Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 135mm, f/22, 14 sec, ISO 200
I keep going back to our Red Twig Dogwoods to get a little winter color. This is a vertical swipe taken at 1/4 second. Back at my computer, I started playing around with Topaz’s new Impression plug-in. This is the Impasto II preset. There is a painter somewhere inside this engineer’s mind.
This post is a milestone. I have entered a post every day for this month, first time ever. Now to get ready for the New Year!
Fuji X-T1, EF18-135mm @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO 800
I took a little walk in our backyard to capture a little remaining color and try out my new Fuji 18-135mm lens. The Heucheras in our flower beds are still holding on to their last color. So, I looked around to find something interesting to put in front of them. I found this wilted Japanese Maple branch as a candidate. There was quite a little breeze so I needed to use a high ISO to freeze the motion of the branch. I find there is always something interesting if I am patient and let the image appear.
I think I am going to like the 18-135 as my primary “walk around – go light” lens.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/8.0, 1/250 sec, ISO 400
Happy Thanksgiving to all! We have so very much to be thankful for including this beautiful fall day a couple of weeks ago. Each day is a gift to be lived and enjoyed to its fullest.
This was taken in our back yard in the early morning as the sun was breaking the horizon and shining on a little fresh frost on the ground. I liked how the sparkle from the sunlit frost made small globes of light. I then walked around to get something interesting to put in front. This backlit maple was just what I was looking for. It was a moment to be thankful for.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/20, 0.8 sec, ISO 400
Walking outside this time of year in Bucks County, Southeast Pennsylvania is always a real treat. The combination of old structures, interesting landscapes and fall color are abundant and are just waiting to be captured. Each day changes. Colors come and go, always changing. Something new is always just around the corner, or just standing in front of me. Such walks always help me balance the daily challenges and beauty life brings. Time to get out for another walk!
Fuji X-T1, XF55-200 @ 55mm, f/11, 1.2 sec, ISO 800
Today is the last day of May. It was a beautiful late Spring morning. I could not help but to get up early and walk along Lake Galena in near by Peace Valley Park. My eyes were not picking up interesting subjects. I used a technique recommended to me by Tony Sweet to just start panning and shooting to get going. I have learned to consistently fall back on this technique to get my “juices” flowing. It was a nice morning.
Fuji XT-1, XF55-200mm @ 90.4mm, f/8.0, 1/800 sec, ISO 500
This image was taken looking out our dining room window. I noticed how the emerging leaves of the Ginko were contrasted against the deep pink of a flowering cherry. I varied the depth of field to get a pleasing combination of sharpness of the Ginko and a blur of the background cherry.
Fuji X-T1, XF 18-55mm @ 42.5mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO 800
I simplified this image by isolating one clump of blossoms and shooting against the deep green grass background. I used Color Efex Pro to extract detail in the blossoms without affecting the background. I finally used a simple texture on the background.
Fuji XT-1, XF18-55mm @ 35.8mm, f/3.6, 1/480 sec, ISO 500
What would spring be without cherry blossoms. This image was taken on the first day that the blooms popped out of the tight buds. We have seven flowering cherries in our yard. They are my favorite spring highlight. When the cherries bloom, spring is really here. I worked the aperture setting to come up with the optimum setting to capture the sharpness of the first group of flowers and blur the background flowers. They were hard to separate with a standard length zoom lens.
Fuji XT-1, XF60mm F2.4R Macro @ 60mm, f/4.0, 1/210 sec, ISO 400
We have had a downpour of rain for the past two days. One good thing about rain is raindrops. So, this mornings shoot focus was to try to capture them. The day was cloudy so I could not capture the sunlight starbursts or the bokeh. It was still a nice morning walk and shoot in the garden. It was a gift.
Fuji XT-1, XF55-200mm @ 156mm, f/5.6, 1/75 sec, ISO 200
Experimentation … does this work? I am not sure. The intended subject was the trunk of the Japanese Maple as viewed through the emerging red leaves. The RAW image was very flat. When I added contrast, the colors of the leaves and grass made the overall image look gaudy. I toned it down with a B&W layer at about 50% opacity. It still looks too busy for me. Next time I will try a shorter depth of field, get closer to the leaves and focus on a smaller area of the trunk.