Tag: abstract

Sunday Serenity

As we immerse ourselves in the serenity of Autumn through the lens, we strive to capture the essence of the moment and feel of the season.

As part of my journey of exploration in photography, I have learned to use a variety of techniques to create images that express something beyond the mere visual representation of what is in front of our eyes; my preference is to do as much of this in-camera rather than create something in post-processing. There are post-processing possibilities that go beyond what can be done with just our cameras, even though they are getting smarter; examples, such as HDR, Focus Stacking and combining multiple images are among these.

Today’s example is one where all of the work was in-camera, other than some image clean-up, and the result was visible on the LCD screen on the back of my camera…

Autumn Serenity

This image was created by using a somewhat slow shutter speed at 1/8 second and intentionally going out of focus a bit to create a soft amalgamation of autumnal colors. My intent was to capture some of the serenity that we might experience during a comfortable autumn day, as we enjoy a gentle breeze, comfortable temperatures and the beauty of the landscape that surrounds us.

Hope you enjoy these moments too!

Sunday Abstract

Experimentation is key in photography, whether to create abstract images or push representation into different realms.

I have always felt that experimentation is a key part of my photographic journey, as it opens up the possibility of creating images beyond the direct observation of the physical and into that of our mind’s eye. Part of these discoveries go into the realm of abstract imagery.

I would like to share one of these images from about 8 years ago…

Forest Aberration

The technique to create this image is pretty straightforward in that I used a bit of linear movement with a 1/6 second exposure. As I wanted to preserve the directionality of the trees, I kept the motion along the same lines presented by those same trees. With a bit of experimentation the diagonal that is near the bottom of the image was preserved, allowing the lower right hand to almost create its own separate space in both color and shapes.

The juxtaposition of the yellows of the leaves and the blue, green and dark orange in the lower section provides a pleasing interplay, giving the eye an opportunity to discover more in the overall presentation.

On the technical details, I shot this with a Fujifilm X-T1, at f/10 to get the aperture to the 1/6 second mentioned earlier.

Visit to Heru-deshet

Visiting an alternate planet might only be a few footsteps away…

During the past week, I had the enjoyment of visiting three magnificent parks: Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah and Valley of Fire in Nevada. Of course, there were a number of photos taken during this trip and I will continue to process more of them in between work.

Among the three parks visited, Valley of Fire is the only one that I visited before and spent quite a bit of time exploring. As a result, our photo tour leader, John Slonina, offered me the opportunity to lead part of the group into Fire Wave area of the park, which was a lot of fun. The only gotcha was that during this Friday afternoon, the area was quite ‘peoply’, as many folks had to take their selfies in whatever ‘flattering’ poses they could think of.

So what does one do? Play on the wonderful abstract forms that are presented in the Fire Wave area and create some rather different shots that don’t have distractors of any kind, such as…

Footsteps on Heru-deshet

By shooting down into the descent of the hill, the waveform presents itself as a natural phenomenon that one might expect on a red planet, such as Mars (Heru-deshet to ancient Egyptians); the footprints are clear evidence of visitation by some bipedal life form.

Enjoy this moment of surreality!

Exploring a State Park

Photo ops are everywhere!

Over the past week, I enjoyed the pleasure of a photo tour of Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, which was led by Joseph Rossbach; it was a great way to learn more about this park, as well as picking up some new (for me) processing techniques.

Of course, being in this part of the country, there are the majestic landscape photo opportunities, some of which I will definitely share with you. One of the fun things to also explore are some of the details of the rock structures and formations.

Rock Structure 1

The structure of this rock gives a sense of an almost living entity or possibly the remains of what once was a living being, possibly a skull fragment of an ancient and wise dragon; or our mind might take us further, as if we’re looking at the landscape of a distant, alien planet.

One of the aspects of this rock is that the color appears to be there in myriad micro-dots, creating a fuzzy, almost unfocused feeling to the image.

This image was captured using a Canon EOS R5 and EOS RF 24-105mm F4/L lens. I used focus bracketing to increases the fine focus on this fuzzy-looking image.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Fall

Soft light comes to us

Welcome to week 176 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

After a week of living the City life, I think it’s time to go back to Nature for this week’s theme. As Autumn approaches in the Norther Hemisphere, I thought it might be interesting to go for a theme that riffs on that concept with Fall. In the American version of the English language the season of Autumn is often called Fall. What I like about this theme is that the word fall can be taken into other directions, from trip and fall to Victoria Falls and many stops in between.

