More Trees

My Cat Tibbolt

Here are some images of my cat Tibbolt. As you can see, he's a playful, yet elegant cat. Quite lovely I think. I took these before I truly understood how to focus well with my newly acquired camera, so I will be taking more up close shots of him where I can focus more clearly on his beautiful eyes.

Best of Electronic Darkroom and Photo Project: The Trees

Here is my grouping of my Best of Electronic Darkroom and my photo project: The Trees. I will put up the specs for each pic later.

Nature: In Light and Shadow

The following is the second half of my final project for my Environmental Photography course for NOVA in Spring 2012. This is my personal portfolio, entitled, Nature: In Light and Shadow. For this project I decided to focus on capturing elements of Nature in light, shadow, or both. The following are my 10 best images from this project:

focal length 55mm, f/16, ISO 200

I spent a lot of time with this butterfly, trying to get close enough to it to get some good shots without scaring it off. I love how the coloration of it's wings when apart resemble a large predator cat's eye peering at you from the underbrush. I imagine that is the purpose of the coloration. :) I was pleased with this shot. I like how the light makes the antennae stand out against the dark background and creates a sharp shadow under the wing.  I also like the contrast of the bright orange of the wings with the bright green of the new leaves. My only wish it that I could have gotten closer, but I think for that to happen in the future I will need a zoom lens, which I do not have now.

focal length 43mm, f/16, ISO 200

With this shot I was trying to capture the texture of the tree bark with the stark outline of the leaf. I went for lots of leave outlines in this shoot. I like this shot, but I wish I had been able to cut out the distracting background.

focal length 18mm, f/16, ISO 3200

I really enjoying shooting this subject, not only because of the perfect leaf outline, but because of the beautiful sun-brightened moss. I later took some shots with the leaves removed from the edge of the frame, but the sun was not as bright which made the picture not as strong.

focal length 36mm, f/16, ISO 3200

focal length 25mm, f/16, ISO 3200

I like the stream leading off into the distance here through the sun-dappled trees, and the sunny green-ness of everything is very pleasant for me. The only thing I wish was different is the fact that it's not as in focus as I normally try to make my images, perhaps a tripod would have helped.

focal length 35mm, f/16, ISO 1600

These two images are perhaps my favorites of the bunch. These leaves were growing on the edge of a steep slope down to the ravine, I almost didn't shoot them, but I'm glad I did, despite the sore back and pained knees at the end!

focal length 35mm, f/16, ISO 1600

focal length 49mm, f/16, ISO 800

Here is another shot that would have been better if I had a wider array of lenses. However, I like the lens flare, and I feel happy with the amount of detail I was able to get out of the web.

focal length 18mm, f/16, ISO 200

This shot has almost a fairyland quality to it which I really enjoy.....
 

focal length 18mm, f/16, ISO 800

This is my Jack and the Beanstalk shot ;). I truly enjoy getting trees from this angle.

10 Best Images from Environmental Photography Spring 2012

This first post to my Photographic Journey Blog is my final project for my Environmental and Landscape Photography Class for NOVA. The following are my 10 best images shot for this class throughout the semester (Spring 2012):

ISO 200, f/6.3, WB: Daylight

ISO 200, f/5, WB: Daylight

Above are my two best shots from an assignment where we were told to shoot with the inspiration of Elliot Porter.  In both of these images, I departed somewhat from what I thought Elliot Porter might photograph. In the first image that is so because Porter rarely included man-made elements in his images, and the path is obviously man-made. In the second, it is a departure because Porter rarely shot images from unusual angles; generally he shot from the angle from which you would normally view a subject. Never-the-less, I feel these are my best shots from that group of images. The focus leaves something to be desired in both, esp the second image, but I like the light in both, and how that early morning light plays against the fog in the air.

f/4.5, ISO 100

focal length 55mm, f/10, ISO 400

 Above are some shots I took outside the NOVA Alexandria campus as a make-up for missing the cherry blossom field trip in DC. With an f/4.5 on the first cherry blossom shot, I was able to blur out the obvious subject, which would be the people walking by, and isolate and accentuate focus on what frames the picture, which is the cherry blossoms, my real subject.

Below, are images from my most fruitful shoot of the season, the field trip to Scott's Run. The warmth of the early morning sunlight was magical and amazing, and made for some of my favorite shots of the semester.

Look closely: I captured a fairy! focal length 18mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/100 exposure

f/8, ISO 800, 1/10

I feel the shallow depth of field in my flower images above really helps to accentuate the idea that the sun is shining just for this flower. However, i found out later that this is a mustard plant and is invasive. Still, I like the play of the light in the images, and the solar flares I got from the sun shooting across my lens.

33mm, 1/160, f/13, ISO 400

 The rocks below are so jagged and intense, and contrast so sharply with the smooth swaying lines of the tree branches, however they work well together in the fact that the tree on the left is leaning at an angle congruent with the rocks' angles. 

focal length 18mm, f/8, 1/80, ISO 400

focal length 42mm, f/5, ISO 800

 The fern above is my most intimate shot of the semester, with the hairs of the tendril outlined boldly against the dark background.

20mm, 1/80, f/8, ISO 400

 I wanted to end this group with a look to the sky; for hope for the future in the new green leaves, and aiming for distant goals with the trees striving to reach upward.