Steve Mitchell – Designer • Illustrator» Blog

FestiFall at Walnut Grove Plantation

Steve Mitchell — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:26:20 +0000

Take an original plantation estate built in 1765, mix that with scores of historical reenactors and a historical association dedicated to preserving the area’s history and what do you get? Only one of the premier annual historical events in Upstate South Carolina. FestiFall at Walnut Grove Plantation near Spartanburg, SC, is one of my favorite events each year. I absolutely love the photo opportunities it affords. I had a blast there yesterday and my hats off to the Spartanburg County Historical Association for doing such a great job with it each year. I’ve been to most of the reenactment events in the Upstate and this one’s the best.

Below are some of my favorite photos from this year. Hope you enjoy them.

Headed South

Steve Mitchell — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:30:26 +0000

I saw the last hummingbird at our feeders this past weekend and none since. That jives with the migration information I found online. By all accounts they head south mid to late Sept. I’m not really into bird photography per se but I had fun trying to capture a few in flight and will no doubt try to get a few shots again next year. The photography is interesting, if for no other reason, than to be able to see some detail in these speedy, elusive little creatures.

Apparently they gather primarily in Louisiana and Texas before crossing the gulf to winter in Mexico. They fly low according to various sightings. Some have been seen skimming just above the water and even using high waves as wind breaks. Fascinating!

Pic of the Day: Comet Hyakutake

Steve Mitchell — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Digging around in some of my old film shots I ran across this photo of Comet Hyakutake I took in 1996. It was a rare try at an astronomical image (something I want to do more of) and mediocre at best, but since I had never tried scanning the film negative of this shot, this became a technical exercise more than anything. My shot pales in comparison to the many beautiful images of Hyakutake taken by seasoned astrophotographers, but still it was a breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime viewing event and I had a blast taking the shot. One hour photo prints being what they are (or aren’t), I wanted to see what I could do with this old negative on my present day Canon 8400f flatbed in 35mm film scanning mode. I was pleased to see the improvement I was able to make over the print. In Photoshop I ran a noise reduction filter, added a curves layer to fine tune the contrast and a hue/saturation layer to darken certain colors and reduce some of the atmospheric haze bringing out the tail a bit more. The 30 sec. exposure (using Fujicolor 1600 film) as you can see is a bit long and the stars are just beginning to elongate due to earth’s rotation, but all in all not a bad attempt and a fun memory.

Pic of the Day: Living History

Steve Mitchell — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:29:36 +0000

History, particularly reenactors, is one of my favorite photo subjects. I was playing around with some black and white renditions of this image and was satisfied with the way this one came out. Most of the editing work was done in Lightroom. The buttonhole design on the uniform jacket made for a nice graphic element. Though it doesn’t look like it this guy was actually giving a lecture on 18th century militia tactics but this sort of unique contemplative pose stood out to me in the pics I had of him.

Reenactor at Cowpens National Battlefield, SC

Happy 4th of July

Steve Mitchell — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:46:41 +0000

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
Standing on what too long we bore
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
We may discern–unseen before–
A path to higher destinies.
Nor deem the irrevocable Past,
As wholly wasted, wholly vain,
If, rising on its wrecks, at last
To something nobler we attain.
– Longfellow

The Canyon – Part 2

Steve Mitchell — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:14:31 +0000

Decided to go all “Ansel Adams” on the canyon and post these black and white images. Grayscale photography is fun to edit even though getting the tonality right is a challenge, but there is nothing like seeing an image in monochrome values for gleaning a whole different aesthetic from it. The Grand Canyon is an excellent candidate for black and white photography because of the variety of drama afforded by all the light play on the cliff faces and valleys. At dusk or dawn, when these were taken, that light play constantly changes from minute to minute. Color images of the Grand Canyon are almost always cliche no matter how well done because it is one of the most photographed sites in the world. Being a first time visit for me and having limited time at the site hampered the originality even further. But I do like the graphic, mosaic quality these have. Hope you enjoy them too.

The Canyon – Part 1

Steve Mitchell — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:51:02 +0000

I finally got around to editing my shots from the Grand Canyon taken back in January. To residents of the area, its simply known as “The Canyon” and not because its the only one, there are hundreds, but when you refer to “The Canyon” everyone knows which one you mean. This was my first ever visit to this iconic locale, and while it was a new photographic experience to me, I wondered how I would ever shoot one of the most photographed locations in a way that was personal, yet fresh and interesting. Cliche subject or not this place is exquisite and breathtaking and in the end I just tried to capture beautiful light and patterns as I found them. At sunset and sunrise, when most of these pics were taken, the canyon seemed to change constantly as various features illuminated then dimmed. These were my favorite shots, hope you enjoy them. I plan to follow these up with a part 2 post featuring some black and white canyon shots.

National Geographic “My Shot” Gallery

Steve Mitchell — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:45:54 +0000

If you’ve never seen the My Shot page on the National Geographic site you really should, some of the submissions there are incredible. Every day NG features the Daily Dozen – twelve of the best pics for that day chosen by NG editors. Then each week the highest rated photos by viewer vote are featured in the Weekly Wrapper. There are also some interesting photo blogs with great pics, posts and tips from NG editors and photographers. Lots of photographic inspiration to be had, not to mention the fact that you can even submit your own photos if you are so inclined.

Spindrift Image

Steve Mitchell — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:22:22 +0000

Today I celebrate the birthday of my 3rd child Angela. She is now a grown woman with a family of her own but she’s still my daughter. I’m referring in this case to her talent and love for photography, which I like to believe she got from me. Anyway, here is her new photo blog which I’m proud to point viewers to. Enjoy!

http://spindriftimage.com

Arizona Here I Come

Steve Mitchell — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:33:16 +0000

I’ve never been farther west than Dallas, TX and that was somewhere around the age of 12. So an invitation from relatives to visit them in Phoenix and tour some of the state was definitely a cool moment. The trip would turn out to be a photo opportunity extraordinaire. I hope to do a series of posts here featuring several of the pics I took. Here are three to start it off.

If sun and cactus pop into mind when you think of AZ you wouldn’t be way off base. There is so much more to the state to be sure, but of sunshine and pointy, spikey flora there is no shortage. These three shots were from my first day there as we toured parts of Scottsdale and popped out of the car for the occasional shot. The distant skyscrapers are downtown Phoenix and the bit of mountain behind both cactus shots is Camelback Mt. You can orient yourself easily from just about anywhere in Scottsdale by looking at where you are in relation to Camelback.