Even though I still have some good waterfall photos to look at and play with I wanted to look at something new. I have scanned through this batch I got recently at the butterfly place. It’s really quite nice, but oh so hot. Apparently butterflies really like hot weather. I most certainly am not comfortable in it, so I didn’t spend as much time there as I should have. Although, I did get some pretty nice shots while I was there. I need to work on my outdoor conditioning and really my general conditioning too. When I was a kid I remember loving the summer heat and thinking I wanted to be outside all the time my whole life. That was a long time ago though. It was also in a place that had far less humidity. I wonder if I spent my youth here in middle Georgia with the semi-tropical climate I would have been so happy to be outdoors?
I realized when well after the fact that this little buddy has a broken wing, or torn, or whatever the correct terminology would be for such a disfigurement. I can tell you it didn’t seem to hinder it’s progress jumping from one flower to another in the search of pollen. As I mentioned I didn’t even realize it had this handicap. I expect butterflies are really quite resilient. I’d imagine they encounter quite a lot of obstacles in their lives and they manage to carry on. I wonder if it even realizes it has this disadvantage? Whatever the case, it is a beautiful animal in a beautiful environment, and I like beautiful things. I hope you like it too.
I’m not feeling particularly inspired to write right now. It’s funny, I was thinking last night. My mind was wandering all over the place. I probably had a half a dozen ideas of things I thought would be good to write about. For some reason as I’m trying to sleep my thoughts frequently kick into overdrive and prevent me from attaining the rest I so desire at the time. I actually thought about this a little bit last night. I’m happy I just remembered that thread of thought to give me something to write about now.
I don’t know what it is about night-time or bed-time or even more lucid times, but my mind has a way of running in a lot of different directions all competing for processing power at the more or less the same time. I can go from thinking about some conversation I may have had earlier that day that made me upset for some reason into thinking about some cryptic religious topic and then as soon as that starts to go somewhere I’m off wondering why I can’t keep my attention on any one topic for very long. I do know that Ive been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD). It seems a fairly common pathology, and I’m not worried about anyone knowing as much. Heh, I can’t imagine anyone will ever take the time to read this screed anyway.
When I was a kid things like ADD either weren’t known or so little known it hadn’t filtered down to the the salt of the earth type people yet. You know, the non-rich. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rich have had access to this knowledge a long time before us common folk. I imagine that, at least, the surface knowledge of things like ADD, for example, is now pretty much common knowledge to the average person in the civilization and society of well developed cultures. Where in less developed cultures where things we take for granted are a struggle, I’d be surprised if even many of the cultural leaders are aware of such things. Don’t get me wrong please. I’m sure that even in the most impoverished societies on this planet have many well educated and even brilliant people. I just doubt that the benefits and knowledge possessed by those fortunate few are even available to the majority of their society either by design or simple poverty of resources and ability to educate. Then there is the simple willingness to want to learn about new things like mental health that I’m sure is lacking in large part of the human race anyway. If they can’t eat it, F**k it or piss on it I’m afraid the average person simply doesn’t care.
So these are the kinds of things that swirl through my thoughts most nights. Most of the time it is just idle curiosity that has my attention. Occasionally I have some kind of deeper more profound thoughts, at least they seem that way to me at the time. But as I’m in bed trying to get some sleep so I don’t fall asleep at work, I usually just file whatever it was away in my mind and tell myself to do something with it tomorrow. But it never seems to work that way. Most of the time I forgot that I even had something I thought was important. Occasionally I remember and put it to use in some way or another, like adjusting my schedule or writing something down. But a lot of the time it is simply gone, vanished in the ethereal fog of my mind. And that’s okay, because it has to be, or what’s the consequences. After all what are the odds that anything someone like me could imagine would end up being worthwhile. Even If I imagined a solution to resolve conflict in the middle east no one would listen to me anyway.
I really like this picture of Anna Ruby falls. I don’t have a lot to say about it right now. I spent my energy rambling about random thoughts that no one will ever care about. It’s so strange that when I want to say or write something about something in particular, like this or any of my other photos, I simply can’t think of much to say about it. I guess whatever I wanted to say is in the image itself, and doesn’t need much explanation. At least that is the hope.
