I know you are probably looking for your daily post from el. I have to tell you I have had a very busy day. Our refigerator died and the new one arrived. This required me to run water to the refigerator for the ice maker (never had one before!). In the mean time, I found that the wall socket behind the refrigerator was damaged and replaced it while I was back there.
So, I apologize for not being here for you today. I will be back on the job tomorrow. Have a great evenign folks.
Remember that in this morning’s post, I wrote about a picture that I was not happy with? This is it… after I worked on the image a little.
This is the same image before I made any adjustments. The image just does not reflect what I felt when I took the picture. What did I do? I made tone, contrast and color adjustments in Aperture. As far as color adjustments, I tweaked the red channel until I got the morning light tones that I remembered.
I am still not completely happy with the image and am still toying with going back earlier tomorrow morning. If I do, you will be the first to know.
I was on a walk around Buck Creek this morning, hoping to get a shot of the morning sun cast over a farm that I have been keeping my eye on. I took several images of the farm & liked none of them. I just didn't have the color that I wanted for a really impressive image. I will just have to get over there a little earlier tomorrow.
The good news is that the trip was not a total waste. I noticed along the way, that the wild berries on the side of the path are beginning to ripen. This can only mean that we are one step closer to Autumn and cooler weather. I like many things about the summer. Fresh produce like locally grown corn, tomatoes, berries and other fruits and vegatables. The ability to be outdoors, enjoying the sunshine. However, the brutal heat of this summer has really eliminated most of the outdoor time that I would normally enjoy. The experience has underscored my preference for the cooler temperatures and colors of the Fall. When I saw these berries, I smiled. Autumn is around the corner and can not get here soon enough for me.
I don't have any body art. I am pretty much just a plain old vanilla kind of guy when it comes to permanently changing my body. However, I am fascinated by them. The "I'll have a number 37 on my arm" kind of tatoos do nothing for me. It's the one of a kind artwork that makes me look. Until the last fifteen years or so, you had to really want to thumb your nose at society to get a piercing or a tattoo. I think mainstream body art must have started with all the girls getting belly button rings in the mid to late 90s. For them, the piercing was more of a fashion accessory, not a statement.
It's the statements that I admire, not the fashion. If I were to get a tattoo (forget piercing!) I would have to give it a lot of thought. What statement would I permanently like to place on my body? Where would I place it? Is this a shout out for the world to see or something more private that I would keep to myself? I could go old school and get a tattoo that a sailor on an eighteenth centuring sailing ship would be proud of, or I could go all modern and colorful. Though I love her dearly, I don't think I would get an homage to my mother.
| Exposure | 0.033 sec (1/30) |
|---|---|
| Aperture | f/3.5 |
| Focal Length | 18 mm |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
This image was shot on an early morning photo walk/drive over the weekend. When I saw the sign, the advertisements in the windows, the chair in the doorway and the gerneral appearance of the building, I knew that I would want to convert the scene into black and white. I was feeling that grittiness that color can't do justice to. The image had to be B&W, as apposed to yesterday's neon sign that was all about the color.
This is not the post that I intended to write today. I was originally going take a look at the Dayton Art Institute in a more serious way thatn I did yesterday. However, I woke early today and took a photo walk around town. As a result, I took this image and wanted to share it with you.
Schuler's bakery is a local institution and they make some fantstic goodies. Just like the sign says, they are the finest in baked goods, at least here in Springfield, Ohio. We are particularly impresed with their doughnuts and I love their butterfly cookies. They are really the best around.
The same thing can not be said for their commitment to customer service. This location in particular is staffed with women that would make a drill seargeant proud. You had better know exactly what you want when you walk up to the counter as they do not have time to deal with your ineficiency. When ordering doughnuts, they will ask you two questions and you had better have the answers ready. How many and what kind. Falter at all and they will pounce on you. Don't ever make the mistake of telling them that you just want a dozen assorted doughnuts. You will be quickly informed of their inability to read your mind and figure out what you might and might not like in your assortment.
To be frank, these women scare me just a little bit. I am intimidated when presented with their demands and I have not had time to make up my mind what deliciousness I want to eat today. S , I usually just stammer something out and hope for the best. Still, I go back and get more.
What can I say? Schuler's really is the finest in baked goods.
The heat wave continued today and I have been wracking my brain for another indoor opportunity to get out of the house. It suddenly dawned on me, that I have not been to the Dayton Art Institute in some time. I am a firm believer that a little culture is good for all of us.
I dearly love a good art museum & this one is very good. If you have never been to a museum with me you can't possibly know what an experience you are missing. I am normally fairly quiet but in a museum, I turn into a walking commentator. I comment on everything. I thought that in today's post, I would give you a little taste of what it would be like to spend some time with me in an art museum.
Just like I started today, you and I will begin with the European wing of the Art Institute.
"Hey this is cool. I like the way they put these walls in the middle of a room."
"Am I supposed to sit on the bench when I look at the painting? Is that what the artist wanted? A bench?"
"Hey, they changed the wall color."
"She's pretty." (Incidently, this is my favorite painting in the museum.
"Damn, what planet did she come from?"
"Dude! No means NOOOO!"
"I'll bet that hurt."
"Seriously, who paid for a portrait of her?"
"Love must be blind after all."
…
…
"I think that thing under her eye is moving"
"Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!"