So, I’m leaving the choice of direction squarely in your hands and create minds and eyes! Mostly, just go out and have fun with this one!! Can’t wait to see where you take this!

Here’s a more abstract approach to the lovely colors…

Muted Fall Tones

As many of you are aware, I like to experiment in my photography and, from time to time, will try something different to get more of a sense of the moment and surroundings, rather than a purely representational capture. By taking the aperture down to f/22 and going out of focus, there appears this rather soft sense of color over structure…

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

Be careful not to fall and have everything fall into place for your photo!!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 166

From the fires of perdition…

Welcome to the 166th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!

Okay, so I got blown away by the volume of your responses to this week’s theme of Radiant! Your posts were stunning in their creative approaches to the theme and the directions, in which you went to find radiance. All of you did a fantastic job, and it’s clear what level of effort you put into each and every post!! Thank you for a great series of posts that were a pleasure to read.

Please enjoy these links and share you appreciation with each other!

Here is a rather radiant image…

Pyroplasm 3x

This image was an early part of my exploration of abstract techniques, which was started sitting around a campfire with a camera nearby. Using a bit of zoom blur, the intensity of the fire became more primordial in nature.

Please enjoy the following blog posts:

  1. Sarah starts things this week in her post in By Sarah with an incredible radiance that glows in the morning frost; wonderful photo!
  2. Maria brings us two kinds of radiance in another awesome post in Kamerapromenader; both are stunning!
  3. In a very cool post in Syncwithdeep we get to experience the true sense of irony that can lie under a tree…
  4. Irene takes us to a wonderful beach her post in Heaven’s Sunshine, where the radiance shines upon us! Irene brings us a second entry in Heaven’s Sunshine, where the sunrise shines through! In her third entry in Heaven’s Sunshine, we find a radiant flower!
  5. This week’s entry in Une Photo, Un Poéme shows us what verdant radiance Nicole encountered during a Spring walk; it’s gorgeous!
  6. Kammie shows us some amazing radiance in her post in Nut House Central, with color and shine being featured brightly!
  7. Jackie brings us to radiant heights in her post in Junk Boat Travels, with a stunning view of the Sagrada Familia!
  8. In another great contribution in The Liggett Adventures, we go for a morning walk in Devon to see the sun light our way.
  9. An absolutely gorgeous shot features in theonlyD800inthehameau, as we go for a sunset cruise in Abu Dhabi!
  10. The amazing post in pensivity101 positively radiates, not only with the photo, but even more with the memory that is held for over 35 years!
  11. The radiance in the post in A Day In The Life shines through in each and every gorgeous image!
  12. Prasath shares an incredible amount of brilliance in MyTravelCSP, which radiates to light up the sky!
  13. Eliza features the radiance of poppies in her post in Albatz Adventures with stunning photography!
  14. In another great post in For the Love of …, the question of spiders’ flight is asked along with their radiant webs!
  15. Danny’s post in Danny James Photography features radiance, not only in the sunlight, but also the shining white of the church!
  16. Xenia’s amazing post in WhippetWisdom brings us the galloping of whippets through the radiant landscape!
  17. Na’ama provides us with true radiance in her post in Na’ama Yehuda; the words shine through the page!
  18. With another wonderful post in Don’t Hold Your Breath, we get filled with the radiance of Turkish coffee!
  19. In a brilliant post in Chateaux des Fleurs, we get to experience the radiance of the sky in a truly beautiful set of photos!
  20. Ken found some true radiance at the beach, as we can see in his post in Pictures without Film!
  21. Robert’s photos in Photo Robert Blog dazzles us with their radiance in both a simple and glorious manner!
  22. Ann-Christine shares the most amazing tree in her post in To See a World in a Grain of Sand…; the Sun coming through the frozen branches creates a stunning effect!
  23. In a lovely post in the59club, we find that radiance can be just off the path that we follow!
  24. Jase may be onto something truly brilliant in Proscenium: with enough red, red wine, the entire world radiates!
  25. In a great entry in Willowsoul, we get to see that radiance can be found on land, in the sea and in the air!
  26. With a wonderful contribution in nowathome, we get to experience radiance both in flowers and the wonderful light!
  27. Marie capture a truly radiant image in the New 3Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect; that’s a stunning photo!
  28. Hammad takes us to the clouds in his contribution in the Blog of Hammad Rais, where there’s some true radiance!
  29. Sandy shares a photo that positively radiates in her post in Out of My Write Mind; it’s royalty in black and white!
  30. Teressa has some amazing photos in her post in Another LQQK; those windows are simply gorgeous!
  31. Anjum scores another great post in the blog The Unsaid Words of Untold Stories, where radiance is found with gorgeous photos!
  32. In a wonderful entry in Still Thinking…, Eric brings us a sunset that does make you feel like going out there for a run!
  33. Susan makes me want to get a lens ball, which she used to create the photo in her post in Musin’ with Susan; it’s a beautiful vista!
  34. In a stunning post in Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery, we get a gorgeous treatment of the radiance of a lighthouse!
  35. Brian brings a great variety of radiance in another great post in Bushboy’s World; that bit of lens flare adds to the brilliance!
  36. In another awesome post in sgeoil, the radiance shines through and is paired well with the quote!
  37. Woolly finds radiance in great places in his post in WoollyMuses, of which I find the fog image incredibly compelling!
  38. Sometimes radiance comes right off the stage at you, as we see in a great post in One Letter Up – Diary 2.0, where a star shines brightly!
  39. Deb shares a truly stunning image of a gorgeous flower in her post in Twenty-Four; no doubt that it radiates!
  40. David brings us a gorgeous series of images in his post in David M’s Photoblog, where radiance comes across in every shot!
  41. One of the advantages of running a challenge, such as this, is that I get to travel through these contributions. Donna’s post in Wind Kisses takes us to Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone, which is now on my bucket list!
  42. Amy proves that three cameras are better than one in her post in Photography Journal Blog; each bring their own unique capabilities!
  43. A stunning photo in the post in Land of Images features an absolutely gorgeous flower, which radiates with color!
  44. Olga captured some fantastic brilliance in her images in Stuff and What If…; looking through those leaves is intriguing!
  45. The image in Thief Images Photography Blog just draws the viewer into the brilliant landscape!
  46. Miriam put together another stunning post in Out an’ About! This blog is an amazing read and view, and the message in this post is also uplifting!
  47. Debbie shares a stunning post in Travel with Intent, where we get a gorgeous inside view in the Sagrada Familia!

