A Snow Perspective 1.16.12

We are now on our third snow day. I am grateful for the snow and the chance to see things from a different perspective. I have mentioned before that I find that snow changes things. Not only does it soften the landscape, but it also slows down the pace and allows you to see things in a way you may not have before. Without the snow I may not have been drawn to the moss clinging to the trees and the weathered bird house perched among the branches. The snow provided a contrast with the greens and amplified the details. I love the texture of the moss, the snow and the bird house. In processing I did a little work with white balance for the first time in a while. I found that snow makes it difficult to get the white balance right. I also worked with the basic settings to play up the details and the contrast. Any tips for getting snow white balance right? Do I need to get a gray card? Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/60, f/8.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/160, f/5.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." - John Constable

Linking up with the link ups below! Take a moment to check out the other fabulous photos.

 

Sunset in the Snow 1.15.12

A day in the snow and a surprise sunset on the way home. Two photos metered off different parts of the scene one to capture the snow and one for drama. Removed some distractions using a tip from Courtney at Click it Up a Notch about keeping the lines lined up and did a clean edit in Lightroom. I truly feel blessed to have been able to experience and capture this moment.

Settings: ISO 400, 32mm, ss1/6, f/8.0 (full manual, tripod)

Settings: ISO 400, 32mm, ss1/20, f/8.0 (full manual, tripod)

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order." - John Burroughs

Linking up with the link ups below! Take a look at the other amazing photos!

      

Tones on Tuesday #18 1.17.12

Happy Tuesday! It has been wonderful to see so many new faces linking up to Tones on Tuesday as well as so many returning participants. I love "getting to know" you through your beautiful photographs. I apologize for how long it took me to visit your photos from last week. I am woefully behind on visiting and commenting in general, but I am working on getting back on track :o). Now on with the showcases from last week...

Maboe

I love the softness of the tones and the way that the leaves look like they could be made out of metal. Thank you for sharing with us Maboe!

Marit from Norway

The contrast of the snow with the colorful sky is stunning. I like how the houses and trees frame the sky. Thank you for sharing Marit!

Lynette from Backwoods Photographer

The depth of field draws your eye to the acorns, the color is soft and the feeling is of a moment in time. Thank you for linking up Lynette!

Maboe, Marit and Lynette please go HERE to grab your showcase button. 

Now it's your turn to share your photo with altered tones. Here is the guidelines for Tones on Tuesday:

• The basic idea is to share one photo where you have altered the tones. Such as a black and white, sepia toned, selective coloring or colored photo. Feel free to share the original and edit, or just the edit.
• Please share a photo that you have taken and edited yourself.
• If you have more than one photo in your post please indicate which one if for Tones on Tuesday.
• Please link up with your permalink and not your blog address.
• Attach the Tones on Tuesday button to your post
• Leave comments for the other participants, share the love :o)!
• Have fun!

<center> <a href="http://scatteredhorizons.blogspot.com" target="_self"><img border="0" alt="Scattered Horizons" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH_U2oqLh1UmXZMxfX_WPVaPVWJYh_HuiqvmOJi2frJOmTvsFe8rQPCPuzZfqD9Rm5Lz1E9ijR7i5_09GjPNDZeIcGNOwpU1VlkboGqGPGHxc0q-s28fzb99utdKzU6TvONWyodJtseQ/s1600/tonesontuesday2.jpg"></a> </center>

Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

On a walk his morning before the world was awake, I had the chance to experience the snow. I tried to capture the way the world changes when it snows. I liked how these old mailboxes looked as though they could not have been opened in the near past. With the edit I wanted to keep the softness but add a bit of a vintage, timeless feel. In Lightroom I clicked on Black and White adjusted the blacks, recovery, contrast and clarity. Then I added a small black vignette. I wanted to keep it simple to play up the simplicity of the black and white. What do you think? Do you enjoy snow? Has it made an appearance where you live? I can't wait to see your photos this week! Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/125, f/4.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Edited with Lightroom

"No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place." - Zen Proverb

Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!

    

Snow Covered 1.15.12

Snow has come to the Pacific Northwest! Despite an incident yesterday, I had the chance to take a few pictures. What I love about snow is that it transforms the landscape. It makes the world softer and a peace descends that can make a simple walk feel like traveling to another world. The pictures below were taken off the side of a highway on the entrance to a forest road. My goal was to capture the details that the snow drew my attention to. They are all SOOC. The snow continues to fall here and we shall see what happens in regards to school tomorrow. I hope I get to enjoy the snow for a few more days.

