The image below was taken with a Digicam. A Canon G6. My family and I were hiking a trail that takes you to Punchbowl Falls in Oregon. The area is just absolutely gorgeous, green as it gets.  I used this image as the background for a photo collage created in memory of my father who recently passed away. I wrote more extensively about him at A Farewell to my Dad.

Oregon, since we started visiting in 1984 has been a special place for our family. We have friends who live there and we fell in love with its beauty ever since.

Since my Dad's ashes will be spread out over the coast of Oregon, it is now an even more special place for me. Images like the one below, don't do justice to just how beautiful this area is. The hike was exhilarating.  Once we got to Punchbowl Falls, being that it was summer, we enjoyed the cold water by taking a dip in  the creek.

The image is now included in my Nature group as well.

He was usually still awake when the birds began to warble their aubade.
-- Christopher Buckley,


Once you think you have the meaning, look it up in a Dictionary  and see how close you came to its actual meaning!

No, not Jedi! gelid!

What emotions, feelings do the colors on this image evoke for you? Colors in different cultures mean sometimes totally opposite of what we have grown up with. Black is for mourning, white is for purity and chastity! But where is that? White is for mourning in other parts of the world.

Our web designs, as a matter of fact our home walls, says something about ourselves and enhance or suffocate our moods.

Have you given any thought to how color or lack thereof is guiding your path?

There is something unique about the axe, it has a long history, a perfect example of a simple but efficient machine.

Axes were used both in war and more peaceful times. Chopping wood with it, would give you the wood necessary for cooking, building, or just keeping warm in the cold winters.

The most noble of all axes, is the fireman's axe. It can be an object of beauty, a symbol of hope! In this case, the fiery red axe, sits there in its glorious cradle, catching your eye!  You can click the image for a larger view or go to my color play section for more images like this one.

This is an older shot that's been on my mind since a friend made  a reference to it. The light plays tricks on your eyes, the framed canvas being lit form the back seems to actually be in front of the wooden frame.

The color contrast being very striking seems to grab you and says "Here, look at me!"  You can click on image to view more images like it and see it at a larger size as well.

The image below is  a BW conversion from a previous color shot I had posted. The nature of the old paint and texture of the wooden fence kept pulling me back to this image. Settings on my D70 were F8 at 1/50s of a second, using
Tamron's 17-50 zoom lens at the 50 focal range.

I experimented some more with levels, curves, filters and came up with this image. I ended up using a customized  BW layer with tint and a customized curves layer. Click image to view a larger version of it on my BW section as well as it's sibling fence photo. Catch the subtle deep red notch brought out by masking the image and erasing the tint on that portion of the image.

I hope I get another chance at doing this type of photography soon! Throwing myself on the packed snow to check the different angles at which to shoot was just an absolute pleasure.

Second and perhaps last try!

On the original image conversion, I mentioned loosing a bit of sharpness. This one is a little sharper and I chose a different tint for it as well.

I played with channels, saturation and finally chose a preset BW  with blue filter which I then customized for saturation.

What do you think? Is this a real photograph or a fine Photoshop composition. Click on image to view a larger rendition.

Photo Credit: TJ Grant

Working on enhancing photograph as a way of critique and learning.

Three Multiply layers added. Erased the third layer from rock formation to give it a more saturated effect.

This is the first change.

Original Photo is on Friday Photo Critique #13

By coincidence there is a thought on contrast on this article:  Getting Better Contrast...