Well well, it is May already, and seems that the weather in the morning is still promising to some walks, but we've been having some dust waves already like on and off (and sometimes flies would eat me alive!). Not sure where does this dust come from, but whenever it is red in color, it is usually from the north, from the southern parts of Iraq (which I think still suffers the consequences of the artificial drought caused by the regime back in the 1990s in retaliation to the revolt).
Now, I don't know if "dust wave" is indeed a term (we use it in Arabic though), but the conditions are not that of a "storm" either, so that's why I don't use the term "sand storm" because it's not really a storm, but dust particles hanging in the air. Sometimes it is followed by rains as well, specially in this time of the year before summer.
Anyway, it had been few weeks now since my last stroll but I'm also still processing the shots of my last stroll (I've been lazy a bit), and since I've used most of my "special" filters in strolls, maybe it is about time to get a tripod and try to shoot stuff with my ND filters or pinhole; Still thinking about it though because a tripod is a burden (and an eye opener sometimes, and I don't want to grab any attention to myself).
Stroll VI
This stroll took place on April 6ᵗʰ, and this one I've decided to go back to an old filter that I didn't use for quite some time: B+W 092.
Now, this filter is the first IR filter I've purchased before I even get a modified camera and I've worked with it as a "big stopper" for long exposures, but I don't recall I've worked so much with it AFTER getting my modified Canon 7D.
Essentially, in looks, images taken with this filter are quite close to those taken with Hα filter, but they tend to be less saturated. The difference in threshold between B+W 092 filter and Hα is probably in the magnitude of 30nm. Left to say that in this stroll, with this filter, I've used my 50mm lens.
 |
| Mr Chiller |
So, for this stroll, I didn't go East or West, but rather South (which eventually lead me to West anyway). This neighborhood was visited before and I've posted images from (shot in Hα once) and probably if you are following these posts you'd recognize some scenes (some of them shot back in November 2020).
Anyway, on with the stroll with my first stop just around the corner with a cat that was ready to jump on me because I've disturbed his or her rest. Luckily it calmed down and rested while watching me taking a picture of him from a distance (maybe 3 meters or so). At that moment, I really wished that I was using my Sigma 70-200mm just to frame the cat's face as I wanted to catch that luster in the eyes as I've seen it, but alas! I had to satisfy myself with what I have. The final image, Mr Chiller, had been cropped to a great deal to focus on the cat with all that clutter in the image (and still). Channels had been swapped here with some saturation added.
 |
| Tracks A |
 |
| Tracks B |
Not far off from that cat and a bit forward, I shot few images that I might as well call "the stinkiest images I've ever taken in my life so far." Track A and Track B were actually a set of images (focus-stacked) which were shot near some trash bins LOADED with garbage that seemed to me back then that it has been days since these bins were emptied by the trash car. The smell almost got me fainted and I couldn't stay more than 5 minutes (or even less) before I continue walking.
Here, working with burst mode as usual and f/1.4, I've made several shots which, because of the handshake, had a change in focal points across the scene, for this reason I've decided to do a focus stack for each set. Worth noting that the tire tracks were not quite clear to the naked eye but they were so when I processed the images. The images look B&W but they are not converted to B&W actually. Anyway, once I've finished this stinky job and walked away, the trash-collecting truck came along. It was Ramadan back then and working hours all over the country change accordingly and these morning hours were as quiet as a midnight in regular days, and in regular days, the trash-collecting truck visits around midnight mostly!
 |
| Neighborhenge |
Just before walking far away from the stinky place (and while the trash car approaching) I've noticed a turn where the sun was just rising from behind the houses at the end of the neighborhood, in a scene that reminded me of the "henge" where in such places the sun would rise (or probably set) forming straight beams. Anyway, Neighborhenge is not a perfect "henge" image but I just liked this flare. By the way, if the shadows here look so dim and almost like a solid, then it's just a monitor issue (I work with a calibrated monitor and I kept some faint details there in the shadows). I've shot several images here in vertical succession and merged them as a panorama. As I've mentioned already, the image might be just black solid but it depends on the monitor and its brightness (and correction) as there are details for sure in these shadows!