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/1000, f/2.5 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/40, f/2.8 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/40, f/8.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

"When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old." - Lady Bird Johnson

Linking up with the link ups below! Be sure to check out the other photos. 

  

Snow Day 1.15.12

It has been one of those days that started out one way, changed trajectory in the middle and then changed again in the end. The morning began with the first snow fall of the winter season, filling me with excitement to enjoy the snow and take some photographs. After going out for a while, I came back in and against my better judgement walked on the kitchen floor in my slippers. The floor and slippers were wet and I am sure you can guess what happened next...I slipped and landed quite hard hitting my back and tailbone on the floor. I spent the afternoon icing it and taking Advil. I felt well enough to head out for a few pictures on a nearby highway that heads toward the mountains. I wasn't too excited about the photos and I was in pain. On the way home, however, there was a tiny break in the clouds and a beautiful sunset appeared (pictures to come this week :o). The day ended with me coming home, opening the day's photos and being presently surprised. 

The photos below were taken off of Highway 410 just before sunset. It was snowing and I had my rain sleeve on my camera (I LOVE that thing!). My goal was to capture the variety of textures coming through the snow and the peaceful setting. When I opened the photos in Lightroom they seemed a bit blue in terms of white balance, but that is exactly what the light was like in person. Therefore, I just bumped up the brightness and fill lights a tiny bit to compensate. I am off to do some more icing of my back. I hope to feel good enough tomorrow to take some snow photos around my neighborhood. I wish you a great beginning to your week. Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/125, f/8.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/50, f/8.0 (full manual, cloudy wb)

"January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow." - Sara Coleridge

Linking up with the link ups below. Find some awe by looking at the photos linked up!

    

Sunset on the Ridge Wrap Up 1.8.12

Last Saturday I did a wrap up of the New Year's Day sunset I experienced on Indian Beach in Oregon. For today's post I decided to do the same thing with the sunset I captured from a ridge a few miles from my house. I have made many references to my obsession/addiction to sunset and silhouette photography. I am drawn to the colors and the majesty of experiencing a sunset. I strive to capture the beauty and the awe that sunsets fill me with. In terms of shooting a sunset there are two things I have learned that I would love to share with you.

1. A high aperture number (I shoot for f/9.0 or higher) helps to capture the entirety of the landscape and keep the majority of it in focus. This may result in a slow shutter speed so I always have my tripod with me!

2. Meter off the color you want to feature and adjust your settings accordingly. I often take a few pictures from the same perspective and in each one I meter off of a different color. It gives me many options!

Photography is a constant learning and growing experience for me. I know I will never stop learning and trying new things. These are just two tips that have helped me and I wanted share :o). The photos below are SOOC and were taken in the span of about 30 minutes. I hope you enjoy taking a journey through this sunset. Thank you for visiting!

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/200, f/11 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/800, f/10 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/50, f/10 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/160, f/10 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/60, f/10 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/80, f/9.0 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/30, f/8.0 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 50mm, ss1/30, f/8.0 (full manual, daylight wb)

Settings: ISO 400, 250mm, ss1/60, f/14 (full manual, tripod)

"Nature is painting for us... day after day... pictures of infinite beauty." -  John Ruskiin

Linking up to SOOC Saturday, check out the other SOOC shots! Also linking up with The Simple Things and Scenic Sunday. Be sure to take a look at the beautiful photos there as well!

  

Favorite Photo of the Week: Contentment 1.8.12

I had more than one favorite photo this week, surprising I know ;o)! However, one was a sunset photo and one was the photo below. I decided to go with this photo of my dog niece Cece for a few reasons. One, it was not a sunset photo which are the ones I often go to for favorites...I wanted to go with something different. Two, the photo was an accomplishment for me. It is SOOC, it was indoor lighting, it was a subject that was not nature/landscapes/macro and it was taken with my new 50mm lens. All of these factors are accomplishments for me and are another step on my photography journal. Three, the theme for Darcy at my3boybarians Project 52 is "Made with Love." I think that dogs are exceptionally skilled at unconditional love and I have a feeling that love was encoded into their DNA, hence they are made with love :o). I hope to find a few moments this coming week where I can experience this kind of contentment. My wish is that you will too! Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 800, 50mm, ss1/30, f/2.0 (full manual, tungsten wb)

"Dogs have given us their absolute all.  We are the center of their universe.  We are the focus of their love and faith and trust.  They serve us in return for scraps.  It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made." - Roger Caras