Canon 5D MarkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO 400
The pods of these spent Tiger Lilies looked like mouths opening up to feed. They look like they are struggling for survival to keep their heads above the snow. They are quite different than their summer budding. The image below was taken from about the same spot last summer.
Canon 5D MkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 38mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400
We had another snow! The temperatures warmed up a little (high 20’s). With this little incentive, I went exploring in our back yard, walking in snow up to my knees at times. Everything was beautiful with the fresh coat of white. What caught my eye the most were the the little spent seed pods that were sticking above the snow. These were meant for black and white conversion.
I will post a few more gems I found during the next few days.
Canon 7D, EF-S10-22 @ 10mm, f/22, 1/10 sec, ISO 200
In the depth of winter, my mind wanders to warmer times. Last summer we joined a couple of friends on San Juan Island in Puget Sound to photograph Orca’s. One morning we woke early to catch a sunrise. The sunrise on the horizon was not very interesting. But looking behind me, I saw the gorgeous warm sunlight on the western shore of the point where were standing. Lesson learned from John Barclay, “When photographing a sunset or sunrise, make sure to look behind you!”
Canon 7D , EF24-70 f/2.8L @ 59mm, f/8.0, 1/250 sec, ISO 400
Enough is enough! We have had enough snow this season to last for several years. This year is expected to be the third highest snowfall recorded for the Philadelphia area. We are close to 57 inches. Enough is enough!
I caught this image just as the sun broke over the horizon creating long deep shadows in the snow. I worked the contrast to capture the shadows without blowing out the snow highlights. I used NIK Silver Efex Pro to convert to black and white and Color Efex Pro to work the contrasts.
Canon 5D, EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS @ 100mm, f/8.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600
Even though the ground is covered with 12 inches of new snow on top of the 6-8 inches from the last storm, spring is on my mind. Happy Valentines Day!
Canon 7D, EF24-70mm f2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO 400
Looking back over some photographs taken this past summer on San Juan Island, WA, this image of a lone tree hanging on to a ledge above the water caught my eye. I recall taking this image and trying to get the ripples and the bright reflection of the sun to frame the tree. I spent about one half hour just moving around and trying different exposures and shutter speeds to get what I was looking for. When I reviewed the photographs last summer, I was disappointed with the color image. Today I worked with the subtle shadows and reflections to come up with this B&W version.
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.
Canon 5D MKIII, EF24-70 f/2.8L @ 68mm, f/8.0,1/400 sec, ISO 400
Well, we tried for a White Christmas. The 60-70 degree temperatures we’ve had during the last several days melted all the snow. The temperatures are dropping again and we will have a clear and brisk Christmas Day. No snow, but is still should be a beautiful day. We are thankful for each and every day. Each one is beautiful in its own way.
Have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!
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/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 400
Looking up I saw the white bark of this old Sycamore standing out above the other trees against the bright blue mid-day sky. Great opportunity for a B&W conversion! On this day there was an image waiting at every turn. Next time I will take my telephoto lens to isolate some of the interesting details.