The Changing Face of the Palouse

Remember how picturesque the Palouse was with those crop covered rolling hills?  A photographers paradise with a beautiful vista just beyond the next rise.  From the high point in the Palouse, Steptoe Butte was the vantage point to oversee what seemed the entire expanse of Washington State's rural wonder.  What you saw were the magnificient rolling hills touching the sky, fields of wheat, lentils and other grain crops abounding, sparse trees, barns, small towns and farms dotting the scenery.

 Well, we're afraid that image is becoming a thing of the past.  The invention of the Wind Turbine and the ever advancing infiltration of Wind Farms is changing the face of the Palouse. We have all seen them in other areas of the country including Washington State, but locally, those areas were a bit more remote. A few years ago the change began in the southern part of the Palouse near Dayton,WA. We discovered on a recent trip through the Palouse just north of Steptoe Butte on SR 195 the following sight:

 The hills are no longer the highest point touching the beautiful blue and white cloud patched sky it's the Wind Turbines towering over everything in site.

It must be mentioned here that we even drove by a sign near a Wind Turbine Farm that stated something to the effect that...  "You are now entering Washington's Scenic Palouse".  That sign must have been installed prior to Wind Turbine construction.

 

 With the new fiscal crises bill being passed, it appears that additional tax credits will be allowed to the green energy industry for new project starts in 2013...could this mean even more Wind Turbines on other hills across the Palouse???

Being photographers however, you have to adjust to field situations.  So, we found ways to make the photographs more interesting even though the scenery has changed.

Wind Turbine with a dwarfed Steptoe Butte in the distance

 

A distant Steptoe Butte off to the left

Remnants of last years apples 

 

 

The photographs of the Palouse that many of us dedicated photographers have shot over the years are historical. Every time we visit the Palouse we see changes.  Different crops; changing weather; seasons; color and lighting conditions; also old barns that were once picturesque, now gone but it has always been pristine in the farming sense. We never expected to see this type of change. It is all the more reason to continue shooting images and documenting what is seen in the present; for these sights too, may some day be gone and those images, historical.

Volume II Issue 3 - PSA Inland Empire Chapter Spring Seminar with Nevada Wier (2012)

Nevada Wier

We're sorry for the untimely post of this Blog but we've been traveling around the Northwest and have just recently landed back home.  We would be amiss if we didn't blog about our wonderful experience of seeing and listening to internationally renown travel photographer Nevada Wier at PSA's Inland Empire Chapter's Spring Seminar held in Spokane, WA from March 31st through April 1, 2012.

Nevada was an excellent presenter as she discussed the history of her journey into the photographic world.  She enhanced her past experiences with a light humor we found endearing.  Nevada explained the methods she employs to produce her award-winning images.  She also provided numerous tips and showed examples on how we, as photographers could travel more smoothly and improve our works. 

Since Ken is an artist who likes to approach photography from a more creative angle, he is always eager to hear the approaches of other photographers.  He very much enjoyed Nevada's discussion of slow shutter speeds and blending of blurred images.  One of her quotes (paraphrased), "If it's creative and a good image, it doesn't matter how you got there", really hit home with him.  She expanded her views of photography by sharing a George Lois quote: "The creative act ie. the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything".  Attendees were also encouraged to...experiment, experiment, experiment...rules were meant to be broken.

Oftentimes when listening to someone as well traveled as Nevada Wier, some photographers become frustrated by the limits of the current economy.  She stated however that "The voyage of discovery is not where you've been but seeing it through different eyes" which gives an alternative in thinking to those of us who are limited to shooting closer to home.

For additional information, check out her website:  www.nevadawier.com
Thank you Nevada, for spending your time and the weekend with us and sharing your photographic skills and knowledge.  We learned a LOT from your presentation.

In addition, it's always nice to see Massachesetts' favorite son, Gary Farber with all the latest photo gadgets from Hunts Photo and Video...be sure to shop and buy Hunts!

