autumn redux

I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine 

by staying in the house. 

So I have spent almost all the daylight hours 

in the open air. 

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

How about a 'Throw back Thursday' post on this rainy January day?!

I love photographing the St. John's bridge in Portland, OR. 

It is iconic.

Every fall I seek out a venue from Cathedral Park 
that showcases the bridge framed by fall leaves.

This image is from an afternoon of leaf peeping on my birthday in October 2015. 

I was in a different part of the park than prior years.

I think it pays to revisit the same area more than once.
I will go to this park several times every autumn just
to watch the leaves change and fall over time.
That's always a thrill for this dyed in the wool autumn girl!

More practically, you learn which perspectives work, and which ones don't.

After all these years, I was delighted to find a fresh point of view.

FujiXT1 ISO 640 f/8.0 1/100sec XF18-135mm (112mm EFL)

perception

While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph 

can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, 

there is another in which it proves to us 

how little our eyes permit us to see.

~ Dorothea Lange

I wanted to change things up a bit when processing this image. 

I turned it 180 degrees and what were once branches reaching skyward,

became 'roots'.

I'm not a philosopher, so I will just leave it at that.

I like to process my images. Sometimes I do very little,

and sometimes I add textures and such.

 I like to see if there is another story to tell or another mood I can

evoke via processing that may not have been in the original image.

And sometimes, when I'm very lucky, the image SOOC is just what I wanted!

FujiXT1 ISO 200 f/2.8 1/75 sec  XF35mm (53mm EFL)

possibilities

Everything that is possible demands to exist.

~ Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

The first image of 2016.

I'm thinking about how to mix it up this year.

Spark my creativity a bit.

I've been listening to some photography pod casts in which a 52-week project is discussed.

One picture per week for the year.
365 day projects are a bit more demanding

and can become a chore.
Not what you want when you want to spark creativity.
 Chores can the photographer to gravitate to taking

mindless images just to produce something and meet a deadline.

Versus a 52 week project.
A project with a fresh theme each week.

I don't think there are any rules other than 

making an image each week.

It seems like a doable project.

Quite possible in fact.

Happy 2016!!

FujiXT1 ISO 320 f/2.4 1/280 sec  XF60mm macro (90mm EFL)

puddle play

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

~ Soren Kierkegaard

There are many great things about rain to write about. We'll save them for another post ;)

One of the best things about rain is the puddles it produces!

Puddles mean reflections.

Reflections add a unique element to your image
and are a great source for a creative photo opportunity!

Tips: Get low to the ground and close the water's edge:
this gives you more of the subject in the reflection.
Morning and late day are great times to shoot reflections - when the sun is low in the sky,
and you're able to get warm light to contrast with cool water tones.
Ripples provide an abstract element - and don't forget to play with long exposures!!
Avoid glare by looking for the light to fall on the subject not the water.

iPhone reflection photo tips (These are good concepts for any camera)
School of Digital Photography tips
Think outside the puddle (fun examples of reflection photography)!

I think this set of three puddles will be a constant source of entertainment for me

as the rainy season continues.

iPhone 6 / native camera

Snapseed

Stackables

moments

You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with. 

~ Wayne Dyer

Sometimes your mobile phone device is the only camera you have on hand - 

thereby, also making it your best camera at the moment.

We went kayaking a few weeks ago, and the iPhone camera was all I brought for capturing shots.

This is the first time I've actually processed an iPhone photo with Photoshop.

Usually I use just in-camera apps for any processing.
It worked pretty well.

As this is a photography blog, I think all cameras are game for generating images.

It's about what gear will capture the moment 

before the moment passes.
And perhaps equally important, it's about your own creative expression
and what works best for you at the time.

iPhone, DSLR, mirrorless or whatever...go out and shoot!!

iPhone 6 native camera Enlight app and Adobe CC2015