Shadow Portrait

In the Yard – ITY05

My brilliant plan to walk around the yard and neighborhood yesterday didn’t not turn out too well. I do not like being cold! It was a beautiful sunny day but the wind and colder temps had me running back to the house before much exploring was accomplished. Moving to warming climate will not get here soon enough.

The long shadows of late afternoon prompted me to capture this shadow portrait. The blue tones in the snow and warm sunset light in the trees had me experimenting with some split toning for this B&W image. I could have left it as the color version but I was in the mood to play. I added some yellow tone to the highlights and blue to the shadows. Still need to play more with this style but the learning is part of the fun.

Shadow Portrait Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/400s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 200

Shadow Portrait
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/400s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 200

Contemplative Cinderella

Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Contemplative Cinderella Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/800s, 46mm, f/8, ISO 400

Contemplative Cinderella
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/800s, 46mm, f/8, ISO 400

Morse Code?

In The Yard – ITY01

The start of a new year! Actually, doesn’t really feel any different than last year. At least not yet. I know I mentioned resolutions in the post yesterday but I refrained from making a post about them. I did those in the past and they do not seem to take hold. I need to figure out a better method.

I did decide to start this month off with a new series I’m going to call In The Yard. I know there are a lot of subjects for my camera in my yard and I want to train myself to see them better. It is what I did when I was learning with my old point & shoot. Looking back at that time I did capture some nice images. They’re out there… just have to find them.

So, the first in the series is of a small birch tree in the side yard. Looks like a woodpecker has done some tattooing on the bark. I went with a very small depth of field and then converted to B&W because the textures and details where more important than the colors (at least for me).

Morse Code? Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 100

Morse Code?
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 100

Monochrome Monday: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Monochrome Monday: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Frontierland, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

There is definitely something intriguing about converting my Disney images to black & white. Not every image will lend itself to the conversion and part of the fun for me is to find the right one. With a lot of my Disney images it is the color that helps tell the story or at the very least is a big part of the visual impact for the image.

To get a good B&W conversion there has to be more to the image. The elements need to convey the story with the texture and tone supporting the visuals to provide impact. The color version for this view of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad although appealing to me just didn’t have the punch I wanted. Hopefully I was able to create something more with this conversion.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/200s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 400

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/200s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 400

Cinderella Obscured

Cinderella Castle
Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

This morning I return to a previously posted image. One that was actually captured with my old Sony point & shoot on a family vacation prior to me becoming interested (obsessed) with photography. I enjoyed the color version of this image with Cinderella Castle shrouded in early morning fog but I think this monochrome redo turned out even better. You can view the original on this post from last year… Photo Magic 2013.

Cinderella Obscured Sony  DSC-W55, 1/160s, 19mm, f/5.2, ISO 100

Cinderella Obscured
Sony DSC-W55, 1/160s, 19mm, f/5.2, ISO 100

Cinderella Castle

Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World

Cinderella Castle Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/1000s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 400

Cinderella Castle
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/1000s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 400