photo quest

New Portland International Jetport

2012-01-20T08:45:00.000-05:00

A view of the new terminal at sunset

Future passengers walk towards TSA

A ten image panorama of part of the new terminal.

Waiting in line for TSA check through. I think the early plane hanging from the ceiling is a nice touch, don't you?

Portland Magazine assigned me to do an architectural shoot of the new Portland International Jetport terminal before the holidays, and Greg Hughes, their communications director, very nicely showed me around and let me take pictures of the terminal inside and out. There is at least one of the pictures in this month's issue of the magazine, and I have a lot of other work in the issue as well. You should check it out!

You can see more of the Portland Jetport pictures from my shoot HERE.

I'm looking forward to shooting Portland's Downtown Showdown on February 3rd next!

Thanks for looking,

Cindy

Wishing for some snow

2012-01-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

Taken last January at Portland's Downtown Showdown

Taken last February at Sunday River's Dumont Cup Competition. A 7 image composite of one jump.

A four image composite of one jump at Sunday River's Dumont Cup Competition

Dog sled race, taken last winter at Bridgton's Musher's Bowl

Sled Dogs on the frozen lake, Bridgton Musher's Bowl

Snowboarding near sunset at Portland's Payson Park, taken last year

Taken at one of last year's Super Hit Sunday at Shawnee Peak

I am wishing for snow at this point. Even in Portland, we usually have a fair amount of snow by January 9th, but most of the scant inch we got last week melted away over the weekend. So I thought if I posted a few pictures from last year's snowy fun, it might bring on the white stuff.

As always, you can see much more from each of these shoots on my website by clicking here.

I'll be photographing more snowboarding at Payson Park this winter. Jeff Tarling, one of the Payson Park managers, contacted me last week and I found out that they are going to be doing a program"called "Wipe out Wednesdays' where kids on early release from school days are able to get some basic snowboard & skiing coaching or tips." How cool is that?

I'll also be going back for this year's Downtown Showdown and the Dumont Cup 2012, and hopefully many more fun winter events, so check back!

Thanks for looking, Cindy

Taking Better Pictures Workshop at South Portland Community Center

2012-01-03T09:27:00.001-05:00

Spring Point Ledge Light, December 2011

Happy New Year everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I am giving a photographic workshop at South Portland Community Center on learning to take better pictures that begins towards the end of January. You can see the brochure and sign up online here But here is the description and information below:

Do you wonder how to take compelling pictures of you children, pets or family gatherings? Ever wish you could take a picture of a beautiful flower? Wish you could capture a gorgeous sunset the way you’re seeing it so you can show it off later? If you want to understand how to use your camera to take better pictures, then this is the workshop for you! It doesn’t matter what level you are at photographically, or whether you have a point and shoot, film or dSLR camera, the principals of composition, creativity and technique remain the same.

The workshop will not only discuss how to get better pictures through technique and composition, but we will also do some photography in and out of class and learn from our own work what works and how photos could be improved.

Bring whatever camera you have to class and learn how to take better pictures with Portland Magazine photographer, Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld.

Tuesdays, January 24-February 14, 2011 6:30-8:30pm $45.00

I am also giving a second workshop that begins towards the end of February called Taking Better Pictures II. Here are the description and information below:

Taking Better Pictures II

Want to learn more about how to use your camera to capture better shots of your family, pets, landscapes, flowers and travel destinations? This four week workshop will build on techniques learned in Taking Better Pictures I, so it would be preferable to have taken the first workshop. Once again, there will be in-class photo exercises, discussion, and weekly assignments for you to learn more by taking pictures on your own. Sharing your work in class with the use of a private online photo group, you will learn what works and how to create better photos.

Bring whatever camera you have to class and learn how to take better pictures with Portland Magazine photographer, Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld.

Tuesdays, February 28-March 20, 2011 6:30-8:30pm
Who will benefit from this workshop: Absolute beginners to Intermediate level photographers.

Class Minimum/Maximum: 5/15

Price: $45.00/participant

Whether you are interested in learning to take better pictures or just know someone who might be interested, I would love it if you would forward this blog post to your friends and relatives in the area to really get the word out. Thanks for your help!

Best wishes,

Cindy

Occupy Portland, Maine encampment

2011-11-30T14:24:00.000-05:00

This is an 18 image 360 degree little planet projection from the center of the encampment.

This sign was the first thing that captured my attention as I drove by this morning.

This is a 10 or 12 image panorama from the other side of the encampment--I just liked this nifty take on a street sign that someone did: Justice Way, Liberty Street, Freedom Avenue anyone? :-)

I liked the big Occupy sign graffiti'd on the back of this tent. And the hay bales interested me--must be insulation?

A closer up detail shot of the street sign.

This morning, I decided to stop by Portland's version of Occupy Wall Street in Lincoln Park on Congress Street. I was amazed by the tent city that is thriving there, the neatness, and the passion evidenced by the signs and posters here and there. But I wondered where everyone was? Maybe a lot of the people have day jobs and are only there at night? Or perhaps it is because they are busy applying for a permit to be able to stay there? On their website it said that there was going to be a general assembly tonight at six, but I figured there wouldn't be much beautiful light then. . . So I may go back this weekend to see if there are more protesters out and about then. So stay tuned!

Cindy

CFW Photography 2012 Engagement Calendars available!

2011-11-27T16:49:00.001-05:00

2012 by Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld | Make Your Own Book

I have 2012 Engagement Calendars with 12 months of my Maine landscape photography for sale at Blurb.com now! You can even purchase an e-book version for your iPhone or iPad. Check out the preview and if you are interested, click on the shopping cart to decide which option to purchase.

Irace Flowers

2011-10-31T12:33:00.000-04:00

Over the past few months, I have done several photo shoots of my friend, Mary Irace's beautiful floral designs. I also created a few short promotional videos with music of her work for her new website. Mary is so easy to work with and absolutely loves what she does, which really shows up in her work. She's done over 700 weddings during her time as a floral designer, which is amazing! I hope you'll take the time to check out her website and my other videos of her work:

and:

All of the photos on her website were taken by me, as well.

I hope you're all enjoying the Fall. Thanks for looking as always,

Cindy

Lucerne Inn Panorama

2011-10-11T09:07:00.002-04:00

Lucerne Inn's scenic vista above Lucerne Lake near sunset. An 8 image handheld panorama. Click on the photo to view it much larger.

I was at a wedding at the Lucerne Inn in Dedham, Maine this past Sunday. What a beautiful, peaceful place to watch this couple join their lives together. After all the guests had headed to the reception up the hill behind me, I took a quick 8 image panorama. I love the rich, golden light on the velvety lawn and the rolling hills and lake beyond. I wish I could be in Downeast Maine more often.

Thanks for looking, Cindy

The American Quarter Horse

2011-10-06T11:08:00.000-04:00

Back in June 2011, I was approached by a publishing company called Bellwether Media about a photo I took at a Barrel Racing competition at Andwemet Farm near Brunswick, Maine. They wanted to use the photo in a book about the American Quarter Horse for children. I love children's books and I was really excited about this, so along with a monetary payment for the photo, I also arranged to have a contributor's copy of the book.

It just arrived the other day and it looks great! My scans of it, unfortunately DON'T look so great, but you will get the general idea:

Here is a picture of the cover, which I did not take:

You can see the entire gallery of my Andwemet Farm shots here.

Please feel free to share any of my blog posts or website links with your friends and relatives. My business depends largely on word of mouth "advertisement".

Thanks for looking,

Cindy

Time to clear out some framed work

2011-09-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

I am putting a few matted/framed works I have on a brief sale to make room for more work. I'll post the pictures with the prices below.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these images, please Email me for more information.

Bliss on Spencer Pond. Finished size: 11x14 ~~$75.00~~ Now $50.00

Moonrise Over the Red Barn, Pownal, ME Finished Size: 12x15" ~~$75.00~~ Now $50.00

Willett Brook, Bridgton, ME Panorama Finished size: 10x20" ~~$130.00~~ Now $100.00

A Rose by Any Other Name. . . Finished Size: 15x18" ~~$130.00~~ Now $75.00

I'll keep these framed prints on sale until September 30, 2011.

A Departure from my Ordinary. . .

2011-09-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

Great Egret, taking off the Boulevard in Back Bay 9.13.2011

Audubon Frog

Audubon Frog 2

Yesterday, after getting all of my work done, I decided to drive to the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth, Maine. As I was driving around the Boulevard, I noticed a tall, slim white bird standing motionless in the sea grass just beyond the road.

As many of you know, Nature photography, unless it stands still (ie: landscapes!) is not my forte, so this was really a departure from the ordinary to be able to capture images of a bird in flight--I was very happy!

And then, I went to Audubon and got some nice shots of the frogs that live in the little pond there. They very obligingly sat still on their lily pads and posed for me.

I hope everyone is enjoying the last of the Summer weather.

Cindy

Starfruit Cosmo

2011-09-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

I had a lot of fun with this one!

How to Photograph an Inhabited Planet. . .

2011-09-09T08:06:00.001-04:00

It's a Simpson Kinda World. . .

Yesterday, I was trying out using a grid spot on one of my flashes to do some product photography techniques I was interested in. I have wanted to photograph this Josh Simpson Glass inhabited planet for a long time but nothing has worked the way I wanted it to to date. Until now. . .

I placed the gridded flash on the black plexi sheet to camera left at -1 EV and it nicely showed off the details of the planet without blowing anything out. And I love the reflection of the planet in the glass. I sent the shot to Josh and heard back from him via email:

"Hi Cynthia!
Just a great photo... the feather is nice because it speaks to the size and delicacy of the planet... but I also like the shiny surface reflection too. Thanks for sharing it with me! Best wishes - Josh"

You should definitely take a few minutes to visit his website, which showcases all the different types of glasswork he does, from inhabited planets to vases and Tektites and has a wonderful section on "Josh in Action" where he explains a bit about his process and it has some dynamic shots of him at work.

Also, I just posted my newly finished 2012 wall calendar: A Year in Maine 2012 with twelve months of new photographs. Check it out on my merchandise page. Please share it with your friends and family. It makes great holiday and birthday gifts!

I'd love to hear what you think.

Cindy

Using Watermelon to Make a Splash

2011-09-07T10:54:00.000-04:00

Everything got splashed with this shot!

Watermelon Splash!

We had watermelon left over from dessert last night, so I figured I should probably make some more splashes. The slices of watermelon made a very satisfying splash no matter how I dropped it into the glassware--very fun!

