Photography Blather

Here is another shot from my trip to NY last month. I really liked the reflections there at this little pond we visited and made a bunch of similar images. It is a good lesson in the difference in power between direct and reflected light. Notice how, in order to get the trees exposed the way I wanted, I had to overexpose the actual sky and blow it out to white, but the reflected sky is exposed perfectly. Photography is so interesting. Often in photos like this in print and magazine work, the upper sky would just be cloned in from the reflected sky. i could have done that but I wanted to show what happened. You can also use various filters to get the sky to show up better. I also could have underexposed the trees to get the bluer sky, then photoshopped to even things out, but then I would have lost some of the detail and color of the foliage. It's all about priorities. Skies are tricky, and it is one of my goals to be able to shoot them predictably.

These next couple may end up on my wall. In this one, I was so happy to capture these goosies in just the right profile with their graphic feather patterns showing up against all the water and leaves. I haven't played with it yet, but I'd like to see if there's enough contrast for an interesting black and white conversion.

Lastly, here is an architectural study. I'm not terribly good at buildings, but I love architecture and geometry. This one turned out a treat for me because of the way the tree in the background echoes the curve of the arch. I like the way the eye is drawn through the arch to the scene beyond. That made me happy. I've had all sort of picnik fun playing with vintage camera effects:

I will probably never be able to decide whether I truly like photographing people or places and things better. Each one offers interest, challenge, frustration and joy in pretty much equal amounts. Luckily, I don't really have to choose. So I won't.