color photograph

lens-artists: one photo edited

Ritva invites lens-artists to explore the different methods they use to create images. To “capture the same subject through a variety of unique approaches.”

The skyscape image featured within this editing discussion was created using Fujifilm X-TR: f/8 1/5.3 s 35.8 mm 400 ISO.

I generally photograph with my camera set on RAW with White Balance on auto as RAW seems of offer a playground to explore. And as Ritva noted in her blog, this RAW image does appear somewhat flat.

It is interesting to explore the variations of the White Balance settings within editing programs. The image above reflects the use of Capture One’s “as shot” while the following image reflects the use of the eyedropper tool clicked on a white part of the image.

After the initial base adjustments within Capture One, I begin playing around with cropping which begins with a “focus” of interest (I’ve chosen the cluster of clouds in the lower right side) via the rule of thirds. Then there is a creative hopping around as I explore various presets.

And then … how about a flip?

Thank you Ritva for this week’s lens-artists challenge.

lens artists: summer daze

After we moved into town I roamed through a backyard that extended south to the Yampa River, north over the creek and up the hill behind our home, and to the eastern and western edges of town.

During that summer the only concerns she expressed were to be home before dark and to wait an hour after eating as I [joined] a group of friends on the dirt path to the Yampa river with worn, faded, and tattered bath towels draped over our shoulders. Black inner tubes of various sizes dragged behind us filling the air with the pungent scent of faded rough rubber. The sounds of splashing water and laughter would fill the air as we gathered along the river bank and swam to the sandbar. No parents…no supervision. Freedom.

My mother gifted me freedom. (cited: My Mother Came to Visit, b c kofford)

A Summer Daze

… the repeating tic-tic-tic swoosh of the water sprinkler’s voice with its tiny fingers of ice cold water drops … tickling and awakening goose bumps.

… the freedom of bare feet — bare feet freed from school shoes and rubber boots … running across fields with their dandelions, clover, and tall wild grasses; bees, butterflies, and dragonflies; as well as, unknown caves filled with magic carpets, hidden treasures of gold and diamonds, and invisible sailing ships. Coming into the house and instantly hearing my mother’s voice, “Go wash those feet! Who knows what dirt and germs you have picked up!”

(Translation: You are home … a home filled with a mother’s love and care)

… weekend trips to the library … books lined upon shelves … filled with the richness of words … brought home to bring to life stories slumbering within pages and creating imagined adventures out of treasure boxes filled with rummy-sale clothes and trinkets.

“No! You may not build a raft to float down the river, NO!”

… an aging self looking back for long ago summers … an aging self, locked into a present, fatigued by the absence of summer’s afternoon showers and drained by summer’s drying heat … missing, wishing, for those Sunday drives to Never Summer*

*Designated in 1980, the Never Summer Wilderness area is located mostly within the Arapahoe National Forest. Situated to the west of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Never Summer Wilderness area, including the Never Summer Mountain Range, provides a beautiful backdrop for the famous mountain vistas from Trail Ridge Road.



lens-artist: adventures

Leya (to see a world in a grain of sand…) has invited lens-artists to share “adventures we remember – from long ago or lately … big or small.” With this in mind, I set myself out for a small adventure … through the community gardens with a Richo set on macro. Hum…what interesting things will I see…what challenges will I encounter?

There is an awe-ness that awakens when seeing unique geometry spirals.

It was exciting to see the dapple light created by the morning light as it created patterns on the leaves. This dapple light is known in Japan as Komorebi – the mesmeric effect created when sunlight filters through the leaves of trees, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the ground

Smiling when the magic of a macro image opens the door to imaginative fantasy … searching for Thumbelina.

Thank you Leya for the motivation to set out on an adventure that opened up a new perspective of the world outside my window.

lens artists: beginning with b

This week lens-artists are invited to have fun while show casing subjects that begin with the letter B. First, I – blushing – must admit scrabble, cross word puzzles, and worldly bring to the surface a life long struggle with words beginning with the introduction of spelling in elementary school. So .. after a bit of wandering through a search for words that begin with the letter b … book, blossoms, baseballs, boats, bananas … why not bananas? Hum … boring. Well … thanks to a photo mis-focus … blurry bananas?

