White Amaryllis

I took this picture early in the day, before I decided the flash was just screwing everything up.

Viewed on the camera screen, I thought this was awful. There was no context! The flash had brightened the white flowers and killed the entire background! When I saw it on my computer screen, however, I liked it a lot more. I think it looks neat the way the flowers almost seem to be floating in nothingness.

I did clone out a little bit of stem at the bottom and played a little with the brightness and sharpness. But nothing too severe. I like the droplets of water on the petals, too. :)

Fall colours

This one I played with a little bit in post-processing.

This scene and therefore the image already had great colours. Late fall gave the gorgeous reds and oranges, and the sun was setting, leaving the pinks on the left. The water was quite still, giving a very beautiful reflection. So, what did I do to this?

First, I cropped it. I actually cut out most of the sunset, because that isn't what I wanted to focus on. Then I added some "warmth" to the picture. It gave the sky a slightly odd cast, but I think it made the rest of the colours pop even more. Third, I increased the saturation a bit, again, just to bring out those gorgeous colours even more.

I love this picture.

Leafy Waterfall

I go back and forth a lot on whether I like this one or not!

I do like the contrast between the large, colourful leaves that are sharply in focus and the muted rocks and waterfall in the background that are softly blurred. Maybe it's just the angle I'm not sure of. Anyway, minimal post-processing here. I cropped out some distractions to either side and did a very slight smidge of sharpening.

Blue Poinsettias

This is not as sharp as I would like, but it's still a fun and pretty picture.

I should maybe have darkened this one a bit. Hmm... Anyway, I did change the horizon so that I could get a nicer crop, cropped it heavily, and tried to sharpen it a little bit. It's hard to see, but the blue leaves also have sparkles on them! :) (Yes, the snow is very fake. This was an indoor display.)

Data Management: The Mundane Side of Photography

A very nice article about storing all those photos.

http://www.scottdavenportphoto.com/blog/2013/12/19/data-management-the-mundane-side-of-photography

Littlest Rainbow

FYI it is very hard for a camera to focus on a rainbow! Apparently the sensors can't figure out what/where/why.

Beautiful Girl

My Cleo is a little exhausted by all the paparazzi!

I love everything about this picture. Taken with my macro lens, I love the DOF.

Merry Christmas!

30 Day Challenge: Take 2

Looking back through old blog posts, it would appear I never actually shared the original 30 day challenge list. So here it is. On to the new!

I have wanted to take another stab at this challenge. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were items that didn't suit my interests and other things I thought were missing. Therefore, I'm editing the original list to better reflect my own photography goals and interests! I will begin on January 1.

The one thing I'm struggling with is the order. I'm currently leaning towards being a little flexible with the actual order these are done in, since many need a specific location or can't be dictated. (I can't force a bird to appear on the appropriate day, as much as I would like to! And I'm not going searching for one if it's 30 below.)

Here's my challenge. Let me know if you're going to join me!

Holiday Lights

Mickey, Minny, Snoopy, and all the rest are wishing you a very happy holiday!

Christmas: Bright Snowman

Another from an older set. Cropped and sharpened a bit to compensate for being hand held.

Christmas: Ornament 2

Another cell phone picture. Again, I'm quite pleased with the crispness and DOF on this one. I loved how shiny and sparkly this ornament was!

Christmas Angel

An older picture from a set that convinced me hand held just doesn't work at night. :) Cropped and slightly sharpened.

Save on a how-to Video!

An email today from the Digital Photography School:

On the eighth day of Christmas dPS gave to me ...

A 30% saving on the FroKnows Photos Beginner Training Course

You can watch a sample and pick up a copy here:

http://froknowsphoto.com/dps12days/

One thing is for certain The Fro does know photos and in his entertaining, but very practical training course he’s going to drag you out of auto-mode and get you taking the photos you want.

It’s really hard to look away when Jared is in front of the camera, his upbeat and high energy approach ensures a fun and enjoyable learning experience.

This makes it a training program you’re actually going to see through to the end, with a big smile on your face and a whole bunch of new photography skills.

Today you can enrol in this GEM of a course for just $47 -- a never seen before discount.

All the details and a sample of what to expect in these courses can be found through the link below. It's worth having a look even just for the intro video.

http://froknowsphoto.com/dps12days/

All the best,

Darren Rowse
digital-photography-school.com

PS: You can also grab both Fros Beginners Video Guide (above) AND his new 3-hour guide to Flash Photography for just $97 -- a saving of 38%!  Details here: http://froknowsphoto.com/dps12days/

Christmas: Ornament 1

I love Christmas tree ornaments.

Macro lens.

Christmas: Poinsettia

Ho ho ho! Time to get in the spirit of the season and enjoy some holiday themed pictures!

I was really quite impressed with how well this came out - because it's a cell phone picture! This is a very pretty Poinsettia. I contemplated stealing it.

Wildlife Wedneday: Rabbit

Because I haven't posted one of our amazing urban jackrabbits in a long time.

This was for a photo class assignment. The goal was to frame something - so this little one is framed by the tree branches.

SAIT building

I was a little early getting to a meeting-type-thing at SAIT in Calgary, so I thought I would stretch my legs a bit and get some air before heading inside for the next several hours. I found this really neat building, and grabbed a quick picture of it. I think it's fun, but it doesn't annoy me by wasting precious space on the ground.

Old Truck of Awesomeness

I loved this truck when I saw it.

