My Camera World

The Making of a Fine-Art Print 'Man, Lantern and Orange Wall'

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:22:00 +0000

I am once again in San Miguel de Allende and for the last 2 weeks I've been like a young boy running around in a large candy shop. It feels great to be back and there have been so many favourite places to visit and most importantly eat some great food. I have managed to photograph some new scenes and these will be the subject of future articles.

Last year I photographed the image below from the section of the Casa Mission on Cerrada de Pila Seca which is only a walking street that runs behind Cafe Monet. I was initially struck by the strong primary colors, the lantern and its shadow and the texture on the wall, but when I printed it, it seemed to lack something to give it extra punch. Some extra texture.

Man, Lantern and Orange wall 12” x 16.5”

Final image with texture added

I tried several generic textures that I had on file, mostly splatter type patterns but none provided the effect that I wanted. Not that I knew what I wanted but I felt that when I saw it, it would feel right.

From the article title you may wonder about the man. If you look closely at the image you should be able to see a man walking in amongst tall bare trees and their branches. It is subtle and that's what I wanted but it's there in the image. Only by accident, I decided to try other B&W images that were actual images. I came across one image with a man walking amongst tall trees and when I overlaid on colorful wall image it worked for me.

In the detailed close-up below the man becomes clearly visible.

The print I made is 12” by 16.5” and to all I showed the print, no one could see the man. In fact, several people showed other areas that they thought was man, which became an added twist to the print.

The overlay photograph is shown below.

A fine-art photograph is about what inspires you. It not about what others are doing with their art or what people think is right or wrong.

Don't be intimated with experimenting or concerned that others don't get it. If you like the results and it provides meaning for you then it's a perfect piece of art work. With so many people on the planet you can be sure that there will be some that find your work inspirational.

When I printed my final proof photograph which I keep around to ensure that my impressions don't change, one was immediately spoken for.

This photograph is printed on 300 gram, 13” x 19:, Ilford pearl paper. Usually, I tend to print on textured fine-art matte/watercolor paper but this image called for more vibrancy in the colours.

My prints are limited within a series and these are normally sets to 5. If I do another series they will be different in some form, either paper selection and other tonal attributes or printed larger. But any future series will be sold at a price that is higher by a reasonable margin than the highest price for the previous series.

2 prints, unframed, are currently available at the

Orange Gallery near the Parkdale market in Ottawa

It's just a coincident that the major color of this print and the art gallery are the same.

Niels Henriksen

A Very Social Christmas and A Happy Connected New Year

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:44:00 +0000

I want to wish everyone, whether you celebrate Christmas or other seasonal festivities, a very happy holiday season and a great new year with many new opportunities for creative growth.

From the title you may guess that I am talking about social media, which I am, but more about how I try to fit within that world.

Taken in 1955 in Denmark at 4 years old and trying to be a grown-up

I believe that, like many people, I seem to have those social connections that you need to link with other people. This works fine if I need to talk or connect with someone but I’m not sure how my articles about photography and other art works all fit within the new worlds of social media. How do I remain fresh and new with all these social outlets competing for the same information.

I have My Camera World Blog this and there is a corresponding Facebook page

FaceBook My Camera World

There is also my art blog ' Niels Henriksen Artworks ' where I post articles about my artwork, whether a painting, fine art photography or other mediums. This is again is matched on Facebook with Facebook - Niels Henriksen Artworks

Who says all self portraits have to be ugly. Well maybe they are.

There is also just plain old me on Facebook at Niels Henriksen. This Facebook page was initially just to connect with people I talk to regularly but I find I do post mostly about my photography and paintings.

I have also loaded some of my photographs on Niels Henriksen on Flickr

Please take the time to connect and I'll connect back so I can see some of your photographs.

My first studio work where I placed my model battle ships and tried to created a war scene. DOF and focus what's that.

Then there’s my Linkedin page which is only visible if you are on linkedin and we have connected.

Since we are heading back to San Miguel de Allende for 3 months in Jan I have contacted people about conducting walkabouts with some basic photography lessons included. More than 20 people have shown an interest. To help co-ordinate these walk-abouts and share photos I created a Facebook page ' San Miguel de Allende Photography Club '.

Even at 12 years of age I had penchant for the abstract. Honestly this was not an accidental shot, at least that's what I say now.

And just lately I've signed on to Goolge+ but as yet haven’t posted anything and that’s the dilemma. How do I remain somewhat fresh across all the media outlets? I just don't want to re-post the same material available on other sites. I don't mind using some of the same images if there is some contextual difference for the audience.

This year I want to get a better handle on the whole social media culture and ensure that on each site there is something new and relevant to the reader.

I sure would like to here how you are handling your multiple media streams with your content or any ideas about what would work.

Please feel free to connect with me on any or all these social sites as I'm happiest when I'm connected with you.

Niels Henriksen

What to do When a Photo is Missing Parts

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:13:00 +0000

There are times when I'm walking around enjoying the scenery and occasionally taking what I think are interesting photographs around town and I forget to compose correctly. This is normally not noticed until I review them later as I tend not to look at each shot when taken.

This is a different shooting mode than when I really want something special. Then the histogram is reviewed and for images with strong contrast several exposures may be taken. And if tripod is available it will be used.

The above image is the final edited version that I wanted but failed to capture correctly.

Part of the problem is that I wear glasses and sometimes I don't remove them when looking in the camera view finder. I do when the image is critical but for shoot and grab shots I tend to place viewfinder only on the glass face and if I don't line up correctly the image is off centre to what I see.

If you have taken several photos then there may be parts in others that you can use to correct test perfect sections.

In the 3 photos combined below, the far left image is the one I wanted (#1) but as you can see, it's missing parts like the feet and sidewalk. The 2 other photos (middle #2 and right #3) are ones I used to fill in missing sections and cover parts that needed to be removed. The big problem with the other photographs is that they are from different angles and perspectives and therefore, a direct overlay to match parts will not work. You will need to stretch, twist and rotate a little to make the parts fit.

In the next composite photo below with the main image, I extracted the parts of each section that was used to reconstruct the final photograph.

Image #1 provides a good frame-work (base layer) for the whole of photo, except I wanted the lady in image #2

Image #2 was cut and placed on a separate layer and set to difference mode to make it easier to see when frame matches as it all turns black. I needed her bottom feet from another image (#3) to finish off her legs.

There was still the problem of the missing parts of the steps from part #2 which was added by image #4.

Rather than placing a whole copy of another image on top and using masking for desired parts and moving around, I recommend only cutting out the main parts from another file and copying to the working file. The reason for this is that when you zoom in on a large image to examine the fit, the handles are no longer available to use for positioning as these are at the edges of image. By only using a cropped parts, the handles for positioning are now just outside the smaller part and available for use even when zoomed in.

This is a lot of work and not for everyone. It would be easier to retake the photograph, if possible, but if you're on vacation or it's an impromptu moment, it may not be possible. This process allows you to get the photograph that you wanted but somehow missed.

I do realize that I need to be more careful when using glasses and maybe a monocle for the other eye would work. This is one advantage that EV viewfinders on back of camera work well for people with glasses.