I continue to move through the cache of photo files I created at Anna Ruby Falls. I tend to work on these things with a chronological continuity. Process what I have and move on to the next thing. I occasionally go back and look at things I really like, and possibly revitalize them in some way. I can see this folder getting revisited. I really like this collection. I’m having a good time playing with them.
I started messing around with this picture this morning. I didn’t have any specific plans or ideas. You’ll probably think that’s obvious. But I’m enjoying learning as I play, and once again I really like this experimental piece. This has gone well past traditional photography into the realm of art, I say. You may say it’s some whole other thing. I like this at this time.
I’m getting very close to the actual waterfalls, which you can see are in the background here. I’ll be getting around to them very soon. I think this may be my favorite exposure of the batch so far. I do still have many more exposures to look at much closer. And I fully expect to come back to this one at some future point and see what else I can do with it.
I’m happy to say that my schedule has allowed me to take two day trips to acquire new images. I have a lot of new and different stuff to keep me busy once I go back to work when school starts. I’ll be able to play with butterflies and a bunch of dam pictures I got when I took my drone to a dam/lake not too far from me, and got some cool stuff. I’ve barley looked at either batch yet, but What I have seen looks nice.
Resplendent. That’s the word I thought of when I looked at this one. I’m really happy with it. I don’t have a lot to say. I just wanted to put my output of th3 day out there for enjoyment by… Well.
That’s a Jerry Garcia song, “Run for the Roses.” A great song in my humble opinion. What does that have to do with this nature landscape photograph? Directly there is no connection between the two. This is simply a song that popped in my head just as I was trying to think of a title for today’s post. Of course I opened up my iTunes and played it a couple times. It’s been a long while since I listened to this really good stuff, from a really good place at a time I needed to hear it. I draw much of my inspiration in my life from Jerry and the rest of the boys, and their shenanigans. But what does that have to do with the picture of the stream?
I’ve decided to only post this one picture today. The last several posts have been exposures from this same batch, and I’ve shown several variations of each, and tried to explain them a little at least. I don’t much expect, if I’m being honest with myself, that I’ll be going back to compare notes of them ever again.
I have decided with this exposure to only post the edit I like most, at least at this point in time, instead of some sort of pick-a-pic format. Single pictures are the thing. No body puts up multiple choices for the same thing for you to pick unless there is a profit in it, and then the choices have to be created from totally different perspectives. Think of the broadcast and NEWS industry. You can have anywhere from one to thousands of different views of the same event. But the point I’m really trying to make is that when you go to any web page there is only one image like itself displayed unless there are extenuating circumstances. One logo, one photo of the CEO, one photo of the hamburger, one photo of the award winning photo. I know and, if you’ve been paying attention, you also know, the “artist” of each probably struggled which version of which exposure to choose. In the end they had to choose. It’s difficult to choose what you want sometimes.
Well that is how the song “Run for the Roses” came to me. I have to choose the one that you see. My doubts and insecurity will always have me thinking “it could be better” because it could. But what is better anyway? Once you get past the basic technical know-how, photography comes down to the situation as it is in the moment, the 1/250th of a second and the choices that lead you there. Sometimes it’s perfect. Sometimes life blinks at the very instant the shutter shuts.
So I have to just throw it on the wall and see if it sticks, so to speak. Run for the roses…
Today I am posting a before and after look at a photo of a big rock covered in moss living in the stream at Unicoi State park. This is the stream directly after the Anna Ruby falls. There’s probably a better way to say that, but I think this gives the accurate topological positing.
In the spirit of the last couple posts, I wanted to compare a straight out of the camera flat processed image along with an edit I was happy with. There are a million ways to look at the same picture when taking into account crops, angles, colors, light and other variables. Some of the ways are going to be good and others bad, but that is pretty subjective to the audience when you get right down to it. At some point you have to say I like that then put it out there. There will always be criticism, both constructive and destructive. Everybody has their own opinion, and some people delight in tearing down everything. That’s is a sociological/physiological perspective better suited for some other blog. My ADD and deep fascination with the human condition rears it’s head again.
