Saturday, April 21, 2012

Late Again - Favorite Fotos From FlickR for Friday, 4/20/2012


This was a tough week at my other job so I did not spend much time on FlickR. To catch up, I decided to browse through the latest 30 images from each of the groups I have joined to find five interesting fotos. Your  'groups' page on FlickR can be sorted in alphabetical order or by recent activity. I decided to try to browse the 'oldest latest' images and to do that I sorted by recent activity and then started with group at the bottom (oldest recent activity) and began working my way up. When you access a group, you are presented with the thumbnails of the most recent dozen images but beneath those images is a widget that expands the thumbnails to the most recent 30 images. So I went to each group, bottoms up in terms of recent activity, and then expanded the thumbnails to the most recent 30 images and began browsing. I found five favorites in probably 6 groups but I can't say for sure because the groups list will re-sort based on recent activity.

This weeks five favorites are:

In this first image, I like the overall composition along with the sense of movement conveyed by the lines of the water. I also like the leading lines of the rock stream bed.

This image caught my attention with the foreground sandstone leading to the dwelling as well as the repetition of the poles on the dwelling.

I like the 'rule of thirds' placement of elements in this image as well as the color and contrast used to draw your eyes to the maple leaf.

Pronghorn Antelope are one of my favorite subjects so this image immediately grabbed my attention with the subject. Additionally, I like the bokeh in this image likely created by the combination of a long lens and large aperture.

This last image struck me as one I would have composed had I been in the same location at the same time. I like vertical images, the use of the water pocket in the foreground to spark interest and the way the storm clouds lead into the image. I realized that IntrepidXJ had two of the this weeks 5 favorite images and so added him/her as a contact so I can follow the images that IntrepidXJ posts to FlickR.

 I hope you enjoy these FlickR images as much as I do. Feel free to visit my website, like my Facebook fan page, follow me on Twitter or add me to a circle on Google+.



Friday, April 13, 2012

Favorite Fotos From FlickR for Friday, 4/13/2012

The theme for this weeks favorite images is tranquility. As I was sitting listening to the rain (and now thunder and rain) and thinking about this weeks blog update, I realized that one of the reasons I like rain and rainfall is the sense of calmness and tranquility I experience when I stop, listen and watch. Living in Southern California, the opportunities to feel the tranquility brought on by rain are not very frequent but I also realized that there are other things that affect me in the same way.


The Photographic Exhibitions Committee (PEC) of Professional Photographers of America uses twelve elements when evaluating an image. One of those elements is impact. Impact is described as "the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion." When I saw the water on the grass after a morning rain I realized the scene evoked the emotion of calmness. 




When I saw the smoothness in the water beneath the waterfall I had the same sense of calmness and tranquility.




So I decided to search FlickR for images that evoked those same emotions. I used search terms like 'japanese garden', 'water rock' and 'zen garden' and found these five images. All of these images evoke tranquility, calmness and peace but they are also interesting in other ways.


I like the placement of the central rock and sense of movement in this first image.
"Non-Rolling Stones" by Miodrag Bogdanovic mitja


I like the use of the water falls as a leading line in the next image.
"Botanical Garden Waterfall" by BARLEY MOON PHOTOGRAPHY


I like the clean edges, concentric circles and the placement of the lantern in this monochrome image,
"Zen Garden" by LomiMonk [Brian]


I like the shadow lines in the water and rock texture in this next image.
"Birdbath Rock" by bratjerm


I like the depth of field and use of the bamboo as a leading line in this last image.
"Bamboo for you..." by hollyberry1204


 I hope that both of my recent uploads as well as these FlickR images evoke the emotions of peace and tranquility when you look at them. Feel free to visit my website, like my Facebook fan page, follow me on Twitter or add me to a circle on Google+.





Saturday, April 7, 2012

Favorite Fotos From FlickR for Friday, 4/6/2012


Another 'late' blog update. This weeks favorites are a bit of a mix. They range from the typical sunrise/sunset images that seem to grab my attention to a really interesting capture of a horse in a field to a monochrome image of man made things.

Recently I was out trying to find California Poppies. To that end, I have been searching FlickR for recent images of poppies to see what others have been finding (and where). That is how I came upon this image of California Poppies captured near Bakersfield, CA.


I was searching for recently uploaded images captured in states bordering California (I am thinking of taking a road trip) and I came across this spectacular sunset with surf.


I was searching again for recently uploaded images, but this time in California (still thinking I need a road trip) and came across this wonderful monochrome composition.


I may have to travel to Colorado for work. If that happens, I may add a day or too to the trip and take my camera gear. So I searched recently uploaded images from Colorado and came across this beautiful portrait.


This last image screams 'spring!'. The way I found it is a little different. As you see if you look at the bottom of my blog pages, I am on Google+. One of the photographers in my 'Nature Photography' circle posted this image and a description of an exchange with an un-named organization who wanted to use this image in a calendar they were selling. But they wanted it for free. Knowing that this photographer is also on FlickR, I searched out the image to include is this weeks 'Favorites'.



I hope you enjoy this weeks selection from FlickR. Feel free to visit my website, like my Facebook fan page, follow me on Twitter or add me to a circle on Google+.