Into the City

city-blend

I took my multiple exposure obsession and ran with it for my “Old Master” assignment for my photo class. Instead of using my Van Gogh field of yellow flowers (which is very much in my comfort zone), I was inspired by Edward Steichen’s multiple exposure cityscapes of New York City to create a composite of three of my San Francisco images to create this one. This was a fun assignment- not only creating my own image, but seeing what the others chose. I think all of us really stepped out of our respective boxes!

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Balboa Abstract

It’s no secret that I love abstracts and photos that may not be exact replicas of the scene I am photographing. I started manipulating photos the first year I got my camera (and not always in a good way . . .), and right now I am obsessed with multiple exposures.  Here is one I took of Balboa Pier- all done in camera with minor editing in Lightroom.

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The “in camera” techniques are frustrating for this Photoshop lover- but there is something about the unpredictability of the result that makes it fun!

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October Color

Last week, Lonnie read a feature in our local paper about the beautiful fall color to be found at in Watson Woods, the riparian preserve by Watson Lake, only a mile or two from our house.  We drive by it every day, so we decided to go over there and see what we could see.

The photo below shows one of the first scenes to catch my eye- what photographer can resist reflections?

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Here’s another version of the same scene- with intentional camera movement for an impressionistic view.

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We walked until the mid afternoon heat started to catch up with me (why was I wearing long sleeves and a vest?), and then we stopped to soak in the atmosphere before walking back to the car.

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Bay Bridge(s)

I’ve been a little obsessed with multiple exposures lately- both in camera and in Photoshop.  Here’s a double view of the San Francisco Bay Bridge at night, with some distortions and reflections adding to the unreality of the image. The double exposure was created in Photoshop, rather than in camera.

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Keys . . . and Twigs

The theme for my AAUW photo group today is Locks and Keys. I selected several past images of padlocks to bring, but then I decided that, since I wanted to play with my Lensbaby Edge 80, I would take a couple photos of keys to bring as well.

After taking a few shots of keys spread out in different configurations, a small branch I have on my shelf of props caught my eye. I ended up hanging keys on twigs, and came up with these two images:

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When I was all finished shooting, I combined two other images in camera, which I then converted to a split toned black and white in Lightroom. What looks like an added texture is actually the garage floor!

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Ruby’s on the Pier

While we were in Newport Beach, we would walk every day over to Balboa Pier, and on our first day we split a chocolate- banana milkshake at Ruby’s- yum! I said I wanted to come back in the evening and get a shot with it lit up, so the next night I brought my tripod along as we walked over at sunset. Our son, Matt was with us, and wasn’t too enthusiastic about me setting up my tripod on the pier just to take a photo of the diner. I wanted to wait until it got darker, but ended up snapping my shot right after the sun went down. No, we didn’t have dinner there. 😦  But Matt did agree it made a good photo when he saw the edited version. 🙂

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Beachiness

We have just returned from a quick trip to Southern California to visit our son. We walked on the beach with him at sunset, and I grabbed this quick shot when I saw silhouettes against the orange sky. I think the fellow on the far right might be taking a selfie!

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Shadow Play

As this leaf skittered around on the glass tabletop in the fall breeze, I took several photos with the plain glass as backdrop. But there was something about the juxtaposition of the leaf, its shadow, and the tabletop pattern that caught my eye. I added some textures and tones in Photoshop to create this little piece of photo art.

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Macro Play

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a macro workshop at a photo club member’s home. It was less of a workshop than a play session with Joe’s STUFF- and he has a lot of STUFF!  There were LED lights and macro light rings and a light tent. There were backdrops set up and props to photograph. There were extra lenses and extension tubes for Nikon (yay!). And there was Camranger (a wireless DSLR controller and focus stacker)- wow!  It was a fun experience and left me with some new items to add to my photography wishlist!

Most of us photographed this milkweed pod.

joes_weedJoe’s old watch was a favorite subject- it might need a little dusting though. . .

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20160921-mma_6010_melinda_anderson-editAll in all- a good way to spend a morning!

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