Filip Lučin

Although this is last year snow, only now the time has come to show the photos. I’ve taken plenty of photos those snowy days in Čakovec, the town I live in and around it. But, today only photos that I’ve taken while taking a walk trough town and it’s park. There is lot of photos from this morning, so I’ve divided this entry in two parts.

I’ve started my walk early, the sun just raised over the horizon, you can see it warming the windows on the buildings. I’m not fan of winter chill, but I do like real, clear winter day. There is something about snow covered land, sun and blue sky.

I didn’t stay in downtown for too long, the park was my goal. Here are two lines and warmth of sun on snow covered branches.

Little different frame of our castle.

Winter scene postcard.

Winter serenity of our park. And a lone man to help in composition.

Another park detail. I’ve could remove the branch in lower left part of the photo though…

And steps, path and branches for the end of part one.

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When I started to play with IR photography, lot of forum posts were telling that IR photography outside of warm part of the year is no, no! Well, imagine my surprise when one Saturday morning on last November I discovered that that’s not completely true. The weather forecast for that morning was fog, and so I’ve decided to go on the outskirts of the town to capture some misty photos, and more important to finish with some films that were in my cameras for some time then. About film photos some other time, today only digitally created photos.

So, let’s start with two foggy photos.

Fog is more pronounced on color version of this photo, but the color was somewhat pale so I’ve chosen black and white conversion to emphasize the lines of the trees and have green foliage brighter than it
was in color. Trees stand even more this way, I recon.

On this photo, the sun was already high (for that part of year anyway) and the fog was dispersing, but the light was rather  subdued, and this was why I left the color here, I liked this washed out feeling.

Couple of hundred meters further from the spot on the upper photo, sun was already high and I’ve found IR filter that I’ve left in my backpack. While holding it, I thought, let’s take a look when it’s already here.  To my surprise, not to mention joy, there was plenty to see! So, next couple of photos are my favorite from that day.

What I like about digital IR photography is that when you take the photo with camera, than whole new world opens in front of you. It’s like children color book. How the completed photo will look is only up to you and your will, current inspiration and so on… On this photo I’ve decided to have blue – white – yellow colors.

Take a different color of the “normal” capture and have something completely different. This would be probably pretty ordinary not to say boring photo if it was normal. But with changed colors, it has an alien look.

I went against the current with this photo. Critiques for this photo were not too positive, but I like it anyway. I guess it’s because of my spirit of the rover, the spirit that makes me go check out what’s there if I see something like this when I’m out in nature.

Unlike the photo before, this one got plenty of  ‘likes’. I’ve first seen this imposing tree a couple of years ago, and since then I knew that I want to photograph it, but only IR allowed to show it interesting as it is.

And last, but not the least. A willow that’s in reality not looking very special, but in this winter  look it’s something different.

I would like to know, what do you think about changing the reality with IR photos? Do you like it,  is it appealing to you? Write it in the comments!

Thank you for now, next blog will be about winter!

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I’ve decided to sum up my photographic year 2010. Year if interesting events and photos.  I’ve chosen only one photo from each month. So, lets begin.

January.

The start of year was a bit unconventional, weather vise. We had rain in new year’s eve, and following days were unusually warm.  It was 3rd of January when I rode my bicycle to this place on Mura river, where I’ve taken this photo using long exposure. With some more post processing, this photo turned out just as I liked it.

February.

Lot’s of things I’ve photographed in February but I’m  most satisfied with this one. It was again long exposure photo, that allowed me to show passage of time on photography, the medium that is supposed to freeze moments in time. I, on the contrary love the show passing of time on photograph like this one.

March.

March finally brought end to the long winter. Although first three photos are not showing it, couple days after I’ve photographed photo of January, we had constant snow falling, than melting, and falling, etc. And this was repeating until the middle of March. I remember that I was fed up with snow, I longed for spring. This photograph of sunrise on Drava river I’m fond of because I can still remember how I waited for Sun to rise, thinking will could I wind a interesting composition for it. I think I’ve succeed.

April.

