Cornouiller - Tracey Capone Photography 2012
About a week ago, I posted about my obsession with magnolias which sadly, are all but gone at this point, thanks to high winds and the ever changing season. However, with the changes in temperature and the advance of Spring comes my favorite flowering tree, the dogwood.
"Cherry Bokeh" - Tracey Capone Photography
Today’s Photo of the Day, “Cherry Bokeh” and the bonus photo, “Lush” were a result of spending an entire day inside working on new wood photo blocks and the online shops. After getting tired of the smell of adhesive and varnish and feeling like my eyes were about to pop out of my head if I had to look at the computer screen any longer I decided to grab the camera and head out to play with some light. While it’s still quite cold here in Chicago and yesterday was especially windy, I still came away with some shots that I was very pleased with.
Not sure what bokeh is? Are you sure you want to know because once you do, you’ll likely become as obsessed with it as many, many others, myself included, are. (there are entire Flickr groups dedicated to bokeh lust) OK, I warned you!
Bokeh, from the Japanese term, boke, meaning blur or haze, is the aesthetic quality of the background of a photo. One of the common misconceptions is that bokeh is the actual “little discs of light” in the background of a shot, such as this one. In actuality, bokeh exists wherever there is blur, regardless of whether it’s playing with specular highlights or blurring a darker background. Bokeh, being that it’s an aesthetic, can either be distracting or helpful to a photo. It can be coarse, such as the bokeh in these two photos or it can be creamy and dreamy like the bokeh in “Ethereal” from yesterday’s post. In other cases, bokeh can just be a slight blur to the background, neither coarse nor creamy but just enough to draw attention to the main subject while keeping it in the setting as a whole like in “The Grove” from the post, “Photo(s) of the Day: Out and About“.
Want to try your hand at it? Get out the camera and play with your depth of field. The more shallow the DOF, the more out of focus your background will be. (if you have a DOF button on your camera like I do, you can get a preview of the end result before shooting) “Cherry Bokeh” and “Lush” were both shot with my Nikon 24-70 2.8 at f4 and I ended up with the coarse, round discs of color which I loved as part of the overall photos. (I wouldn’t necessarily love those discs in other photos)
Remember, in the end, you’re playing with light. You can’t break it so do with it what you will. Try different settings, use different subjects, get creative and you might be pleasantly surprised with the results!
Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend! (and for those celebrating, have a wonderful Easter!)
*tracey*
"Lush" - Tracey Capone Photography 2012
"Ethereal" - Tracey Capone Photography
I love Spring. Not only for the photographic possibilities but for providing a sense of renewal. While I do love winter (you have to at least like it if you’re going to live in the Midwest), admittedly, by the end of the season I am in the photographic doldrums and don’t really feel much like getting out with the camera. That could explain the 1,000,000 photographs I took of my two cats the last few months.
Spring though, Spring offers you a chance to start fresh. New buds on the trees, flowers popping up all around, everything moving and changing so quickly you could be out with your camera every day and capture something new.
In between preparing for my trip to Scotland and Ireland at the end of this month (hopefully MANY photos to come from that one!) I have been fulfilling a promise I made to myself to step away from the computer, set aside the shop, and get out with the camera whenever possible and I am so glad I have been.
Today’s Photo of the Day, “Ethereal” is moving past my magnolia obsession back to my obsession with dogwoods. (I am pretty sure I have about 200 photos of dogwood branches and flowers that I haven’t even shared) I used the very small amount of blue sky to my advantage to come up with this lovely teal color that works both in contrast to and in conjunction with the butter yellow of the dogwood flowers.
I plan on getting back out there today, despite the chill I can already feel in the air. It’s been a few days since I was out there last time and I can only imagine the changes that have happened since then.
Do you have a favorite season to photograph? What about a favorite subject in that season?
Enjoy!
*tracey*
"Afternoon Haze" - Tracey Capone Photography
I love shooting in the afternoon. The sun, just hours from setting, is just muted enough that it adds a beautiful golden haze to photographs. The subjects, without direct overhead light overpowering them, show their true colors.
Today’s Photo of the Day, “Afternoon Haze,” is one of my new favorites. The beautiful pinks, so rich and deep in the afternoon sun. The golden yellow haze of the sun off in the West.
If you are looking to shoot nature photography at it’s finest, avoid doing it when the sun is at it’s strongest and highest, so, midday. Try shooting either very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon, in the final hours of the day. Keep in mind, the later it gets, the less light you have so this gives you great practice with the low light settings on your camera and the tripod!
Enjoy!
*tracey*
"Reach" - Tracey Capone Photography
Second only to my obsession with dogwoods is my new found obsession with all things magnolia. Sure, they make a complete mess once all the flowers fall off but while they’re on the trees, aren’t they just amazing?
"Blush" - Tracey Capone Photography
Today’s Photo(s) of the Day are a few images I captured throughout Chicago in the last few weeks. After some really big wind storms and heavy rains, I was lucky to capture what I was able to. (now, back to my obsession with dogwoods because they’re starting to bloom here!) Next year, I will be completely prepared to capture them early on.
Enjoy!
*tracey*
"Spring" - Tracey Capone Photography
"No Sale" - Tracey Capone Photography
Once a month, at the Kane County Fairgrounds in Illinois, you can experience booth after booth of fun (and some not so fun) vintage finds at the Kane County Flea. This weekend, while a lot more sparse than I’m sure upcoming, warmer months will be, was no exception. While I didn’t come away with too many additions for my vintage design scheme, I did come away with a photo that I love.
Today’s Photo of the Day, “No Sale” is of a wonderful old cash register that, if I thought I could have found room for it (or that it would be the least bit practical for that matter) in my apartment, I would have purchased. Alas, I will stick with remembering the wonderfully colorful keys with the $1 and $2, etc notations on them via this photo.
I can’t wait until it gets warmer here in the Chicago area, for many reasons, only one of which is that I hope it brings more vendors to the Flea with more beautiful, old finds.
Enjoy!
*tracey*
