Selective use of color in an otherwise black and white shot is cliche -- but it is still useful because color provides a powerful spotlight on what the photographer wants to highlight.
Here are a couple of examples, one taken at Lassen National Park (Nikon D200, 18-200 vr at 18mm, f/8) and another in downtown Santa Cruz in front of a favorite burrito shop (Nikon D300, 30/1.4, f/5.6). I like their tubular tacos. Both shots were processed with Capture NX and Silver Efex using the latter's control points to selectively reveal the color of the original.
The news keeps delivering bad stuff, the latest being the fires in California. Especially sad is the news from the Santa Cruz mountains, near our old home. The destruction of the forest and the loss of animal and plant life is terrible. So here's a break from the re-visiting of Istanbul and instead I'm re-visiting Big Basin State Park.
Big Basin is the first California park I visited. It was there within days of my class at McCallum High School. I was so happy to get out of high school! I skipped my graduation ceremony, a habit I kept, and instead my friend Tim and I celebrated by driving my Toyota from Austin to northern California. We camped in Big Basin, visited his sister in Pacific Grove, then headed north, all the way to Vancouver, Canada.
-2.jpg "Yours truly in front of Berry Cr Falls")
It feels like winter is on its way to Vancouver Island so here's a real winter scene, the drive home on a snowy day in the Santa Cruz mountains. Yes, I know, one shouldn't drive and photograph at the same time.