A few thought’s about this edit. That’s ultimately why this post is here. I decided to crop this image down to what seems to me to be the focal point, the rock and stream. There is something to be said about the wider view and the totality of the whole, but in this case I wanted to zoom in on those central points of interest. I didn’t have to crop in very far and the detail was still very much observable. Sometimes when you crop you loose detail, but I’m blessed with a very good camera, in today’s terms, capable of some pretty detailed exposures. This was shot on a 17-35mm zoom lens. This exposure was at 35mm. I took some exposures of the same scene at wider settings and like them too. I will post something with a wider perspective showing more of the totality of the scene soon I hope.
One thing I’m a little unsure about is the color. The green is really green, at least on my monitor. When I was editing I liked it. When I look at it compared to the original it seems hyper-green. Part of me kinda likes that super-popin green while another part of me says it’s unnatural. These are the kinds of decisions one must make when processing photographs. When I decided I was finished with this exposure for today, I knew the green was a-popin, and I liked it. After the fact, I question my judgement. I wonder what other people would think. I wonder how much of what other people think would effect my editorial judgment.
Continuing my look at the photos of the Anna Ruby Falls shoot in Georgia this time only changing the Lightroom profiles. All of the profiles used are built into Lightroom. I believe you can purchase different profiles, but haven’t really looked into that option. I’m in no position to be throwing money at curiosities at this time, so it will remain unexplored for the time being. I’m not sure if profiles are the same thing as LUTs, which is something I explored a good while back. My curiosity is peaked.
So according to Google AI overview a LUT is…
“A LUT, or Look-Up Table, is a file that alters the colors and tones of an image or video. It’s essentially a color grading preset that can be used in both production and post-production to achieve specific looks. LUTs can be used for technical tasks like converting between color spaces or for creative purposes like applying cinematic styles.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
What it is:
A LUT is a table of numerical values that maps input color values to output color values.
It’s like a spreadsheet that tells your editing software how to change each color in your footage. LUTs can be 1D (simple adjustments like brightness or contrast) or 3D (more complex color transformations).
How it’s used:
In production: LUTs can be applied to monitors on set to preview how footage will look after color grading, especially when shooting in formats like RAW or Log.
In post-production:
LUTs are used to apply specific looks to video footage during color grading. They can be used to convert between color spaces (like Log to Rec.709), create a stylized look, or match the colors of different cameras.
Types of LUTs:
Conversion LUTs: Used to convert footage from one color space to another, such as Log to Rec.709.
Creative LUTs: Used to apply specific artistic looks and styles to footage. Camera-specific LUTs: Designed for specific camera models to ensure accurate color reproduction and consistency. Monitor LUTs: Used to calibrate monitors and ensure accurate color representation.
Why use LUTs?
Efficiency: LUTs can speed up the color grading process by providing a starting point for adjustments.
Consistency: They help maintain a consistent look across multiple shots or projects. Creative control: LUTs allow for experimentation with different looks and styles. “
And then there are Lightroom profile, which appear to be similar but technically different. Again according to Google AI…
“In Lightroom, profiles are essentially a set of instructions that determine how your RAW or other image file is interpreted by the software, affecting color, tone, and contrast. They act as a starting point for your edits, providing a base look that can be further customized. Lightroom offers various built-in profiles, and you can also import and create your own.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
What are Lightroom Profiles?
RAW vs. Creative Profiles: RAW profiles are designed to optimize how RAW files are displayed, while creative profiles apply stylistic effects to any image format.
Purpose:
Profiles don’t alter the adjustment sliders in Lightroom; instead, they apply adjustments directly to the image data.
Starting Point:
Profiles offer a foundational look for your image, allowing you to build upon it with further adjustments.
Non-Destructive:
Profiles, like presets, are non-destructive, meaning they don’t permanently alter the original image file.
Using Profiles in Lightroom:
Finding Profiles: In Lightroom Classic, profiles are located in the Basic panel within the Develop module, accessible through the “Profile” menu or the “Profile browser” icon.
Applying Profiles:
Clicking on a profile in the browser applies its corresponding adjustments to the selected image.
Creative Profile Amount Slider:
For creative profiles, you can adjust the intensity of the effect using the “Amount” slider.
Camera Matching:
The “Camera Matching” profiles are designed to emulate the look of your camera’s JPEG rendering.
Installing and Managing Profiles:
Importing: You can import new profiles by navigating to “File > Import Profiles & Presets” in Lightroom Classic.
