Valérie Jardin's Blog
All photography related weblog
Mythical Creature
A couple of weeks ago I spotted (no pun intended) this beautiful Appaloosa in pasture. I shot a few frames but did not get very close. I usually don’t enter private properties without talking with the owners first… I don’t mess with my pictures in the digital darkroom much. I tend to keep it under the minute per image rule. 
Yet, this horse, although beautiful in natural color, is a perfect subject for a little creativity in post processing, don’t you think?
I’ve been thinking about it ever since! Yesterday I decided to go back and try to get closer. I met with the owner Sandy, had a lovely discussion and took a few more frames (although the cats got a lot of my intention too, see previous post). I was a bright sunny day, not the perfect ‘after the rain’ light of the previous visit. But I’ll definitely go back and shoot some more very soon…
My first visit:
re-visited…
Barn Cats
I was out for a little while this afternoon and I stumbled upon some friendly and sleepy barn cats…
Bigger Than Life #28 and #29 ~ A Rose
Oops, I skipped a week! Where does time go? Two macro shots today to make up for last week…
Noir et Blanc
Each flower is unique. Some demand black and white and I am very happy to oblige…
Interesting Faces ~ Feather Hat Man
One more interesting face to add to my collection…
Never Leave Home Without A Camera
I wasn’t out to take pictures this morning but I happened to be in the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis and I had a few minute before my parking meter ran out. When I am not on a photo walk I usually throw an old camera with a 50mm in my bag, it’s light and it’s there in case I need it. Shooting with a 50 mm is challenging because you have to use your feet for zooming. I enjoy the challenge and the limitation, it makes you slow down and think about composition more.
You know I love street photography and I enjoy finding a stage and waiting for the action to take place. I did not have to wait too long in front of the motorcycle dealership to get some interesting people and gestures in my frame.
Then I saw those two painters working on each end of this symmetrical building and I found the scene amusing…
Never leave home without a camera and, if you still have 15 minutes in the parking meter, take a walk around the block and see the world around you!
Minneapolis North Loop Photo Walk
Today my photo walk group met in Minneapolis and explored the North Loop neighborhood. We wanted to shoot some urban decay and had fun checking out an abandoned building, unfortunately there was no way to get inside. Then we wandered through the streets and back alleys. We met Bob who showed us this really cool wood working studio space above his shop. Photo walks are fun as you never know who you are going to meet around the next corner!
Inside the wood working studio…
The story of an artist in his studio
I love to shoot environmental portraits. Especially artists in their environment, whether they are painters of chefs, I enjoy capturing their personality and the details around them.
I spent some time photographing glass artist Peter Zelle last week as he was working on a large new project. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his craft as I was doing the shoot. Here are some of my favorite shots. I used ambient light only, some of the images called for B&W, others for true color or even something more creative such as the last picture. As photographer Chris Orwig said so well: “Correct color is not necessarily accurate color, rather it’s color which reflects a mood that you want to express or your vision for a way a photograph should be experienced.”
Bigger Than Life #27 ~ Green
I photographed this leaf with direct sunlight behind it to make the color pop!
Interesting Faces – The Artist
I had a fun environmental portrait session with glass artist Peter Zelle in his studio this morning. I did the entire shoot with available light only which was coming from windows located high up by the ceiling. This made for an interesting and dramatic light. I will be posting more images in a visual story later on but I thought these shots would be a good addition to my ‘Interesting Faces’ collection. Don’t you think?
Living the dream!