“Embedded in to eternity” . Photograph that might be my most noticed one, and not only this year. While it’s maybe an classic example of long exposure photography, what’s most important, this is a photograph that helped a child in need! In the end of last year,  association “Kadar 36″ organized charity auction of photographs on facebook, intended for a sick child. I’ve decided to participate with this photograph, not knowing what to expect. My biggest fear was that no one will offer 200 kuna (about 30 euros) for it. As the auction was coming to it’s end, the photograph achieved significantly higher price than on it was asked  for, what for me as an author meant double pleasure! Of course, the first, egoistic feeling was satisfaction that every couple days some one offered new, higher price. But, when the auction was finished, the sum that the photo raised was enough to buy couple of months worth of treatment for child. And that was the true happiness for me.

May.

I’ve spend lot of time photographing in May. But, this “Flower pizza”, was somehow most striking. Photograph is cheerful, rich in details and colors, just as the visit to the neighboring Hungary was. I, as part of my photo club was visiting colegues, now I can say friends from photo club Nagykanizsa. And I can arrogantly say that as soon I’ve stepped in the yard of this huge castle in Keszthely, this was frame that I’ve saw from hundred meters away. So, I came, I saw, I photographed!

Jun.

My legs are still itching me from mosquito bites I got wile taking this photo. This was a moment where I was at the right place at the right time. All that afternoon the storm clouds were rolling over my neck of woods. I’ve used long exposure once again, to show the rolling of clouds over the sky, waving of ears of grain on that wind that starts to blow just before the summer storm, and I hope you can see ray of sun that broke trough the clouds, just couple kilometers away. The second that exposing of this photo finished, first drops of rain started to fall, as the beginning of what will be short shower. That was a good day.

July.

This photograph, I didn’t show it much. I like it because it reminds me on fairy tales.  If I could draw, little hamlet with small church on the hill top would look like this. Although it’s not technically perfect photo,  I like it because of moment, the colors and the composition. I should mention that that the light was bad that day, in photo terms, Sun light wasn’t coming trough gray clouds, and when I finally reached a hilltop on my bicycle; just in that moment on the other side, Sun poured it’s light on up on that little hill just for me.   All the effort to come there was worthwhile just because of that single moment.

August.

It’s a pleasure just to be on our blue Adriatic sea. To see a spot and to have a image of it before you take a photograph, it’s even nicer. To get up early in summer dawn, to wait the sunrise, to see on your card the image you visualized the day before… To see dark clouds rolling behind your back, the clouds that will bring you more photographic opportunities , to see the rainbows, ah, everything a photographer needs. And to have all that in the span of 50 minutes, and to go back to the bed listening big drops of summer shower tapping on the roof… Priceless, isn’t it?

September.

This photo is really different from what I usually do. Again, Hungary and my Hungarian friends  were the winning combination. Abandoned barracks, couple of props, pretty girl and voila! The photo is here. It’s not the best one technically, but for someone who’s main equipment are ultra wide lens, tripod and set of filters, this is a good photo. More becouse this photo is much different from the photos of others that were there, and I got idea for the photo on the  spot.

October.

Again, an early morning photo, again on Drava river. And again, I’m showing time on a photo. This one caught attention of many people , I got plenty on nice comments for it, and though I can’t say I’ve visualized it before I’ve taken it, I knew that this line of river bank will give me interesting view. But all these clouds that are looking like they just engaged their warp drives, that is what’s making this photo special to me.

November.

This was my last photo walk before some thing in my life changed quite dramatically,  not to good I’m afraid. But, what started as photographing a misty day, turned to photographing in infra red. IR photography can sometimes make ordinary things to look special. This tree, I’ve noticed it maybe five years ago, but I couldn’t make a decent photo of it. Using IR filter, it turned out in a new different way. So, this photo made it Miss November!

December.

Hm… Three of them on the beginning, three on the end? Is there a message? It wasn’t on purpose, I saw it only after I’ve browsed this blog couple of times. Why is this the best photo? I don’t know, it’s simply the kind of photos that I like the most.  Wide, colorful, nice clouds, reflection on the water… I just like it!

So, there it is… A whole year in 12 photos. I would really appreciate if you, dear visitor, would write a comment about this selection of photos. Do you like them, do you think they deserve to be called the best? You don’t like them? Doesn’t matter, write me a comment, I’ll be really grateful!

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