“Lily or a rose never pretends, and its beauty is that it is what it is.” Jiddu Krishnamurti
Can’t count the number of times I have taken photos of lilies, nor the number of times it was like any other photo out there. Soooo, today I decided to get creative and focus on parts of the lily that photographically are not that common. This is what I came up with. These photos were shot with a Sony A6000 using a Canon 60mm Macro Lens. f/2.8; 160 sec; 60mm.
Lensbaby Sol 45 with 16mm extension tube – Sony A6000 – f/6.3; ISO 250; 1/400 sec.
“Expectation is everything. Every day can be your day, if you expect it to be.” Bob Moawad
Thought I would try taking some more photographs with the Lensbaby Sol 45. This time I added a 16mm extension tube. It seemed to work really well. It was a little windy today so I set the shutter speed to 1/400 of a second and was surprised at how sharp the focal point was given the wind.
“The love you feel in life is a reflection of the love you feel in yourself.” Deepak Chopra
Although Canadian Geese are quite plentiful where I live and can be photographed almost any day, they are still one of my favorite things to photograph in the water. On a calm overcast day, the reflections are wonderful.
A skiff inserted into a photograph of Lake Michigan.
The photograph of the skiff was taken in Capri, Italy. I loved the skiff’s simplicity and faded colors, but the surrounding area left a lot to be desired to capture a good photo.
One day I was looking at some photographs that I took of Lake Michigan and decided to see if I could insert the skiff into a beach photo and make it work. I first processed the skiff to pop the colors, then I cut it out. I brought both the cutout and Lake Michigan photo into Photoshop and combined them: adjusted colors, luminosity, and cloned sand around the bottom of the skiff. I decided to add some texture by using the Oil Paint filter under Stylize. Then to finish the composite I created a mask and lightly brushed the filter out in different areas. I did not want a lot of texture in the skiff. Finally I went into Photoshop Elements and added the border.
This exercise is a really excellent way to experiment and use tools that you don’t often get to use in normal photo processing. I must say I learned a lot!
Sony a6000; Lensbaby Sol 45; 1/200 Sec; ISO 250
I bought this lens a year ago and was really frustrated with the results of my photography sessions. No matter how I adjusted the lens or bokeh blades my photos left a lot to be desired. Yet many photographs taken by others with this lens were amazing. Why theirs and not mine?
Initially, we were not a good fit. The whole purpose of the Lensbaby is to create soft, dreamy photographs. I am someone who strives to create clear, sharp photographs. I suddenly realized when using this lens I was just shooting to shoot. So I set out to create one really sharp area in an image and let the rest just happen through adjusting the bokeh blades. Much happier with the results and this lens has become a whole lot of fun!
“There is a difference between solitude and isolation. One is connected and one isn’t. Solitude replenishes, isolation diminishes.” Henry Cloud
