New Twist, Old Pic

So far I have been lucky to have had the time and places to take some relatively interesting images. I won't be able to keep this pace for an entire year; however, perhaps photoshop does allow a photographer to be creative and produce images- even with an ordinary or typical picture? This is the great debate, correct? Is manipulating an image still art? Or is manipulation of images a tool which takes the art out of photography? I'm trapped without a reliable vehicle so I'm spending the night exploring photo shop elements! I actually like this image. You?

Do I Have A Flare? Or Not

Today I headed out very early to embark upon my overnight trip to "somewhere". I took my time driving Rt.5S all the way to Syracuse. From there I was going to head South toward Cortland. From there I was going to head to the Finger Lakes, stay overnight and come back on Monday. Well, that plan didn't work out as my Jeep decided to trigger the engine light and to make my gas gauge read empty even though it was full. With fear of being stuck on the side of the road on a holiday weekend, with no hope of finding assistance, I turned around and headed home on the Thruway-quickly and directly. Good news is that I made it home! As far as my images, I knew that I would be encountering bright sunshine today and so I decided that I would attempt using sun flare to my advantage. Rather than avoiding the sun, I purposely shot at an angle -into the sun. I was very pleased to capture some sun flare on the image since that is truly what I wanted. Maybe it is too 'blown out' for the viewer's liking, but it was another planned attempt on my part and that pleased me. This little church, near Utica was perfectly situated for my sun-flare attempt. The sun was on the left of the church and, though it was fairly early, (9:30ish?) it was quite bright. I took a few shots and by that time the sun had already gone too high for my liking. I hope that when the image is on the blog, you can see a few sun-flare circles.

Now it is up to you....either I have a flare for this sort of thing or I failed?

Testing This Feature Out..You Like?

Do I need a life, or what?

Ok, so I already posted today but I took the following pictures later and wanted to share! My niece Jamie ran another race today (remember she is in 5th grade!) and I wanted to post her picture. I'm the proud uncle of the third place winner! The tree and the truck were amazingly colorful. I'm not sure how they will display on the blog; however, in person they were both radiant. The truck had too much 'noise' behind it so I had to get creative in order to use the image. Telephone polls, people, fences, wires, etc. would not have allowed the viewer to really see the truck and so I hope this fun picture isn't too much!

Morning Fog

I love the mornings. You ever notice that people are nicer? The workers at Stewarts are friendlier, drivers are more patient and less agressive and generally there is a sense of calm.

I could have slept another hour or two but I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful morning and the early fog. My images today are an attempt to capture the quiet morning. Perhaps there is even a sense of loneliness about the morning. The untouched field and the empty railroad track seem to be waiting for visitors, someone or something to utilize the space.

Bottled Up!

This store, in Johnstown, has many old bottles as well as odds and ends strewn about. I wonder if my belongings will someday grace the shelves of a thrift store with customers passing by and commenting on them. "Who would ever want this?" "What was the owner of this thinking when he displayed it in his house?" Sad, really. I have to admit though that I was thinking the very same thing of these bottles when I first saw them. I guess "junk" is subjective!

Today was a long day, one full of unexpected happenings. When I have a day like this and do not have the opportunity to process the surprising events which occurred, I feel "bottled up". It's hard to express oneself when there is no one listening. I can imagine that thought in a fortune cookie. "One talks, others tune out!" Interestingly enough, I'm not telling this story to match my photo; rather, I saw the bottles and made the link before taking the image. Is this why writers, singers, performers and other artists do their best work when their personal lives are in turmoil? I'm not convinced that these photos are pleasing but I know I would have passed them by without a second thought on a 'happier' day. Which photo is more interesting to you and why?

The Many Shapes and Colors of Dusk

This evening, it wasn't an image I found standing alone, rather it was an image that I found being reflected in a window that caught my eye. I really enjoyed these pictures because the reflections add interest and the colors of the sky, reflected in the window, were beautiful. Today I definetely was reminded to move my feet, turn my head, bend, etc. in order to see the many angles and perspectives of a scene.

A Tough Photo Day!

These pictures were taken on my way to volleyball tonight. My first thought was to take an abstract picture, one where the viewer may not know exactly what the subject is. I also remember an earlier photo assignment where I was encouraged to utilize curves and lines in an image to add interest. I decided to add the two components (curves and abstract) in one image. Give up? Ok....it is a bird bath with flowers at the base. I used the flowers to add color to the background and hopefully make the image more pleasing. My second picture captures mums which were extremely vibrant and screaming to have their photo taken! I will admit that today's photo session was my most difficult thus far. I had to look hard to find an image.

A trip to an antique shop can be a gold mine of images! This blog has pushed me to be more brave. In the past I would never have taken out my camera to snap a picture; however, now I feel that I have no choice! I must post each and every day. The background is a plate. I thought the gold, swirling colors made a nice backdrop to Cupid! Cupid and I haven't always gotten along; however, maybe I will score points with him in posting his image on my blog. Though I notice there aren't any arrows in his bow!!