Photograph of the Month March 2010 “Ghost Fence”

Wide Screen Version: High Dynamic Range Image of an old fence in heavy fog

High Dynamic Range Photogrpah of an old fence in heavy fog

This month’s photograph is titled “Ghost Fence” I hope you like it.

I found this fence in Sunnyvale Baylands Park last year while biking with my wife. I waited for the heavy fog to shoot it because the image I envisioned called for a mysterious atmosphere to convey the mood of the fence. I think it worked out quite well.

This photograph is a High Dynamic Range Image as are most photographs I have created over the past few years.

I recently discovered that my gallery software has been restricting the size of the images I posted there. It’s a very complicated piece of software and this feature got past me when I was setting it up.

I have corrected the problem and now the screen saver images will be the full 1920×1200 pixels in wide screen format and 1280×1024 pixels in square format that I intended them to be in the first place. I will be going through my archive and resizing past Photograph of the Month images to meet these specifications.

You can download the full size versions by clicking on the images you see above.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

February 2010 Photograph of the Month “Puff Ball”

High Dynamic Range Image of Dandelion Puff Ball

High Dynamic Range Image of Dandelion Puff Ball

This month’s photograph is titled “Puff Ball.” I hope you like it.

I shot this image last year in a local park specifically for the February Photograph of the Month. I intended it to remind everyone of the warm, sunny days of summer hoping it would brighten your day and lift your spirits as the cold dark winter slowly passes.

This is a High Dynamic Range Photograph. I am very pleased with the way this technique brings out detail in both the brightest highlights and darkest shadows. It allows me to control the representation of my subjects with almost the same freedoms of a painter. I say “almost” because when I create an image I still have to work with what is actually before me; a painter has no such restriction.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Please call me if you have any need for photographs and I will do all I can to help you.

Thanks,
Dean

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Photograph of the Month January 2010 Dawn of a New Day

This month’s photograph is titled “Dawn of a New Day.” I hope you like it.

I found this tree while hiking with my wife in the Sunol Regional Wilderness Area. I saw the placement of the foreground elements, structure of the tree and the open meadow and knew it would be a good photograph.

To create this photograph I had to hike two and a half miles and down hill a thousand vertical feet in the dark. It took longer to reach the tree than I had planned and I was concerned I would loose the light. As I arrived these clouds, lit by the glow of the rising sun drifted through and made the shot. I had to set up my camera quickly to capture the moment and as I clicked the shutter I knew all my efforts were paying off.

You can view and download both the Wide Screen and the narrow Scree versions from my portfolio galleries or simply click on the image above and a full size image will open in the same widow.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Thanks and Have a Happy New Year,
Dean

Photograph of the Month “Daisy”

This month’s photograph is titled “Daisy.” I shot this in a local park recently, I like it because it’s simple and sweet. I hope it brightens your day through the coming winter months.

You will notice there are two versions of the photograph. This is due to the recent industry wide adoption of the “wide screen” format for laptops and desktop computers, as well as high end cell phones. I realized that at least thirty-three percent  of the visitors to my site are using the wide screen format and wanted to ensure they had the option of enjoying the screen savers I work so hard to produce each month.

One version is for the wide screen and one version is for the “narrow” screen us geriatric cases are accustomed to. Select whichever fits your need, I will continue to produce both wide and narrow screen versions until the new format becomes universal. You can view and download both versions from my portfolio galleries as well.

The wide screen format has a long history in the movie industry, most of us have seen Panavision movies at one time or another. The computer industry has adopted the wide screen format because it is the defined format of HDTV and the motion picture industry has adopted the wide screen as a standard format for movies.

It also forces all of us to buy new computers lest we be seen as being out of date dinosaurs. If you have twenty minutes you might want to take a look at this video called “The Story of Stuff.” It’s really quite enlightening and aggravating but it’s well written, thoroughly researched and very well produced.

Oh, well… as with any computer technology what is available today really is much better than what was available last month. I just wish it wouldn’t cost quite so much.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Dean

Photograph of the Month “Twilight Time”

"Twilight Time" - A High Dynamic Range Image of Sunset at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve

The title of this months photograph is “Twilight Time”

I shot this image at the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  I had read of  Borel Hill, the highest point on the Peninsula, several months ago in the San Francisco Chronicle. On a clear day you can see all the way out to sea, but I had scouted the location hoping to find a good vantage point for a sunset shot with a blanket of fog filling the valleys below.

This image was taken just about a half hour after sunset and is a very long exposure but fortunately on this night the air was almost still with only the slightest breeze to disturb the most delicate branches of the bushes and blades of grass. I knew that it would be difficult to capture the delicate balance between light and dark and the rich colors that are critical to communicating the feeling of peace and quiet solitude of the scene, but the High Dynamic Range Imaging technique I have been working with proved to be just the right tool for the job.

