Please, Have a Seat

Please, Have a Seat

I am going through some older photos, looking at color and deciding if they might be good in black and white. This one caught my eye because it has some obvious contrast in color, but also a variety of textures. Contrast and texture are some of the things which, so I read, help make a black and white image worthwhile. I am trying to train my eyes to see this – for me, this is especially hard as color is always my first observation. Oh, what a beautiful red! Texture and tones are not something I find easy to discern, either because of my magpie mind, or maybe because my eye is untrained this way. Since I am using some black and white film in an old camera, I want to see if I can do it without taking a lot of sludgy pictures.

Indian Trail

Indian Trail

This is the beginning of a trail leading all over Wildwood Park. Along the creek is where trees grow – here, oak trees and poison oak! Stay on the trail, no problems; off the trail, risk an allergic reaction. “Poison Paradise” as a friend calls it.

Here, 5 image HDR, handheld, manual focus, using the Nikon D7K and Tamron 17-35mm f2.8. Post-processing in LR5 and Photomatix Pro.

Much better mood this morning!