What should I do next? Thoughts? I was thinking sliced starfruit might be beautiful, especially backlit by the flashes against the background. Keep watching. . .

You can see the shots and many more of my splashes and pours here in my fruits gallery on CFW Photography.

Cindy

Casco Bay Sailing Race and some news. . .

2011-09-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

This was my favorite shot from the race--it's quite dramatic.

I love the splash of water and how it looks as though the sailboat is about to capsize. They were really just making a hard turn.

I had the good fortune to be able to go out on my friends', Linda and Mike's boat last week to photograph a sailing race in Casco Bay near sunset. It was not only exhilarating, as it was extremely windy and choppy, but it was a blast, because the boats were able to really speed along, which made for some dramatic shots!

You can see the rest of the shots in the complete gallery on my website. I took over 250 shots, but discarded more than 3/4 of them and then settled on a favorite 14.

Camden Windjammer Days Hoola Hooper!

I also created a new gallery called Lifestyle Favorites that feature all of my best lifestyle shots from skiing to model and horseback photography. You can see it here on my website too.

I have some news: I have taken away the ability to purchase prints directly from my website because I feel it not only gives the site a cleaner look, but it will be more understandable to clients to email me directly regarding shots they'd like to purchase. From now on, I will handle all price quotes and payment and make the orders myself. You can contact me directly through the website by clicking on the Email Me area on the homepage below the slideshow. We'll be making more changes to make it even easier very soon so check back!

Please feel free to forward any of my blog posts or web sites to your friends and relatives and I always look forward to hearing from you about my work!

Best wishes,

Cindy

Great Falls Balloon Festival 2011

2011-08-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

Aloft

Monet Balloon Reflection

15 image 180 degree panorama of the field

Takeoff!

Add caption

Aloft Over the Androscoggin River

On Saturday, August 20th, 2011, my husband and I got up at the horrifically early hour of 4:00 am to drive up to Lewiston and photograph the dawn launch of hot air balloons at The Great Falls Balloon Festival. It's actually a lot closer to Portland than I realized, so we got there far earlier than we had planned, but that ended up being a good thing, because we were able to pick up a cup of coffee and a pastry before we headed to the launch field in Bonney Park.

I have a whole gallery of other images that show the setup and inflation of the balloons, which are some of my favorites of over 300 images taken that morning. You can see the rest here at my website.

It was so beautiful seeing them all gently lift off at dawn. I've never had the good luck to actually see them take off, because the last couple of years, I didn't want to get up that early, and I went to the 6:00 pm launch, which is often affected by the stronger winds that you can get in late summer in the afternoon and evening. At dawn, the air is generally quite still and peaceful, however, which makes for perfect launching conditions.

If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to click on the "Join This Site" button to show your support for my blog and as always, please forward any of my blog posts or website to your friends and family anytime. Thanks for looking!

Cindy

Would you Care for Some Sugar?

2011-07-31T12:22:00.000-04:00

Pour Some Sugar on Me!

Would you Care for Some Sugar?

Sugar Anyone?

I learned a wonderful technique on 1x.com written by a photographer named Pascal Muller. I have always wondered how to get those great shots of individual sugar or salt crystals pouring down against a black background, and this tutorial explained it perfectly. I tried Pascal's setup and easily achieved these three shots in a short amount of time. I'm really happy with them and having yet another studio lighting technique under my belt. Hope you enjoy them. Look for more to come in the following weeks! Best wishes, Cindy

The Cover of Farnsworth Summer 2011 Magazine

2011-07-10T13:41:00.000-04:00

Alvaro's Hayrack Room Detail, Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld 2011

Well, I've been extremely busy for the last month or so--I can't believe it's been so long since I've made a post, but summer is often like that. Make hay while the sun shines, and all that, right?
I'm excited to announce that Farnsworth: The magazine of the Farnsworth Art Museum chose my image: Alvaro's Hayrack Room Detail taken at Olson House last month for their Summer 2011 Magazine cover. This is one of my favorite images taken that day.

I felt very lucky to be able to spend so much time all by myself in the house, photographing each room. You can see all of the images on my website I suggest that you click the slideshow button on the top right hand corner to view the pictures in a really pleasant way and just sit back and relax.

We just spent a week in far Eastern Maine at Rideouts Lodge in Weston, Maine on Grand Lake with my mother and her Standard Poodle, Max. We had a great time, listening to the loons and Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes calling, fishing for Small Mouth Bass, canoeing, reading and swimming off the dock, which was right outside our cabin. It's a long drive from Portland at 4.5 hours (ulp!) but it was worth every second on the road. I took so many pictures that I can't wait to share, including a couple of new panoramas of Grand Lake at sunset. So, look for another post in the next week or so!

Hope you're all having a great summer! Best wishes, Cindy

Help me out with your votes for my image in the Macallan Photo Competition!

2011-05-24T19:52:00.000-04:00


Please vote for my image--I need all the help I can get in this competition!

If you click on this link for the Macallan Masters of Photography Photo Competition I would really appreciate all of the help you can give me with your votes and your sharing of this site with your friends and relatives and ask them to vote too! Thanks so much, Cindy

Definitive date and time for the Borealis Bistro Art Opening

2011-05-23T15:47:00.001-04:00

Support Local Art!

June 1st Art Opening!

2011-05-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

Portland Harbor Skies is just one of the images that will be shown and sold at Borealis!

Beginning June 1st and ending August 1st, I am going to have an art show of my work at Borealis Bistro on 182 Ocean Avenue in Portland! It's a really nice space with plenty of parking, and of course great breads, food and drinks.

I'm not sure if I'll be having a true opening or not, but if I do, I will announce it here before too long and I hope whoever is in the area or close by will come and support me by showing up.

I'm going to have between 10 and 12 large framed pieces on the walls, mostly land and seascapes, a couple of panoramas, and a bunch of matted prints, both large and small in a basket or bin nearby for sale.

I'd like to ask everyone to forward this post to all of their friends and relatives in the hopes that people will put my show on their calendar and make a point to stop by and see it either on opening day or throughout the next two months that it will be up. Thanks for your help in advance!

Best wishes, Cindy

Portland Skate Park

2011-05-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

Zach Thibault takes a jump at Portland Skate Park--a 6 image composite.

Single image of Zach Thibault taking a jump at Portland Skate Park--an HDR.

Portland Skate Park rider on a BMX style bike, taking a jump. A 4 image composite.

Another single shot of Zach Thibault taking a jump at Portland Skate Park. HDR processing.

Josh Champagne at Westbrook Skate Park, taking a jump. A four image composite.

Bryan Kilburn, skateboards at Portland Skate Park. HDR.

Westbrook Skaters, Josh Champagne, Josh Sinclair, John Cobb & Kristian Gallagher

Well, I've been kind of sad thinking that the ski and snowboard season is obviously over for a few months until I discovered the Portland and Westbrook Skate Parks last weekend. I had a lot of fun shooting high speed compositions of these guys skating and BMX biking and they are all okay with me pointing my camera at them over and over, which is always a plus! Thanks guys!

Look for more images to come as I'm planning on going back as I learn more about both BMX biking and skating tricks and moves. Thanks for looking as always, Cindy

Spring Flowers: What's not to love?

2011-05-03T16:34:00.000-04:00

Tulips in my garden yesterday. . .

Alone in the garden. . .

Sherwood Gardens, Baltimore, MD on a sunny afternoon.

Cherry Blossom Festival, Portland, Maine!

Another lone tulip. . .

Tulips with a background of the deep blue sky. . .

Beautiful Cinquefoil I discovered on a walk in the woods in Maryland recently. . .

Sherwood Gardens, Baltimore, MD--Magnolia, Magnolia, Magnolia!

What Mainer doesn't long for the sight of Spring flowers throughout the long, long winters? I know I always do, and as a result, once the Spring flowers start showing their beautiful heads, I take advantage of it, beginning with crocuses and snowdrops, cherry blossoms, tulips, magnolias and continuing all the way to the last hardy New England Asters and Cosmos in the Fall. Nothing is quite so pretty as Spring flowers though.

Over the last couple of weeks, since we visited my in-laws in Baltimore, MD, I have had quite a few opportunities to photograph flowers, starting with Baltimore's beautiful Sherwood Gardens which is filled with magnolia trees, beds full of multi-colored tulips, daffodils, flowering crab apples and cherry trees. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and I had a great time wandering all over the gardens, taking shots.

And just in my neighborhood, up the street, are two brilliantly pink cherry trees that are simply laden with blossoms (image 4) and scads of pink tulips blooming right in my garden.

I was very happy to discover that in all the construction work on the Capisic Pond area last summer, the Lupine field that had just started to bloom well last summer had been left intact! There are loads of Lupine plants growing, so be prepared for some more flower posts in June (or maybe even before!)

This shot was taken at the Capisic Pond Estuary last year during "Lupine Time."

You can always see more of my flower images on my website of course.
Happy Spring everyone!

To post-process or not to process. . . That is the question.

2011-04-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

Kiwi Macro. . .Taken yesterday in my studio--a three image HDR composition.

This article was published today in England's PhotographyBLOG:
I recently read a thread on one of my favorite photo forums: "Does anyone else dislike Post Processing for photos?"

Great topic and conversation starter, really. . . I think a lot of people are confused by just what defines "Photoshopping" a photograph. Some landscapes that one comes across, my own included, often provoke such exclamations as, "That is so beautiful, it can't be real!"

Old Orchard Beach at sunrise in November. My husband was taking pictures that looked like this with his iPhone! It truly WAS this beautiful. . .

I think the goal I always have in mind when I take any photograph is to take the right photo the first time. I never set out to take a picture thinking, "Now what I really want to do is spend a few good hours at my computer with this one!"

But the reality is, the digital camera/photography process itself adds some noise or "grain", both color and luminance to most photos, especially the dark areas. It doesn't look naturally "pretty", as film "noise" or grain does. . . In fact, if the noise is pronounced enough, it can look like squiggly little worms when you zoom in on it.

Just plain ugly. . .

Both film and the digital process also don't seem to allow (at least in RAW format) for taking the contrasty, colorful images my eyes see.

I have read multiple sources which suggest that such film greats as Ansel Adams spent a great deal of time in his own "Photoshop" (read: the darkroom) dodging, burning and otherwise contrasting up and tweaking his lovely photographs that hang in museums and private collections all over the world to this day. So "Post Processing" or "Photoshopping" has been around for a loooong time now. Even the artsy pictorialists spent a lot of time getting their delicate, soft-focus compositions to look the way they did after the fact. . .

