Hello to all and welcome!
I can't really say what you should expect to see here as I've never before tried blogging or anything similar. It'll have to be a work in progress. I'll probably talk about photography in general (and mine in specific) as well as point out different things that are going on that I find interesting or worth commenting on. If anyone (assuming anyone actually ends up reading this) has questions or suggestions on topics, feel free to let me know.
I'm here you're with me, here at the beginning of all things.
Roger
p.s. Comments and feedback are very welcome.
Photo of the Week - Alhambra Memory
I really enjoy photo workshops. It is not just the chance to travel to someplace new and interesting, it is capturing something new and essential. One tool that can help in this is having a challenge given to you. Some of my favorite images have come about due to these sorts of challenges.
That said, this post is about one that failed.
Over 10 years ago, I was on a trip to Spain and was able to spend several days in the Alhambra. What a magnificent place to see and photograph. The gardens and architecture are stunning and full of history. With that in mind, we were given the following challenge: Imagine it is 1492 and you are the last Moorish king in Spain and are being forced to leave forever. You have a camera and can take 3 images with you and can leave one behind for the new occupants.
Ones to take with you are easy to figure out. Just look for your favorite images, like these:
The real challenge was figuring out a good image to leave behind. I thought about it and wanted it to send a message. And then an idea came to me. I'd create a double image. One would be a shot of the gardens and the other would be a close up of a face with eyes closes. The message is that you can force me to leave, but all I need to do is close my eyes and I can return in thoughts and dreams.
Unfortunately, this was before I had a digital camera, so the only way to get a double image was to take a double exposure and hope it came out. Right at that time my father came by and agreed to help me. I framed and shot the garden image, then handed the camera over and he took the close-up of my face. It wasn't until many days later that I got the slide back and found that we somehow messed things up...the face was upside down in relation to the garden.
This failure has stuck with me all these years. So, I decided to try and finally get the image I wanted. The first step was to take some fairly tight self-portraits. Next, I found a slide that I had previously scanned from that trip that, I believe, is close to the one I was planning to use. Finally, combine them digitally, making sure both aspects are clear.
Here's the result.
Alhambra MemoryClick to Purchase.
Photos of the Week - Moral Quandry
Last week I was out at Lone Lake, wandering around as usual and taking some pictures. When I arrived I notice that the moon was out even though it was over an hour until sunset, so I snapped one or two shots to see if I could get anything interesting. Not at that time. I continued strolling around the path, checking when I had the opportunity to see if the moon was close to something in the distance so that I could get a big moon shot [note: For those who haven't done much photography, the moon is a constant size based on the lens you are using - 1mm on a 35mm equivalent for every 100mm of zoom. So, for example, my 100-400mm lens will give me a moon that takes up 4mm on a 35mm slide. What this means in practice is that if you want the moon to be a prominent feature in a photograph you need to shoot it at a large zoom and against something that is far enough away to still be visible.]
As I came close to the end of the path, I saw some birds circling in the distance quite close to where the moon was. At that point, my goal became getting a shot of a bird against the moon.
I tried tracking the birds (I think it is a red-tailed hawk, but could use some independent verification. but this proved to be very hard and tiresome since they were a good distance from me and moving quickly. So, instead I decided to focus on the moon and shoot when one of them got in position. And I actually manage to get one.
And, here you can see my problem. In the first picture, the hawk is quite sharp, but the moon doesn't show any detail. In the second, the moon detail is there but the hawk is not sharp.
Because these are digital images, it would be fairly easy to take a sharp hawk from one picture and put it in a different one that has a sharp moon, exactly where I would want it. The question is whether that is cheating (or how much cheating it is or how you label the image to reflect the processing done).
What do you think?
Photos of the Week - Around Lake Harriet
Wow! I knew it has been a while since I last posted something but truly didn't realize it has been over a month. Sorry about that.
I really haven't done much shooting in the past month, though. Just two trips to Lake Harriet. The first one was getting together with a couple of people in my photo club and the second (yesterday) was partly because the weather was incredibly gorgeous and also because there were some subjects I had spotted on my last visit that I needed to reshoot.
Here's the highlight from the first trip. Right as we entered the Bird Sanctuary, I heard a woodpecker tapping away. Looking around I spotted this little guy. I shot 50-100 images, moving around a bit, getting different angles. This is pretty much the only one that is decent.
Downy WoodpeckerClick to Purchase
The rest of these images are from yesterday.
I had spotted this dead tree on the last visit, but didn't get any good shots. I really like the shapes and textures.
This one was basically next to the the previous shot. Maybe I'll say it's inspired by Georgia O'Keefe.
What I like in this image is the different layers and types of decaying tree/stumps. It really shows the theme of death and rebirth that I find inherent in the subject.
Next are a couple of wildlife rareties. The first is an albino squirrel (it ran away just as I got to where it is, so this is the best I managed to capture) and the other is a very red gray squirrel (a color variant I haven't come across before).
Red Gray SquirrelClick to Purchase
And finally, due to the end of daylight savings, it was getting dark as I left, so I snapped several shots and merged them into this final panorama.
Lake Harriet SunsetContact me about prints
Photos of the Week - Light show
I could use some advice.
Every year, the Arboretum Photographers Society has a juried show and sale at the Arboretum starting in January. The submission deadline is in October, so I need to figure out what would be good submissions. That's where you come in. I'm going to show a bunch of photos below and I'd really appreciate feedback on which ones you think are worth submitting.
The title of the show is "Seasons of Light", so interpret that however you wish when judging.
This first one I'm just going to submit since I already have a framed print sitting at home, so it is essentially a freebie for me.
These next images show how light is bent by heat during a controlled burn [For those of you who are not familiar with those, there used to be massive wildfires on prairies that would burn off all the growing plants, leaving prime soil and helping native plants propagate. These are now done in very controlled circumstances to make sure they don't spread to unwanted areas, like houses.]
My personal preference is for the first one showing the Fireman, but I'm curious what you people think of the others; especially the last two.
This next set are more abstract, showing light more as color:
8)
Spring RunoffClick to Purchase
Finally, some landscapes taken at dawn, when the quality of light shows itself.
9)
Sunrise SilhouetteClick to Purchase
So, thoughts?
Photo of the Week - Downtown Reflection
I was downtown earlier today at the new US Bank Stadium. It has a lot of glass that give nice, interesting reflections. Here's the one I took today. I'm thinking, though, that this might be even more of a night shot. We'll see.
Downtown ReflectionClick to Purchase