The old man of the forest. I've posted pictures of this feature before, but this version is freshly processed and never before seen 'in public'. If you look closely, at large enough sizes, you'll see a trail of small dark pellets of animal poo in the left 'eye socket'. DP031-2013. Posted January 31; processed January 30. Details of a sassafras trunk at Cobblers Knob. . Hidden Lake Gardens, Lenawee County, Michigan. September 21, 2012.

I'm hoping to use this gallery to challenge myself to learn something every day about seeing the world, photographing it, expressing myself through photos, and enjoying the works of other photographers. It will test my self-discipline. I won't even pretend that I'll take a picture every single day, but I will try to process one each day. Critiques are welcomed, and even encouraged. If you make a suggestion for altering one of my posts, to this or any other gallery, and I can act on it (short of retaking the shot), I'll try to respond and post the altered versions in a new 'Take Your Pick' gallery here: http://arctangent.smugmug.com/Photography/Take-Your-Pick/27975689_qs5bJs

gallery pages: << < 10 11 12 13 14 15 >

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Patience isn't a trait associated with squirrels. I think that's why this one's air of seeming resignation appealed to me.

DP037-2013. Posted February 6; processed February 4

Fox squirrel, Sciurus niger. The most common squirrel around these parts. Also the largest and most enterprising when it comes to trying to get onto and even into our bird feeders. This one was on a branch of an oak tree that stands 15-20 feet off the rear deck that's on the top floor (of three floors) of the house, waiting for me to leave the premises. Earlier it had been displaying and scolding me, but it soon saw that had no effect.

January 27, 2013

Koi at the Conservatory.
I've given up trying to get sharp, focused pictures of these colorful fish. Mostly what I aim for is a mass of color with a sense of movement. Usually I end up playing around with various filters. In this case it was a 5-level Posterize layer at about 50% opacity.
DP036-2013. Posted February 5; processed Februaary 4.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor
January 11, 2013

Limned.
Snow has a way of outlining the surfaces onto which it falls. Often it renders a messy chaotic jumbled scene comprehensible. And of course, I'm inescapably attracted to geometric patterns.
I do have to wonder at the practicality or lack thereof of such a long run of outdoor stairs. Decorative, perhaps, but definitely not convenient to use, and most inconvenient if you have to clear them of snow.

DP035-2013. Posted February 4; processed February 4.

My neighborhood, after a night of mixed rain and snow.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
January 31, 2013

Aria, detail.
Alexander Liberman (American, 1912-1999), painted steel, ca. 1971

DP034-2012. Posted February 3; processed February 2.
The sky was actually about this color when I took the shot, but because of the backlighting conditions (the sun is literally blocked by part of the sculpture), it was severely washed out. Rather than try to recover the color by selective level adjustments, I took the easy way out and tinted it, then applied an Accented Edges filter. The areas in the shot that are the actual sculpture are virtually as they came from the camera. Just a few tweaks to shadows/highlights and contrast.

The reason I chose this shot for a DP posting is that it is a good example of how much one's perception of color can be affected by lighting conditions. Every surface is exactly the same in terms of paint color, texture, reflectivity. But some of the surfaces are in shadow and others are in reflected light. None of the surfaces in this shot are in direct light. The actual color in direct light is a vivid red orange which is used in a number of Liberman's painted steel sculptures and has been named 'Liberman Red' or 'Liberman Orange'; take your pick.
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Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park
Grand Rapids, Michigan
October 16, 2012
A gallery of additional photos of this piece can be seen here http://arctangent.smugmug.com/Art/Alexander-Liberman/Aria-Painted-Steel-Sculpture/15637351_sLhMJ2 if you want to know how the whole thing looks.

Winter! You gotta love it, or go mad.
DP033-2013. Posted February 2; taken and processed February 1.
I don't think the Groundhog will see his shadow today in Ann Arbor. I know he didn't see it yesterday! Happy Groundhog Day anyway.
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Taken while standing in the open door of our garage, looking out in dismay at what I shortly would be driving through.
February 1, 2013

This Job Has Been Temporarily Suspended
DP032-2013. Posted February 1; collage created January 31 from single shots taken the same day.

I finally got out yesterday for a walk through our neighborhood, taking along with me a lightweight P&S camera. After walking to the end of the street and into the east end of Nichols Arboretum, I noticed these very large, very colorful spools of cable suspended from a utility pole. No workers were in sight. I took a few shots of this, and many more shots of the recent snowfall. But it was such a grey day that none of them jumped off the screen clamoring to be my DP choice. So I decided to create this collage, more as an exercise for myself than anything else.

The old man of the forest.
I've posted pictures of this feature before, but this version is freshly processed and never before seen 'in public'. If you look closely, at large enough sizes, you'll see a trail of small dark pellets of animal poo in the left 'eye socket'.
DP031-2013. Posted January 31; processed January 30.

Details of a sassafras trunk at Cobblers Knob.
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Hidden Lake Gardens, Lenawee County, Michigan.
September 21, 2012.

Indian 'blanket' stitched with an agave thorn needle.
DP030-2013; Posted January 30; created January 29.

One of my goals for the year, in terms of photography, is to improve my skills in processing photos. Yesterday morning I decided to experiment with my extremely rudimentary skills at compositing. I started with an image of a single thorn on the edge of an agave leaf, cropped to a 2:1 aspect ratio, and its partner, a 180 degree rotation of the original. I constructed a mosaic of repeats of these two images in a fairly regular pattern, then merged all those layers and cropped the result into a square. Links for the repeat unit, and the basic cropped mosaic are given below.
Next I began experimenting with applying various filters and special effects to the mosaic. I've uploaded those results into the same gallery as the starting mosaic, if you're curious. The one I chose to post as today's DP was done by applying the triangle wave effect. Then I did a BW conversion, and tinted it. At that point it reminded me of some Native American weavings I've seen, hence the title. Finally I cropped it to a 3:4 aspect ratio, reduced the image size, and framed it.

I realized early on that I had chosen poorly in my design concept for the mosaic. But it was my first effort, and I had fun doing it.

Links to the original image of the agave thorn: http://smu.gs/XenI8h
And to the cropped mosaic I constructed from it: http://smu.gs/XeohPE

Prairie Falcon, Falco mexicanus.
DP029-2013. Posted January 29; processed January 28.
This was one of four birds of prey (not all raptors) that flew during the 10 am Raptor Free Flight program (one of two such each day). We saw a peregrine falcon fly in the afternoon show. They are similar in size and general appearance. Both are awesome fliers.

I should explain that the 'free' in the title of the program, Raptor Free Flight, refers to the birds flying completely free out over the desert. Nothing compels them to return to their handlers except their knowledge that by doing so they get food and shelter. None of the birds was captured from the wild for the purpose of use in the program.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (commonly abbreviated by the obvious acronym, ASDM)
Tucson, Arizona
December 21, 2012 (10:14 am MST)

The old man of the forest.
I've posted pictures of this feature before, but this version is freshly processed and never before seen 'in public'. If you look closely, at large enough sizes, you'll see a trail of small dark pellets of animal poo in the left 'eye socket'.
DP031-2013. Posted January 31; processed January 30.

Details of a sassafras trunk at Cobblers Knob.
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Hidden Lake Gardens, Lenawee County, Michigan.
September 21, 2012.