This photo, taken at Portland's Downtown Showdown, had a lot of noise. If I hadn't de-noised it, it would have been unusable. After the fact, it is one of my favorite shots of the night.

So, while I strive to take the right image in camera, and often come extremely close to the mark I set, I also have to de-noise my pictures and add a bit more contrast, saturation, and even brighten things up before they can be shown to anyone. And if I am turning an image into a monochrome/black & white, I obviously have to spend some time doing that. . .

Birches in new snowfall. Taken in color and converted to monochrome in Photoshop.

So, I guess I would say that while I won't waste my time on an image that was a piece of excrement to begin with, I will spend a little time making it look extra special after the fact, as all of the film greats and now digital greats continue to do with their own images. . .

Yesterday morning, I was reading an interview with pro Cycling photographer, Seb Rogers in the book Sport & Action: The World's Top Photographers' Workshops by Andy Steel and there was a wonderfully explanatory quote from Seb:

Andy Steel asks: "How much of your work is manipulated using imaging software?"

Seb Rogers responds: "It depends what you mean by manipulated. I only shoot in RAW format--never JPEG--so every single shot that goes to a client has been individually tweaked for white balance, curves, contrast, saturation, and so on. I like my images to have a fairly film-like look, with plenty of punch, so that's the way I process them. But heavy Photoshop work, such as the occasional insertion of a blue sky into a cover shot, for example, is up to the client."

I hope you've learned a little bit about the behind the scenes work that goes into many (read: most) photographers' photographs and workflow. Please feel free to write in with questions you might have and as always, feel free to share my blog posts and website with any of your friends and relatives.

Best wishes and Happy Spring! Cindy

The Tribe Has Spoken!

2011-03-30T15:07:00.002-04:00

Okay--the tribe has spoken! You have universally either avoided the subject of my tacky new logo or out and out called it for what it was! I feel honored that so many people are reading and caring enough about my blog and work to comment!

~~Sometimes I get tired of the same old thing. . .~~ I designed a new logo just for the blog, possibly just for today, even, as I know branding is so important. But I had fun learning how to place images within text today, and thought I would show off the probably overly-elaborate header I made in the process. It certainly FITS well, but that doesn't necessarily mean it fits my image or my blog. . . Anyone have any thoughts on this? If no one likes it, I can certainly go back to ye olde logo, which was doing quite well. . .

Let's just stick with today's pictures! Thanks so much everyone for all of your commentary, even if it was to say how much you disliked my tacky new header! LOL! I appreciate all the comments and shout-outs!

Willoughby, my friend Gloria's beautiful horse, and a friend at Photo Finish Farm.

I know, I know. . . You can't have a photo blog post without some new photos. . . So, in that vein: a couple of weeks ago, a longtime friend of mine, Gloria, invited me to photograph a horse-riding clinic out in Buxton at Photo Finish Farm.

Not a particularly special photo, but sweet to me--as this is my daughter, Maya, "racing" Rio, the 1.5 year old horse who was barely moving as Maya ran at top speeds to keep up with him! :-)

What are you doing with that thing, Lady?

Rio, out of focus, but it captures his crazy energy very well. He was so excited every time another horse trotted by him!

This is Rio again, looking contemplative, but I'm sure it was actually that he was contemplating his next race around the field. This horse had boundless energy! The other horses paid no attention him as they trotted up and down the driveway.

It was really fun to see what Gloria has been doing in regards to learning how to ride horses over the last few years, and to see how the teacher helped the riders to improve their technique and get the most from their horses.

Thanks for looking, Cindy

Learning some new portrait techniques. . .

2011-03-17T12:09:00.000-04:00

Whimsy

Monochrome conversion of Whimsy

Contemplation

Wistful?

A little more traditional, but she didn't like this shot. . .

Got a picture of a silly smile. . .

Our favorite from the other night's twilight shoot. . .

I have been doing a LOT of reading about portraiture lately. I started out last month by finally sitting down and poring over Joe McNally's wonderful book, The Hot Shoe Diaries. I ended up reading it completely TWICE, because as he explains: it really isn't so much a manual as things that have worked for him in his life as a photographer. So he doesn't really detail each technique exactly, but after reading the book and my favorite tutorials a few times, it began to sink in.

I purchased a small softbox (16"x16") and a light stand that I can use with my hot shoe flash, to get it off the camera and be able to have light come from other directions than simply the top of my camera, which can give a photographer more professional results.

The technique, or Strobist information, a la David Hobby's wonderfully informative blog on off-camera flash photography, Strobist, is fairly simple once one gets the hang of it. I know there are far more complicated lighting setups and I will definitely try those out as I learn more, but I was thrilled with the simple results I received over the last two days.

The first set of pictures with the black background was taken yesterday afternoon, in a makeshift studio set up in my office. The last picture was taken two nights ago at twilight, and was directly from a technique Joe McNally talks about in which one sets the camera in Tungsten White Balance to retain the deep, jewel-toned blue of the twilight sky behind the subject, and places a colored piece of plastic (in this case a Rosco Strobist Collection 1/4 CTO/Orange gel) over the flash to bring some warmth to the skin tones of the subject.

I was very happy with the results and am interested to do more experimentation! However, my "model" only gives me about 5-10 minutes of her time at this point, in between homework and playtime, so I don't get an awful lot of practice time.

Hope you like the pictures! Best wishes, Cindy

22 new food images in my StockFood Portfolio!

2011-03-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

It's Christmas again already?

Good news! 22 new food images of mine have been uploaded to my StockFood portfolio! Although a bunch of them are of a seasonal nature, as you can see from the above image, there are many different kinds of pictures there, all interesting and delectable! Stop by my portfolio and see them all and please do share the link and any of my blog posts or portfolio site with your friends and relatives.

Best wishes, Cindy

Article about me in the Portland Examiner today!

2011-03-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

Fresh Strawberries in a white collander, taken the day of the article!

My friend, Joe Merrill, a columnist for the Portland Examiner, writes a column on photography on a regular basis. He came to my studio last Friday and interviewed me about what I do as part of a series he is planning on professional photographers in the area. You can see the article here. And you can read more of his posts here.

Thanks Joe--it was not only a fun morning of "Photography Chat", but you did a great job on the article!

Best wishes, Cindy

Architectural Photography

2011-03-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

The Ross-Hall Dining Room with exceptional views of Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

On my birthday this past year, I had the chance to photograph the Ross/Hall Home, located on Westport Island, a small island near Wiscasett in Mid-Coast Maine. It was built in 1836 as a ships chandlers. It was later owned by Civil War General James Hall, a prominent Damariscotta citizen who led the 2nd Maine battery and was instrumental in the Battle of Gettysburg. He wanted to live in a prominent home in town.

One of General Hall's daughters married a Dr.Belknap and practiced medicine in the home for many years with the third floor being the hospital. The hospital was primarily used by women for childbirth and people coming in from the islands. Eben Greenleaf who reconstructed the home was born on the third floor. Drs. Parsons and Powell also practiced there and it remained a medical office until the mid 1960's.

A granddaughter of Dr. Belknap married a Ross and the home then was used as a clothing store called "House Of Ross" for many more years until author/illustrator Barbara Cooney purchased the home and donated it to the town to be Skidompha Public Library which it remained until Carol and David Blake (the current owners) purchased it in 2002 and had it taken apart and then reconstructed in Westport as one sees it today on three acres of Atlantic waterfront property.

The long bank of floor to ceiling windows that overlooks the water was added, but the remainder of the house has been restored as it was built. The house has eight working fireplaces. The garage is an antique Cape House from a similar period that was purchased by the owners and converted to use as a garage. There are also lovely gardens in the front and on the pathway leading to the dock.

You can see the rest of the photos of this spectacular home in my portfolio gallery here The pictures are placed in the order in which one might walk through the house. I encourage you to view this gallery as a slideshow presentation by clicking on the slide show button in the upper right-hand corner.

Have a great day! Cindy

A big thank you for all the visits and another article published

2011-03-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

A recent shot I liked from Portland's Downtown Showdown, hosted by Oakley, Sunday River and Red Bull.

Well, I have to say that yesterday, any expectations I had for page views on my newly re-designed website were totally blown out of the water. www.cfwphotography.com had over 8,700 visits yesterday! Thank you all!

Plus, my second article, "Why you DON'T need a tilt-shift lens" has been published in England's Photography Blog with plenty of photographic illustrations to show one how to do the technique I describe in Photoshop. Please take a moment to check it out and if you know someone who might be interested in the technique, forward it on by all means!

Best wishes, Cindy

www.cfwphotography.com has been re-vamped!

2011-03-02T09:54:00.001-05:00

In Flight Over Shawnee Peak. A recent shot taken at Super Hits Sunday.

My husband, Jon, has been re-designing my online portfolio, for the last few weeks. It looks great, is much easier to navigate, starts out with a beautiful slideshow of some of my most popular work, and has links to Photo Quest, my StockFood gallery and my Zazzle merchandise where you can buy cool things like iphone 3 and 4 protective covers, t-shirts, mugs, calendars, postage stamps and even mousepads, all with my photography on them to inspire you!

I hope you'll take a few minutes to browse through my newly redesigned website--it's up-to-date with my most recent work and you can even purchase prints, both traditional and metallic finish, mounted prints, canvas gallery wraps and some merchandise by clicking on the buy button above the picture being displayed in whatever gallery you are visiting.

Click here to visit the gallery: CFW Photography and I invite you, as always, to share it or any of my blog posts with your friends and family. You can even sign up to receive updates when I upload new work to the galleries by clicking on the "RSS-Available Feeds" button at the bottom of the home page and it will guide you through whichever way you'd like to receive them.

Thanks for looking and for all of your support and likes on my Facebook Fanpage!

Happy March! Cindy

Cut Grapefruit Still Life

2011-02-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

Three shots, bracketed to make the most of highlights, midtones and shadows, and combined.

Ahhh, there's nothing like a spicy, tart and somehow still sweet red grapefruit on a winter afternoon, is there? (Or any other time, really!) I was about to have a snack of this, and realized that it might make a nice addition to my StockFood portfolio, so I quickly set up my camera with my favorite foodtography lens, the Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4, put it on the tripod, and took a couple of High Dynamic Range compositions of it--you can read about what the technique is by clicking on the link embedded within the words if you care to know more about it! I like the effect, which brought out so much detail and a feeling that you could reach into the picture, grab the spoon and dig in, as I did with the real grapefruit about five minutes after the images were taken! YUM!

Cut Figs image featured on Toque Magazine today!

