Week 5 of 52 Photo Walk - 'Snowscapes'

I could have titled this week's 'The Education of the Photographer'.  Photographing snow is difficult at best.  And after this week's walk, I have a newfound respect for those who do it well.  


Investigating how to get the best photos prior to my shoot, I was shocked to find that you actually want to increase the exposure based on the reading in your camera by adding 1 to 2 stops to the reading you get thru the lens.  In my mind, I figured a bright source would require you to reduce the amount of light allowed in thru the lens.  Wrong!  I'm glad I did a little research prior to going on my shoot.  One of the best sources for information on photography I have found is Digital Photography School.  It's a great resource and community for photographers and wanna be photographers.

This week's installment contains a blessing from God.  Here in West TN it is rare to get a 'good snow'.  That's one that is over 2 inches and not gone by the next morning.  But this week, we got anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff and cold temperatures to boot that ensure it's going to be here for a while! 

I chose to go to the University of Tennessee - Martin campus for my shoot this week.  I had planned on shooting it in the spring time because of the beautiful flora on the 'Quad', and I will.  Hopefully, I did it justice.

This week I tried to take photos that conveyed cold, perspective, and beauty.  I'm drawn to the black and whites the most I think.  Maybe it's my fondness for Ansel Adams work.  You can let me know if I succeeded.

As always, see a larger version by clicking on the image.  And be sure to see the full set at either Picasa or Flickr.  Comments and critique are welcome ... encouraged actually!  Thanks for looking!


MG

Week 4 of 52 Photo Walk - Brrrr!!!!

Well, I'm off my soapbox and back to just taking pictures.  This week the theme is cold!  The walk took place this morning.  We had a fairly heavy frost and the temp was in the 20's.  Yeah, it's been colder, but I'm typically not out more than absolutely necessary when it's that cold.  Tomorrow they are calling for ice and snow, so who knows what photographic opportunities lie ahead.  I had hoped to capture the sunrise this morning, however because of the clouds, it failed to materialize as I had hoped.  Of course the sun rose, but it wasn't picturesque!

Ok, so I think I'll do this in a couple of sections.  First the photos I like, or the ones I know I like.  The one above didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but I think it is still an attractive photo.  I thought about cropping down the top to eliminate the negative space, but ultimately I decided to leave it as shot.

These next two, I really like.   The one on the left is another that didn't turn out as I had hoped.  I wanted the barbs in focus, but I actually like the way it turned out with the wire in between as the focal point.  I'll most likely shoot it again to try to achieve the look I want.  Not sure why the one on the right is so appealing, but I just find it so.

Now for those shots I can't really decide if I like or not.  I think they are technically good, but I'm not sold on the aesthetics.

Finally, a couple of shots to showcase a tree in my yard.  I think it is a Cockspur Hawthorne, but I've not confirmed that.  You have to pay attention when mowing, or you'll loose an eye!

Until next post ....

MG

As always, click on a photo to see the full scale version.  And don't forget to check out the my flickr photostream at the bottom of the page.

Week 2 of 52 Photo Walks - Rural Decay

I have two basic themes this week: Rural Decay and Memories.  This week's photo walk was at my Grandparents old place.  No one lives in the house now and the barn is going down fast.  I wasn't terribly happy with my photos while on the walk.  However, upon returning home and seeing them on the computer, I found several that I like and a couple of which I'm actually proud.  Of course, this is a learning journey and I discovered several things this week.  For one, when using the bracketing with raw images, you have to take a photo for each bracket.  That's not the case with the camera set to jpegs.  And I had only experimented with bracketing in the jpeg setting.  Once I realized what was happening, things went more smoothly.  This setting actually produced an image I'm oddly attracted to, shown below.  Although it doesn't actually fit in the theme of the week.

 I love the blue in the sky.  It's a result of exposure at -1 1/3 of the camera's settings.  The photo was also originally taken in black and white.  The ability to simply change the picture style is one reason why raw rocks!

For the rural decay are photos of the barn and also of the missing swing from the old walnut tree (shown also above).

I have two photos from the Memories theme.  Enjoy!

Click on any image to see a full size version. And be sure to check out my Flickr site!

52 Photo Walk - Week 1

Well it's been really cold here.  So my walk was a quick one, like just out of the car for about 5 minutes, then back into the warmth.  And since it's been so cold, it's only logical that the subject be ice.  While on my way to work in NW TN, I passed by Reelfoot Lake.  I couldn't believe how much of it was frozen.  These shots are taken at the Kiwanis Park area.  They're not what I had hoped for in quality, and as luck would have it, the one with the best content wasn't sharp enough to keep.  And that's one of the things this is all about ... improving my technique, along with improving my photographic skills/content.

Catnipped

Here's one from New Year's Eve.  We visited with friends and found one of their cats lying on the kitchen counter.  I have to admit that I replaced a Coke bottle with the rum bottled pictured.

52 Photo Walks

Well, it's a new year and here we are already 5 (almost 6) days in and I've yet to post to my blog.  My primary photo project this year will be 52 Photo Walks.  It's a pretty self describing project.  The goal is to conduct a walk with camera in hand at least once each week for a year.

Last year I planned on doing the 365 Self-portrait project.  I made it 4 or 5 days and then became bored with it.  Especially having to use myself as a subject!

Perhaps I can succeed in completing this year's project.  It's been pretty difficult to get started as it has been bitterly cold almost the entire year.  But I did manage to get a few photos today while out working in the Reelfoot Lake area.  I'll get them posted as soon as possible ... maybe tomorrow.