Project 64: Red Orange and Violet Red

Catching up on Project 64 with last week and this week's colors. I had to go into the archives as I have been working to get back on track with everything I am participating in, but it was a fun walk down memory lane. First last week's color was red orange:

This photo was taken on the Long Beach Peninsula during an amazing sunset! My goal was of course to capture the beautiful colors, but also to capture the sun going down with some definition, which I have not been able to do before. I think I accomplished that here. Other than a slight straightening this photo is SOOC.

Settings: ISO 200, 163mm, ss1/250, f/10 

(full manual, sunlight wb, SOOC with cropping)

And now, this week's color is Violet Red:

This photo was taken at Balloons Over Bend in Bend, Oregon. This was taken before I started my journey into photographing on manual. My goal was to capture all 3 balloons lit up and the beautiful colors. In Lightroom, I did minor work with the tone curve, upped the blacks and the saturation and vibrancy. 

Settings: ISO 1600, 18mm, ss1/15, f/3.5 (full auto)

"It was tremendously satisfying to watch this color parade." - Erno Rubik

  

Project 64: Merry Christmas Green 12.23.2011 and Good to Wow SOOC: Happy New Year! 12.25.11

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! This is my first Christmas as a blogger and I must say I have never experienced a holiday quite like this one. The past couple of Christmases have been tough for me and have left me with some ba-hum-bug feelings that did not have me all too enthusiastic about this holiday. Then I stepped into the holiday as photographed by the most amazing photographers! I was inspired and awed and dare I say anticipating the Christmas season :o). The photos and ideas and sharing that happened in this community are just amazing. So let me say thank you for helping to get me in the holiday spirit and thank you for sharing your talent. I hope the new year finds you and yours happy and healthy. I cannot wait to see what I can learn from you in 2012!

I hope these two photos give back a little of what you have given me! This first one is from a local house that sets lights to music that my family and I decided might have to be a new holiday tradition. It is such a fun experience! I only brought the point and shoot, set on auto, as I wanted to focus on the experience and being with my family. It felt strange to shoot without my DSLR, but it was worth it :o). After opening this in Lightroom and doing a clean edit and a crop I realized it was a great match for the Project 64 color of the week - green.

Settings: ISO 200, 7.7mm, ss1/8, f/2.8 (point and shoot, auto)

This second photo was shot with my homemade bokeh set-up and some pieces from an amazingly fun game I got the family for Christmas (another tradition we have). The game is called Konexi and it a cross between Scrabble and Jenga. Not only is it a fun game, but it makes a great photography prop! I chose to do the word "LOVE" to represent my wish for the new year. I wish that you have love, share love freely and find something you love!

Settings: ISO 800, 28mm, ss1/20, f/4.0 (full manual, tripod, tungsten wb)

"A new beginning is perhaps the best time to say…
It’s so nice to know you…
And here’s wishing our friendship
continues to grow in the days to come." - Author Unknown

Everett 10th Street Marina 11.25.11

When I was editing the first photo below from my day after Thanksgiving photo shoot I realized I had taken a similar picture and posted it on my blog as a flashback. It was before I started shooting manual and before I knew all that I know now about how to take a proper picture. Despite that, I really love both of them. I am excited to see how much I have grown though and to see one of my old photos next to a new one and know what I would do differently (smaller aperture number! cloudy wb!) to fix what I didn't like about it. 

What do you think? Do have those moments as well?

Location: 10th Street Marina Park, Everett, Washington

Date: November 26th, 2011
Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6 (full manual, sunlight wb)
Post Processing: Blacks, Contrast and Brightness to make the blue more vibrant

Location: Cathlamet Marina - Cathlamet, Washington

Date: June 11th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto - 1/200, f/10

Post Processing: Sharpening, Color Levels (to bring out more of the green and magenta)

"Growth demands a temporary surrender of security." - Gail Sheehy


One of the reasons I feel I have grown so much is by linking up and learning and becoming inspired from other photographers. Here are a few great link ups that continue to help me grow!

