Divine
I felt both reverence and exhilaration as I watched the sleepy fields of Westbend Vineyards awaken on a recent early-morning visit. From a distance the dew-covered grapevines sparkled as the morning light moved across the rolling terrain.
At the time, I wasn’t sure how best to capture the breadth of the experience — and I felt limited because I did not have permission to roam the property. Perhaps in the future I can explore more there and can hopefully come away with some captivating images of early-morning light in the vineyards.
For now, I hope you’ll enjoy this close-up shot.
Be sure to check out other Westbend Vineyards articles featured on this website.
Expanding Your Photographic Vision
Can you guess what this unusual image is? For a hint, the photo is from the same subject of a previous article titled Simplicity. Even though both photos incorporate red and yellow as their dominant colors, those are not the true colors of this particular photo. Some fun experimentation led me to alter the original colors quite dramatically, and I liked this color rendition.
If you consider other components often found on this subject (keeping in mind the colors are different than what’s shown in this photo), you just might be able to guess the source of this close-up shot. Try pushing your mind beyond what you think you’re seeing in the photo, and see if you can come up with a few guesses.
If you’re stumped, or are in a hurry, keep reading. I’ll also share THREE TIPS on expanding your photographic vision. CLICK to read more.
Classic Lines
This Oldsmobile is one of a series of classic autos regularly parked in front of a local soda shop, fitting right in with the restaurant’s retro atmosphere.
Interesting lines, reflections, and colors made this image fun to play with. It also seemed like a natural candidate for the photographic technique used on it known as HDR, which is short for High Dynamic Range.
If you’d like to know more about HDR, please mention that in a comment. Perhaps we’ll explore the HDR photographic technique in more detail.
Painting with Photoshop
Paint or Pixels?
Can you tell I like to paint? As you can see in this rendering of a scene on Conrad Road in Lewisville, I have a tendency to want to modify photos a lot. I try to be judicious and restrained when it seems appropriate, but it’s hard not to go all out!
Maybe that’s because I used to paint with acrylics in high school. It’s been a long time, though, since I picked up actual brushes and squeezed paint onto a palette. Now, I use Photoshop to paint digitally.
Some folks, understandably, will prefer working with the real thing — mixing the paint and feeling the brush move against canvas. I think that’s wonderful. I certainly don’t think going digital is the answer for everyone. What’s important, from an artistic perspective, is utilizing whatever medium allows one to work most creatively.
As a photographer, I didn’t start out with digital. I can still vividly recall developing my first roll of black-and-white film and then subsequently watching my first print come to life in developer solution in the darkroom.
Honestly, I don’t miss all the chemicals and the cleanup. I also don’t miss trying for hours to get just the right tones throughout a fine art black-and-white print — “dodging” here and “burning” there. While there was a degree of science involved in creating prints, there were still so many variables that came into play which were hard to predict or control: chemical temperature, exposure time, development time, humidity, paper type and age.
From Drudgery to Freedom
When it came to producing fine art prints, I slogged through many hours in the darkroom, striving for the “perfect” print. Sometimes I was so rewarded, but other times I had to accept that “almost perfect” was all the time or expense I could afford.
But now — now the beautiful world of digital has set me free, artistically speaking. I don’t have to bother with chemicals, and I don’t have mounting expenses for repeated attempts to achieve my perfect image.
Plus, although time is still a factor, it’s not drudgery for me to work at the computer for long periods, trying one thing or another. I appreciate the fact that I no longer have to be hunched over a developer tray in a smelly darkroom, hoping — praying — that this print will be what I envisioned. Yes, I’m thankful those days are behind me, and that digital technology is sufficiently refined at this point in my life so that I can fully explore its capabilities and can achieve the results I envision.
What About You?
So what kind of photography do you enjoy most? Realism, impressionism, abstract or something else? Are you a digital photographer or a film photographer?
What is it that thrills you about photography? Please share your thoughts.
Interested in more Conrad Road coverage? CLICK to enjoy more ARTICLES and PHOTOS on Conrad Road.
