Reflection
03/09/10 20:10
For this version of the water droplet reflections I placed a different flower in the background. I had to move fast to take this photo. My daughters gave my two year old the hose and he was spraying everything in site. At one point he even hit the camera with a few drops of water. I have a few more of these to come in the next couple of days. Have a fun shooting great pictures this long holiday. Click here to view on black.
Thanks for visiting today.
~wr~
Reflected Spikes
01/09/10 20:51 Filed in: Macro
This is the second photo in this series. This is the same plant as yesterday and the same flower. The angle is different, and that gives a different feel. This time the spikes are much more prominent then yesterday. Click here to view on black.
I like how clear the spikes are.
I like how on some of the drops you can see the cactus reflected.
I do wish the reflected flowers were a little more prominent.
Thanks for visiting today.
~wr~
Reflections
31/08/10 21:34 Filed in: Macro
This summer has been very busy. Work, my daughter getting married, work, my son moving out, work and more work. Today I was finally able to take a break and think about taking some photos. I have been wanting to work on water drop reflections lately. Tonight my wife wanted to go gather some books to donate to our daughters teachers classroom. Right before we were to leave I looked outside and noticed that the last light of evening was perfect. I grabbed my tripod (an adventure in and of itself. I had to locate parts from the relocation of said tripod by my two year old). I put my macro lens on and set out to get the photo set up. These plants are both found in my garden. The cactus is a cold weather cactus and the flower is indian blanketflower. I misted the cactus and then started shooting. Click to view on Black.
This shot would not have been possible without a tripod and a cable release.
The specs:
Iso 200
105mm
f/40
5 second exposure
I did minimal treatment in Lightroom 3 and then published it.
I like the reflections of the flowers in the water droplets.
I like the contrast of the cactus and water.
I like the detail found on the cactus.
I like how many drops are found.
I would like to not have the thorn reflections over the flowers.
Thank you for taking the time to visit today.
I will respond to all comments.
~wr~
Fire Chalice
28/08/10 19:43 Filed in: Macro
This summer I have had a hard time getting out to take as many photos as I would have liked. It is in part due to commitments at home. A daughter getting married and trying to run my part time business. So today I came up with the great idea to take some macro photos of flowers with water drops on them. I set up for the photos, but it was so windy all day that it was hard to keep the subject in focus and all the good drops that show reflections were blown off the plants before I could set up. This plant is called Fire Chalice and is a favorite with the hummingbirds.
Thank you for visiting today.
Rikki
23/08/10 21:23 Filed in: Guest blog
Here is another incredible blog entry from Rikki of Rikkims. She is a very talented photographer that takes time to tell a story with every one of her photos. She puts a lot of time and effort into taking photos that have meaning and portray a story. Thanks for another great post Rikki.
~wr~
Basically, I don't have very much "fancy" equipment. Whenever I see people with big cameras I always get excited or maybe it's jealous haha. The reason I don't have one is because when I went for my interview/portfolio review at the Hallmark Institute of Photography last october I asked the guy looking at my work which camera he recommended me to get. He told me straight out not to get one (even though my parents were planning on getting me one for christmas). The reason was because once I get the camera from Hallmark he said I would never use the other one because the cameras we get there are so immaculate and I’d be unhappy with that one afterwards, so he said not to waste the money. So I'm stuck with my little old point and shoot. I shoot with an Olympus FE280 - it's a little 8.0 megapixel, red point and shoot and it has done me well so far. I realize everyday how much I'm limited with it but I try to make up for it in post processing. I'm hoping this will make me a stronger photographer in the end and I’m going to be in heaven when I get the cameras from Hallmark!
I got you.
One nice thing I do have is a tripod! I don't think I’d live without that. I take mostly self-potraits because I don't have very many models, however I do take pictures of other people but I rarely post them on flickr for privacy reasons. I don't have a remote so I have to resort to my cameras 12 second timer. It can be very frustrating but it works. So this picture you see here was of me and my boyfriend. It's so hard to get him in a picture with me, but when I do I always love how they come out. I live near the Hudson River so there are some very beautiful places to take pictures. This one in particular was taken on a dock thats right next to the Mid-Hudson bridge. We had just gone out to dinner at a local restaurant on the river and afterwards I forced him to walk down to the dock with me, then I whipped out my camera and he groaned. haha. I didn't have my tripod with me so I had to set the camera down right on the dock and I ran to get in position next to him. I'm actually very happy that I didn't have my tripod because I love the different view it gave. You can see all the nails in the dock. I think it gives it a different perspective that's really special. I wasn't even considering the rule of thirds with this picture but it came out as if I did. After I got it on the computer I fixed the exposure a bit and turned it into black and white because the colors weren't anything vibrant. That's all I did for processing but it came out as a great, memorable shot.
