Images Inspired by Josef Sudek’s Atelier

Posted by Becky Jane

Challenged to look at the work of Josef Sudek’s photography and emulate it, I chose to capture Still Life images like he did on the windowsill of his Atelier, or Studio. I’d rise early to get the moody images, especially on rainy days. The windowsill in my kitchen offered indirect, filtered light in the morning with sky peeking through the leaves of the trees. I chose to use this to create a bokeh effect for the background. I converted to black and white and applied various filters and textures to simulate wet plate collodion plates and used either a sepia tone or cool tone. This was a fun project, very much influenced by what produce was available.

Shadows

Posted by Becky Jane

As part of Fleeting Moments Artists, I captures a number of images of shadows. The best of these will be in an online gallery.

I chose to make all of my images black and white with a platinum gradient effect. Shadows distort, enhance or camouflage a subject. The shadows themselves form a shape that is unique. Along with the shadows, we included a “selfie” shadow of ourselves.

Grab Bag – What do you think this is?

Posted by Becky Jane

Studio 2 offers new challenges. The first assignment was to photograph a “grab bag” item. All the items were mundane, every day objects. We were to photograph it in a way that made the object look like art, like a featured image in a magazine. So, can you guess which object I had to photograph? And what lighting style I chose?

Windmills and Bur Oaks

Posted by Becky Jane

We decided to go on a road trip today, even though the weather was not great. But because we have a new car, and we wanted to learn how to use all the new gizmos! So we set our destination to “Fabyan Windmill” (Fabyan Forest Preserve in Kane County) and followed the directions in the new navigation system. It got us to the first boundary of the preserve, but not the entry point. Maybe best to get an address next time. So, amongst the goose poop, we walked around in the cool, damp air just looking. Except I can’t just look when there are Bur Oaks! I had my iPhone 7, so these images are iphoneography, and all editing was done on my iPad. I need to know that mobile solutions work! I don’t always have easy access to my computer.

The Apps I used: For capture, the iPhone 7 native camera and LenkaCam for black and white images. For editing, I used Snapseed and iWatermark+ for my logo. I’m still learning the best way to use the watermark app.

So imagine the cold, damp air, clouds overhead, with goose poop under your feet, and surrounded by a grove of Bur Oaks. Add the Historic Windmill at the top of the hill.

The Unexpected

Posted by Becky Jane

Always be ready to capture an image! This morning the bright morning sun was casting an interesting shadow on my floor. Quick, grab the iPhone 6s and capture the moment. I chose to use my favorite black and white App, LenkaCam. I like the image so much, I uploaded to Instagram, applied minimal edits, and posted it. You never know what Instagram folks will like, but this image was a winner! There are 84 Likes in 26 minutes! A new record for me. Here is the Morning Sun Shadows image:

Morning Sun Shadows

Playfulness!

Posted by Becky Jane

Playfulness

Sometimes, it’s just good to play. Stop worrying about composition, color correcting, being at the right place at the right time. All these things are very good to do, and most of my photography does reflect time spent on various activities.

But sometimes, it’s just fun to play and see what comes of it!

This image came from a series where I was playing, and actually trying to learn how to use my iPhone 5s in different ways. But I really liked this image. I can’t tell you why precisely. Maybe because I know the source and find this image surprising? Maybe it is the gentle arcs of light against the dark background? Maybe it’s because I know you won’t know what it is, but I do!