Week 7 of the 365 Day Challenge

Day 43 - Surfacing

Another week of catch as catch can photos as my energies were directed else where. This propane tank emerging from the winter's melting snow was a happy surprise when I got it to the computer and played with it in post processing. Because of the pattern of snow melt it even looks like wakes from the action of the submarine surfacing.

Day 44 - spreading wings

And happily the butterfly Amaryllis came to the rescue with a second set of blossoms opening up. The reducing of the saturation on this photo shows off the form and makes the photo about something other than color. Photographers should always have plants around to pose as models.  And attractive knick knacks for impromptu still life subjects like my creamer below.

Day 45 - The Creamer

Wasn't it in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that the wicked stepmother steals Sneezy's sneeze by capturing it in a creamer with peppercorns at the bottom to hold it there. I picked up this delightful little creamer at a flea market a decade ago. How to deal with its reflective surface in contrast with the iron candlestick behind it provided a nice mid week challenge. It is sitting on a glass table which added another dimension to the image. I used selective focus in post processing to quiet the background. I did another series of photos with the magic creamer today which no doubt will be in Week 8 of the challenge.

Day 46 - Almost Gone

Continuing the study of my withering amaryllis blossoms. There is one more step to this withering process. It does it so gracefully I will no doubt feature it next week too.

Day 47 - Thorny issue

I first post my daily captures on my fan page Binford-Bell Studio  and a lively conversation came about concerning this photo. There are a million ways to see a subject and with digital manipulation or dry darkroom a million ways to alter it. I thought I would post a couple of the other alternatives for Throny Issue.

Actual colors

Heightened colors

As you can imagine my artist and photography friends have their opinions as to which is their favorite. But the heightened color one got the most likes on my page. And in the process of creating the last one I learned a few more things about my post processing program.

Day 48 - Reflections in Old Town Raton

My natural tendency is to go for the color so the stretch for me in the 365 day challenge is to do black and white or hue/saturation reduction. So day 44 through 47 was the exercise. And after the exploration of the cactus image I was back to color but out of free time. So Day 48 and 49 are images I took in November on a trip to Raton and never found the time to work with. If I am out and about and fill my cards with more than 100 images I snatch out the best and sadly forget the rest sometimes. Which is why I modified the nature of the 365 day challenge for me. It can be a photo I took that day (or often the day before) or one I post processed that day. I love reflections so I am not sure just why I did not work with the one above before now.

Day 49 - Shadows in Old Town Raton

A much simpler image but great shadows and contrasts. Windows are always a focus for me whether they are reflective or not.

Photography does not have to take an entire day like painting so when I only have limited time because life has intruded upon creation it is photography that fills the void. And when I am immersed in painting I can always grab the camera while the paint dries.