Autumnal RustlingPosted by drfl on July 10th, 2009

As promised, my impromtu “Missing the Mountains” series continues with today’s post of some Aspens in Colorado near Pike’s peak.  During my trip last September, the aspens were beginning to burst forth with color and some of the groves were completely changed.   When I stopped and capture this grove, a breeze was gentle rustling the leaves.  In post-processing I added a bit of Orton to simulate this feel on a still photograph.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/9, 1/200 sec.
Aspen Grove near Pike’s Peak, Colorado

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: http://www.journeyoflight.com/journey06/photo.asp?pictureid=AutumnalRustling&xmlfile=/journey06/xml/color/colorado.xml&x=9.

Filed under: Colorado, Fall, Landscape, Nature, Orton, Photograph, Trees | No Comments

Inspiration: FoundPosted by drfl on June 25th, 2009

Following yesterday’s post, I went out last night to photograph some flowers that are blooming in a nearby field and found one that had gone to seed similar to the one I saw yesterday.  I stopped and spent almost an hour photographing the patterns, contrasts, and small details that were contained within this little piece of nature.

On the technical side of things, something that really helped was the phenomenal high ISO performance of the Canon 5D Mark II.  This photograph was taken at ISO 2000 with a little work from Noise Ninja.  Back in the film days this would have meant high grain and loss of detail, but today’s digital is really pushing what one can do in low light.  Today’s tools are simply amazing.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM lens + 25 extension tube, f/2.8, 1/60 sec.
Light Variation of Orton Effect

Filed under: Abstract, Close-Up, Flowers, Intimate, Macro, Nature, Nebraska, Orton, Photograph | 3 Comments

Ethereal PlanePosted by drfl on June 23rd, 2009

About a month ago, I noticed several purple flowers growing down by the Platte River.  I don’t ever remember seeing these flowers blooming and certainly not in the magnitude that they seemed to flourish this year.  Determined to get a shot I went down by Schramm a couple of nights while they were at their peak.  Unfortunately, every time I was there the wind would blow the flowers around which did not make it easy to get a sharp shot.  After review I decided that this image would be perfect for the Orton Effect.  For more information on what this is visit http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0106/dw0106-1.html.  Overall, it’s good to use this effect sparingly and there has been an increase in people thinking this effect has been overused recently.  I still like it for an image like this, it seems to work well to bring out the contrast of the purple on green. 

This photograph is currently a finalist in Digital Photo Pro’s Ultimate Creativity contest.  If you wish to vote for it visit http://www.digitalphotopro.com/photo-contests/ultimate-creativity/finalists/contest/ultimate-creativity-finalists/1156-ethereal-plane.html.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 35mm, f/13, 1.6 sec., Orton Effect
By Schramm State Recreation Area, Nebraska

Filed under: Flowers, Landscape, Nature, Orton, Photograph, Schramm SRA, Spring | 2 Comments

Reaching Out: RevisitedPosted by admin on January 6th, 2009

A couple of posts back I mentioned how many of my images have a “life”. Essentially, some are never quite finished for me. Tonight’s image is one such example. In a blog post on March 2, 2008 found here, I mentioned going back through some old photos and finding one that I liked the intricate details. Well, after reviewing that same image, yet again I felt I could add a little more to the photograph. One processing technique I use, especially with images with high contrast of color is a method called the “Orton effect”. Essentially, this effect takes an out of focus image and sandwiches with an in focus image to create a somewhat dreamy version of reality. It was originally used with slide film, but a technique still exists for digital. For more information, visit this tutorial on Orton imagery: http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0106/dw0106-1.html.

Technical Details:

Canon 5d, 300 f/4l + 1.4 tc, f/11, 1/5 sec., Orton
Alberta, Canada

Filed under: Alberta, Canada, Close-Up, Intimate, Leaf, Nature, Orton, Photograph | No Comments
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