More Paris, More Coughing, More Naps

I know you are growing weary of seeing pictures of Paris, but I'm still only part way through processing my copious amounts of images, and I just can't get enough of seeing the sites again.

Each time I work on one, I'm immediately transported back there, and during the holidays I found myself gushing about the French and everything pertaining to Paris or France in general.  I'm sure it was a little like someone with their first grandchild breaking out the brag book every time someone new...or old, stops by!

So I'm afraid you will either have to turn away, or bear with me as I work through my francophone'itis.  And the other reason I'm still showing pictures of Paris is the fact that I really haven't picked up my camera much since I've been back.

Along with francophone'itis, I'm also apparently sporting bronchitis, which I found out by visiting the doctor this morning.  So I haven't been doing much of anything except cough a lot since our company left and the holidays have come to a close!

Not doing much includes not returning emails, cleaning, and a whole host of other things I "should" be doing but just don't feel like doing.  The doctor assured me that a round of antibiotics and some days of real rest, where I'm not worrying about everything I'm not doing, is what I need to be back in fighting form again.

So for once I'm listening and I'm actually heading to take a nap as soon as I post this.  What a good girl I am...sometimes! ;-)

Though out of sequence, all of the pics in this post were taken on our last full day in Paris.  The weather was less than ideal, cold, windy, and at times very rainy, but we decided to do something we hardly ever do...play tourist, and we opted for a Seine River cruise.

We were the first in line, only because we didn't feel like packing ourselves onto a very crowded boat we could have taken, and just hung out on the dock and waited for the next boat.  It was a wise choice in that we were not packed like sardines, but the down side was that about 5 minutes into our trip it began to rain...not spitting rain, but lots of the wet stuff.

Rain in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but expensive cameras and rain are not friends, so we moved from our prime upper deck seats to the glassed in bottom deck...also not a friend of cameras since glass distorts your images and makes it hard to focus.  So in the end we braved the cold and the rain and hung out by ourselves under the metal structure of the upper deck so that I could get a few shots.

I have to say that I'm glad we decided to take the cruise because the highlight for me was being able to photograph Paris and its many gorgeous bridges from a totally different perspective.  So if you are ever in Paris, be sure to take a cruise down the Seine...just check the weather forecast first! 

I hope everyone's new year is off to a good start!

In The Eye of The Beholder

Some people love HDR photography.  HDR simply stands for High Dynamic Range and is the process of combining several different photographs at different exposures to create an image that better represents what the human eye actually sees.

All of the photos in this post were created using HDR techniques.  Now, I am very new to this type of processing, and the true masters of this type of photography would likely cringe if they ever stumbled upon these, but I think they are pretty cool none the less.

Like using textures, or any other post processing technique, the sky's the limit with HDR and you can create images like the one above that almost have a dreamlike quality to them...

To the more "realistic" side of the HDR spectrum.

Some photographers hate HDR images, and feel like they aren't attractive or even realistic, but there is some evidence that Ansel Adams used this very technique (of combining several images) to create some of his masterpieces, so I'm just fine with HDR.  Granted Ansel Adams had to do it all by hand, and today's technology makes it much easier, and I'm thankful for that.

I don't create HDR images very often, but the Cathedral Notre Dame in Strasbourg, France was the perfect place to try my hand at creating a few HDR images.  I hope to continue to create HDR images and improve my skills, because they really do make for some amazing photos. 

So what is your take on HDR...love it, hate it, somewhere in between?!  

For more on HDR photography you can visit Stuck in Customs, a wonderful site full of info on using HDR, and his images always impress!

I Lied

So yesterday I told you that today (Friday) I would tell you about my latest giveaway...well I lied!  I didn't mean to lie, in fact I had every intention of sharing the details about the giveaway with you, but I'm just dog tired tonight and so it will have to wait.

You see, I spent the day with Connie from Hartwood Roses and I took over 100 pictures!  No, not of Connie, she and I have a strict no picture rule of each other when we get together, but of her beautiful rose gardens! 

After being wined and dined by Connie and her family, I made a stop at Wegmans Grocery Store on the way home because I have a real thing for grocery stores that carry organic veggies and fruits, and grass fed only beef.

So the sun was low in the sky by the time I got home tonight and I didn't feel like processing all of the pictures I took today, though I did peruse them and I got some wonderful shots.  It's hard not to when you are surrounded by gorgeous roses!

