[earth wind & fire] beachcomber

1/3200 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 400 ~ 29 mm

unwanted beauty

1/15 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 100 ~ 50 mm
When I first started POTD last year, I would walk around the house and yard looking at everything to take a photo of. I saw these weeds that had the most colorful blooms. I took some shots but never really cared for how they came out, I was shooting handheld and there was a breeze. Then Karen at Shutter Sisters posted a photo of a rose, http://shuttersisters.com/home/2009/4/24/up-close-and-personal.html. I opened Lightroom and went looking for something that I could post. I had the zoom on so everything was magnified. When I clicked on this photo, I stopped.

[earth wind & fire] erosion control

1/4000 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 400 ~ 14 mm

Even though this is just a beach on a lake, we do sometimes get hurricane force winds. So they built this solid fence to keep the sand on the beach. It does a pretty decent job.

slump day

I had to drive to almost the other side of the county. On the way back, I took a more scenic route and found Moon Lake Park. The roads to the park were quiet and quite interesting. I wish I had the opportunity and guts to come back as dawn to take some photos. The park was very quiet today. I guess not many people go to the beach on a Wednesday. It was the first county park I had been to in Florida that had a beach on a lake. Most parks are along a river. There was a little girl who was not shy. She ran up to anyone she could talk to. I was itching to take her photo but I didn't want to ask. I'm sure her mom would have OKd it but I didn't know what I would do with the photos. With the bright sun, I just had to over-process this one.


1/4000 ~ f 4.0 ~ ISO 400 ~ 20 mm

[earth wind & fire] brewin'

I love when the clouds get all dark like a storm is brewing. I love the storms and am in awe of their power.


1/2500 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 14 mm

[earth wind & fire] drought

1/1000 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 29 mm

Too much earth here. Where the boys are walking should normally be about 3 feet of water. It's hard to understand how a state which gets so much rain during the summer, can have a drought. But we do. Some years it is worse than others. It was really bad when we moved here in 2000. It got a bit better after a few tropical storms and hurricanes came through. As devastating as they can be, they bring much needed water to Florida. The drought has gotten bad again this year. All of the ornamental fountains have been turned off even though they recirculate their water. They lose too much to evaporation. We can't even wash our cars at home.

[earth wind & fire] glider

The Woodlings are renegotiating their contracts. I hope to be working with them again soon.

[implied] motion: duck ballet

[implied] motion: woodey road

Yesterday at Shutter Sisters, Maile Wilson wrote about remaking album covers. She chose to remake Abbey Road from the Beatles. I looked through my album covers and couldn't find anything inspirational, most seemed to be more abstract. Nothing I could easily copy with my camera. Abbey Road kept coming back and I realized that the Wood Family would love to do this.

But the Wood Family does not like to travel to location shoots. They are very temperamental and will collapse with the slightest breeze. And then there are all the requirements like dressing trailers and such. So I tried to recreate this in my studio home with props my sons' toys.

It isn't quite what I have envisioned. The Woods are so much bigger than the background.



1/25 @ f 2.8 ~ ISO 200 ~ 14mm

[implied] motion: free fall

This is what happens when you ask your ten year old to help and all he wants to do is play jokes. It took several takes to get just this. After that, Birch said no more and called his lawyers. At least I got one shot. ;P



1/2000 @ f 2.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50mm

hood ornament

1/400 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

nostalgia

With the software we have today, we can make a 100 year old photograph look brand new and make a newly shoot photograph look 100 years old. Not every photo works to be converted but some just scream make me look old!

With this first photo, I was very happy with the shot. Then I played with some photoshop actions and loved what I got.


Here is another fence. They make great shots with their leading lines. It was February and everything was a bid drab, not enough green even in Florida. I played around and got this.


In this shot, I didn't have the right lens and could not zoom in close enough to get a good shot of the boys running. And when I cropped in, I found the photo noisy and a bit blurry. Making is nostalgic saved the photo and makes me think of boys throughout the ages.


At the Lowry Park Zoo, they have created vignettes to make you feel like you are at the actual location rather than a zoo. We were waiting in line for a pony ride when I looked up and saw this. I knew it would be a good shot.


All of these were processed with Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Old Toy Camera Action.

Inspired by Shutter Sisters Feeling Nostalgic

[implied] motion: teamwork

1/1600 @ f 2.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

• No, I don't have a ton of props. Almost all of what I use I have had around the house. I have been looking but haven't had much luck.

• The wagon is 12 1/2" long. I got it years ago at Frank's which is out of business. I think I have seen them at Michael's a few times.

• Birch & Cherry are 12" tall, Chip is 8" tall and Willow is 6" tall.

bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon

... won't you be my darling?


1/3 @ f 8.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

stepping back

Seems like I am stepping back these days when I shoot the kids. They move too fast or just won't stand still for their close-ups. They'll never be actors or models. Although I am in love with my 50mm macro lens, it's just not fast enough for those moving objects. I put on my wide-angle before we went out last week and I was so happy with the results. Sure, I would love to get a fixed wide angle but until I win the lottery, I'll stick with my ZUIKO DIGITAL 14–54mm F2.8–3.5.



1/640 @ f 3.2 ~ ISO 100 ~ 14mm

This post is inspired by Shutter Sisters

[implied] motion: swing low

1. I have motion shots of my boys at the park going around and around and around the merry go round

2. I know you would rather I show the woodies instead

3. So all motion this week will have to be of the implied variety. Their union will not all any stunts.



1/800 @ f 2.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

happy easter!

1/4 @ f 8.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

pull my finger

1/800 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 100 ~ 54 mm
I have to catch the moments of interaction between the two. Ryan does not like his photo taken but will tolerate when we go out like this. But don't ask for posing. So I follow along and see what I can. Ryan was holding onto Andy's finger. I got 2 shots (one blurry) and Ryan turned around to see me and let go. Oh well.

oh baby! you rattle me!

Just for those who are having woodie withdrawal.


1/8 @ f 4.0 ~ ISO 200 ~ 50 mm

black and white

Today at Shutter Sisters, Tracey writes The Black and White of It. And with the digital age, we no longer place a roll of black and white film in our camera and go shoot. We now have the ability to change every photo into black and white. But how many of us do this?

I love true black and white photography. I love the contrast. The pure blacks and whites. With today's editing software, we can turn on grayscale and get a muddy version of black and white. We can play with curves and contrast and get something very close to black and white. Is it too much work? Or is the brilliance of color too much to ignore?

I seem to use black and white as a fix-it. I turn to black and white (or grayscale for you graphic artist types) when there is too much color clash like in this photo. (I hate that plaid couch!)



Other times I choose black and white is when the color may be off. In this first photo, some of the foliage is weeds and the leaves were turning brown. By turning the whole thing black and white, you focus on the all the textures rather than my poor gardening skills.



Sometimes we use black and white for a sense of nostalgia. Sepia is another choice for this.



I think the strongest case for using black and white is when the lines in the photo are strong and you want to emphasize it.