Category: Creative

Mysterious Leaves

Published March 20, 2024 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

I’m always looking for interesting things to photograph. Backgrounds, textures and interesting subjects can be found anywhere. The other day my wife and I were taking our evening walk, and in a neighbor’s yard I saw some interesting leaves on the ground. They were brown, with a dusting of white that almost looked like frost. They were also in interesting shapes, including twists and curls.

I grabbed a handful of leaves, brought them home and photographed a few of them in a Foldio 3 light tent. I had some nice graphic images, but I wanted something different, so I one of started playing with one of the photos in Smart Photo Editor. I bought this program many years ago and always have fun playing with it.

After trying many images, I came up with ten that I thought looked good. Here are a few of the images I created. I hope you like them.

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Let me know if you have any questions about the images or how I made them.

You can check out ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

You can purchase these images, and many other images of mine, on various products at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Shooting At The Arizona Renaissance Festival

Published February 27, 2024 / by adminjc

The Arizona Renaissance Festival is back. If you have not been to the Festival, you should go as there are so many diverse things to shoot there. You can photograph: performers, arts and crafts, buildings, people in costumes, weapons and much more.

I photographed this crystal at a booth that sells all kinds of crystals. I tried several different presets in ON1 Photo RAW to bring out the colors, and went with Vivid Landscape #VL7, then used sliders to boost the Saturation and Vibrance a little. I also used the healing brush to remove some scratches from the crystal.

You can check out ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

colorful crystal
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You can purchase this image, and many other images of mine, on various products at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

If you visit the Festival, post your comments and/or advice to other photographers in the Comments section.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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An Old Water Tower, In Sepia

Published January 9, 2024 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Lately, I’ve been getting the urge to do some black and white images of modern looking architecture. There’s nothing in my town, or within a half hour drive. Just old buildings from a ghost town and Native American ruins. But nothing modern looking.

So I drove an hour up to Flagstaff, Arizona, but nothing modern there either. I did see this nice water tower. It looked old, so I decided to give it a sepia look. I processed it in ON1 Photo RAW and tried several different sepia presets with a film look, and settled on this one, “Black and White Alternative BA10.”

an old water tower, in sepia
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I finally managed to find some nice modern architecture an hour away, in Phoenix. I just took a few images on my trip there, but will be going back in February to take many more photographs. I’ll be posting some after I process them.

You can purchase this image on various products at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

Check out ON1 Photo RAW at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Use my 20% discount code, colburn20 for ON1 Photo RAW, or its plugins. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.

I hope you have a great New Year.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Have A Happy, And Slightly Twisted, 2023 Holiday Season

Published December 16, 2023 / by adminjc

Following are some of my favorite Holiday music videos. You’ll find the entire spectrum from traditional to shall we say, unique. I hope you enjoy them.

Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You has been a very popular Christmas song for many years, enjoy.

Here are a couple of songs from Taylor Swift, Santa Baby and Christmas Tree Farm

Check out these very cute birds.

Lindsey Sterling, is an amazing hip-hop violinist with some great moves. Listen to her perform Joy to the World and if you’re wondering, this entire video was shot in France. And there’s also Angels We Have Heard on High and We Three Gentlemen.

Next is Pentatonix, an acappella group whose voices blend beautifully. Listen to their versions of My Favorite Things, Hallelujah, Little Drummer Boy, White Winter Hymnal and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

I’ve always been a big fan of Jewel’s music and poetry, and was fortunate enough to see her in concert once. Listen to her amazing voice as she sings Ave Maria, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Silent Night.

Celtic Woman sing Oh Come All Ye Faithful, and two other songs.

There’s always someone who thinks Christmas us just a bunch of Bah Humbug. This video is for you. I hope you enjoy Carol of the Old Ones.

My favorite irreverent Christmas song is The 12 Pains Of Christmas. Have a listen.