Missing Profiles:
If profiles are not showing up, you can manage them through the “Profile browser” and ensure they are enabled.
Mobile:
Lightroom mobile also supports profiles, which can be imported and used within the “Profile” tab.
Key Differences between Presets and Profiles:
Presets: Presets are a collection of pre-defined adjustments that can be applied to an image, affecting the sliders in Lightroom.
Profiles:
Profiles are a foundational interpretation of the image data, providing a starting point for editing.
This video explains the differences between Lightroom presets and profiles:”
In my personal analysis based on the available information LUTs are mostly for film and video production, which Is probably why it’s been so long since I looked into it. Then Lightroom profiles are more for photographs which is appropriate in this case. I’m sure there are many different things that can be said on the subject, but this is where I present the pix portion of the blog post. The top of the post featured image is the flat profile I used to create all of the other variations presented. The only adjustments made were profile adjustments from the parent/featured image.
The featured image at the top of this post is the original straight out of the camera view. I tend to shoot images with flat processing. I like to add different looks in post production as I see fit. I guess this is part of my personal process at this point. It’s not set in stone and I am always trying different things both intentionally and unintentionally. There are so many variables to consider when practicing the art of photography.
This image is from a recent shoot at the Anna Ruby Falls in Georgia. It is part of the Unicoi state park, and it was pretty magnificent. This is near Helen Georgia which is really a tourist destination in the north Georgia mountains. The north Georgia mountains are part of the Blue Ridge mountains which are a part of the Appalachian mountain range. It would seem that north Georgia is on one end of the Blue Ridge mountain range, which is apparently a range of the tallest mountain peaks on the east coast of North America. The Appalachian range encompass the Blue Ridge range. It covers a larger area but overall it’s mountains are a little more than hills outside the Blue Ridge range.
My ADD started mt down a path of geography and my mind started wandering to history and culture. Alas this is not why I started this post, and a big part of why I have a difficult time staying focused. Back to photography.
I’m happy to say I got a whole lot of good photos to play with on this trip. Many of which I would deem to be really good and many of which are pretty good and not too many of the exposures I made were complete junk. Complete junk maybe a little harsh. Perhaps not necessarily keepers would sound a little less self deprecating. I can’t speak for anyone else, but when I do photography in a way that I’m trying to achieve something that transcends simple snap shots I generally take several different exposures of the same subject using different techniques and angles and even timings. Two exposures can’t physically be taken at the same time from the same camera, so each shot is from a different time as slight as that variation may be. But even in the tiniest variations of time things can change pretty significantly. The arc of a ball in flight. The sparkle in an eye and twist of a smile. Pose positions. Much like a person can never step into the same river twice, as the saying goes.
All of these images have been manipulated from one parent image. As previously stated the original unaltered image is at the top of the post. I could make endless variations from very subtle differences to insanely outrageous variations with just some simple manipulations of the underlying properties of this image. I have created four that I like and want to share. There are aspects of each of these variations I appreciate. I’m not saying that any one of them would be the end product so to speak. After all it’s subjective which is best anyway. I really just want to get something on here today, right now. I’ve been remiss in my blogging lately.
There are a whole lot of images from this shoot I like, many which I expect I’ll will post in the future. But today my attention is already wandering. I’m happy I could keep it together long enough to do this much.
I’ve got a couple little buddies that visit my little yard. One of them is this guy. This little chipmunk or one of his family I presume have been visiting for the last couple years. I don’t see it often but am glad when I do. I’m a little bit surprised, but heartened, that the occasional cat buddy coming have missed it so far.
I was glad and lucky I got what I did with the little ‘munk. They are quite fast. I didn’t have the presence of mind to ramp up the shutter speed as much as I should have. That’s something I need to work on when focusing on animals. I was also lucky that it didn’t seem that terrified of me and while keeping its distance it didn’t altogether vanish right away as they are prone to do. I’ve missed a few opportunities to get shots of these critters because they don’t usually hang around long enough for me to get my rig and then go outside. Usually as soon as I open the door they are gone like the wind.
