PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 31: 'TEXTURE'

CaptureYour365 
Week 5: Inspiration Week
Day 31: 'Texture'


I decided to add another level of 'challenge' to today's assignment by using my Nikon Coolpix 'point and shoot' camera. 

With Enzo, my dog, in tow, I headed out on my photographic safari. 

Today's offering: 'Sedums on Rocks'

A nice photography. Lots of texture, for sure. I wanted something with just a bit more punch.

A few filters later, I had this result.

FRIDAY FOTOGRAPHY FUN

Last Friday, I wrote about the iPhone photography class I took and how I was inspired to use the wonderful editing apps available.

Today, I want to share with you the second assignment for that class.

For the second assignment, I was to photograph the following: 

• Sky
• Portrait
• Night

The photographs shown were all taken with my iPhone and edited with iPhone applications.

All Rights Reserved

Original Photograph: 'Sky'

And turned it into this...

For the second part of the assignment, I went to my favorite model, Joy.

Original photograph: 'Portrait'

And turned Joy's portrait into this...

I love how the photograph of Joy turned out. There is something about it that makes me think of a Renaissance-era portrait, updated, of course.

Unfortunately, I wasn't pleased with any of the night photographs I took. I am, therefore, substituting the photograph below. A wonderful sunset shot and a very lucky one at that! Taken with my iPhone and edited to intensify the color.

'Seattle Sunset'

PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 27: CURVED

CaptureYour365 
Week 4: Composition Week
Day 27: 'Curved'


As I did with the prompt 'Black and White', I decided to go literal with this assignment. 

This is where I started...'curvy' eggs in a 'curvy' bowl.

'Eggs in a Bowl'

Curves are calming. The photograph above has a calm feel. 

The color white, however, can be stark. I learned this lesson years ago when shopping for my wedding dress. After helping me into a white wedding gown, the woman assisting me stepped back, paused for a moment, a forefinger tapping thoughtfully on her lips, and then said in a lovely English accent something along the lines of, "Darling, white is not your color." I am blonde, blue-eyed and have a very fair complexion. Pasty, actually, with hints of blue. A professor in college would ask me routinely if I was sick. NO! 

But I digress... The Englishwoman (I really should know her name. Seems rather tacky not to remember the name of the woman who sold me the dress I was married in...) trotted me back out the racks where I was instructed to limit my choices to ivory. 

The 'take-home' message: white can be harsh.  

Wanting to enhance the sense of calm, I added an antique filter to the photograph. 

'Eggs in a Bowl 2.0'  

Definitely a softer image.

I then started thinking about what I could do so the objects in the photograph (eggs and bowl) would become secondary to their curved lines. Does that make sense? 

A 'faded paper' filter resulted in the photograph being less about the eggs and the bowl and more about their curves. I also like the ethereal, dreamy quality the photograph now has.

I give you 'Curved'

PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 25: 'A FAVORITE'

CaptureYour365 
Week 4: Composition Week
Day 25: 'A Favorite'


This is a busy week, so I have gone to my achieves for 'A Favorite'. 

The photograph below is definitely one of my favorites. I wish I could say that I thoughtfully composed the shot, but I didn't. I 'discovered' this image when I reviewed the photographs I had taken.

In July 2014, I visited the Netherlands Open Air Museum near Arnhem. It was raining heavily that day, so I opted for my little point-and-shoot camera in lieu of my DSLR.

I was in heaven visiting the various antique houses, farms, windmills, gardens, etc. Those of you who know me know what a history buff I am. 

I took this photograph inside one of the farmhouses from the 19th century. I happened to notice an open door (the door is the brown object on the right side). There, at the end of a short hallway, stood a family of wooden shoes neatly lined up against the whitewashed wall, a spinning wheel nearby. And the lighting...it was as if the lighting was saying, "Susan, look! Take this picture!" I did. 

My little Nikon did a very nice job capturing the shot. The light was actually quite dim. I brightened things up Lightroom.  

'Wooden Shoes'

PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 24: 'SPACE'

CaptureYour365 
Week 4: Technical Week
Day 24: 'Space'


Space, the final frontier...

Space, hmm....

Spent quite a bit of time pondering this prompt and how to approach the assignment.

My first idea was photographing an empty space: the room that used to be Matthew's bedroom. Simple, straightforward...

...and boring.

Time for Plan B

I liked the photograph, the lines, the blocks of color. Even the ceiling fan was an interesting shape addition. Maybe the photograph would become more interesting is if it looked a bit less realistic.

Time to try some filters.

OK, much more interesting.

How about going more impressionistic?

Alright...

I liked the photograph above (which I have nicknamed 'Ghost Room'), except for the outlet and the hazy reflection on the wall, and the register on the floor. They were a distraction and had to go.

A couple of edits and a different texture filter later...

Perhaps a bit far-fetched, but I like the lines, the blocks of light and dark, how the light and dark balance each other.

If you read this deeply into the post, THANK YOU! I am curious...which of the photographs did you like the best and why?

FRIDAY FOTOGRAPHY FUN

About a year ago, I took a photography class entitled 'Telling Better Stories'. 

Most of us arrived the first day of class packing powerful, feature-laden DSLRs. One woman had a point-and-shoot; another intended to only use her iPhone camera. 

There was a definite sense of superiority (mixed with astonishment) on the part of those of us with DSLRs at our classmates with their smaller, simpler cameras. Our instructor quickly put us in our place. He reminded us that it is not the camera that makes a truly remarkable photograph, it is the person using the camera.

To make a long story short...as the class progressed, the woman with the point-and-shoot and the woman with the iPhone again and again presented breathtakingly beautiful and original photography.

This past November, motivated by what I had seen in the 'Telling Better Stories' class, I took an iPhone photography class. It was taught by the same instructor, David Perry, who taught the 'Telling Better Stories' class. All I can say is the class was absolutely inspiring.

Which brings me to FRIDAY FOTOGRAPHY FUN...

Some of you reading this post know I use this blog to chronicle my journey towards one day, hopefully, becoming a technically proficient photographer. 

I have decided to take a break, on Fridays, from the CaptureYour365 challenge. On Friday, I want to do something different. I want to show photographs that come from the techniques and applications I learned in the iPhone photography class. 

David Perry, the instructor, is a professional photographer with decades of experience photographing, among other things, what he described as "guys in ties on business highs". He is very much a poet, both in his photography and in his writing. The first assignment, therefore, was to photograph a haiku. In other words, as I understood the instructions, simplicity.

As always...All Rights Reserved

Original Photograph: Hibiscus Flower 

Final Photograph: Haiku

If you would like to take a look at David Perry's work, here is the link to his website
http://www.davidperryphoto.com/site/DPerryPhoto.html

PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE 19: 'SIDELIGHT'

CaptureYour365 
Week 3: Technical Week
Day 19: 'Sidelight'


Behold Nick's sister, Emma.

Emma is actually a worse model than Nick, but I think she's jealous of all the press her sibling is getting. It's like living with the Kardashians.

For those of you getting tired of cat pictures, please keep in mind I am a woman of a certain age. You know what that means...photos of grandchildren, dogs or cats. My dog is camera-shy and I don't have any grandchildren. That leaves cats. 

Back to business...

I shot this photograph with my iPhone. Very few edits. Just cropped the photograph and opened up the shadows. I didn't bring out much of the detail of Emma's fur because I wanted her eyes to be the outstanding feature. I did convert the original photograph to black and white to add a bit more drama. 

'Prima Donna in Sidelight'