Today's photo of the day

Today's photo of the day is a watercolor image of a Lily flower. I really enjoy photographing flowers, it's a nice break from shooting weddings and youth sports. This was taken over July 4th weekend at my wife's Aunt's and Uncle's home in Orange MA. As with many images I capture I had already in mind what I wanted the final image to look like. After adjusting the saturation and contrast I used a tool in Photoshop to apply a watercolor texture to closely represent a painting.

This is my favorite image that I have taken of a flower to date. I love how the Lily stands out from the background. The watercolor effect really becomes apparent when enlarged.

I have many images of nature and landscape that I transform into watercolor works of art and make available to sell through my website and on Etsy.com. This particular image is made available as a fine art print on canvas from 11x14 up to 16x20. I also offer it on professional Kodak paper matted and framed in a variety of sizes perfect for hanging in your home or office.

To view more fine art prints for sale visit my website www.davidwornham.com and go to the Photo Art page.

Photo of the day

As I sit here and contemplate what next year will bring for bookings I thought I'd start to post more often on my blog, to share my photography with the world. So this will be the first in many postings titled "Photo of the day" or something similar. With each I will share why I like the photo, where it was taken and anything else I think is important about it.

Today's photo is of the lifeguard tower located at Camp Collier in Gardner MA. The camp sits on 600 acres surrounding Lake Wampanoag and was opened in 1930. It served as a Cub Scout camp for the now defunct Monadnock Council until it's closing in 1993 and now operates as a year round camp for various Scouting groups. The lake offers swimming, fishing, boating and miles of trails for hiking and viewing nature.

I took this photo on a recent campout with our local Scout pack from Athol MA. We spent 2 wonderful days and were treated to the best weather you could ask for for camping. The boys spend a good deal of Saturday swimming and fishing for Sunfish. My son Logan caught the first fish of the afternoon and even learned to bait his own hook. I was so proud of him as it was the first time he caught a fish by himself. I have posted another photo below with his catch.

We spent the evening sitting by the fire and looking at the moon through a telescope that one of the parents brought for the boys to use. We were awakened about midnight to the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning but the storms moved around us thankfully.

Here is the photo of Logan with his prize:

Some notes on the lifeguard tower photo. When I took it I really saw it in black and white in my mind. I played with it a bit in color but was not happy with the way it looked.

To learn about my photography services visit my website www.davidwornham.com or visit me on Facebook.

New wedding packages!!

I just got some great news from one of my album vendors and am super stoked to share it with all of you. They are offering a complete album package for couples who want it all: 12x12 bride & groom album, 8x8 parents albums and 5x5 attendants books. I got so excited I sat down and created a couple of new packages to highlight these beautiful custom created albums.

These are some of the finest wedding albums available. The pages are printed on Kodak professional Endura paper for vibrant colors and longevity. Best of all, the turnaround is only a few short weeks and the couple gets to design the album online.


The new packages will be available for weddings in 2011 and I hope to showcase these albums at one of the upcoming bridal expos this winter. I will have more information available on my website www.davidwornham.com soon.

Wedding of TJ & Dayna

This past weekend I was blessed to be asked to photograph TJ & Dayna as they began their new life together. We had beautiful weather for an outdoor ceremony at Hidden Hills in Rindge, NH. They were very laid back and easy to work with providing me with many opportunities to capture beautiful photos. The bride wanted many photos in black & white and I was more than happy to accommodate her request.

This is the second wedding I have photographed for the Mallet family. TJ and Dayna are a great couple and made my job so easy and fun. Their love for each other really comes through in the photos, I couldn't have asked for a better couple to photograph.

More images can be viewed in the gallery section of my website www.davidwornham.com and on my Facebook page.

Tips on photographing Fireworks

I love taking photos of fireworks. It's not as hard as you might think just takes a bit of practice but the results are well worth the preparation and effort. The key is to have a tripod and a camera that you can set to "bulb" for the shutter speed. The trick is to open the shutter before the firework explodes and leave it open until after it's done. It takes a bit of practice but the results are well worth it.


Here are some pointers to help you get started. You'll need some basic gear: camera with manual settings (including focus), tripod and a remote shutter release. First set your camera to the lowest ISO setting allowed usually between ISO 50-200, set your f-stop to 11-16 and shutter speed to Bulb. Switch to manual focus mode and set your focus point to just shy of infinity. It's a good idea once you've set up and pointed the camera in the direction of the fireworks to view the first coupe of explosions through the viewfinder without taking a photo. This will help you with framing. Once you've got everything set you're ready to go.

Press the shutter release when the rocket is fired and leave it open until after the explosion is finished. This provides the greatest amount of color and detail. You can experiment by leaving the shutter open for several explosions to capture a sky full of fireworks. Caution: leaving the shutter open too long will result in washout of color and a bit of overexposure. Practice is essential. You should get good results the first time if you follow these guidelines.

Just a couple of notes. The reason to set your camera's ISO to between 50-200 is to preserve the black background and reduce noise associated with higher ISO settings. Setting it too high (1000 or higher) on many cameras produces noise similar to film grain. Also if your camera requires you to hold down the shutter button try to avoid holding the camera in your hand. Even with a tripod any hand movement will produce a blurry photo. I shot these images with a Nikon D80 with 24-120mm VR lens at ISO 200 mounted on a Slik tripod with a remote shutter release. The exposure time varied from a few seconds to nearly 10 seconds in Bulb depending on the result I was looking for. These were taken in Greenfield MA on July 2, 2010.

