A friend got permission for us to photograph in the boneyard of a logging company in the Applegate Valley. I’ve had a lot of fun processing each image for just the right look. I don’t really have a favorite, I chose this one because it is the last one I did. I took it into Nik Color Efex Pro to add detail and saturation. Then I turned around and took it into Topaz Texture Effects for an old timey look. I finally settled on the scratched bronze preset which gave me just the mood I was looking for.
Pier
Most of my photographic efforts this week have been directed at editing and processing images from the C
alifornia trip. It seems that every beach town in the state has it’s own pier. This one is in Cayucos just north of Morro Bay on Hwy 1. One thing about travel photography is that sometimes you are there when you’re there and the light sucks as in this case. I decided to try to make lemonade though and went for a serious grunge look using Topaz texture effects (they really should be paying me for all the times I mention them but they are not). Then I added a grungy border just to finish it off. I like it.
Tree Abstract
It was mostly about post processing this week though I did get out yesterday to find some Wood Ducks. Still I liked this abstract enough to designate it image of the week.
This was shot at the butterfly grove in Pismo Beach. I used a low ISO and slow shutter speed to capture this while deliberately moving the camera.
Then in Photoshop I added vibrance and saturation. Next I took it into Topaz Texture Effects and just started looking for something I liked in the presets. Once I found it I drilled down and started playing with the preset filters. I changed the texture to give it a more foresty look and changed the light leak to give a hint of a sunburst in the upper left. Then I added a border just for visual interest. I finished it off in Color Efex Pro with an image border so it wasn’t totally squared off.
I like that it is still obviously about trees but abstract enough that it is definitely not a straight photograph nor could it be easily reproduced. I think for photography to be art it should not be easy to reproduce, which is getting harder and harder to do.
Sea Otters
Sometimes you just know you’ve got the image of the week even though it is still early in the week. This was one of those times. I cropped a little but not too much, they were really close and I had a long lens. Some detail and saturation and maybe a little extra brightness on baby’s face.
Elephant Seal
Touring California’s central coast brought us to an elephant seal rookery yesterday. There were many great pictures but this one won for cuteness and the soulful look on the face of this young male seal who is perhaps dreaming of the day when he will be beach master and have a chance to mate.
Post processing was about as usual, a little detail, a little saturation and a little darkening of the corners.
Raindrops
This image was taken on a photo walk with my new Canon EOS M3. It had just started to clear after a rainstorm and the grass was covered with raindrops. I didn’t have a tripod with me but decided what the heck and started shooting away hand held. Not bad, eh? So far I’m pretty impressed with this little camera and have to congratulate Canon on fixing most of the things that didn’t work for me on the M classic.
Oak Leaf
Seems like about all I can find to photograph lately are dead oak leaves. But I am getting some pretty good images so maybe I will do a virtual gallery show that is just oak leaves. Or at least, just leaves. This one was processed using a new software program from Topaz called Texture Effects. I like the way it added some color around the edges and brought out the green grass blades.
Fountain
I have been experimenting with black and white lately. This image is a closeup of the base of the fountain across from the band shell in Lithia Park. I can’t say how many times I have walk by it and photographed either the whole fountain or the statuette on top but it never occurred to me until now to photograph the detail at the base. You can also see how badly it is crumbling when looked at up close. But part of the beauty of the 100 days project is I go back to places I’ve been before and see things I’ve missed or from a new perspective.
Sunset with Dog
This is an image I passed by in earlier editing because the sky was overexposed. It finally occurred to me as I sifted through images at the end of the year that I had the correct exposure on another frame without the dog. So, I blended the two images in Photoshop and came up with this beauty.
How did I do that, you may ask. Just open both images in Photoshop. Put the dog image on the bottom and the good sky image on the top. Add a layer mask to the top image. Select the brush tool and paint with black let the dog come through. I used the lines of the ocean and the rocks shadow to get a nice blend. I also had to insert a levels layer between the two images to help get the exposures to line up.
Image of the Year – Red Poppy
Well, it’s been a mad dash this week. I’ve been culling my files for my favorite images of 2015. I started with over 6500 images and ended with around 4000. Yes there is probably more opportunity for opening up disc space but it’s a good start. At the end of the day I had 65 images on my best of list and had to cut it down to 25, which in the end wasn’t that hard after all. I went through the list without seeing the images and certain ones just stood out in my mind.
Among the final 25 there were 6 flowers and 6 birds, three coastal sunsets, and only 4 that showed the hand of mankind. Ten could fall into the macro or closeup category, 6 had alternative processing, meaning a texture or painterly treatment was added after the fact. And two were black and white, which seems to be calling to me more these days. To see all 25, go to http://jeannehoadley.com/Fav2015.
But when it came down to choosing the image of the year this was more of a Sophie’s choice. I love them all but in my mind I kept coming back to the Pansies and the Red Poppy, though sunset with dog had it’s moments. On a different day I might have chosen differently but in the end I had to make a choice and today the red poppy rose to the top. As for the new sidebar image on this blog, I needed a vertical and the Iris was hands down my favorite of the three verticals.
I’m still not sure anyone is reading this blog but happiest of new years to you if you do!