LaNita Adams Photography

Nighttime Photography: Rainy Highway

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 04:08:00 +0000

A mobile device, a moving car and rain... not the best combination for photographic brilliance.

Rainy Highway ©LaNita Adams

Remember When ... There Was A Blizzard?

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:44:00 +0000

Remember when there was a blizzard? Yeah, me too. No? Well, let me show you!

Mobile Device Photography: Rainy Mornings with Hipstamatic

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:15:00 +0000

I haven't been inspired lately so my camera and I are having a bit of a breather. Like any photographer, even when taking a breather you can never completely stop taking photos. Mobile devices pretty much ensure that a breather means you may not be using your big bulky camera and lens but you will still be taking photos!

I've been spending a lot of time taking photos with my upgraded mobile device. I've titled these images "The iDevice Chronicles"

Rainy mornings with Hipstamatic...

Rainy Days and Mondays ... at 6:55AM (photo by LaNita Adams)

Stop Rain (photo by LaNita Adams)

Jewelry Rewind: Mickey Lynn

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:35:00 +0000

Back in 2011, I attended a Southern Designer showcase. One of the designers there was Atlanta based Mickey Lynn. I left that day with a pair of round Agate druzy earrings which I love. I wrote about that back then in a more official manner, here. This time around, I write as simply a happy wearer.

Sometime in the latter half of 2012, a pair of earrings show up in my Facebook feed. I email my Mom with a note, "aren't these CUTE?!" She responds back, "CUTE!!!" We often share these types of exchanges. Come Christmas, she hands me a package. I pull out a box stamped "Mickey Lynn." I probably, kinda, sorta squealed because I knew exactly what it was going to be. Yep, the earrings.

The earrings in question, Druzy Wrapped in Gold Rings. Aside from being incredibly cute, they are extremely comfortable and easy to wear. Not only that, they make me smile every time I put them on. Swing by the Mickey Lynn site and check out the new Spring Collection.

Druzy Wrapped in Gold Rings (mobile device photo)

My Favorite Images: Derek Trucks

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:03:00 +0000

I was going through photos I took this summer. While doing so, I ran across this image of Derek Trucks who was performing at the Newport Jazz Festival. I'm a big fan of close-up shots of hands playing instruments. It's one of those shots that I always try to capture. Sadly, they don't always turn out the way I envision them in my head. This one, however, did.

On Film: Signs, Banners, Displays and Such

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 22:29:00 +0000

Film camera fun...

On Film: Newport Jazz Festival

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 21:28:00 +0000

Film camera fun at the Newport Jazz Festival.

3 Cohens: Yuval, Anat & Avishai Cohen

Christian McBride

James Carter

Joe Lovano

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Audience

On Film: Newport Folk Festival

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 05:51:00 +0000

Film camera fun at the Newport Folk Festival.

In color ...

Alabama Shakes

Brown Bird

Dawes

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Sharon Van Etten

Audience

In black and white ...

Charles Bradley

Gary Clark, Jr.

Arlo Guthrie

Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons

My Morning Jacket

Patty Griffin

Sleepy Man Banjo Boys

Trampled By Turtles

On Film: Music

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 22:00:00 +0000

I took my film camera out to the Newport Folk Festival and ran a couple of rolls through it. I need to spend more time learning the ins and outs of the camera. Nothing a little time and patience won't fix.

When I use digital, I usually end up fiddling around with my various editing software to add grain, fading, light leaks and any number of things that give me what I want. Well, the good and in some cases bad about my film photography foray is I got all of that without the aid of software. It's one thing to take a nice crisp digital image and dirty it up. It's a completely different thing when you get no choice. If I didn't know the camera was capable shooting well, I would be concerned that it was a bad apple.

Alabama Shakes
This is the kind of photo I wanted when I was toying around with my Holga, not so much with my slr. I love the photo though.

Sharon Van Etten
Again I like the photo but would rather it be the result of my toy camera.

Nature: The Opossum

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 06:16:00 +0000

There are butterflies and bunnies in the backyard but they aren't as adventurous as the opossum that I found dangling from my porch light. The photographer side of me had to grab the camera and get some images of this little daredevil.

Historic Sights: Fort Adams

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 03:49:00 +0000

While I was taking in the music at the Newport folk and jazz festivals, I decided to spend a little time exploring the fort itself. The festivals take place at Fort Adams State Park and the structure screams to be photographed so, that's what I did.

I'm not completely positive but I think the clothespins were left over from the folk festival when a photographer used the room and had some images, probably Polaroid's they had just taken, displayed.

I tried to capture the connected rooms in a sort of infinity way visually. I think I would have achieved my goal had I used a wider angle lens. While I like the images, they're just not quite what I saw in my head when I took them.

At first, I thought this was another image that would have benefited from a wider angle lens ... I would have gotten the whole medallion in the image. But, I find that I like the portion that was captured and now I'm glad I didn't have a wider angle lens handy.

I went up to the roof of the fort to get some images and as I was coming down, I became fascinated with the stairs. They're precarious to walk up and down but there was something about them that I just liked. I'm afraid of heights so with one hand I'm doing a death grip on the handrail and with the other, I'm snapping the stairs as I'm inching down slower than a snail. Once I made my way to the bottom, I looked to the left and noticed a gated in bit of the fort that in three years I've never noticed. Yeah, I know, not very observant for a photographer! Anyway, the wall caught my eye and I wanted to get a shot through the bars. I'm happy to say it, as well as the stair photo, turned out exactly as I saw them in my head.