Holding still
This shot here was completely planned out (for the most part) unlike some of my other shots. I've been to this location once before and it's a really magical place. So I had gotten a new dress the friday before I took this picture. I always take pictures in dresses so I was excited. I went out sunday afternoon to this place and it was very hot. I found the flower that I’m holding on the way to this bridge. I love Queen Anne's Lace , they are so beautiful and I was definitely using that in my picture because I love flowers. When I got to the bridge I had already had some poses in mind and this was one of them. I made sure to set my tripod on the bridge, but at a lower angle so it would have a nice personal perspective of me sitting on the bridge. I also made sure to sit on my shins and have my dress all fanned out like I did- close attention to details. Then I heard the beeping of my timer so I quickly got into the first pose I could think of with the flower and my hand in my hair and this is how it came out. I love the contrast between the red and green. I wasn't even thinking about that beforehand but afterwards I thought hey that was lucky. I feel that with a location like this you can't go wrong. It's just tough sometimes for me to come up with poses because I have no modeling ability whatsoever haha. But I am happy with the turnout. I don't usually like to give my photos an incredibly personal feel for myself, simply because I want other people to imagine themselves in the spot I'm sitting at, which is why I take lots of pictures with my back facing the camera or like this one where my eyes and face are hidden. I feel that pictures like this give other people a chance to envision themselves in my shoes. I like to take pictures other people can relate to and enjoy and sometimes this helps a little. But when I'm taking pictures for other people I do the opposite- I make them very personal for the person they are of so I make sure to get their faces and anything else that defines them in it.
Perry
Here is a chance for you to see my work with me behind the camera. This is a picture of my friend Perry. I took this photo back in October around the time I was first really getting into taking pictures. I'm still a beginner at photography so I consider myself a super beginner when I took this. Yet after 10 months of grown experience I still am very proud of this image. My friend Perry really does play the guitar and he one day suggested to me that I take pictures of guitars, but I felt that pictures of just guitars was a little too plain for my taste. So I suggested he be in the pictures with them! This was my second portrait shoot for a friend that I had ever done but there are so many from this day that I still like. We went up to a state park on the Hudson River called Vanderbilt Estates. They have the most beautiful "Italian Gardens" there and that is the spot I took most of the pictures. This one in particular is of a building that had this random door on the side and it was up high with no steps. So I made him sit on the ledge holding the acoustic guitar- which is actually mine, he took his 2 other electric ones but I personally like the look of acoustic guitars in photographs better, I feel it’s more natural or mellow as opposed to the loud electric guitars. I got so lucky with the composition of this shot. The bricks to the right balance out the vines to the left and the little thing on the top corner of the door looks really cool- I’m not sure what it is though. I was holding my camera when I took this; I didn't own a tripod at this point. After I put it on the computer I turned it into sepia because I think the contrast between the highlights and shadows look better that way and it gives it warm tones. It also makes the texture of the grass and wall stand out so much more. I'm pretty sure I used some vignetting in this too because of the bottom corners but the dark spots in the top corners are mostly dark because of the brick that was on the building. Despite being one of my earliest works I am still fond of this shot, and so was Perry.