UPDATE: Here are a few more shots taken in July 2011.

I hope these tips help you taken breathtaking images of fireworks. Good luck shooting!

For more information on my work and services visit my website www.davidwornham.com.

Watercolors

One of my favorite tools in photoshop is the ability to transform photos into watercolor. I find that photos with high color saturation and minimal detail lend themselves best to creating a watercolor image. I have been experimenting with several different photos with varying results. These are a few that made the cut so to speak.

This is my favorite. The effect is subtle but I feel truly represents how watercolor can transform an already beautiful image into a work of art.


This was taken at Salisbury Beach MA near the State Park. One of my favorite spots at the ocean to take the family.


Purple Iris. This one was a bit more tricky to get the effect to look good. As with any of the photos I transform into watercolor the effect is best appreciated when enlarged to 11x14 or larger on matte paper or canvas.


This was taken at the Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem MA. The reservoir was created in 1939 by the Army Corp of Engineers by flooding a valley containing 6 towns in central/western MA. It provides drinking water to the city of Boston and 40 other communites in eastern MA. The land surrounding it is protected and provides miles of hiking trails and some of the best fishing in the state.


I created this using a different technique called pallete knife. It took a lot longer to get the desired look mainly due to the contrast between the mushrooms and the bark on the tree. Overall I'm happy with the results.


Monarch butterfly...this was one of several that we raised from caterpillars two summers ago.

I have a few more that I'm still working on and will post when completed. I will be offering each of these framed up to 16x20 in size on matte paper, fine art paper and canvas. Visit my website www.davidwornham.com for ordering info and size availability.

High School Seniors

This year I have decided to put my portrait experience to work and shoot high school seniors for the class of 2011. Over the years I have shot indoors in my studio but find that shooting on location outside lends to better lighting and more creative options with poses. There are a number of really good locations to shoot near where I live.

This was shot at Coggshall Park in Fitchburg MA a couple of years ago. This is also a great location for outdoor portraits. I offer several packages catering to high school seniors on my website www.davidwornham.com.

More sports photography

These are a few team and individual sports photos I've taken. Sports photography has quickly become a passion of mine and I hope to do more. Sports photography will eventually become a part of my portfolio.


Shooting photos of kids is always challenging, patience is key. I believe my experience as a Cub Scout leader and baseball manager has helped me. Shooting photos is almost as much fun as watching the kids play. I look forward to every game.

Sports photography

Over the last couple of months I have been fortunate to take action photos for 202 Street Hockey in Orange MA. My son plays in the Chipmunk division and I had been approached to cover games this season. I quickly found a love for sports photography and hope to continue shooting and cover other local sports in the years to come. These are just a few of the photos I have captured.


I've shot hundreds of photos covering about a dozen games. Although I have not posted any game photos on my website, www.davidwornham.com, I have dozens posted on Facebook. Shooting indoors was a challenge with my current lens, a Nikon 70-210mm 4.5-5.6, but the results were worth the effort.

Photo of the day

Summer Daisy. Simple. Elegant. Innocent. Sure there are many flowers considered more beautiful, but to me nothing says summer as much as a field of Daisies. The simplicity of this flower makes it especially beautiful. I have photographed Daisies dozens of times and never get tired pointing my camera at a single flower or a patch of them.


I really enjoy photographing flowers. Their beauty is timeless. My favorite lens is a Sigma 17-70 Macro 2.8-4.5. It allows me to get up close and bring out the details.

These are Dandelions I shot near the deck in our back yard. I know they are a pain in the you-know-what for anyone with a lawn but what surprised me was the complexity of the flower itself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to pick a handful and place them in a vase in our kitchen but this has become one of my favorite shots that I've taken.

I have many more that I will eventually share and I am still looking for new subject matter. A few of my favorites can be found on my website www.davidwornham.com on the photo art page.

Weddings

Well it's about time. I finally got around to writing a blog. I'm not much of a writing person, I prefer to express myself with my camera. Mostly weddings and portraits and now find myself looking for new photographic challenges. 2010 is not shaping up the way I had planned with photography, it seems that although couples are still getting married they are more price conscious than ever. But I am prepared to weather the storm so to speak. I've been a photographer for 20 years and will continue to cater to couples for years to come.

This season started late, my first wedding was on the 29th of May at a beautiful venue in Ridge NH, The Cathedral of the Pines. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit or attend a wedding there knows what I'm referring to. The grounds for ceremonies and pictures is breathtaking. Over the years I have been a part of probably a dozen or so weddings there and I never get tired of going back. I have several photos posted on Facebook as well as on my website www.davidwornham.com.

I enjoyed working with Jennifer and James, creating lasting memories for them to share with their friends and family. Their reception was held nearby at the Woodbound Inn in Jaffrey, NH. The staff at the Woodbound Inn were very gracious and easy to work with. The grounds have many locations for pictures, unfortunately it began to rain shortly after our arrival and we were limited on outside photographs.

As with every wedding I photograph, I feel I am as excited as the bride & groom to see the final images. I try to be creative and expressive with the images I capture, preferring to shoot on the fly rather than pose. However, every couple is different and I always cater to their wishes. Black & White is quickly becoming my favorite. So much so that I have decided to invest in a film camera to shoot just black & white alongside digital (for primarily color).

The most difficult challenge has been marketing to couples planning weddings in my area. Living in a small community has it's advantages and disadvantages. Only a handful of weddings take place each season and even with not a lot of competition the economy has taken it's bite on the market. My hope is to get my name recognized as a photographer with several projects that will in the end payoff with more leads for weddings.