 |
| Дверь, Трава, и Ведро (a door, grass, and a bucket) |
Not far off from that bend, I've arrived at that old (haunted) house with the metallic door which I've shot many times before. This time though, I've shot several shots in portrait and then stitched them together. Of course, fixing some distortion issues and straightening some lines, all that calls for crops, and more crops. I was fluctuating between the original version and the channel-swapped version, but finally I've decided to use the channel-swapped version as the blue tint for the original somehow didn't appear to my mood (then and now). One would think that such an old look and such deserted place would fit into the blue scheme but I didn't feel like it. I've also darkened the image a bit from the left just to add bits of mystery and "spookiness" as if the image was divided between the light and the dark.
 |
| Скрытый (hidden) |
Then comes Hidden. What's special about this shot is that, well, I don't recall shooting it. Or maybe I was aiming at the tree and didn't notice the window in the background. I really can't remember how or why did I decide to shoot this one. Anyway, I think I got away with some good abstract here. The original color for the leaves was turquoise-ish yet it was somewhat dull and lacking luster even with vibrance added to it. SO I swapped the channels and I think it is more refreshing (but maybe needs some further saturation). In case you are wondering here why I name some images in Russian, well, it's just my habit now as I'm learning Russian and trying to get the hang of it. I name in various languages really and not just Russian, but it's just what comes to mind first.
 |
| Under The Shade |
It took me a while then after that random shot (which I cannot remember) to take another shot. A long walk heading west from that road, just at the back of some houses and passing some gardens; It was a nice weather back then (and without flies!). However, away from the gardens, the interesting part here was the "wild" plants growing in between the cracks. One thing made me happy here is that no one is mingling with these and plucking them for no reason. The plants I've seen are mostly of one type as far as I remember with tiny small yellow blooms (which became white with the infrared filter). Shooting at a low angle and using LiveView, I've tried my best to keep "something" in focus! I've shot many shots in burst mode which later helped me create some anaglyphs. Maybe not quite strong in effect but there is some dimension to them.
 |
| Unidentified (3D) |
 |
| Unidentified 2 (3D) |
As you can tell by the titles of these images, I really don't know what is it called, and I didn't check up and search for it online as I usually do. I think they might be probably some species of daisies; Well, in shape at least. I've taken loads of these flowers but many of the images were shaky a bit but I will try to check them back later and see if I can do something about it.
 |
| Craobhacha Dearga (red branches) |
Then not far from these flowers I've passed some trees, which I've shot randomly actually. I'm not sure why did I shoot the branches but I'm guessing I wanted to check how the leaves would turn out. In the beginning I didn't pay attention to these shots but after processing a patch from this series I've decided to check them out and do something random. The shots were actually horizontal (or landscape) but as I went on processing Craobhacha Dearga I decided to rotate it and crop it (and I think I've used the golden triangle rule here). In the process as well, I've went far with the saturation (after swapping the color channels) and I've tried to make it as selective as possible so that it would affect the leaves only and not the whole image. Same thing with the sharpening at the end. It could be a good image for a background maybe? I think I'll consider uploading it to the stocks later on, but I have my doubts about accepting it since it has clear grains (in the original). We'll see about that later anyway.
 |
| A Night of Cacti |
After shooting the branches, I've passed through some little gardens with many nice flowers (can't identify them as I'm not a botanist of course!) but I tried to shoot some of them in burst mode; I was trying to work quickly here as I didn't want to be noticed by anyone and cause me unnecessary problems since these basins or pots were private property even though outside of the homes, adding to that that my legs started to hurt a bit and I didn't want to bend over to the ground level to shoot (and the sun is even becoming higher now and inspecting the LiveView is getting harder). All in all, all these shots I've done for these flowers didn't turn as I wished unfortunately, but I might try to check them again later to get something out of them. Anyway not far from these, there was a batch of cacti which was high enough to shoot from waist level (and it was easy to focus on them with the lens AF on).