Please let all of these great bloggers know your thoughts about their posts!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 165

Trails from one dimension to another…

Welcome to the 165th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge! A bit later with this post than usual, as I was catching up…

Your interpretations of this week’s theme of Trail have been simply amazing! Your creative minds must have been in top gear, as your posts ranged from the overhead views and gorgeous trails to those putting a smile on my face with warm appreciation. Thank you all for doing such an awesome job on these!

I very much enjoyed reading your posts, and I hope that you do as well!

Here are some very different trails…

Transitions

This is an image that I captured a number of years ago during a group night shoot. The lighting in a pair of white columns inspired me to get them captured in a different manner than the usual; additionally, the taillights of the cars going away from me created an opportunity to play with zoom blur and generate a sense of transition, which was in touch with what was happening more than 3000 miles away.

Please enjoy the following blog posts:

  1. Sarah starts things this week in her post in By Sarah with a pair of lovely trails that she captured splendidly!
  2. Kammie takes us down some cool trails in Nut House Central, although some of them might need a bit of maintenance…
  3. Xenia’s post for this week in Tranature is a lovely walk along the trails at Leitir Easaidh. In a second post in WhippetWisdom, we are on the trail with some of my favorite whippets and a great haiku!
  4. In another wonderful post from theonlyD800inthehameau we get to see the trail in Beecraigs Country Park in Central Scotland, which is stunning!
  5. We go on an island trail in an awesome post in Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery with some great photos!
  6. This week’s entry in Une Photo, Un Poéme has Nicole taking us to Derbyshire with a view that makes me want to go down the trail and find out where it leads…
  7. Ken takes us on the trail to find some mystical stones in Pictures without Film; the Druid’s Circle in Penmaenmawr must be inspiring!
  8. Na’ama has us traversing an ethereal trail in her post in Na’ama Yehuda; in her poem you can feel yourself moving along the trail.
  9. In this week’s fantastic entry in pensivity101, we follow some beautiful trails and find some shade along the way!
  10. Jackie has a great cross-section of famous trails in her post in Junk Boat Travels: which one would you like to follow?
  11. In a fantastic contribution in The Liggett Adventures we follow a trail on the South English coast that leads to place that I would love to see!
  12. Cee clearly has been hitting the good trails, as we can see in her post in Cee’s Photography; those all look worth exploring!
  13. In another awesome post in Field Notes from over the Hill, Gwen takes us on the trail in Lone Elk Park, where we encounter quite a few elk!
  14. Ann-Christine takes us for a hike in Switzerland in her post in To See a World in a Grain of Sand…; the trail and scenery are magnificent!
  15. Eliza presents us with a very interesting walk in her post in Albatz Adventures; she takes us right to the precipice…
  16. Leave it to Brian to come up with some different trails in his post in Bushboy’s World; clearly, he has spent some time looking up!
  17. In photo #6957 in OneMillionPhotographs, the trail is absolutely gorgeous and beautifully photographed!
  18. David shares a series of trails in his post in David M’s Photoblog that are simply amazing!
  19. Jase is on the trail of some wild mountain honey as we can see in Proscenium; those bees are pretty busy!
  20. Debbie finds an interesting twosome playing in her post in Travel with Intent; in a second post in Travel with Intent, she leads us to the Plaça de Espanya, where once the trail ended for many bulls.
  21. Maria found some interesting trails in her post in Kamerapromenader, but I’m doubtful that those rails are fit for duty!
