Oak Tree on Central Florida Gulf Coast

 I was trying out a Tamron Adaptall2 BBAR CF 35-80mm f2.8 SP 01A lens that just arrived from eBay and rather carelessly shot a picture of this oak tree.  The original color shot was as drab as a lukewarm bowl of soggy Cheerios.  However, the wood railing below the tree intrigued me and I wondered what the image might look like in black and white.  It looked a little better in monochrome but still lacked much interest.  Processing it in Lightroom, I began to experiment with the color sliders while it was in black and white.  Eventually, I pulled up the blue and the sky darkened, and there was the Ah-Ha moment where you realize the image has potential.  Next, I slid the green over and achieved that 1930s movie still style that makes you wonder if it is real or on a studio set.  For example, the outdoor scenes from the movie Key Largo don't appear perfectly real, but they have a style that is captivating and memorable. 

The faithful birds, who stay through the winter.

These photos were all shot with a Lumix GF1 and Lumix 45-150 zoom lens.

Give me those nice bright colors, and Black and White, too.

Paul Simon sang praises for Kodachrome, and we do love those "nice bright colors" but there is still something about Black and white photography that I love, too. A few days ago, I was looking through some older photographs and thought it would be interesting to see what I could make of them in Adobe Lightroom.

The pairs of photos below were originally shot in color. According to the photo properties, they were both shot with a Kodak "Easy Share" digital camera in 2001 for Half Dome, and 2004 for Red Rock Canyon. However, I don't remember having a digital camera then and thought these were shot with my OM1 film camera. I assume the photo data's memory is better than mine!

I pulled some of the photos into Lightroom to see what they would look like as a B and W photos. I was surprised by the results, especially in light of the fact that it was an older point and shoot, low resolution digital camera. 

The first pair of photos are from Yosemite Valley. The original was shot in color, and then post-processed in Lightroom using the selenium setting and then tweaked.

The next pair of photos were taken at Red Rock Canyon in Mojave, California.  On this one I used the yellow filter and increased the blue to create the dark black sky.

Back yard photos - Fungus, Sprouts, Web and Dew

These photos were all taken with a Panasonic Lumix GF1 fitted with a manual focus legacy Vivitar 28mm f2.8 lens. None of these photos were post-processed and none of them were cropped .

Zombie Turkey
by Vee_Mack_Ink

Zombie Turkey shirts and mugs available on Zazzle. 

Boring Man

"Boring Man" will not be confused with "Burning Man". 

Boring Man goes to quiet places with few people. Boring Man does not attract attention to himself. Boring Man reads books, even history books and theology. Boring Man likes his desk and still writes letters on paper and sends them to people with stamps. Boring Man likes to wear suits and ties and is appalled that adults wear pajamas when they travel by plane or train. Boring Man likes black and white photographs.

Boring Man collects fountain pens and considers the best paper options to use for writing and doodling. Boring Man keeps a journal - several, in fact. Boring Man loves to write and watch documentaries.

Boring Man would rather sit at home with a strong cup of coffee than go to a festival; or to sit at home in the evening with a dry deep red wine or fragrant bourbon than go to a movie. Boring Man loves sharp cheese and crackers.

Boring Man loves the smell of wood and sawdust piled up next to the table saw.

Boring Man likes sitting on the deck with his family by the fire listening to bard owls at night. Boring Man is fascinated by hummingbirds and fireflies

Boring Man likes reading his Bible and going to Church. Boring Man likes visiting art museums and historical museums - he even likes reading the little placards next to the exhibits.

Boring Man loves to see his family and friends smile.

Boring Man doesn't say much, and he likes it that way.

Enjoy Thanksgiving - with EXTREME Caution!