I wonder how many people take a lot of shots on their smart-phones or even cameras, and never off-load the images onto a computer. Next question… how many people actually work with the images on the computer?

In the old days, you would go out and shoot a roll of film, send it into the film processing service, then throw the photos into a shoe-box at the back of the bedroom closet. But a photographer would shoot the roll of film, develop it in his/her darkroom and then make many copies of paper prints, using various dodging/burning techniques to get the final print just right. Hey, I’ve been there, and it’s a lot of work.

These days, you just leave the images on the phone until it breaks, then you’ve lost everything. But a photographer actually does a lot of what we call post-processing on the computer with software such as Lightroom and/or Photoshop. I use Lightroom to enhance the image, much the same as the old-fashioned dodging/burning under an enlarger. I use Photoshop to make special effects when required. Some people (purists) don’t agree with post-processing because they think it’s cheating, but that isn’t true, because there had always been some level of post-processing in the film days.

Anyway, this Vers. 201 project has a lot of technical stuff which forces us to research and learn many post-processing techniques.

Week 11 Technical: Split Tone

Basically, Split Tone is a Lightroom tool which separates the lights and darks of an image, and you can adjust the tones or colours separately. I had to go through a lot of online tutorials to figure it out, but then, it can become addictive. Why use it? For me, I think it would be used mainly to change or enhance the mood of a photo.

Week 11 Technical: Split Tone

Week 11 Technical: Split Tone (candidate)

Week 12 Artistic: Orange

Week12 Artistic: Orange

I know you’re probably thinking… “WOW, Len can think at so many levels!” 😆

Week 13 Story: Golden Hour

Golden hour is the hour before sunset or after sunrise when the sun casts amazing golden tones. This is the “Holy Grail” of light for photographers, and I had to get up and out 3 times in the early morning cold to do this week’s challenge.

Week 13 Story: Golden Hour

Week 13 Story: Golden Hour (candidate)

Week 14 Technical: Panning

Week 14 Technical: Panning

Panning is when you follow the moving subject; with the final shot having the subject in focus while the background is blurry. Actually, I like a little blur in the subject, as well. My brother would call this “artsy fartsy”.

I got some decent shots skiing at Sun Peaks, BC, but the ice-skater over at the linear rink at Kipling by the lake is my favourite. Maybe it’s the yellow.

Week 14 Technical: Panning (candidate)

Week 14 Technical: Panning (candidate)

Week 15 Artistic: Hard

Week 15 Artistic: Hard

Sometimes the blues are hard, sometimes soft, but they’re always difficult.

I knew way back that this week was going to be a real challenge. But I had this idea of sheet music, which is hard (difficult). I was thinking of a piano setup, something like I shot with my sister (about 50 years ago), but since I had the guitar, music stand, and black back-drop, I went with the selfie. In Lightroom, I went with high-contrast, then did quite a bit of burning and dodging. I wanted the music to be a little blurry and the fingerboard and strings around my left hand to be sharp. I used a high aperture value to try to get a bokeh effect.

And below is the photo I made about 50 years ago of my sister, Joanne. I really like her shadow on the sheet music.

Moody photo of Joanne

Week 16 Story: Leading Lines

Week 16 Story: Leading Lines

I didn’t think that “Leading Lines” would be too difficult — the hard part would be the story. Spent a week in Quebec City and had a chance to do a few photo walks. Actually, I knocked off several weeks of challenge in QC.

Week 16 Story: Leading Lines (candidate)

Week 16 Story: Leading Lines (candidate)

Week 17 Technical: Loop Lighting

Week 17 Technical: Loop Lighting

There are several types of lighting. Loop Lighting is where the external flash (or window) is at 4 or 8 o’clock, and about 2 feet above the subject. You’re supposed to get a kind of “loop” under the nose.

This is my version of the Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith selfie. Been thinking about this setup ever since we saw the Robert Mapplethorpe documentary at the AGO. Also, the Andy Warhol format, who hung around with these 2 quite a bit back in the 70’s.

Week 18 Artistic: Purple

Week 18 Artistic: Purple

While walking around aimlessly in old Quebec City, this purple haired lady came along. I tried to explain that I needed a purple photo, but she spoke no English at all. I didn’t know the French word for purple, so I was using “aubergine”, which sounds French enough to me, but I think she thought I was looking for a vegetable market. Oh, and the purple butterflies showed up at exactly the right moment. 😉

Week 19 Story: Backyard

Week 19 Story: Backyard

There are people in this photo challenge living in the Rocky Mountains, or right on the ocean, all over the world, actually; so living in a city townhouse in Port Credit, I couldn’t compete with them for location. But nevertheless, this is my sanctuary.

Week 20 Technical: Sky Overlay

Sometimes the sky just doesn’t cooperate, so with Photoshop… “just change it”.

Week 20 Technical: Sky Overlay

Week 20 Technical: Sky Overlay (before)

Finally, I have to talk about the photo at the top of the page, and I’m adding it here, as well, so it shows up in the slideshow. This is a photo I made last August in Ottawa, which I forgot about, but something in the back of my mind kept nagging me. This is one of my all-time favourite photos, which I had blown up and framed.

Wet Wedding

[Click on any photo for slideshow]