To the wonderful Lens Artists Community our guest host this week is Bren Brashley of Brashley Photography. While some of you have found her post. some may not. Her post has not shown up in the WordPress reader. You can find her post at:
https://brashley.photography/2023/02/18/lens-artists-photography-challenge-237-bringing-softness/
Take care,
Anne
I’ve had a lot of fun this morning playing with Lightroom. I’ve not done anything else, but I’ve had fun thanks to Bren of Brashley Photography’s challenge: Bringing Softness.
First I started with flowers. I did a select subject in LR and then inverted the selection, used the radial filter so some of the flower would be soft and then finished with moving the clarity slider over to the left. I also added a vignette.
Then I wanted to see how the technique would work on animals. I picked the Capybara (world’s largest rodent) and orangutan at the Sacramento Zoo. This wasn’t as easy as flowers but I did pretty much the same technique. I wanted their faces to remain sharp.
I also tried buildings in Boston. I’m not sure the technique worked as well. The radial filter became my friend. I wanted some of the building to remain in focus. In the corner building on the right, the doorway should be in focus.
I’ll finish with my landscape experiment. The first one on the left is from the Tulip Festival at Ananda Village. I think the clarity technique added a dreamy softness. The middle image is from a trip to Port Costa and taken on the way. The dreamy look is more slight. The last, on the right, is from the Port Costa trip also. I liked the way the background was made slightly soft while the railroad tracks in the front remained sharp.
Thank you Bren! I love learning new techniques, especially when I can use software I already have. Remember to link your response post to hers and use the Lens-Artists tag. Last week we saw and read about many differences with Amy’s challenge of East meets West. I enjoyed all you responses. Next week, Ann-Christine will present the challenge.
I will be on vacation through March 17th and not posting. I’ll see you all when I get back.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
The sun may be shining, but the devastation is still being cleared. The front entrance to the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery was closed because they were still clearing the trees that were downed in the recent wind and rain storms. Also, access to that area was mostly closed. That’s what we found during last week’s photo visit.
We did manage to get in via a side entrance and decided to stay in the back area of the cemetery. It looked newer but there were some beautiful headstones, statues and trees. I’ll put all the pictures in a gallery for you and caption where necessary. Oh, the ground was still a bit muddy and soft.
The sun is still out and we are enjoying dry but windy weather. I’m so glad this cemetery didn’t get any more damage. These statues and headstones are so old. You can’t replace history.
This is my last post for about a month. I’m going on a dream vacation. You’ll find out who, what, where when I return. Take care and stay safe.
I think I may have taken this challenge from Amy too literally. When I saw the challenge title, I immediately thought of our cross country trip taken 10 years ago for our 50th wedding anniversary. I’ve tried to think of other ways to do this post, but I keep coming back to the trip across the United States and back. I’m sure I’ve posted some of these images before, but not in this context. So let’s start.
My dream trip has always been to take our trailer and tow it across the country. I didn’t want to go overseas; I wanted to see my country. Richard finally relented and we took my dream trip in 2013. I had just bought my first camera, a Nikon D3100, and was totally new at photography. In fact, that is when I started this blog as sort of a journal of the trip. I’ve picked out just a few images to share. My memories of this trip don’t need a visual.
The U.S. is big (We took three months and didn’t see it all.) and each state has its own culture and beauty. I was amazed at how flat middle America is, that we have more National Parks in the West than in the East, and the abundance of our National history is on the East Coast. But no matter how different the culture, jargon and lifestyle is, everyone we met were gracious and kind.
I have 10 pictures to share (Yes, it was tough!) and I’ll caption them.
So, that’s my brief look at my cross country trip of the U. S. — from “Sea to Shining Sea.”
When you post your response to this challenge, please remember to link to Amy’s post and use the Lens Artists tag. I hope you enjoyed preparing your reflections and shadows last week as much as I did looking at them. Next week Bren of Brashley Photography will be challenging us with using clarity to create softness in your photos. Look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
Three weeks of constant rain had just ended. The greater Sacramento area had experienced downed trees and flooding. It was the first day of sunshine. We wanted to get out with our cameras, but where? We chose to visit the Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville. It promised not to be too muddy.
