A Little Black and White Love in the middle Autumn colors....

Haunted Dreams

It has been so long since I have grabbed my camera with the intention of creating anything remotely artistic. I lacked inspiration, motivation or even basic discipline to GOYAS.

I have actually been on a vacation of sorts for the last few weeks. I have spent my time recovering from a wild six months of constant going. I ended up getting sick during this vacation, a cold or two, but have truly enjoyed the down time. So much so that I decided to join my photography group out in the field for a shooting event.

The air was brisk. The mist hung low. The colors set afire. The light of the sun kissed the yellow and orange leaves giving them a sensual radiant glow against the backdrop of the dark evergreens, firs and pines in the area.

So what did I do? I chose to ignore the color at first and focused on shape and form. I focused on the light and shadow. I focused on motion and lines. Well that was at first.

Reflections Along the Line

Once I got my abstract black and white completed I turned my focus to the color at hand.

The combination of the rising sun, morning fog, autumn colors and a train track, I could help myself but to bring all those elements together.

In this shot, I saw the trees reflecting on the cold, hard steel creating a line within a line, both leading to a vanishing point.

I chose the off-kilter composition because the line of the track moves center through the frame to the vanishing point in the upper rule of thirds marker which was important for what I was trying to accomplish.

Finally I threw some post processing filters on to soften the image a bit and give the sense of peace, calm and serenity to the scene, like bundling up next to a cozy fire.

Vacant Seasons

Finally, because it is the season of the witch, I used a couple of props on the tracks to capture the season that is Halloween. Using the masks and the fall colors allowed me to combine the feel of black and white along with color photography to make a stark contrast between the the subjects and the backdrop.

The season is always so short, but beautiful. It feels good to get out and enjoy photography again with my friends.

Free Texture Friday - Fall Leaf Abstract

This week's free texture is fall leaf abstract pattern.

You can download the full-res version below.

This photograph was captured at in my own backyard in Salem, Oregon.




Download the full res image here.

Autumn Orchard

The final fall images of the year are in the bag so to speak. I have been working on a themed result this year in the hopes to put together a show for this winter.

So now I am entering the phase of selecting choice images to include in the show. This will likely take me some time as I am brutal in my selection process.

Stay tuned, in the coming months I will be announcing the where and when of the coming show.

Fall Upon Us

Fall Photography

Brilliance

 Fall is upon us. Rain, gray skies and a plethora of yellows, oranges and red.

The above image is a 6 image panorama of the slough, shot in five exposures per frame of the panorama to create a HDR image of stunning visual representation of the scene.

Contrary to popular belief, fall includes some beautiful flowers as well as leaves. All you have to do is look around to find them.

A few weeks ago I hosted a fall color shoot for a photography group I belong to. Minto-Brown Park, along the Willamette River is a gorgeous location for finding beautiful color and interesting patterns. With 800 acres carved with a variety of trails, it is an endless choice of beauty.


Beauty in fall can be found in the littlest of subjects.

Inner Beauty

Softness

Isolation

Watercolor from a Camera

Fall also allows an opportunity to abstract in vibrant colors. Oranges on the ground, yellows and greens in the trees paint a beautiful backdrop for the two ladies walking down the path in the image on the right.

By shifting my camera vertically, I was able to make a watercolor like painting out of the photo. This photo has had no Photoshop, it is out of camera with a little Lightroom work to compensate for camera raw.

I was particularly struck by the detail that is not only lacking due to movement, but that is apparently in spite of the movement of the camera.

I have said it before and I say it here now;

Get that camera off the tripod and create some art.

Adrift

Solitude

Structure

Take the time to look for beauty in the world and you will find it.

Fall in Oregon

Water Collection

Fall Flowers

Oregon is a pretty special place, not too many people can argue that. This is especially true in the Willamette Valley. One of the unique features of a Willamette Valley Fall is that as the trees change their colors, flowers are still bloom. This is pretty unique. Most of the rest of the nation is experiencing vibrant colors uniformly in the trees while Oregon's trees struggle through their color change. One tree will be in full color while the tree next to it, a mere ten feet away, will still be green. Then the when the unchanged tree starts changing the tree next to it is bare, it's leaves laying dead and brown on the ground.

This is due to the unique nature of our weather. Our uneven weather patters of cool to warm to cool to warm leave our trees confused. But this weather pattern also allows some flowers to hang on longer than others. The rest of the country gets their cold snap and it remains cold hence Vermont's hillside's of colors.

Extended Work Season for Bees

With the extended blooming season for flowers comes an extended work season for bees.

Bees are busy harvesting all of the nectar they can before fall sets in hard and fast and they are forced to spend the rest of their lives in their hive.

This time of year allows for some of the best photographic opportunities for flowers because the backgrounds are not polluted with color from other flowers. This allows for simple backgrounds and better isolation of the subject.

Now, this is not a proclamation that flowers are everywhere. You will need to look at specific locations, like private gardens, like the one behind the Sparks Center at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

If the garden is privately owned, make sure to get permission before entering the garden.

Water Drop

Isolation

Non-Uniform Water Collection

Due to the nature of Oregon's trees, specifically trees in the Willamette Valley, to not typically change colors uniformly, it makes it difficult to find those Vermont like landscapes.

Now you can head into the mountains to find those scenes. I have seen many amazing fall color photographs from my friends who make an annual trip up to Clear Lake in the Cascade Mountains, but this isn't all that local. The other choice is to figure out how to make due with what is available.

This leads me to stop looking up, and turn my eyes down.

I began noticing an odd pattern in the nature of things. Rain drops were collecting on a sporadic few leaves while the other leaves were simply, evenly, wet. This fascinated me. I am currently on a quest to figure out why this happens which might mean I have to learn about fallen leaves and the properties of their textures, hydrodynamics and possibly magic. I wonder if David Copperfield is available for a consult.

Black and White Fall

Muted Fall

Water Drops

Fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year for a photographer. Understanding how to get the most out of your region, is the key to being successful in your photographic quest. I hope your fall provides you all the great opportunities you are looking for.

Untitled

Veins

Split

Decay

Reaching

Isolated

Paths