Refuge

"Refuge"
Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.
Color-infrared panorama, May, 2010.
Orig # DSC_0062-63a

Celestial Blue

At first, I was attracted to the placid lake and houseboat, but my eyes opened wide when I saw the potential of the clouds in this scene. When I first began to photograph this scene, there was a light rain, but I was persistent in wanting to capture this before the clouds began to dissipate. Luckily, the rain soon stopped and I was able to capture what you see here. The infrared light captured multiple layers of clouds and cloud movement.

Lake Beaverfork, Conway, Arkansas
Color infrared, panorama with slight HDR toning.
Orig # IMG_1014-1032hdrc3

Nature's Graffiti

I titled this one "Nature's Graffiti", although it could easily have a myriad of titles. This old homestead could tell so many stories, and if it were to have ghosts, you can almost see them peering through the windows.

This photograph ended up being much more interesting after a closer look. I shot this as an infrared, but I also bracketed it for an HDR image - to ensure I had the greatest tonal range from the infrared spectrum. The reason I went to all this trouble was to ensure I could emphasize the dramatic contrast of the vines spinning and exploring the house.

I also converted it to b&w to give it the simplicity and toning to closer match it's timeliness. I purposefully shot this with a slow shutter speed to give some life to the grasses and branches, which blurred during the exposure.

Old store...

This is an old store that I've passed many times, but just couldn't find the right mood/composition to photograph it....until this visit. I fear that it will soon collapse. As you can tell from the photograph of the full structure, it's leaning to the left considerably.

Hope you enjoy.

"Trail Invitations"

A favorite panorama from a hike at Woolly Hollow State Park, Arkansas a few years ago.

See my winning photo on tv!

If you haven't yet seen this commercial, you probably will - just watch prime time TV on the major networks (cbs, nbc, abc, tbs) and look for the Ron Howard/Project Imagin8ion commercial.
Near the end of the commercial, you'll see the above frame. You can easily see my winning photo near center-left. :)

Gravity

Another from this series of color-infrared images of this tree. I planned this shot ahead of time, to capture the sun setting with the light about half-way up the tree, and subsequently positioning the moon in the same frame. I left plenty of space between the moon and tree to give the greater sense of space (pardon the pun).

I entitled this with "Gravity" because of the effect of shooting this in ultra-wide, the curvature of the earth bends toward the moon, while the tree points to the moon. The result is that your eye is always drawn to the moon, the smallest object in the photograph. :)
Hope you enjoy.

Color-infrared, hdr, converted to monotone.
Orig # DSC_0118-24hdr

You can see my popular, horizontal version here: www.flickr.com/photos/kellyshipp/5622954644/

Stand Out from the Crowd

This is more of an artistic result than I normally display. The original, infrared-color image produced wonderful magenta hues that I couldn't resist exploiting.

Hope you enjoy.

Color-infrared panorama.
Orig: DSC_0126-0139hdr2

Where One Day Ends, One Day Begins

"Where One Day Ends, One Day Begins"
This was a tough one to plan and accomplish. I needed a clear horizon for the sun to hit the tree half-way, and lucky timing to include the moon above the tree in the same frame.

I wanted to portray the end of one day, hence the fading sunset light on the tree, with the rise of the moon above the tree. I shot ultra-wide to get the curvature of the earth toward the moon and to draw your eye to the tree, then the moon.

Hope you enjoy. :)
Orig # DSC_0112c

Recent photos from this past week...

Here are a few infrared photos from this past week. Hope you enjoy...



Cotton in the Sky

Spring's new growth of leaves opened-up on this tree, offering an explosion of reflective light in a contrasty landscape.

I waited for the moment where most light would strike the new leaves, so I could emphasize their contrast against the blue sky. I had to catch the sun early to position it where I wanted to in the composition.

Hope you enjoy.

High-contrast image sourced from color-infrared light.
Orig # DSC_2014



Spring Offers New Growth

I really like this tree with it's fresh, new growth of leaves. I waited for the sun's position to fit well into the composition and captured this moment.

Hope you enjoy.

High-contrast image sourced from infrared light.
Orig # DSC_1170bw







Drawn to the Light

I was drawn to this landscape. The trees seem to be physically drawn to the sunlight.

High-contrast image sourced from infrared light.
Orig # DSC_2083bw

A few images from today...

One of my favorites from a shoot today...
"Sepia Sunset" - Spring has come and the new growth reflect infrared light. This tree has been struck by lightning and continues to reach to the sky. I found the detail to be mesmerizing.
Infrared, converted to b&w, sepia tinted.
Orig # DSC_1062bws2




"Blue Skies"
Spring has come and the new growth reflect infrared light. This is a complex composition but I enjoy it. I wanted three strong components: curvature of the earth/sky, strong tree in silhouette, and the setting sun. Hope you enjoy.
Color Infrared.
Orig # DSC_0042a

Sun and Snow

Sun & Snow
This is a winter scene not too far from my home. We received 6" of snow the day before, so I carefully positioned myself on a ridge to get this shot with all of the elements. If you study the image, you'll understand just how bright this area was -- blinding, to be more accurate. You can see how the branches were backlit from all the snow. I should have wore sunglasses!

This is an infrared color image.

Hope you enjoy.

Nature images from the weekend...

Here are a few images from this past weekend. Hope you enjoy.

Enter the New Year!

As the New Year enters, it's time to shed the old and welcome the new.
Here are a few images from today as I explored. These are all infrared and were taken during late afternoon as the sun began to reach closer to the horizon.
Hope you enjoy.