Yosemite #23
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Another in the Lost Yosemite series. Check out this magical image.
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Yosemite #22
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This is another from the "Lost Yosemite" series. This one started out as a stitched panorama however after a reflection I decided it had a fatal flaw. All the action is in the center. So out comes the crop tool and a square image results. This one I wish that I had a do-over on because the scene was full of potential. It is was taken during my first hour in Yosemite and I was just visually overwhelmed by the beauty.
Quail Feathers
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Tonite, I stopped and picked up some seed pods before returning to my car. I was drawn to their shape and color. On previous hikes, I found some California Quail feathers. Together, I made this scanned image but did not like the color. Plus, the black background felt too heavy so I inverted the scan and turned it to B&W with a sepia tint.
City Center Receding
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This is a montage of three images. The images of the tree trunks was taken in Samuel P Taylor park but never posted. The second image is a marsh scene from Coyote Creek trail. The final image was taken with my small digicam in downtown Oakland.
On an earlier B&W post, Terri mentioned the B&W work on Andre Kertesz. This reminded me of a find at Photo San Francisco. Check out the Night Journey series of Susan Kae Grant. I visited the Modern Book booth and was fortunate to see her entire portfolio. On my B&W images, I must try a more creative approach to unblock myself. I think all the masterful B&W work that I have seen is running through my head and stopping my own experimentation.
Day Lilies
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This one is a montage of a night shot of day lilies outside In-and-Out Burgers with a waterfall with ferns shot. I definitely went through about 3 dozen layers to end up with this effect.
Yosemite #21
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This is from my ’lost Yosemite’ series. I found some photos that I never posted from my Yosemite visit. These are not favorities but worth posting. So now, I have more images until I get back out there. This was taken my first day in the park during midday full sun. I used a high-dynamic range (HDR) image with about 7 bracketed images. You can see the clouds move between shots.
On a different note, Terri has pointed out that I have no photo of myself on my site. I have be negligent and my only excuse is that I hate to have my photo taken. However, I want to apply for a passport. I am considering visiting London for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Charity Gala Preview over in England. They contacted me about using a water lily image for their promotion. Well, that got me thinking why not go visit?
Orton Technique
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Tonite, I am deeply touched by Terri’s recent post. Terri authors Wind Lost, a blog, about her struggles with chronic tension headaches which she handles with grace and courage. Terri is also a gifted photographer. Her posting has inspired me to try out some new techniques with my black and white photography, called the Orton technique.
I attended a Freeman Patterson/Andre Gallant workshop recently and both use the Orton technique regularly. The basic idea is to combine two shots together of the same scene. Both are overexposed. The first shot is overexposed by 2 stops and sharp (think f/22). The second shot is out-of-focus with the lens wide open and about 1 stop overexposed. If you shoot slides, you sandwich the slides together. If you are digital, you combine the images into a single Photoshop file. Place the out-of-focus layer on top of the sharp layer and change the blending mode to Multiply. See here for a Orton Photoshop action.
You can simulate the Orton technique using a single image. Open and image. Add a Level Adjustment Layer. Move the midtone slider to something like 1.50 (this you can play with later). Copy the background layer and place it above the adjustment layer. Now, change the Blending Mode of copy to Multiply. Apply Lens Blur onto the copy of the background layer. If your version of Photoshop does not have Lens Blur, go ahead and use Gaussian Blur. The more blur means the stronger the effect. Finally, add a second Levels adjustment layer on top of your blurred layer. Adjust the level’s midpoint to something like 125. From here, you can experiment with the level adjustments, amount of blur, etc.
If you would like more inspiration, Andre Gallant has a book called Dreamscapes.
If you are considering taking a photographic workshop, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Freeman Patterson-Andre Gallant workshop. I had a fantastic time and loved Canada. I have never met nicer people. As a bonus, I met many wonderful photographers.
Accidental Self-Portrait
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This is another from my baby-steps into black and white film photography. I was upstairs in the Borders bookstore in Santana Row. I noticed the palm fronds outside the window and thought -- hmmm maybe a good black and white photo. Instead here I am gripping the camera (in bad form because my left-hand is not cradling the lens) appearing through the blurry fronds. I was using manual focus and I am not sure what I thought was sharp. I am using my favorite 50mm f/1.4 lens which is my default lens when I need lightweight, fast, etc.
On a digital technique note, I tried simulating the creamy effects of a cold head enlarger using Noise Ninja. Actually, I have never been in a wet darkroom and did not know what that meant but I do like the effect. For all the details, check out Doug Plummer’s Dispatches.
On the humorous side, I spoke to Mother this morning. She has already called my B&W film adventure ’stupid’. For any B&W photographers reading this posting, please do not take offense, just remember that she does not really know anything about photography. Well, she saw yesterday’s post and said "I guess it is pretty enough if you could just add some color."
Berkeley Botanical Gardens
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Well, my adventures with B&W film continue. To my surprise, the processing of my second roll of Kodak 400CN is totally different than my first roll. The first roll was mailed to a lab and came back with WAY TOO much contrast and a strong sepia/magenta cast. I thought well what am I going to do with my other 8 rolls of film? So, I continued shooting my second roll of Kodak 400CN film. This time, I was going to use the one-hour photo at Costco to process. The technician claimed it needed B&W processing and just would not believe that it was supposed to be processed in color chemicals. I wended my way through the crowds to leave. I headed across the street to Ritz Camera. The prints cost me 3x as much and came back completely different. The prints are neutral and fairly flat. That is great because I can add contrast to my taste after scanning.
