dogwood52

Week 26: Creative – High or Low Key

Posted by robeanne

What does this mean? A Google search led to this website which tells me;

A low-key image is one that contains predominantly dark tones and colours. A low-key image is usually dramatic and full of mystery. Low-key lighting creates striking contrasts through reduced lighting. Shadows are now the primary element of the composition.

High-key images convey atmosphere and mood. A high-key image feels airy and light, it over-lights the subject to reduce contrast. 

So, how to go about doing this? Which opportunity might present itself first as I go on my adventures?

Early morning and a sunrise might seem to be a good opportunity to get interesting light on a subject. I was in Rotorua last week and thought about going back to bed after dropping colleagues off at the airport but decided it was too beautiful a morning to be inside. So, I went for a walk along the lake front and was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. As the sky lightened behind Mokoia Island, the swans, geese and ducks started to awaken and come to shore. I tried to capture them with the light behind them as they swam in. There is a beautiful story associated with Mokoia which you can find here.

two swans and a duck swimming into shore with the sun rising over the horizon
I took this photo in a great wee bar in Hamilton called the Wonderhorse – I think I may well have posted a photo from there before – Alex, the barman, is a joy to watch as he mixes cocktails. As you might imagine the place is dark and so snapshot photos are often grainy so do require some editing.

A cocktail maker at work pouring the concoction through a sieve into a glass.
 

Week 25: Technical Starburst

Posted by robeanne

“When shooting into the sun or other light sources, you may notice that some of your images have a unique quality to the light – this is known as a “starburst” effect. This can create a very strong focal point and add an entirely new dimension of interest to your image.“

Just like the edge cut sun challenge, I found this one difficult. I really need to spend some time reading up about the technicalities around taking these sorts of photos…and maybe actually get my SLR out rather than just using my phone. But I am an opportunist photographer, and carrying my heavy camera round is not really an option!

Given that I am mainly out and about during the day, starburst opportunities usually involve the sun. This is late afternoon on a winter’s day at Rotorua, looking through the Manuka trees at the lake.

Sunburst through Manuka Trees on a winter afternoon

I love moonlight too but it is so difficult to capture. This was a beautiful full moon reflecting in Lake Ngaroto one evening. So bright that when I tried to get a photo I just got this starburst. You can just see the lake and treeline between the two ‘stars’.

Moonburst

This one doesn’t provide a focal point but I love the effect of the lights in this concert. This is Salmonella Dub playing at The Factory in Hamilton.

lights forming a starburst at a concert over a stage. The band can be seen behind the lights and concert attendees as silhouettes in the foreground

Week 21 Product

Posted by robeanne

Week 21 Product: Imagine your image in a catalog or a magazine. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

I didn’t really get hooked into this one – I am not a technical photographer and really couldn’t be bothered to set something up. For me, if I can’t ‘see’ a photo, then it doesn’t get taken!

However, I did remember taking a photo in the sunshine on our first real campervan trip a few weeks ago. We had bought some really nice vodka the evening before we headed away and decided to take it with us.

We parked up in a tiny, remote campsite in the Whirinaki forest, called The Sanctuary Campsite, 5km down a very washed out metalled road. It was lunch time and since we were there for the night and didn’t have to drive anywhere, we decided to have an aperitif before lunch. I was sitting in the van as Nigel prepared it and when I looked down, the sun was casting shadows of the bottles and the glasses. It isn’t a technically good photo, nor is it even very well composed or framed but I like the clarity of colours and the light. In terms of it being an advertisement, it isn’t really any good either as you can’t see the full name of the distillery!  But if you want to check out the Cardrona Distillery, it is well worth it!

clear glass bottle and two glasses with clear liquid in, castig shadows in the sunlight on a grey table

The only other ‘product’ type photo opportunity that jumped out at me was the Instagram images I create for Craft Hamilton – a craft beer bar in Hamilton, New Zealand. It is our local haunt and I enjoy creating whacky photos for them!

