Just Breath....

I've got fifty million thoughts flying through my head all at once this evening and too much left on my "To Do" list for the day. I should have taken more time to just breath and "take in the sights" of the day. So that is where I am left, at this moment. My shot today was reminiscent of my day, a little too quick and rushed.

Nikon D2x
ISO-200
Aperture F/4.5
Shutter 1/160 sec.
18-70mm @55mm

I was rushing out to rescue a puppy that had followed momma out of his house, only problem is, he couldn't find his way back into the house because his eyes are still closed. So he was outside yipping away and momma was going a little crazy because she couldn't get him back in the house. She knew that he shouldn't be where he was. I had been wanting to take quick picture of the litter anyway so I had grabbed my camera and figured I would rescue puppy and take a shot.

I was on my way back into the house when something caught my attention in the pine tree. A toy of my sons was flapping in the breeze so I went to investigate. I looked up into the tree and saw my shot. The angle was the same as with Scott's and well his had a tree and mine has part of a tree. So there you have it.

Hope you all are having a calmer, more relaxed evening then me. Remember to "just breath" and make sure you "take in the sights" of the world, instead of rushing around all the time.

Enjoy!
Sere

My Knarly Looking Tree

My son and I were at a park a few days ago and there was this really cool looking log there. I absolutely LOVE funky looking trees, so I tried to capture the knarly looking knobs and humps this log had.

Nikon D2X
Aperture F/9
Shutter Speed 1/640 sec.
ISO-200
Lens 18-70mm at 44mm
Natural Lighting, Aperture Priority, Filter

I turned the picture to black and white, for fun and to connect it to Scott's more, although I suppose log and leaves would have been connection enough. But I do enjoy playing with my filters, so I used a high contrast black and white filter just to kick up the roughness of this log a bit. I may have overdone it, but I like the look.

I had planned on going back to the log to retake some pictures without children running around and screaming, but it rained on me today, so I couldn't get out.

Enjoy!
Sere

My Answer

I have a guess as to what Scott was using to tie his photo from yesterday into Jay'me's photo from Tuesday.

The answer is in my photo....

Nikon D40 kit lens
shutter speed 1/1250sec
aperture f/4.5
ISO 400 (because I'm an idiot and didn't change it from being inside)
35mm
natural light with gold reflector from underneath

Could it be "a birds eye view"?

This photo is of a tree that is set up in my backyard for the holiday card photo I've been working on. I got out my 6' ladder, (it was too cold for the 16' ladder that would have really gotten me a birds eye view) climbed up and snapped away.
No big mystery or difficulty with this photo, I merely changed my vantage point. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all that's needed to liven up a photo.

Stand in a new spot and check things out, you just might like it.

~
Brandi

Getting Back to my Roots

Canon 30D
Canon EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Focal Length 34mm
Shutter Speed 1/20, 1/50, and 1/125
Aperture f/4.5
ISO 125

Friday was a very long day. I had several meetings set-up for potential clients spread across three counties. What's more I wasn't bright enough to plan my visits in a logical manner. As such, I was in Chicago Heights for my last meeting, practically looking at Indiana right around the time rush hour starts...on a Friday evening. It wasn't looking good for a pleasant trip home. The good news is that my route could conceivably take me by the Morton Arboretum! Now we're talking! So off I went in search of some peace after a hectic day of mostly driving. This boy needed to stretch his legs. His dogs were barking!

Those of you unfamiliar with the Morton Arboretum only need to know one thing: stop what ever you're doing and go there now. I mean it. Go now. It's just a stunning place, both for it's simplicity and it's humble grandeur. Every time I go I reconnect with Ma Earth and that is something I cherish. There are four things in life I always consistently return to: music, photography, reading, and just being outdoors. This place feeds my soul.

Knowing I might be able to swing by I packed my camera and a full 10GB of memory knowing how pissed off I'd be if I ran out. I arrived just in time to enjoy that delicious late afternoon sunshine. I literally snapped 630 pics as I wandered the conifer walk, circled Lake Marmo on the West side, and stumbled upon Schulenberg Prairie, a new find for me. I just cannot put into words how this kind of place affects me. It's why photography is such an important and vital art form and why I'm so in love with it. Words just can't do what a good photograph can.

This photo was taken on the banks of Lake Mormo. The tree is a Freeman Maple, which is a crossbreed of Silver and Red Maple. The roots are just fantastic and the way the branches fall over the water just captivated me. I took 3 exposures with HDR editing in mind. The tricky part is that my tripod is kaput forcing me to do my best at holding very still whilst my camera gets three exposures. It helps tremendously that the light was sufficient. If the day were cloudy I probably would have been out of luck.

So why did I think HDR with this shot? Couldn't I have gotten a good shot without fancy software? The answer to that question is yes, I could have gotten a good shot without HDR. I've posted an edited shot here that is a single exposure. The facts of this setting are the dark shadows potentially clipping the details in the roots and the bright highlights of the reflected water potentially clipping the highlight details. The range from darkest to lightest is just extremely wide. And that's exactly what happened in the single exposure - clipped shadows and highlights (I'll admit, I edited a little extreme to emphasize the point). So why shoot with an eye towards HDR? It's just a better representation of what I'm seeing at that moment. And that is a key point.

