Art Every Day Month - Nov 7

Squashberries for the Birds

Squashberries for the Birds - black and white conversion from color photograph

Source photo

Digital cameras take full color photos, and normally strip away information to give the image the user wants. I'm pleased with the original color image, but I wanted to show the berries as gleaming gems, hanging on the branch, tantalizing for the birds. By taking away the color, I hope that the viewer can concentrate on the shape and the weight of these juicy pearls. Oh, and squashberries? That's the local name for the high-bush cranberry, Viburnum edule. Humans like them too.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 6

A Flash of Color

A Flash of Color - a scrap of birchbark, backlit by a shaft of sunshine in the woods

Source photo

Some things just grab your attention out of nowhere. It had been a generally overcast afternoon, with scattered breaks in the clouds. But the sun broke through while I was photographing in the woods, and it highlighted a scrap of birchbark, which normally looks opaque and pinky-beige. With the sun behind it, the birchbark was now glowing brilliant orange - and all I had to do was crop the image to make it into a fine color arrangement. Such good luck!

Art Every Day Month - Nov 5 -

Overcast Day Fall Colors

Overcast Day Fall Colors

Source photo

On a dull overcast day, with gray skies heavy with atmosphere, and with no direct sunshine, colors in the distance appear neutralized. Close up, however, even autumn brown grasses and ocher leaves take on a golden yellow tone in contrast. The little snow that fell overnight will be gone soon, but so, too, will these leaves. I'm glad to enjoy them while they're still here.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 4 -

Sun on the River

Sun on the River - complementary colors in the landscape

Source photo

Most modern cameras have computerized systems which measure light conditions and then adjust the camera's settings to take acceptable photographs under normal conditions. However, these systems can be thwarted by breaking the rules, and a photographer can get really interesting images as a result.
Here, I shot directly into the reflection of the sun on the water (usually a no-no), and the camera tried to compensate by exposing for the bright patches, thus underexposing the surrounding areas. And what lovely contrasting colors of purply-blues and yellow-oranges appeared. It's a bit of a gamble, breaking the rules, but those gorgeous indigo hills were worth it!

Art Every Day Month - Nov 3 -

Rainy Foggy Day

Rainy Foggy Day - full color monochromatic landscape

Source photo

Fog and rain change the look of the landscape. The river stretches flat in the windless atmosphere and clouds obscure the tops of some of the hills on the other side. At the same time, the fog hides the bottoms of some more hills, and leaves the just the tops showing, revealing interesting forms in the distant hills that normally you don't get to see. It's worth getting wet to see it.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 2 -

Fall Atmosphere - River Island 2

River Island - late fall color

Source photo

This is the same location as yesterday's post, it is a spot I go to often. In this photograph, I cropped very little, I enhanced the colors slightly and I applied a little sharpening to bring out the contrast of the white birches against the evergreens and the ripples on the water. You can see that there is a little dusting of snow on the island, and on the sandbar farther out in the river. Winter is on its way, but the atmosphere is still Fall.

Art Every Day Month - Nov 1 -

Black and white landscape - River Island

River Island - Converting a digital photo into a black and white image

Source photo

It's a cool fall day, with drizzle taking the place of yesterday's snow flurries. Colours are dull except where the sun is peeking out and highlighting autumn colors. My original digital photograph appears almost monochrome to start with. 

Back when black and white film was what most folks had to work with, color film arrived as a welcome advance. But sometimes you can see more in a black and white photograph. 

I chose to make this image black and white to remove the immediate sensation of color, and to emphasize the texture of the water and the bare branches of the trees on the island. Winter is on its way, but not yet.