Dreaming

Tags

art, backlighting, blogging101, Light, Photography, portraits

“We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things; because the shadow always follows. Choose a place where you won’t do harm – yes, choose a place where you won’t do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.”
― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View

Well I am already on week 6 of my Light project and in this my second week of backlighting I have decided to look at portraits. One thing you must be careful of in general is lens flare. When you are shooting into the light, as you do with backlighting, you may get flare. This occurs when strong light rays go directly into your lens, hit the front element, scatter inside it and cause excessive lens refraction. The quality of the glass and the lens width contribute to the degree of flare. You can use your lens hood to help prevent such flare. Sometimes though flare can be a great advantage. It can dress up a photo, like the one above, which adds warmth and atmosphere.

Todays task for Blogging 101 is “develop a regular feature for your blog.” Which is quite apt considering Friday is the day I have been posting my year long project posts on “light sources”. It mentions creating a menu item or widget to highlight it, well I had this in hand already, so will be making this page live too now.

Until next week……….

Forget me not………..

Tags

art, blogging101, daily, flowers, photo101, photoaday, Photography, scale

Forget-me-not

For Photography 101 we were encouraged to  “Insert something into a scene to highlight size, and the size relationships between elements within a shot.”

I have meetings all day at work during daylight hours so have had to revert to my vast archives yet again. I think my finger and thumb holding these flowers helps show how small the forget me not flowers actually are.

I am really enjoying doing these two courses, I have loved the themes so far on Photo 101 and cannot believe how much I have learnt about WordPress and blogging so far on Blogging 101. A further plus point is that I have stuck to daily blog posts, some days posting more than once (which has really surprised me!).

I may though have bit off a little too much doing both Photo101 and Blogging101 at the same time, as I feel that to get the prompts done I have had to neglect my photography research a little in favour of them.

Blogging 101 encouraged us to “extend your brand with one of the following: a custom Blavatar, a custom image widget, or a fan page.” I already have a photography page on Facebook which I started a while ago so will continue to update that. I then decided to have a go at doing a Blavatar, first of all I had to look what it was up as it was a new one on me!

I chose two of my photos and added a little text to them in Photoshop to personalise them a little more, hopefully they work. I really would love some feedback, which one do you think works best, or should I go back to the drawing board as they say and try again. I have uploaded the bee one for now, just so I had one, but do let me know which one you think works best?

Childhood moments

Tags

blogging101, childhood, daily, lensbaby, photo101, Photography

“To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Time in motion

I have often used a slower shutter speed to capture movement, as mentioned in the email for Photo 101 “movement is a great way to convey time and fleetingness”.

Since my two children were small I have taken photos of them. I do not want to miss any of the simple moments of childhood as they are far too fleeting. I embrace the ordinary, going beyond simply capturing birthdays, holidays, and special occasions. I am capturing their childhood! Toys left on the floor, homework being done, sleeping, waking up, eating, playing, happiness, tears, moods, you name it I shoot it. I think my kids are so used to having their photos taken now that most of the time they do not mind, often not even noticing that I have taken any.  🙂 Even my son who is not as keen as he used to be realises why I take photos and lets me (within a time frame) take them. He often looks back fondly on all the photos I have taken and the memories that they help keep alive.

The photos below were all taken with a slightly slower shutter speed with a Lensbaby, I love the additional sense of motion that the Lensbaby blur gave to the shots.

Playground to and fro

Fun and games in the playground

For Blogging 101 we are encouraged to enter another blogging event, I never knew there were so many, I will have to have a look through and see if any will work for me and my blog, so watch this space 🙂

Capital city architecture

Tags

architecture, art, black and white, blogging101, Canada, daily, photo101, photoaday, Photography, Places

Parliament Buildings

I looked at my email on Blogging 101, then headed off to check what theme was on the daily post (well it was Places when I checked at 8am GMT this morning!
), I then headed over to my email for Photo 101 and when I saw that it was on architecture, I had a little jump for joy, as I knew I could do a post to incorporate all three 🙂 All these photos were taken whilst my family was on holiday in Canada last year visiting my relatives.

Parliament Buildings (original)

The brief for Photo 101 was “”Study architectural forms, and also train your eye to look for shots that will translate well in black and white.”

I have taken quite a few photos of architecture since I started shooting in digital, it is not the genre that I feel most comfortable with, mainly I think due to lack of practice, but that does not stop me taking photos 🙂

Reflections of old

Reflections of old (original)

What is your preference, do you prefer these in black and white or colour, do my conversions work? (all of these were processed in Lightroom). I would LOVE to know what you think.

