Disney Music Center

Took a quick trip up to the Disney Music Center in downtown LA yesterday morning with my photo buddy, John.  As you can see in the above photo it was a beautiful morning with clear blue skies.  Best yet, as it was a Sunday and early in the morning, there was hardly any traffic at all!!!  This is one of the many interesting and unusual buildings designed by Frank Gehry.  It is an abstract photographers dream building.  Now I don't consider myself an abstract type of photographer so this type of photography always creates a big challenge for me to find pleasing and interesting compositions.  Above and below are a few of my attempts from yesterday.

This last photo isn't a photo of the Disney Center, but of a nearby building that had an interesting reflection of yet another building.  The reddish colored wall in the foreground was a bonus.

Teton Reflections

Here's a small collection of reflection shots of the Tetons.  Note:  most of these were taken in the early morning in below 30 degree temperatures, and for someone from SoCal that's dedication.  Just sayin'!

A Couple from Mormon Row

Just got back from a trip to the Tetons.  The above pic is of course from the popular Mormon Row area.  The good news was the top of the Tetons were in view.  The bad news was that we didn't have ANY clouds to put some interest in the sky.  Oh well, it's still very beautiful up there.  The below pic is of another one of the Mormon Row barns.

Pretty Skies

We were fortunate to have some pretty skies up in the Palouse.  Here are some examples.

The Rolling Palouse

I had a chance to process a few more of my photos of the Palouse region of eastern Washington. These were done with a new software program I learned about from my friend John Barclay called Perfectly Clear.  It does an amazing job of eliminating the flat look that most raw files produce and really makes the photos look like you remembered the actual scene looked like when you took the photo.  Here's a few more.

Another Steptoe View

A very tranquil scene taken at sunrise from Steptoe Butte.  It seems like such a nice place to live.

Whitman County Growers

One of the more prominent subjects from Steptoe Butte was the Whitman County Growers building.  Being bright white against the green and tan fields it was hard to miss.  Here's one of many shots I took of this Palouse icon.

The Leaning Barn, June vs. August

To contrast the different color palate in the Palouse depending on the time of year, the above photo of this barn was taken about 2 weeks ago and the photo below was taken in August of 2011.  Quite a difference a couple of months make.  

 Also, quite a difference in condition of the barn a few years make.

Another Old Barn

Yep, another barn.  There are plenty of them in the Palouse.  This one obviously has seen better days.

Grain Silos

Found this interesting composition near the Dahmen Barn. 

Dahmen Barn Detail

I enjoyed taking some detail shots of this barn.  It had some nice geometrical shapes to contend with and I learned another lesson in composition with this shot.  If you notice the peak of the roof lines up with the vertical window grid, allowing a nice balanced view.  If it didn't line up, something would seem off and the photo would seem more ordinary.

Wizard of Oz House

John Barclay and Dan Sniffin called this old house, "Auntie Em's" from the Wizard of Oz movie, due to its similar appearance to the house that Dorothy lived in with her aunt and uncle. We were hoping for better skies to photograph, but at least we had some clouds.

Thunder Storm in the Palouse

On one afternoon, we were out shooting when the cloud cover started darkening and we started hearing thunder and seeing a lot of lightning in the distance. The longer we were there the closer it got to us.  Finally, the decision was made to pack up and head to calmer grounds.  But during God's show, it made for some fun photography. That's Steptoe Butte rising up on the horizon.

A Lone Tree in the Palouse

I just got back home after spending a week in the Palouse region of Washington State on a photo tour with a couple of the best photography instructors in the business, John Barclay and Dan Sniffin.  Be sure to check out their websites.  We also had a wonderful and talented group of photography participants in the tour, which made it all the more enjoyable and inspiring.  It was a fun week.  

The photo above was taken off of Steptoe Butte of a lone tree off in the distance.  It was taken in the early morning in beautiful lighting.  It's a good example of the terrain in the Palouse. There are miles and miles of low rolling hills planted with a variety of crops including wheat, lentils, garbanzo beans and canola. 

Burano

Burano is another island city near Venice.  The main industry here, other than tourism, is fishing and making lace.  Most of the housing there seem to be painted in bright colors.  One of the locals there said it makes for a "happy city".  It also makes for some interesting photography.

One More From Venice

The canals and photo opportunities are endless in Venice.  This one grabbed my attention because of the red flowers.  You know they say, if it's red, you must shoot it.

Venice

We ended our trip to Italy in Venice, a very beautiful and apparently popular city to visit.  It was very crowded.  We were told that Venice averages 50,000 tourists a day!  Fortunately, once you got away from St. Marks Square,  there seemed to be plenty of room to move about and explore.  And if you got up early in the morning, St. Marks Square was occupied only by pidgeons.

The opening photo is of the famous Rialto Bridge.  I believe it was the very first bridge built in Venice.

More Tuscany

It seems like every where you look in Tuscany there's another beautiful scene to behold, not to mention take a photograph of.  This was another of many taken along the dirt road leading to Il Rigo.

Il Rigo

This is the main house of the agriturismo where we stayed.  It's called Il Rigo.  Where I was standing to take this picture is where the house was that we actually stayed (see photo below).  We would go down to the main house for a wonderful breakfast in the mornings.  We also went down a couple of times to enjoy some gourmet dinners that were prepared by the owner of the villa.  We were treated to such things as red wine and sausage risotto, rabbit cacciatore and tomato bisque.

Our room was there in the middle with the open shutters

Tuscany Road

Where we stayed in the Pienza area of Tuscany, there are numerous agriturismo's, or farm houses that have been converted into bed and breakfast villas.  Found this dirt road leading to yet another agriturismo.

Tuscany Poppies

On our recent trip to Italy, we spent 3 wonderful days in Tuscany.  One of the things I wanted to photograph were the beautiful red poppies.  Unfortunately, the picture above shows the only field of poppies we saw.  We came to learn that we were about 2 to 3 weeks early for the height of the poppy season.  Oh well, it was still very nice in Tuscany.

Botany Bay Revisited

My first attempt to apply a texture to an otherwise blah looking photo, using Totally Rad Dirty Pictures that my lovely daughter gave me for Christmas!  I'm looking forward to trying it out on other photos that need some more interest added to them.  

Below is the original photo taken at Botany Bay in South Carolina so you can see the difference the texture layer adds.