On composition, part 32: Post


By that, we mean, “Post-processing,” which some may argue doesn’t really apply as composition, but it all depends on how you use it, doesn’t it?

I’ll lead off with saying that getting the image that you want in-camera, while your chosen subject is right there in front of you, is not just preferred, you want it to be an integral part of your shooting – it’s read more

Judge not, lest

It’s no secret that I think very little of spectator sports, unable to get involved in watching someone else throwing a ball around, and the concept of an athlete’s ‘personal best’ is remarkably silly – “I set a new record against myself,” yeah, w00t. I also couldn’t care less about people’s daily meals or restaurant experiences and don’t read more

Visibly different, part 17

Another take on the subject this time instead of comparing older and newer images, I’m going to show the alterations done to a single older image. I suspect this is the only image of mandrills that I have, and I can’t even recall where I took it, since I’m pretty sure the NC Zoo hasn’t ever had them and I’ve never been anywhere on the African continent.

Anyway, the read more

New wave

I have a CD kicking around here somewhere called ‘New Wave Hits of the ’80s,’ which is just one of many examples why you should never call anything, “new,” because shortly it won’t be. I mean, the art nouveau movement is well over a century old now we’re due for an art nouveau nouveau movement. Anyway, these photos are read more

Auf wiedersehen, August!


So for August, we’ll have two month-end abstracts, and you can pick your favorite. Both were from central New York, a day-and-a-half and about five meters apart – well, my shooting position at least. The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) above was cruising past in the distance after sunset, with the light low enough that the shutter speed was too slow, yet the lens read more

That’s not true!


There is a plethora of different aspects that are going to come up in this post, which is perhaps amusing, because the topic is rather trivial. Bear with me a moment.

But right now, look at that image up there and tell me what’s wrong with it, or what “doesn’t work” or what have you – I’m talking from an aesthetic standpoint and not whether the species are anachronistic read more

Sunday slide 37


This one’s only about seven years old I think, not too long before my slide shooting petered out in favor of digital. Well, not really in favor of, since I still like the color register of slides, but it became harder and more expensive to get them processed, and when doing the more demanding pursuits of macro, it was easier to a) shoot several frames to help ensure read more

Art vs. misdirection

Listen, I’m not in any position to tell someone what “art” is, not only from my poor ability to execute it myself, but overall just from the term being so ill-defined and subjective. If you get any kind of acclaim or recognition for what you do, great! And even if you don’t, self-expression is still a legitimate pursuit and if it makes you feel good (and doesn’t harm read more

More Monday monochrome

Let’s take another look at converting color images into monochrome. It’s not very often that I’m out with the intention of shooting images to be converted, and I never switch the camera over to monochrome mode instead, during sorting or editing I’ll pick a handful of images that look like they might fit the bill and see what comes up with the conversion read more