Niels Henriksen

Book Review – Serengeti – The Eternal Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:45:00 +0000

I was excited to get the opportunity to review a photography book that wasn't technical in nature. It gave me a chance to read for once and not have to think about the technical merits about the subject material being discussed.

At first I thought it might just be a pure photography book, nothing but pictures and little text. When it arrived I realized that there was a fair amount of story that surrounded the photos. The story about the Serengeti was very interesting and unique and an important part of the book.

Book Title: Serengeti – The Eternal Beginning

Author: Boyd Norton

ISBN: 978-1-55591-593-3

Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing

Hard cover - 265 pages

The Review

One of the first things that struck me about the book was the experience and depth that the author 'Boyd Norton' had with this area of Africa. While its not exactly clear, it appears that he has spent more than 25 years visiting and getting to know this area intimately about the life and its nuances in the Serengeti.

The book is not only about Serengeti as its title suggests but also includes the Maswa Game Reserve, Ngorongoro conservation area, Loliondo Game controlled area and the Masai Mara National Reserve. As with most geographical features, country boundaries do not define its scope.

This geographical area defines the coverage, for the most part of the 'Great Migration' that we are all familiar with. Where thousands upon thousand of larger African animals such as wildebeests are seen to run for thousands of miles in search of food as the weather patterns change. While the predators lie in wait for the dinner train to run by.

The author discusses the parks earliest beginnings when there wasn’t a park but only early explorers and big game hunters. The early problems all countries seem to have when they want to control activities within an area with competing demands from indigenous groups, expanding farming base and other users of the resources.

This is not only a book about the big and small animals that are found here but about the life of the people who have lived here for aeons. It’s interesting to read how the locals, weather patterns and what was a perfect balance of nature all worked together to create a faultless ecosystem. Especially when you think of this place as the dawn of human kind some 3-4 million year ago.

The author’s writings give a life to photos that are not apparent directly from the photos. As an example, he discusses how certain rock outcrops called Gol Kopjes seems to have extra gravity that applies only to the big cats. In that whenever they arrive on these outcrops the local rock gravity immediately pulls them flat on the rock and holds them for hours.

The book covers the Great Migration when it seems most of the life in the Serengeti is on the move and about the carnivores who patiently wait for their turn at the Great Feast or migration as we call it.

The next chapter is about the lions which is a fascinating subculture all unto itself. Who gets to lead, who eats and who gets to live with the group.

The 4th chapter is about Ngorongoro which is the remains of a huge volcano called a caldera, like a giant cauldron. In this crater life is different due to its unique ecosystem.

The next chapter deals with creatures both large and small and how like any balanced system they each depend on each other for survival. From control of foliage to providing food for the predators. If your visit is to only see the big game animals then you are missing so much more about the life in the Serengeti.

The next chapters deal each with the other more famous of the big African animals such as the Rhino, Leopard, Cheetah and Elephant and how they live and communicate. There are personal stories around each encounter with the wilds of Africa and this is what makes this book more exciting than just a lot of photos.

There is Anna who can talk Rhino talk and the perception that they are stupid is really outdated. There are also the Acadia trees who can communicate when the giraffes arrive for dinner.

Recommended Audience

This book doesn’t tell you how to use your camera or take better photographs, which I'm glad as sometimes we just need stories that surround images we are seeing. Inspiration rarely comes from a technical how-to-manual.

I now know that if I were to go on an African photo safari I would not expect or want a 1 or 2 day quick tour and photo-op around the park. The book has conveyed to me that there is just so much more to see and experience that it can only be fully appreciated if you take the time to watch and wait. When there, live in the flow of the Serengeti's life.

If not for yourself then this would make a great gift for any friend who has been talking about going on an excursion to see those big game animals of Africa. A time before man, at least modern man, has had an impact on the natural world.

Link to:

Boyd Norton`s Wilderness Photography website with info on supporting the Serengeti.

Photo Safari excursions conducted in the Serengeti.

I have provided an amazon link for the book, below.

Serengeti: The Eternal Beginning

Niels Henriksen

Disclaimer:

Other than receiving a book to review, which will be given away, I did not or will not receive any remunerations, gifts or any considerations for this review from the publisher, author or anyone affiliated with this book.

Update:

Thanks to a comment from Mike I realized that I hadn't fully reviewed the book by also commenting on the photographs within the book.

I found every photo crisp and clear and representative of the its natural environment.

The photos are taken as found and therefore the lighting is natural and not staged. Nor are the images manipulated to give extra punch as I am prone to do. All are color prints with no B&W.

Since most of the animals by nature's design want to blend in with their surrounding there is not always a lot of high contrast, but they all stand out in the photos. The photos are all of the caliber that you would find in the National Geographic magazine.

The front cover image is representative of the quality of images whether they are up close or distant landscapes contained within the book.

Reviewing your photographs from Older Archives

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:35:00 +0000

Sometimes its just plain fun to go through your archive of older photos. Now with a distant memory of the scenes and events your photographs may appear better than previous scans. This is in part due to that at the time there are too many good photos and those not with the highest rating but still with merit tend to get drowned out.

This image was taken at one of the great Buddhas in Kamakura Japan. The hawk like bird may seem small but this Buddha is very large. Without the bird it would be hard to understand the scale of this image. It could be in anyone’s home garden. Besides scale the bird helps to give height to statue as there is the appearance that the head is up high where birds soar.

The next image with people in it does convey the scale of the Buddha. In theses type of metal statues the green colors are soft and muted and it is easy for green foliage to overpower the scene. That is why I have mute the greens in the background to give the Buddha statue more visual punch.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kamakura Daibutsu) is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha, which stands on the grounds of Kotokuin Temple. It's the second tallest bronze Buddha statue in Japan, at a height of 13.35 meters, surpassed only by the statue in Nara's Todaiji Temple.

The statue was originally built in 1252 and located inside a large temple hall. The temple buildings were destroyed many times by typhoons and a tidal wave in the 14th and 15th centuries. So, since 1495, the Buddha has been standing in the open ground.

Do take the time to review your collection as there may be hidden gold or at least fond memories of places you've been.

Niels Henriksen.

Playful Indulgences with Adobe Pixel Blender for Photoshop

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:48:00 +0000

Sometimes I just find I have a need to play. Not the sand lot type, even though that might be fun, but more along the lines of creativity with my artworks. With painting I can just slop the wonderful colors around and see what happens but clean-up is more effort. But with photography it's not always as easy.

I could throw my camera up in the air with a timed shutter and see what happens, but I am afraid of dropping it and then seeing a lot on money becoming dust on the ground with a broken camera.

Digital editing allows me that freedom and the only cost is my time. Definitely less risky.

I came across a video that shows the use of an Adobe Labs plug-in for Photoshop CS 4&5 called Pixel Bender. Being also a painter I was more interested in the oil painting effects as demonstrated with the image I 'bent' below. I may take this further as I will need to get rid of those bright white objects at the top of frame to make this image useful.

