From the archives

I haven't gotten out to do much shooting in the snow apart from that one day. I've actually not even gotten outside much. I still haven't dug my car out in two weeks. Church was cancelled a second week in a row this morning, due to the snow and ice on the roads. So I've been spending lots of time inside, and one of my projects has been scanning old photos and slides.

Here's one from my archives. Taken in 2004, it's of the piano at Regent College. Taken on my old Yashica 230-AF, on Fujichrome Sensia slide film.

Candle in the Night

I'm always mesmerized by candle flames. I shot this with my Canon G9. If you stare at the dark space between the wax and the flame, where the wick is, or just a hair above that, at the bottom fringe of the darkest orange part of the flame, after a while you'll begin to see the flame shrink from the bottom up, as if it's climbing up the wick.

OK, I've been at the computer too long. I keep forgetting that I've started the kettle boiling for a cup of tea. I'm now heading down to flip the switch for a third time! Maybe I ought to just sit down there and read until it boils this time.

Merry Christmas

I took a walk at night with my Canon G9 and got some interesting photos of Christmas lights, etc. I'm not thrilled with the image quality of the G9 as compared to my 5D, but it's not bad for something I can just toss in my purse and take with me anywhere I go. And this photo was shot after dark (the sky looks way more blue in the photo than it did in real life; the camera figured out it needed a long exposure). It's pretty grainy and blurry (handheld, of course) but I kind of like the effect. No Photoshop sharpening at all.

I'll be taking a hiatus for the next couple of weeks, through the New Year. See you when I get back.

Rusty spokes

Rusty old car wheels in front of the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon. I did some burning in Photoshop to darken the topmost element wherever spokes and wheel parts intersected, to make them look more three-dimensional.

[Italy trip] Conventional conventical technology

I liked this wooden cart which I saw on the grounds of Villa Agape where we stayed in Florence, which is run by the Sisters of "Stabilite nella Carità" (stability in charity). Simple technology, elegant and rustic at the same time. Interesting shapes and textures. I did quite a bit of Photoshopping on this, as there were some distracting blotches of lighter color on the handle near the rusty metal joint which immediately drew one's focus and ruined the composition (in my opinion). I think I did a pretty good job of cloning the wood grain where those spots had been, in a way that doesn't look faked. This is Photoshop at its best -- used to fix something which was not a photographer's error, yet without violating the true nature of the original subject. (That gives a lot of latitude, by the way, to adjust colors, etc. And there is always validity in creatively changing the subject. So don't quote that line back at me if you see something more wild in my use of Photoshop in the future.)

Clean sweep

Another recent photo...

Neighborhood glow

I've been influenced lately by Paul Butzi's photographs of the ordinary in the Snoqualmie Valley where he lives. I am trying to do a bit of what he does, to develop my eye. This is the view out my back window in my new house, taken at dusk. I look out on a rather unattractive alley, with telephone lines, dumpsters, the backs of the buildings on the main business drag one street over from me. And yet, some people have made this lane their home, and have made it look welcoming. And there's also the tip of a snow-capped mountain just peeking over the rooftops towards the left of the photo. I didn't edit out the telephone wires, as I could have easily with Photoshop. I wanted to show the realness of the scene, and how there can be a sense of warmth and comfort in the midst of what one might otherwise write off as ugly.

I like this photo for a couple of other reasons. First, the colors. Orange and blue are opposites on the color wheel, and their contrast is pleasing in a photograph or painting. Second, the composition. The central point of interest (the warm welcoming glow of someone's front entry way) is at one of the "Rule of Thirds" intersection points, and the "cross" of my window gives it some context. I could also give some trite theological interpretation of it, about how the cross puts a seal of God's blessing on the scene, as if to say "yes, Christ died even for these back alley dwellers." But I will refrain. :-) I don't like gratuitous theologizing.

No guesses on the mystery photo from Wednesday yet, so I won't give the answer yet. I don't have Internet access in my new house yet, and won't until Dec 21, so I'm limited to Internet cafes for the time being. I probably won't post again until I'm online at home.