Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Computer is back!

Ok so we had to send our PC back to be cleaned again, the virus wasnt all the way gone.  Well we just got it back a few days ago and I just finished installing most of the stuff I need lastnight. (still need to add Dynamic HDR back)

Because of this I dont have anything newly shot to add however I dont wanna miss an update so I will add a pic that most of you have probably already seen.

So today B is for:
                                                                                                                       -Blue

This shot is just a closeup of Sagira's eyes, I liked the way it came out in the full color version but the B&W with selective coloring just made her eyes pop more and helped draw the viewers eyes to her eyes, which is what I was intending with this shot.

Friday, May 7, 2010

On to the next letter!!

Ok, so I wanted to add another photo for A last week, but we were having computer issues again and I didnt get a chance before we took the computer in for work.  So I will go ahead and move on to B, I will just add two pics!

Here are a couple of pics I shot last time I was out at Xcape Paintball, a local field that I go take pics at all the time during practice.  I love shooting Paintball, fast action lots of emotion, and the opportunity for some really awesome action shots! 

The featured shots today, though aren't really action shots though, they were more candid type portraits that I did some Photoshop work on.

Enough of my rambling on to the pics!!

Today B is for:
                                     -Black & White

This is a photo of Brian, one of the guys who plays for XFT, I caught him looking all contemplative and whatnot.  The color version of this is good, but something about it made me think to try a B&W conversion and it came out awesome!

This is Josh, we call him Kelso if you have ever seen "That 70's Show" you would understand why LOL.  I used to play with him on my old paintball team Columbus Wicked.  He plays with Brian on XFT now.  I saw the camo mask and thought the different colors would look good in B&W, and I was right!  I also experimented a bit with the Vignette option in Lightroom and tried something a little different.  I like the look, kind of old school.

Keep an eye out for some more B updates coming as soon as our computer gets back!!

-J

Monday, May 3, 2010

No pic, but I thought I would post something.

Well, today A is for:

                                                  -Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is easily my favorite photographer.  His work is awe inspiring and simply breathtaking.  What he could do with a camera is something I could only dream of doing.  Especially when you consider that his most notable works were taken in the 20's, 30's, and 40's.  

For some examples of his work go to his website here:
http://www.anseladams.com/ 

For more information on his 60 year career go see his page here:
Ansel Adams on Wikipedia

And to close the day here is one of my favorite quotes from him:

We don't make a photograph just with a camera, we bring to the act of photography all the books we have read, the movies we have seen, the music we have heard, the people we have loved. - Ansel Adams

Friday, April 30, 2010

New Idea

Ok, so I know that I have been REALLY slacking off on using this lately, but I came up with an idea that I really like so I am gonna try and use that to keep me going in this.

So, without further waiting here is the first in my Alphabet series.


A is for:
                                   -Anticipation 























This was taken last night when I got home from work.  Sagira and I have been practicing everyday with the Frisbee, she is coming along nicely and has actually started using my leg to jump off of to catch the frisbee.  This is my first attempt at a Silhouette type shot, I think the background is a bit to dark, but other wise it came out great.

Stay tuned for some more shots that have to do with the letter A, and next Friday we move on to, yep you guessed it, B!!  


Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Time flies.

Well I just realised how long its been since I updated this.  Man I am such a slacker!  Things have been pretty busy with, well, I cant lie...my XBox 360 pretty much steals all my attention lately!  LOL

I did manage to tear myself away from Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins long enough a few weeks ago to take my Mom, Dad, and there friend Laura on a fun trip into Plain City to see what cool barns we could find.  Here are a few shots from that trip!!




Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Better late than never

Ok, so I have been slacking.  You can thank Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360 for that!!  LOL 

I finally got some work done on my HDR experiment.  For those of you who dont know HDR (High Dynamoc Range) is an imaging technique that was developed to more accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.

In photography this is achieved by merging several images of the same scene shot at multiple Exposure Values (EV) to help being out all the little details the camera may normally miss.

I decided one morning to shoot basically the same image of my building at different settings so i can see how the different EV settings will effect it.

This image was created with three images shot at -.5, 0, +.5 EV
 

The next image was created with three images shot at -1, 0, +1 EV
  

This one was created with three images shot at -1.5, 0, +1.5 EV
  

And finally, this image was created using three images shot at -2, 0, +2 EV
  

None of these images are perfect, they were just shot quickly without using a tri-pod.  Here is my latest HDR image shot at Hayden Falls park in Dublin.


Monday, February 1, 2010

Out of town

Well my wife and I took our dogs and went up to Lake Erie for the weekend to see her parents.  Fun relaxing time, but with no laptop I didnt get anything edited.  However we did stop by the Lighthouse on the way home and I took some stuff there.  I will try and get it posted ASAP, however our new Agility class starts tonight so it may be a day or two.

Stay tuned!

- J

Thursday, January 28, 2010

New Lunchtime Photoshoot

Well, I went to a small cemetary on 33 in Dublin across from the High School today.  Here are a few shots from there.

Here is the same shot as above, but with a little bit of creative editing in Correl.


Here is another neat headstone.
 

Again with some creative editing.
 
Last headstone for tonight.  This time one belonging to a veteran.
 

Same as above but edited.

 

And a final edit of the veteran tombstone, this time its pretty much the first image, just softened up a bit.

 

I hope to have more from this Cemetery edited this weekend, as well as a little experiment I did with my HDR program to test it out a bit!
Enjoy!

- J

Monday, January 25, 2010

Slow Start

gain weather and other factors get in the way.  I did get out and take some pictures of my dogs for my wife over the weekend however.  Here are a couple of those shots!

Here is Sagira





Here is Starr:

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Lunchtime photo shoot

Well I got the obligatory picture of my building coming in again this morning.  I tried to add a little twist to it though.




I found an old Cemetery near my work today at lunch, there was also a trail that went alongside a creek and led to a couple waterfalls.  It was pretty cool. 

Cant wait to go check it out again with all the leaves and everything!

Here are a few shots from my lunchtime hike.







Slow start

Well, due to several issues (crappy weather, busy at work, busy at the training club) I have yet to add more pictures. However I got one I hope turns out on the way in. Also gonna try and get out at lunch for a few more. Stay tuned!!

-J

Thursday, January 14, 2010

"Morning View"

Here is another HDR photo of my work building.  This one was taken at about 8:30 on my way in.  I saw the cloud reflection in the windows and had to stop and take the shot.


A few preview pics.

Well, my intent with this blog is to use it as a tool to continuously improve my skills as well as sharing with a group of people.

In doing this, my intention is to post 5 new pics daily.  This will keep me thinking of fresh new ideas.

I am going to start things off with a few archive images.  Let me know what you think!!

This is an HDR render of my work building.  I took it for a Daily Challenge on soaphoto.com.  It was intended as a unique POV shot.