The above image was run once in pixel bender to give texture in the parrot, but I found that the remaining detail was all too much the same and still too fine in detail for the background. I masked out the parrot, used the blending too to see if this would help. Not much, so I ran pixel bender again on several iterations on just the background to get the final image above. I didn’t realize until later that the smudging of texture actually added to the larger texture in pixel bender.

One again for above image I ran pixel bender to get the effect for the chairs and table and then playing around with iterations on just the background and with the smudging tool to get a less contrasty detail here.

In trying to use other images to see how they worked it became apparent that for it to work well there should be sufficient detail and contrast in image for it to produce better results. I also noticed that image size from 800 to 4,000 pixels each had different effects. The largest brush size was 15 pixels and with the large images the effects became smaller.

The 2 photos of the fall scene are identical except for image resolution. The above was 1,000 pixels wide and below was 4,000+ wide

It's easy to see the difference in effects. For the smaller image I even had tor reduce the brush size so as not to over-dominate the bending effect.

From the experiments, or is it playing around, I noticed that when areas were smudged in linear or curved arches it increased the detail effects to make them larger as in the parrot's background and with the same fall scene but with smudging on the trees in image below.

These may not be exactly to your taste but if you are digitally creating painting-type images then by combining different effects for areas within the photograph, a more pleasing painting effect can be created. It is important for any effect type that there be variation in texture detail, size and contrast, like a real painting to create harmony and vision flow within the image.

The most important aspect is to create images that you like and not for others and that you have fun doing this. While I was playing around I completely lost track of time which for me is a sign that my creative juices are really flowing and I'm exploring new avenues.

Please send me some links if you have any digital creations that were just fun and you enjoyed the outcome.

Niels Henriksen

Photographing Fall Colors – Where is the Vividness That I Saw

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Many times I've gone out to photograph the beautiful colors that blanket the trees in Fall. My mind and inner vision is completely lit up with these glowing embers that dance in the wind on the trees. At this moment and place nothing seems more wondrous and somehow these colors seems to permeate deep into my collective thoughts where vivid memories live.

You may wonder why the need for all these flowery thoughts. Its because when I get home, what I see from the camera is nowhere near as spectacular as how I felt at the time. I do shoot in RAW format and I know that this format from the camera tends to be a little muted but even increasing the vibrancy, it still doesn’t come close to the mind's snapshot.

I think that photographing the wondrous colors of fall is actually a hard thing to accomplish if you want to achieve the vision you had at the moment the shutter clicked.

I believe there are 2 main reasons for this.

First is that the reds, oranges and yellow of the leaves are highly saturated & luminous and beyond the ability of the camera's color gamut to capture. The color space of sRGB and Adobe RGB just don’t extend far enough to record these highly saturated and bright colors.

Second the leaves normally have small moments in the wind and they appear to shimmer, thereby giving them the appearance in the mind's memory of being brighter.

When I took the above photograph the yellows on these 2 trees did appear this bright. They glowed in the afternoon sun and were even brighter, almost like a candle flame, but upon reviewing the camera's result it was duller and more greenish-yellow. The image below is from camera with white balance on birch tree set to neutral white 5300K.

You may find my modified version (1st photo) a bit gaudy but it does reflect how I felt about this scene. I darkened the sky to increase contrast between the 2 yellow tees. I also, for the greenish yellow leaves, shifted the hue to be more yellow and then increased lightness and saturation as much as I could and still retain detail. The grass was also darkened and made cooler, more blue-green, to again increase contrast with the yellow tops.

In the photograph below the sun peeked out near sunset just after the rain had gone by and lit up this singular tree. Again the camera made those leaves less bright and more orange. Once again I increased lightness and saturation towards yellow for the bright leaves. I also added a purplish tint to clouds, (complementary color of yellow) to increase color contrast. I extracted the yellow leaves and increased layer size by 10 pixels and then added a slight blur of about 2 and set this layer to overlay. A pseudo Orton effect to give a glowing effect.

In the next image below, the colors, except for a little vibrancy, remain mostly as captured. I did change the sky from a bright blue to a duller and less saturated version with clouds. The original blue negative space was too dominating and took viewers vision away from the tree colors.

Many of the good fall photographs have lots of cooler and darker tones surrounding bright trees that help make those fall colors more prominent within the scene.

If you have good photo-editing tools don't be afraid to play around and change anything to suit your needs and vision. After all, it's how you saw it at least in your mind.

Niels Henriksen

Book Review: Plate to Pixel

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:53:00 +0000

This time of year with Thanksgiving festivities happening on both side of the border is a good to think about photographing some of your favorite meals. This book review deals with photographing food, not so much a dinner party or at a restaurant but your own or other's creations that demonstrate the joy and beauty of a well prepared food delicacy.

Title: Plate to Pixel – Digital Food Photography and Styling

Author: Hélène Dujardin

Publisher: Wiley

ISBN: 978-0-470-93213-1

After setting up my own little food studio for raw foods for the SOFOBOMO 2010 book project I thought that this book would be an interesting adjunct with what I learned during the SOFOBOMO project.

The book is soft cover and comprises 256 pages of text and of course many food photographs.

The first 2 chapters 'Photography Basics' and 'Camera Settings and Modes' are the standard materiel that every beginner in photography needs to understand. Her photos demonstrate the effects of white balance (WB) settings, Depth of Field (DOF), ISO settings, exposure and shutter speeds (pouring liquids). Those new to photography find these concepts and terms confusing at first but here the photos show the principles involved.

The next 2 chapters (3&4) deal with Natural Light and Artificial Light. Natural lighting is easy enough to understand with time of day, harsh direct light, soft light with diffuser, using reflectors for bounced light. Under artificial light she shows how to use off-camera flash and some of the smaller lighting accessories for table top studio work. In each case supporting photos are used to show setups and the different lightening effects. Photography is about using or controlling light and how it can accent key focal points with the various moods of light.

Chapter 5 covers composition of food placement within the camera frame and covers subjects from centering to off-center, ¾ placement, DOF, viewing from overhead and at eye levels. It also covers using the rule of thirds, focal point(s) and perspective with item placement.

Chapter 6 covers setting up for capture before you press the shutter. It's about thinking about items in the recipe and how light will interact with these components. Establishing your own work environment and working with clients and their setups and art directors. How to use props to test and plan shots with foods that can fade quickly on the set. Describing a story behind the recipe. Using natural props, surfaces, linens and background to tie elements together. It also covers items using heights and color to create accents and accentuate items.

Chapter 7 is styling and this photographer tends to prefer only natural items that for the most part can be eaten afterward. It's not about using high-tech materials that can't be found in the kitchen. This section has specific sub-sections about bread, nuts, fruits, and vegetables both cooked and uncooked. It covers the main dish for fish and meats and their sauces. Stews, stir-fry, pasta, breakfast baked good and deserts are all covered. Using tools such as tweezers, cotton swaps, drip bottles etc. Many good photos help to demonstrate key points.

Chapter 8 covers the standard digital related items of file transfer, formats, storage and software editing programs. There is also a glossary and a list of the authors photographic equipment and why she uses them. There is also a list of recommended resources from books to websites and stores to buy the various odds and ends that go into foods shoots.

