Sunday Stills Horses

I have to apologize for not keeping up with my photo blog in awhile. As a professional magician, the month of October is crazy for me. I do a ton of Halloween shows and ran out of time for my blog. I hope to do better.

As a city boy, I don't get to see many horses but I do get to travel a bit and see some great specimens. The shot I included for this subject was from the Renaissance fair and is one of my favorite photos.

The horse is a Percheron and is saddled (pun intended) with the task of carrying a knight in full armor. I love the highlights and look of the photo.

Sunday Stills Photoshop

This weeks challenge is Photoshop or it's equivalent to alter your photos.

I own the Adobe CS3 master suite with Photoshop and I normally only use it to convert RAW files or to crop and tweak levels. I haven't really had a chance to play with the filters and now that I have, I have a ton of playing around to do with my program.

I used a filter called film grain to tweak this photo. I put the original next to it for comparison.

Be sure to check out my wife's blog, http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills, The next Challenge: Signs of Fall

The signs of fall... Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the color changes we get in Ohio but most of all , I love Halloween!

As a magician, Halloween is my busy time. I get more booking every fall and love every minute of it.

I also love pumpkins and Jack-o-laterns!

Enjoy the season change!

Be sure to check out my wifes blog as well! http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Purple

This week I had to hit the archive. I have been swamped with shows and my magic classes started again!

The photo is of my youngest, Elise, from Easter 08. She is wearing a purple fairy costume and loved the purple plastic eggs....

Check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Mechanical Transportation

I am getting a jump on this weeks blog! I am working at the Home and garden Show at the Ohio Expo center this weekend and will not have anytime to put anything together.

This week is all about Mechanical Transportation... I love classic cars and have some great shots to share ...

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. she will have some cool shots hup by the weekend! www.andreabakerdesigns.com

Sunday Stills Rule of Thirds!

I try to practice the "rule of thirds" whenever I shoot. Basically, the "rule of thirds" is a way for photographers to compose a shot that makes the eye flow through the shot to see the elements of the photo. Photos shot with everything centered tend to get a little boring. About the only exception to this rule is when shooting close-ups and macro shots.

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Sounds

This weeks challenge was to portray sound in a photo. Tough to do without a caption but here goes...lol

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Enjoy!

Sunday Still - The Open Road

Man, this was a fun challenge! Because I am just a big kid at heart with a lead foot, I associate the open road with fast cars and no speed limits!

I haven't had a ticket in years but as a teenager, I lost my motorcycle license at age 17 and had to wait a year until I could reapply.

I have owned lots of fast stuff, Kawasaki's, Yamaha's and Honda's but my favorites were my Mustangs that my Dad helped me rebuild.

I owned two different '66 mustangs and a very, very fast '68. It needed a bit of body work but the engine was a spotless 289 with all the bells and whistles...

Which brings us to my photo this week... I saw this about twice a month...lol

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well! http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

This weeks challenge was tough as we have had the hottest week on record all summer here in Ohio.

I took Andrea and Elise to the park on the off chance that we could spot some clouds and we got lucky as the wind blew some in that day. They later turned into a big rain storm, so we took shots of the pretty clouds...

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. www.andreabakerdesigns.com

Sunday Stills Four Elements!

The challenge this week was the four elements.... Fire, Earth, Air, Water and a fifth element if you could think of one. Many suggested Love as the 5th element. The challenge was an extra challenge for me as I have been swamped with shows and teaching my Magic Camps.

Andrea had a great idea for the challenge and set up a couple of bowls with water, some rocks (earth), a candle (fire) and feathers (air). Great idea and setup. I took a few shots and then added my passion (Magic).

The dove flapped her wings and blew out the candle....so much for fire...LOL

Make sure you check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Fences!

Been a crazy week around here! I just finished 2 weeks of Magic Summer camp and my 40th B-Day is this weekend!

The photo is from a very old cemetery in Tennessse. I love the look of the old iron fence and gate and the perspective makes it look much longer than it really was.

Enjoy!

Sunday Stills- Toys

Wow! Where to start? As a full time professional magician, I get to play with lots of toys... They say you can grow old, but you can be immature your whole life.... or my favorite, I can grow up or I can be a magician.... I have a large collection of Cups and Balls (3 cups & 3 Balls) My wife thinks I am special....lol

The Cups and Balls may be the oldest recorded magic trick and can be seen in the Hieroglyphs on the pyramids in Egypt. I have taken a shot that I like to view as a chaotic mess... I have Cups made from wood, copper, brass, plastic and aluminium. I have a couple of sets over a hundred and fifty years old. all in all, about 35 or 40 sets total ( I have a few duplicate sets).

Be sure to check out my wife's hotoblog at http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday stills - Nuts....

This weeks Sunday Stills challenge was "Nuts". This wasn't too tough to figure out for me. As a magician, I am fascinated by the old scam or con called the "3 Shell game". One of the oldest cons around, the shells are made of walnut shells and you have to guess which nut shell is hiding the little pea. I have a large collection of the different walnut shells that have been made just for the purpose of separating some fool and his money.... My favorite set are the ones pictured here. This set is made from black Walnut shells (some of the hardest shells to get perfect when making your set). Andrea bought me a set for Christmas one year that are made to look like turtle shells and are a damn good replica even though they are made from a wood resin.

