SIESTA

On a hot afternoon in Merida, Mexico, carriage drivers take a nap while waiting for the evening’s business to pick up.

Andalusian Shepherd

On the road to Ronda, Spain, 2002.

Continuing the series of candid portraits, this one a road, rather than a street photo, was shot using a Sony Cybershot camera, processed on an iPad Air 2, with the Snapseed app.

Walking With Grandmother

Laguna Beach, California . iPhone 4s / Snapseed

Snapshot to Photograph

I took this quick snapshot from the hip and without thinking much about it. I noticed the scene as I was walking past, and just shot reflexively.

I shot again as I got closer, and then a third time. All the images were way off level, badly cropped and not especially interesting. I was tempted to delete them, but decided to let them be while I went on looking for something better.

On another day, as I was looking through my shots while in less of a hurry, I was first attracted to the bright colors of the flag, but when I looked more closely, I began to zero in on the relationships of the figures, and the color in the sunglasses on the figure on the left. Those great boots, also interested me.

I zoomed in for a closer look, and when I saw the center figure’s eyelashes, and all three expressions, I was hooked. I wasn’t entirely sure it would work, but decided to try rotating the image to level it up. It worked, and I liked what I was seeing.

I then cropped it, and began playing with it in Snapseed, using the TuneImage/Ambiance, and other sliders to open up the shadows and sharpened it a bit using the Details/Structure slider. I framed it with Frames, changed it to black and white, added a blue filter to lighten the sky, then, back in the Tune Image menu, I added some warmth, and there it was, the photo of the day for my Instagram gallery, @johnfarnsworthphotographer.

I’m glad I didn’t delete the original. I do wish I could give a more blow by blow account of the way I proceeded with it, but I don’t keep a record of the steps I take, and seldom repeat myself exactly, preferring to just play with the sliders, dodging, burning, adjusting, caressing and manipulating until I find the photograph lurking in the snapshot.

As Ansel Adams said: “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”

Look Into My Eyes

A lively conversation on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France.

Palomitas

Palomitas (Popcorn), Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

I love taking photographs of just about anything.
But I especially love Street Photography.
I love people watching.

I love recording the life around me, wherever I am; city, town, village, or countryside; wandering the streets, roads,or alleyways, parks and beaches of a place foreign or familiar, new to me or old, outdoors or in.

The human condition. That’s what interests me, captivates me, insists that I capture it, record it, share it. People being people. In their native habitat, candid, unposed, real. Being themselves. Happy, sad, working, playing, talking, relating, smiling, laughing, crying, staring into space or the past or the future. Or the eyes of a loved one, or a pet. Just being.

I love thinking about them. Who they are, where they’ve been, where they’re going, what they’re planning, or doing. I love causing others to wonder the same.

That, to me, is Street Photography.

CAUGHT IN PASSING

CAUGHT IN PASSING / iPhone 6s Plus / Snapseed / Santa Fe, New Mexico

A WOMAN AND HER DOG

I fumbled around with a near dead battery in my iPhone this evening, and completely missed out on this woman and her dog as they left their vehicle. Luckily, my phone was recharged enough to capture this shot when they returned from shopping. I then cropped and tweaked it in Snapseed on my iPad, like I usually do.

See you tomorrow…

 

Posted with Blogsy

LIVING LINE

Some recent sketches, made on my iPhone 6s Plus, using just my finger, no stylus, and the app SketchTime. Try it, it's great fun, and you can playback the drawing in progress.

It's nice to take a break from more finished work from time to time, and just follow a simple line as it explores the forms that present themselves.

I find the most satisfying are, like these three backpackers, a minimum of line enclosing a maximum of space and gesture:

Now go try it! Let your line suggest, rather than define the subject, and just enjoy. Wait a couple of weeks, then go back and look at them with fresh eyes. You will be amazed at the amount of memory and suggestion packed into such a simple sketch!

I'm pretty sure SketchTime is also available for Android users, too.

Hasta mañana.

 

Posted with Blogsy