Just for Fun- San Diego Photographer

I went to Balboa Park with a photographer friend today and created some images just for fun.  My usual subjects are people and pet portraits, but sometimes it’s good just to get the creative juices flowing.  Even though it was very gray and actually raining today (in May!  In San Diego!), we had a great time and the weather definitely added to the overall ambiance.  We challenged ourselves to create 5 images of each subject we selected using only a standard 50 mm lens.  Here area some of my favorites, and some that weren’t part of the challenge, too.

These are all the same image, just processed a different way.  I love the rain drops on the petals.

Same image in black and white and color.  I think I like the color better, but I do like the black and white.

I love the way the light and shadows work on the columns in the park.  Even on a cloudy day, there are beautiful shadows.  The one in the middle is in color, I added a little saturation, but it’s not that different from the sepia (on the left) and the black and white (on the right).

On the left, realistic color.  On the right, spot coloring.  I never, ever do spot coloring.  About 99.9% of the time, I think spot coloring is distracting and doesn’t add anything to the image.  Here, it brings out the name of the restaurant in a way that I don’t think distracts from the image.

There are two different images here.  The one in the upper left  is with the standard 50 mm lens and a bit of glow was added, the other image was created with a Lensbaby- a creative and fun lens that I recently picked up.  I’m showing three slightly different versions.Epiphyllums are succulent plants that only bloom for a short time each year, but when they do, boy are they spectacular! Both are shot with the Lensbaby. Natural color on the left, enhanced on the right.

This is one image processed two different ways, also shot with the Lensbaby.  I like the moodiness both versions convey.

Don’t let a little bit of weather keep you indoors!  Overcast skies make for beautiful colors, and the rain drops give a very different feel than the images would have on a bright sunny day.

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