Here are a couple;

collage of photos showing beer being poured and the name of the bar "Craft" vertically on th left hand side of the image

the menu of a bar vertically on the right hand side, the name of a bar Craft" on the left hand side, the background is glasses on a bar and a full glass of beer

Week 20 Composition: From Below

Posted by robeanne

I’m a bit of a ‘look up’ person so have taken quite a few photos from below in the past but this week I haven’t really been out an about in places where a ‘from below’ photo was possible. Mainly because it has been pouring down with rain. MMM… maybe a photo in the rain might work quite well! Or maybe I’d rather stay in warm and cosy by the fire!

But my brief foray into the Redwoods did present me with one of my favourite ‘from below’ shots – majestic, towering redwoods high above me, their leafy heads in the sky. What I can’t work out is – does the blackness of the tree trunk get in the way or does it create a clear line to the top of the tree. Sometimes, they just seem to be so dark that they are distracting.

looking up the trunk of a redwood to it's canopy and the sky beyond

I like trying to get underneath mushrooms – the gills are fascinating but it is not always easy! We found these on a recent trip to Whirinaki.

white mushroom viewed from below showing white gills

a white mushroom wuth frilly gills seen from below nestled amongst autumn leaves and three smaller mushrooms

Ceilings are always fascinating too. This one is from the airport in Christchurch.

zigzag ceiling panels

Week 19 Vision: Edge Cut Sun

Posted by robeanne

Another difficult one especially using a phone. The sunlight at this time of year in New Zealand is also quite harsh unless you can catch it in the small window as it disappears in the evening. There has also not been a great deal of sun this week!

It came out this morning between the wind and rain showers so I had a play. Nothing really spectacular, and mostly over exposed splashes.  I could see the wind blowing the trees and the sun flashing between the leaves as the wind blew them so I grabbed my phone and headed out.

looking up at a blue sky and sun shining through bright green maple leaves

My boys bought me a beautiful garden ornament for Mothers’ Day and I thought that it might be interesting to see if I could catch the edge of the sun against it or through the holes. It proved trickier than I thought – partly because I couldn’t stand it in the right place to catch the sun and partly because the wind just blew it around too much, and partly because it is bright metal and the sun glinting off it just burnt everything else out! I enjoyed playing with some editing though…

sun shining through a garden ornament that looks a bit like a spear head. Set against blue sky and clouds. Edited so that it is deep blue, white and red.

 

In the afternoon I was out in the Redwoods in Rotorua briefly for a run before watching youngest son play hockey. The sun glinting through the tall trees gave me another opportunity to try to capture the edge of the sun. Still not very successful. The sunburst isn’t fantastic but I love the colours and the shadows in these two shots.

Tall Redwood trees with long shadows across leaf and bark strewn paths with sun shining through.

Redwood trees in forest, autumn sun shining through

 

 

 

Week 18: Wildcard Photographer’s Choice

Posted by robeanne

Oh, so many choices, too many choices! Sometimes being constrained by themes makes it easier to be creative. When there is open choice, it gives me freedom to explore but also I am overwhelmed either by too many ideas or none at all!

I am on the road quite a bit for my work, travelling over and through stunning New Zealand scenery. Often it is impossible or dangerous to stop when I see a view that I would love to capture, so I content myself with the pleasure if having just been there at the right time and seen it.  Somebody reminded me recently about ‘being present’ in a moment, really experiencing it. I am often guilty of whipping my camera out to capture a shot when maybe I should take more time to simply enjoy the moment.

However, there are times when it is safe to pull over and take a quick photo. This was driving home from Piopio one evening after a school visit. I was struck by the colours of the newly cut fields and the dusky pinkness of the evening sky. The light was very flat, so had to do a we touch up after the fact.

