Self Portraits... A staple of bored photographers!

Cold winter days and the need to rest make for a photographer that shoots fewer images. I'm OK with that though as it gives me time to rejuvenate, and time off the computer to play with other things, like flashes for instance. I have some stands and umbrellas but seldom make use of them, maybe I should use them more? I am hoping to take photos of my camera shy daughters for their birthday, so I set up my equipment and decided I needed to test it to get the exposure right.

I used an old 50mm manual focus lens and a simple two light set-up. One light high and to the subjects right (1/2 power), and another a little lower and on the subjects left (1/4 power). F4 and a shutter speed chosen at random to eliminate most of the ambient light from two CFL's in a fixture on the ceiling, and some light coming through a window to the subjects left.

The first photo is the same image as the second, just converted to B&W. I think I rather like the B&W more, which is why I went on to process the third one as well. I was mildly more heavy handed on the last frame's processing, I am not as enamored of the skin tones I produced, but... I think it is an acceptable shot.

So there you have it. This is what a photographer looks like on a Saturday morning with nothing better to do.

Revisiting Photos... HDR possibilities.

 Alrighty... I seldom do this as it gets aggravating, but I went back and revisited a shot from last summer. This one in fact:

Why revisit it? Well, I was going to print it on metallic paper and hang it on the wall. Hoping to have the detail is the shadow pop up under nice lighting. Upon further evaluation it was just simply too dark.

So... I had another whack at it last fall.... too blue and much too gaudy. BLECH!!!!!

Letting the field lie fallow it took until the end of the year that I remembered to try it again. This is my third and hopefully final try. It looks more like I remember it looking, except a little more.... vivid? The camera just cannot capture what the eye sees in reality. I wanted to forget that reality of what I saw and simply create the image I WANTED to see. Minus the black borders and copyright/title of course... 

I feel satisfied with this shot as is. Still not sure I am going to print it though, I am a cheap cuss and I am coveting a couple lenses, and 16x20 gallery wraps are not cheap!

Now for the interesting, or not so interesting part, depending on your perspective. Here are my original three shots as they looked when I imported them into Photomatix. (These are 8-bit JPEG's taken from the 16-bit TIFF's.) In my RAW converter (ACR whatever the version is that is attached to CS 6) I adjusted the WB to taste, brought the shadows up 100%, and the highlights down to whatever level eliminated the clipping indicators, and bumped the clarity and vibrance 25 each.

-2 EV (2 stops under exposed)

0 EV compensation (exposure the camera chose )

+2 EV (2 stops overexposed)

Looking back I probably could/should go a little warmer with my RAW conversions, but I was able to adjust the WB in CS 6 to a reasonable spot. I could go back and do it again but frankly I get kinda tired of messing with photos after awhile. Looking at the same image just makes me a little buggy!

Last light of 2011

Just found this from LAST YEAR!!! Never got it published, Will try to back date it. FYI it was written for 2011!!!!

I was determined to get out on New Years Eve and take some photos. I have been wanting to get up on the shore of the lake by my home for awhile and see what I can get up there, so the two desires dovetailed nicely. I delayed a bit more than I really wanted too in getting up there, but still beat the sunset.

Christmas Eve and Day in Utah!

To start with, let me wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Some Dude With a Camera... that would be me. I often am.... sparse with my words and I am maybe not the most engaging guy in the world, but I do appreciate those of you who take the time to drop by my blog. I am often amazed at the places that come up on my gadget that tracks who has been here. You come from all over the world and I am gratified to have such a large audience for my photography. Wherever you come from, you are welcome here, welcome to look around and comment, or run away if my photography doesn't meet your taste. Whatever religion or culture you are part of, I respect that, here where I live we just celebrated Christmas, and are approaching the New Year. Whatever tradition you follow, and whatever holidays you celebrate, I hope they are and have been enjoyable for you!!!!

This is a picture of my home in the Christmas Eve snow it was decorated with, I decided to make a postcard of holiday wishes rather than shovel the snow off the walks. The white balance was very tricky with this, the snow reflects all the light, and with the mixed lighting of different streetlights and the neighbors Christmas lights I had to compromise a bit. I think I may have kept too much magenta, but pulling it down when processing the RAW file in ACR gave me a bit too much green. This was taken on a Tripod, of course, with my Sigma 17-70, I like how the aperture blades gave me a nice star effect with stopping down a bit.

Christmas morning I went to try for a shot that I have been wanting to get for awhile. Although I have been wanting to get it with maybe a little more heavy snow that is sticking on the trees and completely covering the cars I still like what I got. This view is one of my favorites of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I simply can't get enough of it. Temples are special places in the Mormon Church and having one so close to me is awesome and exciting pretty much all the time.

This was taken at 150mm with my Pentax 55-300 lens. Infinity focus at that focal length is not one of the lenses stronger points but it does OK for a consumer zoom. Next time I plan to zoom in more and put the camera in portrait orientation and shoot a panorama. That will allow me to print it larger and have it be sharper. That lens is REALLY strong in the 200-300mm range as you get out to infinity focus. At the shorter Focal Lengths it does better at medium distances.

For you tecchies, this is a mild HDR just for the added contrast I can get from that process. I can get it pretty close from one shot, but I like the punch that HDR gives me.

