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Here is your selection of favourite photographs for July 2023, all 22 entries of them 🙂 What do you think?
Here are two photographs of my twin daughters taken during a trip to the Swedish coast. We had glorious weather and the sunsets were incredible. Both taken with My Pentax 6×7 and 105mm lens on Portra 800.
Except none of this is true. I (Pascal) generated those using midjourney to test how close we now are to photorealistic results. Given that they exist, I thought I might share them here (full review of Midjourney to come). Don’t hate me 😉 And now, for the actual photographs 🙂
I have been shooting while driving or as a passenger for years, both when I was living in London, now in HK. Here are a few from my collection shot in HK, all of which are from a passenger’s perspective because I no longer drive in HK. I like the timelessness from these images, whenever I revisit these images, it gives me a calm and tranquil feeling deep down because I was cocooned inside the vehicle while observing my ‘outer dream world reality’.
Enclosed are three photos taken at our Marine Heritage Week. There were lots of kids competing at all ages but I didn’t think it was appropriate, without parental permission, to use images that showthem clearly.
SOUTHAMPTON HERITAGE WEEK CARDBOARD BOAT RACES
Each year kids and their families get together for the annual the cardboard boat races. It’s safe (lifejackets a must) in shallow water, with lifeguards to keep an eye on things. Boats are created using cardboard and “plenty” of duct tape! It’s a fun event, lots of interesting boat designs, although some sank once underway. Lots of cheering on the sidelines.
This morning I went to the seaside close to where I live in Portugal. And while enjoying the blue hour, I took these photographs.
Here are some photos I took a week ago on a visit to Chicago.
OJAI, CALIFORNIA, USA — Portrait of a right-eye dominant photographer taking pictures at an Independence Day parade.
Two images from New England. The first was made on the harbor in Portland, Maine, and shows the remaining pilings from the wooden piers that were essential when Portland was primarily a fishing and shipping port. The pilings are visible from the Eastern Promenade, a cycling and walking path built to support the now vibrant tourism industry.
I love used bookstores. Commonwealth Books in the second image is one of the better ones in Boston.
Water may be turning into an obsession, for me. It’s been the subject of my previous two entries and this month’s 3 photos are also about water. They show 3 locations I visited during my summer vacations: Perpignan, in one of France’s hardest hit drought areas. Maury, wine-making country, merely 20 miles to the North, and a green haven in Rotterdam.
I particularly like it when someone walks across a background in counterpoint. This lighting worked out so well it appears the girl at the bottom of the frame is part of the mural.
A bit routine certainly, but couldn’t pass up a B&W with lots of silver in them.
More counterpoint. Technically, this is a case of pearls before swine. The image is a 3-frame photomerge by way of the GFX-100s.
In love with sunflowers.
There is only a short period during which one can admire sunflowers. Arrive too early, and they are not yet in full bloom, too late and they bend over without showing their beauty, which I find so special. Golden hour or what I believed it to be enables them to display all their splendor.
I got to take hundreds of wonderful photos in Alaska in July. Here are 3. The excitement of the gulls resulted from humpback whales “bubble hunting.” We were so fortunate to spend about 45 minutes watching this rare and recent phenomenon. The glacier is the rapidly receding “Exit Glacier.” The sunset is from Iowa. We didn’t see any real sunsets in AK because of the perpetual sunshine.
The first shot is of a waterfall on Chuginadak Island, the 2nd late afternoon Suns rays and the 3rd, deserted WW2 structure on Attu Island all within the Aleutian Islands.
After too much travel (can there really be such a thing?) the last 8 months I am finally getting back to my last tours through New Mexico and pursuing what I brought back with me.
Adobe buildings attract me like nothing else.
As an architect I find the total sustainability aspects of them ingenious. Usually built from materials obtained, mostly, on site they return to the land if left unattended over the years. These three photos are very representative of local buildings in New Mexico. The first is an abandoned house in the ghost town of Lake Valley, NM. The second a Penitente morada in Taos, NM, and the third (one I’m sure many have seen before) is the cathedral in Ranch de Taos, NM.’
Thank you to everyone who sent in photographs!!! See you all next month 🙂
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Is it possible I beat both Ian and Pete to be the first to comment this month??
Pascal J. this idea of yours is proving more and more popular. Kudos!
And thank you to all contributors for such a wide and qualitative array.
See you next month.
Pole Position, Pascal 🙂 I agree, fantastic lineup. Andyour sunflowers are up there with the very best! Thank you.
Thanks Pascal, much appreciated.
Looking for August ideas now….
P.S. AI pics are unsettling to me…
I won’t put AI images in this type of post again 😉 Can’t promise for others though 😉
At 22:00 last night when this was released my good friend Pete would have been in dreamland and I looked at it and thought – lets give someone in the west first digs for a change. Cracking sunflower images by the way – and you are welcome 🙂
Thank you Ian, both for the compliments, much appreciated, but also for the pole position ;-).
An interesting and diverse selection including an AI that’s avoided their nemesis – hands.
The way things are going, I won’t be surprised if water becomes an obsession for quite a few people. Predictions of demand vs supply are not very cheerful, with real problems looming by the end of the decade. Of course, for many people, this is already their day-to-day problem.
