August 14, 2020 — Sonoma County Coast, California; September 17, 2020 — My Office This was another “nothing” photoshoot. I was playing with Intentional Camera Motion while waiting for the sun to go down and the Belt of Venus to appear for the shot I had in mind. That shot met expectations. The ICMs — not so much. Not on first look. Or second. Or third. Today I wondered if there was anything there after […]
September 6, 2018 — West Shore Lake Tahoe, California One of my first tries at Intentional Camera Motion. I’d given it a shot several years earlier and then let the idea drift. Then on this darkening September evening I sprang (well, really, twisted) back into action. I was originally inspired by Bay Area photographer, Audrey Heller, whose Linger Collection made me do just that. I’ll do a few more this weekend — like I did […]
June 9, 2013 — San Francisco, California I’d given this up for lost. The RX-100’s chromatic aberration on the edges had ruined it. Then I looked at another approach. This is a crop from the center, much massaged. Lots of selective sharpening and minus Clarity combined with selective increase and decrease in Vibrance. No fancy filters. Ever. An exercise in soft, made while listening to Derek Hunter Wilson’s new album — an exercise in soft […]
August 14, 2020 — Sonoma County Coast, California More or less what happened in the fading anticrepuscular light. Almost. Sort of. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. ISO 64, f/13, 75 sec. 10-stop neutral density filter. RAW processing and initial editing in DxO PhotoLab 3.3; Final editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
Note: If you are seeing this in an email, please click on the blog title in the body of the email. Your web browser will take you to the actual blog where the picture will look much better. July 10, 2010. San Gregorio Bluffs, San Mateo County, California — and last night in my office. This is an impossibly small crop of a much larger frame — a starting point for an imaginary stroll on […]
Note to email subscribers: To get a far better look at the picture, click on the title of the blog and you’ll be taken to the actual blog website. It’s always a much more satisfying view. July 13, 2018. San Gregorio Bluffs, San Mateo County, California. The bluffs over San Gregorio Beach are a favorite spot for me. They provide a high enough vantage point for me to see far out to sea with an […]
June 28, 1018 — Cape Saunders, Otago Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand Forty-five seconds later. Stirred, not shaken. With a twist. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.) For more Abstract Horizons, go to www.amagaphoto.com
April 15, 2015 — Windy Hill, Woodside, California I was going to post something else today, but a look at an Instagram post by Óli Haukur inspired me to show this instead. Oli made the point that most photography instructors stress low ISO settings for low noise and therefore “best” image quality. Image quality these days seems to be based solely on low noise and extreme sharpness. His opinion is that, based on these criteria, […]
January 24, 2020 — Londrangar View Point, Snaefellsjökull Peninsula, Iceland I think I’ve only done this once before: posted that same frame twice in a row, with the second being a re-do. There’s a story. When I posted this picture the other night, I decided at the last minute that the image was too dark. It was late and I was in a hurry, so I simply went back to the 16-bit Photoshop file and […]
November 23, 2019 — Pescadero Beach, San Mateo County, California I’ve worked on this image six times between November and now. It was never quite right. Sometimes when I don’t love an image, it’s because I’ll never love it and the best thing to do is abandon it and move on. Other times, I just need to leave it alone for a while and come back with a fresh perspective. This was the latter circumstance […]
December 23, 2017, Sonoma County Coast. For those who wondered what happened to the pixels in yesterday’s post, here is the image before the changes. Yes, it really did look like this. It was a remarkable day. Be well. Do Good. Be kind. Create. (Nikon D500; Nikon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6G Zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.2; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
March 22, 2020 — San Mateo County Coast, California Every pixel was spoken to softly and coaxed and cajoled into a new life because, you see, many of my influences lived a couple of centuries ago. They didn’t have pixels. They had pigments. And that’s what they did with pigments in those days. Tech note: This was all done with varying degrees of microcontrast (Lightroom calls it Clarity) in DxO PhotoLab and then put into […]
January 26, 2020 — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland Iceland’s south coast has lots of berms. The ones parallel to the beach are breakwaters and, presumably, the ones perpendicular to the beach are for flood control. Iceland also has lots of clouds — at least in the winter. This photograph has both. Iceland also has powerlines, which — much to my annoyance — clutter what would otherwise be many great shots. I normally do all I […]
January 26, 2020 — The Thórbergur Center, Hali Country Hotel, South Coast, Iceland In a recent blog post, Bruce Percy articulated an aim I’ve had for quite a long time. I’ll quote him: “For me, a picture isn’t about what is there. It’s not about trees, snow, sky, mountains, rivers, etc, etc. Instead, photos are about graphical forms and tone. They are pictures instead of photos. It’s a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.” To […]
January 26, 2020 — The Thórbergur Center, Hali Country Hotel, South Coast, Iceland As we returned to our hotel and eatery after a morning shoot, she and I gaped gasping at the gray glory of the sky. While the others ducked into their warm and dry rooms, we got as close as we could to the edge of a sharp slope that ended at the edge of a partially frozen lagoon. Not wanting to take […]
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