2011-02-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

Cut Fig Still Life

Toque Magazine, an online magazine devoted to food, purchased this image from me yesterday for use in a wonderful Valentines Day article. The article, which you can read by clicking on the hyperlink to Toque Magazine above, is called A Proust Moment for Valentines Day. Please visit this wonderful online magazine and read the article and share it with your friends and relatives!

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Best wishes,

Cindy

Winter Sports in Payson Park

2011-01-24T12:29:00.000-05:00

A skier does a flip off Payson Park's biggest jump.

In the Cloud--a snowboarder flies through a cloud of snow in Payson Park, Portland, Maine.

This one looks like it went right over my head, and some of those snow bits DID hit me, but he wasn't nearly as close as he looked. Phew!

Winter Sailing

This is one of my favorite shots of the shoot--there's so much movement in this exciting shot.

Hands down my favorite shot of the day!

This shot is almost otherworldly to me.

I love how this guy's snowboard appears to be resting on the setting sun.

Catching Air. . .

Yesterday, near sunset, I drove to Portland's Payson Park, hoping to get some shots of kids sledding and enjoying the beautiful Winter weather we have been having. I got a few good shots of sledders, but then I walked over to the Snowboarding area, about thirty feet away and got some great shots of a group of high school (and one college) guys on snowboards and skis, doing awesome jumps.

I quickly decided on shooting into the sun to bring out the luminosity of the light and highlight the sprays of snow that occasionally accompanied the jumps so beautifully. These guys very kindly jumped for me for almost half an hour before I got too c-c-c-cold to continue. I tried to capture a lot of shots with them facing away from me so they can be used by Visit Portland.com. The guys were all pretty excited to see the shots, so I hope they are all able to find my website and check the pictures out.

You can see the full series in my new gallery, Snowboarding in Maine where there are 62 different shots, including the ones I've put in this post.

Hope you're all having a great Winter--I know I am! Cindy

One of my shots in Yankee Magazine this month

2011-01-14T13:17:00.000-05:00

My photo of Necco Conversation Hearts in the January/February 2011 issue of Yankee Magazine!

A Few recent Shots of one of my favorite subjects

2011-01-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

An 8-image HDR panorama taken at close range to Portland Head Light's beautiful lightkeeper's house.

A 15 image HDR panorama of Portland Head Light from a more traditional perspective.

A 10 image HDR panorama taken 45 minutes before the second panorama in the queue--I love the warm, late afternoon light, and the sight of what turned out to be an enormous oil tanker on the horizon. The South Portland bridge was open for a looooonnnggg time while this boat went through and traffic was really backed up as I headed home, despite a stop at the grocery store in South Portland first!

A single shot HDR at close range to the Light Keeper's house and Portland Head Light.

It was such a beautiful afternoon--I had been on the fence as to whether or not to go out to Portland Head Light for sunset. I've taken so many pictures of it, obviously. . . But Marilyn, one of the gallery owners at Kennedy Studios recently told me that people always want more shots of Portland Head Light, so who am I to go against what people want? ;-)

A new collage of my most popular images on my portfolio site in place of the rotating slideshow that I have never liked much. Check out my website by clicking here

I hope you'll take a moment to go see how the new collage/banner looks on my homepage. I'd love to get some feedback on it. If it doesn't show up in its entirety unless you scroll down a bit, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for looking! Cindy

Preservation Perspectives in Old House Journal

2011-01-03T08:43:00.000-05:00

Two of my photos of Gary's House in Old House Journal's newest issue!

Happy New Year everyone! First news of the New Year 2011: I have two pictures inOld House Journal's March 2011 issue! Editor-in-Chief Demetra Aposporos did a very thoughtful and insightful interview with Gary's House Operations Manager (and my good friend) Mary Irace about this wonderful Portland charity-funded Federal Style home used as a sort of bed and breakfast for people whose family members are having extended stays in the hospital. I hope it will be the first of many chances to work together with Old House Journal! Cindy

'Tis the Season! (And a little learning)

2010-12-21T13:41:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & a safe and wonderful New Year to you and your family!

Tommy's Park at twilight last week, all lit up for the holidays.

Tommy's Park looking back toward the Trompe l'oile building. The streaming lights in the road came not from a car but from one of the Clydesdale-drawn wagons that makes the circuit through the Old Port during the Holidays.

By the light of the silvery moon: looking down Exchange Street as the moon rises above the Old Port at twilight. Streams of light from head and taillights are everywhere, as it was a busy evening.


When taking photos with an ultrawide lens like the 12-24mm, one often gets the keystone effect (the buildings take on an almost triangular shape--smaller at the top than the bottom than they should be.) I discovered the easiest tool in Photoshop to correct for this problem. It's called the Perspective Tool.

It was laughably simple to do. I literally just dragged the right corner out to the amount you can see in my screenshot above. The left side went along with it. Within about five seconds, I had a straight-looking building. Then you simply allow for the correction to be made by pressing the crop tool, which will ask you if you want to make the change and you click okay. Then, you crop to the edges of the picture that you can see. Otherwise when you try to print your picture, the edges that you dragged out using the Perspective Tool will show up around the borders.

Voila!

I hope you all have Merry Christmases, a Happy, Healthy New Year and safe journeys wherever you go.

Best wishes, Cindy

Holiday Lights at Twilight

2010-12-13T12:36:00.000-05:00

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's childhood home at twilight, decorated for the holidays!

A dreamy HDR composition of Maine College of Art's (MECA) beautiful holiday decorations and streaming head and taillights of cars on Congress Street at twilight.

Portland City Night Lights with streaming head and taillights--an HDR.

Ghosts of Christmas Present--This is an HDR composition of three images, but I love how one of the cars stopped at the light long enough during the 30 second exposure to show up as a ghostly silhouette of itself.

Longfellow Square Holiday Trees with streaming head and taillights again due to 30 second exposure.

Monument Square's enormous Christmas Tree with streaming head and taillights at twilight.

I went out to Portland's downtown on Saturday night before the big rainstorm we had on Sunday to capture some beautiful twilight along with the holiday decorations of Portland. As you can see from all of the streaming head and taillights in these long exposures, there were a lot of people out, enjoying the night or heading to dinner and events for the evening. It was crisp and cool as I strolled up and down Congress Street, enjoying these beautiful sights. My favorite, hands down, was the Longfellow House, where our favorite son, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, grew up. I wonder what he would make of electric lights twined around the trees and fence? I also have a non-HDR (High Dynamic Range) version of the Longfellow House:

Single image of the Longfellow House at twilight. I'd love to hear which image readers prefer.

And I also processed a single image of Maine College of Art:

Maine College of Art Single Image--do you like this one or the HDR version (above) better?

I'm hoping to get out to Portland's beautiful Old Port some time this week and do a similar shoot of the holiday decorations at twilight. Tommy's Park has particularly interesting decorations, similar to the ones in Longfellow Square, so check back to see if I've gotten down there.

And please take a moment to do the survey at the top right hand side of the blog, regarding what you'd like to see more of, photographically from me and my blog.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season! Best wishes, Cindy

A Very Victorian Christmas

2010-12-07T14:23:00.000-05:00

Victoria Mansion after last year's first snowstorm.

The Grand Dining Room, decked out for Christmas.

The beautiful wood-paneled library. Imagine reading a book in here!

The Turkish Smoking Room.

An ornate parlor complete with musical accompaniment.

Another lovely parlor, decorated for Christmas, including the ornately-carved mantlepiece with a beautiful array of Poinsettia plants as garnish.

The Grand Ballroom. This panorama took over 50 single images to capture every detail.

A sweeping staircase in the main hall leads you to the second floor.

The top of the stairs, looking across the second floor, with a huge skylight above.

The Red Bedroom with yet another incredible mantle piece/fireplace! I'm not sure how comfortable it would have been to sleep in this bed, but it sure would have looked good!

Another lavish bedroom on the second floor.

This is the ceiling of the Turkish Smoking Room. Incredible details and so much gold leaf!

Last December, I was asked by Portland Magazine to photograph the Victoria Mansion what many consider to be Portland's finest historical home that one can tour. It is always a pleasure to visit the mansion, but at Christmas, it really comes to life, as what could be more of a Victorian holiday than Christmas? Various designers and floral companies from the area decorate the different rooms each year in fabulously lavish ways, which makes it even more fun to tour through and discover what lifestyles of the rich and famous of the Victorian Era were like.

The decorations are different every year, and the tour is always great and worth every penny. According to their website, they're open daily 11-4:30 pm.

You can click on any of these pictures (above) to see a slightly larger version, or you can visit my architectural gallery to see them even larger on a black background by hovering your cursor or pointer over each large picture until a vertical box pops up allowing you to click on the various sizes you may want to view the pictures in.

Some of you may have seen these photos before in Portland Magazine, but I thought that since it is that time of the year again, and many of you hadn't seen them, now might be a nice time.

I'd love to hear what you think about the pictures, so feel free to either comment at the end of the post or on my website at the bottom of the page. Or as always, you can send me an email.

Happy Holidays to you all! Cindy

A Windy Sunset in Stonington, Maine

2010-12-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

The pictures below are mostly panoramas of 9-12 images, taken handheld from the town dock in Stonington, Maine on Thanksgiving Eve after a day of 40 mph gusty winds. To me, these panoramas make the scenes look peaceful, but it was anything but that! Those winds were still howling and my fingers were stiff with cold by the time I'd finished taking the pictures 10 minutes after I'd gotten out of the car.

Stonington Harbor at Sunset. . .


Stonington at sunset. . .

A single shot of the sun setting over Stonington. . .

It had been unrelentingly gray and ugly all day, in addition to the high winds, as we drove to visit my mother for Thanksgiving in Deer Isle. I had really been hoping to get a little photography in while I was visiting, because Deer Isle is absolutely magical. Almost every turn on every road brings a new vista or interesting sight.

I was rewarded about 1/2 hour before sunset with the sight of the sky beginning to clear, fast moving clouds scudding across the sky rapidly turning purply and pink colors like the ones you see in these pictures. That was all the encouragement I needed. I grabbed my coat and camera bag, jumped into the car and raced down to Stonington from my mother's house to the town dock, where I quickly took a number of panoramas from different vantage points, and a few single shots, too. They were the best shots I got out of the entire weekend!

On the way up, we stopped at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge because there was a short period of time with breaks in the clouds, and I took this HDR composition of the bridge that I'm quite happy with.

Penobscot Narrows Bridge HDR

And this one from a single shot that I worked on with my father, to produce an interesting antique photo effect:

Penobscot Narrows Bridge with antique photo effect

I hope your Thanksgivings were good and that you had lots of fun, family times! Best wishes, Cindy

New Designs at my Zazzle Storefront!

