Area 52: Week 5 (Backyards & Crackpups: All About Cooper)

Yes, you've met this subject more than once here, but never when he's in his favorite element: snow.

Self-Entertaining

Making the Final Turn

Comin' Atcha

Seek, and...

Ye Shall Find

It's the Little Things

...Squirrel...?

I add this last shot simply because it illustrates a couple of things.  First, even with the advanced auto-focus systems in modern cameras...the dog is often quicker than the lens.  Second, a great photo is measured in more than sharpness.  I love the composition and color of this shot.

How about you...?

A housekeeping note: I've decided all images I post here will be in the "large" format, as I prefer that uniformity, at least for now.  I might change my mind later.  I might not.  Oooooh, the suspense!

If you would, send a positive thought or two Cooper's way.  As I was working on the photos and blog, my wife found an oozing wound on the right side of Cooper's face.  It looks like he just gouged himself or has an abscess or maybe even just nicked a mole while scratching, but I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow to get checked.  He's just turned 3...we lost our last dog, Boomer, at 3...at about this same time of year.  It's probably nothing to worry about as Cooper is way healthier than Boomer ever was, but the symmetry bothers me.  He's not just my favorite subject, he's my little buddy and responsibility, so any little nick....

Excuse me while I tap a vein to check for compatibility....

EDIT: Little fellah's fine.  Just got a minor infection.  

Area 52: Week 4 (If Game is to Survive, It Must Have a Suitable Home)

Barns...barns and signs...barns, signs, and overgrowth, oh, my....  I never tire of these scenes, which tend to remind me of childhood rides to Edgewood to see my grandparents...or, sometimes it was a ride with my grandparents.  Old, dilapidated farm structures were a common site in southern IL while I was growing up, but, as they get older and the land passes down to younger owners, some genius gets the bright idea to tear these old, seemingly innocuous buildings down, giving barely any thought as to how the window sill became so worn or who put the doors on like that and why.

Even the old fella that gave me permission to be on the land hoped someone would eventually tear this place down.  I guess an empty lot has more curb appeal.

I disagreed.

Of highways, scenic drives, and miscellany....

 

The Big Lesson for me in this photoshoot: trust.  I have been in the habit of taking several shots of the same scene for "safety," just in case I didn't quite get what I wanted.  As a result, I have to whittle down 200 or so shots to around 50 to edit, 20 final edits and the above to post.  I've gotten to the point I know generally how the camera settings I use will treat the final shot, so I can just take a few shots of a scene at different apertures and know I have what I want.  I could easily edit around 80% of what I shot and get excellent results, but a lot of the shots would be almost identical.  Now, I can concentrate on capturing what I see in my mind, then moving more quickly to the next shot.

In other words: I am loosed. 

[All shots processed using a preset designed to mimic AGFA II film.]

BONUS SHOT:  Random abandoned....

Area 52: Week 3, Part One (Crumbling Landscapes)

This is a series from a long-abandoned Shell Oil facility.  Crumbling, aging, weathering....  Nirvana for me.

Processing was simple: a wee-little, teeny-tiny bit of cropping, then a preset designed to mimic Kodak 400 film with a tiny bump in brightness, and a little noise reduction is all it took.  I'll be going back to this spot occasionally to catch different seasons, lighting, and experiment with macro-photography.  

What Remains

Full Frontal

I liked the background in this shot as well.  The colorful mixers at the concrete plant on the left, the long-defunct water tower on the right.

Vertical Landscapes Are Go

What Through These Doors....

Not a Love Shack

Reclamation Creeps

Who's Gonna Pay for the Window?

Disconnect

Out of Service

 The following shots are a bit random.  The first is of a former drug house, which I captured as a burned out shell.  I always wonder about the history of such places....  Who built it?  Who were the first owners?  How did it come to be in such a state?  In the week since I took this shot, it has been bulldozed to the ground.  

It used to be someone's dream.....

When Good Homes Go Bad

Finally, a simple branch with some snow.  I just liked the depth of field and the lines; however, I think my favorite thing about the shot is the coloring.  This is the way the shot looks on its own--no post-processing for the color; no de-saturation, except that which came from the light and pine needles.

