Just for Fun

A few recent pictures taken with my Leica D-Lux 4 while walking my dogs. As usual when the dogs accompany me I have to set up and shoot quickly. They are both young and insistant about getting moving so they can continue to explore.

 Redwoods line the entrance to the back trails.

Wild flowers abound along the trail.

Filtered sunlight highlights the trees.

A pair of Mallord ducks out for their daily swim.

 A peak through the trees down to the creek.

Fun with filters in Color Efex Pro 3.0.

Quick Focus M-9

The other day I went out and worked on my quick focus abilities with the Leica M-9. The most important tip I learned at a Leica presentation was to always have your lens set in the infinity position. It works better that either starting from close focus or your previous focus point. It allows you to quickly come into focus without having to go back and forth to confirm your focus. Here are a few examples of photos I took while working on this technique.

 Male German Shepherd taking a breather.

 Female German Shepherd looking very relaxed.

Interesting address sign holder

 Lots of depth of field.

Old oak tree highlighted by the clouds.

Black & White

Today I'm sharing some black and white photos taken 2/17/2012 and 2/18/2012 taken with either the Leica M-9 or Leica D-Lux 4. All photos converted using Silver Efex Pro.

Old farm equipment (Leica M-9)

Dream Entrance (Leica D-Lux 4)

Flowers starting to bloom. (Leica M-9) 

Early morning glow. (Leica D-Lux 4) 

Windmill close up. (Leica M-9)

Filters

Filtered light to filter effects can add interest to your photos here are 3 recent examples.

Nik software Viveza 2 was used to highlight the light crawling through the green foliage and to bring out the colors in the tall reeds. Color Efex Pro filter was used to add a slight glow to the background.

The bare oak tree  was first highlighted using the Duplex filter and then applying the darken lighten center filter in Color Efex Pro.

In this photo I used Viveza 2 to bring out the reflections in the water.

Sunny Winters Day

M-9 January pictures taken on a pleasant winter morning .........

 Oak tree highlighted by the blue sky and wispy white clouds in the background. 

Light filters through the leaf less trees on a remote trail. 

Ray of light streams through to highlight bare limbs of the tree.

Old sign showing signs of the effects of the environment.

A lone rider on her white horse.

Meet and greet.

Dry Winter

Leica D-Lux 4 winter photos taken in Northern California in early January before the rains came. Plus one photo taken yesterday with the Apple I-Phone 4s using the Tadaa app.

Every time I walk through a particular area of Woodside I'm intrigued with the birdhouses at the entrance to a estate property. Note the leaf in the lower opening, apparently no birds are currently occupying the premises.

This creekside willow tree that has lost its leaves is highlighted by the strong blue sky and bright colored leaves on the tree behind it.

My eleven month old German Shepherd is intrigued by the horse that lives inside this fence. Her intensity easily seen along with the colors of winter.

The horse she was so interested in rendered in black and white with Silver Efex Pro 2.0

Lastly the photo taken with my I-Phone using the free Tadaa photo app. This app allows you to see the results you will get using the filters build into the app. This is one to try.

Last post of 2011

Here it is the end of another year. I have these pictures taken near home on this last day of the year and the beginning of what appears to be a dry winter in Northern California. All pictures taken with the Leica D-Lux 4 and post processed in Adobe Lightroom 3.0.

Walking along this back trail a wide look through the trees.

I switched from holding the camera in lanscape position to portrait and you got a interesting different look. Next year I hope to highlight more of these type of photos by switching the position or the perspective in which the photo is taken.

Here I used the tree to frame the view through the garden to the house.

Out of the tree shrouded trails to blue sky and this lovely old oak tree.

Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.