black and white

Black & White Wednesday
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Black & White Wednesday

When you strip away the color what are you left with? The essential character of the portrait. No more distraction, no more clutter. Just the lines and tones of your subject. The portrait above is over 100 years old and the young lady's name is a mystery. This was taken somewhere in Russia. some time around 1900. There is a depth to this picture that is haunting. Her expression, her eyes and the wisp of a smile all contribute. This hard to define quality is what I try to capture in every portrait! This portrait is very recent and I…

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April 24, 2019
Bronica with ND Filter
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Bronica with ND Filter

Still learning my "new" Bronica medium format camera.  After some work on my 75mm lens (nothing worse than a stuck aperture) I headed out around the Fox Valley to find some moving water to photograph.  All of these photos were taken using a 10 stop ND filter by Gobe.  The ND filter allows you to take long exposure pictures in the day time and created beautiful effects with water or other moving objects. The procedure for a 10 stop filter is you compose and focus the picture with your camera on a tripod.  Meter the picture to get the unfiltered…

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September 23, 2018
A Busy Beautiful Day
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A Busy Beautiful Day

Busy day - busy week.  It seems like Summer has just been, so far, just a whirlwind of activity! I feel blessed that so much is in my life! I also feel a bit overwhelmed that so much is in my life! Yesterday was a wonderful day.  Between storms I had a shoot with an old friend and a new friend (getting ready for my photo class this Fall).  It was hot and muggy but it was also so much fun working together.  While I was winding down my wife noticed the sunset.  Like a shot I was out the…

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July 22, 2016
Life is Tough
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Life is Tough

Poor tree!  You grow for years on the side of the mountain and just mind your own business.  Then one day along comes the insects.  The tunnel under your skin and eat away.  Nothing you can do.  Then one day along comes an elk.  Beautiful animal!  Majestic animal!  Itchy animal!  Just walks up and scrapes off you bark!  At least it got rid of the insects... Canon 5d Mk III | Canon 35mm f/2 II | 1/320s at f/5.6

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July 8, 2016
Rambler – Coast to Coast
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Rambler – Coast to Coast

Doing a negative scan and cleanup for friend.  He purchased this negative that depicts his year make and model Rambler.  As near as I can tell this is a 1959 Rambler and got a wonderful 36.88 mpg in it's LA to New York trip.  The mileage contest was sponsored by Mobilgas.  

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June 23, 2016
Frisco Emporium
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Frisco Emporium

The Frisco Emporium, Colorado, is an amazing store full of every variety of junk you can imagine.  Now some people see this stuff as treasures so who am I to judge?  I liked this composition so much because of the interesting lines.  They draw your eyes into the frame.  I converted to black and white because the color was just too distracting.   Canon 5d MKIII | Canon 35mm f/2 II | 1/30s f/4.0

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June 10, 2016
Waiting for Spring
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Waiting for Spring

Will Spring never come?!? Here it is May and still in the 40's for temperatures.  Rode my bike to work yesterday and froze my hands and arms!  On the bright side think how bad it would be without global warming! Taken in the Town of Neenah on Oak Ridge Road.  Had to get my feet wet but all great art requires suffering (that's what we tell our selves when we are standing in cold water in the rain).  I am not sure why but the original picture just screamed out "high key sepia" so that's how I processed it. Conventional…

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May 5, 2016
My Life (42)
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My Life (42)

Woke up this morning to snow and almost went back to bed! It's not that I hate snow - it's just I have had enough for this Winter! Sometimes I feel like I just go around and around and don't seem to be able to make any progress.  Objectively, everything is going great (and I don't feel depressed or even sad) just sometimes I feel time is getting short and I have a lot to do before I go. This picture is some machinery I encountered in my world travels this year.  Processed with Silver Effex Pro to desaturate and…

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March 24, 2016
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