Altered Reality

I have said that because the human brain doesn't see frames around things, photographers manipulate reality simply by framing a subject and clicking the shutter. I have also said that as a rule, I don't like to use software (such as Photoshop) to further manipulate reality.But guess what? I have been learning new things in Photoshop and this tulip photo and the one from yesterday are results of fairly heavy "altered reality." What have I done? It involves layers and blending options.But forget about that. Instead, I hope you like the dark, mysterious look and the deep tones of the reds and greens in these tulips, which I found growing between two buildings on my morning walk in St. Paul last Sunday.

About To Burst

Pink Explosion

What caught my eye as I drove by this beautiful bed of tulips in front of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis was the fact that there were a few yellow flowers scattered amongst all then pink ones. Look closely at this photo and you will see one small, yellow tulip.

I took a few shots of the yellow flowers thinking my theme would be "Nonconformity." but I ended up shooting a plethora of pink tulips. The shots I liked best were the ones where I shot not the early morning sun. This way, the leaves and the heads are all backlit.

Green Collage

I'm playing with another app today. This one's called PhotoShake. It's a convenient way for me to recycle old stuff. :-)

Cloud Study ( iPhonography)

Deb and I spent part of our weekend at my in-laws' new lake home at Lake Okoboji in Iowa. While the weather was atrocious (windy and cold), the clouds produced by the bad weather were worth enjoying.

This shot was taken shortly after sunrise and, as has been the case lately, edited with Instagram on my iPhone.

Real Flowers and Real Dew

A couple years ago I realized that garden flowers look better when they are covered in dew. Since we don't always have dew in SD, I usually carry a spray bottle with me when I visit my wife's garden.But on this day, I was wandering around my aunt's Southern California neighborhood looking for photo opportunities. And I found real flowers coated with real dew.

Lilly Pond

Sometimes an obvious post title jumps out at me. And other times, nothing strikes me. Such is the case today. "Lilly Pond" is pretty boring, isn't it?This photo, incidentally, is a departure from my normal style in that I rarely would photograph flowers in full sun. But waiting for shade wasn't an option. This pond is one of a couple at the Mission at San Juan Capistrano and I was there on a sunny southern California day at high noon. This isn't my favorite time of day to shoot any photo but actually, this brightly lit lilly came out OK. To get the selective focus, I set my camera on aperture priority, set the aperture to widest number (4.0) and then lowered the ISO. I let the camera set the shutter speed. Notice the bokeh in the background?

Not Exactly Easter Lillies

But they are as close as I could come on this Easter Sunday in Southern California. These beautiful flowers were captured at the Mission at San Juan Capistrano.

Little Purple Flowers (iPhonography)

Originally posted here.

First Flowers

Finally, after what seemed like an endless winter, the snow is almost gone and the first delicate crocus are pushing up through the bare earth.This flower shot isn't anything new on this blog but these flowers are only a few days old. And to me they stand as a symbol of good things to come.

Rain, Fog & Trees

I drove up to what some people in Watertown call "Harmony Hill." It was a foggy morning and I was thinking that I would get an interesting shot of the ethanol plant down below, belching steam into the early morning fog. But when I got to the top of the hill, I couldn't even see the ethanol plant. But I did see this small group of trees, edged with the serpentine road that led to a nearby monastery.This shot is pretty seriously Photoshopped, in part because I've been learning a few new things and I wanted to practice them. This photo had 4 layers before I flattered it to publish it.Revision: I orignally posted a nearly square version but Jack's post inspired me to look again at the original crop. Jack's right: the full view is more "atmospheric."

Street Light

Early yesterday morning, I went out on the deck, where Deb, my wife, was standing. She said it felt a little like Hawaii and I politely disagreed, since it was 46 degrees it didn't smell like the tropics. But it was hazy and humid.As she started to list the things I had to do, I said, "Wait" and I went in to get my camera. I may not be in Hawaii but that doesn't mean there is nothing exotic to photograh - such as our neigbors' tree silhouetted against a street lamp and the deep purple morning sky.Even though I liked what I saw when I framed this photo, the camera saw it very differently and that's what I like about photography. Sometimes my camera captures things that I make better with software. But other times I see something and my camera makes it better with it's own internal software. It's a good relationship. . .