Fotos - May 30th

I went on a photo Meetup with the local camera club this past Wednesday at 6:30 PM to downtown Plymouth.  Many of the photo shoots I attend are downtown, but each has a particular topic or are taken at various seasons or time of day.  So, the subject matter may be the same, but the photos can look quite different.  The topics have included night photography, "postcard" Plymouth, harbor sunrise, and a few more.  The theme for this past Wednesday was to shoot with a specific lens, 50mm (or similar, no zooming) and at a singe aperture (the photographer got to choose the aperture).  I chose f4.5 for the aperture since the light would be gradually fading throughout the shoot.  I also fixed the ISO setting at 400.  The only variable was shutter speed which was automatically determined by the camera.  Because depth of field for this aperture setting is small when the subject is close, the subject should be in focus but objects in front of or behind the subject blur.  Most of the subjects of my photos were within 10 feet, so the depth of field of my photos was between 6 inches to 2 feet.  The blur can create interesting but intended effects. This exercise was to try to help us think more about framing our subject.  You have to be a bit more observant and intimate with your subject as you have to move in closer or back away because you can't rely on your zoom.

The club walked around downtown Plymouth center and the harbor area.  The bolder photographers went into stores and bars to take pictures of objects in those locals (most stores were closed by 6:30 Wednesday afternoon).  They also took pictures of strangers on the street.  I guess I was somewhat bold as I did go into a cigar store and also asked a shore fisherman if he would mind if I took some pictures of him.  Most of our photos were taken from the street.  I have done some minor post processing of my photos with Photoshop Lightroom.  Here are some of my pictures.

This was actually a test photograph I made in our garden before the Meetup.

Many photos were taken of signs around the town.  This one was outside the British Beer Works.  Cheers!

Lots of motorcycles around Plymouth and denim clad bikers.  I thought a photo of this "Savage" was appropriate.

These are cigar boxes.  Each is uniquely interesting, but I don't think my shot captured the uniqueness.  (I felt a bit strange walking around the small store taking pictures.)

Sea stones, green foliage, and a touch of white in a garden.

I liked the look of the black fence with the green and yellow grass.

Part of a statute.

A gate in front of the Mayflower Society house.  The gate is always open, so I typically would not notice the street number in the gate.

The grass was tough to focus on, but I still liked the photo.

I liked the way the setting sun shone on these paddles.

I wasn't the only one taking in the setting sun over the harbor.

This fisherman allowed me and others to photograph him.  I took several, but like this one the most.

I liked the colors and reflection of this Mayflower II dory.

I liked the early evening colors in the background.

Friday Fotos

The Plymouth Digital Photography club challenge for March was "Do you see abstract?"  The instructions were:

    "An abstract emphasizes lines, colors, geometrical forms, shapes etc., and their relationship to one another. Your subject does not need to be clearly identified; you should be more concerned with good design. When deciding what to photograph, look for the play of light and shadow, and consider things like selective focus and details of objects when you view them up close. You can find your abstract in nature, architecture, tools, urban and rural areas." 

I don't know if the following quite fits this definition, but I had fun modifying some recent photos and processing them in ways to create different ways to view the photo.  Below, I show the original untouched photo then follow it with a photo processed version of that photo.

(Boring) Winter Picture of Rocks

Cropped the Rock Picture and "Liquified" Different Parts of the Picture - Now the Rocks Look Like a Flower?

(Self Portrait) Wearing Snorkeling Mask

Spiced Up the Picture with Photo Processing

 

St. John, VI View from Deck

View from Deck Cropped - I like all the Grays, Curves, and Lines

Stormy Sea at Manomet Point, Plymouth (from inside car)

Picture Cropped and Storm Intensified by Photo Processing

Friday Fotos - 3-Way Creativity Meetup and Post Processing Workshop

I joined the Plymouth Digital Photographers Meetup on Saturday Feb. 4 to take photographs in Plymouth Harbor area and afterwards, post process the pictures creatively.  The objective was to post the original photo and then post process those photos two creative ways.  I was happy with my results and will post several of them.  First in each series of 3 is the original, then 2 processed variations of the original using Adobe Photoshop Elements.

This first photo is of a amusement park type ride on the pier.  I was talking with an former fishing boat captain and he told me that in the summer, tourists line up and pay $25 to ride this machine.  You crawl into the frame, your feet get strapped in the boots on the bottom, and you grab the pipes at the eleven and one o'clock position.  Then, you hang on for dear life as the operator spins the contraption.  The captain says that most people get sick.  In the two processed photos, I tried to capture what the motion and after ride sensation must feel like.