About the Author:

After leaving her position as pastry chef Helen launched the award-winning blog Tartelette, where she dedicates herself to the art of food, photography and styling. Her food photography and styling work has been praised online and in prints by publications such as Elle magazine. Forbes magazine, The Times Online, Caveur magazine, CNN, Martha Steward and more

Conclusion and Recommended Audience

Food photography may not be for everyone but it is clear that the author/photographer has experience with this genre. Throughout her book she has ample photographs to demonstrate principles as well as discussing the setup and any problems that need to be addressed.

This is not a book about over-the-top food images that have food floating in the air or extreme art shots that may use all sorts of mechanical devices or materials to create the appearance of real food. This book is all about real food found on many peoples dinner tables and at the end of the shot could be eaten by anyone. In fact, one of my favorite things about this book is that it is about real food, something that we might see on our tables

This book is intended for any photographer who has a passion for food and wants produce photos that all will enjoy. It's for the inexperienced photographer with only a point and shot camera or someone who is becoming familiar with a DSLR but wants to understand composition and styling in a home or small studio setup. This is not a book about which camera or lens is better but rather how to use your camera to create interesting food photographs.

I recommend this book for those wishing to peruse food or small studio photography.

Link to Amazon store below.

Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography and Styling

Niels Henriksen

Disclaimer: Other than receiving a book to review, which will be given away, I did not or will not receive any remunerations, gifts or any considerations for this review from the publisher, author or anyone affiliated with this book.

Photographing the Wonders of Fall Colors

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:12:00 +0000

In the northern hemisphere at this time of year there is a great transformation going on with our deciduous trees. Over a 2 week period beginning around the last week of September and then into the first 2 weeks of October the leaves start to loose their green photosynthesis properties and with the inherent nutrients left in the leaves, they come forward in brilliant hues of yellow, orange and red.

As the decay of the leaves continues, these brilliant colours fade to duller browns and yellows, but for a short time it is truly wondrous with the brilliant blanket that covers our landscape.

You would think its easy to go out and capture this kaleidoscope of colors. Simply point somewhere. Press the shutter button and instantly record the scene in front of you. It couldn't be easier. Yet when many people return back home and look at their images on the computer they are rare left wondering where the splendour went. This is really a trick with how the mind records the impressions we see. The mind is really like this perfect DOF instrument that seems to blur not important areas and keeps the key points strong and brilliant. The camera does not work this way.

It's best in many situations to think of the fall landscape as an abstract scene. Therefore, for larger vistas, examine the structure and flow of the patterns within this scene. It definitely is important to use compositional elements of lines and patterns formed by the color patterns to create visual interest within photograph.

With distant trees, use these colourful features to support other elements in the scene such as mountains, rivers or lakes with reflections. To give visual interest for the larger composition.

In many areas there are still lots of evergreens and the fall colors are only interspersed throughout the evergreen canopy. Therefore, you can also isolate specific patches of colour to give a more dominant interest to a patch of color.

Color can also be used to compliment other cooler colours of greens and blues.

At many times it's mainly the yellows that are dominant and any reds and oranges may be hard to find. Do focus on the yellows but provide other visual interests for viewer's attention. People many times will work.

Since the fall foliage is more like an abstract patchwork, don't forget to add in this abstraction with either camera movement or colorful reflections.

Reflections also provide a unique to isolate the complexity by providing context to a water scene.

The key is to get out and first observe and enjoy the splendour of nature. Try and understand what it is about this scene that intrigues you. Then find a solution with the camera that conveys these feelings in the final photograph.

Do forget other venues with fall and its celebratory events of food.

This image reminds me of Mother Goose and her Chicks.

Niels Henriksen

Close Up Photography with Great DOF

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:27:00 +0000

Exploring objects closeup allows me to pursue my fondness for abstractness in trying to see the world around us in a new way. Shallow Depth of Field (DOF) is great for isolating specific parts in a scene and having the remainder fade softly into the background. But there are times, especially if the background is soft or non-existent like the photo below, where full sharpness seems to bring greater clarity (a bit of a pun) to the subject. I have seen other photographers use the software Helicon Focus to take multiple images at different points of sharpness as you progress further back. The software determines which parts of the image is sharp and then combines your images with only those parts, like layer masks.

5 images combined with settings at f/9, 0.4 sec @iso 200 with Tamron 90mm macro lens

On some of the images and even the version above, I found slight fringing (light lines) that followed the shape. This was really noticeable with black backgrounds as even a little colour shows up.

In the next image I used a little Photoshop processing to bring out some of the hidden colors in the black cloth as I wanted analogous color, here reddish blue, to support the magenta (blueish red) in the image.

11 images combined at f/8, 1/5 sec, iso 200 with Tamron 90mm macro lens.

In a close up below you can better see those ring lines.

The software does have 3 settings: Methods A &B; smoothing; and radius, which at this time I don't know their functions. I think this will be a useful tool and therefore I should learn more about this program to better understand its limitations and how to use it correctly.

I believe those lines are caused when the software shrinks some of the further back images, as changing focus further back makes the images larger and software needs to align all parts so they overlap perfectly. This may leave residual edge not fully covered with its mask. Just a guess.

5 images combined at f/8, 1/5 sec @iso 200 with Tamron 90mm lens

This is one of my favourites as intense yellow and purples work well with little darkened and de-saturated green in the stems.

This was a home studio setup with window side-lighting using a tripod and set to time delay to ensure no shake. While I didn't notice any overexposed shots, the software told me the variance (sometimes 20-30%) in lightness for each run. This brightness variance was caused by slight changes, not really noticeable, as the intensity of the clouds changed.

There is a 30 day trial usage and I do suggest that you try this out.
In a future article I will perform an in depth review of this software and even try those full DOF landscape photographs.

Niels Henriksen

De-Cluttering to Make room for Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:54:00 +0000

Clutter, it hangs off me like Christmas tree ornaments. Each is different and pretty in their own right. Some are old and a bit tarnished like my parent's words. Not actually their words but my attempt to follow their advice. Some are newer and seem better built, like the advice of photographic and artistic experts, but you don't want all of it hanging around 24/7. Except for the choice moral items.

The gist of all this is that we all have a lot of people, some we know others that we never met, telling us which way is the right path to follow. It may be good advice but sometimes we do need to break free.

I don't have a perfect map for my life and there's no way I would know where you should go. I do believe though that if you do what feels right for you and let your own voice guide, you great improvements will happen.

Below are some photographs that for some reason have compelled me to look longer. They might break some composition rules but we all have our own tastes.

While you're supposed to watch out for things at the edges, for me here this adds some intrigue to a well textured wall and canal edge in Paris.

You may ask 'What is the next photo' and I don't have an answer. It came about because I was playing around with Helicon focus and the photo with a black background didn't stand out well enough.

11 images in stack with Tamron 90mm in macro mode at F/8 @ 1/5sec

With some judicious use of Photoshop layers, various blend modes and even a little LAB mode, I found one version that intrigued me. It's still a bit crude but I see how I could take this further.

