Close Crops

Sharing some New Years Day photos that benefited with a bit of cropping to get better composition. One can't always get in the right position for the shot you want, a fence or other obstacle may be in your way of getting the picture you want. So a little cropping here  and there helps over come those limitations. All photos taken with the Leica M-9, post processed in Adobe Lightroom and cropped in Adobe Photoshop 5.0.

The dog was on a long lead watching some critter only he could see. Cropped 33 percent to fill frame and lead was removed using Photoshop content aware tool.

Garden display, I was unable to get close enough to get the picture framed the way I wanted to see it. Cropped 25 percent.

Taken with a 35 mm lens cropped to show detail and sharpness.

A wire fence kept me from getting as close as I wanted so again a little cropping did the trick.

A Eucalyptus tree up close.

The cropped version makes for a interesting picture.

Happy New Year

I'm not sure what the New Year will bring but for all of you I hope it is best New Year ever. Lets jump for joy.......!!!!

Street Pics

Some street pics taken this holiday season, highlighting a cafe and Apple Store. Starting with this embroidered Christmas scene. The holiday season seems to bring out the best in folks as they catch a quick respite in the Copenhagen Bakery in Burlingame, California. The pictures in the Apple Store feature youngsters enjoying exploring Apples latest products.
All photos were taken with the Leica M-9 and post processed using Adobe Lightroom 3.3, Silver Efex Pro, Topaz Lab or Adobe CS5.

Children and their wonderment highlight the season.

Stopping in for a quick pick me up.

Enjoying the company and moderate weather.

Reflections, the mirror is a useful prop.

Youngsters are not intimidated by the latest tech toys.

Trying out the Macbook Air

I-Pods and I-Phones are intriguing.

Barely able to see over the table.

Parents can't believe what the kids are capable of.

Sights

Cornucopia of images taken with the Leica D-Lux 4. Everything from lovely skies, trees and landscapes to a interesting building and friends.
First on a quiet lane colorful trees highlighted by the blue sky and clouds. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

Fallen leaves lead up to the estate gates. I got a little damp while taking this photo as I had to get the camera very close to the ground to get the perspective I was looking for. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

One of my dogs special friends just waiting for another treat. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

While wandering down a private road I saw this house under going renovation and just had to have a closer look. What I found was that the exterior had been decorated with artwork etched into the exterior coating. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Labs Adjust 4.

Who ever the artist was they certainly were talented.

Last of the wall etchings, you just never know what you will find when you are out exploring.

A special friend Daisy who just can't wait for her carrots. Rendered with Adobe Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro.

Shopping Center

A visit to our local shopping center  was another opportunity to get a few quick shots of people, animals and places with the Leica M-9. All photos were processed using Adobe Lightroom 3.3 (the latest update). Black and white photos were processed with Silver Efex Pro.

 Interesting window display taken through glass with reflections.

 Women and child enjoying the sunshine and the water fountain.

 The Apple Store shoppers checking out the I-Phone.

 A students mode of transportation.

 Lounging around enjoying the ambiance of this quieter location.

Close up of a fixed gear bike with lots of white to contrast the dark burgundy frame color.

 Santa was there in spirit.

 More reflections are highlighted in this stores mirrored layout.

Shoppers checking out the tree as the Santa ornament pictured above looks on.

 A power shopper looks thrilled to be there.

Oh yes here is the cutest shopper in the mall.

Altered State

I thought that you might be interested in a image I took yesterday with my Leica D-Lux 4. The image is nothing special but it does act as a platform to illustrated what you can do to alter the statement you want to make with your photo.
Ok lets get started by looking at the original image converted from raw in Adobe Lightroom 3.

What was I looking for when I took this picture? First I wanted to highlight the leaf in the foreground and its raindrops. I secondly wanted to use the background to add contrast and interest. When I opened the picture in Lightroom I thought what can I do to enhance my original idea. So off I went to Nik Software Color Efex Pro to add some glow to the photo, here is the result.

I then took the original image again and went back to Color Efex Pro and added the bleach bypass filter to whole photo.

Then using Adobe CS 5 I isolated the leaf that was the main subject of the picture and blended it into the above photo.

Now not leaving black and white out here is the original image processed using Silver Efex pro.

I guess what I'm trying to illustrate with this post is you can enhance your vision with the use of all the amazing software tools available to all of us in the digital age.

New Leica Images Site

I have been using a new Leica images only site to post and share pictures, Leica Images.Com. When you sign up you get your own gallery with sub galleries that you can use for any purpose you need to. Share pictures with friends, social media sites or just post them for other Leica fans to see. Here is a random picture from a Swedish members gallery.

As you can see in album view you get a nice presentation of your work and below the photo is all the data about the camera, lens and exposure used.

The service is free and I highly recommend you try it.
I have had a very busy two weeks with lots of family birthdays but here are a few pictures taken with the Leica D-Lux 4. All were post processed using Adobe Lightroom 3.

 A leaf on a moist background of fallen and rotting needles.

 A crooked fence, enhanced with Color Efex Pro by applying a small amount of the Glamor Glow filter.

 A calm day at the pond enhanced with Topaz Adjust 3.

A quick portrait taken on her second birthday enhanced with Silver Efex Pro for conversion to black and white and then using Color Efex Pro add some skin softening to the image.

 

 A close up of leaves turning from green to red enhanced using Topaz Labs detail filter.

Another look at the pond through the reeds, across the water to the colorful trees. Enhanced with Viveza 2.