2010-11-17T17:51:00.000-05:00

Look for a personalized gift at Zazzle.

No need to buy anything when you visit my Zazzle Storefront, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have designed a number of new products, from iPhone and iPad cases to men's and women's t-shirts and an all new 2011 Calendar of my best flower images! Check them all out by clicking on any of the individual links within the panel, or just click HERE to go directly to my Zazzle store!

Let me know what you think! And if you would like a different item designed with any of my photographs, just drop me a line to let me know and I'll be happy to do it! Cindy

A Little Witch on Halloween. . .

2010-11-10T12:22:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a little witch on Halloween. . .

She wore pink striped tights and shoes blacker than midnight. . .

You had to watch out, or she would CURSE YOU!

Of course, when that happened, the Good Fairy would always show up to say, "Snap out of it!"

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours was! Cindy

Ginger Gold

2010-11-04T15:04:00.000-04:00

It's a grim, drizzly, rainy Novemberish afternoon here in Portland, Maine, so after eating doing my errands and eating lunch, I headed upstairs to my new tabletop "studio" (an EZ Cube with lights ) to take pictures of some beautiful, locally grown Ginger Gold apples I bought at Rosemont Market.

Ginger Gold Apples 1

Ginger Gold Apples 2


Ginger Gold Apples processed with a Painterly effect in Photomatix Pro

Ginger Gold Apples--another view. . .

Anyhow, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon, while listening to Chill Lounge type music on Pandora Radio to the accompaniment of rain on the skylight above me. Hope this post finds you warm and cozy indoors on this chilly, Autumn afternoon! Cindy

Chase's Daily, Belfast, Maine

2010-11-01T13:57:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed photographing Chase's Daily, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Belfast, Maine over the past year. Portland Magazine just published a couple of the pictures in their November 2010 issue, but I wanted to share a collage of my favorite shots that might offer you a bit more of the flavors of Chase's. Chase's is located in the heart of Belfast's downtown at 96 Main Street. (Phone: 207-338-0555) They are committed to providing great local produce at all times of the year, as well as wonderful brunches, lunches and dinners. My personal favorites when I visit are the goat cheese tartlets and the cherry tartlets. Don't miss this Downeast gem!

In order of appearance:
1st Row: Beets, Bok Choi, Big Squash
2nd Row: Dried Beans, the front window, fresh greens
3rd Row: Gourds and Squashes, peppers, Emily Kourand, waitstaff, squashes
4th Row: Empire Apples, Delicata Squash, Diners in the dining room on a Sunday morning.
5th Row: Mesclun greens, the coffee grinder, Holli Merri, Assistant Baker, Back Door Sign
6th Row: Antique stools at the counter, the famed Cherry Tartlets, Bread for Sale, a squash

Please feel free to forward my blog posts to your friends and relatives, and be sure to show your support for my work by clicking on the Follow button in the upper right hand column of Photo Quest. The only list it will put you on is my list of followers, promise. . . Thanks for all the nice comments and visits to my blog everyone! Happy November 1st! Cindy

Some recent shots from this Autumn

2010-10-26T11:19:00.002-04:00

Route 116, New Hampshire

Saco Heath

Saco Heath Forest

Saco Heath Aspens

Red maple, Yellow Fern

Halfway up Mt. Washington--5 image handheld panorama

Mt. Washington Base--12 image handheld panorama

Glen Elis Falls, New Hampshire--20 image handheld panorama

River Road Antique Cape and Autumnal Windbreak

Saco Area antique truck

New Gloucester winding road

These past two weeks, I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger, as they sometimes say in Maine. I've been taking Autumnal pictures for Maine Office of Tourism and Visit Portland all over the Greater Portland area and other parts of Maine. I couldn't get to nearly as many places as I would have liked, of course. And then we had some rain during the height of the foliage time, which took a couple of shooting days away, but I think I've managed to accrue a few nice images. We also spent the weekend in New Hampshire, with my parents-in-law, and I got the chance to take a ride up Mt. Washington (only halfway actually, because the winds were literally 80 mph on the top!) and see the beautiful Glen Elis Falls. I didn't have a tripod, so I couldn't capture Glen Elis the way I wanted to, but what I got will do for now!

Hope all you are all having a wonderful, colorful Autumn, as we have, and that you've been able to get out and enjoy the weather and the beauty of wherever you happen to be. Thanks for looking, as always! Cindy

My Panoramic Article published

2010-09-28T07:30:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that Mark Goldstein, the Editor of Photography Blog in England, has published my article discussing how to create beautiful panoramic photographs! I hope you'll take a moment to click on the Photography Blog link and read my article and share it with your friends and family as well.

The article, which contains many of my architectural and landscape panoramas as examples, has step-by-step instructions with screenshots of the individual actions you need to take in photoshop to stitch together and then complete your panoramas.

If you want to share any of my posts using any online social media sites, you can either click on the share link directly below each of my posts, or scroll down a bit on the right side of the blog to the "share my blog with your friends" area, where you will find many social media sites to click on and share.

You can also "follow" my blog, by clicking on the button on the right side of the blog that says "follow," which doesn't mean anything more than that you are showing your support for my photography.

I'm also happy to report that since I added a site counter to Photo Quest a few months ago, I've had almost 6500 visitors to the site. Thanks to everyone who supports my photography by visiting and reading!

Best wishes everyone and have a great day! Cindy

Sushi for lunch. . .

2010-09-27T16:06:00.001-04:00

I was in the mood for a little food photography this morning, so I picked up some Sushi for my lunch and photographed it first! The first photo is of Japanese Avocado and Vegetable Rolls, and the second is of Brown Rice and Salmon/Avocado Sushi. (Hint: I didn't actually drink Sake with my lunch, but it looked nice as a still life. . .)

In search of the elusive Monarch. . .

2010-09-21T16:59:00.000-04:00

A couple of mornings ago, I drove out to Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth, to try to find the last of the Monarch Butterflies before they head off to parts Western. One of my fondest dreams is to someday see their wintering grounds in Mexico or California, where they cluster so thickly on the tree trunks it looks as though the trunks are blossoming. I had a great time, however, haring around after 15-20 of these beauties as they flitted from cluster to cluster of New England Aster.

Sunset at Bug Light

2010-09-20T15:06:00.000-04:00

Last night, when I left my home to photograph South Portland, Maine's iconic Bug Light, there was hardly a cloud in the sky. But by the time I made to the tiny lighthouse, a lot of beautiful ones had rolled in. Sunset was very pretty indeed!

Senior Portrait Shoot

2010-09-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, I spent a really fun hour doing a Senior Portrait session with Gabe. He had some really good ideas for the pictures, one of which was to include him with his violin, as he is an amazing violinist/musician. We decided on a more "edgy" urban look to the photos, rather than a "pretty" bucolic setting. So we started at one of Portland's graffiti walls, behind ASYLUM, the dance club, and moved on to my favorite of the two places (although it was hard to choose,) the very narrow alley between two buildings on Exchange Street. I used my ultrawide lens to get a really interesting look for him. The top left and bottom right shots are both HDRs, or High Dynamic Range photography: three separate exposures, bracketed to expose best for highlights, midtones and shadows and then combined together using a program called Photomatix. It made for a couple of dramatic, gritty shots that really make Gabe look great!

Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine

2010-08-31T12:28:00.000-04:00

Last night, Maya and I drove down to Ogunquit, Maine to walk on the beautiful seaside path, Marginal Way and take some sunset pictures. This, ironically, was my favorite picture of the lot, and I say ironically, because directly after this picture was taken (in fact, my hand was still on the shutter button,) the rest of the wave splashed up onto my beloved 12-24mm lens! Ouch--a huge no no in photography.

Up until this shot, the waves had only lapped at the right side of the rock in the foreground, but this apparently was a ROGUE WAVE, determined to harm my poor lens. . . It seemed fine at first, but when I got home and turned on the camera, the camera asked for lens information--it didn't recognize the lens at all. I immediately took it off the camera and set it on a paper towel to hopefully dry out.

After a restless night of nightmares about my camera not working in various expensive ways, I got up and tried the lens on the camera this morning. It works perfectly now, but is still seeping teensy bits of seawater from the focal ring, and so I will reluctantly be sending it to Pentax Arizona to be cleaned, as the salt water will just stay in there, causing future harm otherwise. . . Sigh. . .

The worst part is that I could have prevented it all by putting on one of those ridiculous looking (but oh so protective) camera/lens raincoats that I had right in my camera bag. . . Live and learn, folks. . .

At least I got a nice shot out of the experience!

Cindy

When Life Hands You Lemons. . .

2010-08-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

When Life Hands You Lemons. . .

Make Lemonade!

I found this great antique Depression-Era green glass citrus juicer at Goodwill the other day with my daughter. I was really excited, because I have wanted to do this image for a couple of years, but I wasn't willing to pay upwards of $20 to buy the antique juicer to be able to accomplish it. (Now you know just how cheap I really am!) This little gem set me back exactly $1.99. I love the addition of the little vase of sunny Jerusalem Artichoke flowers nodding in the background. Enjoy!

--Cindy

Harvest on the Harbor Image

2010-08-25T19:38:00.000-04:00

Stop by Harvest on the Harbor's website to see the photo I shot for them gracing this year's banner. This year, the event will be running from October 21 to 23, and you really shouldn't miss it. I had so much fun last year, taking pictures for Portland Magazine and hope to be there again this year. There is so much incredibly good food being passed out (not to mention fabulous wines and Maine-Made cordials, liquers and liquors!) My favorites last year were a couple of different companies who made artisanal chocolates and truffles. The Lobster Chef of the Year competition was a blast too and everyone who participated, got to taste everything once again. YUM!

Inside PHL featured on Damn, I wish I'd taken that Blog

2010-08-17T10:59:00.000-04:00

My photo, Inside Portland Head Light, was featured on the Damn, I wish I'd taken that Blog today! Damn, I wish I'd taken that , is a great, invitation-only flickr group with over 22,000 members and thousands of beautiful photos. Thanks to Damn for featuring my photo on the blog! Cindy

Some recent food photos from the summer. . .

