisiana and Texas last week, and they were definitely having a wonderful southern spring down there. Low eighties every day. Beautiful sunshine, fluffy clouds, huge sun at sunset, huge orange moon on the horizon. Ahhhh. But don't expect photos for a while yet. I've been super-busy with a new part-time job (sounds a bit oxymoronic, doesn't it...) so I'm getting around to post-processing slower than normal.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a few pictures representing the crazy split-personality spring we're having right now. Although the daisies were taken last summer (still, so springy!). But the snow is totally real and from TODAY.

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3/13/11

Love affair.

It seems the stars have been aligning for a while now to lead me toward black-and-white photography, and while I don't see myself becoming exclusively B&W, it's exciting to really dig in and explore the possibilities.

I found an absolutely fabulous manual for my version of PSE at Borders yesterday (for 30% off!) and as I love reading manuals, the whole setup is perfect. I had NO idea you could do so much with just a basic version of Photoshop, and the first thing I did was learn how to use levels/layers/gradiant maps to convert color photos to B&W.

I had tried using some of the presets that came with the program, but they were a little frustrating - even though you can use RGB sliders, for some reason it was just...eh. However, with my newfound skills, I can make much more dynamic grayscale prints. Check out the Ampur leopard shot from my zoo trip, and how much more interesting it becomes after conversion:

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LOVE IT.

(Sorry, I had to start making my humble little watermark bigger, I was getting unjustifiably paranoid)

I have a whole stash of photos from a trip to Holden Beach in NC back in 2009. For some reason I never thought to catch a sunrise or sunset there, but more importantly, it just wasn't as stimulating for me as the mountains I'd visited. So I never really liked the photos. But now..........black and white.

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As I've mentioned in another B&W post, it's generally accepted that you should convert a color photo in post-editing, rather than using the B&W option in-camera. This seems like a huge stroke of luck. Honestly, in the past I've simply forgotten to try the B&W aspect - and it's totally okay. That makes me happy.

3/9/11

Lines and shapes.

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I visited an art gallery today and spoke with the very talented owner; these photos are of a couple of buildings in the immediate vicinity (the last being the gallery's storefront). She looked at my portfolio, said some good things and gave great tips, and picked out two prints in particular for me to mat and frame to hang in her space when I have some things ready for consignment. Pretty cool, I'd say. :-)

I shot mostly in B&W today in preparation for next week, when the scenery may still be a little drab from the last of winter. If you take away the color you leave a reflection of objects and placement, not shading and hue, and that's the best way to makeover an environment that leaves something to be desired.

3/7/11

Oldies.

While visiting my half-terabyte hard drive, I ran across the set of photos from my first trip to NC. This was back when I had a simple Canon Powershot something-or-other, having moved on from film in the last year. You are forewarned - I had to do some serious contrast enhancement on these to get them ready for viewing. Funny thing is, the haze that day was much less of an issue than my later excursions. I just didn't have benefit of, you know, tripods and polarizing lenses and such.

(Another disclaimer - a speck of something had gotten inside the lens, so that's the cursed blob you see in a couple of the photos)

And I wanted to show off what is really one of the best views in the state, from Grandfather Mountain. The layered vista is one of the big things I most wanted to see when I arrived, and I was not disappointed.

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3/1/11

Another golden moment.

I want to share a pic from my photographer friend in NC. It is, clearly in a word, superb.

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Her camera is from the Canon Rebel series and is responsible for all the beautiful photos she's taken around her state. Also, I have a weird thing about the way a shutter sounds - as in I love it - and her camera's is so great, it's like a tiny Transformer sneezing.

Anyway, just wanted to share another golden moment. (Check out her website Vengiletti when you get a chance)

News!

Alright, my quote-unquote professional blog is looking much better now. I knew I had to get rid of the template I picked on a whim; I wanted something nice and white with clean lines. This place is just for fun. I also finally made some pages ("About," "Contact," those kinds of things) which look cool and I always wanted them, just never really gave a conscientious effort. (Story of my life) So check it out anew if you will! Link is in the sidebar.

Alsoooooo drum rollllll...

I have a job - a "gig" if you will - the middle of next month. Yeah, a photography job. I'm serving as assistant and photographer to a woman who is active in my mom's foundation; we're going to Louisiana and Texas to make a few historical stops, and I will just be snapping away! Only thing that sucks is that there is no way I'm packing my tripod, so I hope there are no important low-light or night shots. Hmm, can you rent tripods?

Anyway, other than that I'm still trying to pretend I have a business mentality and do things that will drive people to my Etsy site. Plus look for work, edit a book, and snoop out other ventures.

So I haven't taken one single picture since the zoo. :-\