I’m learning something new every day. Over at iffles.com, there’s a cool, concise post about dramatic use of Gimp layers. I applied two of the effects (hard light and desaturation) to a recent image that looked kind of dull. Now it pops a bit more, I think.

The lamp is as big as the person, but more yellow, or so it seems? Post-processed with the Gimp. There was fog on the lens, intentionally. [EXIF]

Tags: fog, Image, Nikon D90, Photography, reflection, Sigma 28-70mm f3.5-4.5 UC, soft

Seth Godin describes my kids. My older is the hunter, my junger is the farmer…

50,000 years ago, civilization forked. Farming was invented and the way many people spent their time was changed forever.

Clearly, farming is a very different activity from hunting. Farmers spend time sweating the details, worrying about the weather, making smart choices about seeds and breeding and working hard to avoid a bad crop. Hunters, on the other hand, have long periods of distracted noticing interrupted by brief moments of frenzied panic.

It’s not crazy to imagine that some people are better at one activity than another. There might even be a gulf between people who are good at each of the two skills. Thom Hartmann has written extensively on this. He points out that medicating kids who might be better at hunting so that they can sit quietly in a school designed to teach farming doesn’t make a lot of sense. 

A kid who has innate hunting skills is easily distracted, because noticing small movements in the brush is exactly what you’d need to do if you were hunting. Scan and scan and pounce. That same kid is able to drop everything and focus like a laser–for a while–if it’s urgent. The farming kid, on the other hand, is particularly good at tilling the fields of endless homework problems, each a bit like the other. Just don’t ask him to change gears instantly.

My first try at HDR. I guess that the image itself doesn’t lend itself for HDR. It utterly failed, but somehow it was rescued by lots of Gimp love to create a drapery of winter (I just made that one up).

Stiched & tonemapped in picturenaut and post-processed in the Gimp.

Who did say that a picture says more about the photographer than the subject?

HDR fail.

Tags: Berlin, fail, HDR, Image, Nikon D90, Photography, Sigma 28-70mm f3.5-4.5 UC, white

Hey all,

I havent posted in a while so this is just to let you know that I’m still here.

My last few weeks have been a bit rough. My job is kinda demanding at the moment. It’s an amazingly cool project with a very nice client, and is tons of fun. It’s a lot of responsibility, and the deadline is looming. So it’s lots of work and not much time taking or editing pictures!

If you’re interested in such things, here is a pic of my current office. Looks a bit unfinished, but it’s actually kind of inspiring (I do have a second desk in a furnished office next door by the way).

My current 'office'

Also, I really hurt injured my back. So much, that I had to had a few appointments with a chiropractic and I’m currently going trough physiotherapy. The physio is amazing, it’s so nice when the pain is going away (for a short while).

Sitting in front of a two laptop computers with a bad back for 12+ hours is not fun. With a bad back it’s a wee bit worse, I am totally and utterly unfit.

So in order to not fall apart like a broken lego man (as I am comparably flexible to one), I decided to start yoga. Sivananda yoga, to be more precise, as suggested by my physiotherapist.

I’ll keep you posted…

Stuck in a hotel room, I took the chance to snap a few pictures and fire up the Gimp. Here is the result.

Before

“muted reflection” [EXIF]

I really like how the light seems to flicker on the tile. But I really wanted something more blue…

After

“cold flame” [EXIF]

What do you think?

The Berlin Cathedral. EXIF

Well it’s a most peculiar feeling, like sunburn in the evening
With dark clouds on their way… EXIF

The remote symbolises boredom. EXIF

I am still in Berlin, and tonight, I met up with a very good friend. We took a drive through Berlin and she gave me a run down of all the sights to see. Later, we had some lovely Thai food.

The Berlin Cathedral

A mysterious golden walkway

The Goldelse

Approaching the Brandenburger Tor

The German Cathedral

The Berlin television tower piercing the clouds

Tags: Berlin, Image, night, Nikon D90, photo drive, Photography, Sigma 28-70mm f3.5-4.5 UC