Lunch Break - People Practice

Lunch Break

Another photo from Bde Maka Ska featuring a lifeguard chair. This is an older perch and I don't think this person is a lifeguard or maybe this person is the world's worst-dressed lifeguard.

There's a lot going on in this photo for me. The background shows the skyline of Minneapolis. It also shows the wildfire haze that has descended on my hometown. I'm not sure why but there is one low building that really stands out.

A little closer, you move into the water and get a hint of the sailboats moored on the north end of the lake. Still closer, you get a sense of the swim area with the buoy markers. 

The real focus of this photo is the person in the chair. There's a complete story here that can be told. I like that you can't see the face of the person, suggesting that it could be just about anyone.

In terms of editing, not much. A little cropping and straightening and a little exposure change to really make the person stand out. Overall, the original photo was pretty accurate.

Read More

Beach Date - People Practice

Beach Date

This might be the most difficult genre of photography for me. There are so many issues that swirl in my head while trying to get candid/street photos of people. Am I being creepy? Did they see me? Is there an expectation of privacy? Am I being creepy? Would I want this photo taken of me? Am I being creepy?

Despite all of that, I'm working on getting some good people photos. This is Bde Maka Ska in the lakes region of Minneapolis. On the beaches, there are lifeguard chairs. Some are old-school metal frame perches that look like they are going to fall over. There are also these nice wooden ones that are solid and have room for more than one person.

I don't think either of these people are lifeguards and they are simply hanging out together. I took several photos. Some zoomed out to show the whole chair and a little of the beach. A few with just the chair. And then a few of just the top of the top with the two people sitting there. 

This photo speaks to me because there is a story that can be told between the two people. It took a while to get both of them looking at each other and it appears that they both are smiling, although the person on the right is a bit more mysterious with the smile.

I also like the depth showing the water, the trees, and even a glimpse of downtown Minneapolis (contrasting the beach).

Lastly, I edited this slightly with cropping and straightening.  I also adjusted the colors a bit to better show true skin tones from what I remember in my brain.

Read More

Rejection...

I submitted this photo to the Mn State Fair Creative Activities Competition. It was the first time I've submitted any photo, well, anything really, to a competition. This is part of my taking chances/putting myself out there/just doing it month. It was nerve racking to just submit it. I went back and forth on which image to use, how to describe it, the artist statement, and pretty much anything that could be stressed over. 

Clicking the final submit button was a challenge!

I heard a few days ago that it wasn't selected. I still think it's a good photo and has the right edits. It would have been so amazing to have my photo in the gallery at the Fair. They can only take so many and I'm guessing there are thousands of submissions. 

I'll do it again next year. I'll still take more photos. I might upgrade my equipment. I'll finish the online photo class I'm taking. I'll keep putting myself out there. Just like I tell students, don't give up. Keep doing!!!

Read More

Macro Practice or The Tale of Two Photos

Eye Catcher

On my walk this morning, this big floppy pink flower (again, I don't know flower names) covered in raindrops literally pulled my eye and feet to it. It was spectacular. The color and the shades of pink turning deeper as you get to the center were amazing. Then the water drops on the petal started to stand out in my mind. I just thought it was perfect. It's not truly macro photography but a pretty good close-up shot that was able to pull in the details. I did a little editing to crop out a couple of yucky parts of the flower. I also increased the sharpness to make the raindrops pop a little bit. I think I might have this one printed and give it to the homeowner where this beautiful flower lives.

iPhone 12 Max Pro

Crystals, Raindrops, and a Flower

Same flower. This one is really macro. The toughest part of macro with the iPhone is holding the phone still enough to get the picture. I zoomed in all the way (12x) and moved the lens as close as I could while still keeping focus. I was surprised that I was able to get it this close and have the focus. Then, I was blown away by the detail on the flower. The water drops are awesome but the crystals on the petal are wonderful. I did crop this one to try and get the drops cluster on a rule of thirds axis. I didn't do much of anything with the colors, exposure, and anything else. I did add a slight vignette to lighten the corners and give a hint of possible light around the edges.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Read More

Plant Photography Practice

Wild North

.     

The purple and orange flowers were photographed on the Magnetic Rock Trail outside of Grand Marais, MN, USA. They both caught my eye on the side of the trail and were a good short rest from the trail. The white flower (I don't know flower names...) is from Lutsen Mountain in Tofte, MN, USA. To get the last one, we took the gondola ride to the far side of the mountain to hike a trail. These white flowers were everywhere; maybe trying to look like snow in the summer.

I tried to get as close to the flowers as possible when taking the photos and this decreased the amount of cropping needed. There was some cropping to make them square. There is also some editing to adjust the colors to match what I think I saw with my eye that the camera didn't quite capture. Finetuning...

Overall, they turned out well. I think these may get printed on a 4x4 canvas, metal, or glass. I'm just not sure where they'll go.

Read More

Street (Er, Water) Photography Practice

'Til Next Year

There's something about this photo that just says so much about guys hanging out. The beer in hand. Being lined up single file facing out and talking. Hands in pockets. The leg up on the post. Even the hoodies. Also, each of these is heightened when you get them around the things they love, fishing on a lake in this case. Over the course of about 3 days, these three spent a lot of time away in their boat, fishing from the dock, telling stories at their campsite, and generally just being guys. This photo is their last day at the resort and probably some sort of ritual goodbye to each other and the lake. 

This photo was taken really quickly because this type of set-up doesn't last long. There's a ton of editing in this photo, starting with cropping. Then cropping more. And then a bit more. After that, I played around with the colors in a bunch of different ways. the goal was to make the water really pop. While making those adjustments, the clothes started to pop too. Lastly, I added a little vignette around the edges to give it a little bit more focus on the guys. 

If I was to change something about this photo, well two things. First, I would have set the picture up better but time was of the essence. Second, I'd take the pole out at the end of the dock. It's distracting. It's almost as if they weren't thinking about photo opportunities when they designed the dock...

Read More

Sunrise and Sunset Practice

During CABIN WEEK!™, I spent some time practicing sunrise and sunset photography. This type of photography is something that I really enjoy but really struggle with. 

Both of these pictures were taken at Northland Lodge on  Lake Winnie.

iPhone 12 Pro Max, edits in iOS Photos app.

Sunrise

I really like this sunrise picture for a couple of reasons. First, there are no sunspots. While taking this picture, I was able to adjust the framing and direction to ensure that the camera didn't pick up any green sunspots anywhere in the picture. Secondly, with a little bit of editing, I was able to really focus on the intensity of the sun and get some of the rays to poke out. Also, I captured some of the reflections of the sun on the water behind the dock. Lastly, I think the layers show the vastness. There's the green foreground of the shore, the docks and water, the tree line, and finally the sky.

Sunset

The colors of the sunset were so fantastic this night. I especially like the layers of orange in the sky and the way it reflects in the water. The clouds seem to be painted by the sunset. In editing, I was able to blackout the trees and land to pull the eye to the colors in the sky.  If I were to do retake this picture, I would frame it more on the sky and have less of the ground in the front. 

Read More

Aerial Nights

“Aerial Nights”

Aerial Lift Bridge

Duluth, Minnesota, USA

iPhone 8+

April 7, 2021

I really love Duluth and everything North Shore. This scene jumped out at me as I was walking in Canal Park that evening. The lights on the top, the lights of the bridge, the street lights; all give the bridge a wonderful quality. The reflected light on the sidewalk has an intensity that jumps into my eye. This was also one of the first photos that I really spent some time editing in the native photo app on the iPhone. It was amazing to really tune the photo to get the lights to pop and the sky to show it's true color. 

Read More