November 27, 2019 — San Mateo County Coast The storm was on its way out, heading east to make headlines. This was its last hurrah; clear sky was visible through the last squall. I’ve mentioned that many (most?) of my influences worked in paint, not pixels. Chief among them is JMW Turner. To me, his later work changed the world of art definitively — to me, he is the father of Impressionism. Toward the end […]
November 16, 2019 — Blue hour, Point Reyes National Seashore How many movies have you seen that were “based on a true story” or “based on historical events”? This is based on an actual blue hour as seen from the south end of the Point Reyes Peninsula, looking north. (Canon G5X II. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
October 11, 2019 — Seat 14 F, Somewhere Over Texas Rules exist for a reason. Rules are normally based on how things work, perhaps with a measure of caution dialed on for safety’s sake. It’s good to know the rules. It’s better still to know how things work. Following the rules without exception can lead to creative imprisonment. Knowing how and when to bend, break, or utterly ignore them altogether because you understand the underlying […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. f/16, 4 seconds, ISO 64. Pan to the left. After a brief hiatus, one more. This is not too different from what originally emerged from the camera — but a bit reduced in vibrancy as a salute to Jerry and Robert who were somewhat minimalist themselves at times. Coming up on a year in the blogosphere. Thinking of a suitable celebration. Stay tuned… (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. f/16, 4 seconds, ISO 64. Pan to the left. This is the longest uninterrupted series I’ve done so far on this blog. Your comments have been interesting, informative, and gratifying. A number of people have asked in comments, email, and in person, to see a “before” image. I don’t usually like to discuss technique because I think it’s potentially limiting: I don’t want it to come off as “do […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. Earlier in the evening. f/16, 3 seconds, ISO 64. Pan to the left. In the past few days, many words on the subject of going in the nonobvious direction have passed through my eyes. Aside from being interesting advice for life, photographically this applies to both the initial creation of the image — click — and to the post-processing of the image. A recurring theme for me has been […]
September 7, 2019 — Lake Tahoe. Second evening. Five second exposure, f/16, ISO 64. Yesterday’s post was almost exactly what came out of the camera. A bit of color optimization, removing a tiny bit of extraneous light on the left, and a 16×9 crop. That was it. Today’s image, on the other hand, received extensive tweaking, first in DxO PhotoLab and then in Photoshop. Most of the work went into bringing out the subtle color […]
August 25, 2019; Cuckmere Haven, The Seven Sisters, East Sussex. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.3; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.) For more abstracts, go to www.amagaphoto.com.
August 6, 2019; Vevey, Switzerland. While archiving shots from Europe, I came across this gem. It harkens back to the August 7 post. It was taken about two hours before the blue one near the bottom of that post. It pays to go back over old shoots: I’m still discovering work from that trip. There are more images of this magic two and a half hours and you may well see some in the future. […]
August 9, 2019; Totensee. The sky was subject to rapid mood shifts: this was shot just fifty-two seconds after the image in the last post. It was post-processed after arriving home following a week in London immersed in Constable, Turner, and Monet. Rothko too, of course. Inspired by Constable’s clouds, Turner’s unfinished landscapes and seascapes, Monet’s monochrome* winter scenes, and a good dose of minimalism from Mr. Rothko, this is one version of what came […]
(The essence of a tulip might be a onelip. Nikon D750; Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Zoom. RAW processing in DxO Pro; final editing in Adobe Photoshop.) More fine-art photography: www.amagaphoto.com
(In celebration of spring, a California Poppy. Nikon D750; Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Zoom. RAW processing in DxO Pro; final editing in Adobe Photoshop.) More fine art photography at www.amagaphoto.com
December 7 and 8, 2018, Point Reyes National Seashore. Horizons are beautiful in their simplicity. Engaging in their subtle complexity. Their moods are varied. They have endless color and texture possibilities. For all these reasons I never tire of them. But there’s another reason as well. Horizons are calming. Soothing. Stabilizing. Horizons are therapeutic. Stand on a bluff looking outward over the sea for only a few minutes, and if you’re like most people you’ll […]
