Football

I took my son to the Houston Texans football game on Sunday.  He had a blast.  It was one of those moments when everything comes together to make a lasting memory.  We ate hotdogs and had good seats near the field and near the goal line.  It was a good place to be because the Texans scored often in their big win over Seattle.  We shared a lot of high-5’s and he came away from the game determined to become a football player.  Told his mom when we got home.  He wants to be a wide receiver, like his favorite: Andre Johnson.  His mom grimaced and said nothing.

They would not let me bring in a big lens, so I used my 50…it worked reasonably well!

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. 1/400s at f/3.5.

In Lightroom, in contrast to the flower photos, I cropped into a panorama, adjusted the white balance and toned down the whites.  I shot at ISO640-1200 with very little noise.

Dance, Santa

This weekend, my company had a Christmas party in Jones Hall, home of the Houston Symphony.  It was a wonderful performance but my children loved when Santa appeared.  It began with an off-stage  ”Ho-ho-ho…” and immediately their eyes lit up; I could see surprise, shock, and that wonderful question: “Was that the real Santa?”

Santa sang and danced and he made the children and adults laugh.  He traded barbs with the conductor and asked to audition for the orchestra.   He looked so real…it must have been him.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8. 1/160s at f/2.5

Shot at ISO400, processed in Lightroom.  Some cropping and light adjustment.

Happy Thanksgiving

To be a child and wake to the smells of pies baking on a cool November morning, tucked in bed with your soft, cuddly puppy…Thank God I can provide this to my little ones.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and may this be the beginning of a wondrous holiday season.

 

Thanksgiving Morning

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.  1/60s at f/2.8, ISO800.  Another attempt at grain.

 

Waiting for the blossom

I know what you will look like but you still keep your secret.  You intrigue me and ask me to look at you differently.

 

Shadow of Doubt

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.  2s at f/16, ISO160, Landscape Mode.  I used the 50 because I wanted to take some shots at f/2.  But I love the lens and it is strong throughout its range.  I attached a Leica Elpro closeup filter, a substantial piece of glass in itself.  In Lightroom, I did a little cropping, adjusted the white balance.  I increased contrast and clarity.  I increased vibrance.  I adjusted the light levels slightly but the Nikkor is excellent at capturing light.  I wanted the bud that was about to blossom to run off into the darkness.

I am a little sad these days and I think my next few photographs will express that.  I am unable to get to people’s journals and I regret that very much.

 

Puppy Portrait

This wasn’t an easy shot to get.  Most of the photos are blurs.  Teddy (I think, my daughter has naming rights) and my other dog Walter are getting along wonderfully and they spend a lot of time playing.

Waking Dream

There are times when I can’t sleep, can’t work and can’t relax.  The photo is the result of one such time.  Taken early Wednesday morning in a Dallas hotel.  I…ummmm…borrowed the flower from a room service cart that had been left in the hallway.

Dream Flower

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm.  1/40s at f/4, ISO800, Portrait Mode.   Setup on a window sill, early morning back light, shot through a window shear.  In Lightroom, adjusted light levels, brightening the scene.  Saturated the yellow and reduced clarity.  Increased contrast and yellow luminance.  Reduced green saturation.  I bumped noise reduction up to its max, adding to the softness.   Added a white vignette and feathered it into the scene.

Drama Free (for a moment)

Drama.  How often do I see it created?  Well, with little girls, quite often.  However, last night I put into practice some of the skills I have been learning with light and still-lifes (lives?).

There are a number of mistakes in this portrait.  It was evening, the sun had set so the light is twilight, beautifully blue.  I used f/5.6 and probably should have stopped down to f/2.  The resultant long exposure meant she had to stay still and, hehehehe…that is a challenge for her.  I had my ISO at 160 which was too low and should have been at 400.  So, all in all, it was a good exercise.   I learned some things.

This photo was the best of the bunch.

Drama-less

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm.  1/2s at f/5.6, ISO160, Portrait Mode.  In Lightroom, major work with light levels.  Desaturated but used split toning to bring the lovely blue back into the image.  Reduced clarity and used heavy noise reduction which eliminated some of the grain caused by noise when I increased light levels.  The noise reduction also helped create the softness in her face and skin, which of course is already pretty soft.  This image is best not blown up very large!!

One more still life

Texture.  Peaches.  Texture, little fuzzy peach texture.  Black and white.  These were actually quite delicious when I was finished with them.  That is one of the bright spots of using fruits and vegetables as subjects.  Oh, the pepper from yesterday?  That ended up in my quesadillas last night.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm.  2s at f/11, ISO160, Normal mode, graduated sepia gel filter.  In Lightroom, desaturated and adjusted light levels.  Increased contrast and clarity, adjusted the color calibration.   Sharpened and exported to jpeg.

Peaches in Bowl

Red Pepper

Placed against a black background, light controlled but no flash.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm and graduated sepia gel filter.  2s at f/11, ISO160, Normal mode.  Used one small reflector with the silver side.

In Lightroom, adjusted white balance, adjusted light levels, converted to DX2mode1, increased clarity and contrast, increased red vibrance and decreased orange and yellow vibrance (which makes those colors a little darker).

High Key Portrait

I’ve been working on high key portraits after my stint with flowers and a yellow squash.  I will be keeping my secrets of squash shooting, though.  hehehe…OK, so here is my darling daughter.  She is not as photogenic as her brother but this was her favorite photo of the morning shoot.

I placed her near a large window.  It was gray and overcast outside.  The light was very blue, bright but diffused.  I used a large, 52-inch circular white reflector on the other side.  I think the difference in intensity was about 2:1 or 3:1 towards the bright window.  I think the difference in brightness is key to making this work.  I exposed for the darker side and took several photos at various shutter speeds so as not to blow out the highlights.  I also shot this pretty much wide open so I had depth of field issues (I missed her eyes slightly but loved the look and the light).

In Lightroom, I balanced the light, reduced clarity and cropped the photo.  I then worked on the eyes, to darken them and bring some color back to them.  The bright light washed them out a little and when I darkened the eyes, I noticed the blue ring around the outside of the iris (it actually exists but I had not noticed).  My daughter calls this her portrait with the eyes.

Next, I went to work on skin color.  This looks great as a black and white but in color, you must restore the skin.  I wanted to keep the soft, dreamlike feel and in fact, my daughter insisted that I do so.  After balancing the light and color, I mask sharpened and added a bit of a dark vignette.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.  1/125s at f/2, ISO 160,  Portrait Mode.