First Baptist Church

First Baptist Church (original)

I have a few sites that I bookmarked as of interest on architectural photography, so thought I would share three of them here as I know it is something I would like to practice. After all there is architecture all around us and the UK has some very old examples as well as new for me to practice on:

• Photoblur – I loved the abstract nature of the photographs here and the 10 tips are very good.
• Exposure Guide – some good tips on architecture as well as other genres
• Light Stalking – a nice article with some good points

Macro Monday: the bead edition

Tags

art, blogging101, daily, macro, Photography, Postaday

As easy as ABC!

Colour my world

My daughter has a lot of craft bits and pieces in her bedroom, she was making a bracelet for her cousins with these small beads and I could not resist a shot or two for Macro Monday this week. 🙂

In Blogging 101 today the prompt is to personalise a blog post in response to a prompt, more specifically in response to the daily post prompt. I have looked at the prompt and as I have already been joining in weekly prompts, the latest being wall, which I posted at the weekend. I hope this will be good enough for today as work commitments mean I will not get new photos taken today, except my project life ones that is.

The Party Wall!

Tags

art, blogging101, daily, fine art, photo101, Photography, Postaday, wall

The 1937 party wall

I read the Photography101 and blogging101 emails this morning and realised that there is no way I will get that done this weekend, just not enough hours in the day! So I will, as suggested in blogging 101 have a weekend off from the courses, I will still post daily though as I am really enjoying talking about photography and most important sharing my photos. We have football with my son, decorating and places to be. I have started a post on lighting during a day which I will do when I have some time over a full day!   

The weekly theme for The daily Post is to “share an image of a wall that reveals something about a place, people, or you”.

I came across the top wall when I was walking around a village called Laleham-Upon-Thames in Surrey (England), it intrigued me. I am guessing that is was built as a wall between two adjoining pieces of land or property, both owning the wall. Part of me smiles though if you take the wording very literally and  I picture people having a party on the wall in 1937!

The bottom image was taken in Positano in Italy, I loved the textures of the old wall with the moss and small plants growing out through the cracks. The colours in the distance showing the people walking along the narrow passages to the shops/restaurants and sea.

Away from the crowds

Into the light

Tags

art, backlighting, blogging101, fine art, flowers, Light, macro, Photography

Every moment of light and dark is a miracle. – Walt Whitman

Faded beauty

The next four weeks of my 52 Week project I am concentrating on backlighting and different ways of using it in my photography.

Most guides on photography advise you to shoot with the sun or light source behind you to illuminate your subject from the front. This is in itself good advice which will often produce very good, evenly lit images. However, rules are sometimes there to be broken:-)

Simply put backlighting is when a light source is behind the main subject and you are shooting towards it. While some might find it counterintuitive to shoot into the light, the effects can be quite magical. By having the light behind the subject of the photo, the finer details of an object can be enhanced as well as the capture of some lovely silhouettes and sunbursts.  Landscape photography works well with backlighting, especially with translucent flowers and foliage or rim lighting of objects in the background.  Even atmospheric elements for example fog or steam can be intensified and therefore alter the mood of an image immensely.

To get the correct exposure it is best to use either Spot or Partial metering, which allows you to take a very specific meter reading directly from the main subject.

The top photo was taken in my kitchen looking out towards the bright sunshine coming in through my conservatory windows, I loved the way the details on the Orchid flower drying out were intensified giving it a very delicate feel and greater texture, more so I think than it would have been if I had shot the photo in the opposite direction (into the darker room inside my house). The photo below was taken at night and I used a torch to illuminate the petals from behind which I think highlights the layered petals quite well. Let me know what you think, do they work?

Shining Crysanthemum

Today’s Blogging 101 prompt was to create a blogroll, as I do not particularly want any more widgets on my sidebar I have decided to create a page of some of the sites I do visit regularly. I will constantly add to these as I know I have left quite a few off. Do you have any photography sites that you visit a lot and find helpful, I would love to hear about them?

It’s a Wonderful Wonderful World

Tags

art, blogging101, fine art, learning, macro, photo101, Photography, poem, Postaday

The Photo101 theme for today is the “Natural World”, which is one of my favourite subjects to shoot, as I find it so relaxing and it takes me away from the hustle and bustle of my daily life.

