December 2018: Gum Bichromate Revisited

I've driven by this tree maybe a thousand times, photographed it maybe 50 times, and never been able to capture the real character of it until now.  My friend Rob does a lot of vintage photography, and turns out prints of incredible character and warmth using the old school methods of glass plate negatives and different types of chemical processing. I have always wanted to learn the process, but have never gotten around to it. And to be honest, Photoshop now does a pretty reasonable job of allowing me to simulate many of those processes, including the "gum bichromate" process.  I have done these before, with mixed results.  It hadn't struck me before that I should have been simulating the old style lenses as well.  Doing that has really made all the difference, and in this case is exactly the sort of thing that finally allows the character of this old gnarly pine tree come across as it should. 

It isn't Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree, but it could have been. A long, long time ago. 😊

See you all next year!
Jonderson

November 2018: One from the Archives

You are going to have to make do with one from the archives this month, as fall is always a busy time of year for me. I am making it a good one though.
This is a cheetah which looks as if it has just finished a Thanksgiving feast and is mere seconds away from a nap.  Something tells me that this particular cheetah would not live up to their reputation as the fastest animals on land at the moment. 😊