Stargazer Lilies

This morning, I read the papers and learned about the disastrous aftermath of hurricane Katrina. I hope that you and your loved ones are safe. Plus, a wish that the repairs and rebuilding can start soon.

Bouquet

Tonite, I got around to playing with our new scanner.  After taking the fine art printing course at SFAI, Michael Creedon showed prints made from scans of flowers.  I bought this cheery bouquet and gave it a shot.  I think that artistically arranging the flowers is tougher than it looks but fun to try.  Chip has had great fun scanning all his old shots.

Canon 5D

While C and I were at the gardens, we chatted with a few wedding photographers. They were getting setup for a wedding photo shoot as soon as the gardens closed to the public. After comparing a few equipment notes (they were Canon users as well), one of the guys confirmed that the Canon 5D is real. I had heard a rumor about it and seen a photo on DP Review. However, I was a little skeptical because the picture could have been a Photoshopped 20d. Here are the specs...

High Dynamic Range Images

I have recently upgraded to Photoshop CS2. My primary reason was interest in doing a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image. So far, I have not actually tried such an image. I was recently reading this month's Outdoor Photographer magazine. George Lepp shows an example of an HDR image from Hawaii. It is sunset at the beach with black lava rocks. He took 7 images each one-stop apart on exposure. The result is amazing.

Here is how to do an HDR image...

Hakone Gardens

C and I went back to Hakone Gardens. This time, we went in the late afternoon before they closed. That way, we could avoid the harsh midday light. Right before closing, the light was getting nice as shown here.

David Julian

I just read an article about Photographer/Photo Illustrator David Julian. He has fascinating photo montages. His web site is a hoot with the various parts of the brain lit up for each section. He gives workshops on creativity which makes me curious. How do you teach creativity?

This is another photo from last month's photo event in Hercules.

Photoshop Camera Raw

Tonite, I gave my talk on Photoshop Camera Raw. I got a little carried away on the write-up. Here is a link to the PDF (warning it is 3 mb so a dialup connection could take quite a while). I took a lot of material from Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2 by Bruce Fraser.

This is the Bamboo forest at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga.

Fremont Older

Here is another shot from yesterday's adventure with C. It feels good to take another infrared shot. It has been too long.

Naked Lady

Today, C and I went out for my photo shoot in about 6 weeks. We went to Fremont Older Open Space and then Hakone Japanese Gardens. This is from the side of the trail in Fremont Older. These lilies are a California native wildflower that only bloom for a short amount of time. I do not know their real name.

San Francisco Gate

Another picture taken near the San Francisco Art Institute. This is a regular black & white (not infrared).

Tigger

Tonite went over to C's house and had a wonderful Thai dinner. This is Tigger. She is very affectionate. I feel a little guilty because the previous shot I had flash turned on. She was very patient to let me take this one. This is a little blurry because it was handheld indoors at nite but good enough for a small posting.

Fine Art Digital Printmaking - Part 2

This weekend was the second and final weekend of my fine art digital printmaking course. This segement was taught by Michael Creedon (an instructor at the San Francisco Art Institute). Here are a few of the things that I learned.

Folksy Poppy

This is another shot from my Hercules field trip. It reminds me of a folk art painting of a California poppy.

Last weekend and next weekend, I am attending a Digital Fine Art Printing class. The class is at the San Francisco Art Institute. The first weekend was taught by J. Holmes. Joseph Holmes is an expert at printing. I will try to post his teachings as I absorb them. Here are a few tips.

Welcome Photoblogs Magazine Readers

Welcome, all readers of Photoblogs Magazine. This week, I am honored to be spotlighted. I found Photoblogs Magazine a few months ago. Since then, I have started reading a few (of the many) photo blogs listed on the site. From these blogs, I have seen many beautiful images and found creative inspiration. Please feel free to leave comments or send me an email so that I can visit your site.

This image is a banana leaf taken outside a restaurant while we were waiting for a table. I did not fiddle this image but did do a tonal adjustment. I was surprised (but pleased) to see the cyan pop out.

A Perfect Rose

Chip and I took our dogs for a quick walk around the neighborhood. I took the camera because I saw a white oleander bush in full bloom. None of the oleander shots were sharp -- there was to much breeze. However, this lovely rose bush was blooming. I was planning on montaging this with one of my Hercules industrial decay shots but decided it was too nice by itself. I have been reading Andre Gallant's "Dreamscapes" and feel inspired to photo montage again.

Tall Ships - Part 2

Another from yesterday's sail on the Tolafa. This is another shot of the Lynx with the Golden Gate bridge in the background. As you can see the fog was coming in. Even though the waves look tiny, the ship's deck was tilted and moving enough where one hand needed to hold onto a rope and just hope that the camera was steady. I did fiddle with this one a little and apply a cross-processing filter in Photoshop. That nudged the colors a little.