bowing and cello

bow drawing across cello

The other weekend I got a chance to watch a masterful cello player and stood close enough to get this image while a song was being performed.

blooming rhody

early pink rhody bloom

Well, the weather continues to be wintery, but the rhody is still blooming. Here is a close up, not macro, image of the pink blooms of this rhody.

early rhody bloom

early rhody bloom

I have been busy with school work,learning to draw with charcoal. last night while applying a fixative to my charcoal drawing, I noted that this rhody was already trying to bloom. Well, not trying,it is blooming.
So, here is hoping for an early spring. Let the rhody lead the way.

icy Japanese maple

icy branches of Japanese maple

As promised, the Japanese maple encased in ice. I really was amazed by the freezing and thawing that was taking place.

snow on japanese maple

japanese maple in snow

Like everyone else in Seattle, I have been amazed at the snow that has fallen this week. I like how the branches leave a small clearing around the trunk. More snow fell after this image was taken. The heavier snowfall allowed very little light to reach the trunk. So, I am not going to post a diptych for that reason. This was taken in color, I desaturated and open up the shadows a little to make the trunk more visible.

This Japanese maple is the same one I took the fall leaves photograph of and posted the other month.

When the snow starts to melt, I may be able to get an image with the branches in ice. If that happens, I will post it.

sunset palette

sunset of vibrant colors

Friday night’s sunset was very vibrant. The air even got that rosy glow. Nature’s sunset palette, I don’t think I could improve the color selection.

stellar jay

stellar jay in pine tree

This was a bright, sunny morning and the local birds were busily flying about the trees. There are Stellar Jays in my neighborhood, most of the time they are vocal. Today this one and others were popping in and out of the branches of the pine tree. I got a quick snap of this one before it disappeared back into the branches.

end of year

champagne bottle and flutes

This image shows only the shadows of a champagne bottle between two champagne flutes. This image was taken near the beginning of the year in my school’s studio.

Lighting this took a little work to made the shadows solid and not distorted. The items were on the table with a light in front to throw their shadow on the backdrop. I had to block the light from reflecting into my camera’s lens. I converted the image to black and white to focus attention upon the bottle and glasses.

Happy new year to one and all.

candlelight for longest night

roses by candlelight -sepia tone

This being the shortest day/ longest night of the year, I just wanted to add a bit to the light. These candles were illuminating the roses nicely. I added the sepia toning for a bit of timelessness/nostalgia.

For the longest night, add a bit of light.

same water, different treatment

water ripples diptych

Here is the same image of water rippling: one is rendered color, the other in black and white. The water had just come through a dam and was surging back to the surface. The day was a sunny fall morning/early afternoon. The angle of sunlight really helps to see the tonal values in the green; which helps to keep the details in the darker tones when converted to black and white.

The color image has been post-processed to enhance the color contrast and some lightening of the darker tones. The whiteness of the bubbles and the gradations of the green water are what I like most about this top image.

The black and white image was given a selenium toning to complement the greenness of the original image. This toning also helps to give a cooler (Kelvin temperature is 1000 lower than original) look to the water. Again in post-processing, the contrast was increased, more fill light was added, and a lessening of the darkest blacks was done with a tonal curve adjustment.

I don’t have a favorite between the two images. I like the color for the green tones and I like the black and white for its timelessness and sense of being water even when  its not water-colored.