I know it’s not all exotic, but I’ve always liked chipmunks. I suppose the childish Alvin and the chipmunks characters that were popular when I was a little kid play some role in that. They are also more rare than it’s cousin the squirrel which a majority of people around here consider a nuisance, rats with tails. I kinda like all these little critters really even rats to some degree. I wouldn’t want to share living space with any rats, but I really am fascinated by them, possibly because my Chinese zodiac is the year of the rat.
I did some landscape shooting yesterday. I’m excited to start looking at and playing with it, and will do so as soon as I post this nugget. I did some experimenting with focus stacking that I think will turn out to be pretty cool. My old computer is going to be grinding its processor very soon on these bad boys. I look forward to getting them posted in the next day or two. I’m going to try to do something creative every day during this break. Even if it’s small I’ll either shoot or process/edit something, and maybe write a little. I hope to produce some good and interesting things.
I do want to go back and play with the experimental driving shots more. I feel like I’d have some fun playing around with the sliders at least. I may even come up with some ideas to do more than that. Unfortunately (literally) there is no profit to be had and my time is probably better spent else where. Granted I will probably choose an unfortunate amount of that time reading fiction and watching television. After all Im only human. And let’s face it if I were a highly motivated individual that put more value on money than I do in being content, I’d probably be a lot less content. But that is some of the reason I am doing this blog and trying to do with some kind of normal regularity.
I have deleted my Facebook profile. I did it for multiple reasons, but the reason relevant to this missive would be, I feel it is somehow a better use of my time to type up ideas no one will read and post pictures no one will see than to waste time on Facebook doing pretty much the same thing. This forum will I hope be more pleasant and wholesome. I am trying to distance myself from the political insanity that has been all to pervasive lately. Really, following politics has been a big part of my life since I was a child. My father watched news like other fathers watch football. I understand that politics is deadly serious stuff, but I’m of the opinion my only political outlet is to vote and that only happens periodically. Obsessing over politics has been seeming to me to be less and less healthy. I have no interest in being a politician nor do I have any chance to realistically. So at this time I say politics is for the birds.
That’s a nice segue way that was entirely unplanned. When I started this post I started it with the intention of posting the gallery you should be seeing below. I had the luck, opportunity, timing, availability, and motivation a couple days ago to acquire the following images, and many more that didn’t make the cut. Actually these bird photos are a by product of my main focus for getting out my camera on that beautiful morning. The primary reason to be succinctly is buzzards. There were a couple hanging around in the area and I decided to take the opportunity. I have many shots I would consider worthy of viewing and a couple I think are genuinely good. I will look at them more closely in the coming days, or maybe I’ll play with the experimental road photos. I recon I will decide how to spend my time at the very last minute.
I don’t know a whole lot about birds. I do know that one of these is a cardinal. It’s the red one. Even though I think pretty much everyone knows that. The few shots of the cardinal were somewhat obstructed by the pesky tree it decided to sit on at the time. I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time for what I did get.
I believe the one sitting on the lamp is a mocking bird, but that’s only a guess. I think I’m correct, but I’m no authority on the subject. I think this one was a little curious about me, and decided to spend a a minute observing my actions. It probably wondered what I was doing. The close up’s displayed in this gallery are cropped versions of the larger images adjacent to them. The one flying away is our mocking bird friend. Sadly that capture was a little blurry, but I wanted to remember it as well. The shutter speed for this group were all set to 1/500. Apparently that was to slow to capture that motion, thus the blur. I pretty much already know 1/1000 is probably the minimum for getting fast action, like quick animal movements. But I didn’t exactly expect to get this. Plus when I set up for the shoot conditions it had been a long while since I shot birds, and I really didn’t anticipate getting one mid flight. a lack of foresight that could have been overcome. Perhaps next time I’ll remember this lesson.
Usually when I am trying to capture birds in flight I’d have it set it to the 1/1000 or faster, but I usually don’t get anything, because they are just too fast for me to focus on. On some level I know it is best to get them as they are perched, and wait, and hope they take off before your arms get too tired holding the camera still.
Then there are a couple of what I’d guess were some sort of finch. I just assume most small birds I don’t recognize are some kind of finch.
It is spring time more or less and the birds are seeming happy about that. I’s like to think I get other good chances to play with the birds soon.
Northern mocking bird in a treeNorthern mocking bird in a treeNorthern mocking bird in a tree