"She is thin but I'll bet she weighs a ton"
"I saw that move in Mortal Combat."
"Dude, it's an Indian."
"It would take me about ten minutes to make that in Photoshop."
"Ha! Somebody painted the Gray Gallery yellow!"
"Dude… GO, it's your turn!"
"Man, I crack myself up."
You know that I pulled on every one of these doors. My face is imprinted on all of the door glass, all over the museum as a result.
"Finally! I can see the big picture."
"I'll bet it hurts combing the tangles out of their hair."
"Really, that's art?"
"I have a whole wall painted that same color and I would be willing to sell it to you cheap."
"I am totally going to bring that one home, it will look great over the headboard."
"Hey, guard lady, can I get a poster of that painting in the gift shop?"
"No? Seriously? Man that is too bad"
"They must have an incredible janitor here. Look at those floors!"
Ladies and Gentlemen, that completes our tour for today. Now you can see why I don't go very often. I don't want them to recognize me. I might get banned.
So, a little culture didn't hurt me. It's just that I might done some damage to culture.
Ever feel like there is more thatn one person bottled up inside of you? Yestrerday, I was having some of those feelings. This extreme heat is driving me crazy. Part of me wanted to go outside and brave the heat just to take some pictures. But, every time I would go outside, the heat would drive me back into the air conditioning. A heat index of 110F will drive you nuts. Another part of me just wanted to take a nap. Still another part of me was bored and wanted to get up and do something, anything!
That is when I decided to make this image. From beginning to end, an hour and a half for photography and photoshop. Not bad at all. Now that I've finished it, I want to shoot more shots & modify the image. I also have new ideas for other multiple self portrait images. I love it when a little bit of creativity gets the blood going and leads to new ideas.
In the end, going a bit stir crazy led to some great results. The key was acting on that "getting up and doing something, anything" feeling. I am glad that I went with the active personality and not the nap personailty. Though, I have to tell you, I am the king of naps!
Want to make a similar image of your own? Their are probably plenty of methods to choose from but, here is how I did it:
1. Set up your studio. For me this meant moving some furniture around and selecting a big blank wall.
2. Get your outfits ready for your "costume" changes.
3. Set up your camera on a tripod and test out your lighting. The more you perfect your lighting at tis stage, the less work you will have to do in your photo editor.
4. I selected an aperture of f8 to ensure that I had a fairly wide DOF. I wanted all of the "Tims" to be in focus.
5. I shot an image of the chair in AF mode. With the image in focus, I switched to MF mode to lock in the focus.
6. I had decided to shoot five "positions" of myself & placed a pencil on the floor to mark where each position would be centered.
7. I then shot several poses for each position, using the camera's timer. I tried using the remote but, every test image showed the remote in my hand & that is not what I wanted.
8. I then downloaded the images and brought my favorite image for each position into Photoshop by placing each of them on a seperate layer. I stacked the layers so that the over laping positions were on top of the underlying positions.
9. I added a layer mask to each layer and used a black brush to remove the portions of the layer that I did not want to show. This allowed the underlying layers to show through.
10. When I was satified that I had all of the layers the way that I wanted them, I copied and merged the copied layers into a single layer. This allowed me to retain the original layers just in cae I needed them again.
11. Finaly, I made all of my normal curves adjustments for color, tone, contrast, etc. on the new merged layer. I also used the healing brush and clone stamp tool to remove or blend any inconsistencies.
Of all the raw images, this one was my favorite. Why? Because I look skinny. Plus, how cool is that pose?
That folks, was all. Not a whole lot of work for such a fun image. If you give it a try, post your results in the comments. I would love to see your split personalities as well.
I have always thought that not enough people know how to create a page on the internet. Photographers and designers should all know enough html and css code to create and style a simple web page. I think the problem is that most non web developers are intimidated by the thought of learning a "programming" language. It is the programming part that can be daunting.
Jessica Hische & Russ Maschmeyer have addressed that fear in a wonderful way. In their website, DON"T FEAR the INTERNET, the duo are on a mission to teach basic html and css skills while keeping our fears at bay. Their examples and tutorials are simple and easily understood. If you don't know how to program or edit a web page, I strongly encourage you to check out their fantastic website.
Jack is an old mule. When I say old, I mean that Jack is really old… in the neighborhood of thirty years. Poor jack has seen a lot of life & his replacements have already arrived ont the farm in the form of Kit and Kate, two much larger mules that have already started to pull their own weight. Jack may not be around much longer but, while he is here, he will always have some company and conversation from this young child.
| Exposure | 0.002 sec (1/640) |
|---|---|
| Aperture | f/6.3 |
| Focal Length | 300 mm |
| ISO Speed | 100 |
| Exposure Bias | -1 EV |
In this image, I stopped down the exposure one stop because the sun wanted to blow out the bright colors of her pinafore. I knew when I took the image that I would want to convert the photo to black and white and thought that having a blown out area would ruin the tones that I was shooting for.
I am always amazed to see all of the wildlife that I can find when walking around a pond.
But, the most common critter seemed to be these strane orange and white/yellow round ones.
Have a great Thursday folks and be very careful out there in the heat. Here in Dayton, we should hit 95 with a heat index of 110 degrees. Air conditioning is such a great thing on days like this, along with plenty of water and ice cream.
tim mcmurdo 