Here, I've used f/1.4 which is critical and so shallow, but since the nature of the shot is supposed to be an abstract, I didn't really care much where the focus would land. Of course, despite the name, A Night of Cacti, you know now that it was taken in early morning (probably around 7 or 8 a.m.). In the process, I've cropped the top ends of the cacti heads to focus more on the linear and sporadic nature of the cacti and add more to the abstract sense of the image. I think I've cropped that in 16:9 ratio.
 |
| أَنْـقـاضْ (rubles) |
 |
| Transitional Staten Island (2012) Click to enlarge |
This shot actually reminds me of somewhat similar scene I've shot in the Scholars Garden in Staten Island back in 2012! Where some tree was receiving some bands of light and shadows. The difference here though is that it was a door back in 2012, and it's a corridor or an alley here. Well, beside the fact that the new image is in infrared of course.
Not far from this location and in fact directly to my right at that spot, I've glimpsed a door that I've always wished to shoot, and I thought it's about time to shoot this one (and break my fear a bit, specially that house looks deserted and not inhabited).
 |
| 大門 (the grand door) |
Here, again, several shots were taken in a vertical sequence and then stitched together. The hard part was, though, aligning and fixing the vertical lines which I think is still not done correctly in The grand door. Also, because of some cut in portions of the door from right or left (can't remember) because I wasn't far enough to have more space into my shots, I've decided to focus on the central portion of the door and try to be "geometric" with my abstract. The 50mm lenses usually don't show so much distortion (just a tiny bit) hence the term normal lens but I'm not sure why it was hard to fix and align the vertical and horizontal lines here. Probably the door itself wasn't straight? Could be! I was inspired by the design of the door and the golden color (after swapping the channels) to name the image in Chinese. Too bad the door wasn't red though! Anyway, I've based my corrections in the alignment mainly on the central portion of the door and till this time of typing this blog post, I still feel that the image is tilted to the left; Yet, using the guide lines in Photoshop, it seems all is straight and correct! My mind is playing tricks on me? Could be (as always)… Another annoying fact about this door is the fluorescent lamp base on the top which apparently was not quite centered with the door but at this point was way tired of working with this image to close it out or fix it in any way.
At this point, this concluded my stroll on April 6ᵗʰ with my 50mm and B+W 092 infrared filter. However, the processing is not yet over with as I'm trying to finish those images I've taken in later strolls and then I might go back to the old strolls like this one to see what I can do with the discarded images. Quite often they might be good for some form of artwork not quite attached to photography. I'm not sure how often now I can stroll out but for sure I need more ideas (and other usages for filters or lenses)!
Finale
As summer approaches, I'm wondering what will I be doing in such a period. Some suggested that I travel, specially that I'm a retiree now. However, such a dream is on hold for unknown time period. What I want is peace and tranquility, and not travel. Traveling is good for sure, and I would find some peace and a change of scenery is certainly good for the soul. Yet, all of that won't do a thing if the inside is as turbulent as an ocean in a tropical storm.
Fatigue and mood swings had taken up a big portion of my will power these days and all I want to do is to stay in bed. In whatever time I have left in the day, I'd most probably spend it musing on astrology and charts, even though I know it doesn't pay much nor I would go anywhere with it. It's like a drug that keeps me numb a bit for the time being. I need to kick myself out of it, but how?
I need to think of something to do indoors. The weather in the morning is still "graceful" and might allow for some walks here and there before the sun even rises up (which makes it hard for special filters like IR or UV) but nevertheless, it is something to seek (I hope!). I just wish for one thing at the moment: Something to block my antennae from receiving bad vibes to calm my mood swings down…
No comments:
Post a Comment