Owner: Notes from the woods URL:http://www.grafphoto.com/wordpress Join Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 17:42:44 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Nature photography blog about composition, techniques, Photoshop, Lightroom, evironmental issues, and photography discussion in general Site statistics:Click here
Visual balance and the meadowlark 2007-04-15 15:21:58 I admit that I try not to over-analyze or think too much when in the field trying to come up with different compositions. Most of the time, I am playing around with what just looks and feels right to me. Sometimes this has to be very quick for a fleeting moment. [...] Read more:Visual
Alien Ice 2007-04-18 03:05:23 I shot this ice image along with my other ice patterns back last month. This one sat in my ‘to-do’ que for awhile. I go back to these over time and determine how I want to handle some images that just don’t thrill me out of the camera. I have [...] Read more:Alien
Hepatica from the archives 2007-04-23 21:54:29 I have been out of commission the past few days with a bad case of the flu, and unfortunately more concerned about coughing up a lung than getting out in the great spring weather we have started to have here.
I just snagged a 1978 Nikon 50 mm 1.4 lens off of Ebay that I plan [...]
Most expensive photographs, and today? 2007-04-23 17:55:44 Just sharing an interesting link to a list over on Wikipedia. I don’t suppose I will ever understand why these images fetch the prices they do. I can understand some of them hold fairly significant historical reference, like one of the first color photographs
. Ansel Adam’s Moonrise is on the [...]
Looking at Trillium in different ways 2007-04-29 16:27:57 Howard Grill had written previously about some challenges he was facing in trying to come up with new ways to photograph trillium that is in bloom this time of year. I had commented on one of his original posts that I often face the same creative block with certain subjects. At [...] Read more:Trillium
, different
Alternate pursuits and talents 2007-04-29 01:35:38 During my flu ‘break’ last week I came across a nice interview with Anthony Hopkins on daytime television. Normally I think they should just save the airwaves with most things found on daytime television, but that is another matter. Anyway, I had learned that Anthony Hopkins is also an avid painter. [...]
Respect and gift of trust 2007-05-02 04:46:05 More often than not, when wildlife encounters man it runs. After all, we have given good reason to a lot of species on our planet to run away from us, good reasons for a lack of trust
. At other times, if not running, there is some type of ‘conflict.’ [...]
Late for a leaf and light 2007-05-05 01:57:02 So I am getting ready for work in the morning and looking out our bedroom window. The sun is just starting to come up. I notice the new leaves on a maple tree in our yard are glowing brilliant orange from being backlit by the sun. (This is a Crimson [...] Read more:light
Going for the glow - rotate yourself 2007-05-07 01:10:09 This spring I seem to find myself attracted to more ‘glowing things’ than ever before. I don’t know if I am more perceptive to this type of light now, or I just have glow on the brain. It can be difficult ’seeing’ situations like this because they typically occur when the [...] Read more:Going
Cramming a subject into a style box 2007-05-14 02:26:15 Something I think about from time to time is an artist’s style or theme they apply to their work. I was visiting a few websites lately where the photographers had all of their images with the same monochrome toning regardless of subject
. It looks very nice when presenting a portfolio - consistency [...]
Color and color alone 2007-05-13 02:19:57 Sometimes when I am trying to capture the characteristics that attracted me to a subject, I really just want that characteristic to be portrayed in the image. For flowers in particular, sometimes it is just the color that I am amazed by. But trying to communicate just color, and not [...] Read more:alone
Endangered Species Day 2007-05-18 12:51:40 Today is Endangered Species
Day. From the name, it is obvious what it is about, but if you want a little more info and background, you can head over to this site. So what do you do for this day? Well, the Endangered Species Coalition certainly has a lot of good [...]
The opportunity at last 2007-05-20 18:48:54 Anyone who has been following this blog for awhile knows that red foxes have evaded me for many, many years despite several efforts on my part to be hidden, in the right place at the right time, even using tracking during winter to find probable den sites. If not, you can see these prior [...]
Relaxing at the den 2007-05-24 07:18:44 I got most of my way through editing my fox shots from this past weekend. The more I use Lightroom, the more I appreciate its features in being able to sort through a day’s shoot and do very quick editing of the keepers, shots destined for the trashcan, and the best of the lot. [...]
The black background 2007-05-27 13:56:32 Quite a few nature photographers carry around a black velvet cloth with them when they photograph wildflowers. The purpose is to completely get rid of distracting background
elements and it can create quite a dramatic effect complimenting the subject.
