Steven Bourelle Digital Arts » Landscape

Kenosha Marina and Clouds

Steven — Sun, 08 May 2011 21:45:16 +0000

One of the things I love most about shooting with my iPhone is it’s ability, using the right apps, to shoot HDR images. This shot of the Kenosha Marina is a good example. Though it wouldn’t have been impossible to get this result without HDR, it would have required a lot of post processing work in Photoshop. The sky and ground were very different exposures. By shooting two images, one exposed for the brights, one for the darks, and combining them with HDR, I was able to get a photo that looked very similar to what my eyes saw.

For this image I used the Pro HDR app. I also use TrueHDR at times.

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Lake Michigan iPhone Painting

Steven — Wed, 04 May 2011 15:31:21 +0000

Lake Michigan stretched out before me like a painting,
it’s beauty was so inspiring I felt compelled to paint it with my phone…

Shot and Processed with my iPhone

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Lake Michigan Winter Scene

Steven — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:39:40 +0000

One of the things I love about Lake Michigan in the winter time are the lake effect snow clouds that form when conditions are right. Today’s conditions were right and a nice dark band of clouds had formed over the lake.

This dark backdrop makes for some great lighting at the end of the day, so I headed out to Racine this afternoon hoping to catch some of that light. Unfortunately there were to many clouds to the west and even though the sun would break through now and then, it only lit up pieces of the landscape each time.

For this image I really wanted the sun to light up the foreground and the lighthouse, but all it hit was the foreground. I was a little disappointed and came home thinking I didn’t get a decent shot. Once I saw this image on the computer though, I really liked it. I love the dark, bluish color of the sky, and the snow and ice shelf really stand out with the light hitting them. Even though the lighthouse is a little dark, it still shows up well enough for me.

All in all, it’s a nice Like Michigan winter scene.

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Photo of the Month for January 2011

Steven — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:11:41 +0000

January’s Photo of the Month: Mt Tom Covered in Clouds at Sunrise, Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA

This month’s photo comes from a chilly morning in the Eastern Sierra back on January 7, 2006. I ventured out to Round Valley to shoot the sunrise after a heavy snowfall had blanketed the foothills of the Eastern Sierra. Low clouds from the storm still hung on the mountains, but the sky to the east was clear, a perfect scenario for a beautiful sunrise. Mother Nature didn’t disappoint that morning as soft pink and purple light bathed the clouds and reflected in the snow on the valley floor.

I love when heavy snow falls in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra. The sagebrush and rabbit brush become covered and the cool looking humps you see in this photo are formed. The humps make great foreground material for photos of the mountains.

I shot many great images that magical morning, this one has always been my favorite though.

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Two Years Ago Today

Steven — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:49:28 +0000

As I sit here this morning waiting for the first winter storm of the 2010 winter to begin, I can’t help but think back to two years ago today. It was snowing that day and I decided to drive out to Petrifying Springs Park here in Kenosha. What I found there was a wonderland of winter beauty. The trees were covered with a light frosting of snow, the Pike River was perfectly still and the reflections were amazing.

On that day I shot many beautiful images, but this one was my favorite. In fact, I consider it one of my top images of all time.

When I look at this image now, the feelings of awe and peacefulness that I had on that day come rushing back to me. It was a very magical day.

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Lake Michigan Rainbow

Steven — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:53:34 +0000

Last Saturday, July 10, we had some thunderstorms roll through the area. We didn’t see any rain here at the house, but just to the north of us a decent sized storm went through in the evening. As sunset approached, I realized that the storm had made it’s way over Lake Michigan and was now directly east of us. Thinking that there might be some good rainbows around, I headed out to find them.

I didn’t have to go far. Just as I pulled out of the driveway a nice rainbow appeared over the lake. Unfortunately there aren’t any clear views of the lake near our house, so I headed south to the beach hoping that the rainbow would hold that long. As I drove I kept catching glimpses of the rainbow and realized it was a full one. I stepped on the gas a little harder and prayed that the rainbow would hang on and that there weren’t any cops in the area.

When I got to the beach, there was the full rainbow in all it’s glory. I jumped out of the truck, grabbed the camera, opened up the tripod and lined up my shot just as the rainbow began to fade. This image is the result. It’s the only good shot I got before the rainbow was gone. It’s not the completely full rainbow I had hoped for, but it’s the closest I’ve ever came to a full one.

The Tall Ship “Friends Good Will” in Port Washington, WI

Steven — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:33:46 +0000

The tall ship Friends Good Will sails out of South Haven Michigan. It’s a replica of the 19th century sloop that was originally built in Detroit MI in 1811 and served both the United States and the British in the War of 1812. During the war, it was captured by the British and then recaptured by the Americans. It then ran aground in Buffalo and was burnt to the waterline to keep it from being captured by the British again.

The Friends Good Will is owned by the Michigan Maritime Museum and is used as a floating classroom to help educate people about Lake Michigan’s maritime history.

This photo was taken at the 2010 Port Washington Pirate Festival in Port Washington WI. Also in the photo is Port Washington’s famous art deco lighthouse.

This was the second time I photographed this ship. The first time was at the 2009 Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival. The light was horrible that day and I wasn’t at all happy with my photos. This second time the light was much nicer and I got some fine photos of this beautiful ship. This image is an artistic representation of one of those photos.

St. Mary’s Church, Port Washington WI

Steven — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:50:27 +0000

The Lake Michigan fishing village of Port Washington is one of my favorite towns in Wisconsin. It has a wonderful harbor and downtown area and holds many festivals there throughout the summer. Sitting on top of a hill, overlooking downtown Port Washington, is St Mary’s Catholic Church. This beautiful church was built in 1882 by Luxembourg emigrants.

On our first trip to Port Washington, we drove up to the church to photograph it. I took this picture at the time. I never really cared for the color version of this image, so I decided to try it as a black and white, I still didn’t care for it. Then I decided to try sepia and there was the look I wanted. I feel the sepia image captures the beauty and feeling of the church, it seems to radiate an aura that the color and BW image just didn’t have.

Eureka Sand Dunes in Black and White

Steven — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:13 +0000

Here’s the next image in my 35mm slide scan series. Before I put it on Flickr last night, it had never been seen online. It’s also my newest black and white, well sort of anyway.

This photo, taken at the Eureka Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, is actually the very first black and white that I made in Photoshop back in 1999. I don’t know if it’s still there, but there use to be a print of it hanging in Speed of Light Photo in Mammoth Lakes. I have no idea what happened to the original black and white file of this image, so I remade it last night.

Eureka Sand Dunes, Death Valley National Park, CA

My New Toy

Steven — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:03:15 +0000

Here’s the first image from my new toy.

Lone Pine Peak at Sunrise, Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA

What is my new toy? It’s a new scanner. To be precise it’s an Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner that not only scans prints, but also negatives and slides. I’ve been playing with it all morning and it’s awesome. As you can see from the image above, a slide from Feb. of 2000, the scanner does an amazing job with slides.

That’s one of the main reasons I got this scanner. I want to get my best slides onto the computer and backed up for safety. It also let’s me share many of my earliest images with you guys. Some of these you’ve seen, but most you haven’t.

I’m looking forward to sharing these images with everyone. Some of my best stuff is on slides and has never been shown to the world. Keep your eyes out for them.