The lighting in this sculpture at the Korean War Memorial gave it an eerie feeling of what it must have been like on a patrol. I converted to B&W darkened the background, and cloned out the car and street lights to add to the feeling.
For reference, below is the original color image.
Last weekend Karen and I had the wonderful experience to spend time with my cousins and aunt in Washington, DC. It was their first experience to really see the Capitol. Being a teacher for her full career, my aunt continued to repeat that every American should have the experience to visit in person. It really does provide a perspective of our history as well as the current affairs. I will focus on this trip for my next several posts.
Since the first time I visited Washington almost 50 years ago, the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial has sent chills of pride through my body. It still does as I write this post. The firmness of his beliefs and sternness of his resolution as well as his heavy sorrow show in his face and eyes.
I converted this image to black and white to focus on Lincoln’s face. I applied several masks to darken the background, brighten his face, and highlight his eyes and expressions. This is the way I perceive his statue. Below is the image straight out of the camera for a comparison.
Henry Mercer was an eccentric when it came to details. He incorporated this key cabinet into the concrete architecture of Fonthill’s Central Hall. The “nooks and crannies” in his castle are endless.
I have had the great opportunity to shoot several times at Henry Mercer’s Fonthill Castle with my good friend John Barclay. Some of my previous work is currently on display there. Most of my work has been with the larger scenes in each room. Today I focused on several of Mercer’s collection pieces that are displayed around the castle. It was a dreary day today in Eastern Pennsylvania … great light for capturing details. To capture the mood, I also focused on capturing images for B&W processing.
Walking around the structure, I saw several areas of pealing paint with interesting patterns. This is one of them. Who thought an old outhouse would be interesting?
I then stuck my head inside the door ….
I gave this image a dose of structure and contrast to give it a grungy look.
Now that my curiosity was triggered, I moved in for a closer look at the outhouse shown in my last blog. I like to work an image from different perspectives. My eye is attracted to details. They naturally went to these weather and wear beaten boards which made up the stoop leading inside.
I used selective treatments of brightness/contrast layers in Photoshop to highlight and darken the boards and background to provide the contrast that I recall when I took the image. Thanks to Chuck Kimmerle for the tips.
Attached is a blog entry from John Barclay which addresses seeing new things that you would not have shot before.
johnbarclayphotography.com | | Page 3.
By itself, the structure did not capture my interest. However when linked with other “waste” materials, it perked my curiosity. Here is my version. Just a different perspective.
My next couple of posts will include additional details of the outhouse as I worked the image.
I am continuously trying to train my eye to see B&W. I find it difficult to see past brilliant color and identify the potential for B&W images. A few days ago, I stepped out our back door and saw these two yellow daffodils brilliantly back-lit by the low morning sun. Was it the color or was it the the brilliance of the back-lit subject that caught my eye ….
The following is the color version.
I am captivated by sculptures … all kinds. This is a giant wood sculpture of a Praying Mantis in Morris Arboretum’s (Philadelphia, PA) new “Bugs” display. I encourage anyone in the area to make a visit.
My challenge for this day’s shoot was to visualize in Black and White. The Mantis’ warm brown wood tone against the bright blue sky with a couple of white puffy clouds provided the contrast that I was looking for.
Most times I go to NYC with my camera in tote, I walk by this statue of Atlas holding the globe. I’ve tried to shoot it in various lighting conditions without much luck. I’ve shot it on bright clear days where the sun blows out the highlights. I’ve shot it on cloudy days in the shade without significant contrast. This day the statue was in partly cloudy light. The highlights were not blown out and the shadows had adequate detail. Persistence pays off.