Be sure to check out Andrea's blog as well. http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills - Texture

I love texture and when on my trip to North Carolina recently, I stopped on a dock right outside of Kitty Hawk.

As a professional Magician, I love rope and saw this bit of rope coiled on the dock and had to get a shot. The texture was perfect, old and worn like a good piece of rope should be.

I am also a big fan of reptiles (snakes, lizards and turtles). I have a healthy respect for the the poisonous snakes in our part of the world.

This rattle snake has beautiful scales and patterns and you can see the texture in and on his body.

Be sure to check out my wife's photo blog as well!

www.andreabakerdesigns.com

Sunday Stills - Wild Flowers

This week has been crazy, I ordered a new Iphone 3 Gs (32 gig) and it came in about a week before it was supposed too. So of course, I had to sync it to my outlook calendar and contacts (I have a ton!) and I had to check out all the apps that I could...lol. To say the least,I almost missed posting this weeks photos.

This weeks challenge for the Sunday Stills was a little tough. It was for "Wild Flowers" and not for garden shots. I only have a few that I would consider to post and have included a decent shot, even though it is more "weed" than Wild Flower.

I love all the color that we get in the spring here in Ohio. Most of the Wild Flowers that I see are in my un-mowed back yard... My yard as a 45* incline and is a bear to mow. I have a friend do it for me once a month from a landscape company that he owns. The price is great and I get to keep the city man off my back...lol

Be sure to check out my wife's blog as well! http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills - Things with Wings!

The challenge this week was "Things with Wings!"

This challenge was a blast as I already a big fan of the Raptors.... the birds, not the team.

I love the eyes and different textures of feathers that each bird has.

I had the chance to shot some close up shots after the "Birds of Prey" show at the Columbus Zoo and loved every minute of it.

The choices were too numerous for me to pick but I decided on these two shots.

The looks they have are so impressive and to see them fly, unbeliveable!

Be sure to check out my wife, Andrea Baker's photo blog at http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills - tri-color

This weeks sunday stills challenge was tri-color. The more color the better. The shot that I am submitting was shot last week in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The town i was staying in was called Avon. It is just south of Rodanthe and North of Hatteras.

I hadn't been to the Outer Banks since I was a kid and didn't remember just how cool the area was. There isn't a "fast food" place in 35 miles of Kitty hawk. No McDonald's, no Wendy's and no Burger King. I did find a Subway but chose not to stop... There are no street lights and everyone is so laid back and never in a hurry.

I will be posting other photos from the area I was in, So be sure to stop back and take a look!

Also, stop by and check out my wife's photo blog! http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills - Silhouettes

Silhouettes are always fun to shoot but a pain if you forget to turn off your fill flash...

This weeks challenge was pretty cool to try to shoot. I decided to go out in the late evening sun to try to get my shots. We drove over to an area park and waited for the sun to get a little lower in the sky.

Andrea (my beautiful wife) was my choice for my subject and was easy to shoot.

I also saw a flag pole that was flying our flag and waited for the sun to be just right. It didn't happen, so I had to lay down in the grass to take the shot (I normally wouldn't as I am allergic to the stuff).

Even with the sun directly behind for the shot, The colors still shined through!

I love our Flag!

A day at the circus!

A few weeks ago we took our kids to see the Ringling Bros. Circus. The greatest show on earth! They don't exagerate at all. This was the first circus that Allisa, now 12 years old (She saw the show at age 5) and is also the first circus for Elise, our 3 year old. She loved the whole show and "ooh'ed & aaah'ed" at all the right spots. The first photo is a shot that I took at Allisa's first circus. It is of a spinning globe of light that were selling for all the kids to get crazy over.

They turned out all the lights in the arena and I saw the cool patterns that it made.

The shot with the rings and ladies hanging was pure luck. The shot was way dark as they lowered the lights a little too far. Thank God for RAW! It was the only way this shot could have been saved.

This was one of Elise's favorite parts of the show. she sat on the edge of her seat the whole time that they were hanging on the rings.

When I asked her after the show, she said that this and the cotton candy were her favorites. I didn't care much for the cotton candy as it was $12 per bag but it did come with a plastic "Ring Master's" hat... Wow!

My favorite has always been the lion tamer act. This show used large tigers and they are and always will be my favorite big cat.

Have fun when you got to the circus but bring your own cotton candy...

Sunday Stills Power lines and Landscapes!

This weeks assignment was to shoot a cool landscape or sky scape and include those pesky power lines.

As a photographer, you learn to compose carefully so that you can leave out the distracting things that would mar an otherwise gorgeous shot like a stray branch that looks like it is protruding out of your models head or those power lines that are flippin' everywhere.

It was tough for me to even include the power lines but I even managed to throw in a few cars as well as light posts.

