"Feather Friday"

Happy Weekend Everyone ! Yup it's finally here so now what do we do? Play with Still Life that's what we do! I just purchased my monthly educational materials at the book store a few days ago which are 10 magazines (mostly UK productions) that I get every month to keep up on new techniques, software & equipment. I just hate the fact that they run between $10 & $20 a PIECE! I know it doesn't cost THAT much to put a magazine on a ship or airplane and your stuck paying because MOST of the great photo magazines come from the UK and we get them a MONTH behind too (so it must ship on a boat LOL). Anyway, a lot of them were concentrating on still life photography this month and I was inspired by these articles to hunt down a subject to capture.

This still life macro shot was born while playing with my cat Oreo. This is actually a CAT TOY, it's a ball covered in feathers that CHIRPS like a bird when you shake or move it. After I tossed it a few times I noticed how cool the feathers look under natural light. So I placed it on my bay window sill while the sun was setting and broke out my Tamron 90mm macro lens & tripod. To capture the most absolutely best detail I could I also used (Live View - which I rarely use) along with a cable release, the mirror up & delayed exposure functions to eliminate even the slightest shake or movement on the tripod. The result is seen here, which was finished off with some stacked edges using OnOne Pro Frames 4, then blurred & dragged with a custom brush in CS3 & a simple black keyline frame applied.

PS: Thank You for all the Wonderful Comments & Concerns for my health the past few days, I'm Happy to report my Spine is feeling DECENT today and that's all I can ask for at this point, so I'm pushing forward. Have a WONDEFUL Weekend everyone, be kind to yourself & someone else. You owe it to yourself to have some fun so be sure to get our there and crank off some frames, hit the dark room and crack a smile when your masterpiece is done ! Oh and then 'Show Them Off' in your Dailies so the rest of us can see ;)

~Bill Pador~

"Feather Friday"

Happy Weekend Everyone ! Yup it's finally here so now what do we do? Play with Still Life that's what we do! I just purchased my monthly educational materials at the book store a few days ago which are 10 magazines (mostly UK productions) that I get every month to keep up on new techniques, software & equipment. I just hate the fact that they run between $10 & $20 a PIECE! I know it doesn't cost THAT much to put a magazine on a ship or airplane and your stuck paying because MOST of the great photo magazines come from the UK and we get them a MONTH behind too (so it must ship on a boat LOL). Anyway, a lot of them were concentrating on still life photography this month and I was inspired by these articles to hunt down a subject to capture.

This still life macro shot was born while playing with my cat Oreo. This is actually a CAT TOY, it's a ball covered in feathers that CHIRPS like a bird when you shake or move it. After I tossed it a few times I noticed how cool the feathers look under natural light. So I placed it on my bay window sill while the sun was setting and broke out my Tamron 90mm macro lens & tripod. To capture the most absolutely best detail I could I also used (Live View - which I rarely use) along with a cable release, the mirror up & delayed exposure functions to eliminate even the slightest shake or movement on the tripod. The result is seen here, which was finished off with some stacked edges using OnOne Pro Frames 4, then blurred & dragged with a custom brush in CS3 & a simple black keyline frame applied.

PS: Thank You for all the Wonderful Comments & Concerns for my health the past few days, I'm Happy to report my Spine is feeling DECENT today and that's all I can ask for at this point, so I'm pushing forward. Have a WONDEFUL Weekend everyone, be kind to yourself & someone else. You owe it to yourself to have some fun so be sure to get our there and crank off some frames, hit the dark room and crack a smile when your masterpiece is done ! Oh and then 'Show Them Off' in your Dailies so the rest of us can see ;)

~Bill Pador~