Area 52: Week 2 (Part the Second-Lanscapes)

To know me at all is to know I have an odd fetish for barns and other decaying bits of Americana as photography subjects.  The holiday season provides no relief from that affliction, so:

That Ol' Time Advertisin'

I found this glorified shed still standing on a rise just outside of Xenia, IL.  When I was growing up, I recall dozens of barns with advertising painted on the rooftops, but that redneck Mad Men strategy seems to have gone the way of the loon a long time ago.  The color version of this is kind of striking: a sun-bleached yellow roof, the line between the faded red paint protected by the overhang against the far more faded red beneath.  However, I LOVED the B&W treatment, so...here 'tis.  Much more tasteful than billboards, yes?  That motion just carried without objection. 

There was apparently a state license required to advertise this way.  The original metal plate is still on the west side of the building...gonna hafta go back for that pic, huh?

No...Really...?

I found the signage in this picture so...obvious.  I used a preset to mimic Kodachrome 400 film to excellent effect, I think.  Presets - and tweaking same - are a new addiction.












Finally, a sort of test shot:

Again with the Kodachrome treatment.  I found this old barn by accident.  It's on the outskirts of town, just east of a neighborhood in which I misspent many a night of my youth, yet I'd never seen this spot before.  I didn't have opportunity to get out and explore the property at the time this particular pic was taken...but was able to return today (1/13) for more detailed work.  Later for those, kids.






BONUS LEVEL:  The color version of the first shot:

I think that last will work better on a sunny day.  But photographers - even the hamfisted - take what they can get while planning to come back for more.

Area 52: Week 2 (Holiday Edition in Two Parts)

Of course the holidays offer great opportunities for snapshots and get me:  I'm only a coupla weeks late posting!


This first entry is family snapshots, some of which I am genuinely proud.  Because I knew we would be inside, I slapped the 50mm 1.8 on Betty (don't judge) and fired away.  Some were taken with flash (an SB 800, bounced) and some not.

Shot o' the Day, I Think

Dad, immediately reading from his Christmas present, a coffee table/photography book on the history of Harley Davidson.  I used a template on this shot, one that attempts to recreate the look of Kodachrome film.  Successfully, I might add.

To the right, my niece, Q.  I used a B&W preset on this one, then bumped a couple of levels to get just the look I wanted.

And another niece: Madison.  No flash, but did use a preset designed to mimic film.

Bub, In Repose

And not to be outdone: my nephew Stetson.  Or, as I prefer, Bub. 










These are just a couple of family snapshots in various treatments.  Enjoy!

Just Let Me Help, Pa-Paw

I Got Yer Present Right HERE

Cha-Cha-Cha-CHANGES! A Course Correction....and Week 1 of Area 52.

As you may have noticed, I haven't updated the blog/Project 365 in quite a while.  First, I got a little sick.  Then I was VERY mildly injured.  Then...various Life issues simply got in the way.  Then...sick a-gain.  Also, my work schedule is so varied, it's difficult to maintain a photographic routine...not that "routine" is necessary, but Time is an issue. Taking an hour or so to go out and photograph every single day the way I want to do it seemed alternatively unwise, uncomfortable, and/or selfish.  Project 365 became less about pushing myself and my limits and more about just filling a void with just any ol' thing.  In just a little over a month...it became a chore, some days.  I was defeating my own purpose.

When I was significantly younger and more single, such an undertaking would have been more logistically feasible.  I still have no problem driving for hours to find a spot only to wait for the shot(s) and shoot for as long as it took, but when one gets to a certain age and level of responsibility...well, such pursuits have to be prioritized.  If I could just have my way just this once, I would be able to do literally nothing but scout/shoot/repeat as a way to make a living.  Alas....

So...re-vamping & re-dedication: The main thrust for Of D&D will be shifted from a photo/series per day to a photo/series per week.  I think I'll call it Area 52, but that's a working title.  Since I am who I am, I reserve the right to change that...and whatever else I damn well please.  So there...and stuff.  The purpose remains the same, but the means to get there has gently shifted.

Despite the weather, illness, and other issues, I have been shooting regularly, some with Betty (don't judge) and some with my cell phone camera, using the Retro Camera app (see earlier posts).  UNFORTUNATELY, I seem to have also mismanaged to get the photos I've been taking over the last several weeks jumbled into a disorganized mess.  Consider the following submissions to be a preview of what's to come:

First Snowstorm: Beginning

Playing With Light

This is a Test

 The last two shots are from an old, long-abandoned Shell Oil storage yard, both taken with my cell phone camera.  I revisit them with Betty (don't judge) later, but dig how these turned out.






 

This is Only a Test