    

Flashback: Ship on the Columbia 11.27.10

Today I had high hopes for capturing some purple and dandelion yellow shots for the challenges I participate in, however, it just didn't happen that way. I plan on heading out again tomorrow. Therefore, I decided to post a flashback photo today. I realized I have not done a flashback since September. I suppose this is due to the fact that I have been shooting photos each week and enjoying the process of stretching my photography muscles, thus producing more pictures than I can post. However, I do like looking at photos pre-manual revolution :o). This photo was actually pre-DSLR camera. It was taken when I visited the Columbia River Martime Museum with the family during a trip to my dad's in Astoria, Oregon last year for Thanksgiving. It has been raining like crazy when we went into the museum. I looked out the window, saw the rain stop and had to go out and take this photo. These ships litter the Columbia River in Astoria where they come off the ocean and make their way up the river to deliver goods. I hope you enjoy this journey back to my point and shoot days. Not half bad, I must say :o).


Flashback #9
Location: Columbia River Astoria, Oregon
Settings: ISO 80, 28.5mm, ss1/200, f/5.8 (full auto with point and shoot)
Post Processing: All basic settings adjusted, saturation and luminance shifts and vignette added
What I Like: The mood of the sky, the location of the ship in the frame
What I Think Needs Work: The vibrance of the color


SOOC Shot

Edited Shot

"If my ship sails from sight, it doesn't mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends." - Enoch Powell

Linking up with the sites below, be sure to check them out!

  

I Clicked it Up a Notch - October

Is it really almost the end of October? I cannot believe it! I have been spending this week meeting with families and talking about student progress. While I throughly enjoy meeting and talking with families, it makes for an exhausting few days and nights. This morning as I arrived at work tired and gearing up for another long day, I was greeted with this beautiful sight...

Settings: ISO 100, 7.7mm, ss1/60, f/2.8 (auto)

I only had my point and shoot with me, but it didn't matter I just had to capture such a beautiful sunrise. In post processing, all I did was remove a few distracting lights with spot removal in Lightroom. I was a bit disappointed not to have my DSLR with me and not be able to "make" the shot in manual mode. However, I learned that for some moments capturing it in whatever way you can is the most important thing. 

Now, as it is the end of October, Courtney at Click it Up a Notch is hosting a picture share for your favorite picture of October. I decided to go with a picture I took of a foggy morning outside of my house. I love that I was able to capture everything I wanted SOOC and then bring it to another level with a simple edit. You can see the SOOC shot and read more here. 

Settings: ISO 200, 42mm, ss1/100, f/22 (full manual)

Edited with Photoshop - Healing Brush and Pioneer Woman's Lovely and Ethereal Action

"To speak technically photography is the art of writing with light. But if I want to think about it more philosophically, I can say that photography is the art of writing with time. When you capture an image you capture not only a piece of space, you also capture a piece of time. So you have this piece of specific time in your square or rectangle. In that sense I find that photography has more to do with time than with light." - Gerardo Suter

Linking up with the fabulous linkups below. Be sure to check out the other photos and blogs!

 

Flashback: Winter Sky 02.20.11

Today was an amazing day of photography that I look forward to sharing during the week. It seems like I am developing a routine of posting a flashback on Saturday as I am usually out shooting and then posting my shots from the weekend throughout the week. I decided to keep that up and picked a photo from February for my flashback today. This was a couple of months after I got my DSLR for Christmas and I still had no idea what I was doing, but I enjoyed doing it :o). 

Most of the time I pick a trip and find a photo I like for my flashback. In this case, I knew the exact photo I wanted. I vividly remember this sky and the journey to take this picture. I have mentioned before that I love the beach, it is my happy place where I feel most myself. I go to the beach, often with my mom, whenever I get the chance...even in the winter when it is freezing. It really doesn't matter to me as long as I get to be on the beach experiencing it. This trip my mom and I spent a few days on the Central Oregon Coast. As we were driving back up toward home I saw this sky, half storm and half blue, and had to stop. We discovered this lovely wayside, pulled in and here is the shot. I remember the cold, the noise of the ocean, the kids playing and my mom waiting patiently while I took shot after shot. I love that I have this photo and the memories!

Flashback #8
Location: Muriel O. Ponsler Memorial State Wayside
Settings: ISO 100, 25mm, ss1/125, f/8.0 (full auto on tripod)
Post Processing: All basic settings adjusted<
What I Like: The framing of the  sky, the colors, the light
What I Think Needs Work: The depth of field, the sharpness

"To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward." - Margaret Fairless Barber

Linking up with The Paper Mama Challenge - Remember. I will spend some time tomorrow remembering September 11th, I hope you will too!

