My fave photos from 2013.

[MattSh]

I haven't been posting here as much as in the past, especially the contests, since I do a bit of that new-fangled "HDR" and "Photoshop" thing.

So here's some of my faves from last year. Meaning what you see was processed in 2013. The photo may have been taken earlier...

House of Chimeras, Kiev



Multi-Colored



St. Volodymyr, Kiev



Sleepy Hollow Farm, Woodstock, VT (Explore #34)



Autumn Dreamscape, Kiev



Holosiivs'kyi View, Kiev



Autumn at the River, Osechena, Ukraine



Big Egg, Kiev



Summer by the Seaside, Camyuva, Turkey



Secret Hideaway, near Phaselis, Turkey



Kiev Pechersk Lavra



St. Panteleimon's Cathedral, Kiev



More background on some of these places, or photo processing, or other random stuff... http://www.mattcreate.com/ or http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattsh/

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. thanks for sharing ! My grandparents came from the Ukraine and it is

so seldom you see pictures of it. what a great trip you must have taken !

[MattSh]

2. Actually?

It's more than just a trip. My mom's probably wondering if she'll ever see me again.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

3. she is there?? No, DUH, you are there and everywhere. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

4. MattSh, as you may know, I'm not normally a fan of HDR

unless it's done tastefully (because I'm just a tasteful kind of girl, lol), but these shots really are gorgeous. You have mastered the art. Great job!

[MattSh]

10. Thanks Blue

I think everybody has to spend some time in that "untasteful" zone before arriving at tasteful. The trick is to make that transition as quick and painless as possible! Both for me and whomever is viewing.

[orleans]

13. what is hdr? (sorry--i don't know. please fill me in) n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

15. High dynamic range imaging

You take several exactly the same photographs except with different exposures and then superimpose them on top of each other. The intention is to bring out the details in the shadows. Sometimes the results are really garish and unreal looking (in my opinion anyway), but Matt's are good. Here's an example of less than good ( again, in my opinion). I like reality.

[orleans]

16. ah...thanks for the definition. i see what you mean. n/t

[justiceischeap]

17. Blue, I'm in the same boat you are

I am NOT a fan of HDR. However, the image you're showing isn't the worst example.

These are the one's I absolutely detest.







I have a photo buddy I shoot with and she shoots HDR but does so tastefully. I'll always tease her too because you can tell where she is by the amount of shutter clicks that go off. Never have to wonder where she is.

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Oh, yeah, these are horrible.

I just grabbed a quick one off of Google images. What REALLY bugs me though is when people get all effusive over what great photographs they are. Gag.

[justiceischeap]

19. It's like using Hipstamatic on the iPhone

I'm of the opinion that it's really hard to take a bad photo using Hipstamatic cause it cooks it so much. I think too many people try to save bad photos with HDR.

[NV Whino]

5. Great stuff

And just enough HDR.

What's the story behind the egg?

[MattSh]

9. My best guess is...

The first time I came across the Big Egg phenomenon was Ukraine Independence Day 2012. Previous Independence Days, they opted for parades of military hardware and such, but beginning 2012, they opted to make the day more of a big street party. Rollerblading, basketball, stilt walking, bmx bikes, auto and motorcycle competitions, and these things, whatever they’re called.



In 2013, instead of Big Eggs, they opted for Big Chickens instead. So my guess here is that it’s a celebration and a competition of Ukraine’s agrarian traditions.

[NV Whino]

11. Thanks for the info

Sounds exciting.

[Solly Mack]

6. Those are awesome!

[alfredo]

7. My Armenian ancestors may have built some of those.

[Mira]

8. Splendid. So glad you showed these n/t

[postatomic]

12. Incredible

But I'm a bit disappointed that you don't have any snapshots of an owl.

[MattSh]

14. Hey, I'm disappointed too!

But one day I'll find my owl. Just wait and see...