2010-08-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

I've been working on a lot of food photography this summer, trying to take advantage of everything I've seen that seems to pertain to food! From the top: One morning, I was watering the vegetable garden in the sunlight and noticed how sparkly the water droplets were as they fell. So I quickly grabbed the camera and fired off a few shots of "Parsley in the Rain!" The second photo is of three ducks we met up with at a wonderful farm near the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. They were waddling away from us as fast as they could go, but I thought they looked so chummy I had to take a shot. In the third shot, we were hiking around the rocks in Freeport when Maya found this little baby crab. The fourth shot is from Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine--highbush blueberries--yum! The fifth shot is a macro of blackberries at Gilsland Farms Audubon Society in Falmouth, Maine, and the sixth and final shot is of Lobster Chili samples at the Antiques in the Garden at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for looking, Cindy

Healthcare in the year 2050?

2010-08-10T08:45:00.001-04:00

Intermed Building, Portland, Maine

Last week, I was driving home from dropping off some work at Kennedy Studios , where I show my work, and I couldn't help but notice how incredibly clear and crisp the sky looked--a lovely, endless blue with wisps of white cloud floating by. I pulled over in the parking area of the Intermed Building, and took some quick shots of it with my ultra-wide lens (Pentax DA 12-24mm.) I really like how the ultra-wide perspective it makes the building, which is already an interesting building, look so futuristic. These are both HDR (High Dynamic Range) pictures comprised of three bracketed images, taken to make the most of all the highlights, mid-tones and shadows in the picture and combined together.

I'd also like to thank all the many people who took the time to vote for my landscape photography book in Blurb's Photo Book Now Competition! I really appreciate all the help. A lot of people even posted my request for votes in their own facebook feeds, which was great! If you haven't taken the time to vote on my book, there's still time and it still doesn't cost a penny! You can either click here to vote or click on the voting icon that looks like a medal on the side of my blog page!

Thanks again! Cindy

Vote for my Landscape book in the Blurb Photo Book Now Competition!

2010-08-02T13:59:00.002-04:00

LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS by Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld | Make Your Own Book

Hi everyone! I really need your help here: I have entered my landscape book, Leave Nothing but Footprints, into the Blurb Photo Book Now competition. I need your help to win by having you either post this link into your web browser: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1365431 or click on the orange and white "People's choice Award Vote" button above (no purchases necessary, honest!) and give me a vote! And if you are so inspired, please forward my blog and the link on to all of your friends and relatives and ask them to do the same, even forwarding it on to their friends and relatives.
You can click on the preview above to look through the entire book to see that it is well-designed and worth your vote! Thanks so much for your help everyone! Best wishes, Cindy

Inside Portland Head Light

2010-07-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

Many of you have seen my shots of the exterior of Cape Elizabeth's beautiful Portland Head Light. This morning, I was lucky enough to be allowed to take photos INSIDE the column of the lighthouse, looking up the ancient metal spiral staircase. This is an HDR--a high dynamic range photo composite of three separate photos, taken to showcase the best of the highlights, midtones and shadows in the scene. It looks dizzying to me, and that is just how it felt!

I had been warned that I wasn't allowed to climb the staircase to the top, and I have to say I was sorely tempted to give it a whirl, but it was so overwhelming looking that I decided to stick to the ground!

You can click on either of the images to view them larger. Please feel free at any time to share my blog posts or websites with any of your friends and family, and I encourage you to become a friend on facebook as well by clicking the Like button on the right side of my page. We photographers need all the support we can get!

Thanks for looking! Cindy

My pictures on Fox 23 Morning Show!

2010-07-22T08:12:00.001-04:00

Yesterday morning, Fox23 featured two of the bartenders from the cover article in this month's Portland Magazine in which I have the cover. Shahin Khojastehzad and Tatum Thistle of Navare Res and Salt Exchange respectively talked about their signature drinks and restaurants all while Fox23 splashed tons of the pictures I took for the article. What fun!

A Fruitful Week. . .

2010-07-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

I've been photographing a lot of fruits lately--how could I not, when there are so many delicious "subjects" lying around in the fruit bins of the Farmer's Market, Grocery Store and Rosemont Market? Some of them, as you saw, are even literally "hanging around" waiting for me to come along!

Hope you're all enjoying Summer! Cindy

Photography show at Vincent's Ear Gallery in Deer Isle!

2010-07-08T10:53:00.001-04:00

Happy July everyone! I wanted to announce that I have a show of my flowers going on at Art Gallery Mozelle , in Deer Isle, Maine for the summer. The images above are the ones featured in the show. They have been printed on a wonderful acid-free museum-quality watercolor paper called Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, which has amazing depth and color representation. They are all 13x19 inches, which is a great size for matting and framing.

So, if you happen to be in the general area this summer, stop by Art Gallery Mozelle, which is just outside of Deer Isle village on 42 Bridge Street in a nice old cape house that you can see the ocean from. For more information, you can call the gallery, Wednesdays through Sundays, 1pm to 5pm at 207-348-6722.

Please forward this blog post to anyone you think might be interested in seeing my photography show. Thanks for your help in getting the word out! Best wishes, Cindy

July Coupon for 10% off orders from many of my galleries!

2010-07-02T10:24:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I've decided to offer a July Coupon for 10% off your entire order (excluding shipping) from any of these galleries in my portfolio site: Architecture, Landscape, Ephemera and Portland Secret Gardens 2010. The code you enter at purchase time is: JULY2010.

I also want to thank everyone who so kindly took a peak at my newly re-done Flowers gallery yesterday. I had over 1000 new views in one afternoon alone! You can visit my website by clicking here: CFW Photography

Happy July! Cindy

Please Check out my newly re-vamped Flowers gallery!

2010-07-01T18:15:00.000-04:00

Click here to visit the gallery. Now you can purchase all sizes and types of prints from 4x6 to 24x36", canvas gallery wraps, mounted, framed prints, mugs, t-shirts, mouse pads, magnets, cards, you name it! Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Also, please scroll down on the right side of my blog page and click on the Follow tab, to show your support for me and my work. I appreciate it! Cindy

A few recent wildlife shots. . .

2010-06-29T13:35:00.002-04:00

For some reason, I've been on a bit of a bird kick lately. . . I usually don't take shots of anything that moves. In order from the top, is Mad Robin, Twilight Cormorant, Cedar Waxwing and Hunting Osprey.

The Robin Family nested in our Privet Hedge in the back yard a few weeks back. Whenever we would go outside, the mother and father would both fly out and glare at us, cheeping in indignation and then dive bomb us repeatedly! The Mad Robin shot was taken seconds before he flew at me!

The cormorant shot came about as an accident. I was down at Portland's Waterfront on the dock near sunset and saw a couple of Harbor Seals swimming around about 100 feet away. It looked like they were headed my way, so I waited for them, and instead, the Cormorant popped up right in front of me! Unfortunately, I missed the silvery fish that he gulped down as soon as he surfaced, but I like the shot anyhow.

I took the Cedar Waxwing shot, (which is nothing special as a photograph) when I was on a birding walk with our friends, Bruce and Michele, on Sunday evening. Believe it or not, I had never seen a Cedar Waxwing outside of a bird book, and there was a flock of 10-12 of them down at Capisic Pond. I think I've always mistaken them as lady Cardinals from afar, but as you can see, they're quite clearly different.

The Osprey is also not the best shot, being cropped in significantly to show it this large, but he was fishing right over our heads (about 50 feet or so above us) at Wolf's Neck State Park in Freeport a couple of weeks ago. It's very special to see these massive birds feeding their chicks and hunting for fish in the ocean right near you.

So that is my wildlife tour for today. Hope you enjoyed the photos. As always, you can click on any of them to view them larger. Cindy

Heading Homeward--Last Shot of the Night. . . .

2010-06-18T12:15:00.000-04:00

I took this shot last night while on a very nice near-sunset walk with my husband at Capisic Pond close by my house. I love the suggestion of detail in the duck's body and face, the occasional hints of green in the cattails surrounding her, and the beautiful undulating waves moving away from her. It is a very peaceful image to me. Hope you like it. Cindy

Hot Off the Press: My Article in Pop Photo Magazine!

2010-06-16T14:57:00.001-04:00

Well, you can imagine how excited I am right now, having just received my own copy of the article in Popular Photography Magazine about my available light food photography techniques. In my wildest dreams, I had imagined that it might be a small sidebar with a thumbnail version of my photo, not a WHOLE PAGE! You can click on the article to read it larger, or if you are one of my photographer pals who actually subscribes to this magazine, check it out for yourself on page 23! The only disappointment I have is that they messed up my web address, transposing the fw to wf in the http://www.cfwphotography.smugmug.com . Details, details though. . . Hopefully the first of more articles to come!

Cello Dreams. . .

2010-06-08T17:40:00.000-04:00

Last night, my daughter, Maya, participated in the Portland School System's All City Music Concert for strings and band. They sounded surprisingly good! At the end of the concert, as it is the end of the year, the students who had rental instruments through the school had to turn them in, and we suddenly found ourselves cello-less!

So this morning, I went to Frost Gully Violins in Freeport, Maine to rent another Cello for her, as she would be having her next lesson this afternoon.

The new cello was so much more beautiful than her old one that I just had to put on my 50mm f/1.4 lens and take some detail shots of it. I love the way a cello or violin scroll looks: like a fiddlehead fern top in the early Spring, all curled up. The shapes of these instruments are so sensuous and lovely to look at and I thought they would look best, emerging from the darkness of my black velvet background.

I hope you enjoy the new shots! Cindy

Kermit's Big Day Out

2010-06-04T17:57:00.002-04:00

It was a busy morning at Audubon's Gilsland Farms in Falmouth, Maine today. Everyone was buzzing about the arrival of a real celebrity of the natural world: Kermit the Frog! He apparently arrived in a trench coat and dark sunglasses the night before at Portland Jetport, but you know how it is with celebrities: the more they try to blend, the more they stand out.

And the other thing you know about celebrities is that no matter how much they might grouse about the Paparazzi, sometimes they love to pose. I was on assignment for Portland Magazine. As soon as I whipped out my camera, Kermit began to strike poses for me: looking frankly into the camera, soaking demurely in the water, and of course, I easily captured him talking about all the movies he's worked on and what a diva Miss Piggy is even behind the scenes! (Don't breathe a word to Piggy though. . .)

The only stipulation about the photo shoot was this: "NEVER shoot my bad left side!" So like the good Paparazzo that I am, I stuck strictly to his good side. He was thrilled with the results.

Just between you and me and the lamp post: he may try to get me on the set of the Muppets soon!

Cindy

Maine, the Way Life Should Be. . .