Flashback: Fireworks 07.04.11

Today I spent some time shopping and visiting a new park. I found some lily pads and flowers to shoot and look forward to sharing them this week. For today's post, though, I went in to my archives and decided to post a photo from my favorite holiday - 4th of July! I love the history, the food and the fireworks. This past 4th my mom and I saw two amazing firework displays, one in Illwaco on the southern Washington coast and one at Lake Wilderness near where I live. The picture below is from the latter. I love how you can see the smoke trails and that there are two fireworks in the frame. 

I remember finding it challenging to shoot the fireworks on auto, as this was shot before I switched to manual. I am wondering how I would go about shooting such a fast paced and low light situation in manual. If you have any tips, tricks or websites where I can learn more please leave them in the comments. I know I will need to prepare for the next 4th :o). 

Flashback #7

Location: Lake Wilderness Park

Date: July 4th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto ISO 800, 18mm, ss1/25, f/3.5

Post Processing: Cropped, most of the basic settings were played with

What I Like: Smoke trails, double fireworks

What I Think Needs Work: The depth of field, the sharpness

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus

Flashback: Whale Watching 06.25.11

For my birthday this year my brother and his girlfriend bought tickets to go whale watching for the three of us and our mom. We boarded the Puget Sound Express in Port Angeles, WA and headed out to sea. The company is run by a family and the crew was knowledgeable and fun. This was my second time whale watching. The first time I went with my best friend from Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands on Orcas Island Eclipse Charters. We had the rare pleasure of seeing all of the pods that live in the area greeting each other after being out to sea. This time we had to chase the whales into Canada off the coast of Victoria. We saw a group of about 6 whales, one of which was a baby, swimming and possibly sleeping as their behaviors somewhat indicated. They also did some spy hopping, which is where their head comes out of the water vertically. It is an amazing experience that I highly recommend!

The photo below was taken before I decided to switch to shooting in manual mode. It was taken on full auto with my zoom lens. I was impressed by the speed of the shooting even with not being on sport mode and the ability of the zoom lens to get closer pictures as the rule for boats is to stay 200 yards away from the whales. I love the spy hopping I was able capture and the dorsal fins of the two other whales. I am thinking that a higher aperture number would have helped the picture. I am glad I am shooting manual now, but I am wondering if I would have been able to shoot manual with the fast movement of the whales. If you have any thoughts or suggestions I would love to hear them :o)!

Flashback #6

Location: Off the coast of Victoria BC on the Puget Sound Express

Date: June 25th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto ISO 200, 250mm, ss1/2000, f/5.6

Post Processing: Cropped, all the basic settings were played with

What I Like: The orcas and the line of the land

What I Think Needs Work: The depth of field, the sharpness

"Blue, green, grey, white, or black; smooth, ruffled, or mountainous; that ocean is not silent." - H.P. Lovecraft

I Learned: Flower Field 05.21.11

This week I learned the power of a good editing program. I have been working hard on developing my skills with manual mode and hope to begin to do all I can to make my shots look wonderful straight out of the camera (SOOC). At the same time, though, I know how much editing can do for a photo. I want to become more skilled at taking a picture to the next level with my edits. I had been using a free program called Gimp and have had fine results with it. However, after a reading a wonderfully helpful comment from Melissa about how Photoshop features can help with the editing process I decided to look at other programs. After some research I downloaded a trial version of Lightroom and the picture below is my first edit using it. I have also included the SOOC photo and would love to know what you think about my edit - what works, what I could do differently and any tips for using Lightroom. I really enjoyed using the program and found the ability to look at the before and after at the same time very helpful.

I realized when putting this post together that this photo was taken on the same road trip home as my I Learned from last week, which was not planned. Driving home from Lincoln City, one of my favorite Oregon Coast towns, I saw this beautiful field of flowers on the side of the highway. We turned around and spent some time photographing it. I loved the clouds in the sky and the colors of the entire scene. In post processing I cropped the picture to play with the rule of thirds, worked on the red, blue and green color levels, and played with the contrast and brightness.

