Texture Thursday – Want to race?
I was photographing a wheat field off a rural highway and this mare was staring me down when I returned to my car. I would have liked to have taken the photo low and across the fence, but the brush and briars leading up to it was not really flip-flop & shorts compatible. I ended up not minding the fence line too much. A nice wooden post would have been preferred to the metal one. The texture I applied here was a leather texture, and the effect turned out subtle. But I liked how it flattened the contrast, softened the image, and amplified the golden evening haze.
Well, I’m signing off for a bit. This Friday we are loading up and taking the kiddos to Disneyworld and some of the other attractions. It’s likely going to be one of those vacations that you need a vacation afterwards. Cheers!
Searching for a Network
I know you have seen it, at least the PC users out there. The internet goes down or you kid pulls the plug and the little message “searching for a network” pops up in the task bar. I forget which OS version, but there use to be a little flashlight that would be there too, sweeping back and forth ruefully. I always felt a bit sorry for my computer when that happened. Well, I was coming back from taking photos the other evening when I passed this little com tower late into the twilight and that sad little PC message popped in my head and enough to make me pull over and grab this shot.
A time for tea
Some kids having a vintage styled tea party at a southern Gothic mansion. With that in mind, it was pretty easy to know where I needed to go in post-processing. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Texture Thursday – Weary Traveler
I don’t think there is much to say about this one. When processing the photo, it did remind me of something from Post Secret (link here). The skinny on the site is that anonymous people create postcards and mail in “secrets” they have been hoarding. Some are funny, some are knife-edge honest, some are ambiguous, some are heart braking, but all are artful. I’m not exactly sure how to access the archives. Currently, their posting is on Mother’s Day. There are also great coffee-table style collections in print that are great.
Processing notes: I borrowed the paper-postcard texture from Black Cat Photography. I then simply blended the postcard layer over the photo, the feet of a giant chicken statue, inexplicably bolted to the concrete of a parking lot in the abandoned part of the city. Enjoy.
Sunburst Catching
Finally got around to photographing some dew drops this weekend. I did not, however, rise too early and the sun was pretty full on. I piddled around anyway when I noticed if I used a smaller aperture I could get some cool sunbursts on the drops. Enjoy.
Ahhh, that’s the spot
This one is a bit on the heels of my last post on the peacock in terms of capturing common animals in not so common poses. Here too I used the square format and composed with the diagonal in mind. My camera doesn’t shoot in a 1:1 ratio so I always frame in a portrait orientation when wanting to pull off a square photo, but do so knowing the top and bottom will be cropped. Thankfully almost every camera these days has megapixels to burn. Hope everyone enjoyed Mother’s Day.
Texture Thursday – Outta My Way
How I enjoy these absurd birds. I photographed this guy at a local park while waiting on kids to make a restroom stop. I was standing next to a low log fence when he jumped right up and bullied his way right past me without any reservations. He continued to not disappoint as he strutted out into a major walkway. He stopped and started fluffing his feathered tale. People quickly gathered with one woman rushing her kids over saying, “Come quick, he’s about to show off his feathers. You gotta see this.” In less than a minute, the peacock was surrounded. Camera phones were brandished. And then nothing. He then started to swell up slightly, and then did nothing. Absolutely nothing. The crowd soon disbanded, a bit crest fallen. I can’t help but think these guys know what they are up to and get a total kick out of the non-show, show.
Processing notes: This was a simple application of a “raised” texture. With the layer on top, I changed it to a blend mode and dropped the opacity to about 70%. I liked the effect, but the texture was a bit bright which led me to a new trick. I selected the texture layer and then inverted the layer, something I hadn’t really thought of before and it worked out here as the inversion of the texture darkened and saturated the image to my liking. I then masked parts of the textured layer away from the head & neck of the bird.
And wow, has this week flown by.