I don’t use this technique very much because I tend to go for more [...]
Contrasting portrayals in processing 2007-05-28 18:47:02 Something I was thinking about when processing this lady slipper image was how gritty and ‘hard looking’ it was becoming, and how that is normally the opposite of how flowers are portrayed. Perhaps one might stereotype flower photographs as being ‘pretty’, ‘delicate’,’soft’, or even to the point of sensual ala Georgia O’Keeffe. [...]
Edgy detours to Spring 2007-06-02 21:24:58 I find myself wanting to push the limits of maximizing contrast for many of my spring images lately. I think it adds, for lack of a better term, perhaps a bit more drama to a photograph. It takes a bit of a detour from presenting spring as I normally have, time [...] Read more:Spring
Shaking the trees 2007-06-06 19:43:23 For the longest time now I have made these types of images that appear part painting, part sketch, part photograph. Really it is a bit of whimsical camera play just by making exposures while doing anything BUT holding the camera steady. The objects (usually trees) become large brushes on a bigger [...] Read more:Shaking
Safari for Windows - looks good! 2007-06-11 17:33:51 Apple seems to be on a command and conquer roll. They just introduced an update to their internet browser Safari
, previously an exclusive for Macs, but now for Windows
as well. Since I do all my web design on a Windows PC, it is difficult for me to check the appearance of [...]
A day inside 2007-06-09 09:02:48 Despite a clear morning and fairly calm weather, I didn’t go out shooting today. A carryover headache from the prior night just killed my motivation. Instead I slept in and decided to catch up on some website tweaks and image editing I have had on my to-do list for awhile now. [...] Read more:inside
Don’t ignore your own yard… 2007-06-12 20:31:21 I don’t spend enough time in my own yard photographing the many critters that come to visit here. I have been pretty fortunate to catch a few rare ones, like the Coopers Hawk that was visiting for awhile. But I haven’t really spent enough time photographing the more “common” visitors, like [...] Read more:hellip
Songs of Insects 2007-06-12 12:02:56 I heard a fantastic story on my NPR podcast today, an interview with the authors of a new book on the songs of insects, Wil Hershberger and Lang Elliott. You can hear it here. As they mention in the story, there is an abundance of information about bird song, even frog songs, [...] Read more:Insects
Eye of the Swamp 2007-06-17 16:29:00 a tract of wet, spongy land, often having a growth of certain types of trees and other vegetation, but unfit for cultivation… Swamp
s were generally seen as useless and even dangerous…
These are a couple of definitions I pulled off the web regarding the word ’swamp.’ I have often wondered about the negative associations [...]
Down time? 2007-06-22 21:24:14 Please bear with any possible issues any visitors may be having here, or comments not showing up. I am experiencing some issues with my hosting service that I am trying to resolve. I already lost some updates and perhaps a few comments. Thank you for your patience. It is the first time I am experiencing [...]
Standing tall 2007-06-26 21:08:04 I have been limiting my blogging activities lately due to trying to figure out what is grabbing resources at my web host. I ‘ll post more about it when it is resolved. Until then, I’ll share a new image shot in my backyard recently. I still [...] Read more:Standing
Excessive resources; return from banishment 2007-07-05 16:32:27 So lately I have been pleased with the increased traffic on my site, I am making many more print sales and my site is turning up in Google searches on the first couple of pages. Traffic has actually more than doubled this year to date alone.
A couple of weeks ago, I got [...]
Technostress 2007-07-04 15:59:54 For anyone who has visited here in the last 24 hours or so probably wondered what the heck was going on. Last night my blog acted very strangely as I was saving a post - in fact - it kicked me out, and asked me to log in again. Only this time, [...]
Protect your images with watermarks 2007-07-08 10:02:42 I have read various opinions on protecting images from copyright violations over the years. The bottom line is any picture on the internet could potentially be used illegally. The only way to be 100% protected is to not have them online to begin with, which isn’t an option for many. [...] Read more:Protect
You will burn your eye out kid 2007-07-06 21:46:16 I don’t have the opportunity to do silhouettes like this very often. Today I saw some coneflowers that were on the side of a hill where the sun would be rising directly behind them. It is the kind of shot that requires a bit of prevision because once the sun is [...]
Pure Michigan 2007-07-13 19:26:51 Just out is a special Governor’s edition of the Great Lakes region nature journal Whisper in the Woods. It was published in cooperation with the Governor’s office to celebrate the diversity of life and seasons in Michigan
and features many Michigan nature photographers. I am sincerely honored that one of my images was [...]
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