Tag: layers

Layered

Layered (The Daily Post)

This week, let’s explore the interplay of texture and depth.

Normally I park in the Spring Street parking deck, but tonight I found street parking on Witherspoon Street. This was unusual. On a normal busy night, street parking is hard to find in Princeton. This was further proof that tonight would be a slow night.

Layered (The Daily Post)

This week, let’s explore the interplay of texture and depth.

My wife came with me. Earlier in the week, I had mentioned to her that I wanted to go into Princeton. I had an eye for the weekly photo challenge. I put it off all week, but on Thursday I finally said to her, "Let's do it tonight".

I was disappointed. There was much less traffic than I expected, and the streets seemed empty of people. I thought that the streets would be filled with local, tourist and students walking around and visiting the local bars and restaurants. But not this night.

Normally I park in the Spring Street parking deck, but tonight I found street parking on Witherspoon Street. This was unusual. On a normal busy night, street parking is hard to find in Princeton. This was further proof that tonight would be a slow night.

Why did any of that matter? My vision for the weekly challenge was to photograph the cars and people walking by on Nassau Street. We walked up Witherspoon Street and crossed Nassau Street to the gates of Princeton University.

I set up the tripod, framed the shot of Hamilton Jewelers, and waited. The traffic was light, and there was only a little foot traffic. My wife and I conversed with passing students who were curious as what I was doing. It must have seemed strange to them; a man with a camera on a tripod photographing what seemed to be space.

I shot at 10, 15, 20, and 30 seconds exposures. My wife and I walked over to Washington Road, and I took a few shots of the water feature near the Woodrow Wilson School. We watched a young woman walk barefoot through the water. Some students were sitting and conversing on the far end, enjoying the chill, but not cold, air.

We slowly walked back to the car.

layered, night photography
Corner of Witherspoon & Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

In Lightroom, I made my picks and pulled them into Photoshop. I blended the layers -- two images -- to make this one image. The final image is the featured image for this post.

layered, night photography
Corner of Witherspoon & Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ

Each Wednesday, The Daily Prompt Photo Challenge provides a theme for creative inspiration. Participants take photographs based on their interpretation of the theme and post them on their blog anytime before the following Wednesday.

Working Hard

A few weekend's ago, nature pissed on the Princeton area. For over 36 hours, a snowstorm dumped its load. By the time the wind and snow had stopped, we had over 30 inches of snow piled in front of our doorway. I could hardly see my car. MY wife and I dreaded going put to remove the powder, so we waited until the next day, Sunday.

We opened the garage door and worked for over 1-hour shovelling snow from around the car. Once we had removed enough snow, I parked the car on the street while the kids and I removed the rest of the snow from the driveway. This was backbreaking work. The snow was the heavy packing kind. Great for making snowballs and snowmen but a PITA for parents who need to get to work the next day.

After digging out and surveying the work we had done, I suddenly remembered an image I had seen a few years earlier. The photographer had taken images of himself in various poses in his driveway. I tried to recreate that image. My image is shot facing into the driveway. The photographer had composed his scene facing out from his garage. He had an image of himself sitting in a lawn chair, drinking hot chocolate while observing himself working in the snow. Our lawn chairs were in the shed in the back. The shed was inaccessible due to the aforementioned 30 inches of snow in the backyard, so I improvised. I used an image of me sipping some scotch while leaning against a shovel.

I learned how to use Photoshop layer masks last summer. This is perhaps not the best work I've done with masks, but it was the most fun. Five images were used to create this composite.