May’s Monday Mugs: Touched Up

For the final installment of photos celebrating National Photography Month, I thought I’d throw out a few things that I did actually touch up with photo-editing software.

This is a statue in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum with some dramatic lighting.

A different statue in the same museum, playing on her coyness.

A picture of our daughter, whose brightness simply radiates out, lighting up the room.  (Yeah, I know, cheesy, but hey, that’s my prerogative).

And a final shot I took of my gorgeous wife…1960’s style.

Thanks for taking a look at our photos; though I won’t be doing a similar series anytime soon, I’ll put up the occasional post of some of our interesting shots since the May’s Monday Mugs garnered some interest among other photophiles out there.

May’s Monday Mugs: People

This is the third installment of my Monday posts celebrating National Photography Month, and it’s all about people.

This is a shot taken by my wife of a beautiful couple in love–my sister-in-law and her husband.

A buddy of mine got married, and while the photographer they hired was posing them, I was sneakily taking shots a bit off the beaten path.

Luckily, I don’t think the guy noticed…

Here’s another shot my wife took, this time of me and my daughter enjoying a boat ride in Michigan.

We go to our fair share of Renaissance Faires, and this is a knight preparing to joust at a show in Pennsylvania.

And another image by my wife of her father, fishing down on the Atlantic coast of Florida near Christmas a couple of years ago.

This is the talented woman who has taken many of the great shots in our family album; we were hiking in the mountains of Montserrat, Spain.

And finally, this is my daughter “conducting” a modern art installation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

I/we haven’t done any actual photo “shoots” in a studio or where we have a subject/model; we prefer to catch people candidly, and not too many strangers as you can plainly see.  But, having gotten into this photography thing a bit more, (and having seen some of the great work that other folks have done), I think I’d like to try and set up some more structure shoots.  Now I just need a willing victim…

May’s Monday Mugs: Travel

Continuing to celebrate National Photography Month, this week’s theme is travel! (Mostly).

These shots are from trips I took with my wife (in our pre-child phase).

This was an abandoned asylum up in Michigan; a little cyan filter gave it an interesting look.

This was a shot my wife took of an woman walking uphill in Tarragona, Spain.  It’s one of our favorites because of the candidness and all the great memories!

This was also in Spain, up in some mountains near the Montserrat Monastery.  The weather was amazing (it was in December and was actually warmer up in the higher altitudes), and was really one of the most peaceful places we had ever been (that wasn’t near water).

Also in Michigan, we took a relaxing cruise on a “large mast” tour, and, having seen so many nautical shots, thought I’d try my hand at one.  There’s another rope one around here somewhere, but this one is more colorful.

Our Capitol building; politics aside, it’s still a great piece of architecture!

And finally, a lightning shot from our back porch–because it was the only one that came out.

Thanks for looking; feel free to share any photos from your travels, we love to see new places!

May’s Monday Mugs: Artsy Fartsy

So, apparently, May is National Photographer’s Month.

And seeing how photography is a hobby of ours, I thought I’d share a few images we’ve taken in some recent years.  Each Monday in May, I’ll highlight a few photos around a theme for your viewing…perusal.  Let us know if you particularly like any of them!

None of the images have been altered with editing software, though I did use various built-in filters on the camera at times.

This week’s theme is “Artsy Fartsy,” meaning I tried to be intentionally artistic when I took these shots.  Whether or not I succeeded I leave to your judgement!

This is a shot I took in 2011 at the Vietnam memorial.  While I tried to stay away from the typical “child pointing at a name” shot, I couldn’t help but be moved by the flowers and bow at this particular spot.

This is underneath the Mackinac Bridge which connects Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.  I thought it might be neat to get all funky with the angles and sepia filter on the camera.  It’s still one of my favorites.

I went on a quest to the local cemetery in search of some interesting statuary.  I saw this angel and took many shots from many perspectives (ah the benefits of digital photography).  I liked this one because she’s fading away in the background, much like she’s slowly eroding away via the elements.

This is a building near my work, and I happened to have my camera on me when I noticed the interesting alignment of a contrail, the sun, and the corner of the building.  Luckily, I didn’t scorch my eyes!

Clearly, this is a classic shot of dew on a spider web in the early morning hours.

And this is a shot my wife took at a Renaissance Fair using the black and white filter. Other than the single, creepy long fingernail, I think it’s a great study in contrast!