Original version with black background below

Therefore, silence some of these voices. Use them only when needed in order to make time for things that you enjoy and this includes doing photos that only interest you. After all it your creativity.

Niels Henriksen

Book Review: Black and White Digital Photography

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:16:00 +0000

Color is wonderful and is a joy to behold but for me there is always something special about a Black and White photograph. I'm not sure if this is because for the most of my life when great photos were presented these tended to be B&W images or the mystique that goes around their genre. But I still find them special.

The world is in color so we don't have a natural tendency to see in B&W but with practice, some inner vision, we can all create good black and white photos.
Black and White Digital Photography (photo workshop) book wants people to be better at this genre of photography.

Black and White Digital Photography (the book)

Author Chris Bucher

ISBN 978-0-470-42193-2

Publisher Wiley Publishing Inc.

The book has 10 chapters and I will explain what is basically covered in each and at the end of the article I will give the overall summary for this book.
This is a workbook of sorts and each chapter has an assignment to help you explore some of the material covered in the chapter.

Chapter 1 – Black and White Vision
This chapter is more of a compendium of general information on importance of Black and White photography, why it is a different art from color. It covers how in the color world seeing in B&W involves more of the creative process. The importance of being able to previsualize, understand the timing in 'the moment' and knowing how to wait. Where to find photographic material and subjects.

Chapter 2 – Photography Fundamentals

A good general introduction to camera setting such as exposure, aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance and how these each affect the photographic image. Under composition the rule of thirds, balance, symmetry, shape, simplicity, having a point of view and being able to link compositional elements.

Chapter 3 – Getting the Most out of your Camera
This chapter covers handling the buttons and menu settings on your camera. How white balance affects B&W. Glass filters and suggested settings and lens for portraits, landscape, still life and street photography.

Chapter 4 – Working with Light

This is what I believe where photography really starts.
This chapter covers metering and exposure, basic zone system, the metering modes of your camera. Light quality and direction as well as reflectors and balancing and mixing sources. Light at dusk and after dark.

Chapter 5 – Tools and Toys
This chapter covers add-ons and supporting equipment for your camera that will allow to take more creative images and includes; Infrared photography, lens baby, smaller point and shoot and speciality DSLR camera, strobes, tripods

Chapter 6 – Tonal Quality in Black and White
This chapter covers converting color to B&W, discussing tones and contrast in B&W images, working with shadows and contrast. Also covers understanding how light quality affects tones and looking for highlights and building depth in the shadows.

Chapter 7 – The Black and White Digital file
The process of converting image to B&W, the use of film filters and the debate on raw or jepg file formats

Chapter 8 – Working in the Digital Darkroom
The chapter discusses the process of enhancing your image to bring out more by use of local and global contrast, multiple raw processing, adjustment layers, masks, shadows and highlight tools, additional filters, selective effects, film situations, workflow. The major emphasis is about using photoshop and digital editing tools.

Chapter 9- Toning, Coloring and Special Effects
The chapter explains the old film processing techniques and how they can be achieved in digital editing such as; old process effects, split toning, coloring to monochrome, infrared effects, high dynamic range, compositing

10 Output Printing and Presentation
Film was about chemical processes, paper, developing and in this chapter the new equivalents of inject printers and paper, calibrating, creating B&W prints, output options

Conclusion and Recommended Audience
This is a How To book about creating B&W images digitally. It broadly covers all aspects from start to finish about creating this genre of photography as evidenced by the material cover under the chapters. I don't think little was missed except some freeware program. The author used higher end equipment, and computer components and information is geared towards this end.

The book contains a lot of photos and all taken by the author. I like the fact that these are ordinary but good images that we would all take as opposed to those over the top studio shots.

The book does contain assignments at the end and these are general in approach. I am a firm believer that assignments should be precise and more definitive to help focus people clearly in the direction of guidance. Too much ambiguity for beginners causes confusion in their approach.

There is a web site to post your assignment but at this time (new book) there was nothing posted under the B&W book. This site contains the other workbooks from Wiley press about photography. Some useful information but a little hard to find since its a Bulletin Board system.

See http://www.photoworkshop.com/ under forum. (the books says www.pwassignments.com but routes to address above.)

This is, in my opinion, a beginners book for someone who mainly uses Point&Shoot camera or mid level SLR type only in auto mode and needs to understand photography, equipment and tools from beginning to end. Each item is well explained but only at a level to get you started and with photography, lots of practice is the key to really getting better.

From my own perspective there are so many books about using cameras I think it's better to leave some of the basic materiel out and focus more on taking B&W and then digital editing.

Niels Henriksen

A bike has so much detail at times its best to focus on particular elements only. In this image you get the feeling of power form the large exhaust pipes.

f.4.4 @ 72mm on 18-70 Nikon lens, 1/15sec, IS0 200

Why YOUR Photography Matters

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:25:00 +0000

I was using Google Street View to find an intersecting street name for a photo I had taken.

The sign in the image told me one street name and since it was only 4 blocks long I figured it should be easy to determine which one of the 5 intersections was the corner for my image.

I tried 3 times to find the corner but with no luck. I just didn’t see my image. It wasn’t until I tried to remember where the streets were steep and placed the google 'bonhomme' on that intersection and looked really hard to find the same buildings, it finally become apparent. It was always there but I didn't see it because of the compression in distance in my image.

F9.0 iso 200 s 1/200 @135mm (202mm at 25mm equ)

The next 2 'Google Maps images' show first at the intersection and the second image taken further up 'Solano y Davalos' where approximately I was standing when I took my photo above.

from Google Street View

These google images don’t show the true steepness of the streets that surround the central square 'el Jardin' as many call it. Only the image in the bottom right, when zoomed in, begins to show similarities.

from Google Street View

Using a zoom lens could bring the steepness of the street towards the end closer and into view. When standing where the street starts to become steeper, the same perception was harder to capture since at that point there were no references to show level as in the zoomed image.

This is why we each need to take our own photographs because only the photographer can tell the story that they see. Mechanical taken images just don't quite cut it.

Niels Henriksen

Using Guidelines to Increase Focus on Subject

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:56:00 +0000

There are several lines that help guide the viewer to the main subject, which is the man & child on the bridge.

Some are natural and some enhanced with photo-editing.

These are:

Bridge railings
Top of roof (top right)
Rippling water starting bottom right. The water just to the left was darkened a little to make contrast greater.
The darker 'V' portion of the tree that splits above girls head. This was also darkened slightly to increase effect.
There is a dark patch just to the left of man's head that forms a 'C'. This was also slightly darkened.

I thought I'd show my own B&W photo, as I'm doing a book review in the next article about Digital B&W editing.

Niels Henriksen

Are You Being Creative outside of Photography

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:37:00 +0000

In most arts lots of practice and if varied does improve your skills and as in photography you need to take many and I do mean many photographs. I do believe you need to be able to see differently.

