Check out my latest video, “Sunset at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon” at https://youtu.be/cnXhJNxzL90 and learn how I created and processed it using ON1 Photo RAW.
Photographers have many different reasons to photograph something. Some record beautiful, or strange, places and things. Others like to make all kinds of photographs of people, and others use composites to bring their imagination into reality.
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One of the reasons I take photographs is to record history before it vanishes. Some of my photographs include giant Ponderosa Pines that have died, ancient Native American ruins and old buildings.
This photograph was taken in Globe, Arizona. It shows the Hill Street School that was built in 1920. It’s a beautiful old building with lots of broken windows that give it character. The image was taken several years ago, and I was planning to go back next year to take more photos of this gem. Then I saw on the news that the building was being completely renovated to provide 26 apartments for seniors.
While it’s nice that the building will be put to good use, it is one more historic building that is being renovated to look brand new.
But I have my photos, and the historic, and original, look of this building is preserved for future generations.
Why do you take photos? Post your answer in the comments below.
I’ve always liked Agave plants. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and their bloom, a long stalk that grows from the center of the plant, can grow almost one foot per day.
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This photo was taken at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California about one hour before sunset, which gave nice directional light to the image.
As you can see from this image, leaves can make an imprint on the leaves around them as they grow. That’s because the leaves at the center of the agave are tightly packed until they eventually spread out.
This red, ancient, Native American hand print is near Flagstaff, Arizona. I came across it on a hike, and found several other pictographs next to it. It’s amazing to stand there and realize that someone, maybe 1,000 years ago, created this, and I can still see it today. You feel a bond between some person you never met, and realize that all people are connected across time and geographic locations. It was a humbling, and unifying, experience.
This is a photograph of the rough bark on a eucalyptus tree. I’m always on the lookout for textures that I can use with my photographs. A texture can really add a special look to some photographs. Give it a try.
Here’s another photo I took last year at one of the fountains at the Huntington Library and Gardens in southern California. I really liked the tranquil quality of the lily pads, water lilies and water.
The ripples in the water gave a feeling of movement, yet the water was still smooth enough to reflect the water lilies, adding more of their vivid color to the scene.
This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.
If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.
ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.
Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.
Have Fun, Jeff
P.S. Due to a medical issue, this will probably be my last post until sometime in July. I’ll try to post sooner than that, it just depends on how everything works out.
Last year we took a trip to southern California. One of the places we visited was The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. When I lived in California I visited here often. If you go, and really want to see and photograph everything, give yourself at least two days to see the gardens, and one day to see the museums. You won’t be disappointed.
Be aware that cameras and tripods are not allowed in some museums.
This photo was taken at a fountain near the main entrance. The blue flowers had fallen off of a bush, and the moving water in the fountain pushed all the blooms against these green plants. I also liked the shadows on the bottom of fountain. You will often see dragonflies and damselflies at this fountain too.
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Also, check out their special events. I went there once for a Bonsai show, and stumbled onto a display of office furniture that belonged to William Herndon. He was Abraham Lincoln’s law partner, wrote the first biography of Lincoln and he’s my uncle. That was a very pleasant surprise.
This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.
If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.
Yes, those are real prehistoric bones, and yes, that is a real skull of a saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis.
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I took this photo at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. They have a block of resin with these bones embedded in it to show the average density of bones in the asphalt of the tar pits. FYI, there is no tar in the tar pits, it’s all asphalt.
The resin block is in a glass case. To prevent reflecting yourself in a photo, put the end of your lens directly on the glass. And play around with angles and background light sources to get different lighting effects in the resin. The light coming through windows and glass doors changes throughout the day, so keep checking for interesting lighting.
You are not allowed to use tripods anywhere in the building, so bring a string tripod or monopod. Because of the lighting, you will need to use a high ISO or slow shutter speed. And be sure to check out the atrium. It’s small, but packed with many things to photograph.
Sometimes, when you’re shooting nature, you get a happy surprise. That’s the case with this photo of a female Sago Palm cone. Male cones are more, well, cone shaped. Like a pine cone.
I came across this palm several years ago in the atrium of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. And I was lucky because Sago Palms only produce flowers once every three to four years. When I went back five years later, there was no bloom.
I like shooting the natural world for several reasons, including the surprises you encounter. They can be exciting, beautiful, dangerous or something that will challenge your photography skills.
If your shooting nature, be flexible, creative and ready to solve problems so a disadvantage becomes an advantage.