So I'll be back soon to tell you about the giveaway...and because I was a bad girl and didn't get the actual giveaway post up today like I said I would, I will at least tell you that it involves winning a rose from Connie, plus some other rose related goodies from my good friend Doug that I told you about in my last post.

So thanks for letting me put my feet up and watch a movie...or more likely fall asleep on the couch tonight.  I'll be back soon with the full details on the giveaway.  Until then, you can enjoy some shots I took a few nights ago across the field next door.  I did a little tone mapping to the images, which is similar to HDR photography, and I like the way they turned out.  They are a little surreal, but in many ways more true to what it looks like after a day full of showers when the sun makes a grand entrance just before sunset.  I just wish I had had my camera with me about an hour earlier when I got to see a full rainbow, that was huge...oh well, sometimes you just have to use your memory, which is afterall, the best camera on earth!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

New Loves and Old Dislikes

To say I'm having fun with my new camera would be a bit of an understatement.  I look through the viewfinder and am amazed at how much sharper the images are, even before I take them!  That may not make sense, but trust me it's true.

But before I start blathering on and on about photography and cameras, I want to tell you that Gmail officially hates me!  For the past few months I've had emails disappear, not make it to their intended recipients, or get buried in spam folders all over the world.  Just this morning I got an email from our realtor saying she hadn't found some photos I sent her until she looked in her spam folder!  So if you haven't heard from me lately and you're thinking...sheesh, I sent her a nice message, comment, or email, and even asked her a question and she didn't write me back, well now you know...it's all Gmail's fault! 

I truly love technology (but not as much as you you see) *we'll see who gets that reference,* but I absolutely hate it when it doesn't work the way it's supposed to.  So to those of you wondering what the heck?!  I'm sorry that my email isn't behaving itself!

Ok, now back to the camera chit chat.  Some of you have asked what camera I was using before I bought my new one.  I used the Canon Rebel XTi and I truly love this camera and plan to keep it as a back up.  I've had my trusty Rebel for over 4 years now and it has served me well.  Canon has since replaced it with one very similar, and with better capabilities, so if you are looking for a really nice multipurpose DSLR camera I recommend the newest version of my Rebel.

One of the reasons I wanted the 5D Mark II is because of it's ability to shoot wonderful pictures in lower light settings without a tripod.  Last night I wandered around my yard snapping pictures like a mad woman and trying out all sorts of lighting conditions.  The sun was setting, so it was a perfect time to try things in low light, like the cherry blossom photo above which was in complete shade and very low light.  I was amazed at how sharp the focus was even with the wind blowing and very little light.  I focused in tight on just a small portion of the blossoms and it was dead on...love that!

Along with loving my new camera, I've also taken a liking to something called HDR photography.  It was Mr. Tide who introduced me to this new method of post processing and I wasn't sold at first but I'm learning to like aspects of it.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and it is a process where you combine several photographs with different exposures together to create one photo that captures all of the various light levels seen by the human eye.  Now some people love HDR, while others hate it and feel like it gives you crazy almost 3D like images, that don't look anything like what the human eye actually sees.

Although there are some people who take HDR to the extreme, creating very different looking images, there are those that I feel are done well that just captivate you and draw you in, in a way that a regular photo can not.  The first few photos in this post are not HDR images, but from the sunset photo down (including the sunset shot) they are all HDR photographs.

I don't do HDR processing very often, it can be a little time consuming and there is a lot more technical mumbo jumbo than I'm ready to learn in order to create really nice ones, but when they are done right, they are simply amazing!

Take a look at the link I've provided below that will show you some HDR images done the right way!  Be sure to scroll through and look at these amazing photos which I hope to one day be able to create.  And you can also click on the link below each photo to go to that particular photographer's site to see even more great shots.

Digital Photography School -  HDR Done Right

And the funny thing about that post is that it was written by another blogger's son in law!  When I first started talking to Lori from the great blog Katie's Rose Cottage, she mentioned that her son in law was a photographer...none other than the very talented James Brandon who also has a blog.  Mr. Tide and I had visited James' blog and website numerous times when reading about HDR photography!  Such a small world we live in thanks to the internet!

So what do you think, do you love HDR or do you hate it, or are you somewhere in between?!


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At the table on Blackberry Farm