A while back, I posted about a home screen that I put together for my iPad from a photo taken on a late spring morning in Sausalito using my tiny Canon PowerShot S90.
Recently, I put together another version of this same image – this time converted to black and white. I enjoy a black and white background on the iPad screen – the color icons of the applications “pop” off the background. Try it, you’ll see what I mean. Click here for the light box version!
Here’s another of my experiments in adding textures to an image. This image is a texturized version of this original shot below taken on January 1, 2010 at Baker Beach in San Francisco using my tiny Canon PowerShot S90.
I also tweaked the image a bit to make the bridge towers more vertical – and then applied the Purple Prose texture from French Kiss Textures. This particular texture has script elements on the left side of the image – and I thought those elements worked well into the sky and mountain area on the left side of the bridge itself.
I love how the texture adds dimension to the image – making it much more interesting to my eye as I want to explore it for longer than just the original image. For me, that’s the power of adding textures – making the image much more interesting and something you want to spend time exploring – similar to how a great painting captures your eye and mind.
For more examples of my texture experiments, see this image of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, this image of the FV Point Reyes aground at Inverness, and these early experiments in blue and gold texturized images of San Francisco taken from Fort Point.
If you’re interested in textures, here are some resources I’ve found very helpful:
Are there others? Yourself? Tell me about them in the comments below!
Far and away my most popular image on Flickr is this one – titled “Golden Gate Bridge – 2010 – (Canon PowerShot S90 HDR)“. It has over twice the Flickr views of my next nearest image – lots of folks have favorite’d it, commented on it, etc.
This image shows you what you can do these days with a tiny little camera in your pocket – if you know how to shoot. Taken just about a year ago, this image was shot from up on the top of Fort Point just below the Golden Gate Bridge – out in the late afternoon sun – with my tiny Canon PowerShot S90. The January sun angles are always just the best – and this was a perfect day in that regard with low sun and some interesting clouds in the sky.
What’s HDR? Stands for High Dynamic Range. Shooting HDR involves capturing at least 3 shots of the same image exposed differently. You then post process the 3 images into a single composite image. The result can be quite spectacular!
The Canon PowerShot S90 has built-in exposure auto-bracketing – so taking this kind of shot basically involves going to Aperture Priority, enabling Auto-Bracketing, and then shooting the 3 images. Ideally, you use a tripod to steady the image and minimize alignment issues (as with this photo) – but you can also just shoot handheld if you’re steady enough.
My favorite aspect of this particular photo is the sign in the lower right telling folks not to sit on the wall – which, of course, the couple just under the bridge is ignoring completely!
This photo was taken last June at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The Palace was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition – and these few buildings are all that remain. It was a typical San Francisco blue sky morning – with lovely lighting adding a hint of shadows. The Palace is another one of my favorite San Francisco venues – a place I love to visit and photograph in all seasons.
The Canon PowerShot S90 (and its successor, the Canon PowerShot S95) are delightful little cameras that can take some amazing photographs. Because of the quality of the 10 megapixel image sensor and the auto-bracketing feature that’s built-in, you can easily shoot HDR (high dynamic range) photos with either of these cameras. Ideally, you’ll use a tripod – but I’ve had great success doing handheld HDR images – just be sure to find something to steady yourself against if you can while firing off the three shots! (Here’s a picture of me walking with Trey Ratcliff and others at Stanford last spring – that’s me on the right with the tiny camera (S90!) on top of the tripod!)
For more background on how I shoot HDR using these compact Canon point-and-shoot cameras, see this post (some tweaks) and this post (original).
Last summer, I was over in Sausalito heading north for a day of photography when I stopped just off 2nd Street to snap a few shots of San Francisco in the mist across the Bay.
I particularly like this black and white treatment – it’s loosely reminiscent of a Chris Honeysett image that hangs in my office at work. You can see a few of my other color originals from this day’s shoot in this set on Flickr.
These images were shot handheld using my Canon PowerShot S90.
A year ago today, I was over in Half Moon Bay on one of those amazing mornings – where the fog and the sun are almost dancing in the sky.
The Fitzgerald Marine Preserve has this amazing cypress tree canyon (no better word for it!) the someone planted and tended many years ago. You feel like you’re in a tunnel walking this lane – and, usually, there’s no one else around to spoil the natural beauty.
This particular image was shot in HDR using my Canon PowerShot S90 mounted on a tripod. The sun had just started shining through from above those trees on the left while the rest of the trees were still below foggy skies. Just seeing this image brings back vivid memories for me of having been there – just a year ago.
It’s time to get back over there again!
Merry Christmas!
We had a wonderful family afternoon and evening at our house yesterday for Christmas Eve. Our two grand-daughters were the center of much of the attention – Christmas really is for kids! Dinner included a 6 lb boneless turkey breast – 2 hours at 325 degrees – delish! and a Niman Ranch ham – along with a bunch of side dishes brought by family members including root vegetables, Brussels sprouts, and Julie’s Petite Potatoes. Family, great food, and sharing – it doesn’t get any better than that!
For fun this morning, I used Scout from Big Huge Labs to create a poster of my “best” photos on Flickr. Scout uses Flickr’s “interestingness” results to rank the photos.
If you want to see a specific photo, click on the “continue reading” link and you’ll find a row by row list with a link to each photo included in the poster.
Many have commented privately to me about the photo above – which I have titled “Bookends”. Here’s the story…
Bookends
Sometimes I come across a scene that’s just right. But, that’s a rare event. Most other times, there’s just noise in my eyes – and I’m frustrated about shooting.
You know that feeling. You look and look – but don’t see anything. Nothing. Nothing interesting. Nothing compelling. Just noise. More noise.
Why do we do this to ourselves? In spite of it, we pack our camera and head out – looking for that decisive moment, even as it continues to elude us. Camera at the ready, we continue scanning for the right opportunity.
Our eyes are amazing sensors. We humans are so gifted. As we scan, back and forth, we begin to get inside the frame. If we’re lucky, we start to have “camera eyes” – seeing in that special new way. When the light is just right, we see whole new scenes. And, if we slow down – so important – we begin to see so much more.
Last April, I came across one of those frames – tucked away in the heart of the Brooklyn Bridge subway station in New York City. After a long day of walking and exploring, we walked down the stairway into the underground canyon of the station. We were dog tired – looking forward to an express train ride up the backbone of New York to get home.
As we sat down to wait for our train, I looked across to the other platform and saw an amazing scene. Quickly grasping my camera, I struggled to fire off one quick shot – as that one guy was looking right at me.
Turns out he looked away – up and away just as the shutter snapped. Perfect.
When I finally got a good look at the image, a title immediately came to mind: Bookends. Like an overstuff bookshelf, the two folks on each end of the image each flared out away from the rest. Bookends. A wonderful memory of a springtime street scene underground in New York City.
You’ve heard me rave about my Canon PowerShot S90 and, more recently, its successor – the new PowerShot S95.
Today, Canon has announced the PowerShot G12 – the upgrade to the G11 that was the S90’s “big brother”. Like the S95, the G12 also includes HDR built-in to the camera.
Take a look at the details here – the Canon G12
[Update: Sep 3, 2010 – see the first shots taken with my new Canon PowerShot S95
My new Canon PowerShot S95
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