There are some that rail against HDR photography, stating it looks fake or dreamlike. And indeed it can look fake and dreamlike. Some even prefer it that way. I would venture to state is can actually make a photo (particularly a landscape) more realistic. That is to say more like what the photographer is seeing when the shot(s) is taken. This is what I'm after and I'm fairly satisfied with the results on this one. Make no mistake, I struggle with making these shots look real. Ask Brandi. She's functioned as foil to my recklessness (Thanks B! I need it!). But I continue to learn when to push it and when to back off the "fixes." In the end, all I want is a photo that conveys the emotion of the scene. This shot does that for me.

My connection to Brandi's adorable faces are the ringlets of hair framing the little one's face. These roots remind me of those ringlets. And I was struck by the symmetry exhibited as the root comes up to kiss the reflection, similar to the girls leaning into each other.

I've posted several other HDR shots on our Flickr page. Check them out and leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you all think. In the meantime, your assignment is to go to the Morton Arboretum ASAP. If you need company, I'll be there.

Scott

Welcome Amanda

Hi Gang! Brandi here. Wanted to introduce you all to Amanda. Amanda was the winner of Wordless Wednesday with Jay'me two weeks ago. She's joining us today as our guest photographer.

Here is a little about Amanda in Amanda's words.

My name is Amanda and I have been interested in photography since high
school. I have a wonderful 8 month old and a husband who can be
wonderful too!! I started my blog in June and have been learning and
growing in my skills since with the help and encouragement of blogs
and challenges like 3 Chicks and A Dude.

The skinny on Amanda's photo in her words -
While I was looking at Jay'me's Friday Faces post I panicked a little.
How in the world was I going to find a link that would work with a
picture I took?! And then have it put up among these great
photographer's work and have it be okay!? Then I took a breath and
headed out with a couple of ideas. I was looking up a lot while
walking with my boy and saw this tree and it spoke to me I guess. The
great part it was a gloomy, moody day and it translated into the
picture. Then in post processing I played up that part. So just to
be clear the link between Jay'me's picture and mine is looking up a
tree!

Thank you for this fun opportunity,
Amanda


Here is what you're really after, Amanda's mesmerizing photo -

Canon Powershot A495
Exposure: 1/50 sec
Aperture: f/3.0
Focal Length: 6.6 mm
ISO: 800


After you've posted a comment here telling us your thoughts or feelings on this photo head on over to Amanda's Blog and give her some 3C1D love. She's got some great work over there.

To keep pace on a fantastic weekend we're going to have Dan with another guest photo tomorrow. Sah-weet!

Run Brandi Run

This is not the shot I planned on getting today. Mother Nature gave me something better to work with.



Nikon d40
kit lens @22mm
f4.0
1/25sec
ISO 400
natural light
spot metered

Right as I got home tonight a storm began to rev up. I quickly got the child and the husband eating dinner and ran outside to capture the amazing sky.
You can see from the golden hue that the sun was still warming the sky behind me, casting it's beautiful warm glow all over the leaves of our huge cotton wood tree.

I did minimal post processing. I tend to agree with Scott in most cases less is more, in the processing department. I needed to brighten things up a bit, which, I knew I was going to have to do when I took the picture. I didn't have quite enough time to make all the necessary adjustment, I barely made it inside before the skies unleashed and raindrops the size of my head fell from the sky.

After the rain calmed the girl child and I went out to play in the puddles. I was pretty sure that I would post a picture of the girl splashing but there was just something about the glow of anticipation in this photo I had to post it. Luckily for me I'll just take my 'rejects' and put them on my other blog.

Thanks Mother Nature, for once it paid to procrastinate.

xoxo,
Brandi

Anything for a Friend

Hi All- It's Brandi. Yes I realize it's Jay'me's turn to blog. Jay'me has her hands full this evening and asked me to jump in and blog on her behalf.
You see Jay'me has never blogged before so the idea of coming here to this little box and writing down all her wild thoughts had her feeling a little intimidated. I can't say I blame her, I felt that way once too. I got over it, now I can't get away from the blog world. Without further ramblings I give you Jay'me's magnificent photo and her comments.

***************************************


Cannon Rebel
18-55 lens
in Auto

There are a couple of trees at a corner I have passed for more than 20 years. I have wanted to photograph the gnarly, exposed, barked roots, well..since I can remember!!
This is related to the first photo (Brandi's) as it's an interesting sign/scene you/I passed many times. And when Scott's photo had a tree in the background it was perfect.
I took these while engulfed in a mosquito cloud. The kids were in the car parked on the side of the street and I was RUSHING!!!
Not so techie but I tried... This tree will be revisited this winter when the contrast of roots and fresh snow will be stunning.
*****************************

Brandi again. See I told you I just couldn't stay away.
Hopefully, the next to report in will be Sere. I say hopefully because Sere is away with her husband in beautiful (and steamy) Savannah Georgia.

Great job Jay'me. Way to overcome obstacles and still get in the shot (a beautiful shot at that). Let's see where Sere takes us.