Johnny Comes Marching Home

Autumn's End

A Maple leaf on a rain covered asphalt parking lot in northern Illinois.  A gray, dreary day near the end of October when nearly all the colorful leaves have fallen; the ground is wet and muddy.  It's cold outside - what am I doing here?

Once upon a time it was very modern.  Everybody had to have one - or four.

Water Lily

Would Monet approve?

Summer Meadow

Daisies

Daisies in an overgrown field, overcast day, where you might not think to look for a beautiful photo op.

Wild John

A fine place to sit while admiring the wonders of nature.

Lost Fishing Boat?

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss hanging from an ebony tree at Santa Anna National Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, TX

Northern Cardinal, Santa Anna Wildlife Refuge

Connotations II

With a little added color, different lighting, puffy clouds in the sky and a slightly altered point of view, does the building still cast connotations of a prison?  I thought if I had removed the cell tower, telephone poles and power lines the building complex would look even more friendly, but would have added an unrelated variable to the concept of lighting, color, and point of view changing a viewer's perception of an image.

For comparison, see Blog Post "Connotations" posted Feb, 2011.

Connotations

Consider the connotations of the lighting, the foreground, sky, point-of-view and the building complex itself.  What kind of place would you guess this to be?  What is the purpose of the people who occupy this space?
If you didn't know the place, would you have guessed it is a convention center?  It is a rather large, very nice convention and exhibit center at McAllen, TX.
When I first saw this view on this particular day, my initial thoughts were "Forbidden City", "secret spaces", "keep out", "black ops", "clandestine activities", etc.

Variations on a Century Plant

The first version is as it came from the camera with just a small contrast adjustment in curves.

In the second version I used a Photoshop preset of high saturation.

In this third version, I used a color negative effect from Photoshop.

Light Painting

Calla Lily painted with LED flashlight and Photoshop filter effects added.

An unidentified blossom painted with LED flashlight. This is a straight photo without Photoshop filters. 

Friends assured me there was too much ambient light to apply this technique in the neighborhood where we live. I was simply not convinced and tried it anyway. 

Vermillion Flycatcher

A Vermillion Flycatcher photographed at Rio Grande Bentsen State Park near Mission, TX

Dinner

Dinner at Mama's restaurant in McAllen, TX.  It was a delicious salad with sauteed Protobello mushrooms, fresh strawberries served with a marvelous balsamic viniagrette.  Too pretty not to photograph.

Fine and delicate balance

From a series on rocks, clouds and water.