mtmixon

I was wandering around the monument at Bunker Hill in Boston, looking for

an interesting perspective to shoot from. I noticed how dramatic the clouds

were and so got down on the ground to frame the statue against the shifting

shapes of the clouds. I chose this one based on the way the clouds line up

around the statue (specifically how the sliver of light frames his hand).

Feedback welcome.

The conditions for photographing the Statue of Liberty weren't the best (mid-

day, on a boat, a toddler hanging on my right arm while I composed and

shot with my left), but I really liked the clouds that day and envisioned a

somewhat minimalist photograph of this iconic statue. Feedback welcome.

I took this photo one afternoon in front of my house. I was out there

checking to see if there would be anything to photograph and I caught sight

of the afternoon light hitting these leaves. Feedback welcome.

A wonderful photo.  Compositionally, the leading line of the cracked earth and the positioning of the cathedral in the upper right third are solid choices, and the the cracks of the earth add a nice bit of contrast.  The blue tones produce a serene effect, and are nicely balanced by the warmth of the light on the cathedral.  Just a gorgeous shot all around.

My attempt to capture the cold yet peaceful mood of my afternoon walk in

Germany in winter. Comments welcome.

I was out for a walk myself when I noticed these two gentlemen stopping on

their respective walks to have a short chat. There was something charming

about that, so I felt I needed to photograph it. Comments welcome.

I was just playing around with my camera while my son hung out in his

swing. I like how the light isolates him in this photo. Comments welcome.

Thanks for the kind words, Alf.  The bird was a nice surprise for me too. :-)

Regarding the more minimalist composition, I actually took one (it's called, creatively, '5 Posts', and is in this same gallery), but may want to re-visit it as the crop and tone don't convey the same atmosphere as this one does.

The pattern of the posts leading to the solitary bird is what drew me to this

composition. Please view the larger version of the photo. Feedback

welcome.

Thanks Laurent.  Yeah, the original photo was obviously cropped as a 4x5 and didn't have anywhere close to this hue, but as I was looking at it, my memory of that morning was one of cold and calm, and so I felt this crop and tone better conveyed how I felt at the time.  One day I'll learn the skills to achieve this in-camera with filters. :-)

Please view the larger version of the photo for the full impact.

Please click the photo to view the larger version. :-)

This is a photo from two years ago. The version I posted before (the next

photo in this gallery) never really captured the feeling I had the morning I

took it, so I attempted a new approach. I cropped out the top portion of the

sky, as it doesn't lend much to the photo, and the new aspect ratio better

captures the expansive feeling I have when walking around the harbor. I then

played with the colors a bit to bring out the pastels of that morning.

Feedback is welcome.

An alternative crop (and a monochrome treatment) of an older photo.

Feedback welcome.

Hi Stephen.  I was going through my photos this evening and came across this one and your suggested alternate crop.  I tried that crop in LR and indeed it does make for a stronger composition.  It makes the scene a touch more intimate, and keeps my eye from drifting off into the hazy sky.

A benefit of all the rain in the Pacific Northwest is a vibrant

palette of green to photograph. This bench and gnarly trees caught my

eye as I was walking home one morning, and I wanted to include both in

the same frame in a way that not only led the viewer's eye to the

bench, but encouraged it to explore the whole scene. Feedback welcome.

Thanks Stephen.  Yeah, I was initially seduced by the color when reviewing the photo, but then realized what it was that drew me to the composition in the first place and so converted to black and white.  This also allowed me to bring out more of the detail in the sky and foreground posts, while driving more of the land mass into black, since detail there doesn't add anything to the image.  Speaking of B&W processing, I've noticed that you do superb work in that area.  Do you use any special plug-ins like Silver Efex Pro, or do you achieve all of that in LR / PS?

I've been trying to train myself to look for photos in unlikely

places. I find that being with a toddler can help tremendously with

that. As I was out with my son one afternoon, he became very

interested in the puddles on the ground, and so I began looking at

them more closely. This was my favorite from the "puddle series".

Feedback welcome.

Thanks Janegbert.

Since I was primarily drawn to the lines and textures in this composition, I

wanted to see how it looked with a black and white treatment (vs. the color

treatment on the following image). I'm curious if people have a preference

and why.