I have taken up photography. Is there ever a lot to learn. I started by taking a digital photography course at Emily Carr University. Then after much research and trial I decided on my camera and lens: a Nikon D7000 with a Nikkor 18-200 lens with polarizing filter. I wanted to get a full format FX camera but decided to get familiar with a DX camera first. I got Photoshop CS5 and Silver Efex Pro 2 (a program that converts color digital photography to black and white photography) as well as several books that I downloaded to my iPad 2 (BTW I love my new iPad 2 which was a gift from a client – thank-you very much!). All of this because I have a very curious mind and a very curious eye. I love the fact that when I look through the view finder of the camera I see the world differently from the way I view the world of Interior Design through my eye unframed. Looking through the lens forces my attention down to a small and very refined focus. I am also a believer of the value of life long learning and the fact that the appreciation of different art disciplines enhances and broadens our experience of life.
The above photo was taken at a client’s home in Whistler just before sunset as I was standing on the edge of the dock. I went there to take photos of the lovely views from their home of the dock and lake, with hopes of getting some good images to frame and hang in their just completed home in Vancouver. Somehow the color version looks nice in a smaller format for viewing on the internet or in the photo album, but when I thought about enlarging it to a frameable size it didn’t look like fine art. I far prefer to hang black & white photography on walls. I converted the digital color photograph to black and white photography with a software program called Silver Efex Pro2 and I quite like how the images below the water show up much clearer in the black and white photography then in the color version.
This image was converted from a color digital to black & white photography using a program called Silver Efex Pro 2.
These are some of the other photos I took.
Fresh fruit for our morning brunch. The sunlight was streaming in the window and this setting was calling out to me to take the photo quickly before 1. either the sunlight moved on or 2. we sat down and started eating. So much of photography I am learning is to seize the moment. Thank-you Nora for the delicious and beautiful meals you prepared.
The picture above and below were taken at sunrise in one of the most beautiful places in the world Whistler.
The morning dew.
I will leave you with a quote by the brilliant French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.
“To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis.”
PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver writing about lifestyle and
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