Leaf

 

Tree House

Tree in the Mist

December Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

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December Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

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Cotton Candy Falls

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If I were granted a single wish as a photographer

... I would choose patience above all.

Without it, all the photographer's accumulated skills are of little use. When little crises arise, patience is the fist to unravel. If a photographer has never felt the need to hurl his camera at a brick wall, he has either not tried hard enough, or he has already been granted this one wish.

Patience is key for two reasons: partly because of the time involved to set up a picture, but also, and importantly, because nature imposes its own pace and rhythm. When you need time, nature hastens; when you are in a hurry, nature slows down.

- John Brackenbury, "Creative Techniques for Successful Macrophotography"

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

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Ray of Knowledge

A single ray illuminating several letters on a keyboard, this chiaroscuro setting signifies the light of knowledge cutting through and casting away the darkness of ignorance.

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Dramatic Sky

Ominous Clouds

Leaves, Clouds and Sky

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Two

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Nimbly She Goes

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Portrait of a Macaw

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Red, Green and Black

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Flight Fantasy

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Purple Beauty

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From "Buffett", by Roger Lowenstein

A compact organization lets all of us spend our time managing the business rather than managing each other.

- Warren Buffett

Floral Textures

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Floral Fantasia

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Floral Fantasia

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Floral Fantasia

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Ray of Knowledge, Redux

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The entire collection can be found here!

Floral Fantasia

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Excepts from Mountain Light : In Search of the Dynamic Landscape by Galen Rowell (continued)

Most amateur photographers think of landscapes simply as objects to be photographed. They tend to forget that they are never photographing an object, but rather light itself. When there is no light, they will have no picture; where there is remarkable light, they may have a remarkable picture. I search for perfect light, then hunt for something  earth bound to match it with. The best images that result from this process look like visual riddles with unexpected answers; and like verbal riddles, visual riddles have been created by starting with the answers then working backward.

Kiting Redux

Excepts from Mountain Light : In Search of the Dynamic Landscape by Galen Rowell

Early in my career I might have given up photography entirely had it not been for an occasional image that far exceeded my expectations. Most of the time I had no idea what I had done right. Now I know that three separate elements must come together in the creation of such a photography: technical proficiency, fine light, and an identifiable personal vision. The first can be learned. The second can be discovered with far more consistency than one might suppose. The third -- the most elusive of all -- is generally understood by everyone at an intuitive level, though it is not always easy to put into practice. Even a person who knows nothing about equipment or lighting has a definite feeling about whether a finished photograph is evocative or not.

Portrait of a Primate

Hat tip to Charles Darwin.

Cloud Study

Soft, layered and textured cotton candy, amidst a blue receptacle called the sky.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

At the heart of all photography is an urge to express our deepest personal feelings - to reveal our inner, hidden selves, to unlock the artist. Those of us who become photographers are never satisfied with just looking at someone else's expression of something that is dear to us. We must produce our own images, instead of buying postcards and photo books. We seek to make our own statements of individuality.

- Galen Rowell, Mountain Light : In Search of the Dynamic Landscape by Galen Rowell

Moon gallery

I'm glad to announce that my gallery of photographs of the moon has been setup and is ready for viewing here!

Full Moon!

Yet another attempt at capturing the moon in all her glory ...!

Photo Play - Espresso Bubbles

While enjoying my daily espresso, I couldn't help but notice the bubbles amidst the crema. I indulged in a little photo play there and then:

Photo Play - Wide Angle Fun

Shooting it wide ... the foreground is as important as the background.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ken Rockwell

Photography is the power of observation, not the application of technology. 


- Ken Rockwell

Tiny Landscapes - Floral Exploration

A study of landscapes would be incomplete without an examination of the micro panorama which surrounds the living entities sharing this beautiful Earth with us.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

At the heart of all photography is an urge to express our deepest personal feelings - to reveal our inner, hidden selves, to unlock the artist. Those of us who become photographers are never satisfied with just looking at someone else's expression of something that is dear to us. We must produce our own images, instead of buying postcards and photo books. We seek to make our own statements of individuality.

- Galen Rowell, Mountain Light : In Search of the Dynamic Landscape by Galen Rowell

Photographer Extraordinaire - Yousuf Karsh

It should be the aim of every photographer to make a single exposure that shows everything about the subject. I have been told that my portrait of Churchill is an example of this.

- Yousuf Karsh

Festival Karsh

Karsh Estate

Photographic Quote of the Day - Steve McCurry

For those who were desperate, my camera became an object of hope (...)Throughout my year-long coverage of the monsoon world, my strongest conviction was that I was involved in the fundamentals of life.

- Steve McCurry

Words of Ayn Rand

I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build. 

- Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead", by Ayn Rand

Thus Spake Henri Cartier-Bresson

The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression... . In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif.


- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photo Play - Kiting Fun

Play -- the spontaneous indulgence in seeming range-of-the-moment frivolity -- is really important in our lives, and even so in photography. Play allows us to recharge our creative energies, and in the midst of engaging in play, some interesting and unexpected results can also surface.

A gentle yet persistent breeze in the late afternoon awoke the sleeping kites, and soon, they were all yearning to fly free and high.

Kite in hand and my Tokina 11-16mm ultra-wide angle lens (attached to my Nikon D90, of course) in another, we took off to the Sengkang field to soar, and to play.

The Symphony of the Skies in D Minor.

Shoot it wide, shoot it tall. Oblique lines are nice.

  

How much freedom do we give to one raring to break free of the constraints?

Conflict! Play nice... the sky's big enough for everyone.

A respite from the exertion. So much sky to cover, so little string.

And here we go again.

Alas, all good things have to come to an end. 

Finale.

Ansel Adams Speaks

A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. 

- Ansel Adams

First Quarter Moon

A new moon, even so tentative, even so shy.

 

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Warren Buffett

You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing. 


- Warren Buffett

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Ayn Rand

So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?

- Francisco D'Anconia, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ken Rockwell

The camera's only job is to get out of the way of making photographs. 


- Ken Rockwell

Photographic Quote of the Day - Galen Rowell

You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn't waste either.

- Galen Rowell

Free Desktop Wallpaper, Nov 09 - Chiaroscuro Lunar Edition

Here's a treat for all those astrophotography aficionados out there:

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Photographic Quote of the Day - Steve McCurry

What is important to my work is the individual picture. I photograph stories on assignment, and of course they have to be put together coherently. But what matters most is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling.

- Steve McCurry

Chiaroscuro - Precious Moments Edition

Especially for the Precious Moments figurines lovers ...! More here.

Photographic Quote of the Day - Ansel Adams

A photograph is not an accident—it is a concept. It exists at, or before, the moment of exposure of the negative.

- Ansel Adams

Photographic Quote of the Day - Aristotle

You should never think without an image.

- Aristotle

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Ayn Rand

Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.


- Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand Author page on Amazon

Non-Photographic Quote of the Day - Warren Buffett

In some corner of the world they are probably still holding regular meetings of the Flat Earth Society. We derive no comfort because important people, vocal people, or great numbers of people agree with us. Nor do we derive comfort if they don't

- Warren Buffett, in "Buffett - The Making of an American Capitalist" by Roger Lowenstein

Chiaroscuro - Household Edition

Galen Rowell exhorted us to chase the light in photography.

Here are two examples which I hope I have managed to accomplish that, in my household.

Morning light through bedroom curtains. I thought the colors and textures of the fabric were nicely brought out

Graduated patch of light on bathroom tiles. Source of illumination was a side window.