From the moon at night……

Fly me to the moon

to mountains and views beyond……..

Above the couds

from calm and quiet lakes……..

Lake of tranquility

to the busy rivers full of activity………

Racing along the Thames

I never forget the smaller things though, from the leaves on the trees

Its all in the detail

to the bees on the flowers as it is the small details that really makes us stop and look. I am often surprised at what can be seen when I just take five to ten minutes wondering round my garden. In the spring to summer months it is a hive of activity just waiting to be photographed!

Nectar collector

I Love A Lonely Winding Road

I love a lonely winding road
That takes me where I cannot see
Until each softly rounded hill
Reveals its landscaped mystery.
Where nature’s stage creates the plot,
What ever the scene may be.

I love the crocus call in spring,
The first to wake from winter’s sleep.
Translucent bits of ivory joy,
So patient under snow banks deep,
‘Til they can lift each star like face
And proudly nature’s rhythm keep.

I love the fiery autumn hues,
Too harsh to bear in gentle spring
But welcomed by the strident wind
That makes the mighty pine tree sing,
Freeing the crimson leaves that dance
Like bright birds, high on wing.

I love the wonders of this world,
The secrets nature guards so well
From those who have no time to spend,
Who will not lift the ocean’s shell
And listen to the murmured tale
That each one has to tell.

by Alora M Knight

Blogging 101 is all about comments so off I go to check out some new blogs and start networking on here to get to know my neighbours 😊

As an aside, I am not sure what I did when posting this but I pressed schedule to post this in half an hour (today 11th March) and it posted it as if I had done it yesterday……I double checked the date and time just now and all ok, so not sure what happened, has anyone else experienced anything similar?

Texture Tuesday – the grass edition

Tags

art, blogging101, fine art, garden, learning, photigraphy101, photo101, Photography, Postaday

The theme for today on Photo101 is big and scale, well to a small insect a blade of grass looks big! So using my macro lens and lying on the floor I shot from an ants perspective looking up in the blades, what a difference this can give to something so ordinary. 

In blogging101 today is all about personalising our blogs, today I will be looking through a few of my archives for a few more header images so that I can change it, so watch this space!

Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday again, where has this week gone?

Well what I did was as follows:

1. Cropped the photo slightly in Lightroom 5 (I just find it so much easier straightening and cropping photos in Lightroom!).
2. Added a little fill light (8%) in Lightroom 5.
3. Adjusted the clarity slightly (15%) in Lightroom 5.
4. Adjusted the white balance slightly to add some warmth, in Lightroom 5.
5. Increased the vibrance slightly (+7) in Lightroom 5.
6. Decreased the saturation slightly (-14) in Lightroom 5.
7. Transfered to Photoshop CC
8. kk_plastersquared, multiply @ 75% opacity
9. Text layer and watermark added.

The pre straight out of camera shot is here below

I would love to know what you think?

The power of connecting

Tags

art, black and white, blogging101, photo101, Photography, photography101, Postaday

Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected. – William Plomer

Sibling connection

Day six on Photography 101 and we were asked to share a photo using our own interpretation of  the word connect and then look at how we tag the post, being used to social media on Flickr and Instagram I have been tagging my photos for years so this I did not find too much of a challenge.

Well connect can mean a lot of things, so the option for photographic subjects was very wide today. The dictionary definitions I found were:

• to join, link, or fasten together; unite or bind
• to establish communication between; put in communication
• to have as an accompanying or associated feature
• to cause to be associated, as in a personal or business relationship
• to associate mentally or emotionally
• to link to an electrical or communications system; hook up
• to become connected; join or unite
• (of trains, buses, etc.) to run so as to make connections
• to have or establish successful communication; make contact
• to relate to or be in harmony with another person, one’s work, etc.
• (of an addict or drug dealer) to make direct contact for the illegal sale or purchase of narcotics
• to hit successfully or solidly ie a ball in sport
• of or relating to a connection or connections

Connection point

Connecting with a friend

The Sail bridge – connecting either side of a river

Well day six on Blogging 101 asked us to look at our own about pages, which I did. Being quite introverted, I am not very good at talking about myself, so found doing this quite difficult. It took me ages just to write my first post on here back in January, as I kept writing things down and then wondering to myself, do I really want to share this much with everyone, after all I am a very private family orientated person.

Do my amendments make it more enticing, I am not sure, but at least I have looked at it and amended it, I guess that was the aim of todays task! What do you think?