I was looking for colorful streamers or confetti to wish in a Happy New Year! Alas, all I could find was a pile of old steel bands from old barrels. Add a little Topaz magic and voila, instant streamers.
The following is the original for reference.
Canon 5D MKIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm, f/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 400
My friend and mentor, John Barclay, has been posting a couple of images that he post processed by converting to Black and White, inverting, then adding a texture overlay. This is my first attempt at the process. What fun!
This image was taken on an overcast day at Peace Valley Park, Bucks County, PA. The trees were just silhouettes against the grey sky. It was a very boring image.
Trees and woodland areas always capture my interest. The horizontal fallen trees in the foreground and the vertical living trees in the background caught my eye. When was re-looking at this image taken 11 months ago, the same lines caught my eye. However, the color tonality was very subdued and boring. I felt in a “painterly” mood, so Topaz Simplify came to the rescue. I used Topaz to give it that “artistic” look as well as bring out a little color and enhance the edges of the trees and leaves.
Here is the straight out of the camera image. Today I prefer the “painterly” view.
Canon 5D MKIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @70mm, f/22, 1/10 sec., ISO 200
Yesterday we had our second snowfall of the year. Today was a bright and crisp winter day. A friend and I went out to Peace Valley Park to take a casual “walk in the woods” with our cameras. There was an image just waiting to be taken from every point we stopped. We didn’t get very far on our walk because of numerous photo stops along the way. It was a beautiful way to spend a morning.
It was a dreamy setting, so I thought I would add to the feeling by creating an abstract of a “Path in the Woods” with a vertical pan. The pan blended the shadows and the highlights of the morning sun along the path creating a bright abstract.
Back at home I worked with the image to create an opposite illusion of a dark gloomy path leading to who knows where.
Canon 5D MKIII with EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 45mm, f/8.0, 0.3 sec, ISO 400
Black and white granite markings laced with thin red lines decorate the narrow canyon walls at the bottom of Titus Canyon. The formations range from random lines, to indian pattern, to letters. Since I am the KGG the III, this pattern caught my eye right away. To bring out the contrast, the rocks were spritzed with water. It was amusing watching our workshop instructors racing back and forth between the students spritzing the walls with water bottles. I forgot which gave out first, the light, the water, or our instructors.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS with 1.4X extender @ 135mm, f/11, 1/60 sec, ISO 200
Back to Death Valley. Chuck Kimmerle commented on one of my past blogs regarding the traps of “Following the Leader”. He stressed the importance of creating one’s own image, not to follow some other expert. I fully agree with Chuck. I tend to get bored very quick when I line up my tripod with a group to capture that iconic image. It is nice to have a shot or two, but they end up as a reference … not one of my favorites. When I am with a group, I tend to wander very quickly away and get lost in my own explorations. This is where I find my most enjoyment.
For this image, I was following Chuck’s foot steps and saw that he had put down his tripod. I looked forward and to sides and saw some nice shapes of dunes, but nothing excited me. As I was about to trek on, I looked back and saw this interesting small depression between the dunes. I quickly walked back to get a perspective that I thought was interesting.
Canon 5D MKIII with EOS 70-200mm 2.8L IS @ 200mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO 1600
Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and many, many friends. Today is a day to step back and reflect on all that we are thankful for. Karen and I enjoyed our morning cup of coffee sitting in front of a fire as we reflected on many of the wonderful experiences that we have had together with each other, family and friends. We look forward to many more in the future.
This abstract is a 9-image multiple exposure taken in a vertical pan down the trunk of tree. It was taken during a walk down an autumn path with my good friend Stan. It makes me think of, and be thankful for, the many beautiful places I have been. I look forward to many more strolls down such golden paths with Karen, friends, or off on my own.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS with 1.4X extender @ 280mm, f/11, 1/90 sec, ISO 200
This was one of Chuck’s stops. He even put down his tripod to take an image. What caught my eye was the contrast between the smooth dune face and the ripples on the down hill side. I also liked the “scallops” on the dune’s edge.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS with 1.4X extender @ 98mm, f/22, 1/4 sec, ISO 200
This image was taken along the trail of Chuck Kimmerle’s footsteps. He did not stop here, so must have not thought it was interesting. The mini-scene reminded me of a set of waves rolling into shore. I worked the scene from multiple angles and came up with this as the view that most depicted waves. I actually was thinking B&W when I took this image. The shadows and early morning light provided the sharp contrast along the sand ripple edges.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS with 1.4X extender @ 280mm, f/22, 1/2 sec, ISO 200
First light across the dunes was a dramatic sight. The dune directly in front of me caught the brilliant first light of day, while the dune behind was still in shadow. This moment lasted only a few seconds. If you look hard at the background dune, you can see traces of sunlight on the tops of the ripples. A moment later everything was in bright sunlight. I was lucky to be set up and just waiting for the sun to break.
I experimented with this image to create a B&W version. I felt that the bright area was just too much in the B&W version. I like the warm tan sand contrasted against the grey background shadow in color version. Below is the B&W version. Choose for yourself.
