Best of 2015 (Part 2 of 2)

Although I manipulated the cooler hues, some sunrises in Kansas can be very colorful!

As 2015 went on, I continued to shoot as often as I could. I purchased a subscription to Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography package. For a low monthly rate, this ensured I'd always have access to the most up-to-date versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. I still have a lot to learn of the basics of Photoshop, but I've gotten somewhat decent using Lightroom. I probably do 85% of my post production in Lightroom. Our local library has granted all card holders free access to Lynda.com, which is a great site to learn all kinds of different thing, including some exceptional photography courses. At the end of the year, I joined The Arcanum, which is a mentor/apprentice style of teaching modernized for today's world. I can't recommend it enough; it is awesome. Let me know if you are interested; I can get you a free month!

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Early in the year, I had the opportunity to photograph one of my favorite bands (Railroad Earth) at a small venue in town. I really wasn't supposed to have a DSLR in there, but the band didn't seem to mind. I only took in the Canon 50mm f/1.8, as it was the fasted lens I owned and would be necessary in the dark lighting.

Fun with motion blur.

I'm not really into street photography so much, but Lawrence does seem like a good place to hone those skills. We have on average about 10 parades a year and they usually are much more than parade floats going down the street. Our town has a unique mix of people and we seem to attract transients, especially during the summer months. We are one of Kansas's most liberal towns, and it is pretty apparent once you visit.

The Love Garage, located across from Memorial Stadium.

Ten way different expressions in one split second.

Luthier and musician Steve Mason, of the Alferd Packer Memorial String Band. I love their song 'I Miss Pluto'.

Bandalonie performing (by himself) at the 2015 Busker Festival.

Brightly dressed guy at the Reggae Fest down by the river.

Perhaps one of the funnest events I photographed this year (and my first time experiencing it) was the Lawrence Zombie Walk. Hundreds of men, women and children dressed up and bloodied up to roam Mass St. in downtown Lawrence. For these photos, I was using a vintage Pentax lens, adapted for use with my Sony mirrorless camera. This lens is faster than my other E Mount lenses and is a great focal length, as I wanted to get portrait-type street shots. This isn't he sharpest lens I own, but with the processing I was planning to do with the zombie photos, that really didn't matter.

Zombies roam the streets one night a year...and then drink beer afterwards!

A Zombie Nurse Junkie

One thing I've really started to work on is to develop my own post-processing style. I still put most of my focus (no pun intended) on composition, but I still want my photos to look like they came from me. I do like bold, striking colors and rich blacks, but I also like photos that look a little washed out with a little split-toning thrown in. Lightroom is such an unbelievably powerful application, that experimenting is almost ALWAYS happening. 

After the harvest.

A small pond sits under a very weird-colored, midday sky.

Lawrence in the distance; taken from Well's Overlook.

The newly opened Baker Wetlands Discovery Center (and the wetlands) is only a mile from my new home!

Besides the Zombie Walk, the end of the year is guaranteed to bring large fields of huge sunflowers and lots of holiday photo opportunities. This was my first year visiting Grinter's Farm, which displays thousands of large sunflowers in September of every year. I was a little overwhelmed and can't wait to photograph it again this year. The fall colors are also really fun to photograph. I enjoy seeking compositions that are unique, as we all get flooded with fall color photos every October. The holiday season is always a fun time to photograph family members. My daughter doesn't like to pose often, but she was very easy to work with while putting up the Christmas tree.

Sunflower at Grinter's Farm. I really want to work on processing black and white photos more effectively.

Fall colors at Mary's Lake.

Hannah hanging ornaments.

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As I stated in the first part of this two-part post, 2015 was a really fun and great year for my photography. I've learned a lot, but perhaps more importantly, I've learned where to seek the opinion's of my peers and when to listen. As with many things, success follows practice. In 2016, I hope to practice everyday, in some way or another, whether it be shooting or working on a blog post or working on processing the backlog of photos I have. I'll leave with one of my favorites from the year, the obligatory SuperBloodHarvest Moon sequence. Enjoy!

On a clear night in September....