Black Hills Silhouette

1/250s f/10.0 ISO100 18mm

Reflective at the lake

 

Ive always had a bit of an obsession with reflection photography and the way it brings new shapes and forms to the attention of the viewer. This reflection was captured in the Black Hills State Park in South Dakota at Silvan Lake Lodge. It was in late july i was on vacation with family and of course toting my camera everywhere i went (never know when you’ll stumble on a brilliant opportunity). After finishing a hike around the lake i came to a stop in front of the lodge and found myself facing this reflection. I don’t recall my camera setting as it changed throughout the trip depending on the scenery but the exif info is below.

1/250s f/10.0 ISO100 18mm 

Ethanol Plant Night Light

This night shot of the ethanol plant in Watertown SD was taken just after sun set so i had the benefit of some residual light in the sky but not too much. I did most of my editing in adobe aperture with exception to cropping. The editing was simple and not to time consuming. I simply moved a few levels sliders to bring out the color and then saturated those colors. i also cloned out a pesky little branch that found it way in front of my subject. then i moved it to photoshop and resized to 15×10 72dpi and posted here as large.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i 15s f/4.5 ISO100 25mm

Colorful Character

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Illinois Sunset

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While home for Christmas i decided to take advantage of the great sunsets this being one of them. i took the picture across the field from the back yard of my parents place. I used aperture to amp up the color and contrast and photoshop to crop and copyright.

1/80s f/5.6 ISO100 26mm

Natural Light Portrait

This natural light image was taken in front of a window on the second story of the Watertown courthouse. It was taken to fulfill a class assignment illustrating natural light in a portrait. Basic editing such as skin smoothing and sharpening was applied with aperture. Resizing and watermarking was done in photoshop.

Canon T3i 1/100s f/5.6 ISO800 135mm

Weston Emulation

This little habanero was taken for a class project. The challenge was to emulate Edward Weston’s pepper photo. Im certainly no Weston but i gave it a shot. It was a bit of a struggle at first but finally i figured out that i was too close to the window. After moving away a bit the project became much easier. After taking the pic i put it in aperture, changed it to b/w with a green filter and cropped it. i then moved it to photoshop where i played with contrast and a bit of dodge and burn here and there. Eventually this is what i got my very own Weston emulation.

Canon t3i 6s f/5.0 ISO400 50mm

Shutter Speed

Playing with shutter speed can open all sorts of creative doors in this case an semi-abstract path. I was following a well worn trail in Sica Hollow State Park in SD with a few friends and turned back to see the path winding into the sunny woods. I took the opportunity to play with shutter speed the result being a little painterly and a little abstract. It seems to me to exude both calm and motion something i can’t help but like. A work of fine art probably not but another image to add to my favorites maybe so.

Canon EOS REBEL T3i 1/10s f/23.0 ISO400 50mm Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh

Canon Focus

This post was chosen to fulfill an assignment on selective focus and depth of field. It was taken at Sica Hollow State Park in South Dakota. I set my lens down when i was ask to pose for a picture at which point i noticed the reflection. It was taken on somewhat a spur of the moment whim but it turned out to be one of my best non-portrate pictures from the trip.

1/100s f/5.0 ISO400 52mm

Complimentary Minerals

This colorful assortment is an entry meant to fulfill a photography class assignment for complimentary colors. The orange and blue stone toward the middle presented a few complications as it only reflects if the light hits it at certain angles. The only light source I used was my built in flash so the picture had to be taken from a specific angle. In addition I could only see my subject when the flash was going off. My own fault for choosing those lighting circumstances but I think in the long run it was the right choice. Overall I am happy with the results and will most likely continue to incorperate complimentary colors into my work when it is beneficial.

1/60s f/2.8 ISO400 50mm