Cheers
Indeed! Scary and sad. I can’t get it out of my head. I have better images, but those are the ones that stick with me. UGH …
Cheers
Yes – I read this – “Water may be turning into an obsession, for me” – and went into a state of shock! It’ll take me a while to recover! My family has been in the wine industry for generations! That’s even worse than producing a bottle of beer!
Well, I love wine. But when my childhood home is turned into a desert, water suddenly becomes more urgent 😉
Dear Al Bionyst,
That’s it. I’m out of here. For years I’ve struggled with balky (and bulky) cameras, film, sensors, post processing and the myriad of things that used to make photography so enjoyable
No more. You pitch up here at DearSusan, a site where real photographic endeavour has always been a cornerstone, submitting two of the most exquisite portraits – right down to the tiny pink end-of-nose blush that comes from wind, weather, or too much sun. Then you have the goddam effrontery to tell us that they are AI generated fakes.
Well, it’s not good enough. I’m putting my kit on eBay later today – I’ll use the meagre sale proceeds to sign up for “Teach yourself actuarial skills” or “Marine biology 101” or something similar. Something AI can’t despoil.
Damn you Bionyst.
The coward didn’t even dare reply, Paul! I’m with, that’s despicable 😉
Actually, brilliant results in isolation, but a bit repetitive, and zero fun to do … zero sense of achievement. Makes me wish I have actually made those photographs, though.
Cheers
Attracted, then shocked, then… embarrassed.
You totally got me with your AI images… I started by feeling “sweet tones, a lot of de-sharpening but still *not really* a digital look (!!), rather “otherworldly” (you bet…); wow medium format is doing it for me; then when reading the spoiler, I was even more fascinated!
My reaction was “well, when AI is looking “somehow” *less digital* than even the best digital camera, where do I go now?
So as a retribution for your cruelty, here is my challenge: since you have “top gear”, please produce with your Hassy a portrait with the same aesthetics… if you can’t, I implore someone in the group to do it… then I’ll break my budget and move to my next digital camera, swear!
And by the way, gorgeous images here, as always… a pleasure, and a humbling one 🙂
Oh how I wish. Alas, I don’t remember ever being in such a lovely place, in such lovely light. Also, the look of the AI images is meant to replicate the aesthetics of a 105mm lens on a 6×7 Pentax on Portra. I don’t think my Hassy will produce something with that look 😉
But, frankly, once you ignore the initial shock, I actually think the AI images make the real photos look better. Less perfect, but more lifelike and incarnate.
I agree with that. But regardless of their “less soul”, they have a look that I would be very pleased to achieve with a camera… plus the soul, ahem 🙂
It certainly messes up the cogitations about next purchases, thank you very much 🙂
Wonderful images everyone! I’m especially fond of Philippe B’s ethereal blooms, Pascal O’s evocative sunflowers, Dallas’ dramatic Aleutian Islands shots, Michael’s stunning adobe images, and the always creative images of John Wilson. Every one of you had a contribution to be proud of. Kudos to all!
What a collection!! playing fvorites is almost impossible, because there is so much quality, so much talent! Still, not mentioning Dallas Thomas, Pascal Ollier, John Wilson, and the newcomers, is impossible! Kudos to all!!
Another stellar collection and great to see all the new names. Mr.J, you’ve created a monster that will keep demanding more … and I don’t mean the AI nonsense.
Pascal, thank you for this treasure chest of images. Wow! I was moved by Luca’s photos and verse, particularly the thought from Manet: “There are no lines in nature, only areas of color, one against another.” That set my mind off on a wild scramble to consider the epistemological nature of art and photography. Another reason to celebrate this channel and its innovative thinking. Thank you.
Thank you so much!
Well – I’ve recovered (sort of). Anyway I’ve forgotten what you’re drinking, I’ve had some very nice champagne (my wife know I’m an addict, so she gave me a couple of bottles of the real stuff, for my birthday – just as well my father’s no longer with us, I don’t think he’d appreciate being told that I’ve yet to find a bottle of “champagne” made in Australia that would beat the stuff I get from France!), Google’s stuffed up my emails and slapped a 48-hour freeze on my account to prevent me from doing anything about it until Monday, so now you’ll all have to put up with me.
Philippe’s photos are easy – they’re ALWAYS great – I fool around with MACRO lenses and stack-shots, but while that bumps the technical qualities it does nothing for the air of mystery that pervades Philippe’s flowers. I can tell at a glance he hasn’t wasted countless hours post-processing, which I think also keeps the pendulum over the “subjective” side and away from the “objective” stuff that we’re all surrounded by these days. This relentless pursuit of “perfection” is beginning to remind me how “politically correct” started off with good intentions and seems these days to keep falling over the edge of a cliff. As Pascal was hinting, in his recent post – time we paused, and tried to be more “artistic” and less “clinically perfectionist”.
Whenever Philippe shares a few more, I always end up moving them up and down my screen, looking at them over and over. Can’t help it – there’s some kind of magnetic attraction lurking in his images.
Lad – like practically every other animal I can think of, turtles are one of my favourites – but they won’t be there for long, if you leave them outside like that! The neighbours won’t be too happy if that happens. Love your button bush – what was the meta data on that shot.
And Pascal – you seem to have a success on your hands – this month’s haul is a truly wonderful collection of photos, from a large number of contributors. Now that you know how clever they are, you’ll have to pester them to put in an article of their own!
I sure will try 😉
Champagne? Great. Me too, yesterday evening with friends. Yum.