I hope you like the image and that it brings a small measure of peace and quiet to your busy day.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Dean

Photograph of the Month Screen Saver & Wallpaper Archive Gallery

In May of 2007 I began creating a series of photographs specifically intended to be used as screen savers that I would send out to all my clients on a monthly basis. This idea has proven to be very popular with everyone who receives the images.

When I began my blog I stopped sending the images themselves through e-mail, and instead simply sent a notification out and posted the monthly image in my blog. Many people have asked me to post the past images so they can be downloaded because they hadn’t been included in the list the entire time, or the images sent through e-mail were lost, deleted or misplaced.

I have created an archive gallery of all my Photograph of the Month Screen Savers going back to the very first image “Flight” which you can see here (click the thumbnail to see a larger version.) I will continue to post the images to my blog and send e-mail notices on a monthly basis and I will also add the images to this archive so anyone can see and download them at their convenience.

So, please take a look at the archive, download any images you like and share with your family and friends with my compliments.

Photograph of the Month – Autumn Skies

High Dynamic Range Image

This month’s photograph is titled “Autumn Skies.” I hope you like the image.

I shot this image as I was returning to the San Francisco Bay Area from Monterey late one afternoon. I was planning to shoot a sunset shot of Pigeon Point Lighthouse, but dense fog was rolling in and I knew I couldn’t reach the lighthouse before conditions deteriorated beyond any hope of getting the shot I wanted. So, I decided to stop at Ano Nuevo State Park to see if there were any scenes that would photograph well. I was pleased to find this scene right at the entrance to the park and knew I had a spectacular image. And since this wasn’t a commissioned shot I was free to not worry about the photorealistic representation of the scene and let my creative energies run free.

I used the high dynamic range imaging technique to create this image.  With this technique I captured a range of contrast and luminance values far beyond what is possible with conventional photography. This technique helps me communicate my perceptions of the emotional character of a space or scene. All of my clients love the results when photographing their projects. I will continue using this technique to help my clients win awards and secure new clients by communicating the emotional character of the spaces and structures they create.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Photograph of the Month: Sunset at Gray Whale Cove Beach

A sunset photograph at Gray Whale Cove State Beach in California

This month’s photograph is titled “Sunset at Gray Whale Cove Beach” this is a photorealistic High Dynamic Range Image.

Gray Whale Cove Beach is one of those hidden treasures of the San Francisco Peninsula. It is located north of Montara directly below the south opening of the new Devils Slide Tunnel. Perched atop the hill on the right side of the frame is a decommissioned cold war era radar emplacement that everyone who drives by wonders about because you can’t miss it.

Gray Whale Cove State Beach really is a great little secluded clothing optional beach and once you’re down on the beach you have no indication, by sight or sound that the famous California Highway 1 is “right there.” It is a little dicey getting to the beach from the parking lot because you have to cross the highway with no crosswalk and a restricted view of traffic. And I am sure that drivers aren’t expecting to see pedestrians along this particular stretch of the road so don’t be surprised to find that they aren’t paying close attention, but if you’re careful and courageous you can get across the highway safely. Maybe they’ll put in a pedestrian tunnel once the road construction is completed.

This photograph was shot using the High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) technique. I have been working with HDRI for many years and for the better part of the past year I have been working with the new computer programs that partially automate the process and decided to see how well it worked on a beach sunset. I think the results are pretty good. The aesthetic result is that I captured the perceptual context of scene every bit as well as when I use the technique to photograph architecture and interior design in a more controlled environment. The technical result is that this image contains a wealth of detail in the highlights with no clipping and the shadows show no grain or noise whatsoever.  I did have to resort to compositing the image in Photoshop to get sharp representation of the crashing surf, but I don’t mind using manual methods.

I hope you enjoy this month’s photograph.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Photograph of the Month: Thistle

Dramatic Photograph of a Thistle Blossom

This month’s photograph is titled “Thistle”

I was at the farmers market and spotted these wonderfully dramatic flowers in the Flower Sellers booth. I have always been attracted to the surreal beauty of these formidable plants. They look so  intimidating, but there is a dignity and beauty that captures my heart and speaks to me in a language unknown to all others.

I hope you enjoy this month’s photograph.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

June 2009 Photograph of the Month: The Bay Bridge

A stunning photograph of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco at sunset on a clear day

This month’s photograph is titled “The Bay Bridge at Sunset”

I shot this on one of the clear sky days we get in September. Normally the environment in SF is gray and dreary which doesn’t produce dramatic sunsets. I shot this from the road above the Treasure Island Tunnel. I wanted to get to a more advantageous position but it was both restricted and dangerous to negotiate in the dark, so I opted for this stunning view.

I hope you enjoy this month’s photograph.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.