I love daisies.
I picked a bunch and spent an afternoon photographing them and editing the photos back in July of 2016. This was the high-contrast, black and white version.
bookmark_borderBlack and White Daisies
Tag: black and white
bookmark_borderAhura and Xercei
I know I said I wasn’t going to put much personal stuff on this site, but this is an exception because it is one of my favorite photos ever. It combines two of my favorite subjects and I love how it came out.
This was actually a more-or-less candid shot. Xercei is only 4 weeks old (August 23, 2019) and he had just figured out that he wanted to keep her. He had been bonding with her laying on his chest and I was photographing the other puppies. I turned around and he had lifted her up to his face to talk to her.
The editing was so simple for this one, everything came together perfectly. The background was already fairly dark so I just darkened it further and eliminated any small distractions in Photoshop. I translated it to black and white and boosted the texture a little bit to accentuate his skin and tattoo.
This is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken and is very special to me.
bookmark_borderIllumination
I took this on Valentine’s day 2014. We actually had these outside on our deck to celebrate the Lantern Festival around Chinese New Year. This particular lantern is black, it was (obviously) dark and the snow was white; I felt it was best rendered in black and white. The little tealight provided all the light for the photo. I used a tripod and a longer exposure to capture it.
bookmark_borderSucculent Shadows
This one I took in January of 2014. One of the first times I experimented with shadow and shape. I really liked the combination of the shape and varying tones of the shadows cast by the plant and my window frame and the texture of the painted wall they fall on.
It was a photo I took on a whim that I never wound up doing anything with, but I find that I actually really like it, despite the fact that it’s a departure from the kinds of photos I generally like to make.
bookmark_borderMaribou on grass
I took one of these on my iTouch (you can see it on my Instagram page) and decided I wanted to see what I could do with it from my camera in Lightroom.
It’s exactly the same image, just taken with a different camera and edited in a different program (I use Snapseed on my iTouch, Lightroom and Photoshop on my computer). I wanted to see if I could bring out the texture in the feather while keeping the background blurry.
Just a fun experiment!
bookmark_borderFeather and water droplets
Another one of my favorite things; feathers. Normally grungy tattered feathers would offend me (I like my feathers pristine, straight and clean!) but they are uniquely photogenic. I discovered this one in the mud after a rainy night and the combination of the lines, holes and sharp points displayed in the feather and the roundness of the water droplets (plus that dark, dark background) was compelling to me. I think it makes an interesting image.
bookmark_borderA New Day
I’m going (to try) to make this as uncomplicated as possible. I figure if I don’t impose too many rules on myself about this blog from the beginning, I am more likely to keep up with it and let it grow organically into whatever it is going to be.
In case you’ve been looking around but hadn’t noticed the dates of my posts, they are pretty varied and pretty far apart. Way back in 2014 I had set myself on a picture-a-day photo challenge and uploaded my images to a private blog that nobody could see but me. Last summer I thought I wanted to make it public, and even wrote a few new posts, but it turned out I wasn’t ready so I abandoned the project.
But now I’m ready.
(…well, I’m not really, but it seems that it’s time to do it anyway so I’m making myself ready)
So I’m starting the project for real this time. I’m taking off any expectations I may have about what I want it to be or what it could turn into (though I’ll keep dreaming about it making me rich!) and make it public so that I can’t back out of it this time.
deep breath
For now, I will just upload photos as individual posts and write what I feel like writing. I will do this where and how I feel like it in the beginning, just to get the ball rolling, and we’ll see where this goes.
The idea is to make my images available for people to see. To keep me accountable to creating my art so I can get better and eventually be able to make the kinds of images I really want to make.
So here it is; my first uploaded image of my (newly redesigned and remade) photoblog.
This is an image of my breakfast I took some months ago. I like capturing images like this because it was something completely everyday and ordinary, yet, when seen from a certain perspective (and with a certain amount of editing in Lightroom), it became something beautiful.
This is how I see life–I tend to find beauty in completely normal, mundane things–so it pleases me to be able to capture that feeling so I can show it to others.
And that’s my first (REAL, public) photoblog post. Phew!
Thanks for reading!
bookmark_borderBy Appointment Only
In continuing with photographing regularly, I went for something that caught my eye today. Someone must have picked up the fallen sign and placed it on the bench (the whole sign needs to be replaced, it fell and split in two with all the wind and snow we had midwinter). I have always liked the texture of that bench in black and white and I like the lines and perspective as well. Not one of my best images (I rather like it though!) but good practice for rendering into black and white.
bookmark_borderUnicorn
Our unicorn statue (name as yet unknown).
bookmark_borderNew Lens!