As always, Steve Shining did an excellent job as MC of the seminar.  Thanks all around to everyone, ie. Steve, Jerry, Otto, John, Deke, Leroy and Vickie who again helped put on a successful Spring Seminar.  It was nice to renew old friendships with the great photographers of both the Spokane and Spokane Valley Camera Clubs as well as our photographer friends from British Columbia...and you know who YOU all are, along with making new friends from Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.  We enjoy crossing the mountains each Spring to attend this function with you and look forward to seeing you all next year.

-Ken and Lydia Strange

Volume II Issue 1 - JVH Large Format Digital Printing Workshop

Embassy Suites Hotel in Bellevue, WA was the site on March 20 & 21, 2012 for the 8th Annual JVH Large Format Digital Printing (LFDP) Workshop, Festival and Print Contest.  We thank John Harrington, owner of JVH Technical LLC (www.jvhtech.com), his wife Kathy, son Ryan and Carol Manoha for the hard work that went into coordinating this great event. The featured keynote speaker was John Paul Caponigro (www.johnpaulcaponigro.com), nationally renowned landscape photographer, Photoshop and print guru.  He was joined by medium format guru and co-owner of Luminous Landscape, Dr. Mark Dubovoy (www.luminouslandscape.com) and John Pannozzo, President of ColorByte Software (the maker of Image Print) (www.colorbytesoftware.com).  Other presenters were Corinne and Stevn Alavekios from Photographic Essays (http://photographicessays.com), Mark Fitzgerald (Photoshop and Lightroom workflow, teacher and author from The Digital Darkroom) and John Morse from Mounting and Lam Supplies out of Melbourne, Florida.  Technical support was provided by Rob Simpson, field engineer for Epson (www.epson.com) and Ron Martinsen (tech support blogger).  Additional vendors were from Canon, Moab/Legion Media, Sun Supply,  and EFI.

The information-packed first day of the workshop included tips on how to optimize workflow to get the best quality from our images.  The pros offered techniques on color management in both PhotoShop and Lightroom.  We learned additional methods on converting images from color to black and white.  New information on canvas stretching and framing will be helpful in future and the presentation on how to pose models in natural light provided new insight.

During the second day, calibrating and characterizing equipment to obtain a more seamless workflow was discussed along with the techniques, helpful hardware and software tools to deliver phenomenal prints.  Technical strengths between medium format and 35mm equipment was shared.  The history, evolution and longevity of print making was studied in depth. 

Near the end, a great panel consisting of (from left) John Paul Caponigro, John Harrington, Rob Simpson, Dr. Mark Dubovoy and John Pannozzo answered audience questions covering a variety of subjects.Ken and I gained valuable insights from all the above mentioned speakers and the networking with other attendees.  We felt it was well worth the time and I know the marketing skills we received will enhance our photographic images and business.

Volume I Issue 3

A CURRENT EVENT OF NOTE:

The Covington Days Festival Art Show is being held this weekend (July 15th through 17th) at the Cedar Heights Middle School in Covington, WA.  The following image received the third place award in the adult photographic category:

Dust in the Fog-by Ken Strange

NEW IMAGES:

This week we are adding more new images to our website and we thought we would preview some of them here and tell you a little bit about how they were processed. 

Image #1  Muddy Water-by Ken
This photo was taken near the town of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island.  On this day, a heavy surf was providing a lot of action.  It was originally processed using Nik Silver Efex Pro as a black and white.  The image was dodged and burned as needed to provide more highlights in the splashing waves and a color gradient was added to complete the work.
 

Image #2  Painted Reflections-by Ken
Grays River in southwest Washington provided this three bracketed shot exposure of river reflections (+2, 0, -2).  Another single-shot-image of a tree using the Columbia River as a backdrop was then blended with the first group in Nik HDR Efex Pro.  These four images were then combined with a colored textured filter and finished in Topaz Adjust Simplify.

