Big Bog Morning

This was taken early one morning at Big Bog Recreation Area. It's a tough shot to get the color balanced between the warm sky and cool foreground. I've been working on this shot intermittently for two weeks.  My usual rule of thumb is to pitch an image that takes more than a couple minutes to enhance but this one would not leave my mind.  

We are heading to the northwest for a week, starting on San Juan Is. north of Seattle tonight.  This will be a computer vacation. Well not quite, I'll cheat and look at my wife's iPad. Then there is always the iPhone, but no image downloading or processing. Back in a couple weeks.

What is Reality?

Going through the latest batch of photo magazines made me wonder what is real in photography. The top image has been enhanced in Lightroom, below it is the RAW image. In the era of film a split neutral density and warming filter would have been used to create the top image. I didn't see either of these images only the two similar shapes balancing each other in the frame. The enhancement is only used to emphasize the shapes. Are current images less real than the ones created using multiple glass filters? Some images are just made to look at and not worry about the process.

Ladyslippers

I've been looking for orchids the last couple weeks and the showy ladyslippers are at peakin northern Minnesota.  This shot is in contrast to the previous ladyslipper post which was shot from below.  In my orchid search there has been more adventure and blood loss than image production.  I'll be eating liver to restore blood lost from mosquitoes before I head into the bogs again.  Technical: 85 mm kit lens, f 22, human shadow for light diffusion