{click image to view large}
Walking the streets before sunrise on my way to the lakefront, the colors in this image are as seen! It was only after returning home that I realized I’ve passed this window many times, and the blind is white.
I wonder what was shining through from behind…
●●●
Nikon D300; f4.5 @ 1/90 sec, ISO 3200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 40mm (60mm EFL); focus distance 1.12m
{click image to view large}
This was discovered on one of my morning walks through the alleys in our neighborhood—which are a great place to look for textures. The spot of sunlight was a bonus!
●●●
Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 280 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 56mm (84mm EFL); focus distance 2.24m
{click image to view large}
Note the focal length of this image, cropped only from 3:2 to 4:3. The cloud formation was huge.
See the little tiny speck near the lower edge, toward the right? That is a bird. 🙂 There’s enough resolution in the original file to actually discern its shape.
Cloud Play №1 was photographed in the parking lot of a Walgreen’s drugstore, and Cloud Play №2 in the parking lot of a local shopping mall. This was photographed just before 6AM at an intersection one block from my house. Even living in a city, I’m discovering there are pockets of space in which to enjoy such glorious skies!
●●●
Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 1250 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 48mm (72mm EFL); focus distance 21.13m
{click image to view large}
…which so easily go unnoticed in our everyday life.
This was photographed in morning light while making the bed on vacation in a “Mountain Hideaway”.
I’m discovering that it’s easier to notice such details when on vacation. 🙂
Now my question is how to view everyday life as an ongoing vacation, which one source defines as “an extended period of recreation.” That seems especially apt!
●●●
Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f4.5 @ 1/30 sec, ISO 400 (handheld);
Focal length: 10.2mm (67mm EFL)
{click image to view large}
Another photograph taken during the recent Miksang workshop in Boulder. As we endure 96F heat and high humidity in Chicago, this image struck me as especially inviting to process. 😉
The white flecks were puffs of cottonwood seed floating on the pond’s surface, but remind me of falling snow or cherry blossoms.
●●●
Nikon D300; f11 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 720 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 2.24m
{click image to view large}
Photographed in my hotel in Boulder, Colorado while attending the Miksang Institute Summer Program. I’ve ordered a metal print* for our bathroom at home. 🙂
*I’ve never tried a metal print before. This is coming from bayphoto.com, and I’ll let you know how it turns out!
●●●
Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/60 sec, ISO 3200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 170mm (255mm EFL); focus distance 2.24m
{click image to view large}
One of my favorite images from the Miksang Summer Institute Program in Boulder, Colorado—where I recently spent two wonderful weeks immersed in contemplative photography.
Photographed at high noon on the Pearl Street Mall, our assignment was to capture moments involving people. This was one “fish” that didn’t get away. 🙂
In the discussion on contemplative photography, Marti wrote:
…to capture “life” or just a moment that catches our attention, I think we need to worry less about the “rules” when shooting.
Other than having the camera set for fast exposures, there was definitely no time to think about “rules” when this fleeting moment caught my eye!
●●●
Nikon D300; f8 @ 1/750 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 7.94m
{click image to view large}
A red car, green leaves, and blue overcast light: RGB!
Peering through foliage to find a clear shot, the in-camera square format helped convey an impression of tapestry as I saw it.
But, the highly saturated complimentary colors created some nasty fringing around the edges of the leaves—challenge a lens/confuse the sensor. 😉 After trying several correction methods found online, I made up a solution for this particular image. In Photoshop:
This result isn’t quite print-ready, but with some refinement I think it could be. Getting it to print within gamut, however, is likely another thing altogether.
●●●
Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f4 @ 1/50 sec, ISO 400 (handheld);
Focal length: 45.6mm (299mm EFL)
{click image to view large}
Walls and viaducts supporting elevated trains are ubiquitous in Chicago. In my walks, I’m fascinated by their colors, textures and the tenacity of plant life which attaches itself on or in close proximity.
There’s an oddly organic quality to these hard, concrete structures…
●●●
Panasonic DMC-FZ40; f5.6 @ 1/40 sec, ISO 100 (handheld);
Focal length: 5.1mm (28mm EFL)
{click image to view large}
I pass this statue often on my walks to the library. The other day, this branch from a nearby tree was entwined in her hand—likely blown there by the wind. Though both the leaves and the statue are somewhat worse for wear, it struck me as a poignant scene.
●●●
Nikon D300; f5.6 @ 1/90 sec, ISO 3200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 200mm (300mm EFL); focus distance 3.16m
