This is kind of a continuation of the previous post. Once I got done on the loading dock I noticed some really cool things going on in the nearby area so I walked around a bit and took a few more snaps. I’ll start with the back of the civic center right beside the ramp.
( I edited this one a bit 😛 ) I didn’t actually fall in love with this shot when I first took it. There was a lot of sky and a lot of parking lot so I started out by cropping it in a lot tighter. It was still a bit plain so I thought to myself, maybe if it was a bit more vintage or classic looking it would appeal more. I opened the image in Photoshop and played around with noise filters and levels until I got it looking “old.” I had a copy of it underneath, so I blew out the saturation and darkened the background file.
I used a layer mask to cut a few holes in the top file using some of the AMAZING (FREE!) Photoshop brushes from deviantart.com and finally got that vintage feel with some patchy colors.
If you know if this is cabbage or lettuce please let me know in the comments 🙂 (*Update* According to my mom and several of you, this is cabbage 🙂 )
I don’t usually go for shooting plants. Honestly this looked pretty boring to me at first glance but when I got the camera closer, it started getting interesting. I like the way you can see into the middle where the head firsts starts to open up and the textures were really cool. Finally when I dropped the color around the subject the background details got really intriguing and it really started to grow on me.
I thought about using black and white for this but I really like the red brick contrasting the little triangle of blue sky so I left it basically as is. The angle was pretty natural since the wall was so tall. I just had to get in close and look up. Initially I wanted to focus on the light but I decided it looks a lot better as a background element, I’m all about texture anyways so I tightened in on the brick.
If you’ve followed any of my other posts, you know I’m all about a narrow depth of field. I initially shot this from the other side but my shadow killed the whole mood so I repositioned. I didn’t edit this image at all in post (I know, unusual for me) but I really liked the way it felt. My favorite part by far isn’t the hose joint itself, but the little twig curled into a knot on the left side. I didn’t even see it when I clicked the picture. Sometimes the best part of a picture just happens to be there.
All my posts thus far are from one day of shooting. This is the last picture from that day so hopefully I’ll get a shoot in on Sunday and we’ll get lots of new content for next week. Please leave me your comments and follow the blog if you like what you see. Tomorrow or Saturday I’ll try to upload a gallery with the shoot pictures that didn’t make it into a blog post already and maybe even work on a detailed tutorial for some of the Photoshop techniques I’ve used this week. God Bless and Have a great weekend!
ShootAbout 
I believe that’s a cabbage. I took some cabbage photos myself last summer. They’re very photogenic veggies. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by my blog post today!
I think you’re right about the cabbage. My mom called me after I posted to tell me it was. Haha, I was browsing some recent posts and came across your sunrises, they are fantastic.
I love the brick wall…great POV!
Thanks Cee, it really just came together well when I started clicking 🙂
i love the last one! it looks like the little twig came over to say hey ~ (when i saw this picture, it kinda came alive a little… into little robots or something) anyway- love your pictures!
Thanks! Haha, I love the way you see it. Who says photographers can’t use personification! 🙂
I like both of the loading dock series posts!
I’ve trying to work with depth of field more and like how you’ve utilized it in some of these.
I remember when I first started dialing the f-stop down and playing around with it. I’ve always loved looking for chances to do it since 🙂 thanks and best of luck!
Beauty lives and builds HERE. Bravo! Cheers, Theadora
Thank you very much! 🙂
Wow you’ve got a real eye for detail! 🙂
Thanks, i just like the little things 🙂
Thanks for clicking the “like” button on my recent post. I do encourage you to take more images of plants. And yes, that is cabbage. It nice that you’ve found your passion within photography–“narrow depth of field.” I invite you to Follow my blog. Thanks again, Sally
Thanks Sally! I haven’t a done a lot of plants in the past but their intricate makeup makes them a lot of fun to shoot.
Macro photography is a great way to make us more aware of the beauty in ordinary surroundings and common objects. I think you do have a feeling for it, and I enjoyed looking around your blog.
Thanks, I love getting in close. There’s a lot to be said for a big picture with lots of content but I really like capturing the finest details of smaller subjects. I hope I can get my hands on the 200mm macro lens by Nikon one day soon
I am going with cabbage!
I am with you on the depth of field – love it! love playing around with it and seeing what i can do! The brick wall is very cool – think you were right to maintain the colour – the shock of the blue adds to the dramatic effect.
I’m glad you liked it 🙂
The photo of the brick wall is awesome!
Great perspective and colors!
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback
I love your narrow depth of field on the above images.
Thanks! I do a lot with narrow depth of field 🙂
I can almost tell you what the inside of the building in “around the loading dock” smells like. I have spent a good part of my career crawling around places just like this with a camera and a tape measure. I used to be that the raw material of architects was bricks, lumber, glass and mortar. These days our biggest building material is a building.
Thanks for commenting, I know what you mean, my dad sells building materials and we aren’t putting a lot of them out the door right now.