This post is about nothing (in particular). Sounds like an episode of Seinfeld. What I mean is that there is no specific theme, just a few appealing photos I’ve accumulated over the last little while.
I begin with a close-up shot of a hibiscus flower that I photographed during a recent trip to Florida. I like the image for the tonal quality, the colour and the detail of the flower petals. I took the picture with a 24-70 mm lens with settings of f4.5, ISO 640 and a shutter speed of 1/90 sec. I took pains to ensure the flower was entirely within the field of focus, with only the background showing any blur. The distance to the subject of about 30 cm (12 in) proved to be the right answer.
The next picture features some large pots we have at our front door in Scottsdale. They’re quite grungy looking, so I re=processed the image to better show the texture of the pots. I used a plug-in to Photoshop, Topaz Restyle to capture the effect I wanted.
Another photo that I re-styled is one I took two summers ago at the Glenbow Ranch near Cochrane, AB. It was a misty morning and I thought I could do better using some new techniques. Again I used Topaz Restyle, beginning with a pre-set from the “mood” collection” and adjusting that until I got a look that I like.
My next picture was another taken during our recent visit to Florida, a beach scene. Nothing too unusual or striking about it. Perhaps it can be described as a relaxing scene. I like the three bands across the picture, the sky, the water and the sand and the variation in colour and texture they provide.
My final picture for today is a golf course scene taken at our local track, Terravita G&CC. This is the first hole, backgrounded by some nice scenery. Nothing fancy about this one, just a few minor touch-ups to the tone and colour saturation.
That’s it for this post. We’re beginning to see the trees and flowers blooming. I should have some very colourful pictures to share in the next few weeks. It’s difficult to beat the desert flora in springtime.