Being creative, seeing new possibilities in your mind, imagining, also requires lots of practice. There is no formula, like camera settings, that allows you to press and get the perfect picture. This is something that you need to visualize. By not only being creative with your camera, but in post-processing, painting or drawing, gardens or even creating paths in the woods, you will be able to see more with your camera. This playing around gives more space for your imagination to grow.

My stay in San Miguel de Allende did influence my painting style as I decided to try a series of 6 painting about cacti. I wanted each to be slightly different but about the same subject.

This was more about playing with colors

This is really a succulent but close enough for me.

Each painting is a 16” x 20” oil on canvas.

Cacti have a lot of greens and this series was about using different greens with complimentary colors.

Photographs were all used as reference material as there are no cacti here in Ottawa. At least non outdoors that I can paint from.

This image above still needs some minor changes.

Each are different as I hoped and some seem to work better than others. That's the joy of experimenting. You're not quite sure how it will turn out.

The one thing that became very apparent is that oil colours, at least the saturated mixed, could not be captured with a 12 bit sensor. Non of these photos show the true vibrancy of the real paintings.

This is now something to strive for when printing photos. To somehow still have a bright luminance reflect off the photo. This is mostly about contrast and an easy method to create the allusion is to darken and mute color in surrounding areas. There may also need to be some softening to add a bit of glow effect.

Niels Henriksen

Improved Method of High Pass Filter Sharpening

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:32:00 +0000

It's those little problem areas that upon closer inspection, especially if image is to be printed large, are occurring throughout the image in less intensity. But they are still there.

I have many times used the blur tool in sharpening layers to reduce some of the inherent noise that the process of sharpening brings by its very nature of operation.

I normally don't use the High-pass method in many larger prints I make because of this increased noise, especially in soft areas like clouds or flower petals.

The leaf cluster on bottom left was added from another version to give this photograph a standard triangular view with focal points

To alleviate these noise problems I decided to first blur the high pass filter layer and then apply a curves adjustment layer to the high pass layer only, to improve contrast with some of the softness created by blurring.

Detailed PDF Document Available

I experimented with 5 other combinations including using the luminance filter (noise reduction) in ACR

for input to High Pass Filter Sharpening. This document contains numerous photos clearly detailing the process and results from 6 versions. One being the camera default.

It is available on Niels Henriksen Artworks site at the following link.

Improved Method of High Pass Filter Sharpening

The reason for creating it in a book format is it allows me greater control over layout and by shifting to a landscape format should filter better with our horizontal monitors.

Let me know what you think about the PDF version.

The above photo shows results for using the high pass filter only and then repeating with a curves adjustment layer applied. You can see how the veins are crisper and if you look carefully there is less noise on the smooth stamens. The PDF article shows a close up of stamens.

A setting of 2.1 was used for both Gaussian blur and high pass filter. It's always going to be a trade-off between reducing noise when sharpening and still having good edges.

This process will make it easy to create an action in Photoshop, whether modifiable or a straight run.

This is original version. I cropped the details on the right and also removed some of the leaf tips near flower cluster. Leaves from another image at wider angle wear to balance the composition.

I always try and take a few extra photos at a wider angle for that just in case you need it.

Niels Henriksen

SOFOBOMO 2011

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Once again for those who enjoy creative and fun challenges the Solo Foto Book Month (SOFOBOMO) is about to start for its 4rd year. The only downside being that you didn't have a stimulating time.

Well there may be a little stress but this is only self induced by thinking that this project just has to be perfect. After having participated in the last 2 years, the advice I give here is to relax a little, have fun and do enjoy the discovery of telling a story in book of photographs.

You can register and get lots of great information and even view previous years submissions at SOFOBOMO website.

As with most challenges there are some rules but these help to contain the effort to a manageable level.

Red and White Boats from SOFOBOMO 2010 “A Walk around the Pond'

The photos must be taken within the month of July.

Within 30 days of the first photographs taken and used in Book, the e-book (PDF etc.) must be completed.
There is always some planning and testing before your official launch date. Never constrain yourself if you don't have to.

There must be at least 35 images that you took during the 30 days.
For the most part, straight forward but there is some guidance I can give.

White Magnolia tree from SOFOBOMO 2008 'The Land and the River

My own approach is to plan as follows:

Pre-start is about planning your shoots. What equipment you will use, locations and any weather constraints, time-of-day for sun angles to light objects.

1st week to get out and get the images. For many who work during the week you could assign both weekends to this.

2nd week for photo selection and editing. You need to tell a story in images.

3rd week to layout the book and write a few words if you want but not required.

This gives you an extra week at the end to overcome any problems, like needing more images or more time in the other parts that always seems to go astray.

The key item for me is that I am not trying to create a book that will sell millions or even 10s, but a book that I will enjoy and in the process learn more about what it takes to make a book.

Part of undertaking the SoFoBoMo project is to enjoy the process and learn to be flexible in your approach. There are always some things that will pop up that causes a change in the course. If you enjoy what you are doing and are not concerned with what others are achieving or how they will view your book, then adapting should be part of the excitement and not a frustration.

Garlic bud in light tent form SOFOBOMO 2010 'Food at My Table'

Remember that any planning work and getting equipment and tools together is not part of the 31-day window. Take your time now to get it all right, because you can start anywhere within the month of July and this will help you out later on.

I find it’s best to have a back-up theme, while probably not as good as your first choice, it will allow you to complete the book should something unforeseen happen with the first idea. Completing the book is more important than how super your images are.

I have more detailed advice in the following link below

10 Great Photography Projects SOFOBOMO

This is a great project and challenge and I strongly encourage everyone to make a stab at it.
You just might end up with a good book that you could publish and hand out at Christmas or other celebrations.

Niels Henriksen

How to Approach Editing your Photographs to Create more Visual Appeal

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 17:20:00 +0000

Big title, a complex subject and almost impossible to answer correctly. The key ingredient is the photographer who took the image and not a critic commenting on his or her own vision. Even though these comments might at times produce a better result, especially if technical problems persist. If the image comes with a statement or feelings or any other human/artistic guidance then it's easier to comment on how the image achieves these goals.

The yellow green hue of main tree shifted more yellow less green. The greens shifted cooler, bluer in green, and desaturated and darkened slightly as greens are always stronger than yellows. Bench made more teal to better compliment the yellows.

Pre-Visualize

The initial step to capturing a better image is to first understand what those elements or emotions are in the scene before you that excites or intrigues you. Sounds easy this self analysis but if it truly were easy then there would not be as many self help books all saying they have the answer. The same applies to my advice. Take it with a few grains of salt, shake well and wait for the dust to settle.

I believe that the more you immerse yourself with good and bad (if there really is bad) art, the more you come to understand your own emotional drivers. Seek out not just photographs, but paintings, sculpture, drama etc. Some are born more wild and for these individuals maybe too much art exposure may limit their own wild creativity. But for the vast majority of us, exposure is a good thing.

The tree had such a glow in the morning light and with such a tranquil setting it almost seemed the perfect place to contemplate. The glow was very important and being backbit helped this effect. By going to B&W and then increasing the yellow slider to almost blow out texture helps to make these leaves glow. Once again, I darkened and slightly blurred the grasses as each blade was too strong for this scene.