I loved it more when the owner started it up so I could see the brake lights! They would look AMAZING at night.

Sunset on the go

This photo was taken through a dirty bus window (thus the spots). This is the result of burying you good camera at the bottom of your bag! 

This photo was a guinea pig for using the Aviary app on my phone to edit a picture. Adjusting contrast,  brightness, at saturation were incredibly simple. For quick edits, I'm already in love.

Pros: surprisingly sharp - I was expecting blurry since we were charging down the highway at 110+ km/hr

Cons: spots spots spots. Tilted horizon - or maybe that's just hills that make it look that way, but still. a little bit ick.

Is this a museum?

Not the types of objects you see every day... a real payphone and TWO paper phone books!

I took this picture with my cell phone. It's not a great shot and I was trying to avoid being too obvious to all the people milling around! But I took it anyway and I'm posting it because it's part of my idea to look in all places for photo opportunities. From straight on I think this might be a really neat image, with that brilliantly yellow wall. (Yes, Butterdome.) 

Turtle in Turtle Town

After posting yesterday's picture of the fish in Turtle Town, I suddenly realized I've never shared the turtle who came to visit us in Turtle Town!

Turtle Town is an area on the coast of Maui where many turtles like to live. This one came swimming out to our boat, and actually ended up swimming right under us! Stunning, amazing, incredible...

Clear Water

The water in Turtle Town was so brilliantly clear!

Wildlife Wednesday: Mountain Sheep

Once again, shot from inside the car - this time on my own side of the vehicle though! Jasper National Park.

Helping Hand

This is not actually a junk yard!

At Chump Car 2011, the man who drove the crane truck was very helpful when not needed to get broken vehicles off the track. He lifted this car on and off a raised area so the team could work underneath it more easily. Beautiful image with the setting sun in the background.

Peacock

Wandering around Toulouse, France, we found a beautiful park... with peacocks and peahens, just wandering around! What wonders you find in a milder climate. :)

Little Lizard

This adorable little one is just tiny. Wish I'd had a macro lens back then! Or at least taken the time to use the macro setting on my camera.

(Taken in Bayonne, France)

Classic car

I love classic cars, and here is another one that has been beautifully restored.

And the dash - so simple, clean, gorgeous!

View from La Romieu

Yesterday I showed you the doorway to a flight of narrow stairs. Well, I DID climb (and descend) those horrible stairs, and I was rewarded with this view, about half way up. (The mesh around the top spoiled my pictures, but the view was incredible.) It's really beautiful countryside.

Tiny Passage

The picture isn't straight. I'm not up to fixing it right now. Let's move on.

This small doorway to a small, narrow, tall, twisty stairway is in a stunningly beautiful church in La Romieu, France. The church was built before Europe knew there was a "new world". Walking on stones laid so long ago was an amazing experience.

Young Deer

On Flickr I captioned this one "What big ears you have..."

I was the passenger, and this little one was on the driver's side. Taken in Jasper National Park.

Tips from the pros

I haven't posted an outside link in ages! Here's a good one. (15) Photography Tips That 96 Photographers Wish They Would Have Learned Sooner. (The title makes the article sound scary, but it is boiled down to 15 fairly concise tips.)

Flower Stairs

I guess they must use the backdoor now.

(Taken in Miradoux, France)

Limos!

These limos mark one end of a salvage yard. Very creative! I like the dark sky with the (mostly) white limos.

Macro of a Bee

I love macros. Now that I have a proper lens, maybe I can get more like this. (Once the weather warms up.)

Balance...

The toy was balanced on her nose. When we tell her she can have it, the result is a flung toy that she has to chase!

Sunrise

This is NOT the result of post-processing. It really was that spectacular.

Family Time

Inside the Art Gallery of Alberta

Sand sculptures

A small sand sculpture display just off Whyte Ave.

Canada Day Fireworks

My most disappointing photo outing of the summer. I brought the camera and the tripod and fresh batteries and an empty memory card. I checked for trees and power lines and people.

I didn't notice the little switch had flipped from auto focus to manual focus, so I assumed the camera was focusing and it was not. A couple ended up accidentally in focus - sort of. But I had a couple hundred blurry smudges.

Cariwest Parade

Citadel Plants

The goal was to take a photo of the plants in the Citadel. I just wasn't feeling excited by anything. So I changed my point of view! Still not my fave ever, but an interesting shot.

Star Trails

This was about a 25 or 30 minute exposure at our camp site in northern Sask.

Dragon Boat Races

Most delicious scavenger hunt

Merlin

Painting with mud

Sure, that's a path...

Playtime!

Ring-Billed Gull

Birds, part 2! Today will focus on the Ring-Billed Gull, one of many different gulls you can find around here.

Angry bird is angry! I believe he was angry at another gull, but who knows. As you can see, whatever it was, it wasn't close.

I caught this one having a snack. I am very pleased with the timing, but I'm also sharing it because of the vibrant colours. The oranges and reds are stunning.

BE GONE!

Seriously, it looks like the one on the right is casting a spell at the one on the left. And the spectators seem none too concerned about what's going on. "Oh, it's just Maggie getting mad Joe was out late again." Really pleased with a lot of things in this picture, but wondering if maybe I should have cropped it more at the top, or even cloned the people out...

My favourite of this bunch! Really pleased with the timing, the crispness on the bird to the left, and the colours. It was actually quite empty water around them, but I cropped it way in to just focus on the birds. Thoughts?