One Photo Focus September 2016
Posted on September 2, 2016
After a bit of a hiatus, I’ve decided to participate again in the monthly One Photo Focus organised by Stacy at Visual Venturing.
This is her original image:
And here is my version:
I felt that the composition could be enhanced by focusing more tightly on the ship, which is obviously the main subject. Accordingly, I cropped out the left hand side of the original so that the bowsprit formed a strong diagonal from top left, while the masts and yardarms present clear horizontals and verticals.
Other than that, I took down the Luminescence of the Orange and Blue channels in order to make the superstructure of the ship stand out more and to add a little detail to the sky. Orange and blue work well together.
Finally, I boosted Clarity and Vibrance to add what Lightroom describes as ‘Punch’, and sharpened.
Thursday Doors: Thiers – Odds
Posted on September 1, 2016
The second instalment of the doors of Thiers features those with odd numbers.
The narrow streets of the medieval centre are quite steep in parts, as you can see here:
…and here (not so old, but just as tatty):
Over time, street level has risen, leaving some doors with what could be desxribed as restricted access:
I couldn’t not include this door with the adjacent mural:
And on a hot day, this seemed like a good idea:
Thursday Doors 1 September 2016
Tuesdays of Texture: Cobbles
Posted on August 30, 2016
For Tuesdays of Texture this week, I’ve chosen an image that I came across again when I was looking through my photographs of Petra, (yet) another of which I used for the latest WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.
This is a detail of one of the city’s cobbled streets: note the rut worn in the cobbles by the passing of countless wheels thousands of years ago:
52 Weeks Photo Challenge: Week 4 – Reflections
Posted on August 29, 2016
Very happy to see that reflections is the new topic for the 52 Weeks Photo Challenge. That’s much more like it – one of my favourite subjects, in fact.
This is an image of the River Vienne as it runs through Confolens. The water is calm at this point, just upstream from the weir
Weekly Photo Challenge: Frame
Posted on August 27, 2016
Two frames for the price of one in this photograph, taken from the entrance of one of the tombs at Petra, looking through an archway to the rows of seats in the theatre beyond.
Monochrome Mistletoe
Posted on August 26, 2016
The subject for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week is Trees. Here’s an image of some mistletoe-laden oak trees in a nearby lane. Tilting the camera so that the trees appear diagonally adds a little drama to the image, I think.
Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Trees
52 Weeks Photography Challenge: Week 3 – Self-Portrait
Posted on August 25, 2016
Week 3 of the 52 Weeks Photo Challenge being hosted by thegirlthatdreamsawake calls for a self-portrait.
Oh. This is not a topic I care for. At all.
In fact, I find it hard to think of anything worse, or anything I’m less interested in as a photographer. And don’t even get me started on selfie sticks, which I’ve railed against elsewhere.
However, since I like to see things through once I’ve started them, I’ll go along with it and hope for better things in Week 4.
So, courtesy of Apple’s Photo Booth app, here’s something:
Nothing to see here: move on.
Thursday Doors: Thiers – doors without number
Posted on August 25, 2016
Thiers is a major town in the Auvergne region of France. It has a well-preserved medieval centre and is widely known as the nation’s knife capital. I mean that in a good way: it is the centre of the knife (and, more broadly, the cutlery) industry. Just like it says here:
As I discovered on a recent visit, it is also quite possibly the French motherlode for interesting doors, both ancient and modern. In fact, I spotted so many irresistible portals that I’ve had to split them into three posts for sharing here; so, odd numbers, even numbers and, this week, neither. Doors without number indeed.
I particularly like the pastel tones and composition of this one (plus it’s an unusual doorway):
Just for a change, a pair of cellar doors; haven’t seen any of these for quite a few years:
There’s even a door where another door used to be:
Thursday Doors 25 August 2016
Tuesdays of Texture: Paper
Posted on August 24, 2016
The Moulin du Gôt is an historic working paper-mill near St Leonard de Noblat, in the Limousin region. Paper is still made there using traditional methods and from some unusual primary materials – not just wood and linen, but various vegetal matter (leeks, for example). Some of the papers they produce are used to make lampshades with fascinating textures:
Macro Moments: Week 10
Posted on August 24, 2016
For this week’s open macro challenge, I’ve chosen a photograph I took last Monday evening at a spéctacle of birds of prey, which took place in the ruins of the medieval castle at Saint-Germain-de-Confolens, a very pretty village about twenty minutes drive from here.. The very strong sunlight helped to produce strong contrast and some interesting backlit effects, as in the case of this owl.
NikonD800 with Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens at 200mm. 1/500sec. ISO100. Cropped and edited in Lightroom. Image resized in Photoshop
Macro Moments: Week 10
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