2010-06-02T08:31:00.000-04:00

These are some of the many colors of a Maine Spring. (Not necessarily in the order I've provided, of course.) The first flowers are often Crocuses, which the bees, hungry for real flowers after a winter of fasting, crawl avidly over. Apple Blossoms and tulips follow, along with cherry blossoms, lupines, roses, lady's slipper, peonies, tiny blueberry blossoms, and so many others that the landscape feels to me like it is singing! Sometimes I can't keep up with all of the flowers that I enjoy photographing, but this spring, I've made the most of it and really gotten out there.

You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them and then click the BACK button to come back to the blog.

I hope you enjoy my photographic tour of Spring in Maine as much as I enjoyed taking the pictures. Happy Spring everyone! Cindy

I won Popular Photography's April Photo Challenge!

2010-05-10T12:19:00.000-04:00

I found out last Friday that I won Popular Photography Magazine's April Photo Challenge: to take a photo using reflectors instead of electric lighting or strobes/flashes. Here is the image that won, called Orange Margarita. I get $100 as a prize, as well as my image in the July 2010 issue of PopPhoto with a small interview about the photo. Plus, my website will be featured within the interview, which should be great publicity for me.

Here's how I did it: I often shoot food this way. Most of the photos on my Stockfood Portfolio were taken this way as well. The object (in this case the drink) is placed on a white foamcore board with a white foamcore board as background. I then use a third white foamcore board to bounce the light that comes from the right side from my sliding glass deck door onto the left side of my composition, creating a more even, "professional" lighting.

Shot with my Pentax K20D, the Pentax FA-50mm f/1.4 lens at f/11 on a Bogen 3011 tripod.

Thanks for reading! Cindy

Barack Obama

2010-05-03T14:59:00.001-04:00

I was really lucky on April 10, 2010, to be able to attend President Barack Obama's speech in Portland, Maine! (Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them) And because the news that THE MAN was in our town speaking has already made to the Flash section of Portland Magazine, I can show these off now! These are my three favorite shots from the speech. My father very kindly helped me out by loaning me his wonderful Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 lens, which allowed me to get these pictures that I couldn't have done with any of my other lenses. Thanks Dad!

It was quite the ordeal, really, despite all the excitement. I had to be vetted by the White House first, and then show up almost three hours early to get in line and wait for an hour until they let all of us press people in the side door. There were tables for the "traveling press" which I didn't understand. Who was this traveling press? (I guess it was CNN, NPR, etc, etc--the big guy!) And across from where President Obama was going to be speaking, was a big stage, with masking tape strips on the floor, denoting where all the video camera people (such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc, etc) got to place their ginormous tripods and fifty pound cameras.

We poor schmoes with simple cameras had to find spaces in between all of the video cameras. Everyone was very nice, of course, but those video cameras take up a LOT of space--what with all the cords snaking this way and that. I ended up sitting on the front of the stage between two video cams and taking all of my shots from there.

It was really sweltering hot in the auditorium--everyone was excited--people had been lined up for blocks, five across the sidewalk, just wall to wall people, so the energy was palpable.

And finally, five minutes EARLY, in walked our President! It was so exciting and so LOUD it was unbelievable. I noticed in the taped speech coverage, that CNN had blanked out all of the screaming that was so intense it made my eardrums vibrate. I've never even had that happen in a rock concert!

The President's speech was great, just as I expected, but being able to share space in the same auditorium with him and several thousand people who were just thrilled to see him was the best. Once again, thank you Portland Magazine!

Cindy

Leave Nothing but Footprints is out!

2010-04-28T13:34:00.000-04:00

My first book of landscape photography is out! Titled "Leave Nothing but Footprints", the name was taken from the motto of the Baltimore Grotto, a caving society. "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time."

It is a very nicely sized book. I decided to go with the smallest format Blurb offers, at 7x7 inches square. When I was in the Maine Photography Show last week, they had printed an Exhibition Catalog with Blurb in this same size and it was really a wonderful little book. It has my image of the Blueberry Martini splash shot that was in the show in the latter 1/4 of the book.

LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS by Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld | BOOK INFO

You can see twenty of the pages that I randomly selected to give you a feel for the book. All four seasons are represented, along with a lot of Earth-friendly quotes and bits of poems.

Feel free to click on the little envelope icon at the bottom of the preview to share it with your friends or relatives or click on the little shopping cart icon to buy the book in one of three manners: perfect-bound paperback, hardcover with dust jacket or hardcover with an image wrap (the cover images printed on the hard cover.)

I hope you'll tell everyone about my new landscape photography book and perhaps even be motivated enough to purchase one for yourself! Cindy

New Tulip Poster

2010-04-27T09:02:00.001-04:00

I designed this poster yesterday--it prints out to12x18 inches. I wanted to give the tulips an old-style look with the processing, and hope that I've succeeded. Happy Spring everyone! Cindy

The Winsome Max. . .

2010-04-23T15:58:00.000-04:00

My mother's golden poodle puppy, Max, taken yesterday at Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. What a cutie! Cindy

Good Things Come in Threes

2010-04-13T12:07:00.001-04:00

As I was driving home from the grocery store this morning, I saw this Cherry tree, just waiting for me to take some pictures. It was so bright and cheery against the blue of the sky. It couldn't represent Spring any better, could it?

You can click on each picture to enlarge it.

Happy Spring everyone! Cindy

A few very kind words. . .

2010-04-09T17:30:00.003-04:00

Today, in a thread I've been following on dPreview's Pentax SLR group regarding who the most knowledgeable photographers are, I read a response that made my day:

"I read every single post of Cynthia's hoping to pick up nuggets of her photographic style. I even have her site bookmarked and check it regularly.

I'm lucky enough to have spent an extended amount of time in Maine. I have visited many of the sites she photographs. While they are by themselves beautiful her photographs always bring life and story to them.

I hope someday to be able to do the same."

I wish I knew this person's actual name, so I could thank him or her personally, but this will have to do, unless he reads my thank you on the forum. It's nice to know that people are out there, following what I do and enjoying it.

It made me realize just how important it is to tell the people you like, or who inspire you, how you feel. I'm going to try to do just that more often because it made me feel so great to read those simple words.

Best wishes for a happy weekend everyone! Cindy

My images from Portland Magazine's April 2010

2010-04-07T10:07:00.003-04:00

Some of you may know that I have this month's cover, which I was very happy about. I took photos of this interesting street circus, called "Excuse me Sircus!" last July, on a Friday evening when we were visiting Portland Museum of Art.

The next couple of pictures is from the Portland Harbor Hotel, only the first of which made it into the magazine, but I had to include my favorite image from the elegant bathroom. It also has an amazing tub, which I didn't photograph. I would love to have the opportunity to stay in such a nice room someday!

The next set of pictures came from Dr. Charles Carpenter's wonderful loft apartment on Monument Square in Portland. The article's author, Meagan S. Riedmann and I had so much fun visiting the apartment. It has such wonders as an authentic church pulpit, complete with a red leather chair at the top and Maine's only glass elevator. In order to get to the penthouse part of the apartment, Meagan and I had to follow Dr. Carpenter out onto what felt like an extremely rickety fire escape, four floors above the ground, and we were both very nervous, despite Dr. Carpenter's lack of fear! I wish I had taken pictures of how frightening it looked to us, but I was, well, too scared!

The final image is from Yordprom Coffee, a brand new authentic Thai coffee shop at 722 Congress Street, Portland Magazine's old location. They are very gracious and welcoming at Yordprom and I really enjoyed photographing the baristas hard at work.

I hope you'll pick up a copy of the issue so you can read all of the articles and see my pictures "in person" as well as reading my very favorite part of this issue (and one that I had absolutely nothing to do with,) the interview with folk icon, Dan Fogelberg's widow, Jean Fogelberg. It brought me to tears a couple of times and was very sensitively done.

As always, you can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

Best wishes everyone and thanks for reading, Cindy

E3RRPPZNNNK2

The Maine Photography Show 2010!

2010-04-04T11:52:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to report that this image, Blueberry Martini, made it into the Maine Photography Show 2010! The Awards Ceremony and Opening Reception takes place Friday April 16, 2010 from 5-7 pm. You can read much more about it and see the winners of last year's show by clicking on Maine Photography Show 2010.
The location is at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation, 1 Townsend Ave, Boothbay Harbor, Maine. I hope you might be able to be there to help me celebrate this fun event! Wish me luck! Cindy

The space Within is now available!

2010-03-30T11:20:00.001-04:00

The Space Within by Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld | BOOK INFO

(If you click on the shopping cart icon with the word BUY below it, within the

above preview, it will take you to Blurb, where I'm selling the book.)

I am very happy to announce publication of my architectural photography book, The Space Within, on Blurb. My proof copy just arrived and it looks fabulous! It is an 8x9.5" perfect bound, 80 page glossy book filled with my architectural photography and interesting notes on the history of many of the buildings and houses within. I hope you'll take the time to check it out and maybe even buy a copy of your own!

Best wishes,

Cindy

Maine State House Rotunda Revisited

2010-03-22T09:33:00.004-04:00

Last Friday morning, I met my good friend, Bruce, another Pentax shooter, in Augusta at the beautiful Maine State House for a photo trip. I have been interested in trying out my ultra-wide 12-24mm lens in the same places I previously used my kit 18-55mm lens and I wasn't disappointed.

Altogether, I have found that I need far less shots to create stunning panoramas and the results are crisp and clean, with very low noise, compared to my kit lens.

We had a lot of fun taking pictures and having "photo-chat" as we went from area to area. You can click on any of the pictures to see a larger version and then pres the back button to return to the post.

The first picture is a 12 image horizontal panorama of the Rotunda itself, and my favorite of the day. The second is the Maine Senate Chambers. The third piece is a a single shot of the Rotunda upstairs. The final shot is a four image panoramic view of one of the hallways leading up to the entrance to the Rotunda, where one can look up through three floors and see the beautiful dome above.

After that, we had a delicious lunch at Slate's Restaurant in Hallowell, Maine, and back home to process all the photos!

I'd love to hear what you think about my work at any time. Thanks for looking, Cindy

Portrait Shoot with Suzanne Nance

2010-03-18T14:49:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had a portrait shoot with MPBN's lovely producer and morning show host, Suzanne Nance. We had a lot of fun and I'm very happy with the results. She's an extremely photogenic subject, as you can see, so it wasn't a difficult shoot at all. The shots I've enclosed are my personal favorites. Hope you like them! You can see some of the shots on Suzanne's new website, which I also hope you'll visit. Best wishes, Cindy

New Work at Kennedy Studios

2010-03-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

Well, it was tedious, but I spent the morning matting photos and then dropped them off at Kennedy Studios early this afternoon. Stop by the gallery sometime and you'll see all of my matted prints in a bin near the front of the store! (This image, Good Red Wine, is one of the many photos for sale there.) Let me know what you think! Cindy

New Re-designed Landscape gallery

2010-03-12T13:27:00.001-05:00

Please visit my newly re-designed Maine Landscapes gallery on smugmug. You can now purchase prints in all sizes, whether by themselves or matted and framed, mounted or gallery wrapped canvases directly from many of my galleries just by clicking the Buy button to the right above each large picture. I am really excited with this new development! Look for more exciting changes to come, as my graphic designer and I, Mozelle Studio will be working together to make my professional website and the smugmug website join together seamlessly.

