flower’s point of view

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

A Flower's POV

 

This is not my best image by any means. However, I liked the warmth of the image and the point of view enough to share it with you. Normally, I rely on depth of field and focus to draw the viewer's eye. In this image, I relied on negative space. The blue area in the upper right of the image brings your eye up and out of the flowers and into the sky. At least, that is the idea. What do you think? A nice surprise in this image was the insect flying in the upper left corner.

 

Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 20 mm
ISO Speed 100

 

My post processing included color balance, contrast, black point and saturation in Aperture.

 

 

 

before and after

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

M.N. Before

M.N After

 

A very special young lady asked me to shoot her senior portraits. I don’t shoot a lot of portraits but, she is a great kid and she, her sister, and her mom have very kind to me over the last few months. So, I did not hesitate to say yes.

The shoot was a lot of fun. We shot at a couple outdoor locations and I ended up with quite a lot of images. After the shoot, Her mother joined us and we sat down and sifted through the raw images to cull out the bad ones (there are always bad ones).

Post processing included my standard color and contrast adjustments.  However her mother had asked me to take a shot at her severe acne on a few of the images. I thought it was a good idea to show her how the rest of us saw her. The big but here is that I firmly believe that people are unique and beautiful as they are. I didn’t want to completely eradicate her acne because I wanted her images to reflect her true self. On the flip side, as anybody would, she wanted to look her best. I had a fine line to walk.

 

Here is how I approached the post processing in PhotoShop.

1. I made a duplicate layer of the original image to protect the original.

2. I performed my normal curves adjustment for color and contrast.

3. I then used the healing and clone tools to remove the worst of the spots. I also brightened the teeth just a bit.

4. I then duplicated the layer from step 3 and made a levels adjustment to the red channel only. The adjustment amounted to moving the lightness slider all the way to the right. I then masked out the lips and other areas that I did not want effected. I set the layer blending mode to luminosity. This removed most of the red splotchyness from the skin.

5. I then merged the layers from steps 3 and 4 and duplicated the resulting layer.

6. I applied a heavy gaussian blur to the new layer and set its blending mode to overlay. This smoothed the scaring to the skin without completely eliminating it. Once again, I merged this layer with the layer in step 5.

7. I created a new empty layer and filled it with black, setting the blend mode to soft light.

8. I then merged all of the remaining layers and saved the new version of the image.

 

How did I do? Was I successful in walking the fine line? I would be interested in what you think of the final image. 

 

upon closer inspection

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Upon Closer Inspection

 

In this image are my sister-in-law (wearing the glasses), my wife (in the right lens) and me (in the left lens). Saturday we attended the spring street fair in Yellow Springs, Ohio. We love to go down there and shop the booths, eat fair food and watch the people in the crowd. The day gave us perfect weather and we took full advantage of the clear warm conditions.

 

Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 30 mm
ISO Speed 100

 

To get this image with the reflections that I wanted, I focused on and exposed for the image in the right lens.

 

 

river reflections

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

River Reflection 2

 

Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 55 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias -0.7 EV

 

If you have been following my photographic journey, then you probably know that I really like reflections on water. Hence, today's post. Normally midday is not the a good time to be out shooting. However, the day was overcast and I decided to visit the river. There is always an image to capture at the river.

Even with the overcast sky, I had to stop down the exposure 2/3 of a stop to eliminate the blown out highlights. 

 

River Reflection 1

 

Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 55 mm
ISO Speed 125

 

In this second image, I could leave the exposure as is because I was shooting under deep shadows created by the bushes overhanging the river. I saw a mallard swimming over and waited until it entered my field of view and snapped the shot. Patience pays off.

Yes, shooting on a bright afternoon is not preferable, but you can always find conditions that will allow you to shoot successfully (look for cloudy skies, shade, and use your histogram). If you can, shoot in the morning or evening light. However, if the timing is bad, go ahead and make the best of it, you will be surprised at the results you can get.

 

purposeful toy

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Training Toy

 

This simple toy is a popular attraction for children at the farm. Their are two of them side by side and the children love to race each other moving their man to the top of the string. By alternately pulling down on the two handles they can cause the man to climb. As it turns out, the same motion is required to milk a cow and our ancestors used these toys to train their young children in the motion. Later, as the kids got older, they already had the muscle memory required to milk the cow and only needed to refine their technique.

You would think that they knew what they were doing.

 

Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 28 mm
ISO Speed 640

 

 

just jack

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Jack's Lips

 

Jack is an old mule, nearing retirement. I always think of him as the country gentleman of the farm. Though to be honest, he can be stubborn as… well, as a mule.

 

Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 100

 

This particular image highlights one of the reasons that I am really enjoying the Sony a55. The camera has the ability to capture very crisp images. Even with a subject as soft as Jack's muzzle, the details are present and are very sharp.

Now if only Jack were as sharp as his picture…

 

 

condensation

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Summer Kitchen 6

 

Nothing fancy, just a simple image of the condensation on some eggs that are about to be turned into egg salad before my very eyes. I got down to table height and cranked open the aperture on the camera to get this image. I took a vertical version as well but this horizontal orientation seemed to fit the group of eggs better.

The humid air condenses easily in our new found summer heat. After the rains of the last two months, the high temperatures are driving the moisture out of the ground and it is looking for someplace to go.

 

Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 500

 

Because of the heat, I have taken to getting up early and finishing my yard work before ten. I then run into the air conditioned house, shut the doors and hunker down next to the air vent.

This is the kind of heat that makes our cats lazier than their usual sloth. When they go outside, the felines find some shade and settle in for the day. If a bird or some other critter wanders into view, they only half heartedly look at it. The animals seem to know it and don't even have the decency to act nervous. Welcome to the humid summer of Ohio.

 

museum test… check

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Dr1

 

FaceBook friends and readers of the old Ephemeral Life may remember that about a year ago I took the old Oly to the Air Force Museum in Dayton… twice. After the first trip, I had to return the next day with a tripod. The old Oly just couldn't handle the low light conditions at all. As a result, I now consider the museum the definitive low light test for any camera.

 

P26

 

Yesterday, with the new Sony a55 in hand, I decided to brave the museum once again and see how the camera faired. The a55 performed like a champ. Not a single problem at all. Good dynamic range and zero focus or blur issues.

 

Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 1000

 

 

asters

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Asters

 

This is one of those grab shots that pop out at you when you don't expect it. I was wandering around the farm today when I came upon these white Asters in the rose garden. I liked the white flowers that stood out in the sea of green.

 

Exposure 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 100

 

 

Flocked

Posted on by Tim McMurdo

Flocked

 

For some unknown reason, sheep like to put their heads in a corner…en mass. I've asked a few people about this bizarre habit. Even the farmer has no answer as to why they act this way. On very hot day, they will often huddle in the sunniest corner and pant in the heat. After speaking with the farmer, I walked away with the opinion that sheep might not be the smartest critter on the farm. If you know why sheep do this, let me know. Even if you make up an answer that just sounds good, I will believe every word you say.

 

Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 26 mm
ISO Speed 100