Holiday Weekend Photowalks

Northeast Ohio had the most beautiful weather for the 4th of July holiday weekend. Friday and Saturday started with mid-60's in the morning and got up to about 80 degrees in the afternoon. Perfect for a morning walk. 

Friday I started at Lake Metroparks Gullybrook Park. There is a nice 1-1.5 mile loop that goes through the park, and it has never been busy the times I've gone. I was a bit disappointed in the shots I got there. 

My next stop was the Holden Arboretum. I was looking for a tree in the Rhododendron Garden that I photographed a few years ago. I couldn't find the tree I was looking for, but I did find an interesting stump that has been carved in celebration of an old oak tree that it held up. Heading back to the car, I stopped at a decorative pond full of water lilies. I played around with some shots from a low angle with short depth of field.  The shots on the camera looked great, but I found some things to improve, so I went back the next day and re-shot the pond. 

Rocks

I went to my favorite Lake Metropark - Lake Erie Bluffs - last week. The sky looked like it was going to setup for a beautiful sunset, sadly it was a dud. And the following night was what will probably be the most spectacular sunset of the summer and I wasn't anywhere near the beach.

On the dud night, I started looking around for other photographic opportunities. The rocks along the beach were glistening and made for a nice long-exposure shot, while the water moved in around them. 

Auction at Holden Arboretum

The Holden Arboretum is an outdoor living museum that promotes the beauty and importance of trees and other woody plants to create sustainable and healthy communities in the Great Lakes region and beyond. They hold an annual summer benefit called Illumination at Woodland Twilight. The event is a gala dinner and auction to raise money for the arboretum. 

This year I have donated two pieces of artwork to the auction - a 16"x16" framed print of my photograph "Splash" and a 36"x13" print on canvas of my abstract photograph "Puesta del Sol"

Both prints were prints were produced by Fine Art America. I'm very impressed with the quality of the prints and the framing. They package it up really well for shipping. I ordered the prints on a Sunday, and they arrived Thursday and Friday. 

Down by the River

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I've been trying for weeks to get a nice shot on the bridge over the Grand River in Fairport Harbor. Some nights I drive by and there is a nice sunset forming, but I don't have my camera. Some nights a group of ducks are swimming in the reflection of the sunset. Last night the ducks were there and the sky was changing colors, and I had my camera.  By the time I parked and walked the 200 yards to the bridge, the ducks had floated out of view. But, I got the sunset and reflection.

My first pass at processing the photo, I left the crop wide, catching the silhouette of trees to the left - this version was posted to Facebook. After I looked at it a while, I feel the pictures is much stronger cropped in on the left.  Here are the two versions. 

First pass - wider angle

Cropped version


Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Sunday I went on a hike in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I started at Stanford Inn and hiked to Brandywine Falls. The hike was a little longer and more challenging than I expected, but it was nice to be outside. The photos that I came back with were minimal, but I got a few interesting shots.  There was a very interesting tree on the hike and I found a few subjects for abstract photos. The waterfalls were not as spectacular as I had hoped for, and viewing areas were quite crowded. 


Exploring Cleveland with my Parents

Saturday evening my parents and I went Downtown to celebrate my dad's birthday and Father's Day. We started with dinner at Crop Bistro. The food was really good and the restaurant is really cool on the inside. We even got tour of the Vault from one of the hostesses. 

After dinner we stopped at a little park on the Flats West Bank. This park on Riverbed Street has a great view of the skyline. The sun wasn't quite low enough to get sunset shots, but still a beautiful night. After the Flats we drove over to Edgewater State Park to see the gorgeous sunset. 

I picked out my best shots from the evening. A few of them I did an additional artistic post-processing using Nik Software. 


Old Photos Re-processed for a New Life

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Over the years I have taken photographs that have great potential, but were lacking in post-processing. When I first started taking pictures with a dSLR camera, I only had the software that came with the camera, no Lightroom or Photoshop. I was very limited in the post-processing I could do. After I got Lightroom, I put a lot more effort into learning how to, and actually putting effort into post-processing.

A month or so ago, some of my photos were critiqued by Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski and Erik Valind on The Grid.  They said technique and composition were pretty solid, post-processing was not bad, but keep working at it.  I try to get out at least once a week to take photos, but when I'm short on time or energy, I've been going through old catalogs and finding photos that maybe didn't get to their full potential back in the day. 

It's interesting to look back at these photos and see where my short-comings were and where I have grown. And where I still haven't grown. 

Here is an eclectic collection of photos that recently got new life. 

New Art Sale

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The catastophic illness expenses fund for my cousin-in-law has reached about 1/3 of the $25,000 goal (http://www.gofundme.com/8usd88). Last week I did Instagram, the next two weeks I would like to run a new art sale. I have uploaded my "Splash" photo to the production company Fine Art America (FAA). The photo is on sale for $50 above production costs - any size, any medium. The $50 markup from each sale will go to the fund. All other prints on my FAA profile page will be discounted 25% for the next two weeks use code: ANMMFP. Proceeds from those prints will also go to the fund. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/adam-kilbourne.html

Available media are canvas, fine art paper, acrylic and metal. To maintain the photographic quality, I would recommend paper, acrylic or metal. Sizes for this print are 8"x8" up to 30"x30". 

