I posted this image on my Facebook page earlier this week. I know some of you may not follow my Facebook page (although, it would be great if that could change), so I thought I would share this shot I captured last weekend at the Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, California.
The title for this image? “Choices”
Well, maybe not in a galaxy far, far away; but a long time ago, someone looked forward to coming home to this place every evening.
Now it stands in ruins, only a memory of what used to be.
This was a bloom I happened upon while visiting the Descanso Gardens this past weekend in La Canada Flintridge, California.
Keep shooting!
This was a test shot for a recent photo shoot.
“Just chillin’ till the shoot”
All I had to do was put my camera to my eye and…well…
It’s not all that surprising!! My impromptu capture of an unsuspecting group of high seniors.
As much as you may try to inject all your creative juices into an image, sometimes it just doesn’t seem to have that “WOW” factor you had hoped to obtain.
This was one of those images. Several times, I had looked at this image, processed it, and saved it for later. When later came, I processed the image again, and once again saved it for later. This patterned continued for several months. I just could not find a way to make this image come to life. Oh sure, it was a fine family memory. It was suitable for a photo album that contained other snapshots of similar settings. But, I had hoped for something more.
Almost out of boredom, I imported the image into Photoshop one more time. And even as I was completing the importing process, I said to myself, “This is likely a waste of time.” I started from scratch – the original image, completely unedited. While make some minor adjustments, it hit me…and it hit me hard! This image captured a single, solitary, emotional moment in time. But, the original lighting didn’t allow for that. It was too harsh. The entire image needed softened, somewhat. By ever-so-slightly diluting the sharpness I could see a huge difference in the way the image was more effectively mirroring the emotion of what was actually happening! Then I applied a drastic vignette to the overall image, which allowed the background to almost completely disappear. Now one last step: a lighting effect that would intensify the emotion by drawing the viewer’s attention directly into the focal point of the action.
And, this is the result:
Never give up on an image. You never know when you have a diamond in the rough!
There is a movie that stars Bill Murray titled “What About Bob?” It’s a comedy, and extremely funny…I think! But if you watch carefully, there may be a lesson hidden among the laughter. That lesson for me was found in the title of the book written by Bob’s therapist. ”Baby Steps.” Sometimes I find myself bogged down by all the challenges that lie between where I am now and where I want to be. And if I’m not careful, my goals can become an impossibility in my mind. But when I begin to chart the steps to achieve my goal, I begin to realize…”Hey! I can do this!!” It’s breaking the insurmountable task into smaller steps. Then all you have to do is take the first step!! Baby Steps!!
I wanted to share an impromptu photo shoot around the Christmas tree with two of my grandchildren.
Whatever you want to accomplish, remember…there is always a first step!! I hope 2013 is the year we all take that first step!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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