Image #3  Vineyard Lines-by Lydia
Some of the vineyards in the Willamette Valley are especially photogenic because of the rolling hills.  This shot was more impressive because the grapevine rows initially droppped off slowly then abruptly climbed skyward.  Because of the sloping ground, my horizon seemed off.  So, in CS5, I used edit>free transform>warp to level the bases of the two stakes marking the end of the rows.

 

Image #4 Grape Leaves-by Lydia

Oftentimes, scenics require a wide-angle view.  I find however that once that is captured, it helps to come in closer to get a better feel of a subject.  This is one such image.  These grape leaves give a sense of warmth that the wide-angle vineyard scene above cannot capture in its graphic look.  Due to a slight breeze, some of the leaves came out soft, so I added an artistic texture.  By having it appear as if on canvas, the softness becomes a moot issue.

PHOTOBLOG COMMENTS:

We always appreciate and enjoy any comments, suggestions or questions you may have.  If you have tried the discussed processes or ideas we have shown and have experienced success, have questions or realized other unexpected results, please share those with us and other visitors by clicking the "Comment Box" at the bottom of the blog.  

Volume I Issue 2

#1  Revisiting Previously Processed Images

Many of us have photographed scenes or subjects in the past because we liked the composition, subject matter or the emotions that they evoked.  Once out of the camera we would process the image only to find many times that the end result was rather dull or lackluster.  Now, with the advent of new processing technologies we are able to produce images that are full of color and impact, bringing emotions back into play.

I recently looked through some of my digital folders with files that were processed in Photoshop over the past couple of years.  I decided to revisit and reprocess two of those pictures and chose NIK HDR EFEX PRO software to see how it could enhance those images.  Since neither were bracketed shots I chose to use the "Tone Mapping Single Image" feature which is only one section of this full service HDR software program.  I was very pleased with the end result.  I found the realistic presets worked nicely to enhance the colors, provide more contrast definition and in general, it just brought more life back into the images.  NIK software is very quick and easily achieves great results.

If the existing presets don't give you exactly what you want, you can select from the many adjustment sliders this software has to offer for easy tweaking of your image.  If you have bracketed your shots, you can run the full HDR program to produce a broad range of vibrant images.

The #1 picture is the originally processed image from Mono Lake. I liked it but it just didn't have enough WOW factor for me. I wanted more contrast and definition in the clouds and more of a golden glow in the water. The #1a picture is the revisited processed image, it gave me that additional snap that I wanted.

1. Calornia's Mono Lake March 2008 Original Processed Image-by Ken

1a  California's Mono Lake March 2008 Revisited Process Image-by Ken

The #2 picture is the orginally processed image from Yellowstone's West Thumb taken during the fire of Sept. 2009. Here again it was a nice shot with the sun star effect in the tree but the clouds didn't produce that redish brown color that was caused by the fire. I wanted to show what was actually there. The #2a picture is the revisited processed image providing that look.

2. Yellowstone's West Thumb Sept. 2009 Fire Original Processed Image-by Ken

2a Yellowstone's West Thumb Sept 2009 Fire Revisited Processed Image-by Ken

Both of the revised images can be viewed full size in our Website's "Scenic Gallery ".


#2  Some New Images to be found on the Website

The images below will be found in the Strange Light Fusion, Abstract and the Yesteryear galleries.

The starfish and muscle shell image is a Strange Light Fusion processed image.  The angle of light and the colors were modified to give this image a glowing quality.


Neptune's Gold Fusion-by Lydia

While traveling through central Oregon in the Fall of 2009, I took an image in an Aspen grove.  The following June, I revisited that panned image, mirrored and modified it and the work shown below was created.  This has been a very popular image in three local galleries.  It has been in numerous juried art shows where it caught the eye of the judges and always won awards.


Dreamy Trees-by Lydia

  

 In mid-June, Lydia and I decided to climb Mt. Peak (a 1,000 ft. climb in a 1 mile distance), at the outskirts of Enumclaw.  The trail is a beautifully wooded winding path with images awaiting around every corner.  This is one such image.  It is a vertically panned abstract of a stand of evergreen trees.  This abstract was processed using NIK SILVER EFEX PRO, turning it into a monochromatic image.  It was then blended in Photoshop with a colored texture to give it the golden yellow glow you see here.


