Day 2, meet Thomas. He’s not our cat but shows up every day around 6:30a.m. and oftentimes lingers throughout the day. He perches himself on this table and quietly guards the bird feeders. Believe it or not, the birds are no longer disturbed by him and quietly feed while he watches and sleeps.
He’s a protector of the feeders and our back porch. His only request is a pet of his belly and a few scratches behind his ears.
Field Notes: Focal Length 105mm; Exposure 1/30; f5/6; ISO 640; Time of Day: 12:40p.m. EST.
I’ve been feeling a void in taking pictures lately. I don’t know why, but somehow, I haven’t felt very inspired. My camera has sat in the cabinet for over a month and the only pictures I have taken have been with my cell phone. It’s “ok” but I knew I needed to push myself and pull out the “real” camera. So, what better way to challenge myself than to start a 30-Day Photography Challenge. Since July has 31 days, let’s just call it a 31-Day Photography Challenge. 😉
Here’s to Day 1, a Gray House Finch hanging out on the bird feeder.
I may have mentioned that I rarely take my camera with me on our daily walks. They’re long and the camera gets to be a little much to carry at times, especially when it’s hot. Thankfully, I always have my cell phone to capture our encounters with Mother Nature.
One day, a couple of weeks ago as we were heading back to the car, I heard a rustling noise. I knew it wasn’t a squirrel or bird because it was more of a slow-moving rustling and sounded like something crawling over and through the brush. I looked to my right and saw a huge turtle. The huge kind of turtle you approach cautiously. I pulled out my phone and snapped off a couple of photos. He just sat there, patiently not moving.
“Take a walk with a turtle and behold the world in pause.”
~Bruce Feiler
The original photos were fine, but I knew I could make them a little better in Photoshop Elements.
With both photos I first cropped them and then removed the haze. This made them a little sharper and gave them each more defined/richer colors. I then used the Depth of Field Tool, the Orton Tool, the Vignette Tool, added a few color corrections and eliminated some brush that was a distraction to the eye (I’ve used the “compare slider” to help you see the before and after).
I really like how these turned out as the turtle has a “fairy tale” look about him. What do you think?
Did someone say, “break the rules?” Why, YES! Yes, they did! Ritva leads this week, and she is challenging us to break the rules of photography! As Ritva goes on to say in her challenge, “Photography is as much about emotion and instinct to me as it is about technical skill. In those moments when we abandon the constraints of traditional guidelines, we open ourselves up to unexpected and beautiful outcomes in my case many times by mistake.”
So, what rules have I broken?
Perfect Patterns: This little seagull greeted us one morning when we were in Malibu many years ago. He was so cute, and I couldn’t resist taking the photo before he flew away. Goodness knows I wasn’t even thinking about the rules I was breaking (look at all the squares, lines, rectangles and diamonds). I just wanted the shot.
Rule of Thirds: Next up, a macro shot gone bad. During a visit to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, I was experimenting with my new macro lens. I don’t remember what type of plant this was, I just saw an opportunity to practice shooting macro from a top-down view of the bud. The end result looks a little bit like something floating in outer space. I still thought it was a pretty cool shot, so I kept it.
Don’t Shoot into the Sun: A very BIG rule was broken on the next image, but quite honestly it couldn’t be helped. When you’re lucky enough to have an airshow fly directly over your house you have no time to think and have to be very quick with your shot. Because they are flying directly above you, it’s almost impossible not to shoot into the sun. What really works about this image is the silhouette of the pilots.
Blurry Photos: My last image of broken rules was a poor attempt at catching a Mourning Dove bathing in the bird bath. Instead, he took off and I caught him in mid-flight. Yep, the image is blurry, but do you see what I see?
What photography rules have you broken lately where you opened yourself up to an unexpected and beautiful outcome?
Be sure to check-out Ritva’s original post to view her wonderful examples of broken rules. Next week, Edigio (Through Brazilian Eyes) leads.
If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, please click here.
I have to admit, I don’t think I’ve ever consciously thought about shooting cinematic photos. But after reading Sofia’s challenge and pouring through my archives I found that sometimes my photos do have a “cinematic” feel to them. Sofia writes, “There are a few things that give a photo that cinematic feel: camera angles, bold and high-contrast colors, light, locations, just to name a few. The main objective is to take a shot that is part of a story, there’s mood and a sense of location; our image is but a snapshot of a much wider situation.” You can read Sofia’s challenge, here.
So, what did I uncover in my archives? Let’s take a look.