It's not always possible to pre-think an image, as sometimes the scene unfolds too quickly. All we can do is react and hope our training ensures proper techniques and the correct settings.

With any subject, what is it about this object or collections of objects that you find interesting?

Is it it's novelty, color, contrast, action, humour, memories, emotions, abstractness...?

When you do understand what is driving your vision, it becomes easier to place the focus correctly. Not camera focus or rule-of-thirds etc., but your visual focus of photograph, then ensuring that other elements in scenes do not compete for focus.

It's easy to see those elements that grab you but harder initially to see other parts that don't quite fit perfectly. The best advice is for you to constantly take photographs and where practical, many more than you think you need and from way too many angles. You will learn to see differently.

If it's primarily color then what other colors around either enhance or detract. Then move around to best find enhancing elements and reduce unwanted components

The same applies with details, lines, textures, contrasting shapes, size etc.

Start to think less of the subject and focus more on the surrounding pieces and how each helps or detracts and then using compositional theory when merited, compose your scene.

Here you can see this single yellow tree sitting in an open field, sunlit with lots of dark backgrounds to help increase visual contrast. This tree is what excited me and I knew that by walking around 360 degrees I would be able to place the tree and bench with good backgrounds. This was a morning shot and I would have liked to get an evening shot with the bench in the shade.

I know that the camera photo is never able to truly render a green landscape scene in the same manner that we visually observe. Those ever so subtle movements outdoors help us to see more with all the greenery around.

Photo-Editing

One of my favourite techniques with greens is to shift greens in certain parts either warmer towards yellow or cooler towards cyan. A little tonal contrast color difference, even when slight, can help to increase visual contrast.

The same techniques that went into planning the photograph should also be employed in photo-editing.

If main interest is:

Fine Detail and Texture - blur or lighten/darken other parts or reduce contrast. Increase contrast of subject detail.

Color – desaturated other colours. Change hue to better compliment contrasts.

Eg. If you have 3 blue balls spread out on the beach, then for the closest ball, increase saturation and only 1-2 degrees warmer towards red. For the other balls or circles make them lighter and bluer as distance increases. Only subtly so you don't notice. You may also want to slightly blur with increasing amounts as you move in distance.

The top image has the blue circles all the same color, whereas the blue version on the bottom is using the editing example mentioned above. The bottom group of circles provides more visual evidence of depth.

The Hue/Saturation settings are listed shown in the same order of changes.

Don't forget to capture other images around you even though they are not currently your main interest as later you may find them more appealing when looking in isolation for what originally captured your heart. The tall skinny trees in front were just a bit lighter in colour and I found that in B&W I could best increase contrast from remaining foliage.

With one of the channel masks I first shifted the hue to more yellow for these trees, which made it easier with Black and White slider adjuster to lighten yellows and darken greens. Greater contrast from background.

As with the first image, lime-yellow leaves shifted more towards yellow and lightened. Green more blue and darkened.

A camera is light with a paint brush and with a canvas you can change any part if you want, unless the point is to document historical accuracy.

Niels Henriksen

New Fine Art Prints Series and Upcoming Print Exhibition

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:38:00 +0000

Fine Art Prints
A few months ago I printed 5 prints of a new series of my photographs.

'Fire Within'

Each photograph is printed in a series of 5, numbered, titled and signed.
The photographs were first printed 8”x10” on approx 6 different types of fine art matte papers to determine which paper best enhanced the features of the photo.

'Dancing Flames'

As with the photo above, which is high key, low contrast and soft in details, a heavier textured paper was used to add visual interest in the smoother areas.

'Bicycle and Orange Wall'

For the image above, a warmer and slightly smoother paper was used to help the yellow-orange glow even more.

'Bare Trees and Fog'

For the tree photograph a brighter and cooler paper was used.
Please visit Niels Henriksen Artworks website for further details about any photograph shown here.
Each photograph is listed under the Fine Art Print tab.

Upcoming Print Exhibition
Next week on June 9th there will be a Vernissage at the Orange Gallery in Ottawa where Camera Club of Ottawa will show some of their members photos. I will have the above series at the gallery from June 8th to June 19.

'Boat in Grass on Beach'

This is a wonderful opportunity to see a great collection of photographs from many talented and varied photographers. As photographers, we should take the time to support our fellow artists and attend their showing, if for nothing else but to enjoy photographs as they should be seen. Large and printed.

Niels Henriksen

Experimenting with Photoshop – Hand Coloring

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:59:00 +0000

I had originally prepared an article on a useful iPhone app that tells you exactly where the sun is at any location on the earth, any time of day. After writing the article, I tried to find its web site to get specific details only to found out that this app is no longer available on the iTunes store. Strange as it is, it's still loaded on my phone. There is another program (Photographer’s Ephemeris) that is very similar and maybe even a bit better but it is not free however, the PC version is free, which I have.

Therefore, I thought I would show some of the experimenting I performed with photo-editing.

The original idea was to convert an image to grey scale and then by using duo-tone features, hand color (mask in) specific objects or areas within the image.
I also wanted to change the colour warmth or coolness differently for the shadows and highlight for each objects so that the colour tone was not uniform in hue for the entire object. Naturally a 3 level duo-tone works well, but only good for one shot so to speak. Can't add different tone sets to different sections of image. The solution was to create copies for each tone set and combine them into one image and masks for each sections. In the grassy area I cooled the greens. For the yellows this worked great as it also changed any green hue in the top leaves to yellow. For the red sections I saturated and cooled slightly the shadow and mid-tones to better match the now brighter top section.

The original photo is below.

Each color layer was an individual tri-tone that was copied to this file.

It was a bit cumbersome using the duo-tone function so, for the next grey-tone image, which has clear defined detail, I used the color blend mode to add color. Then with the sliders on each layer I was able to adjust for the shadows, mid-tones and highlights for the same mask .

Tri-tone for wall, duo-tones for jacket, pants, door frame and sidewalk.
You may surely wonder that this is a lot of work for “how-much” benefit and I tend to agree. This was foremost an experiment and I love playing around to see the type of effects I could archive. The thing I like is that all the shadows have cooler hues than the mid-tones.

I now know that in the future some of these steps may be added to certain types of images, especially like the first image.

Leave a link if you have done anything similar or even something strange with your image editing.

Niels Henriksen

San Miguel de Allende – Part 6

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:41:00 +0000

This final set of photos from San Miguel are an assortment of odds and ends. A potpourri of fun stuff.

There was just something intriguing about this old German VW bug, not in pristine condition parked at Berlin bistro bar along Pica Sila Street. I used an overlay effect and some 'curves' adjustment on car only to make it more grungy.

At the school cultural event with the hundreds of kids (see link People of San Miguel ), it was difficult to isolate the subject for other children. With these 2 boys I was able to get grey background to help the boys bandannas stand out.

There is already enough color with the bright building in San Miguel so when you find a subject even more vivid, it just begs to be photographed. I did use selective contrast enhancement of the man's clothes.

In Juarez Park there are, especially on weekends, artists who display and sell their painting. The long bearded gentleman clearly typified for me the appearance of a classic artist.

