Tropical Dreams

This one dates back to 2002 and was taken somewhere south of Cancun, Mexico. I'm thinking of getting some kind of semi-opaque version of this to stick to the window I look out when I am working on my photos. Why not turn our back yard into an inviting tropical pool, palm trees and all? And you are all invited!Canon 1D 1/250s f/8.0 ISO250 34mm

A View From the Eye

It's the London Eye, of course. This is a shot I took several years ago on a trip with students that took us to London, Paris and Rome. The Thames looks really brown in this photo, but some of that is due to the HDR and contrast process I applied to this photo.Canon 5D 1/200s f/10.0 ISO250 24mm

Conveyance (Variation)

In the three years that I've been posting to this blog, I try not to post the same photo twice. However, I'm reposting yesterday's photo again, but this time with a different look.Why am I doing this? In part because I want to show the kind of impact color and black and white can make on a scene. I guess I'm also show the kind of power the digital photographer has these days in manipulated photos through fairly simple processes - such as what I've done.

Conveyance

Ljubljana, Slovenia, is a picturesque town that a photographer could easily get lost in. There are things someone like me, from a small town in a rural state, never sees - such as rustic looking painted bicycles.However, I do believe that if someone came to Watertown from Slovenia to photograph our town, they would find strange and photogenic things that we would probably ignore.Giant cowboys might be an example. . . .

Reindeer & Bokeh

This is the same tree as I used last year for my "Procession" post. But this year a reindeer dropped in to pose regally. And, yes, there is nice bokeh in the background.

Manipulated Reality

This was done as part of a teaching demonstration yesterday and while I have already posted a variation of this photo (click), I thought I'd post the doctored photo.Everything thing you see here is "real" and existed in the original photo. The difference between my original post and this one is that there is software that will amplify and adjust the various bits of information, including color, contrast and sharpness. My own take on a photo like this is that it is interesting but that it isn't lasting art. Frankly, the first one may not be either.

Split Harbor (HDR)

This is not a true, layered HDR photo. Instead, I made it using Nik Software's Color Efex Pro 4.0 and Nik Efex HDR. It creates a bit of a surreal effect, I think.Are you a photography student wanting to know more about the process that leads to photos like this? Here's a tutorial I created this morning fresh off the video "press."

Ancient Doors

I'll admit that I know I was in Japan when I took this photo but I don't know where. It was a royal palace somewhere. If only I knew about GPS geotagging in 2004. . . .

12-01-11 Live To Eat?

This is a beautifully served creme brûlée that my wife had while we were staying in Rothenburg O.D.T. Here's what I had. (Click)Do we live to eat or eat to live? When Deb and I travel, it's a little of each. (And that's not Cool Whip on the right - it's real whipped cream!)

Presentation Is Everything

When Bill and Cathy Zubke cook, presentation is important. But the taste is really what it is all about. And I can tell you that this salad, prepared as part of an amazing meal at Lake Okoboji, was a brilliant way to start our feast.

Moonlight Ride

This photo is the second in a series I call "Taking Photos On a Bouncing Boat." The first photo shows up here, and, frankly, I like that one a lot more than this one. But as lakes turn to ice around here, I take some comfort in remembering this boat ride on a warm August night in Iowa.

Pink

As fall turns to winter, I start thinking about the transience of seasons. Where did summer go?