On a different note, most of my images from my second roll are fairly boring. I am feeling really exhausted and creatively depleted lately. I visited Santana Row this weekend and took a roll of B&W film. Most of the images are so what and some are what was I thinking! I hope to go out and find my muse again soon.
Peacock Feather #3
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This maybe the last of the peacock feathers for a while. If you are wondering, I used a very simple setup for these images. I have a Sigma 50mm macro lens that can go to life-size. I placed the peacock feather wreath on my desk with a desk lamp shining down onto it. The light is from Sharper Image and is daylight balanced. I use this light to evaluate prints.
Peacock Feathers #2
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Peacock Feathers #1
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I bought a peacock feature wreath a few weeks ago with the idea that it could become a macro subject. Tonite, I took a few images that will be appearing over the next few weeks.
Flowering
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This is my first film shot. Right now, I am fairly frustrated with the entire process. The worst is the scanning. I can only get the scan to work (with anything visible) when fully automatic. So, I guess I will have to read the manual. This is Kodak BWCN film. It is printed in normal color solution but comes out very warm with a little magenta cast. I converted this to B&W in Photoshop.
Geraniums (?)
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I think this is a geranium. However, I am not sure.
Today, I went out to lunch at a Thai restaurants about 4 blocks from my office. I work in downtown San Francisco. I was with my boss but really wanted to dawdle and take a ton of pictures. Now, I am inspired and have a personal goal to go out tomorrow and get some new images.
Lately, I have been reflecting back on my whole photographic experience. It all started pretty simply about 3 years ago. I used to dabble in oil painting in high school (a long time ago). When I went off to college to become a mechanical engineer, I never painted again. About three years ago, I was commuting quite a ways to work. Every day, I would cross the Dumbarton Bridge and return in the evening. The skies were spectacular and reflecting in the calm bay waters. It inspired me to paint again. I decided that I really like watercolors and signed up for a weekend workshop from a gifted artist. I bought a small digital camera just to take record shots for later paintings. Well, I am a totally unskilled watercolorist and was by far the worst in my workshop. However, the ladies in the watercolor workshop liked my photos and gave me encouragement to pursue my photography. I think my photo montages are my frustrated inner painter.
Moonlit Walk
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Purple Flowers
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Yes, another from the archives. I went to pick up my film and found out that it will not be ready for 4 days. I hope to get out soon with the digital camera and get a few new pics.
Hibiscus Blossoms
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Another from the archives. Today, I went out and shot my first roll of B&W film. I wanted to do a little ’chimping’ on the preview the entire time and of course there was no preview on my film camera body. I am going to drop off the roll tomorrow and should see them tomorrow evening. Whether or not I post depends on how it turns out. For my first outing, I hope that I end up with one postable image out of 36.
When I told my mother that I had purchased a new film camera body. She said why? I said because black and white film is different than digital color converted to B&W. I have looked at B&W prints and the range of light that B&W film can capture is about twice as big as what digital can capture. Therefore, the effect is very different. Next, she talked to Chip. When he said that she would have to wait to see the my first film efforts. She says "Dorothy bought a film camera! Why!". Sigh. Sometimes, mother just does not listen.
Blue Chips
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Another from the archives. Today, I did not make it out for photo adventuring and stayed in bed instead.
Reaching Out
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I really need to get out and take some more pictures. I am running out of material to post. Hopefully, I will have something new ready this weekend.
Pink Triangles
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Another from the archives. Taken last month in Crockett.
Swept Along
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Another for my "Urban Woodlands" series.
Tonite, I had good news waiting in my mailbox. I just found out that I received an Honorable Mention in the Photographer’s Forum Annual Photo Contest. This is my third year of entering, and I have been a finalist in the last two years but no better. Of course, the question now is which picture? I do not know. In fact, I cannot which (3) images that I submitted. Here are the (4) possible pictures. My guess is that it is "Devils Gulch Trail #2".
Frozen Wave
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I have been digging into the archives to find this one. I guess this is part of the "Rust and Decay" series.
Down at the Corner
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Just a simple shot taken while visiting Santana Row. I have been making a lot of shots with this composition lately.
PS. You know after looking at this image posted -- it could become "Something Wicked This Way Comes". The one rose looks like it is peeking around the corner at the looming darkness. Hmmm. Now, I have to ponder the significance of why I selected this image.
Purple Daisies
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After all the manipulation, just a simple shot of flowers from Santana Row.
Step In
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I am running out of material. I have to go out sometime this week and shoot some new images.
Swimming Upstream
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Another in my "Urban Woodland" series.
Enter the Circus
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A circus mural from Santana Row combined with a door and flower image.
A Touch of Frost
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Another image that I am unsure of...but good enough to post.
Note: I am in the process of transferring the dorothyphoto.com domain. If you experience any problems, you can always view the blog at http://www.dorothyphoto.com and email me at dgantenbein@comcast.net.
Palms Reflected
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A reflection from Gucci’s window. I did a serious perspective correction to straighten the palms.
Note: I am in the process of transferring the dorothyphoto.com domain. If you experience any problems, you can always view the blog at http://www.dorothyphoto.com and email me at dgantenbein@comcast.net.
Taking Over
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Another composite in the "Urban Woodlands" series.
Note: I am in the process of transferring the dorothyphoto.com domain. If you experience any problems, you can always view the blog at http://www.dorothyphoto.com and email me at dgantenbein@comcast.net.
Posing
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Just a shot from a store window in Santana Row.
Note: I am in the process of transferring the dorothyphoto.com domain. If you experience any problems, you can always view the blog at http://www.dorothyphoto.com and email me at dgantenbein@comcast.net.
