As I've begun to peruse the community, I've discovered a lot of crummy pictures and a few that blow my mind, but what really inspires me is the variety of styles that exist. Lately I've been trying to figure out what my photographic style is; so far, I haven't quite found it. I am fortunate to possess enough skill that my pictures don't suck, but green enough that I haven't fallen into artistic ruts.
Since I aspire to be unique, I was hesitant to include this picture here. Roses are common fodder for photographers, especially in monochrome (type 'rose black and white' into Google image search to see what I mean), and I definitely don't want to be that type of photographer. The reason I include this picture is because the finished product turned out completely different than what I expected to get.
Here is the original unaltered picture:
I shot this picture using only the light from the kitchen chandelier, directly above me. Although I like the composition (especially how the darkened geometrical shapes of the table, chairs and cupboards juxtapose with the softer, brighter contours of the roses), the flowers are washed out and ill-defined. After turning it monochrome, I began boosting the saturation and reducing the lowlights. Lo and behold, the background disappeared leaving only the roses. All in iPhoto. Who needs Photoshop, anyway?
Me apparently. I've pretty much hit the boundaries of iPhoto's potential. It may not be long before I succumb to the temptation.
29.4.08. Cropped to 3X5, boosted contrast and exposure, reduced lowlights.
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