Keep your eyes on the horizon
Back to a self-portrait! This isn't my most "popular" picture on flickr but it is my only picture that has made it to explore front page and has the most comments, favs, and views. (not that that necessarily means anything but I thought I’d talk about it because of that). This was taken at Long Beach Island, NJ around 6 in the morning. I woke up early on my vacation to take these and my dad was nice enough to come with me. I used my tripod for this shot and got into position, but since I had my dad there with me I told him to press the shutter for me when I was ready. The light from the morning sun was so beautiful and I loved how it was shining on the fence. This spot was at the opening of the walkway to get onto the beach, so once again I didn't get very far before I started taking pictures haha. The colors of the sky, sand and sea were amazing because of the morning light. But I made sure to get those sea grasses behind the fence in the picture because I love how it adds to it. I feel like it's such a simple portrait but it was taken at a beautiful time of day in a beautiful place. I made sure not to look at the camera because I wanted there to be a sense of wonder about what I was looking at and the title fit so well when I thought about it after I uploaded it to flickr. I only did a little processing to this, mostly with the cross processing effect. But I just had to leave it in color because of the gorgeous beach tones. This will always be a favorite of mine.
Thank you again Darrin for the opportunity to do another blog. I love what you do with your website and I'm so honored to be a part of it. If you'd like me to do any other posts about processing or something else I'd be more than happy to. Thank you thank you!
Sincerely,
Rikki
~wr~
Basically, I don't have very much "fancy" equipment. Whenever I see people with big cameras I always get excited or maybe it's jealous haha. The reason I don't have one is because when I went for my interview/portfolio review at the Hallmark Institute of Photography last october I asked the guy looking at my work which camera he recommended me to get. He told me straight out not to get one (even though my parents were planning on getting me one for christmas). The reason was because once I get the camera from Hallmark he said I would never use the other one because the cameras we get there are so immaculate and I’d be unhappy with that one afterwards, so he said not to waste the money. So I'm stuck with my little old point and shoot. I shoot with an Olympus FE280 - it's a little 8.0 megapixel, red point and shoot and it has done me well so far. I realize everyday how much I'm limited with it but I try to make up for it in post processing. I'm hoping this will make me a stronger photographer in the end and I’m going to be in heaven when I get the cameras from Hallmark!
I got you.
One nice thing I do have is a tripod! I don't think I’d live without that. I take mostly self-potraits because I don't have very many models, however I do take pictures of other people but I rarely post them on flickr for privacy reasons. I don't have a remote so I have to resort to my cameras 12 second timer. It can be very frustrating but it works. So this picture you see here was of me and my boyfriend. It's so hard to get him in a picture with me, but when I do I always love how they come out. I live near the Hudson River so there are some very beautiful places to take pictures. This one in particular was taken on a dock thats right next to the Mid-Hudson bridge. We had just gone out to dinner at a local restaurant on the river and afterwards I forced him to walk down to the dock with me, then I whipped out my camera and he groaned. haha. I didn't have my tripod with me so I had to set the camera down right on the dock and I ran to get in position next to him. I'm actually very happy that I didn't have my tripod because I love the different view it gave. You can see all the nails in the dock. I think it gives it a different perspective that's really special. I wasn't even considering the rule of thirds with this picture but it came out as if I did. After I got it on the computer I fixed the exposure a bit and turned it into black and white because the colors weren't anything vibrant. That's all I did for processing but it came out as a great, memorable shot.
Holding still
This shot here was completely planned out (for the most part) unlike some of my other shots. I've been to this location once before and it's a really magical place. So I had gotten a new dress the friday before I took this picture. I always take pictures in dresses so I was excited. I went out sunday afternoon to this place and it was very hot. I found the flower that I’m holding on the way to this bridge. I love Queen Anne's Lace , they are so beautiful and I was definitely using that in my picture because I love flowers. When I got to the bridge I had already had some poses in mind and this was one of them. I made sure to set my tripod on the bridge, but at a lower angle so it would have a nice personal perspective of me sitting on the bridge. I also made sure to sit on my shins and have my dress all fanned out like I did- close attention to details. Then I heard the beeping of my timer so I quickly got into the first pose I could think of with the flower and my hand in my hair and this is how it came out. I love the contrast between the red and green. I wasn't even thinking about that beforehand but afterwards I thought hey that was lucky. I feel that with a location like this you can't go wrong. It's just tough sometimes for me to come up with poses because I have no modeling ability whatsoever haha. But I am happy with the turnout. I don't usually like to give my photos an incredibly personal feel for myself, simply because I want other people to imagine themselves in the spot I'm sitting at, which is why I take lots of pictures with my back facing the camera or like this one where my eyes and face are hidden. I feel that pictures like this give other people a chance to envision themselves in my shoes. I like to take pictures other people can relate to and enjoy and sometimes this helps a little. But when I'm taking pictures for other people I do the opposite- I make them very personal for the person they are of so I make sure to get their faces and anything else that defines them in it.
