Photography, Graphic Design and Computer Art
Oct 30th 2009StevenPhotoshop Brushes & Uncategorized
Just a heads up, I’m working on my new Photoshop brush set “Animals 2: For the Birds”. It features 25 hi-res Photoshop brushes of bird silhouettes. It should be online sometime next week so check back for it.
Oct 28th 2009StevenPhotography & Scenic
Wisconsin’s fall color season is quickly coming to an end, and with hight winds forecast for Thursday and Friday, it will be over by this weekend. With that in mind, I decided to get in one last day of fall color photography and headed out to Petrifying Springs Park yesterday.
I would say that about 70% of the trees are now bare in the park. There are more leaves on the ground than in the trees. What’s interesting is that I found myself noticing things that I didn’t notice when the colors were at their peak. Without my eye being drawn to the amazing colors overhead, I was able to see the smaller beauties that were all around.
The image above is a good example of that. At first I was drawn to the area by all the leaves on the ground, but as I walked around I noticed the contrast of the tree’s dark color with the bright leaves and really liked it. I wanted to emphasize that contrast so I lowered my composition to inches above the ground and framed the shot so the tree took up a large portion of the picture. My first shots had more sky in them, but the sky was kind of a distraction so I came in even tighter and left most of the sky out. I’m pretty happy with the final result.
You can see more images from yesterday on my SierraVisions post, Fall 2009, The Last Hoorah
Oct 13th 2009StevenLandscape & Photography
Photographing Wisconsin’s Fall color displays can be quite a challenge. While the colors of the trees are breathtaking, finding a decent composition isn’t always easy.
Many of the wooded areas are surrounded by farming country. So unless you want corn or soy beans in your shot, big landscapes are hard to come by. Another problem is the density of the woodlands themselves. Most are very overgrown and finding good compositions within them is almost impossible. There are a lot of streams and rivers, but like the woods they too tend to be overgrown. As for the thousands of lakes, they can provide some of the best opportunities, but you have to watch out for houses along the lake shores. If you’re like me, you don’t want those in your shot. And then there’s the good ol’ no trespassing signs. They always seem to pop up in areas you really want to photograph.
One solution is to photograph the state parks. They are very accessible to photographers. The trails in Wisconsin state parks are great. Many of them are very wide and easy to hike on. And if the park has a lake, you know there won’t be any houses on the opposite shore. I’m finding out the the state parks in Wisconsin are nice places for photography.
It is possible to get good images in other areas though. The image above is a good example. While on our recent trip we happened upon this wonderful grove of trees in full color. It was right along a main highway so luckily there was a place to pull off the road. I was able to zoom in on the trees with my telephoto and get some great portraits of the grove. From where I stood I was able to shoot many different images. The trunks of the trees and the layout of the colors created very interesting compositions. The sky was overcast and the wind still, perfect conditions for shooting this kind of picture.
Wisconsin may not have the mountain peaks of the Eastern Sierra and Rockies, it may not have the river valleys, rounded mountains and amazing views of Virginia and Vermont, but it has a lot to offer the nature photographer who’s up to the challenge. And like I’ve said before, you get to have it all to yourself.
You can see more photos from our trip at SierraVisions.com
Oct 8th 2009StevenComputer Art
I just love bears. Whether Black Bears, Grizzly Bears or Polar Bears I think they’re one of the coolest, most intelligent animals out there.
I didn’t set out to make a bear picture when I started this one. I had created the mountains and the lake for another image I was playing around with that never really came to life. It wasn’t until I had the sun rise between the two mountains that the inspiration came to add the foreground elements, including the bear.
The biggest technical challenge in this image was giving the bear some fur and making the grass in the foreground. While all the modeling was done in Bryce 5, the fur and grass had to be done in Photoshop. I used a couple of Photoshop brushes that I found online for each of those. Even though it doesn’t seem like the bear’s fur is much, without it he looks very different. The fur really filled him in and made him look more realistic. I also used Photoshop to add some highlights here and there.
When I look at this image, I feel as though I’m there. I hear the silence and smell the fresh mountain air. I feel the morning coolness on my skin and every now and then I hear a short snort from my bear friend. When my art does that to me, I consider it a success.
