Prairie – heath ofee dot com

Prairie Vibrance

Heath OFee — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:10:07 +0000

In keeping with the panorama theme from Friday, I figured I’d share this shot from my home province of Alberta. Now, this isn’t a panorama in the truest sense – it’s just a wide aspect crop of a single frame. The original included much more of the fresh, black pavement and I felt it ate up too much of the frame. There’s nothing wrong with some creative cropping every now and then

Any guesses on what that yellow crop is?

Equipment:
– Canon EOS 5D Mark II
– Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L

Little House on the Prairie

Heath OFee — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:10:15 +0000

I’ll admit, this shot is a bit of an experiment, and I’m willing to bet it’s not for everyone…but what’s the fun in producing the same ol’ stuff all the time, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a bit of work with textures before, but I’ve never used one that so obviously makes an image look like a painting. When I applied this brushstroke texture as a bit of fun, I ended up really liking the result. I think it adds a bit of extra depth and gives the shot a real tangible feeling…like you could reach out and touch all that texturing. I’m more than open to critique, so feel free to leave honest comments below.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 14mm, F 16, ISO 100, 1/160 sec

Prairie Winter

Heath OFee — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 18:42:11 +0000

Today is another shot from the archives…this one from a very cold February day last year. This was the very first time I went out shooting with the intention of capturing brackets for HDR processing. Is it ironic that I decided to process this as a single black and white frame with a bunch of extra film grain added for a retro feel? You be the judge

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 15mm, F 11, ISO 100, 1/40 sec

Aging Barbs

Heath OFee — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:16:18 +0000

I was up late last night with the intention of processing a ton of images, but as it turned out I spent most of my time on the one you see below. I knew from the start that I wanted a bit of a rustic look to it, but I had no idea that I would start experimenting with textures for the first time! Since I’d never added texture to a shot before it was a bit of a learning experience for me in Photoshop. After a decent amount of playing around with a bunch of different textures, the opacity slider and a gradient I felt I was happy with how the texture added to the look of the photo. I also threw a yellowish layer on top to give the photo a bit more of an aged look which I felt suited the content.

It’s always nice to try something new when processing an image…gets the old brain working in different ways. As much as I love online tutorials for learning how to do things like this in Photoshop, I’ve always thought the real learning comes from trying a few things, screwing up, and then trying again (which I did plenty of last night). I’m happy with how my first textured shot came out, but I’m open to some constructive criticism as well…please let me know what you think!

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 11, ISO 100, 5 Exposures

Clouds and Bales

Heath OFee — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 22:14:32 +0000

Living on the prairies lends itself to some pretty good photography opportunities, and sometimes I think I take my proximity to wide open farmland for granted. If I hit the road and drive for 30 minutes south, east, or west of where I live I quickly find myself surrounded by soft rolling hills and patchwork farmland as far as the eye can see. I decided I’d try to capture some of this iconic Alberta landscape yesterday afternoon.

Hay bales are such a common sight along these country roads and I’ve always felt they make for great photographic subjects. I took a number of shots at the same location you’ll see below, but it wasn’t until I trespassed a bit more than I would have liked and got nice and close to this bale that I was really happy with the composition. Having one bale as a prominent foreground element was key.

Canon EOS 50D, Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, 10mm, F 11, ISO 100, 5 Exposures