This was probably the toughest assignment for me so far. I'm not complaining but man was this one tough...LOL

I have included a couple of other shots as well from the area in which we went to feed the geese. They can be a bunch of nasty buggers. They hiss and try to run you off.


Be Sure to check out my wife's {Andrea Baker} photo blog at Http://www.andreabakerdesigns.com/

Sunday Stills Yellow!

The challenge this week on my favorite blog was "yellow". You could choose anything yelow to shoot. I have a couple of old shots and a couple of new for you to peruse. These will have a distracting watermark (sorry) because I have found do to the large sizes that I shoot and post. Anyone can download the images (I haven't found a way to keep that from happening as of yet).

The first two are older shots from the Good Guy Car show that was held here in Columbus a year or two ago. I love the abstract lines and chrome from the grill of this custom car.

The Second shot from the car show is of a tail fin from a '55 (if I remember correctly) custom car. The thin pin stripe really sets of the bright yellow in the shot.

The other shots are from my favorite place to shoot Macro. The Franklin Park Conservatory has a "Blooms & Butterfly" exhibit every year from April until about September. They release the Butterflies twice daily.

I really love the colors and the way the delicate butterflies do their thing. Flittering and fluttering about.

The last shot is of a piece on display from the Chihuly exhibit. They have several wonderful pieces on display that show some real talent. Enjoy the "Yellow", I know I did.

My City!

I have lived in Columbus most of my life and have always wanted a good skyline shot. Our skyline has changed quite a bit in the last few years and I could never a spot that would give me the best angle or show enough of the city.

There is a restaraunt that is located where the Olentangy and Scioto rivers merge called Confluence park. They have a deck that overlooks the city and the river.

The conditions were perfect. It had finished raining and there were still some clouds in the sky and the glow from the lights put a nice halo around the city.

Sunday Stills Challenge "Eyes"

I first thought to myself that this would be a very tough challenge this week but the more I thought about it, the easier it seemed to get. I decided to put up photos of my two girls.

Allisa is my very pretty but shy 12 year old. She has a wonderful smile and big brown eyes as you can see from the picture. She has made me very proud. She has been recently accepted into the Young Scholars program at The Ohio State University. The program instills them with the academic skills needed to succeed in College and focuses heavily on Math and Reading (two subjects that she does well in) She has also been accepted in the National Junior Honor society.

That's my girl!

Elise is my 3 year old daredevil/princess/baby. This one is a true ham. She will pose like a supermodel trained her every time you get the camera out. As you can see from the photo that she is posing there too. They both have very expressive eyes and have me wrapped around their fingers...

She is like a small parrot and will repeat almost anything you say (Isn't that right, Honey?).

One of my favorite things she says is "that is discusstin' " translation= "that's disgusting". She will eat anything that has the words "MAC & CHEESE" in it. Anything else would be wishful thinking...

Thanks for the comments! Stop by later in the week as I will be posting new shots or check out my Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrollbaker/ !

Sunday Stills B & W with a twist Challenge

This weeks challenge was to look back at some of the other challenges and pick two and then take new photos. I am a newbie to the challenges so I picked a couple of subjects that I hadn't taken shots for and went out.

I decided to shoot my shots at night to get richer and darker shadows and crisper "whites".

I chose to do the "lines" challenge and the "landscape" challenge and the shots turned out well.

The shot of the landscape and lines were both taken along the Creekside area in Gahanna, Ohio at night with my new versa-pod.

The "landscape" was taken along the creek and I have included the originals as well for comparison.

The shot of the "line" is of the footbridge across the waterfall portion of the creek.

I perform Magic at the Old Bag of Nails in Gahanna every Tuesday night. The view is fantastic and I like to listen to the water as it goes over the rocks. The Bag has two patios and the upper patio looks over the whole creekside area.

When I grow up...

As a kid, I wasn't super athletic. Don't get me wrong, I loved sports but I was the one that got picked to keep score... Just kidding, I have always been a big football fan and I took this Photo at the end of a High School game that my Step-daughter (from my ex) invited me out to see her play in the band. I was very proud to see her doing something she loved.

I saw this little guy trying to get into the huddle at the end of the game (they won). He looked so excited to just be on the field.

This shot happened because I was paying attention. When you shoot, look around at something other than your original subject. You might be surprised at the outcome.

Keep shooting!

Sunday Stills Plants Challenge

This was a fun challenge but harder than I thought it would be. Almost all of the spring colors are gone... Plenty of green but the Tulips and early bloomers are almost all gone. Walking through my local grocery, I spotted these very bright (almost gaudy) daisies. The flowers looked very fun and way to colorful not to shoot them.

I didn't make any adjustments with either color or saturation.... what you see is what you get.

I had bought some new Extension Tubes to take even closer macro shots and these are my first attempts using the Tubes. The learning curve on these won't be that tough but I will have to keep notes and keep playing with them. I love taking Macro shots and I am always looking for new things to shoot.

I am really enjoying the Sunday challenge and look forward to the next challenge.

Please post your comments!