Color indexed B&W

Sometimes color just doesn't do it for me.
I know that sounds odd, but black and white photography can bring out details that we miss because of the way we emotionally respond to color.

To illustrate, I've taken the photo of the yellow tulips and huge wooden shoe from my last post , and played with it a bit. I love the results!

You can just hit a button and turn any photo to black and white using the free software that abounds out there. This is what you'd get:

Original



Black and White



Not terribly exciting, eh? So, try color indexing instead!
Color indexing means that you tell the software what is white and it adjusts the rest of the spectrum for you.

For example, this is what I got when I told it to index on yellow. All the yellows turned to white and the greys work down to black from that point.



Pretty blah. That's because there is SO much yellow that when it turns to white the photo is rather blown out.

Instead, I chose blue as the index color. Because there is little blue in the picture (just the shades mixed with the green of the stems) the flowers suddenly have a lot of detail - all that yellow is seen as shades of grey.



I think the result is fabulous. (And a bit eerie!)

Tulips in the Rain

Several weeks ago I signed up for a photography seminar to be held in conjunction with the Woodburn Tulip Festival. I was very excited, not only to hear the lecture, but to play with the expensive cameras!

The two days before the seminar were beautiful and sunny, and guess what? Yep, Friday was overcast with showers, turning the tulip fields into squishy beds of mud. Worse, the delivery of expensive equipment was mis-shipped, so none of these shots was taken with a $5000 camera. *pout* *whine*

Ah well, we still had fun!

Sadly, we had little sun, and I'm a lover of shadows in my photos, so the conditions were not ideal for me. On the bright side, you didn't have to carry around a mister to make the flowers look all dewy! :)

If you get a chance you should head down to Woodburn. The weather has been cool, so the tulips are just starting their big show now. In fact, they've extended the festival to the first week in May. Make sure to let the kids play with the rubber ducky derby and ride the cow train.


(As always, try clicking on the pictures for a larger version!)

ISO Woes

What the heck is wrong with my brain!?!

When the sun finally let me go outside last week, I ran around the neighborhood, poking my nose into yards. (Don't worry, no yard invasions took place. That's what telelphoto lenses are for!) I took a good 80 shots of the blossom laden trees in the neighborhood. It was great fun!


I was glad I'd gotten out because the warm weather, the rain and time took the majority of blossoms off the trees in the next few days.

Early the next week, because my father was visiting, we decided to have some fun and headed down to Silver Falls State Park to see the spring run on the waterfalls. What a gorgeous day it was; a high marine layer of clouds moved in around noon, but the air was warm. The mist from the falls felt so good. And yes, there I was, playing photographer, trying to capture the amazing beauty of the falls. Capture it with about 230 shots, that is. Thank heavens for large CF cards!



Imagine my annoyance when, about half way through our hike, I realized that I'd had the ISO on my camera cranked up to 1600 for some completely irrational reason! It had been set that way for the blossoms shots also!

grrrrrrr....

I'm just lucky that my camera deals well with weird settings because the Operator Errors are enough to drive the poor machine mad, let alone the Operator.

Ah well. Live and learn, I suppose.
I hope you enjoy my noisy pictures!
(You can click on them for a larger view.)

Lost Opportunity

Last year I suddenly realized how beautiful spring flowers are.
Yes, I know - what took me so long?

To make up for lost time I grabbed my camera and started recording spring!

I took this picture down the street from my home. I liked the tree so well that I told myself I'd try to record the same little branch this year and see how things had changed. Sadly, though we have had blossoms for a good week now, I haven't had time to get out. Either I got home from work too late or it was raining.

Well, today it turned sunny! I grabbed by camera and headed down the street. When I got to my tree - it was gone, cut down, either last night or this morning. Tattered blossoms still littered the ground.



I wish I had braved the rain yesterday.

Baaaa!

I saw this on the Sassy and Sweet Notes blog and just have to pass it along.
What fun!

Watch out Saint Patrick... she's on the warpath again

It's time, once again, for the annual Saint Patrick's Day Rant at our home. The script goes something like this:

Me: "Why can't they learn - four leaf clovers are NOT shamrocks!"

My sister: "Oh no. Here we go again..."

Me, stumping around the room: "It's not difficult - three leaves, three members of the godhead. I mean, besides snakes, what else is Saint Patrick famous for, I ask you?!"

My sister: "That's in Ireland. You know that. In America this day isn't about Saint Patrick it's about being Irish."

Me: "You mean it's about beer! Beer and leprechauns. What the heck do leprechauns have to do with it, I don't know!"

My sister: *sigh*

Me: "What??"


Don't worry. I'm always better after I have some scones.

A quarter of our family are good Irishmen, mostly from County Down. About five generations back we were part of the Guinness clan, of Guinness Stout fame.

Yes, that side of the family kept the beer and the money and our side got a nice new religion instead. And a one way ticket to America. (I know we got the better part of the deal, but some of that money sure would have come in handy...)

We keep a shillelagh and a bodhran in the house, we can tell a banshee from a pooka, and we watch "The Quiet Man" annually, with religious fervor. So, raise your McDonald's mint Shamrock shake, put on your green bowler hat and let's all remember our Irish grandparents!

And someone, somewhere, please tell your children WHY Saint Patrick is famous.
I'll sleep better if you do.

Happy Pi Day! 3.14

Do you have a pie for today?





If not, pull out the flour or head for the Marie Callendars - either way you MUST have pie today. (Traditional round pies are of course preferable, but hey, I'll let you get away with those 30 cent fried things if you must!)

I tried to get a screen shot at 1:59 am, but I managed to fall asleep, so no joy there. :D

Yes, the rumors are true, I started out as a math major.
What can I say?

Ubergeeks unite!