Thank you for your support. 

Atlantic City

Last week I was in Atlantic City for SMPS Northeast Regional Conference - The UBER Conference. Friday morning my friend, Scott Butcher and I headed out early in the morning to try and catch some sunrise shots. The sunrise wasn't very cooperative, but we had fun and still got some good shots.

Accident becomes an Idea

Photography is a funny thing. I was at my usual beach (Lake Erie Bluffs), photographing the sunset. There was a log washed up near shore, and the waves kept crashing over it. Just as I was taking a photo I noticed a wave crash, and splash over it jumping into the sunset. This got me thinking that I might be able to plan the shot and capture a good splash. 

It took a little work and a lot of shots. But I was able to watch for the larger waves rolling in and shoot a burst about the time it would crash. I got one I shot I was really happy with. 

Catastrophic Illness Fund for my cousin

I'd like to help raise some money for my cousin's family. This week only, if you buy one of my Instagram prints on canvas for $80, half will go to the family, the other half is the cost of production which is on sale this week.  I'm managing this sale through PayPal. 

12"x12" stretched gallery canvas 1.5" deep. Check out my prints here: http://instagram.com/akilbourne then message me and we'll work out the detail. 

Next week I'll do a different sale in support of this fund. 

http://www.gofundme.com/8usd88 

A note from my other cousin:  

Dear Friends and Family,
We are rallying support for Helen Valdez Kilbourne, and her family. Helen is my sister-in-law, married to my brother for nearly 11 years. She will celebrate her 50th birthday this November. She has two older boys, and a young daughter and son. Helen was admitted to the hospital the day after Easter and hasn't left. Many days of testing later, our worst fears have come to pass. She is fighting a grave illness that will have an enormous financial impact on their family. Times were difficult for them prior to this medical event with my brother's loss of job security and insurance benefits. Any help is greatly appreciated so they can focus their energy on Helen's health, and supporting each other through this uncertain path. Thank you for your prayers, support, well wishes and generosity. 
Sincerely,
Barbara Larson and Family
(John's sister)

Lake Erie Bluffs Sunset

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Earlier this week I went to one of my favorite parks, Lake Erie Bluffs, to photograph the sunset. I've been adding to my abstract collection.  I also took a few standard sunset photos, including a couple with my iPhone. 

This photo was shot and edited with my iPhone. I use Camera+ on my phone for most of my iPhonography and editing. The interface is easy and powerful. I posted this picture to Facebook and Instagram. It has received more likes and comments than just about any other photo I've posted. I think it is a fine picture, but not necessarily my best work. 

The Grid

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For about a year I have been trying to get my photos on The Grid at Kelbyone. The Grid is a weekly video podcast. Each month they host an episode where they do blind critiques. Viewers submit photos, and the hosts provide honest critiques of the photos. 

This week I finally was selected. Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski are the hosts, and they generally bring in a guest photographer to assist with the critiques. This time the guest was Erik Valind. 

The three of them provided some great feedback for things I can do to improve my photography, most of which deals with post-processing. They gave me pretty good comments on composition and technical ability. 

Check it out at :  http://kelbytv.com/thegrid/2014/04/17/the-grid-blind-critiques-with-erik-valind-episode-139/  Go to 38:09 to see my photos. Be warned they get side tracked partway through, but they come back. 

Scott Kelby is nice guy. He took the time to reply to a couple tweets I sent his way. 

First Beautiful Weekend of the Year

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This weekend in Ohio the temperatures got into the 70s. It was so beautiful I had to take a ride over to Headlands Beach State Park to watch the sunset and photograph the lighthouse. On the drive over, the sky showed potential for a nice sunset. It turned out to be lackluster, but was still worth the trip to be out in the nice weather. Tonight also appears to be a full moon, or possibly one day shy of it. 

Ice Flows

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Yesterday I took my dog to the park at Lake Erie Bluffs so we could hike down to the beach for picture taking. She was a trooper. Even though the ground was cold, she followed along, no leash. She did have a light jacket to help keep her warm.

Down at the beach, the sand was still partially frozen, but it was warm enough that the lake water had started to melt. Chunks of ice were floating around, moving west with the currents. There was one little pocket where the water was calm and the prettiest blue I have seen on Lake Erie. 

This wasn't a shot I had planned, but I tried to get a nice one. Sadly, my DSLR photos of this area didn't turn out, but I got a beautiful pic with my iPhone.  Photographed and edited in Camera+

Sold!

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This post is delayed a bit, but I sold my first piece, to someone other than a family member. A 20"x30" print on metal of the Golden Gate Bridge was sold to a buyer in Chicago. He was really happy with the finished product from FineArtAmerica.

The white circle is a reflection (camera flash, I assume)

Here is the photo that was printed.