I got a new toy! I ordered a set of cheap-o macro filters and got a chance to really try them out today. Here are some photos I took in the backyard using the 10x filter. I love these things! Now I can finally get really close and get those lovely smeary backgrounds I have been craving for so long…
bookmark_borderWhite Moth
The carcass of a white moth on a pair of my feather earrings on my shelf (beneath the ubiquitous compact fluorescent bulb).
bookmark_borderFlower Petal
Close-up of a red sunflower in the backyard.
bookmark_borderSilver Flower
The backside of a red sunflower in our backyard. I adore the color of these flowers but found this image much more powerful in black and white.
bookmark_borderFeather Earrings
Close-up of a cluster of earrings on my shelf with drastically increased luminance to remove all the noise from the high ISO.
bookmark_borderMirror’s Edge
This is the mirror up against the brick chimney in my office. I liked the lines and textures and the grunge feel of this image. It was a last-minute shoot but I really like what I got from it!
bookmark_borderMoth on a Box
I could have called this Triangle Moth. Looking closer he has a goofy face!
bookmark_borderA Fungus Among Us
This mushroom is growing out from underneath our kitchen counter right next to the sink! It may be a bit damp around there…
bookmark_borderStop Lights
I really like this image! Today was a rare opportunity to do some urban photography as I spent all day outside in town. Here’s some more:
bookmark_borderMoth on a Comb
Another late night without having photographed anything. Luckily this little guy was around! Something about this image reminds me of those deep personal images found in 70’s issues of magazines like TIME. He’s a very important moth.
bookmark_borderCurlicue
Despite the high ISO and noise I really like this image. I especially like it rendered in black and white like this. Very simple.
bookmark_borderLiving Lace
The underside of a head of Queen Anne’s lace hanging to dry in the backyard. The resulting image reminds me of an old-fashioned woman’s lace collar.
bookmark_borderPeace Lily Flower
Close-up of my peace lily blossom at night under my huge compact fluo at a high ISO.
bookmark_borderCaterpillar
This is an Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar. I was very excited to find two of these guys on my rue plant this morning. One of my favorite butterflies! I made a few images that I like and it took me a long time to decide but there’s something striking about the image in black and white so I chose this one.
bookmark_borderBlack and White Horses
I seem to have a black and white theme this week! I love horses and would love to have more opportunities to photograph them, unfortunately I don’t see them all that often and am usually preoccupied with interacting with them personally rather than photographing them from a distance. Hence, this is not my best work (I only got 3 today!) but I wanted to put it up for my day’s photo as I haven’t put up any horses yet as my daily image. So here are three eating their lunch.
bookmark_borderMagic Moss
This was the only photo I took today! Not on purpose, I was called in the moment after I made this shot. Glad it came out somewhat decent (though I would have made a better image if I had a bit more time). I think I made up for it by putting some fun effects on it.
bookmark_borderDreamcatcher
This is one of the dreamcatchers in our set for Artemis. I liked how the feathers and ribbon are backlit and there’s a little bit of spiderweb showing as well. As this shot is primarily about light, I preferred it in black and white.
bookmark_borderMarabou Bokeh
This is a marabou feather on one of our outdoor dreamcatchers. I took it in late afternoon and love it rendered in black and white. I’m really pleased with this simple image.
bookmark_borderPreserved Dandelion Puff
This is a giant dandelion puff that Ahura preserved for me by spraying it with polyurethane so it made a perfect subject for a late-night photo in front of the ubiquitous black shirt and compact fluorescent bulb.
bookmark_borderOrchid
It was late and I came up with something quick (using my trusty giant compact fluorescent bulb and black shirt). The image is a bit soft because I was holding the flower pot with one hand and Daisuke (my camera–he has a name now!) with the other. Pretty as the colors are, I prefer the image in black and white.
bookmark_borderThor’s Armor detail
My husband asked me to take photos of the movie props and costumes today so I got this close-up as well because I like the shapes and texture of the fur.
bookmark_borderWildflowers
This is one of those days where I just have to pick one and go with it. Ironically we were filming today and I had my camera with me, I just didn’t wind up taking many photos and at the end of the day I wasn’t left with much to choose from. Motivation to make sure I’m more deliberate about making my images I guess!
bookmark_borderIris Detail
Detail of an iris in the back yard. I actually preferred this one in black and white as I was able to increase the contrast and clarity on the stripes in the center of the petal.