Forgotten Photo

The picture below was taken in October, 2007. It was part of an afternoon photo shoot of Gavin and his family (but mostly Gavin). I had forgotten about this picture until this past summer when I was loading all my photos into Adobe Lightroom. I had liked the basic composition of the picture, but I wasn't quite satisfied with it and I wasn't sure what improvements to make. Fast forward to December, 2009 when I finally made up my mind to attempt editing and printing. I was confident I wanted to go black & white, and I was hoping Nikon Silver Efex Pro would provide some creative options that would be subtle and visually pleasing. I ran through most of the preset options until I landed on the Pinhole effect. The moment I saw the results, I knew this was the way to go. I was even happier with the print. The results were warm and subtle, focusing attention where it should be; on the subjects.


















Image ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

The Holga Pictures - Barn

It was an overcast day, and the conditions were perfect for taking pictures with the Holga. Bright skies usually require a good deal of burning to achieve any definition, so cloudy skies make developing and printing much easier. The barn is across from the baseball field in Sewanee, and had interested me because of it's weathered wood and general condition. I made three exposures, this being the best. The print is done using split filter exposures on variable contrast paper. My first attempt at making a print was unsatisfactory, and I waited several days before making a second attempt. There is extensive burning on the sky and field in the foreground. Bringing out the detail of the clouds, as well as the texture in the grass required quite a bit of patience. I've done some further burning of the sky with Photoshop, a correction I would make if I were to make another print from this negative.






















© 2009 Greg Petropoulos

The Holga Pictures

It's been a while since my last post, largely because I haven't been doing as much digital photography. I had the pleasure of taking a film photography class with renowned photographer Pradip Malde. It was an incredible learning experience working in the darkroom. The camera we used was a Holga 120mm. It's a cheap plastic camera with a plastic lens. Since the goal of the class was to learn darkroom techniques, the camera was simply a tool to expose film. The Holga has it's charms, however. Because of it's cheap lens and unpredictable light leaks, pictures taken with the Holga often have a vintage look to them. Vignetting is very common. But with a little skill, and a bit of luck, the Holga is capable of rendering some good images. I will post a few of the images I have captured with the Holga, as well as some discussion about the darkroom techniques used to make the prints. These prints are scanned and Photoshopped in order to correct the scanned image.




















All Images © 2009 Greg Petropoulos

Another batch of pictures from Shakerag Hollow. I'm actually not a big fan of photographing flowers. It seems that the flowers do most of the work. They don't put up a fuss, however, and for that reason make excellent subjects, especially when trying out new techniques. Editing these pictures required new software and several hours working with larger RAW files. There are several benefits to shooting RAW, and I need to become more proficient with the process. JPEG is much easier for online use, but requires a good deal of color adjustment.















All Images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

Shakerag Hollow

Took a hike through Shakerag Hollow to photograph wild flowers. Trillium were most abundant, but I did manage to find Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), and a few, as yet, unidentified specimens. Wild flowers tend to be "shy," unwilling to make showy displays of vibrant colors. Yet vibrant colors are not lacking. They just require an observant eye, and a willingness to get down on all fours to get the right angle and light. The Hollow itself was almost devoid of color. Patches of green were just beginning to appear in some places, but on the whole it was hardly the place one would expect to see flowers in full bloom.















All Images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

Hydrants

Walking home two years ago I came across an unusual scene. Someone had left a pair of sunglasses perched on top of a fire hydrant. Obviously I had to take a picture. Having noticed this one hydrant, I began to notice others. Hydrants tend to be fairly commonplace, and as such, hidden from casual observation. Having been awakened to their existence and charms, I began shooting fire hydrants all over town (and some in other towns as well). I continue to be surprised by the individual character each hydrant is able to project. After all, the fire hydrant is a rather simple object. Yet subtle variations in color, weathering and location can have a profound impact on the viewer's impression.


















All Images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

Foster Falls

Rains had been heavy and sustained for several days, which was good news for local waterfalls. My son, Pete, and I drove out to Foster Falls on the 8th hoping to get some good pics. In all the time I've been in Tennessee I had never been to Foster Falls. Pete had been to the falls several times and was amazed by the amount of water flowing over the falls on the day of our visit. He assured me that I was seeing 2-3 times above average water flow. There is a nice observation platform above the falls where I took my first pictures. After a steep climb, we reached the base of the falls where picture taking was made difficult by the heavy spray of water coming off the falls. Pete helped by keeping my lens covered until right before I took the shot, and then wiping off the lens. After trudging back up the rocky trail, I clicked off a few more shots before the cold temperatures got the better of me.














All Images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

Winter Flowers

IT'S COLD! Not only is it cold, it's also dreary. With no color except the grey of leafless trees, and the brown of dead leaves on the ground, I'm in desperate need of a color infusion. Last night I was going through some old photos on my laptop and came across these. With a little work on Photoshop to punch up the colors, I found myself in a better mood. I must admit that I may have gone a bit overboard with the colors, adding more than I might normally have done. But it's winter, and who couldn't use an extra dose of color? For anyone interested, these were taken last summer at the reservoir in Manchester, CT.






















All Images © 2009 Greg Petropoulos

Fungus

During recent hikes to photograph waterfalls, I stumbled across fungus growing on fallen trees. I'm not at all capable of identifying fungus and mushrooms, but I do know an interesting picture when I see it. The impact of the repeating patterns was striking, as was the tonal range. I didn't spend near enough time exploring this subject since I was more interested in shooting the falls. One difficulty I encountered was the lens I had on the camera. I didn't want to take the time to exchange lenses due to the fading light. I photoshopped an orange filter on the last two in order to bring out the warm tones. I will be returning in the next few days just to shoot these interesting growths and I will be prepared with the right equipment.


















All images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos

Walking the Dog

Thanks to my Flat-Coated Retriever Cali I get to see this end of the street on a daily basis. Most of the time it barely merits a second look. On rare occasions, however, there is something special that catches the eye. One night it was the way the fog played with the light from the streetlight. The next morning the moisture condensation from the fog had frozen on the leaves and remaining berries creating some interesting images. In both cases I took Cali home and retrieved my camera. Cali lacks the patience to wait for me to take pictures. Nevertheless, I am grateful that she takes me on these walks.





















All Images ©2009 Greg Petropoulos