A play on light and shadow

I've been playing around with shadows and silhouettes today, I love these types of images. I especially like the Noir style of photography and film, I probably get this from watching old gangster movies growing up, oh and that's Capone style gangster as opposed to a rapper style gangster. This first image I took a few weeks back but seeing it again today for the first time in weeks made me look twice at it.

It just hit a note with me, one of those ones you get lucky with when you are not trying for something special.

And this one is just one of those moments in time captured for our memories in years to come. I have never liked posed images and have always preferred action shots. The kind that look like you have just frozen people in time and space for future generations to see. I am very happy with the way this one turned out.

And another, in the background +Linda Dean and Talon can be seen in deep conversation as Linda explains the finer points of trigonometry to Talon. It is wonderful to watch Talon at times, he is so inquisitive. He questions everything around him in his quest for knowledge and doesn't blindly follow commands.

And to finish today's adventure here's one I just kind of liked, it's not fancy or artistic but I like the way the shadows fall. Once again, it was taken in our favourite park, well, the exit to our favourite park. I'm also very happy with the progress the old beard is making, kind of reminds me of my Dad in some ways. Looking forward to the day my brother decides to grow his out, we'll be like twins...at least we will be after I dye his grey and white, nothing a little chalk dust couldn't take care of! lol

Quick edit because I forgot to add the above image, I really like the way the beard is silhouetted in this shot and felt it had to be included in this post.



  

Playing with HDR and shedding lbs

In our never ending quest to shed a few pounds (double figure numbers) we've been heading out to some really great spots. We have basically spent our spare time the last week walking, cycling and hiking if only a short hike. Since I've been addicted to my Nexus 5 lately I decided to play around with the HDR, not the HDR+ on the camera but the HDR in Snapseed.

I love the effect, it's like an instant painting, if you can get the right light it works really well.

It works great with landscape shots, I haven't really played around with HDR+ yet. I have taken a few with the Nexus but haven't looked closely at them yet. I've just really been enjoying playing around with Snapseed. It would be nice however if it could handle larger images than it does.

The auto-panorama is also pretty incredible, this next one was pieced together on G+ from several images I took while we were out at Bald Hill.

And it's pretty seamless as far as I'm concerned. The software is getting really good, can't wait to see what the next few years brings us. I think though at the moment it's still better to take the photos with a DSLR and then play with them in an app like Snapseed. That's where I've gotten the best results, however, the convenience of having a pretty decent camera in your pocket does count for a lot. 

And here we go with the obligatory black n white photo, I just can't get enough black n white. I love the way they look, there is something timeless about black n white photography. I love the light, the shadows and the fact that +Linda Dean is on her Nexus in this one bitching on G+ about me taking yet another black n white picture, how cool is that?

Stiff as a plank

We have really been pushing the exercise this last week and today was no exception. In fact I am sitting here writing this post with legs as stiff as planks of wood. We started today with a cycle to north town to cancel our T-Mobile account and do a bit of shopping. After that it was time for the fun stuff, a walk through the wooded part of Crystal Lake Playing Fields followed by a kick around on one of the many football (soccer) pitches. Again I decided not to bring the Nikon as I was really going for exercise and also because I am having a whole lot of fun with the Nexus 5 right now. You are however in luck in that I decided on a few colour shots today, mainly because we had an encounter on the way with the biggest fracken dragonfly I've ever seen. This guy was big, mean, armoured and busy looking for a place to rest when we stumbled along with our cameras.

We must have been a comical sight creeping forward one step at a time trying not to disturb it before we got a few shots.

I am really not surprised this one had to rest awhile, the armour on it was really impressive. I could not imagine another creature in the insect world (at least here in Corvallis) taking this one on.

Just look at that tail, if anyone knows what kind of dragonfly this is, please let me know in the comments. I'd be really interested in knowing and maybe doing a bit of research on them. This was the first time we'd seen this particular kind and I'm wondering if it's a rare type or if they are common in the Willamette Valley.

Now before you get to excited about the colour pictures I am still in a black n white sort of mood and I thought this was a good one from today's haul. I just kind of like the way it looks. And that's really it for now, I will be taking the Nikon out very soon and I am also currently editing a whole lot of pictures from awhile back.

Nexus at the park

I have to say that I have really been enjoying my Nexus 5 over the past few months. It was a good upgrade from my HTC Sensation which was a great phone in its day with a great camera. And even though it was a phone that was a couple of years old, the camera really held up well and was tough to leave behind. But everything changes and comes to an end and when the touch screen started selecting apps on its own I knew it was time to say good buy to my beloved HTC Sensation. I chose the Nexus 5 because of price and more importantly I wanted to have the stock Google experience. The fact that the Nexus series also receives fast regular updates, also helped as I have been burned in the past (damn Moto...where's my Xoom 2 JB upgrade???) helped in the decision. Well I haven't been disappointed, the Nexus 5 is a truely beautiful piece of technology that is well worth owning. Today though I won't bore you with a review but instead show off what the camera on the Nexus 5 can do.

I know, I know, more black n white but like I said in my last post, I am just in a black n white mood right now so you will have to bear with me until I work through it. If I don't work through it I may develop itchy eyeball syndrome and not be able to take more pictures ;-)

This one I really liked, it was just a random shot but I liked the way it turned out. It's amazing how some of your favourite shots will be random snaps.

I also really like this one of +Linda Dean and Talon chilling after we'd just finished a full 18 hole round of disc golf at Willamette Disc Golf Course here in Corvallis.

Disc golf in the sun can make you thirsty indeed and so refreshments were on hand or in my backpack as the case was. Bottles of watery goodness are an absolute must when doing the full course. And again I think this photo really shows off the quality of the camera on the Nexus 5.

I used Snapseed on Android to edit these shots and like I've been saying for some time, it is a fine little editor to have on hand and in your pocket. If you're in the market for a new phone I would definitely take a serious look at the Nexus 5, it's a serious piece of kit at an affordable price.

Barn Day

A few days ago on our new cycle route we came across an old barn out by Bald Hill. At the time I didn't have the camera with me so I didn't get any shots. Today however we returned to the barn armed to the teeth with the Nikon D5200.

This was my first time seeing one of these old style barns up close, they're a hell of a lot bigger than you'd think from a distance. I mean, it's really not a case of leaping off the top into the old watering hole. I'm not sure if this particular barn is an original or a replica, it looked like it had been moved here from somewhere else and rebuilt as a monument to times gone by.

I managed to get some really great shots of +Linda Dean and that I am very pleased about. I'm really into black n' white photography right now and I'm really enjoying the images I'm getting.

Some really are just a case of timing, shooting just at the right moment and being very lucky.

We're working on a new book release and have been busy discovering interesting places that suit the theme of the book. Today I think we found a great one and it was a lot of fun capturing the images.

I even managed to capture +Linda Dean hugging a tree (which she's not to pleased about), actually she was just measuring the width of it but I liked the way the picture turned out.

I'll have more news on the book as we get closer to release, it is a ways off just yet. But for now we'll continue cycling, discovering and shooting anything and everything that finds itself in front of the lens. I love just being out and about with the Nikon or even just my phone at times snapping away and seeing what comes out.