  22. A fun post in Still Thinking shows one of the incentives of trail running: you can keep up with your children!
  23. This week we get to enjoy some gorgeous trails in Life Amazing, all of which are in Northern Ireland.
  24. Danny’s post in Danny James Photography brings us to Japan for a stunning trail in Koyoto, which leads ever higher among the trees.
  25. Aletta brings us amazing trails in her post in Nowathome, which beckons exploration!
  26. Sandy challenges us to blaze a trail in her post in Out of My Write Mind; let’s accept the challenge!
  27. Woolly takes us into a playa lake in his post in WoollyMuses; this looks like an amazing place to explore trails!
  28. Robert’s photo in Photo Robert Blog is another stunning example of his fine work, as it draws us into the trail…
  29. There’s nothing like having to follow the trail of a grandchild in One Letter Up – Diary 2.0… this photo put a smile on my face!
  30. In another lovely post in A Day In The Life, we find a tremendous variety of trails!
  31. Deb is on the trail of something interesting in her post in Twenty-Four; makes me wonder what we will find at the end of the trail…
  32. In Land of Images the trail takes us further into Nature in the beautiful Lancashire countryside.
  33. Amy created another wonderful post in Photography Journal Blog, where she shares what lies a few feet off the trail…
  34. Anjum’s wonderful post in the blog The Unsaid Words of Untold Stories takes us up the trail to Murree Hills close to Islamabad in Pakistan.
  35. Teressa shares some of the trails in Central Iowa in her post in Another LQQK; it looks like they would be fun to traverse!
  36. Donna goes on a trail ride in her post in Wind Kisses, which looks like a great way to explore Cave Creek!
  37. Len has a truly wonderful post in Len Journeys that provides us with not only a stunning set of trail images, but also a classic quote!
  38. In another excellent post in sgeoil, there is a very interesting trail and I wonder what created it…
  39. We go off the trail in a great post in Heart to Heart, as it looks like that is where the fun will be!
  40. Susan brings out another stunning photo in her post in Musin’ with Susan; it’s inviting to follow the trail!
  41. Thanks for another great post in Thief Images Photography Blog, which highlights the trails never followed…
  42. Irene takes us onto a comfortable trail in her post in Heaven’s Sunshine, where we can find some shade.
  43. Khürt presents us with a magnificent photo reportage in his blog Island in the Net of the Stonebridge Trails; the weather must have been to Khürt’s liking, as the images radiate!

Please let all of these great bloggers know your thoughts about their posts!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Rose

A rose is a rose…

Welcome to week 145 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.

You nearly broke the bank with all your fantastic entries on the theme of Bank! Time for something a little different for this week, as all of you Rose to the occasion, I thought I’d present you with a Rose for your effort! Yes, I can hear your groans…the puns won’t stop 🙂

Of course, you expected something that would go into the direction of your choosing, and give you the opportunity to release your creative minds to come up with your fantastic posts! Have fun with it and don’t let the color fool you!

Here’s a rose that unleashed mighty energies…

Rose Particle

This photo goes back a number of years, as an experiment creating more abstract images. Through use of zoom blur, I got the rose to create an explosion of energies, as an expression of the power that resides within each particle of the universe!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

  • Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
  • Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
  • Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
  • Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

I look forward to seeing what rose in your minds!