I’ve always loved this photo. It was taken during a sunrise over Atlanta, probably during the Fall season, because of the mist rising from the Chattahoochee River. I love the varied colors and how the sun gives them a slightly golden tone. This photo could easily be an opening or closing scene in a movie.
How about a shot of this beautiful East Lake Golf Club, Clubhouse. I remember taking this photo and thinking it would make a great post-card or large format photo. But as I look more closely, I could see this as an opening shot for the Tour Championship. Can’t you just hear the voice over of the announcers talking about the players and the upcoming events for the day?
Talk about lighting, mood and the image being a snapshot of a wider situation. This wedding image has always been one of my favorite shots from this particular ceremony. I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera into the sanctuary during the actual ceremony, so my assistant and I went up into the balcony. I’m so thankful we were banned from the sanctuary because I wouldn’t have been able to get this special shot. How many movies have you seen with “cathedral style” weddings?
My closing few shots takes us back to downtown Atlanta. Our views of the storms that rolled through the city were amazing. Anyone of these could have easily come from a movie where a storm was integral to the storyline; lightning strikes, rolling rain clouds, showers in the distance at dawn. Each offering up its own “ominous mood.”
So, how did I do? I know one thing for sure, I will definitely be thinking about “cinematic feel” in my photos going forward.
It’s a new week of the Lens Artist Challenge and John from Travels with JohnBo has us sharing our “Go to Places” for photography (you can read John’s original post here). It’s a wonderful theme and one that I didn’t have to think too much about, because really any place I have my camera becomes my “go to place.” But specifically, my “go to place” is anywhere I can be outside connecting with nature.
It can be in a garden enjoying the blooms and color while watching the birds and insects gathering food and nectar:
Macro Photography of a Sunflower with a BugBee Pollenating on Rododendron
It can be a walk in the park on a Fall Day enjoying the crisp air and changing colors of the leaves:
IMG 8175
Or walks along the beach taking in the salt air and ocean breezes.
So where is your “Go to Place” when you need inspiration?
Many thanks to John for this wonderful challenge. Next week, Sofia will host. Be sure to follow her here so you don’t miss her post, which will go live next Saturday at noon Eastern time.
Hello Friends! Today I have a cute photo to share with you that I took last week during one our walks in the park.
I don’t know why this caught my attention. Perhaps it was the way the cat stared at me while I clicked a few photos. Possibly because it looked as though he was guarding some treasure, he had hidden in the water drain. Whatever the reason, I thought it made for an interesting photo.
Taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 20, I brought the original image into Photoshop, did a little haze removal, made a few color corrections with the “LOMO” and “Vignette” auto functions and voila! I really like how the colors show the texture of the environment around him. What do you think?
We’re beginning to realize that we never know what we’re going to see on our daily walks. Last week, as we were making a turn on the path, I noticed something (I wasn’t quite sure what at first) moving around, slightly peeking in an out of a hollow tree.
As we drew closer to the tree, Michael and I slowed down so as not to startle the critter and to get a better look at just what it was. If you guessed a squirrel, you would be correct. This little fella wasn’t the least bit scared of us, so I was able to snap off a few shots of him (or her), slowly coming out of its hiding place.
I was able to get one last shot of this cutie coming out of the tree, stopping for a brief second, before he decided to scamper off.
About the images. I used my Samsung Galaxy 20 Note and only did a little editing in Photoshop. A quick haze removal, slight saturation adjustment and some cropping is all these photos needed. I was surprised that I didn’t need to add any sharpness (except for the feature photo) after cropping.
Our walks are fun and as I mentioned earlier, we never know what we’ll see/discover.
Michael and I have found a great walking path near our new home. It’s on a golf cart path that meanders through the natural habitat of Flat Creek, several neighborhoods and a golf course. About halfway through our 8 – 10-mile walk is the cutest gnome village that someone strategically (and very creatively) placed around the base of a tree. It sits just off a golf cart path between the 10th and 11th holes, so you can’t help but to stop and look, whether you’re walking or playing golf!
I’m not one to carry my camera with me on our daily walks, so I pulled out my Samsung Galaxy 20 to capture the focal point of the make-believe village. It was an overcast day, so I brought it into Canon Digital Professional to pump up the lighting and saturation a little. I then brought it into Photoshop for cropping and blurring the background.
What really drew me to this village was the detail the creator went to, in making this door and having it perfectly fit within the trunk of the tree! Notice how they also placed the gnome (one can only assume the lead gnome😉), tiny mushrooms, a snail and a mailbox. Again, the creator went to great lengths with their imagination!
I’ve recently taken more photos of the rest of this little village, so stay tuned for Part II of “Mystical Gnome Village” 😉
Donna Robinson Photography 