Street Photography: Motorcyclist

Posted on October 22, 2008 by Gary

I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but street photography is one of my favorite "genres." There's something about seeing individuals in their daily urban lives that I find fascinating. Too bad I live in the suburbs, right? This photograph was taken in Georgetown, Washington D.C. when I spent a few days there this last April. The photograph was converted to black and white, and was burned and dodged in Adobe Lightroom 2 (as usual). I'm not really into cars/trucks/anything with an engine, but I have a soft spot for motorcycles. Not those Harly-Davidson biker gang type motorcycles, but those modern, hip and trendy ones. You all know what I'm talking about, don't deny it. Back to the photograph, it's not really unique from a compositional standpoint. But because it combines elements that I view as interesting, I can't help but like this photo.

Sunrise in the Desert

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Gary

This photograph is another one of my former rejects. In its original color form, this photo suffered from the awkward lighting of the moment. It was morning in the desert, and the foreground of this image was in shadow due to the mountains behind me blocking the sun. The resulting file looked more like a snapshot than what I had originally seen in my mind's eye. After converting the photo to black and white, I burned and dodged various parts of the image using Adobe Lightroom. I brought out much of what was in shadow before, and intensified the sky. Though most perceive the desert as dull and dead, an entire world of beauty awaits for those who are patient enough to find it.

Capitol Hill Police

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Gary

If you've been following my recent bloggeries, you probably know that I tend to post images in trends. A couple weeks ago, it was images edited using Corel Painter X. Now, it'll be photos edited in Lightroom to bring out detail and tonal depth. The image above was taken during a protest in Washington D.C. back in April of this year. I initially rejected the source photograph because the composition seemed off, but I was drawn back to it by the contrast between the center officer's bright orange sunglasses, and the greys of the surrounding men. Ironically, halfway through the editing process, I converted the image to black and white. Nonetheless, I think this photograph shows great depth of field and decent visual focus. Oh, and it was shot using a 70-300mm lens I picked up on eBay for $5. That's always a plus!

Denver Alley

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Gary

The photograph above was taken in Denver, Colorado back in July. I saw this alley and, without even thinking, snapped a photo of it. The original photograph was left on the cutting room floor, but was rescued the other day when I decided to do some creative editing on it. I won't go into details, as there are thousands of photoshop tutorial blogs out there for this specific purpose, but I will say that all edits were made in Adobe Lightroom 2. What I like about the resulting image is the immense amount of unpleasant detail. Let's make one thing clear: This alley was not a clean place. Not all photography is "pretty," yet photos that are "unpleasant" can still be visually appealing. The dirt and grime of the ground and walls are what makes this photo work.