A new series - People!

I asked my friend the other day for some ideas for a theme I could use when I went out to take pictures that lunch. She came up with several great ideas I was tossing around (and will keep for later), and then she gave me one that made my blood run cold.

People.

Normally, I resist taking photos of people, because I'm very afraid that people will think I'm a creepy stalker. I also have a wonderful tendency to catch them with funny looks on their faces, or strange background objects.

Therefore, this seemed like the perfect challenge for me. Something to push me out of my comfort zone. So over the next few days, I hope you enjoy my forays in to stalker-dom, as I try to capture some pictures of people.

The first shot I'm posting is not actually the first one I took. The rest of the person is actually sitting in a little alcove, but from the angle, you can't see that. What you do see is the reflection of his legs, making it look almost like there are just 2 pairs of legs, from the knees down, lying on the floor.

There were tricky lighting issues because of the windows, which was probably good - my instinct had been to go full zoom and stay far away. But the picture was terrible. So it forced me to get closer to a subject who wouldn't even know I was there, and likely wouldn't care (since he is completely unidentifiable.)

If I were to do it over, I would step slightly to the left so as not to cut off the toes in the reflection. And I would try taking the picture from the other end of the hall, by the red planter, for comparison.

In between time

Tomorrow I plan to start a new theme of pictures, but in the mean time, here's a "blast from the past" - a photo I took in Spring 2008.

This was taken in May, and look how extensive the flowers were already! This sight was everywhere, these beautiful flowers climbing up old walls, snaking around windows and doors. Gorgeous.

A different kind of subject for colours

Colours of fall don't only exist outdoors, they also show up in glorious fashion indoors - particularly in the kinds of foods we eat in the fall.

This weekend I made a wonderful chili - but capturing it "on film" was very hard! Daylight was gone, so I tried a variety of ways to transmit those rich colours in to a photograph - red from the tomatoes, beans and red pepper, yellow corn, orange pepper, and black beans. Tasty fall harvest colours!

In the end, this was taken using a manual white balance setting for "tungsten" lights, as that seemed to do the best job of compensating for the lighting. Other attempts turned the whole thing a rather unhealthy red, or else unappetizingly grey. I still don't think I quite got it, and I may try again if I get home while there's still enough natural light.

Fall? Really?

Honestly, this IS a fall picture! I took it on the same day as all the leaves, and even as yesterday's pictures of the scarecrow and pumpkins.

I'm not bothered in the least that this lovely rose didn't quite get the message that fall is here and it's time to stop blooming. Unfortunately, the petals are so pale and it was so bright out, that if I didn't use my body to cast shade on the rose, it was completely whited out. There was a lovely bush in behind it that had turned completely red, that I wanted to contrast it with. However, it wasn't to be!

Images of Fall

These two are from the same house, but they were a little set apart so I did two pictures instead of trying to fit it all in to one.

I'm impressed that I managed to take both pictures on a slight angle - how foolish! I shouldn't be making that kind of mistake any more. I'll blame it on the fact that I was standing in the middle of the road. Overall, not great pictures, but I still like the subject. Cheery and seasonal. Very nice!

Halloween!

You can't take a look at the colours and spirit of fall, without including Halloween!

This was taken with my cell phone camera, so it's not the best picture. The sun was also in an awkward spot, but I wasn't going to be around at a more convenient time, so here it is! This is a great yard for the holiday (IMO). It's not just random stuff, there's actually a bit of a plan and some unity to the whole look and design.

As for the quality of the picture... well, the best I can say is that at least it's in focus. The road here is too busy for me to feel comfortable going out in to the middle to take a better shot - not without another person with me to watch for cars.

                                                 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Colours of Fall, part 3

These colours are completely different, but equally fall. That clear, but cold blue sky says winter is not too far away. The pine tree has pushed out an absolute plethora of pinecones, most of which still have their places on these upper branches. I just love how the tree is completely framed by the unbroken blue. I feel like it could somehow have been framed or set up better, but I'm not sure how, just off the top of my head.

Colours of Fall part 2

The colours in this bush are very different from yesterday's. Here the leaves have that beautiful yellow gold, tinged here and there with orange and red. The dark berries make such a fabulous contrast.  I wasn't at quite the right angle to get the same great clarity of the leaves as yesterday's picture, unfortunately. So the colours are clear, but the sharp details of the actual leaves are missing.

Colours of Fall

I'm going to do several photos over the next few days, trying to capture fall. I guess the bare branches from a couple of days ago would be the first, and the multi-colour tree from the 19th, as well.

If you have any suggestions for other themes I might try, leave a note!

I am completely in love with the colours in this bush. The reds with a touch of gold and orange. So rich and stunning. There's even a single brownish berry to the top left. I love the clarity of the leaves in the center, you can see the very veins of each leaf.

Comparison

Yesterday morning there was a lovely view from my office window. The sky was all kinds of pretty colours from the remains of the sunrise. I tried taking the pictures two different ways. First, I used essentially "automatic" settings (P setting). (Note that both pictures were taken through the same window.)

Contrast that with the second picture, where I used the "sunset" presetting.

In the end, they are both failures. The first washed out a lot of the colour, while the second just made everything too dark. I will definitely have to take more direct control next time I want to capture colours in the sky, as leaving the camera to sort it out just results in disappointment. Lesson learned! (If I had to pick one, I would take the first. I think overall the colours are truer than in the second.)