The aim of this post is to go back to outdoor observations through a photography medium and to explore basic editing.

While taking pictures and looking around at all the changes in my yard, it is funny to think not too long ago there was snow everywhere!

Playing In The Field

No flash vs Flash

Adds interest by creating depth with shadows and enhancing colours. However, flash can also make the image appear more harsh and not accurately represent what you see though your view scope. Here it is capturing the vibrance of the glass, but hiding the cracks. An analogy for showing your best parts to hide the one you are ashamed of?

I wish I had taken a closer up image of this dandelion, though I do appreciate how it stands out, its different, beautiful against the brown and green, though alone. (Analogy; be your unique self, but do not isolate yourself from others; it is so much more fun to be splendiferous in a group).

Trying to take the pictures of the daffodil was giving me grief. The best I can describe it, I was in a Prasarita Padottanasana-esque position fighting with the focus not wanting to work in a close up.

Goofing Around

I have always had a fascination for these berries, when I was younger I made ‘soup’ out of them (not eatable!). Their striking red colour contrasted with the bright splotchy green leaves is always visually interesting. I spotted dead leaves hanging on, which I interpreted as a reminder of the past, amongst the new. In these images I was playing with pointing the camera towards the light through the leaves to add a magical effect; with contrasts of light/shadows and colours.

For these images I was playing with the sun and creating flares and rainbows. I was seeing spots afterwards… Though busy, the middle image has so many fun colours!

After catching my hair in a photo accidentally I noticed it looked similar to a sun flare and could have the possibility to add some interesting texture to an image. Though I do like the leaves before, but the hair made it slightly less clear.

I was trying to play with the sun, minimal colours, texture, and angles of the branches.

In this image I was aiming to have a frame within a frame, using the branches of the tree.

Post photo editing;

Adjustments

Trying to combat the ‘whiteness’ of the branch (lost media blah blah blah)

Slight adulteration, make the darker darker to highlight the branches and rose hips.

Some of the details were getting lost in the centre of the daffodil, so I enhanced it. I am not so sure on it, I cannot tell if it looks over edited/fake or added depth and detail (cause even the original photo will never capture the natural beauty of a scene).

I wanted to add a vignette and then an effect of warmth (similar to the lighting during the time when there was an abundance of smoke from the forest fires). I have not yet discovered a auto-vignette in Krita so I adjusted the image but created it as a separate thingy, then erased the center and then blurred the edges.

This next one edited-ness is relatively subtle, which I do like. Just darkening the background to have the branches to be more separate from the background, as well as adding a it of a blur around and keeping the needles clear.

Alterations

A little choppy with the lines a little harsh, feels lonely that I did not have someone to do this with.

When trying to see what I could experiment with I discovered a adjustment where it creates multiples in a grid format. I see this being useful for printing off smaller things in mass, like cards or little slips.

While playing with what I could do with this image I added a camera blur filter. I thought this could be similar to the stream on a fogged up shower door, and how you wipe the condensation away and it becomes clearer. I then found raindrops, however, the auto generated ones were not showing up so I created my own. I found I struggled with creating the illusion of water dripping into the cleared area.

I am not exactly sure on the aim of this. I used a embossing tool and layered the original image underneath to add colour. Then added another image erasing the edges to add more colour to the center, almost like a reverse vignette.

(Added text over the image when creating this blog post).

A tool I would like to play with more is the longer lens for the camera, in hopes to get closer images of farther things.

Is there things I would have done differently? yes. Is there things I am proud of and/or glad I tried? Also yes. A common struggle I faced was determining the line between too much and not enough when editing. Most often I see things as perfect the way they are leading me to not change anything, or I go completely overboard.

I love going outside to take photos, I find it can be very reflective (thinking of shots, meaning/purpose of imagery, memories), calming, and makes you look at the beauty around you that you might normally miss. I see connection to my childhood, all of the joyful moments in my yard, absorbing the warmth, the light, the colours, and the familiar delicate smells. In a world that is moving so fast it is refreshing to see nothing has changed, maybe not the same as we grow and experience new things, but to come back to those comforting memories.