Reverse 365: Desire - Day 48/365 2.17.13

A completely creative edit to take me back to one of the first photos I posted on the blog (it is also my blog button). Ahh, the power of white balance!

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/80, f/14

Date: April 13th, 2012

Location: Birch Bay Park

Day 48/365 - February 17th, 2013

"Desire makes life happen. Makes it matter. Makes everything worth it. Desire is life. Hunger to see the next sunrise or sunset, to touch the one you love, to try again. Hell would be waking up and wanting nothing, he agrees." - Karen Marie Moning

Good to Wow SOOC: Fallen Leaves 10.22.11

The prompt for the Good to Wow Challenge this week was Memories. I really had no idea what I was going to shoot or what the concept for my shot would be. All I knew, my intention, was to not force it. I just wanted it to happen naturally during my day of photographing. On Sunday I spent the day driving around, catching up and taking pictures with my best friend. Due to all the picture taking I have been experiencing fall in a new way this year. While my friend and I were out and about we commented on how many of our kids (we are both kindergarten teachers) have not experienced raking leaves into a pile and jumping in them. This brought back memories of when my dad used to make a big pile of leaves and I would jump in them and then spend hours making him rake again so I could jump over and over. I did not have a rake with me :o), but these shots reminded me of the joy that fall brings. Even though there was no big pile I did spend a few moments shuffling my feet through the leaves and fondly remembering my childhood.

Here are my SOOC shots, the leaves are just begging to be enjoyed whether off the tree or on it...

Settings: ISO 400, 30mm, ss1/500, f/6.3 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/500, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/500, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)

"My memories are inside me - they're not things or a place - I can take them anywhere." - Olivia Newton-John


Linking up with Good to Wow! Head over and check out the other SOOC shots.

Shades of Autumn: Orange 10.22.11

Today I spent the day admiring the fall colors. I was able to drive myself around and spend some time with my best friend as I finally got a new car. The colors were beautiful and the range of shades had me captivated. My goal was to of course capture the Shades of Autumn color of orange, but also to communicate the essence of fall. The changing colors and changing of the landscape are what makes fall such a breathtaking season. The variety of oranges that I had the privilege to see was astonishing. It was a great day of shooting!


Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/125, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 
Taken at Flaming Geyser State Park
Post Processing: Basic settings and vignette in Lightroom

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/160, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 

Taken at Flaming Geyser State Park

Post Processing: None - SOOC

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm ss1/500, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb) 

Taken in Enumclaw

Post Processing: None - SOOC

Settings: ISO 400, 28mm ss1/200, f/6.8 (full manual) 

Taken at the local Fred Meyer

Post Processing: Crop and spot removal in Lightroom

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." - Emily Bronte

Linking up with the Shades of Autumn Challenge. Check out the other orange shots!

Project 64: Gold Toned Foliage 10.22.11

The color at Project 64 this week was gold, which is a very hard color to find in nature. I was determined to try. I went on my first photography exploration in my new car and while I did not find the literal color gold I did find golden tones. These photos were taken at Flaming Geyser State Park. Fall is certainly in full swing the Pacific Northwest and it is beautiful!

Settings: ISO 400, 30mm, ss1/320, f/11 (full manual, cloudy wb)
Post Processing: Split Toning in Lightroom and Straightened in Photoshop

Settings: ISO 400, 46mm, ss1/100, f/5.6 (full manual, cloudy wb)
Post Processing: Basic settings adjusted in Lightroom

"As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time." - John Mason

Head over to Project 64 to see the other gold finds and Sunday Snapshot to see the shots people want to remember!

 

Favorite Photo of the Week: Factoria Sunset & Gasworks Park

Late posting today as I had a book club meeting. After photography and travel, my next favorite activity is reading and talk about books. Needless to say I had a wonderful time. As for the photos, I had two and I just could not decide between the two. So I decided not too. I hope you don't mind :o).

Favorite #1 - Gasworks Park 10.08.11

The starbursts and framing are what I love the most and that I was able to get a night shot even with a lot of wind.

Settings: ISO 800, 24 mm, ss13.0secs, f/23 (full manual on tripod)

Post Processing: Cropped and added orange and brown photo filters

"No matter the sky is black or blue,
No matter there is stars or moon,
As long as Your heart is true,
Sweet dreams will always be with You." - Unknown

Linking up with Fabulous Friday and Favorite Photo Friday. Be sure to check out the other photos!

   

Favorite #2 - Factoria Sunset 10.15.11

I still can't believe that this sky is SOOC, I am really proud of that. 

Settings: ISO 800, 109mm, ss1/100, f/7.1 (full manual)

Post Processing: Spot removal and noise reduction

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." - Ansel Adams

Linking up with Favorite Photo of the Week and Photo Friday Link Party. There are many great shots to check out by clicking below.

 

Good to Wow SOOC: Pumpkins 10.15.11

For the Good to Wow Challenge this week the prompt was pumpkins. I was not too excited about heading out to capture the shots as the sky was overcast and the first pumpkin patch we drove by was so crowded that I couldn't see how I would get the photos I wanted. Driving down the road a ways we found a road side farm stand with a small pumpkin patch. The people there were friendly and it was the perfect setting to take my time shooting different angles. As for the overcast sky, I mentioned yesterday that I used the cloudy setting for white balance on my camera as I don't think I can dial in the Kelvin setting. I think it brought out the orange of the pumpkins and made the pictures feel warm. In some cases maybe a little too warm, but overall I am happy with the outcome. All in all it was a very productive day of shooting as you can see by the fact that I am once again breaking my own rule and posting more than one photo :o). Thank you for stopping by and I would love to know what you think about the white balance. Oh, and if you have a favorite please let me know. I had a very hard time narrowing these down!

Here are my straight out of camera shots...

Settings: ISO 200, 55 mm, ss1/100, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 200, 51 mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 200, 55 mm, ss1/200, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 200, 40mm, ss1/250, f/5.6 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 200, 55mm, ss1/160, f/6.3 (full manual)

Settings: ISO 200, 44 mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual)

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

Linking up with Good to Wow! Head over and check out the other SOOC shots.