This is the flag that flies over the fort. This is one of those photos that I did something that I didn't notice until I started processing my photos. I took the photo from the back of the flag. I'm not an overly patriotic person but having the flag appearing to fly backwards bothered me. So, thanks to my editing software, with the click of a button, I sorted out my photo.

Nature: The Butterfly

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 00:16:00 +0000

A billion butterflies have taken up residence in the aptly named butterfly bush outside my window. Okay, a billion is exaggerating but, there are a lot of them. You would think with so many of them flitting about and in general just lounging around on the bush, I would be able to get a decent photo of one. Well, apparently, my butterflies are anti-posing, anti-camera and outright anti-social. I spent a fair amount of time outside in various locations and positions, snapping dozens of photos trying to capture a decent image of one. This is the disappointing result of my butterfly stalking.

My Favorite Images: Avishai & Anat Cohen

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 04:27:00 +0000

My camera and I were hanging out at the Newport Jazz Festival taking in the sights and sounds. The festival takes place at Fort Adams State Park and, one of my favorite places to photograph from is the windows of the fort right behind the main stage. I was looking out the window and noticed Avishai Cohen and sister Anat Cohen who had stepped back while brother Yuval Cohen and their band jammed. Anat was snapping her fingers and swaying her head to the music while Avishai was temporally stoic. I think it's a cute image and a snapshot that has landed on my list of favorite images.

My Favorite Images: Charles Bradley

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:56:00 +0000

I love when entertainers put on a show. I love hearing good music but when there is performance to go along with it, it often takes things to another level. For those who have seen Charles Bradley live then you know that he puts on a show. He poses, he bird flaps, he throws himself on his knees and he makes costume changes. If you haven't seen him live, then you should. Bradley makes for good photos and I knew I wanted my images of him to be in black & white. I felt that black & white would add to the dramatic nature I was trying to capture.

Performing at the 2012 Newport Folk Festival

Nature: Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:13:00 +0000

I've been experimenting with my editing software again.

Musicians: Experimenting With Editing Effects

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:25:00 +0000

I'm not a fan of editing photos. Actually, I should say I'm not a fan of editing to "fix" photos. Truth be told I rather enjoy fiddling around with my various editing software if I'm doing it to be creative or for the fun of it. I like trying to make a photo match what I see in my head be it a retro look, a grainy look or any number of looks I can create with my software. The below image of Ollie Steck is the result of some of that fiddling.

On The Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 04:30:00 +0000

I was out by the ocean earlier this week and discovered this little tower of rocks. I'm not sure who made the formation or why but, it was sitting there perfectly ready for me to photograph.

Nature: Dandelion

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Weeds, they start rearing their annoying little heads come spring. As I was sitting at my kitchen table looking out the back door, I thought to myself, I really should make an effort to tend to the lawn. However, as quickly as that thought popped into my head it left. Instead, I did the ultimate form of lawn care denial and procrastination. I embraced it! I got my camera out and set about trying to make weeds look like art. My effort is below. All of the dandelions in my yard have lost their little white afros except this one.

Concert Photography: Bob Schneider

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:24:00 +0000

Here's a shot I took of Bob Schneider at the Bowery Ballroom earlier this week. I believe this shot was taken right after the first glow stick was thrown onstage. At any rate, I'm still editing photos. I'm also putting together a blog post for my music blog Quirky NY Chick. All of that should be done in the next day or two, hopefully. "Make a living" jobs get in the way of blogging!

More Photos HERE & video HERE

From The Passenger Seat: Fog

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:43:00 +0000

I finally photographed some fog that I'm reasonably happy with.

I'm fascinated by black and white images of fog. I think black and white makes fog look more eerie. Below is the un-edited color image, which I think is lovely in its own right, as well as my black and white edit.

The Holga Chronicles

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:45:00 +0000

About a year ago, I bought a Holga. I ran a roll and well, lets just say it was a failure of epic proportions. I tossed it in a drawer and forgot about it. Recently, I decided I wanted to explore film. In addition to picking up a used slr, I pulled out the Holga and ran a roll of film ... again, failure! Well, I got some advice, watched some videos and gave it another go and... I've got photos.

When I first bought the Holga I envisioned questionably exposed, retro looking images. While I like the heavily saturated images, I find that I have a soft spot for the overexposed and faded images. At any rate, I look forward to using it more and seeing what I come up with.

Nature: Bleeding Heart

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:35:00 +0000

I looked out the backdoor the other day and discovered there are Bleeding Heart flowers in the yard. Every week there seems to be something new and beautiful blooming.

Nature: Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:26:00 +0000

For some reason, I decided I wanted to photograph the gravel in the driveway. In color they're a mix of warm brown and sandy colors with hints of red. But of course I didn't want that. I wanted a black and white image with contrast and grain.

Nature: Thorns

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:30:00 +0000

I am acquainted with an insane rose bush. The thing has a mind of its own and a personality far too grand for the trellis it's involved with. Said bush and trellis are a dysfunctional couple and I have suffered the fallout on more than one occasion of their thorny battles.

Nighttime Photography: Being Intuitive

noreply@blogger.com (LaNita) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:55:00 +0000

I was "revisiting & re-editing" some of my older photos and came across some from a workshop focused on intuitive photography, The Art of Intuitive Photography. It was a nighttime shoot in Long Island City...no flash, no tripod, just your camera and your intuition. Though it was a bit nippy out, it was great fun as well as being a learning experience. You learn to see differently when it's just you and your camera with no excess equipment to distract you.