2013 – A Year in Review
I can’t believe another year is coming to a close but then again I say that every year. It seems they go by so quickly these days. As I look back on 2013 I’m proud of some of the images that I produced and some of the projects that I’m working on. As I announced a couple of months ago I’m launching a new pet photography business, PhoDOGraphy by Edith Levy. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for sometime and I’ll have the website ready for launch in January.
Below are some of my favourite images from this year. They don’t necessarily reflect the most popular images by hits or comments but ones that resonated with me for various reasons and I’ll let you know why as you go through them. Enjoy!
One last thing…wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Jackson Square in B&W
Interestingly enough this image never appeared on the blog. The colour version did (and you can see it here) but for some reason I didn’t post the B&W version which happens to be my favourite of the two. This was shot before sunrise and I love the moodiness that comes out in the B&W.
Jackson Square
Cafe du Monde
To call Cafe du Monde a coffee shop is downgrading it a bit. It’s a landmark and institution in New Orleans which was established in 1862. Cafe du Monde is open 24/7 and it was the perfect place for me to duck in and warm up with a piping cup of coffee and beignet right after my sunrise shoots in the city.
Cafe Du Monde – New Orleans
The Elgin Theatre
I was fortunate to be able to shoot this iconic theatre in Toronto at the beginning of the year. This was one of my favourite images from that shoot. Little did I know that it would be selected to appear on the cover of the theatre’s souvenir brochure. Below is a scan (sorry about the poor quality) of the cover.
The Elgin Theatre, Toronto
Boston Strong
I attended a conference in Boston in April. At the time I wasn’t quite sure if it would be taking place as it was taking place a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing. The conference went on as scheduled and although security was tight at the airports and in the city I was amazed at the resilience of the city and its people.
Golden
This past July I took a trip to California, starting in San Francisco and driving down the coast to L.A. While the weather wasn’t always in my favour (lots of fog) I di manage to come away with some images that I was really pleased with. My second day in San Francisco called for an early morning wake up call to shoot the Golden Gate bridge. Being in a place for the first time without a lot of time to explore and get to know you’re way around means that you waste a lot of time looking for the perfect vantage point to shoot from. I was lucky here because as soon as I shoot this the lights on the bridge were turned off.
Golden
La Bicyclette
Come on…you had to know I’d include a bicycle image in my year-end recap 🙂 I loved that the name of this restaurant in Carmel-By-The-Sea was called La Bicyclette.
La Bicyclette
The Roman Pool at Hearst Castle
I was just really pleased with the way this came out. The light was very low and I didn’t have a tripod with me. I increased my ISO, braced myself against the railing and took the shot. Sometimes you just have to go for it.
The Roman Gods Stand Tall
Sponge
This is just a personal favourite. I took pictures of this little guy…his name is Sponge as part of my portfolio building sessions. Isn’t he just adorable.
The Lonely Path
This image was taken at the Rockwood Autoyard in Ontario while I was attending a workshop with Denise Ippolito. It was drizzling the whole day with a light mist floating in the air which made for some terrific light.
The Lonely Path
Santa Barbara Marina
Here’s another personal favourite from my California trip. I loved the different colours emanating from the boats and wanted to give this image a bit of an abstract, impressionist feel.
Santa Barbara Harbour Abstraction
Santa Monica Pier
One the last night of my California trip I was determined to get a shot of Santa Monica pier at night. Even though it was cold and I really wasn’t dressed properly I headed to the pier (with my husband in tow…he really does deserve an award) and set up for this long exposure.
Amusing Lights
Malibu Pier
This is probably the image I’m most proud of this year. A long exposure of Malibu Pier with a high key treatment.
Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas
I really had fun photographing these elephant seals at Piedras Blancas which is about 3 miles north of San Simeon on the Pacific Coast. I title this image “A Little Disagreement” but someone made a comment that it looks like the seal on the right might be laughing at a joke (wish I had thought of that), but the loud barking of these mammoth seals is still ringing in my ears 🙂
A Little Disagreement
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Very Happy New Year.
Jackson Square Jazz
Back to Jackson Square today and more street performers. What’s New Orleans without some jazz music to liven up the streets.
Click on the images to enlarge (they really do look better) or to Purchase a Print.
I wanted to try something a bit different with this shot in post processing so I created a stylized version using Lucis and Topaz Adjust. Â Let me know which one you prefer.
Jackson Square – Street Performers
One of the things I most enjoyed while in New Orleans was strolling through Jackson Square and watching the street performers.You can spend an entire afternoon there and be entertained by musicians and dancers not to mention painters, palm readers and psychics. This gentleman was calling over a young girl that was watching to dance with him.
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase A Print.
Along the Mississippi
I’ve always wanted to aimlessly drift along the Mississippi river on a steam boat with a large paddle wheel on the back like in the musical Show Boat. (there’s my love for musical theatre shining through again 🙂 ) Arriving back in New Orleans from a week at sea I ran up on deck to capture on last shot if this mighty river at sunrise.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
Under My Umbrella
I suppose the title and this image may be appropriate since it hasn’t stopped raining the last 2 days. This was taken just after sunrise in Jackson Square in New Orleans. The street vendors get there early to claim their piece of real estate for the day.
I converted the image to black and white using Topaz Black & White Effects and then used the local adjustment tool to selectively bring back the colour in the umbrellas.
Topaz Labs will be releasing, later today, Topaz Black & White Effects 2.1. I had the opportunity to test out the beta version before its release and the latest update has 2 excellent additions:
The Zone System Viewing Mode which lets you see your image broken down into 11 zones that represent the full tonal scale going from 0 as black to 10 as white. Zones are shown in different highlight colors for easy viewing. This viewing mode helps you determine whether or not you have the full tonal range in your image and then make exposure adjustments in the conversion module to correct these tones.
The Borders feature in B&W Effects 2.1 allows you to choose from several realistic darkroom borders, with several styles including both bleeding and crisp edges. This new feature also allows you to select the size of the border.
I really get excited when Topaz Labs updates their plug-ins because the enhancements are always so well thought out and makes the plug-in an even more powerful tool.
The update is free to anyone who already owns Topaz B&W Effects. If you don’t have it, Topaz Labs is offering 30% Black & White Effect v2.1 until April 21, 2013. Use coupon code bw21 off. Â You can check it out here.
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
Follow The Light
This is just outside Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. I was finishing off my sunrise shoot and going in to grab a cup of coffee and beignet when I realized this was a perfect spot to take one last shot. After I took this, I zoomed in to get a tighter shot and just before I could fire the shutter the lights automatically turned off. The lights made all the difference.
Click on the image to enlarge (it really does look better) or to Purchase a Print.
Edith Levy Photography 