Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 110mm, f/11, 1/210 sec, ISO 400
Spring is officially here and I have a lot of Spring clean-up to do. Our compost bins are full from last fall. They also need a little rebuilding. This will be another Spring project. It was a bright cool day when I took this image. Today is overcast, breezy and cold … so I felt that a B&W version would fit my mood.
Canon 5D MarkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 32mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO 1600
I am always searching for things that catch my eye. I cannot classify my style as a landscape photographer, an architectural photographer, a portrait photographer, a macro photographer or other genre. What interests me most are details … things that just pop up and catch my eye. This image in an example. I was looking around at the entryway and the architecture of the Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. I took several images of the overall entrance structure. But what really caught my eye was this sculpture of a lion’s head on one of the entrance pillars.
Canon 5D MkIII, EF70-200mm f2.8L IS @ 200mm, f/8, 1/320 sec, ISO 800
As I look out the window to a a cold snow covered landscape, I recall the warm South Carolina beach were we spent late February/ early March last year. My mind went out to the warm walks on the beautiful Hilton Head beach in front of the Surf Watch resort where we were staying. We hope to be able to return there this year.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 52mm, f/11, 1/300 sec, ISO 1600
Walking around our back yard, I always look for different perspectives. The weight of the snow on the foreground pine opened up a frame for the background leyland cyprus. We planted these two trees when we first moved into the area to break up the open pasture of our back yard. Fifteen years later they have changed the feeling of our back yard.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 35mm, f/5.0, 1/300 sec, ISO 1600
My leaning mailbox looks like the weight of the snow is pushing it over. It adds interest without tilting my camera. As I write this post, we are in the middle of a major winter storm. Once over, I will get out and trundle through the snow to get new perspectives of our yard.
Fuji X-T1, XF10-24mm @ 10mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO 800
Good Morning America! Looking out our front door, this is what we woke up to yesterday morning. We had a beautiful snowfall overnight. Fresh snow is such a delight, even if it makes getting around difficult. I got up before the snow plows hit the roads and everything was fresh. It was a nice way to start the day. Looking out the back door, we had another nice view.
Fuji X-T1, XF10-24mm @ 10mm, f/5.6, 1/120 sec, ISO 800
Rather than fighting the mess on the roads, we spent the day sitting inside by the fireplace reading books. It was a nice way to spend a winter day!
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 135mm, f/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 800
I love to walk along the edge of a stream and explore the ice configurations that have been formed. My imagination wanders as I visualize different shapes created in the ice. This particular image reminded me of the tip of a maple leaf. The basic shape formed the edges of the leaf. I could also see the veins of the leaf within the ice crystal. I become hypnotized as I watch the water flow under and around the ice. The reflections create patterns of their own.
At times I get so intrigued by what I am seeing, I do not pay attention to some of my camera settings. For instance, this was shot at ISO 800 on a tripod. I could have easily reduced the ISO down two stops and still captured a nice image. Also, how would this image have looked if I would have slowed the shutter speed down to blur the water passing by the leaf. However, this was a walk in the woods enjoying the solitude and silence of nature. If I would have spent a lot of time working this image, the spontaneity would have been lost.
Lesson Learned: Maintain the balance of wonderment and the mechanics of capturing images. Many times it is best just to put the camera down and enjoy the moment.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 31mm, f/16, 1/180 sec, ISO 800
Looking at Neshaminy Creek as it enters Lake Galena makes me feel cold and realize that winter is really here. I already long for Spring to come. However … I do enjoy walking in the countryside on a bright crisp winter day. Beauty abounds in its own way. I guess winter is not so bad after all.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 88mm, f/11, 1/160 sec, ISO 400
Ice crystals covered a little runoff stream in Peace Valley Park, I saw this one leaf fall on the ice. It looked out of place, hoping for a breeze to blow it off into a warmer bed of fellow leaves.
I started out processing this image in B&W. I could not make the leaf pop out like I wanted, so I added subdued selective color.
Fuji X-T1, XF 18-135mm @ 123mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 800
From time to time I find myself getting into a processing rut. I tend to process every photo in basically the same way with just a few modifications image to image. For my black and white images, I normally use NIK Silver Efex Pro and add a high contrast, high structure look to the images. I amplify the whites and blacks and add structure. The images look hard and have an abstract feeling as seen in the top image.
This morning I woke up and started on my post. I looked at the hard image that I had processed the day before. Something did not feel right. I tried again doing just the opposite by decreasing contrast and structure. The resultant second image was much more pleasing to me and better represents what my mind recalls seeing.
Lesson Learned: Do not process images in a “production mode” method. Take my time, and process each one to bring out what my eyes and heart see. Like my friend John Barclay, says, “Wait for the image to come to you”, processing should be considered in the same way.