27 Dec 12. For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of dragons, especially the kind one encounters in the movies. So for me the releases of Dragonheart, Avitar, and How to Train Your Dragon have been a delightful "gift." These three just identified are my all time favorites, and each is of equal ranking but for different reasons. The image for today came about as I was trying out a piece of software to see what it might tell me about the subject in the original shot. As I was working with different effects I thought of the Dragonheart movie and its star, Draco, who of course is a dragon with Sean Connery's voice. If you've not seen it I highly recommend it to you and it is the end of the movie that connects with the image I've created. Draco, for those of you who remember the movie, and it is also true for those of you who haven't yet seen it, becomes a constellation in the heavens and my "cancer," in its own way, reminds me of having created my own constellation. It is a bit of a stretch, but then, when looking to the heavens to find the different constellations, I often think that whoever named the groups of stars as they did were often making some very large stretches! Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/100 sec @ f /10.
28 Dec 12. We spent some time today with the cherubs visiting the Poulsbo Marine Science Center. The slide show on the linked page has a number of very nice images which are better by far than what I was able to capture while we were there. Part of the problem had to do with the environment and an even bigger part with operator error. Something along the line of what a good friend's father is fond of saying, "blame the Indian, not the arrow." Didn't realize until I was departing the Center that I had forgotten to check the ISO on the camera and ISO 1000 wasn't what I should have been using. On top of this were badly scratched surfaces on the tank sides requiring significant post processing image repair and very difficult lighting conditions. But in the process I did get a few usable images and the crab I'm sharing was among them. Now this crab is far different from the one I shared yesterday and is of a crab who is displaying very aggressive mating behavior. He was at the very edge of the tank and looking straight at me with both claws snapping, as if he were saying, "put your dukes up biddy." I couldn't resist taking the shot. All-in-all the experience was one which will have me returning often, but with a few additional pieces of equipment to overcome the challenges. If you are in the area it is worth a visit! Nikon D300s; 18 -200; Aperture Priority; ISO 1000; 1/6 sec @ f / 8 hand held.
31 Dec 12. We'll end year 7 of the Daily Image with a piece that I figured I had best wait until the New Year's holiday to share, as it probably needs all the liquid refreshment help it can get. This image is an initial and poor attempt at trying to emulate the work of an individual I first became interest in during my early college years. Maurits Cornelis was a German artist who worked with designs of the impossible, but which always looked correct until you gave them a close up look, or with designs in which one thing morphed into another. His work at times was very intricate, at other times very mathematical, but always very intriguing. There is a young Swedish contemporary who couples photographs with digital manipulation to get similar results, but Maurits did his work by carving the reverse image into a block of material which was then used to print the drawing as originally intended, a bit more challenging to my way of thinking. While I have come to appreciate a large number of MCs works, among my very favorite is one of a dwelling with a waterfall in which the water seemingly runs uphill from the base of the falls to go over the edge of the fall repeatedly. This theme was employed in dozens of his pieces of work and they truly fascinate me. What I tired to do with this image was to create the feeling of an additional dimension which, when studied carefully, clearly isn't there, but which appears correct with only a cursory look. The approach needs a LOT more experimentation, which is why I saved it for this particular holiday, but I think that it holds promise of potentially allowing for the creation of art partially along the line of these other artists. The original shot is, I believe, of the interior of the old Post Office building in downtown D.C. If I'm wrong I'm sure one of the MD members of the list will give me the correct info. D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/25 sec @ f / 5 handheld from a moving elevator.