Karen Carpenter was an amazing singer, and left us all far too soon. Listen to Merry Christmas Darling by The Carpenters and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

I’ve always liked Gloria Estefan’s voice and music. I was even a member of the Press when she dedicated her statue to the Wax Museum in Buena Park, California. I have some great pictures of that event.

Christmas is more than presents and parties. It’s about reaching out to those in need, righting the wrongs in the world and putting the Christmas Spirit in all we do, all year long. In this video you’ll see wrongs that need to be righted, and successes that have been achieved. We can all do something, big or small, to help others. Go out and help others. Hear Silent Night and This Christmas by Gloria Estefan.

Many years ago there was a great Christmas special called “A Claymation Christmas.” It shows the amazing things that can be done with this form of animation. I hope you enjoy these videos, and remember, it’s all done with clay. Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer and Joy To The World.

The Piano Guys make some great music. Check out Carol Of The Bells and O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Another great piece of Christmas music is the Christmas Canon by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Is it really Christmas without hearing Madonna sing Santa Baby?

And finally, check out this drone show and this house using The Force to show you Star Wars Carol Of The Bells.

What’s your favorite holiday video?

Have a Great Holiday Season! Party on!!!

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Video – How I Processed This Image – Aspen In Fog

Published April 6, 2023 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

Check out my latest video, “Aspen In Fog” and learn how I created this image, then processed it using ON1 Photo RAW https://youtu.be/J3D6jz0Za4U

You can see all of my videos on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcd8nqgH0CiaveaIlKbE1mA

Aspen in fog
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I process my images with ON1 Photo RAW editing software. You can visit ON1 here https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz Using this link will give me a little money, costs you nothing and lets me keep making videos.

You can also use my 20% discount code: colburn20

This discount code is not applicable to subscriptions and cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions.

ON1 also offers a 14-day free trial and 30-day money back guarantee.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Photo – Floating Bones

Published January 27, 2023 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

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.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Have Fun,
Jeff

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Are You Looking For Unique Holiday Gifts?

Published November 29, 2022 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

If you’re looking for some great, and unique, gifts for friends and family this holiday season, check out my gift offerings.

You’ll find all kinds of products with my photographs on them, including: T-shirts, mugs, bags, phone cases and more at my RedBubble shop www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

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I also have several ebooks for photographers, writers, history buffs of the Old West and children www.jeffcolburn.com/jeffs-ebooks

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And, of course, there are my photographs to decorate the walls of your home oroffice www.jeffcolburn.com/photographs

photograph over couch
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You can order all of these online, from the comfort of your own home.

Happy Holidays,
Jeff

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Photo – Aspen In The Fog

Published November 19, 2022 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

I don’t encounter fog very often in Arizona, so when I do I take as many photos as I can.

This photo was taken on the road that leads up to Snowbowl, a ski area near Flagstaff. Half way up the road we drove into light fog. We quickly parked and I grabbed my gear and ran a short distance up the road when I saw this.

I thought the composition was great as it could mean different things to different people. Some may see the large trees protecting the small yellow aspen, while others may see them threatening it. I just like the way the green aspens nicely framed the yellow one.

When I processed the image, I thought of making the yellow leaves very bright, but that  wouldn’t look right for an image in fog, so I left them a little muted.

I managed to take this photo, and one other, when suddenly the sun burned off the fog. I only had about fifteen minutes of fog before it was gone, but it was a great surprise.

Always be prepared to take advantage of any pleasant surprise that nature gives you.

I processed this image with ON1 Photo Raw. Check it out at https://on1.sjv.io/15Mjdz

Have Fun,
Jeff

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More Images on Redbubble

Published October 13, 2022 / by adminjc

Hi Everyone,

I’ve added 10 more of my photos to Redbubble. They can be put onto T-shirts, mugs, phone cases and much more. Check them out at my Redbubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop

I’ve manipulated these photos to look like drawings and paintings. Here are a few of them.

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Head on over to Redbubble to see all of them.

If you don’t see the photograph you’re looking for, let me know. I can always add it to my shop.

Have Fun,
Jeff

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