by janice on January 31, 2011
Just having a little fun with some very nasty icicles hanging from my roof outside the back door. They range between 2 and 3 ft. long…I should remove them before one of the dogs gets hurt. It was bitterly cold this morning but the sun was shining through these crystal daggers and so I was enticed outside to photograph these ‘temporary stalactites’.
Back inside my nice warm house, I converted them to b/w, added a colour filter and played with the levels to create a more abstract image. I like the way the ridges created by the water as the icicles formed resulted in neat swirly reflections.
They are really quite vicious, these sparkling glass knives. Dangerous fragile beauties.
My fingers were quickly frozen, –16 plus the added wind-chill, so I only ventured to the edge of the patio for this image of the abandoned bench. It will be awhile yet before anyone sits there.
by janice on January 19, 2011
The above image is from the Shadow Box exhibition website.
This February I am participating in the Shadow Box exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada for the first time. Follow this link www.tmcshadowbox.com to find out all the details about this fun show. An image of each entry is listed under the artist’s name.
For my entry I adapted one of my small folk art pieces to fit into the wooden shadow box form that every participant is given. I painted the frame with a base coat and then added interference paints to give it a ‘Bollywood’ glow. Then I applied fabric about half the width of the outer edges to give it more depth. I added fabric to the inner sides of the frame to give a sort of soft upholstered effect. Then I added a wider border around the image and embellished it with more beads. I wanted to achieve a jewel box effect. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph my work before I mailed it off and the flash has washed out the image on the website.
Here is an older image of ‘My Pony Moon’ before it was inserted into the shadow box for this exhibition. I reduced the noise level in the photo because the sparkle from the sheer fabric a the top of the image created unpleasant glare. But it is still not a perfect photo and the result is lost detail. Photographing anything with shine is a challenge particularly if a flash is used as in the case if the shadowbox image. A tripod and some diffused lighting may have helped or just no flash at all.
As an experiment I have photographed another textile image in my home…with flash and without flash…to see the difference. I used my 35mm lens and a tripod with all four images.
The first image below was taken with the flash on. The flash adds unwanted sparkle to the felt and dulls the colours. The image also has a flattened look to it.
This second image was taken without the flash and the fabrics and colours are much more natural looking in appearance. The image appears more 3-dimensional as well. I used a wide aperture… F1.8… for lots of light.
I then tried a few other combinations using one of the built-in scene modes…adding a flash diffuser to the camera and simply turning off the flash on the camera. Neither of these options produced as nice an image as setting the aperture priority to F1.8.
The third image was taken with a flash diffuser added to the camera. There is still unwanted sparkle in the felt and the focus seems uneven.
The fourth image was taken with the flash turned off on the camera. No sparkle in the felt but the focus isn’t as sharp as it should be and the image is somewhat flat and dull.
These examples illustrate the difficulties and challenges when photographing any artwork. A good tripod and a little experimentation with lighting can make or break the outcome of the final image.
One final adjustment to the image is to check that the colours are true to the original. My camera was set to auto white balance and it did a pretty good job with all the colours except the bright pink. It is a little too orange in tone, so in Photoshop I replaced the pink with an adjusted pink tone closer to the original. Now the image is a decent representation of the original artwork.
by janice on January 18, 2011
Getting a new lens is almost as much fun as getting a new camera, maybe even better. In fashion, it’s the equivalent of getting a great pair of new shoes! Visually it allows you a whole new way of looking at things…a different perspective.
The new kid on the block is a cute little AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G lens. On my camera, this 35mm lens has the equivalent focal length of a 50mm lens. With an aperture that can open up wide, I’m having lots of fun creating neat shallow depth of field effects. It gives nice ‘bokeh’…the fuzzy bit around the area in focus. Because it is a fixed focus lens, I have to ‘manually’ move closer or farther way from my subject ! All my other lenses have zoom capability, so this lens seems to have some calorie burning benefits as well. Perfect after overindulging over Christmas!
I converted these images to black and white. There is a soft, dreamy appearance to them. Though it is not quite a macro lens, there are still lots of creative options with this lens… and for less money.
I also experimented with some candid shots of family members as well. The ability to effectively isolate the subject from the background is a key feature of this lens.
But beware! Some family members may not appreciate the intrusion of the camera. Or maybe it was just a little too much eggnog!
Not bad for a humble 35mm fixed focus lens.
by janice on January 12, 2011
Is there beauty to be found in the winter garden… in a landscape dominated by a blanket of white? The garden seems to lie still, peacefully slumbering until the arrival of spring. Quiet, cold, bright, abandoned…
Suddenly the garden palette has changed from the predominance of greens to bright whites and strong contrasts. Shapes become the focus and colour becomes an accent in the form of trees and buildings. Remove the green backdrop and the landscape has a spare, somewhat graphic appearance.
The colour temperature of the landscape can really influence how we feel about the image. This first image below has a cool tone and is not very inviting. It was actually minus 20 with the wind chill that day. My fingers were frozen.
Then I added a warm filter to the image and it is much more inviting. Something to think about when you’re pouring over travel brochures for ski vacations.
In addition to the evergreen trees and shrubs there were still a few dried flower heads and grasses to add some colour to the landscape. The golden overlapping petals of the hop seed cone were quite lovely, and the soft waving grasses were very appealing.
Yes, the winter garden can beautiful.