Newly cut fields in the foreground, trees and hills middle ground and a dusky pink evening sky with a few wispy clouds

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Christchurch, I have visited regularly since the earthquake and have watched the slow but steady rebuild. One place where there has been no progress is the cathedral.  I chose to keep the link fence in the foreground of this photo, rather than get up close and eliminate it because it seems to me that it is trapped, not forgotten, not abandoned, but waiting. I tried to capture also the light on the lefthand side shining onto the windows of the gable.

falling down remains of the Christchurch Cathedral with sunlight shining into the window from the lefthandside. Cones in front and seen through a chain link fence

Homelessness is a big issue in New Zealand at the moment but I have to say that this week was the first time I have seen people sleeping in doorways in Christchurch. Plenty in my hometown of Hamilton and in Auckland. Maybe, I just haven’t been there often enough or at the right times or the right places. New Regent Street is on the walk from my hotel to the office and I was saddened to see this sight. I though the juxtaposition of the sign above the boarded up shop and the people curled up in their sleeping bags was ironic.

Black and white photo with two people culred up in sleeping bags in the doorway of a boarded up shop with the words "The story of my Life" above.

Finally, this is a bar called the Wonder Horse in Hamilton. A great wee place and my favourite thing is to sit at the stools overlooking the bar and watch the barman making cocktails – what an art! On this particular evening the DJ was there too, so I wanted to capture the vibrancy of the place and the passion that both these people seem  to bring to their work.  I tried to get the barman actually shaking the cocktail but there was just too much movement to get anything that wasn’t just a blur given the lighting.

View of a cocktail barman and a DJ in a bar. A tall shelf of bottles above the barman. Taken from above

This photo taken in the same bar a few weeks ago may capture the movement better.

a barman making cocktails and a DJ seen from above in a bar

 

 

Week 17 Creative: Humour

Posted by robeanne

I didn’t enjoy this week’s challenge. Humour isn’t really my thing. I like laughing, I enjoy funny things, but I’m not very good at creating it! So, I only have two photos. One is the image I created to send people to my new blogsite from my old one. The other is a mural I found amusing in Tirau, a small town in the Waikato.

a thistle with arms and legs and a face running away saying follow me

painting on a wall outside a public toilet showing two people sitting on a toilet reading the paper

Week 16: Portrait

Posted by robeanne

This week is a technical challenge and we have to consider how lighting can be used to best suit the subject. My sons are unwitting (and unwilling) subjects, so I have to catch them off guard!

This morning we went for breakfast as a special treat and while we were waiting for our meal I spotted son number 1 engrossed in reading on his phone.

When we got home, I caught son number 2 playing his guitar.

I decided to edit both photos and use black and white. Then touched up the exposures to light their faces.

Week 6: Alternating Rhythm

Posted by robeanne

I like the promise that this challenge suggests. Alternating rhythm of what? Sound, light, colour, motif? I have been, and still am, looking for possibilities. My initial thought was sound, and I wondered how I could convey sound in a photo. Then I was out at the weekend at the Banksy exhibition in Auckland. We went out for a late lunch afterwards and I chose to have a Rhubarb Rhoyale which came in a beautiful retro champagne glass – the light that refracted off the crystal appealed to me.

On Monday we wandered into town and went through “Riffraff” square in Hamilton. The whole place has been thoughtfully designed to evoke the theme of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and late at night the lighting is stunning. A video would respond really well to the theme of alternating rhythm, but how do I express that as a still photo? I had a play with Snapseed and produced these images but they still don’t really hit the mark for this week’s challenge.

We have a glut of green beans. Too many for us to eat and so they have grown so big that they are all but inedible unless we boil them for so long that I am sure there are no longer any nutrients in them. Today we decided to pick them all, harvest the beans from inside and use them. They are like wee jewels, shiny pink and purple jewels, cushioned in their bright green pockets of safety. Alternating rhythms of colour. I collected them like treasure and took them into the garden. This is my ‘beanart’.

I am unsure yet what my final submission will be, but I have had fun thinking ad creating… still a few days to go, so I may yet be further inspired.

Postscript

On an unscheduled visit to Te Papa, this installation hung croon the ceiling. It has promise…

Maybe it would be better rotated 90°?