Spinning Wheel Ride - Original

Processed Photo to Add Blurred Motion - During Ride?

Used the Liquify Effect to Show How the Rider Must Feel After the Ride

This fisherman and his boat are located on top of a building on the pier.  In this next photo, the original was cropped to hide the building and most of the boat. 

Original Cropped Photo

Processed Using Layers - Made the Top Layer Black and White, then "Erased" the Hat and Pipe so the Yellow of Original Comes Through

Added the Plastic Wrap Effect to Simulate Stormy Weather

 I liked the colors of this pub sign (I also liked the name).

Original Photo

I Cropped and Added Lighting Effect in Elements

Added Polar Effect in Elements

There were several dingies tied up at the various piers.  It was difficult to isolate them in the photos, but I was mostly successful in this photo.

Original photo

I changed the tones in this version. I think the colors of the boat stand out better with darker water.

Added Vignette Effect

Friday Fotos - Plymouth Center, Scusset Beach, and Cape Cod Canal

I had an appointment in downtown Plymouth on Tuesday morning.  The weather was sunny and warm for a day in January, so I brought my camera along.  I thought I wouldn't be out for long, but I was enjoying myself so much that I kept extending day.  I started shooting some pictures down by the fishing pier, moved on to the Jenney Grist Mill, wound my way down the shore road to Scusset Beach, and ended my 3 hour photo journey at the northern end of the Cape Cod Canal.  Here are some of the pictures that I took.

Foul weather must have driven this boat to the roof of a building on the fishing pier

Plymouth received a dusting of snow overnight

Capt. John's fleet settled in for the winter

There were two swans sleeping in this morning on the pond at Jenney Grist Mill

Comfy or cold?  I like the reflections of the swans and trees in the water

Bridge over the pond

Cape Cod Canal Harbor Patrol

Objects on the beach

Nobody swimming today

A Coast Guard helicopter was practicing maneuvers over the canal, you can barely see it in the picture, but the water below is reeling from the down draft of the rotors

Warning horn, you don't want to be near it when it blasts

Coast Guard saw me taking pictures and decided to fly right overhead to give me a nice photo op, thanks you to the unknown pilot

Support beams for the Sagamore Bridge, reminds me a bit of the Statue of Liberty's crown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sagamore Bridge from an unusual angle

Sitting in the parking lot next to the canal, I couldn't help but notice all the windmills that have gone up in recent years.  There are two new windmills visible right across the Sagamore Bridge and then two more down by the Bourne Bridge.  (Four more have gone up in Kingston next to Route 3 seemingly overnight.)  Looking east across the canal, it was interesting to notice the old-style wooden windmill of the Christmas Tree Shop with two new modern windmills about 1 mile away.  The sun was right over the windmills, so I could not get a good picture of the old and new.  Guess I will have to return another day.

Do You See 3 or More? Friday Fotos

As you know, I joined the Plymouth Digital Photographers (PDP) club last winter. While there are many group "Meetups", the club also puts out monthly challenges that you can do on your own.  One of the December challenges was "3 or more."  Here is the PDP description of the challenge and 3 photos (not more) that I published on the PDP website.

"This month's challenge: 3 or More. A good way to learn in photography is to give yourself assignments. This month you are challenged to take an image that has 3 or more of something. You are limited only by your imagination! Try a repeating theme from different perspectives. Pay attention to your backgrounds. Look for ordinary subjects in extraordinary light- there's beauty to be found around us every day. This is a great exercise to train your photographic eye to really observe the world around you. Take any approach that you like with this challenge, and post processing is fine. Look around with this in mind and see what groupings, patterns or repetitions you can find. Be imaginative and creative, look at everyday subjects with new eyes. You may use photos already in your archives."

These are the three photos I submitted.  Two are old photos and the last was taken for this assignment. I like my first photo, the second is so-so, but I really like the third photo.  I took several photos of this grass from many angles on a very windy day.  I like this one the best as the grass is crisp, the mill is visible in the background, and the color of the dried grass is very similar to the color of the mill in the background.  I don't know if this type of grass was intentionally planted here, but it reminds me of wheat sheaves which is appropriate for a mill.  There is a lamp pole between the grass and the mill.  I tried several times to find a good photo angle where the pole wasn't in the picture.  I still liked the results from this angle best.  I could have used software to remove the pole, but because it is in the background, I let it stay.

Rainy Day on Block Island (June 2007)

Fruit of Our Labor - 3 and More (September 2006)

Jenney Grist Mill (December 2011)