Working with Some New Software

For Christmas, Lee Ann reached a little too deep into her pocket and got me an incredible gift. Photoshop. I cannot thank her enough. For the longest time I stood proudly with the intent on not using software systems such as Photoshop as it seemed that it revolutionized the photography world. What I did not realize until a couple months ago however was that many of the same alterations can be made with film in a darkroom. Then, once giving it a try, I realized that there was indeed a whole new world that was yet tapped into with the use of these software systems.

The first photo is the Metro system during rush hour in a holiday season. Using a neutral density filter I was able to use a longer shutter speed giving the effect seen below. A neutral density filter is essentially sunglasses to the camera lens which results in the need for a longer exposure time. After altering the saturation levels of individual colors I then was able bring the reds and oranges to life while reducing the saturation of all the other colors within the photo. 

In the following photo, again I used a neutral density filter. This photo was taken at dusk so that all the cars had their lights on, but there was enough light to illuminate the buildings with natural light.

 "The Fast Life"

This is a bizarre collection of pictures. I do not have much else to say about them aside from the fact that it was fun to take them and get a little creative with the processing aspect of photography. 

Yes, I am a bit guilty during the first two pictures to have altered them to no longer represent the real image, rather a more abstract and intense image of them. These were found at the Chinese embassy and are granite rock with Chinese characters etched into the stone. What caught my eye was the chipped and worn golden paint that in my mind made these pictures.

In the third photo, I again have used a car hood ornament and reflection of the skyline that I think is a bit better of work than past attempts. 

Finally, in the last photo, I could not let the intensity of the horses face or detail to the boot escape with any further distractions or any other colors. I intentionally over-exposed the sky in the background to give the horse a solid white background. This also allowed for a greater contrast between on the horse bringing the detail to life.