It was a short, fun outing. This description is from their website: Our family-owned nursery and display gardens have been in operation since 1995. We grow over 500 species of herbs, vegetables, unusual and drought-tolerant perennials and pollinator plants. We specialize in a huge selection of lavenders, propagating over 45 varieties in our greenhouses. Our display gardens, located in our family walnut orchard, are wonderful teaching tools for gardeners, chefs, herbalists, and crafters. The gardens are also used by amateur photographers and artists for inspiration. Bring a picnic lunch to relax in the gardens, and some extra treats to share with our donkeys (although we may post special diets due to doctor’s orders).
They did welcome us, allowing us to freely roam the area. Here are some of the buildings.
I found two sculptures of interest. The first shown are two images of the same sculpture. I thought the cactus looked happy.
I did find the farm animals. This goat had an itch before it went to the fence to get acquainted with me.
And, of course, they had a store.
Lastly, I liked this weathered bench with a shirt thrown on it.
We were glad to get out and happy to be welcomed at this small herbal nursery.
I love black and white images when done right. Meaning, not every shot is suitable for black and white unless you know how to burn and doge with ease. Since I’m not artistic, I wait for the picture that is suitable for black and white. Thank you Patti for having me explore my black and white images and the concept of monochrome.
Who would have thought a beautiful lotus flower would be suitable for black and white? I did after processing this in color and then playing around a bit.
At this point I need to explain how I create a black and white image. I shoot all my images in color and process them in color. I then take the images I think might look good in black and white and export them to NIK Silver Efex (lately I’ve even converted them in Lightroom, especially for this post,), play with it and then export back into Lightroom. I liked the way the shadows fell on this flower’s petals.
For shadows I have three examples. Explanations are in the captions.
The next two are reflections that I just processed to black and white. I wasn’t too happy with the contrast of the landscape so I played with a green filter.
Here’s an image of a person sleeping in an area of dark shadows.
I’ll end with images that are among my favorite black and whites.
Thanks for this fun challenge Patti! Please remember to link to Patti’s post and use the Lens-Artists tag when you post your reply to this amazing exercise. Last week we all enjoyed your variety of responses to Donna’s Messages. Amy will be bringing you next week’s challenge. Be sure to look for her post.
If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.
One lesson learned: Be careful what you challenge others to do! Recently on a Lens Artists Challenge, I encouraged participants to take a photo walk with only one lens. If that lens was a zoom lens, I suggested that they pick a millimeter setting and leave it there. Last Thursday Ray and I went to the Sacramento Zoo and I accidently put my 80 mm fixed macro lens on my camera instead of the 55 – 200 mm I usually take inside.
I didn’t notice my mistake until I started taking pictures. I decided to stay with the lens and see what how it performed. Fortunately, the zoo has put glass in some enclosures, because the lens had a difficult time eliminating fencing.
The panda was the most difficult and far away. When I was taking its picture, I couldn’t see what it was actually doing. I thought the pictures were incredible. Here are three. They are cropped in a lot.
I’m trying to learn patience and the zebra proved that patience pays off. It was eating and then looked up. It also walked away from the food trough and proceeded to do a little tap dance!
There’s a new baby giraffe at the zoo, but she and mom were not out yet. But the macro lens did well with the others.
The jaguar was eating its bone (Thursday is bone day for the big cats.). Fortunately it was close to the glass so I could get these images.
Now for the lion. He just finished his bone and I think he’s telling us it’s tongue licking good.
I kept walking back to the orangutan enclosure, but they weren’t showing off. The only one out there just wanted a head of lettuce and was headed back inside.
So, this was my one-lens walk. It took some extra walking on my part, but I learned more about my lens and had fun!
Slow Shutter Speed 