Just a few minutes later I shot this house that is just down the street. They do the most amazing light displays for Christmas. I just never seemed to have the time and motivation at the same moment to go and photograph the home. Again, processing this in HDR with three bracketed shots helped to make up for the light and give me more drama and saturation without looking gaudy. Really need to give these folks a copy.

Close to the home I grew up in is a park, it has changed a lot over the years, but I love that the city has kept it up. The last three years they have done a really good job of putting up lights on several trees, and on a small bridge over a creek. This year they added a few trees and rebuilt the bridge to be a covered bridge. They did a good job of lighting it too. These required a bit of work to get the WB correct again. Snow with colored lights is just HARD to figure out!

I won't comment on all the photos, you can tell me which ones you think are better. I like them all!

Thanks for dropping by, and have a happy holiday season!

Novembers Catch......

Alrighty... November is done with, I really haven't blogged, sorry about that! Life is just plain busy, the holiday season, busy time at work, etc...  So I haven't shot many pictures, or processed many, there is nothing here of import, if you are looking for significant photos you probably won't find much here. That said, here are the shots I liked the most from November.

I find myself wondering exactly what this entails, and which patients get to go there.....

Playing with old Manual Focus lenses is always a joy, this is my recently acquired Vivitar 28mm f2.5 a bargain bought for $15. The DOF is not deep but what is in focus is sharp. I am still not in love with the 28mm field of view, preferring 24-20mm but for what this lens delivers I can deal with it! (FYI, that is my wifey's hand and the Claddaugh I gave her as an friendship/engagement ring. Best choice I ever made!)

There are some lenses that people tend to look down on because they have a relatively modest aperture wide open. This shot was taken with a lens that is NOT looked down upon.. for a reason! The Pentax K35mm f3.5 may not be "fast" but it is Sharp wide open. You may not be able to get that one feature isolated and fuzz everything else out but the in focus stuff is stellar and the lens is small. Nearly a pancake lens in size it is really handy to carry around. This is an area that I walk past every Monday on my way from TRAX to the University of Utah Medical Center. I love the texture of the peeling paint and rust, but just in places.

Liked the reflection really don't know why. Again I see this image all the time. Guess I like the details.

Another common everyday scene for me.

I really liked the leaves on the snow from an early season snowfall.

I have been waiting for winter to work on shots of my local temple with snowy mountains behind. I need to get out there just after sunset and shoot a wider bracketing series. I like the detail and lightness in the mountains behind but I totally lost the brighter areas where the lights illuminate the exterior of the building. Now that I have a better idea of What to shoot and when I can try again. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

You may have seen these guys in earlier posts if you have been following me for any length of time. I find the creativity of these weathervane's delightful.

So there you have it. Hopefully December and January especially will afford me more opportunities to take some rust off of my photo skills.

Last Red Rock Trip of the Year! (sigh.....)

I had to take one last trip south, in part because my two older daughters begged me to after taking their sister last month. (Don't think they wanted to be outdone by a 7 year old...... ;-) )

I was glad we took the opportunity, the cottonwood trees were changing and the skies were blue. Perfect weather! I decided to go minimalist seeing as I have been to this area so much, so I left most of my lenses in the car and took only my Pentax SMC K 28mm f3.8 and my DFA 100mm f2.8 Macro into the slot. Didn't need the DFA 100 at all..... It was kind of fun to go back to the basics with manual focus and manual aperture control and check you metering etc...

Purists will likely think I have too many photos in this post. Feh, I say, FEH! I like 'em! All shots taken with the 28 unless noted otherwise. And no, no polarizer was used.

The cottonwood trees in the wash at the exit of the canyon always amaze me, how did they survive flash floods and grow and flourish. Amazing what mother nature can do.

These shots are quite different though taken just steps apart. I think the first is better composed.

I wonder how many people over how many years have walked this streambed, did ancient peoples thousands of years ago walk up these canyons and enjoy the beauty? Or were they reserved for more sacred rituals? Would they travel out of their way to see it like so many of us do?

The manifold shades of yellow/red at times almost overwhelm and yet to the observant eye are so varied as to astound the soul of those that get to see them.

The intricate interplay between the sedimentary rock and the weathering and wearing away of the surface by water and wind create fantastical beauty. Sometimes the shape or form is more important than the color of the rock. Monochrome emphasizes the textures of the tortured rock.

Heading into the bowels of the rock you look back to see from whence you came, eager to experience the darkness but hesitant to leave the light.

Millions of years of sediments compressed into a few short steps, walls of rocky swiss cheese allow you to view the time capsule.

Deep in the canyon some areas widen out, allowing you to see the secret fortresses of rock that tower over the deep crevasses. The sheer massiveness of the scene almost more than your mind can comprehend.

Exiting into the wash almost leaves you regretting the experience, yet relishing the secret locked in your memory knowing that you shall renew it again someday.

Always taking the scenic route when time allows, returning to Buckhorn Draw required no decision simply acquiescence to the lure of dirt roads and towering cliffs.

The changing leaves add to the melancholy feeling, knowing that my visits for the season are done, yet glorying in the change of the seasons that make it worth the trip.

The realization that you have indeed traveled such an austere and rugged landscape with such ease fills your mind with awe at the hardiness of those who have traveled the land before you, on foot, horseback, or even simply without air conditioning.....