More purist in me

Much of the glamour photography out there is PhotoShopped heavily (just do a search for Madonna before and after shots if you want to see just how much) and that does sort of give me license to go nuts with PhotoShop, but then again, just because everyone else does it, doesn't mean I have to.

Case in point here, again straight from the camera. Some other pics I did adjust in PS (aiming for a specific look), but if I post them, I will tell you what I did.

I recall once going by a portrait photographer in a mall, his images were stunning and I told him so. His comment to me was (and I'm quoting) "I'm not a photographer, I'm a PhotoShopper" which left me disillusioned.

I'm only an amateur (and an uneven one at that) but I've always felt that the more you get right in the camera, the less you have to fake later.

I'm proud to say I'm a purist.

Pretty in Purple

More from my friend L. She'd been kind enough to track down some translucent netting. I was hoping for some linen, but that stuff is very expensive (by the yard) and the stuff she found turned out to be a better choice anyway, so kudos to her on that.

Once again, work straight from the camera. One of my strobe lights has a broken strobe controller (thanks cheap stuff made in China!) but what it's done is force me to work with a limitation, and I'm finding more and more I like the look/effect of only one working strobe, using the other as a pure hotlight.

Adds greatly to shadows and textures, as can be seen here.

People Practice

I need more practice with people. But it's a hard thing to approach folks and ask them to pose, most people are self-conscious about the way they look, and I'm not good enough to hire professional models because I don't have enough experience and you see where this is going.

Cue friends. A love my friends, they put up with so much from me. Case in point a friend who was kind enough to work with me and my experimenting.

This image is straight from the camera. No adjustments whatsoever. Normally I don't post setups (because frankly, who cares?) but I thought I'd do it this time, in case anyone is interested.

Nikon D1x. 50mm lens, ISO 125, f/4.5. Spot Metering with +1/3 exposure comp. 45degree (from subject) flash lamp at 1/2 power on right with 180degree hot lamp at 1/32 power on left.

Enjoy, more to come from this session (thanks L for doing this)

A Better View

Another quiet falls view from West Virginia. It's currently raining outside where I live, which is typical winter weather around here, so it's nice to look back at pictures like this and remember.

A Moment of Silence Please

For Kodak. Please note, the following will be a rant. No images attached, just a missive aimed at the morons in charge(?) of a once great film giant. As you may or may not know, Kodak declared bankruptcy the other day. The salient details of the of the fall of Kodak are legion on the Internet, and I won't bother going into them here.

Rather I'm going to rail at them for one reason and one reason only: BW400CN film. That film is my go-to film for my Black and White shots and I'm going to be sorely ticked if they discontinue it. Which is a possibility considering the idiots at Kodak are considering using what's left of the financial resources after the bankruptcy to focus on becoming a (and I kid you not here) printer and ink company. I will pause and let that sink in. Go ahead and re-read that if you need to. I'll wait.

Printer and Ink. Printer and flippin' Ink. Really guys? REALLY? You created photograpy as we know it, invented countless improvements to every facet of my beloved hobby, revolutionized it again with the invention of digital photography, and are throwing it all away for ink profits?!?

Good Riddance Kodak.

Tired Now

Being sick takes a lot out of me, so this will be the last post for today. The snowfall in West Virginia was over 1 foot so it was dificult to get clear pictures of anything other than snow covered trees and plants, beautiful as that may seem, but this one angle allowed me a clear view of the small falls.

Half the Fun

Of getting to your destination, is the journey. Along the way to Canaan Valley I ran across a stream and huge icicles hanging from the rocks. The stream was shallow enough I could step out onto some of the exposed rocks and get this shot.

It was 16 degrees here, and 14 in the Valley, but with little to no wind it felt warmer.

Not that much warmer mind you, maybe 20 degrees or so, but I'll take what I can get :-)

Farmhouse

There are two images I've always wanted to capture, the lone tree in winter, and the abandoned farmhouse. So far, haven't gotten either one, but one day I will.

This farmhouse isn't abandoned, but the red paint coupled with the blue sky and white snow was just too appealing to pass up. If you bring up the full sized image, you will see it was snowing when I took this.

Canaan Valley

Dawn shot, overlooking the valley. The sky was kind of blah, but it was to brighten up as the day went by.

At the Old Mill

Along a ridgeline in West Virginia is a series of enormous windmills. According to Wikipedia, there are supposed to be 119 'mills built along several mountain ridges, but where I was, there were only 10 (or so, I didn't keep count)

I tried to line up a shot with multiple 'mills in view but wasn't satisfied with the results, so I went with just this one in the picture, and the results are much more pleasing (to me anyway)