Category: Lensbaby

Day 43 – Sunflower

Sunflower2

I tried to shoot something this afternoon but my hear wasn’t in it. So, I had to go back to day 2 of the project where I found this sunflower. I was trying to capture the blue flowers out of focus for contrast. I added a texture to soften the image and emphasize the sunflower. In France I kept trying to see fields of sunflowers like you see in the travel photos. Alas, the sunflowers had passed their peak. there were a few places I might have been able to make something of the few flowers still in bloom but unfortunately, I was not in control of the bus. Perhaps I will revisit my favorite wild sunflower patch tomorrow.

Day 42 – Fading Hydrangea

Hydrangea

One of the realities of a 100 days project is that my motivation ebbs and flows. It’s pretty far on the ebb side right now. I decided to take a stab at photographing my fading hydrangea with the Velvet 85. That was all fine until I went out in my yard and realized that in two weeks the weeds have totally taken over again. I have volunteer chores coming at me from all directions, I have to go to the coast next week and check off September for the coast project and I just signed up for a new online color theory class. I just want to go back to France!

So, whine over, I processed this by adding a high pass filter though truth be told I don’t think the focus is quite in the right place. Should have taken out the tripod I guess. I then added a texture which really softened the image in a good way. I guess I would give this one a B. I’m not 100% happy with it but it’s not bad. Now off to pull weeds.

Day 41 – Bicycle

Bicycle

Well, I think I’ve about milked the camera walk in Arles for all it’s worth. Jet lag is still with me and I could not find the energy to go out and shoot today. But tomorrow I have something in mind so I hope it won’t be raining in the morning when I’m most awake. this one I processed in Topaz Studio to give it a grungy look. I just liked the blue which came out of nowhere.

Day 40 – Purple Shutter – Arles

PurpleShutter

It’s only 10 am and my energy is already flagging so in the interest of getting caught up I decided to offer up one more image from my camera walk with the sweet 50 in Arles. In this case I added clarity and vibrance and a little saturation and then added a texture which I think added a little interest. I made quite a study of street lamps in France. In Arles for some reason all of the glass had been removed but the frames remained decorative.

Day 39 – Farm – Willamette Valley

Farm

The clouds broke as I was traveling south so I decided to pull off the freeway for awhile and see what I could find to photograph. Plenty to photograph, not many places to pull off the road. I ended up with only two images for my effort. I decided to give this one a grunge effect in Topaz Studio 2. I was so tired when I got home I didn’t get this uploaded until today so I’m still playing catch up and hope I will get back on track soon.

Day 38 – Shuttered Window – Arles

ShutteredWindowArles

So, if my calculations are correct, yesterday was day 38. I got up in Arles at 3am to get to the Marsailles airport and went to bed in Portland, Oregon at 9:30pm Pacific which was about 5:30am the next day in Arles. Three airplanes, three countries, and three security lines did not give much time, not to mention energy for photography so here’s one more from my camera walk in Arles. The streets were so narrow it was hard to get these shutters fully in the frame. But I thought they had a lot of character and I love how the rough walls frame the blue shutters. Just added some clarity and vibrance and a touch of saturation. It is raining in Portland and will be apparently throughout my trek down the Willamette valley. I think Lensbaby and rain may be a match made in heaven but we’ll see what the day brings as I strive to come up with something new for day 39.

Day 37 – Window and Door – Arles

WindowanddoorArles

Those last few days in France were so busy there wasn’t much time to think about Lensbaby and of course the internet was hopeless so I’m still playing catch up from my hotel room in Portland. This is another one from my morning camera walk in Arles on my birthday. Arles is a big photography center and I can certainly see why. I would love to go back and spend a week or two exploring it’s scenic back streets. Again monotone seemed the right approach and this time I chose a sepia tone which almost captures the true color of the door.

Day 35 – Lamp

Lamp

Things kind of fell apart at the last hotel in France because the internet was so slow I couldn’t even upload a picture. So, now I’m playing catch up. This light fixture was captured in Carcasonne using the Sweet 50 on a camera walk around the Cite (sic) walls. I don’t really remember how I processed it all those days ago but I believe there was a vignette involved.

Day 34 – Le Chat

LeChat

I took the Sweet50 for a walk yesterday in Carcasonne. I found lots of fun things to photograph in shop windows, not to mention the medieval towers and buildings of the town. But this cat charmed me. I might have liked the focus point to be just a little lower but the cat was on the move so I only had one shot at it. In post I added contrast and detail and a vignette to put the spotlight on the cat.