This image was discovered when I was reviewing some of the photos taken. When you walk along capturing interesting moments you don't always notice everything in the field of view. This can be bad but sometimes good. In the photo above I like the disconnect and differences between the lady on the left and the 2 people interacting on the right.

There is nothing quite like a good fish market. I feel you're not experiencing the local flavors until you find places like these mixed in with all the other vendors around.

The el Jardin Park which is officially Plaza Allende, is the favourite gathering place of almost everyone in San Miguel. A wide collection of people show up from big show bands to nightly mariachi bands to single soloists.

One item that never ceased to amaze me is the bright jacaranda trees that were in full bloom.

Niels Henriksen

The Buildings of San Miguel de Allende – Part 5

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:45:00 +0000

In this photo essay I will show some of the colourful and wonderful architecture of San Miguel. The town population is about 80,000 not including the outer developments which brings the total population about 140,000. About 20% are expats and English speaking.

There are no front lawns or even being able to see back yards and therefore the looks inside as you walk along the streets is always filled with little wonders.

While I collected many images of the great and varied doors in San Miguel, there is a local photographer who has made a wonderful book on just such a theme.

Some homes may look desolate on the front, but are still very well kept inside.

The majority of buildings are painted very vividly and color is one item they don't seem afraid of being bold with

Only a few homes have strong rich colors. More have the muted terracotta and yellow as seen in the photo below.

A typical street near the central part of town with more business ventures out of their buildings. It seems almost everyone who has a front door also has a store of some sort.

It seems that almost everyone photographs this building. Why not, as it sure tells you where you are.

The next series, which will be the last, is more of a potpourri of photos.

Niels Henriksen

People Getting Around in San Miguel de Allende – Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:21:00 +0000

The previous set of images that dealt with the subject of people from San Miguel were more from a tourist perspective. Those subjects that grab your attention. Almost demand to be photographed.

I also thought that the following set of photographs had a demand for attention. From many people I've met here in San Miguel there is this understanding of 'Mexican time'. For all things, it generally takes longer and can be further delayed at any time.

With Fed Ex being known for its speed, I couldn't help but notice the context of the old bent man in his blue jacket, sitting with his walker beside this sign. Is this an employee waiting for his next delivery? His orange peels also tie connection back to dual color sign.

It almost seems perfect when a complimentary color walks into the field of view. I like this version better because the door balances out nicely with the man. Whereas the other photo with the windows along the wall didn't quite match the image.

San Miguel is a city built like a taco shell. Open ends and step sides. The church 'La Paroquia' is situated on a knoll itself on one of the sides. Therefore, most of the city streets are steep and cobblestoned. At times, I find walking tiresome. I just couldn't quite believe it when a person went cycling by on a leisurely pace up one of those steep streets.

On another part of town there was a man delivering some sort of goods to local stores while using a laden down donkey as his delivery vehicle. Several days later I saw, in more residential parts of town, a man with 6 fully loaded donkeys like below.

This man on a horse in historic dress is actually an on-duty policeman of San Miguel. As far as I can tell, there are 2 of these officers in town.

The building might be interesting by itself, but with the people we now have all 6 primary colors of Red-Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple. The interesting part with the people is that they are all in different modes of transportation.

San Miguel is known for its strong bright colours. These can at times be all mashed together in one block. The red scooter adds to the dominance of the bold window on the red wall.

Niels Henriksen

People of San Miguel de Allende Mexico– Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:11:00 +0000

The first two articles showed photos that a tourist would normally expect to see in and around San Miguel. They do show that San Miguel is a very vibrant and diverse town. Like most towns, its not just about the colourful buildings or its natural surroundings, it's also the daily life.

It seems that almost every weekend, sometimes even during the week, there is some sort of festival underway which eventually winds up in the main town centre, 'Le Jardin'.
On one Friday there was a large school cultural event which I think was in its 4th year, at least with my best translation. There where hundreds of kids in colourful transitional costumes. Each group took turns on stage performing their routines.

These 8 boys were waiting patiently, which isn't normal for most boys, for their turn on the school stage that had been set up in 'Le Jardin'.

It's great when you can catch those unexpected movements like the boy above hanging around under the stage. The sun is always very strong and hot so any place to get in the shade is a good thing.

The girls on the other hand have no trouble showing off and posing for a photo shoot.

The people come in many different outfits from what's on their face to the clothes they wear.

There are many beggars throughout the downtown core. It's obvious that they are poor, especially with the average daily wage in Mexico of $15.00US. But the troubling part is that during tourist season, some men drop off their wives, kids and even their mothers to beg 12 hours a day. Some women even have babies cradled in their arms. There are very young children sitting all day in the same spot with their mothers not doing anything. It seems such a waste.

But whichever way you look at it, they are poor and a helping hand is always a good thing.

There are many other people who manage to get around and seem somehow to earn money from the tourists.

Some people don't have a regular place to work and can be found working in the streets.

This lady may look frail but I bet she can out walk me.

Some people bring the pets to Le Jardin because I guess there is not already enough colour around.

Niels Henriksen

San Miguel de Allende - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (nielsp) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:12:00 +0000

While San Miguel de Allende is an historic town with lots of vivid color, there are other interesting elements besides those great buildings.

Just up the hill of Park Juarez towards Casa de Sierra Nevada are trees loaded with Great White Egrets this time of year.

In this photo, most likely a male (but I am no expert) is bringing back a stick for female to build the nest with.

When he lands beside his mate, this is the gentle tug-of-war between them for several seconds which can be seen in the photo below.

She always wins and then starts to add it to the nest.

Just beside the hotel are a lot of steps that lead up to a favorite lookout point. I had to stop twice to rest on the way up.

From this image it is clear to see that San Miguel sits in a bowl. A giant bowl but lots of steep walking.

The church with spires is 'La Paroquia' and to the left is the 'Bellias Artes', the national institute of Fine Arts. To give the front building more emphasis I desaturated the background a little. Otherwise the important items get lost in the details.

If you continue up from here, you will find the 'El Charro del Ingenio' Botanical Gardens. San Miguel in the winter is very dry, hasn't rained once in 5 months and therefore one would expect more desert like plants. I am sure that in the raining summer months the foliage must explode in flowers before the next drought starts.

This part of the cactus from above eye level is at least 8 ft long.

You can also darkened and desaturated background to enhance the yellow new growth

In a dry environment the colors are mainly muted browns and dull greens. Converting to B&W takes the focus away from the dull colors to stronger patterns.

You can, with tools in Photoshop, enhance to subtle colors and make them stronger and more vivid. De-saturating the background and darkening helps to keep the focus on the plant.

Throughout the town, the Jacaranda trees are in full bloom. It's a bit strange to see a vivid lilac-purple tree with no green leaves.

Also, the Monarchs are starting the northern journey and settling in the trees during the night. In the day time with the warm temperatures, they are very active and hard to photograph. I did manage with a long zoom and judicious cropping to get a photo of one of the monarchs.

I love this place. People are very friendly and the food is great.

Niels Henriksen