Settings: Auto Mode - 1/250, f/11

Original Photo

Edited Photo

"Travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs." - Susan Sontag

This is what I learned this week, head over to Click it Up a Notch to see what others have learned.

Flashback: Nehalem Bay State Park 08.05.11

I was tempted to skip posting today as I was not feeling well after a difficult dentist appointment, but I saw this picture in my files and felt compelled to put it up. This photo was taken at Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon. My mom and I spent the day exploring this beach we had not been to before and discovered an Oregon beach rarity...no one on the beach. The walk from the parking lot to the beach is a bit of a trek over the dunes, but beyond worth it for the solitude and the beauty. On this day the sky was a mixture of storm clouds and sun, which made for some beautiful lighting. What I love about this photo is that it captures what the beach is about for me - the expansiveness and sheer space that always makes me feel connected to the world. The leading lines have a lot to do with this as I think they draw your eye to a distant point far off on the horizon. The waves leaving their imprint on the shore and the various hues of the sand also stand out to me in this shot. I think this picture conveys all that I love about the beach!

Flashback #5

Location: Nehalem Bay State Park

Date: August 5th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto on Landscape Mode - 1/160, f/13

Post Processing: Color levels, contrast, brightness and sharpening

What I Like: The leading lines, the waves and the cloud patterns

What I Think Needs Work: The hills on the left side

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more." - George Byron

Flashback: Valley Sky 04.08.11

It was an exciting and tiring day of meeting new students and getting back into the swing of school. After decompressing for a bit I decided to pick a flashback picture for today's post. I wanted something from a "shoot" I had not posted yet. I noticed, after putting all the blog photos on my Facebook page, that I have posted no vertically oriented pictures yet. 

(Side note - I would love to put up a like box for the Facebook page but I don't have enough people who "Like" page, so if you want to check it out  search for "Scattered Horizons Photography" and like the page with the lighthouse as the profile picture :o). There are some other photos I have not shared on here yet and I would love for you to see them!)

Looking through my photo files I noticed that is a theme, either because I am not drawn to the vertical or because the nature of my favorite subjects (the beach and other landscapes) does not call for vertical often. I will definitely be putting vertical shots on my photography bucket list inspired by Click it Up a Notch. After some searching I did find one picture of the sky near my house as the sun was setting behind the trees that was vertical and that I liked. I like the tree line and how the sky colors show through the spindly branches. I certainly think vertical works in this case. 

Flashback #4

Location: Maple Valley, WA

Date: April 8th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto - 1/100, f/4

Post Processing: Minor work with color levels, contrast, brightness and sharpening

What I Like: The shapes of the trees and the variety of colors in the sky
What I Think Needs Work: The focal point and what is going on in the bottom of the frame (too much)

"I look out of this window and I think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of it. The trees and birds and everything else and I'm part of it. I didn't ask to be put here, I've been lucky in finding myself here." - Morris West

Flashback: Cathlamet Marina 06.11.11

It seems my photographic life is now split into "pre-manual mode" and "post manual mode" :o). This picture is a "pre-manual mode" picture taken in the small southern Washington town of Cathlamet. I was visiting my dad for the weekend and he took my brother and I on a ferry ride across the Columbia River from Westport, Oregon to Puget Island, Wa. I have been in many ferry rides having been a Western Washington resident for most of my life, but this one was different. It is very small with a wonderful $5.00 price, it is across a river and not the sound and it is completely open. It also feels different...more intimate and connected to nature. It was a fun experience I would definitely recommend.

Once we disembarked from the ferry we headed to the small town of Cathlamet and explored the town, including the house of Julia Butler Hansen. We then headed to the marina and I was instantly drawn to the flowers for their color and the interest provided in the background. I shot this photo in auto mode and focused on the flowers with no thought to what the background would look like (in terms of focus). I do like how it turned out, but think I could have done it differently in manual mode. The composition and framing are what I love most about this shot with the line formed by the flowers and the visual interest in the background. 

Flashback #3

Location: Cathlamet Marina - Cathlamet, Washington

Date: June 11th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto - 1/200, f/10

Post Processing: Sharpening, Color Levels (to bring out more of the green and magenta)

What I Like: The framing and composition

What I Think Needs Work: The lighting and sharpness

"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." - Hans Christian Anderson