52 Wednesdays :: Bokeh

Week 3!

This week my 52 Wednesdays project was assigned a bokeh theme.  

Bokeh- photographer terminology for the {intentionally} out-of-focus space in a photograph.  However, I also think of the dreamy orbs of light captured in that out-of-focus space.  The quality of bokeh is determined 1) by the lens; 2) by the settings on the camera; and 3) by the quality of light.  But circles of light can be captured in a photograph through any light source, including artificial (i.e., twinkle lights) and/or any reflective object as well (i.e. glitter, reflective water, light hitting leaves, etc.).

I'm a big fan of bokeh and most of my images have a good amount of it generally.  I like the buttery smooth kind, the round dreamy light kind, and even the artificial kind.  Here is an example featuring circles of light.

Grey gloom (current state of affairs in the Pacific Northwest) does not produce lovely, dreamy bokeh.  So in an effort to not use a past image, I decided to do something very out of the box.  Well, for me anyway.

This week, I am using super-artificial bokeh in my image.  I added orbs of light in my post processing and created a more art type piece.

Here is my original image, which technically abounds in bokeh already:

Garlic with a smooth creamy background, but no orbs of light.

Final Image:

What I love most about it, is that I've never done anything like it.  I rarely use textures or overlays in my work and I also love that my interpretation of the assignment is creative; and the really wonderful part is--I actually like it! =)  

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the other women in my group have come up with this week!  Next up is Rachel Ice:

Rachael Ice - Louisville, KY Photographer - http://imagesbyrachael.com/blog/?p=354

52 Wednesdays :: Eyes

Second week of 52 Wednesdays is at hand!  This week the theme is "eyes."  In my mind, eyes are like little masterpieces: each set so different, with such varying color and amazing little inflections.  I have a sweet girl at home with the loveliest eyes.  Her father and I both have grayish-green eyes and subsequently, Eva has the deepest true blue eyes.  They are generally happy and full of joy.  They are deep and thoughtful and kind.  I just love looking at them.  At this point in Eva's life, she has had me pointing my big, black camera in her face for years.  Poor girl is over it.  I was lucky to get this shot, and if I had time I would have liked to have posted all the out-takes as well.  Her idea of looking at my camera consists of her face being in the general direction of my camera--all bets are off in regards to where her eyes actually are.  Maybe as she gets older, she'll come back around.  In the mean time, I feel thankful to have a small collection of shots like these.

For this post, I'm going to show two versions of the same photo.  I love both for different reasons.  The first photo below here, is more true color.  Her eyes are still very vibrant, but the rest of the tones are very muted and grey.

But every once in a while, I love to take a great image and give it a dreamier spin, as with this one below.

So difficult to choose just one. =) I hope you enjoy.

Next, be sure to take a look at the next set of eyes in our photographer's circle.  


Cheyenne Bell with LoveJoy Photography, Fort Worth, TX - http://www.lovejoyphotoblog.com/

52 on Wednesday :: Morning

This last year I followed a few photographers who were working together on a 52 week photo project together.  I thought the concept was really fun and somewhat genius for helping with motivation and accountability.  Each week there was a theme and each photographer would interpret it their own way and then link to the next photographer in their circle.  

A 52 week photo challenge may not seem like that much of a challenge, not nearly as daunting as a 365 perhaps; but for me, it will take effort and dedication to complete it each week for all 52 weeks.  I'm really excited!  So each week there will be a new theme and this week's theme is morning.  This week actually posed a bit of a challenge for me because my daughter was sick, and then I became sick, followed by a bout of food poisoning = horrible week in the health department.  Normally, I wouldn't want to save my assignment for the last minute, but today I was able take a few shots of what would be typical for me on any given winter morning.

I live in Oregon and in the winter, it is fairly dark.  I wake up at 7:15am and it is still mostly dark and doesn't really reach full daylight until closer to 9am.  I don't generally take pictures of sky, but this morning I was desperate for ideas and there was a bit of blue (rare occurrence in a Pacific Northwest winter) at about 8:15am.

By this time, my daughter Eva was nearly ready for school and being silly, as she frequently is in the morning.  I love her eyelashes, they give me eyelash envy.  So I take pictures of her looking down...intentionally. =)

And after walking her to school, I sat down to enjoy my breakfast -- a Starbucks chai tea.  Also at the table was leftover orange from Eva's breakfast.  It's this time of year that I really appreciate far off foods, as frowned upon as that may be.  If we ate entirely local--there would be no fruit in the winter here and that would be really difficult.  So I sat there thinking of how grateful I was for this southern orange and the farmer that grew it.  However, I ended up putting it away because I've been stomach sick and didn't think an orange would sit well.

So I just enjoyed my chai tea.

And then I went back to bed.  Because that's what sick people do.

Up next, see what a morning looks like for Ms. Traca Miller, a photographer from Stephenville, Texas..

Traca Miller - Stephenville, TX Photographer http://www.tracamillerphotographyblog.com/?p=1473