Composing at the Lake

 

Waiting for customers

Recently I walked around "my" lake again. This time I wanted to take different pictures here than I usually do - no herons and egrets, no plants, no trees... but pictures of all the other "stuff" that I can find around the lake.

Since I had just gone through "The art of seeing" by Cathy Walters, I paid special attention to composing my image through my viewfinder and not later while editing. Now, don't get me wrong, I usually don't "snap" photos and then edit them later, I always have a vision and compose the image while taking it, but sometimes I feel time pressured or am not quite sure and then crop the photo accordingly in Photoshop. This time, however, I really wanted to have the finished composition in most cases, and I am happy to report that I succeeded in doing that. Not only did I allow myself more time for every single shot, I also had more fun and "saw" more.

I took several shots of these tables and chairs at the Lakeside Grill until I was really happy with the composition. I tried vertical and horizontal frames and felt that this one was more dynamic. I also like the monochromatic color.

The picnic benches were different. Since they were part in shade and part in sun, the exposure was a real challenge and I am not too happy about this final shot as there are still too many spots that are "burnt out".

The crow was another challenge - the black bird was in the shade, checking out the barbecue. I brightened it up in Photoshop, but it got the light blueish tint that I couldn't get rid off. However, I still like the shot for its "story".

photo of the week

What is it about boats that I find so attractive? I just love a boat on water - I took so many pictures of this rowing boat - from the side, from behind etc. - but this one kept being the favorite from the very beginning. There really isn't much to see, but you get the feeling of openness, the future before you... you know what I mean.

A little detail at the Lakeside Grill

This is one of those water distribution systems (I think). Actually, it's just a detail, the whole thing was much bigger - you probably know what they look like, you can find them everywhere (and if it's not for water distribution or regulation, please let me know in the comments). I am not at all used to this kind of "industrial photography" and I am not sure whether I really like it. It was interesting to try several shots, but to be honest, my heart wasn't in it.

I was delighted when I saw this guy fishing with his little daughter. Somehow it was so touching.

And seriously, who can resist these geese butts??? A different kind of water ballet.

And after all - even though I said so - I could NOT resist taking (tons of) pictures of my beloved black-crowned night herons.

Could YOU pass up a beauty like this one??? Yes, they have red eyes like this!

Crow Central

Our neighborhood has a whole lot of crows. You can hear them everyday, their screams and sometimes really funny noises that always crack me up. We have many big old trees close to our house, and this is where the crows like to gather in the early evening. It's crow central big time.

They sit in the bare trees, enjoying the last rays of the sun...

... and in the pine trees across the street.

They love to sit on the wire right next to our house, chatting and busy hopping around.

I love to watch them individually. Each of them seems to be a character, and I do think that crows are full of good humor, but also quite sassy. I know that many people don't like them, but I have to admit that I love crows. They entertain me every day.

I've found a blog of a kindred spirit who loves to paint crows - MagicLoveCrow - and her paintings are beautiful and so much fun. They show the side of crows that I really love - and so does she.

Now - on which side are you? Do you like crows or not so much?

A Photo that Pops

A photo that pops - color pops, is the challenge for today's Texture Tuesday. The day I read about the new challenge (last Tuesday) I had just bought some roses from Trader Joe's. I loved their color, and there was no doubt that I would take some photos of them.

After I did some hue/saturation adjustments and turned it into black and white, I brought back the red in the roses. Then I blended it with Kim's texture "februarymagic" in Difference at 42%. Another hue/saturation adjustment and I was happy how it looked.

I thought I was done with today's challenge - but when the geek and I took a walk yesterday afternoon in the neighborhood we saw a huge crowd of crows sitting in a tree. It was amazing how many birds there were - it almost felt like "The Birds" - and hey, Bodega Bay is not too far away from here! Anyway, we took pictures of the crows, and when I looked at the photos at home, I had to play around with one of them in Photoshop. This is the result:

I first did a levels adjustment and then applied Kim's texture "kim klassenpumpkin grunge" in hard light blending mode at 91%, copied it and blended in soft light at 100%, followed by one more hue/saturation adjustment. The color really pops, it's almost glowing - that's what I wanted to achieve.