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Pleasures and pains of editing photographs
The process of editing photographs can be pleasant and fulfilling but it can also be confusing and even intimidating. At least that is my experience and I want to talk about it today. Not to make the reading too dry, I’ll add a few of my before/after images. The before images are unprocessed RAW versions just transferred to JPEGs. Let’s make it clear from the beginning that for the purpose of this post, by editing I don’t mean adding textures, creating composites or making any major changes to the photograph’s contents (except for cropping and minor healing or cloning), just adjustment of light, saturation, contrast, white balance, etc. My first…
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Inspiring woman
Have you ever heard about the writer Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach? I hadn’t until I visited the Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž last summer and saw a little unusual exhibition presented in the chateau’s tower on the 100th anniversary of her death. Her words flying in the air captured my attention… Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach was a writer of Moravian origin writing in German language. She is considered to be one of the most important women writers of the 19th century who wrote in German. She was born in September 13, 1830 in Zdislavice, not far from Kroměříž, to the noble family of Count Dubský and his wife. When she married, she and…
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Castle and chateau Frýdlant
In the Jizera Mountains in northern Bohemia, you can find a castle and chateau in one. It has the same name as a nearby town – Frýdlant – and belongs to one of the most important historical buildings in the Czech Republic. The castle was built in the 13th century to protect tradesmen using local business trails. A legend says that in the core of the castle was a stately tower on top of which fire was set to serve the tradesmen as a beacon. The castle was owned by several noble families that remodelled and improved the castle gradually. In the 16th century, part of the castle was rebuilt…
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Rudbeckia counterbalance
On Monday, a new school year started here which meant that last week I spent quite a few hours by shopping. Everything the school asked to get for lessons such as exercise books and pencils, watercolours and brushes, but also clothes and shoes as my 13 year old son is growing almost in front of my eyes these weeks. That clothes part was the most exhausting because although he is of average build, it was not easy to get trousers for him thanks to the current slim and skinny fashion. So much wasted time when looking for something suitable… One day when we came home from such shopping, I went…
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Sundial and other clocks
Time measuring devices, that was the theme of my 12-month photo project that I tried to fulfil in August and that my five finalists represent today. I have to admit that although the theme seemed to be simple at first, it was another challenge. Clocks of all kinds tend to shine and reflect their surroundings, their numerals look soft, and they are often placed quite high. Also, I wanted the clocks to be the feature of the photos, yet at the same time to be just part of them, part of the whole. As much as it may sound contradictory, I believe that in this way the photos would better tell their…
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Botanical garden in Liberec
When I was planning trips for our holiday in the Jizera Mountains, the Botanical garden in Liberec was one of the places which caught my attention, especially for the architecture of its greenhouses and for its new „Water Lily Pavilion“. The garden greatly exceeded my expectations which is why I would like to present it to you. The Botanical garden in Liberec is the oldest botanical garden in the Czech Republic. It started its operation in 1895 and its purpose was primarily to provide green vegetation for the town. During both world wars its condition deteriorated, it served mostly as a market garden. At last in 1954, it was changed…
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Observation tower Slovanka
Slovanka, the oldest iron observation tower in Bohemia, is situated at the top of the hill Slovanka in the Jizera Mountains, at an altitude of 820 metres, not far from the town Janov nad Nisou. The tower is 11 metres high, 14 metres including the base. It is permanently accessible and the access is free of charge. We spent our family holiday in the vicinity and visited the observation tower twice. I would say that there is nothing spectacular about the tower, yet it looks good, there is a nice view from its top and also, it represents an interesting piece of history. The tower was constructed according to a…
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Expressed in Black and White
Do you like b&w photography? Do you create b&w photographs yourself? I have to admit that fulfilling the theme of b&w photography which I had assigned to July in my 12-month photo project was a real challenge to me. Black & white images can be really powerful and can both express and arouse profound feelings and thoughts but my experience in creating them has been very limited. Actually, I had never taken a photo with the aim of creating a b&w image before, I just tried and transformed a few of my photos when the b&w transformation seemed much more expressive than the coloured version. When a friend of mine asked…
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In motion
June is drawing to its end so here I am with five final photos that I’ve taken and selected to represent the theme IN MOTION assigned to June in my 12-month photo project. There are surely many ways how to capture motion in a photo. You need to freeze the action and yet make it obvious and to achieve that, you can choose from several effects. You can opt for having everything sharp. You can have the background sharp and blur the moving object or just the moving part of the object. You can have the object sharp and blur the background. You can blur everything. You can use zooming or…
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Step by step
Step by step moving slowly forwardstep by step through the barren landstep by step put your best foot forwardstep by step feeling good and bad Without cheer of crowdsfeet may seem too heavywithout sign of lightpassing through despairtouching barren landprints are left alreadywithout breath of airpain is hard to bear And yet step by step moving slowly forwardstep by step through the barren landstep by step put your best foot forwardstep by step feeling good and bad