Perry
Here is a chance for you to see my work with me behind the camera. This is a picture of my friend Perry. I took this photo back in October around the time I was first really getting into taking pictures. I'm still a beginner at photography so I consider myself a super beginner when I took this. Yet after 10 months of grown experience I still am very proud of this image. My friend Perry really does play the guitar and he one day suggested to me that I take pictures of guitars, but I felt that pictures of just guitars was a little too plain for my taste. So I suggested he be in the pictures with them! This was my second portrait shoot for a friend that I had ever done but there are so many from this day that I still like. We went up to a state park on the Hudson River called Vanderbilt Estates. They have the most beautiful "Italian Gardens" there and that is the spot I took most of the pictures. This one in particular is of a building that had this random door on the side and it was up high with no steps. So I made him sit on the ledge holding the acoustic guitar- which is actually mine, he took his 2 other electric ones but I personally like the look of acoustic guitars in photographs better, I feel it’s more natural or mellow as opposed to the loud electric guitars. I got so lucky with the composition of this shot. The bricks to the right balance out the vines to the left and the little thing on the top corner of the door looks really cool- I’m not sure what it is though. I was holding my camera when I took this; I didn't own a tripod at this point. After I put it on the computer I turned it into sepia because I think the contrast between the highlights and shadows look better that way and it gives it warm tones. It also makes the texture of the grass and wall stand out so much more. I'm pretty sure I used some vignetting in this too because of the bottom corners but the dark spots in the top corners are mostly dark because of the brick that was on the building. Despite being one of my earliest works I am still fond of this shot, and so was Perry.
Keep your eyes on the horizon
Back to a self-portrait! This isn't my most "popular" picture on flickr but it is my only picture that has made it to explore front page and has the most comments, favs, and views. (not that that necessarily means anything but I thought I’d talk about it because of that). This was taken at Long Beach Island, NJ around 6 in the morning. I woke up early on my vacation to take these and my dad was nice enough to come with me. I used my tripod for this shot and got into position, but since I had my dad there with me I told him to press the shutter for me when I was ready. The light from the morning sun was so beautiful and I loved how it was shining on the fence. This spot was at the opening of the walkway to get onto the beach, so once again I didn't get very far before I started taking pictures haha. The colors of the sky, sand and sea were amazing because of the morning light. But I made sure to get those sea grasses behind the fence in the picture because I love how it adds to it. I feel like it's such a simple portrait but it was taken at a beautiful time of day in a beautiful place. I made sure not to look at the camera because I wanted there to be a sense of wonder about what I was looking at and the title fit so well when I thought about it after I uploaded it to flickr. I only did a little processing to this, mostly with the cross processing effect. But I just had to leave it in color because of the gorgeous beach tones. This will always be a favorite of mine.
Thank you again Darrin for the opportunity to do another blog. I love what you do with your website and I'm so honored to be a part of it. If you'd like me to do any other posts about processing or something else I'd be more than happy to. Thank you thank you!
Sincerely,
Rikki
White Spider
18/08/10 20:06 Filed in: Bugs
I have had a hard time recently adding new material to my site. It seams more and more that my day job, my part time job, and being a parent have all come into play in keeping me more and more busy. Recently I have invited some incredibly talented photographers that I have found on Flickr to share their skill with you on this site. They have had several great posts.
In the last few weeks I have thought about what else I could add. I have not been able to get out and explore the beautiful landscapes that surround the Wasatch Front. This brings me back to the original question of what can I do to add interest?
My answer has been to look in my backyard. Each and everyone of us has many interesting things right under our nose. All we have to do is look. Recently I spent a couple of hours looking at the small items that are in our lives every day, but that we so easily overlook.
This thought again came to me when I was in our backyard recently. I was watering the plants when I noticed this white spider come out from hiding. I quickly grabbed my camera and macro lens and this was what I captured.
I decided to spend more time looking for additional small items. In the coming days I plan on adding more macro shots that are found by looking no further then my back yard.
My advice is if you are having a hard time finding new subjects or finding time to get out and explore far away areas take some time to look at the exotic things located in your backyard.
~wr~