Mt. Peak Trail Abstract-by Ken

Poppies and other flowers are blooming at our Aunt's house next door.  The color of the red Poppy stood out from the earthiness of the background.  The image of the Poppy was zoomed out and then blended with a light colored texture during the processing stage.



Poppy from the Past-by Ken

Note:  Stay tuned to our Strange Images Website.  We will soon be adding images to our new "The Icon Gallery" found by going to Creative>The Icon Gallery.  Also check out the "Tips" section of this blog for the new tip of the week.

Volume 1 Issue 1

Welcome to the first posting of the Strange Images Blog 

The purpose of starting this blog is two-fold:
1.  To share our photographic images, techniques and hopefully some new ideas with other photographers, friends and family.  Our styles encompass traditional, expressionistic, abstract and the unusually creative, hence the name, Strange Images.
2.  To announce the joint grand openings of our website and blog.  We planned to start the website some time ago but just hadn't gotten all the bugs worked out for it to be up and running until now.  It currently has an initial sampling of our images showing new techniques and styles.  Although the website currently doesn't contain all the images which have been shown publicly in the past, it will be expanded on a regular basis and those images will soon be added.  Please check it out at:  http://strangeimages.strange-domain.com
Be sure to save this in your Favorites Listing for quick and easy access. 

And now for a plug or 2:

While visiting our website enjoy the wonderful sounds of Steinway & Sons composer and pianist, Gary Jess.  His music is featured in several of the gallery slide shows and a link to his website is posted there as well.  We would like to also take this opportunity to thank Gary and his wife Jill for allowing us to showcase his music on our website.

We would also like to thank Seattle-based photographer Gretchen Thompson for her invaluable assistance in answering question regarding our web presence.  Tapping into her vast knowledge as an experienced web user, photographer and former educator made our technical web hiccups seem easier to resolve.  We might also mention that along with her two photographic-minded sidekicks (Chris Diepenbrock and Al Koskie) Gretchen has recently co-created a delightful photo book entitled, "Last Stop".  Check it out, it's great.  See the book and more of her works on her website at:   http://gthomps.zenfolio.com
Also, check out her informational blog at:  http://gretchenthompson.blogspot.com

As many of you may know, over the past three years Lydia & I have been associated with workshops presented by the "Canon Explorer of Light Photographer" Darrell Gulin www.gulinphoto.com  and his invaluable assistant, Jean Carter.  We have really enjoyed presenting digital training sessions as a part of each of the workshops and look forward to continuing those fun times.

We just returned from Cannon Beach and the Oregon Coast.  Here are a couple of photographs recently processed from that trip:

Haystack Rock Impression by Ken
This is an artistically blended and composited image also using TOPAZ filters.

Violet & Purple by Ken
A panned TOPAZ Adjust 4 processed composited image

On a more traditional note, we offer the following two from the same trip:

Caspian Terns#2 by Lydia
Single image cropped into a panorama

Cannon Beach Dawn #2 by Lydia
This is a NIK HDR EFEX PRO processed image

Mid-May found us in Montana where we collected these images:


Arrowhead Balsam Root by Ken
Processed using NIK HDR EFEX PRO 

Mission Mountains by Ken
Processed using NIK HDR EFEX PRO.

Panorama near Ninepipe by Lydia
Processed with the NIK HDR EFEX PRO-realistic default setting.

National Bison Refuge Switchback by Lydia
HDR image processed in Photomatix Pro

Oh by the way if you're out laying on the ground in the National Bison Range be aware that the TICKS are out, 6 of them found us.

While you are here, check out the TIPS tab for helpful ideas and techniques.

Thank you for coming to visit, we hope you will become avid followers and will continue to track our progress in the photographic world and if you like, provide a comment.