Here are a few Cloudscapes and sunsets that I photographed in the summer and fall of 2007. No artistic changes (such as digital airbrushing, texture filters, etc.) were made to these photographs (with the exception of photograph no. 2 -- I removed an ugly power box for a streetlight, which ruined the shot -- cloning another part of the lake and flipping it vertically 180 degrees to cover that part of the shot fixed it).
The limitations of man-made optics and digital imaging devices still fall short of what the human eye can perceive, and the dwindling light of sunsets makes it hard for the camera to pick up what the human eye sees, so digital photographs often need a nudge in the right direction to bring them to life. Increased color saturation, warming and cooling photo light filters, under/over exposure correction, and adjustments to hue, contrast, and brightness were applied to bring the photos to life. In other words, a little simple image enhancement allows the viewer to see what the photographer saw when snapping the picture. Also, any digital flaws have been corrected, such as empty pixels, dark and light spots.
Private collectors may download all of my photographs for your own photo albums and viewing pleasure. Redistribution for commercial resale in either print or electronic form without permission is strictly prohibited and punishable by law. All photographs Copyright 2008 Gregory Paul Hatfield
White Feather in Pink Ribbons
A very unusual mix of post-storm cloud cover. This is looking towards TPA, so a few persistent con trails were mixed in with the storm clouds, along with smog particulate remnants. (Look closely and you will see a very small, short, fresh contrail of a jet just to the right of the big pine tree.) I did not notice the white feather (floating through the sky like some disembodied mass of swirling ectoplasm) until post-production in Photoshop. I was more concerned with the framing of the shot, as there was an ugly streetlight and power box which ruined the shot and had to be removed. This is the only shot in this album that underwent surgery. Can you tell where the power box used to be? (Hint: part of the lake was cloned and flipped vertically 180 degrees to cover the box. The streetlight was painted out with the brush tool. After correcting for color and shading, the second layer was merged into the original shot.) Exposure was reduced and chroma was slightly increased. Applied Photoshop cooling filter no. 80 to bring out the blue of the sky. What a lucky, beautiful shot that would have looked ten times better with a more expensive lens and low-light film. Digital is fine with enough light, but not the best choice for twilight. Nonetheless, it's still a fairly nice shot.
