photography – A Half Hour a Day

Scott’s Call for Color

November 9, 2012November 9, 2012kanniduba2 Comments

Well well well! Seems I’ve come alive just in time for Scott’s last photography assignment of 2012!

This new assignment is “Color Composition” and Scott has (as always) included some helpful links to articles on the very subject. This assignment is due to be posted on or before Midnight (your time zone), Wednesday, November 21, 2012.

Thought I would search through some of my old photographs to see if I could find a few worthy examples. I found a few, but discovered in my search that I rely much more heavily on line, shape, and placement of the subject than I do on color. Should be an interesting challenge to focus on just color.

Happy Hunting!!

Driven to Abstraction

March 22, 2012kanniduba5 Comments

Well, I’m a day late and a dollar short again, but I figured I would post anyway seeing how I actually have something to post for Scott’s latest challenge! Abstract photography was the topic, and I have said before how I love making abstract images. Problem is I have trouble seeing the possibilities without my extension tubes attached. But, the past couple of weeks I’ve been stretching my brain a little to see the abstract around me.

The first image is one I took when I brought home paint swatches to formulate a plan for painting my kitchen…here, the many shades of white:

Next, I was able to capture a glorious morning sunrise…by purposely blurring the shot, it took on an abstract quality:

The next photo was the bark of my maple tree. I thought it looked a bit like alligator skin, and the texture really jumped out in black and white:

This last one was a photo of the same tree taken during the snowstorm on March 1st. (Hard to believe it was snowing just 3 weeks ago…it is 80 degrees here today!) I “cheated” and messed around with the shot in post to give it an abstract quality:

So there you have it! I think I’ll be playing with this concept of “abstraction” a bit more in the weeks to come. But I leave you with a photo that is NOT an abstract, but wanted to share with you anyway…my budding lilac bush. The buds started to swell on Sunday, and have already gotten this far. So sweet.

Art in the Abstract

March 8, 2012kanniduba13 Comments

Scott is taking us on a new adventure this month in challenging us to explore Abstract Photography. Dictionary.com defines this form of art as follows: “of or pertaining to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc.,especially with reference to their relationship to one another.” I love capturing abstract images. The problem is, I often have difficulty “seeing” them in our everyday surroundings. I “see” them much easier when I have my extension tubes on and am taking macro shots. Somehow, wide angle abstract eludes me. Perhaps this will be my challenge this month…to see the abstract without the macro lens attached.

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Go on over to Scott’s place and check out this month’s challenge if you haven’t already done so! And if you need some inspiration, head on over to Flickr and check out Kozology’s photostream. I have highlighted his photography before, and believe he is a Master. Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands before you click the link. You could get lost in his art for hours. 🙂

Happy seeing!

Rule of Thirds

January 7, 2012January 7, 2012kanniduba5 Comments

So, Scott gave us a new Challenge. Run on over there to check out the details! Since he gave us a lot of leeway and didn’t require new photos, I figure I have no excuse for not participating. I will work on getting some new photos, but for now I decided to go back through my photo stream to pick some ready made examples of the Rule of Thirds.
When I first became tuned in to this rule for photographers, I began noticing its use everywhere…every cinematically brilliant piece I saw, I got distracted noticing the rule put to use on the big screen…for example, this:

Or this:

Or even this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwmYs-lQeD4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

All of them beautiful, and I’m sure that attention to this rule at the right moments helps make them so.

I can’t say that I attend to this rule thoughtfully, but I do think I tend to apply it naturally. I don’t use the grid lines….in fact, I don’t even know how to turn them on (she says somewhat shamefully) but I suppose I must “see” them in my mind’s eye as I shoot…maybe??? Or maybe not? In truth, I don’t consider rules with my head when I shoot…I just shoot. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it’s not, but I think we can over think these things sometimes.

But let’s have a look, shall we?
First, an older favorite taken in Saratoga Springs, NY. Although the subject is centered, the horizontal planes follow “the rule” so I think it works as an example, don’t you?

An early morning sunrise in Ocean City, NJ:

A shot from the Adirondack Balloon Festival, taken two years ago:

This is Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine in Orlando, Florida. This one is debatable I think. Some would say no, it doesn’t work as an example because the focus is up the center aisle, but I still see thirds, again working horizontally. What do all you experts out there say about this one?

And two favorites from Ocean City, NJ taken this past summer.

None of these shots were cropped, so I will go and do that next. Maybe I’ll pull a Karma and offer up more than one challenge post! 😉 In any case, you have plenty of time to jump in and participate! Stay tuned for my official entry.

Precious Moments

January 2, 2012January 2, 2012kanniduba9 Comments

I used to hate having my picture taken. I find that is the case with most people who love photography…they are much more comfortable behind the camera than they are in front of it. But time goes so fast…these precious moments pass quickly. We should allow them to be captured so they can be savored in memory again and again. A challenge to all you photographers that read over here…in the New Year, give up control of that camera a little more often, and allow YOUR precious moments to be captured.