If you are technologically inclined and even know what such things as digg or stumble upon are, please feel free to digg or give a thumbs up to my site! Thanks for checking it out! Cindy

Greater Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau News

2010-03-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

I recently sold four photos to the Greater Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau for their beautiful 2010 Event Planner's Guide . Click on the highlighted words to visit both of those sites. The first photo is one of the four: Sunset from Portland Observatory.

They were really easy to work with and very friendly and I was absolutely thrilled to see my photos in the guide. You can actually click through all the pages, and it has great information on all the local happenings and things to do within its almost 50 pages of information and beautiful images.

A Visit to Washington, D.C.

2010-02-23T09:22:00.001-05:00

Last week, my mother and I visited Washington, D.C. for a day and a half, where we got to see the beautiful National Cathedral and The Library of Congress. I want to thank Donna Urschel, in the Public Affairs Department of the Library of Congress, for making my photo shoot in the Reading Room happen. She stayed after work for an hour to let me in, which was so nice of her. I hope the results show that it was worth it! You can click on any of these photos to see a larger version. Just press the back button to come back to the blog.

The photos, from the top: an amazing hallway of endless, graceful arches, painted beautifully. This is a small, 6 image vertical panorama.

The entry wall of the Reading Room, a 16 image vertical panorama.

The next two show floor to ceiling views of the Reading Room and its fabulous dome. You can read more about it by clicking here. It opened to the public in 1897 and its design was based on the Paris Opera House.

The final Reading Room is a smaller panorama of just the ceiling to give you an idea of how it looks to gaze upward at it. There's a wonderful hush in this enormous room. It almost has the feeling of a cathedral.

The next image is a floor to ceiling vertical panorama of part of the National Cathedral. I worked and worked at this one, just to get it straight, as it is such a tall building and has so many different leading lines and curves that Photoshop was quite confused by it!

The next one is a small six-image panorama showing how immense each of the Romanesque columns are that support the cathedral. I had to put the tripod and camera literally next to the column and point it upwards.

In the basement, or crypt area, of the Cathedral, I found a really interesting arched stairwell and long arched hallway that I loved.

And the final image is a six image vertical handheld panorama, taken outside obviously, in a portico or covered hallway at any rate, leading to some part of this immense, European-sized cathedral. As you can see, I was really intrigued by arch-filled hallways on this trip.

As always, please feel free to forward any of my blog posts on to your friends or relatives if you think they will be interested, and please scroll down through the blog from the top to find the "FOLLOW ME!" button, where you can show your support for my blog and photographic work by joining the other followers. It doesn't mean that you will receive any more emails or be put on any lists. It just shows that you like my work and enjoy reading my blog!

Additionally, posters supporting the Pink Tulip Project are still for sale here. You can scroll up to the top right area of my blog and click on "BUY NOW" to purchase one, 15% of the proceeds of which will go to support the Maine Women's Cancer Fund.

Thanks for reading! Best wishes, Cindy

Pink Tulip Project Posters to benefit the Women's Cancer Fund

2010-02-13T14:28:00.008-05:00

I just finished designing this poster and I'm really excited about it. I was looking at the Pink Tulip Project website this morning where I discovered that they raised $27,385 this year and over $50,000 last year for the Women's Cancer Fund at The Maine Cancer Foundation by planting gardens of pink tulips "to raise funds, create awareness and support those affected by breast cancer."

I thought that I would plant a photographic garden with my new poster. My grandmother, Mary Joyce Farr, died in 2000 at the age of 92 of breast cancer that recurred after over twenty years of remission. I brought her to her radiation treatments twice a week for many months before she passed away. I have always wanted to find a way that I could help propel the mission to stop breast cancer.

Here is the part I'm most excited about: I'm donating 15% of the poster price to The Maine Cancer Foundation!

So, I will be selling prints of this poster for $45.95 through Paypal, which includes shipping and handling directly to your house or P.O. Box. The poster is 16x20 inches and printed on archival quality Kodak e-Surface paper, which is rated for 100 years in home display and 200 years in dark storage. So no worries about fading. While it is perfectly suitable for gallery matting and framing, it's sized so you can simply buy a standard 16x20 frame of your choice, drop it in and be ready to hang it on the wall in moments!

If you're interested in purchasing one of these posters please click here "Buy Now" or on the Paypal button in the upper right hand corner of the page.

As always, please feel free to forward my blog posts on to friends or relatives you think might be interested.

Best wishes to you all, Cindy

The Haunting of Hill House

2010-02-10T14:39:00.002-05:00

Here is my tribute to Shirley Jackson. . . I went back to my favorite abandoned house the other night at twilight and took this HDR (High Dynamic Range) panorama. It was really just a great excuse to try out my 12-24mm ultrawide lens, and it proved to me again why I love it! I stood in the same place I stood in to take the second image here, and took a series of five shots, with different exposure times to expose for highlights, midtones and shadows and then combined them all, using a wonderful program that I finally bit the bullet and bought called Photomatix 3.0 to make the two exposures you see here.

I'm equally happy with both of them, but the first one, is amazing to me, because it shows just how wide an ultrawide lens perspective is, in comparison with my 18-55mm lens. I love the moody twilight feeling in these shots. Hope you like them. Thanks for looking, Cindy

PS--you can click on either of these shots to see a larger view.

New panoramic views of Merrill Auditorium

2010-02-03T14:06:00.003-05:00

Merrill Auditorium, City Hall, Portland, Maine. Taken at 12mm and stitched together using Photoshop CS4.

This morning, I went to Portland's beautiful Merrill Auditorium in City Hall and spent almost an hour making four panoramas of two different views of this elegant theater. I'm really fond of the angles they were taken from. I think they show the architectural details very nicely. (Thanks go to Gregg Carville, Merrill Auditorium's Technical Director, for letting me in again!)

One of these two photos will be in the 70 page architectural photography book I am in the process of designing. I've titled it The Space Within, after a quote by Frank Lloyd Wright: "The space within becomes the reality of the building."

The book will be completed when I come back from my February trip to Washington, D.C. where I will be lucky enough to photograph the Library of Congress.

Once I put the finishing touches on the book, I'll make a post about it with a link to the site I'll be selling it on, Lulu.com. I'm really excited to hold the first copy in my hands!

Thanks for looking, Cindy

There's still time to get my 2010 Photo Calendar!

2010-01-20T08:46:00.003-05:00

2010: A Year in Maine by Photogirl67
Browse other Maine Calendars

Twelve months of beautiful Maine landscapes! Click on 2010: A Year In Maine (above) to be taken to the Zazzle.com site where you can browse each month's design or order a calendar for yourself. Cindy

Kennedy Studios News

2010-01-11T13:27:00.003-05:00

The gallery I sell my artwork through, Kennedy Studios, 42 Exchange Street, Portland 772-8766, is expanding their selection of art and art related products. In addition to matted and framed paintings and photography, they'll also be offering jewelry, woodworking, pottery and handmade totes and handbags, among many other things. If you stop by the gallery to see my work, be sure to check out all of their new acquisitions. Jerry and Marilyn Andress, the owners, are really friendly, nice people. It won't be a trip wasted.

Also, when I visited the other day, I found that my work had been moved up to the front of the store. So be sure to look for the bin with my matted pieces in it. Best wishes, Cindy

US Capitol and Library of Congress Panoramas

2010-01-09T09:14:00.010-05:00

This is a 15 image handheld panorama I took when I had a tour of the United States Capitol Building
last week. It was taken at f/5.6 (a very wide open lens for detailed architectural shots--I normally like to use a much smaller aperture like f/16.) What an amazing building; truly gorgeous. I wish I'd been able to use a tripod, but they have SO many people going through on tours at one time (for instance, my tour alone was comprised of at least 50 people, and there were 4 or 5 other tours going on at the same time. After reading Dan Brown's new book that takes place largely in Washington, D.C., I really wanted to see the places he'd written about. Unfortunately, you can't wander around in the Rotunda as you can in the Library of Congress halls and rooms. The painting on the ceiling is called The Apotheosis of Washington, or the deification (becoming a god) of President Washington.
This is a panoramic detail of one of the hallway ceilings leading to the Library of Congress, where one can wander around and absorb all of the interesting paintings and sculpture and architecture. It is so ornate, I was just loving this place.
The view below the ceiling:
This is a very warped panoramic version of the Hall of Statuary, but as I had to stand in an awkward place and take it handheld, this is whatcha get!
The Grand Hall before the Library of Congress. I couldn't take any pictures in the little (approx. 12'x20') room you get to stand in to view the incredibly gorgeous library itself. It is round and all of the stacks seem to head off from each of the floors in this amazing building in spokes. I am trying to get in touch with the Library of Congress to possibly get permission to come in with a tripod when I visit in February to take actual panorams of the library. More to come on that, I hope. . .
The Apotheosis of Washington a bit closer:
I still have many detail shots I need to process, but these are the panoramas I took that I wanted to share with you for now. Best wishes to you all, Cindy

Notes from Portland Magazine's Winterguide 2010

2010-01-05T08:47:00.010-05:00

Happy New Year 2010! I'd like to give a teaser to this year's Winterguide issue. The cover isn't mine, but I thought I'd include it anyway, as I really like it. Below are images that I took for this issue, whether or not they were used. (Some were, some weren't. . .) The first two are from Fishbones American Grill, in Lewiston's beautifully restored Bates Mill complex.

The next four images come from Stephen Harvey's beautiful, recently restored 1970s home on 107 Vaughan Street. I had a wonderful time that snowy morning, photographing almost all of the rooms in this modern house.

Finally, I'll end with one image from my shoot at Port City Music Hall. This place has had an endless variety of musicians of all different types perform on-stage since they opened in the Spring of 2008.
Anyhow, I hope you'll check out Winterguide 2010. If you'd like to see more of the photos from the 107 Vaughan Street shoot, please check out my Architectural gallery on smugmug: Click Here

Best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year! Cindy