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.

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.

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.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunset over Lake Astotin

0.4sec, f/2.8, exposure bias -2/3, ISO 80, focal length 5.2mm

Sunset

Another 30 Day Challenge was to get a sunset. I played around with the settings and such, but in the end, letting the camera do its own thing on the "sunset" setting was the best.

While I was attentive to the time I needed to head outside at, I neglected to think of where I would take this picture, so the colours are there, but the view is somewhat less than interesting. It wouldn't be bad if not for the power lines. I think the dark frame on three sides really makes the oranges stand out. Regardless, here is a non-challenge picture of a much more spectacular view.

Imagine the colours if I had known about the sunset setting! Hawaiian sunsets (at least the ones I saw) seem to be very pink, while the ones at home are often very orange. I wonder if that has anything to do with altitude.

Yes, this picture breaks the rule of thirds "law", which I didn't know about at the time, but I think it really works. I love the frame of the dark foliage, particularly the little fringe at the top. I would not change the composition of this one, except perhaps to straighten the horizon just a hair - I took this free-hand.