Monday, September 3, 2012

Pink Rose

I know, I know.  It's been a long time since I've posted a new photo.  For a while I had lost my desire to take new pictures and post them; however, spring and summer came.  With the seasons came a renewed desire for my photography.  I've also been doing more with Photoshop lately and exercising my "creative side" that way.  My son C likes to sit and watch me work in Photoshop.  He's so amazed at the things it's capable of!

"The Wife" has a small rose bush that is planted in our backyard that is blooming in a beautiful shade of pink, so she asked if I would take a picture of it.  After taking several photos from several different angles, none of them really jumped out at me...then I remembered a recent technique I had read about.  I brought this photo into Photoshop and created 2 layers.  The first layer is the photo just as I took it from the camera with my 18-55mm lens.  I created a second layer with the same photo and converted it to black and white.  By using the history tool in Photoshop (and with a little help from C), the following is the result of our work.


"The Wife" actually liked it so much, it's the desktop wallpaper on her laptop now!  I hope you enjoy it as much as she does.

If you would like this picture as wallpaper for your iPhone or iPad, just let me know!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sith Eyes

2011 was a difficult and challenging year to say the least for my family and I.  It was mainly due to this that we decided to "get away" for Christmas. When it's winter in central Indiana, going somewhere warm and tropical was an easy choice.  As going to California has been on my "bucket list" for as long as I can remember, we decided to "get away" to sunny San Diego!

When my wife and I decided on San Diego, we started talking about things to do while we were there.  At the top of the list was the San Diego Zoo. The zoo sits on 100 acres and is home to more than 4,000 different animals!  Needless to say, the zoo lived up to all of the expectations we had and more.  The zoo affords you the opportunity to see many of these animals up close.  Even though many of the animals were close (relatively speaking), I decided to go with my 75-300mm zoom lens for most of my photos that day.  One of the animals we were able to see the closest, was the flamingo.  They were seemed close enough to touch, especially with my zoom lens.

Now at this point, you are probably wondering what the title of this post has to do with the San Diego Zoo or flamingos.  Well that's an easy connection to make with a bit of background.  My son C loves Star Wars.  As soon as C saw the picture below, he thought it looked like the flamingo had Sith eyes, "ya know Dad, like Darth Maul!".  Enjoy this week's photo, and if you ever have the occasion to visit the west coast, I highly recommend San Diego and the zoo, you won't be disappointed.








If you have an iPhone or iPad, and you would like to have last week's photo of the Reuben Wells or this week's photo as wallpaper for either one of these devices, please leave a comment or send me a direct message through Facebook or Twitter.  As always, your feedback is welcome!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Reuben Wells


Welcome to Classified Photos! I've been taking photos for a couple of years now with my Canon Rebel XS digital SLR and I've taken quite a few pictures to say the least. This blog is my way of sharing these photos with family, friends, and anyone else who may be interested. I'm always looking for different ideas and new ways to improve my photography. Hopefully this site will become an avenue for others to learn and spark new ideas for inspiration.

This is a photo I took not long after purchasing my digital SLR. This is the Reuben Wells locomotive at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis (click the link to read an article about why this locomotive is so unique). This is one of the best Children's Museums in the country. This is one of my favorite photos that I've taken from the many visits to the Museum with my family. I think there are two main reasons I like this photo so much. The first is that the train is just cool! The second reason is there no one else in the picture. If you've ever visited the Children's Museum here in Indianapolis, you know it is usually busy, especially in this area of the Museum. I was fortunate to grab this photo early in the day...before a lot of the students on school field trips invade the Museum! So now you understand why this was such a unique shot. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly encourage you to visit the Museum. Even if you don't have small children, you won't be disappointed. There is something there for all ages to enjoy.

 I'd love to hear your feedback on this photo, so please feel free to leave comments. Hopefully, this will be the first of many posts and photos that I share with you.