Working evening shifts has really opened up my eyes to being aware of light sources and how your vantage point can drastically change a subject depending on the angle of the light being thrown at, or through, it. I have been working on a series of shots of graffiti in bus shelters for about 6 weeks now, paying special attention to how rain, snow, frost and yes, even dirt, help compose the picture.
I'm starting to carry my camera with me to work more often. It has always been fun to look at something that would be an interesting image and walk around it looking for the best angle and how shadows and light transform it. I find this process especially relaxing after a shift in the kitchen. This is a shot of the roof of a bus terminal.
I did a test today by taking my camera out in -18C to see if 10 minutes in my backpack was long enough to keep it from fogging up. I had to go about 5 blocks to the supermarket and clicked off some pictures on the way there to see if there would be any effects from the cold. There didn't seem to be, but I want to be careful in future to wear a scarf so that my breath doesn't fog up the LCD.
Taking photos of something that is sitting up against a glass door or window in winter is tricky. The snow outside and the light glaring off of it make it hard to get a descent shot. This hobby horse was just such a subject.
First off, some Recovery and Clarity, plus a small crank down on the exposure in Lightroom defined the silhouette of the horse and the door frame better. Then by taking away some of the highlights and lights from the Tone Curve, as well as some of the shadow, it made the final image much clearer.
You always feel a bit weird snapping endless photos at family dinners or gatherings. Having been freed of using a flash, it makes it easier for everyone else in the room to relax. High ISO candid shots take a little bit more editing work than outdoor or flash work, but they catch people in their natural state.
My wife comes from a large Irish/ Scottish family on her mothers side. They are a close knit bunch and gather often throughout the year for parties, Birthdays or holidays. After a recent family dinner I got the opportunity to get some shots of three of Samantha's aunts while they watched some old home videos and had dessert.
Just some quick shots of some baking that Samantha and I did this week Pecan Tarts and some great rollup cookies called Rugelach.
After seeing the album page of Christmas photos I posted on Facebook, my mother in law said that she felt seeing all the colors from a bunch of different images was more striking than any one picture alone. I got the idea that it would be neat to try and find a way to make a collage type picture in Lightroom.
After finding a video on Youtube explaining how to set up a custom package in the print options, it was just a matter of patiently fitting the cells into a cohesive layout.
I was approached by one of my employers about taking some photos for an in-house Power Point presentation that will play on a couple of the TVs near the cash and take out area at our restaurant. The focus of the presentation has mostly to do with explaining the difference between a normal chemically pumped smoke meat brisket and the traditional, dry cure process we use.The next few posts will highlight some of finished work.
Just a quick shot of some of the decorations hanging over the front door of a house I visited recently. The blue lights in the background are what drew me to take the shot in the first place.
This picture is of a glass lampshade that had some etchings on it. The glass is actually frosted and throws a warm yellow light, but in post production there wasn't enough contrast in between the frosted glass and the etched motif, so I changed the highlight hue to a nice green. Much better image.
Let me start by saying that this shot was a lot of work. First off I only had my 75-250mm telephoto with me, so setting up for a macro shot on a small table was a challenge. I had to play with distances, angle of the cake, height of the stack of books under the camera, shutter speed and the timer. Oh, and people moving around the room throwing shadows. In all, I took 25 shots before I knew this 1 second exposure was the one.
On the same walk on January 2nd, I passed a school where the students had decorated the front lawn with hand painted totem poles depicting animals in bright colors. Each pole had ten different bands. This is a three band detail of one of the poles.
On January 2nd, I had to go to my sister in laws' for dinner, and decided to walk the 10 blocks for some air and to stop in at a grocery store on the way. I had been pretty busy at work the week leading up to and the week of Christmas and had avoided the main drag in our area of town, Wellington.
For the holidays they had installed huge 18" ornaments on every block. Some were gold, some silver, but the red ones really caught my cameras attention. The clearing sky reflected in the background is awesome. Just another reminder to always carry your camera with you.
Over the New years weekend I had some great opportunity to work in low light/ high ISO situations. Working without a flash lets people be themselves and forget that there is a camera in the room. I can't wait to get a 50mm lens that will allow so much more light in in these situations. But for now, it is just about finding the slowest shutter speed at the highest ISO and then taking the grain out of the images in post production.
At a family dinner around New Years, I took some time to play a bit with capturing candle light in low light situations. I was particularly happy with the backgrounds on these images.
These two Christmas ornaments are memorial charms for two sisters that my mother in law has lost to cancer. I had written in a previous post about Ramona's fund raising commitments when it comes to the fight against cancer.
These are some shots of an oyster duo that we served as the amuse bouche course at work last night.