Can blurry be a photo subject? If not, may I be forgiven for the following blurry images as it was heaps of fun to walk about the park … multi-tasking by counting steps, improving circadian rhythm, healing by connecting with trees, and engaging in a photo project of blurry images.

A landscape…

A red horse in the playground

An interesting collection of abstract images encouraged by Wandering Dawgs.

Enjoy.

lens-artists: focus on the subject

As I was strolling around the neighborhood garden, I was drawn to these 3 blossoms which would have been ideal for last week’s challenge: Rule of Thirds.

This image was created using selective focus and negative space.

Thank you Patti for this compositional challenge … the invitation to review compositional guidelines and then to walk with eyes wide open with a lens-artists’ companion “to focus” … heaps of fun!

community garden plot number 10

The community garden plot, number 10. It was unique in that it did not have rows of seeds identified by their individual packets, succulents in their geometric beauty, or organized rows of blossoms. His plot … “intentional neglect” … the phrased he used while on a photo walk through London’s cemeteries.

Community plot number 10 … today, a row of rocks intentionally placed on the boarder … parallel to seedlings … messaging life, beginning new.

Yet … these rocks carefully defining the border of plot number 10 by a person unknown invites a remembering of stones carefully placed upon graves … silent messages of individual memory, presence, permanence, and respect.

lens-artists: choose a color

My eyes love the wet on wet water color blending of yellow ochre, red violet, and tea green.

Ochre, a warm and earthy color, lies between yellow and brown on the color wheel. This clay-like hue suggests natural pigments and rustic tones, with shades like yellow ochre and brownish-yellow. It’s great for adding a grounded, timeless feel to designs, perfect for evoking a natural, inviting atmosphere.

But…yellow ochre seems to reach out and touch my soul…especially during the autumn.

Red-violet is a vibrant, bold shade blending red and violet. Located between red and purple on the color wheel, it exudes energy and creativity.

Tea Green is a light pastel shade of Green. It has high lightness and low saturation and is a pastel color. Tea Green is a warm color.

Unlike other bright or deep colors, ochre combines easily with a wide range of hues. It goes very well with neutral tones such as white, beige or light grey, but can also dialogue with more intense colors such as navy blue, olive green, or even accents of burgundy red for a bolder effect.

Hum…no mention of red violet or tea green…

Thank you Ritva for this lens-artists challenge.

lens-artists: pick a favorite quote and illustrate it

Every life is a point of view directed upon the universe. Strictly speaking, what one life sees no other can. Every individual, . . . is an organ, for which there can be no substitute, constructed for the apprehension of truth . . . Without the development, the perpetual change and the inexhaustible series of adventures which constitute life, the universe, or absolutely valid truth, would remain unknown . . . Reality happens to be like a landscape, possessed of an infinite number of perspectives, all equally veracious and authentic. The sole false perspective is that which claims to be the only one there is. ~José Ortega y Gasset

One of the magical things about photography is the transformation that takes place when you photograph something.  Something that inherently has very little going for it, in terms of interest you take in it, can become infinitely more interesting when rendered as a photograph. ~ Grant Mudford

…our ordinary vision is limited, and…our conventional consensus of reality is not the only version of reality.

The complex multidimensionality of the modern world no doubt contributes to the constructive habit of the mind that, in its attempt to provide meaning, continually rearranges the world to fit individual needs. The failure to recognize the constructive nature of the mind can be a major obstacle to artistry and creativity. Conversely, understanding the constructive nature of the mind and reality can lead the way to Great Understanding in the art of photography and in the art of living. ~Philippe L Gross & S.I. Shapiro, Tao of Photography

It is interesting how there are quotes that – like old friends – wander throughout life with us offering bits of wisdom here and there. Leya for this Lens-Artists invitation.