Cole Handerhan Photography Portfolio

  Forgotten Bridge Frog West Virginia Hills This week I tried to focus on  'unplanned' outdoor photography. I usually take my DSLR with me when I am fishing or on a hike, just in case I come across something that interests me for a photo. The first photo is a just an old, dilapidated bridge I came across while fishing last week. Unfortunately I only had one lens with me in my pack, so I was limited with the angles and depth of field I could get. I wish I would have had an ultra-wide-angle lens on hand so I could have gotten closer to the bridge and got more detail while still keeping it dominant in the frame. It sort of gets lost in the foliage in this shot. I tried boosting the clarity a bit and messing with some filters and masking to bring the foreground slightly out of focus, but I wasn't really satisfied with the results.  Next is a macro shot of a frog I came across on a hike in the woods. I have no idea what kind of frog that is, but I really liked the colors and s...

  Mayfly Brown Trout Spey Casting For this week I tried to use filters to create a new yet still realistic image. I tried to work with the natural depth of field in the first two shots and use layers, masks, and filters to really make the subject pop out and get that "crispy" photo look. Lots of masking, feathering, and Gaussian blurs.  The last image I had a little more 'fun' with. I added a solar flare and adjusted the colors to the image. I also made my subject, Greg, pop out of the background a bit with some masking. If I was more skilled I would like to try and add a subtle blur the image, leaving only the water droplets in the foreground perfectly in focus. I tried several different ways to make my vision in my head come to life... unsuccessfully. It's definitely something I'm going to look into in the future and challenge myself to accomplish. 

Ready to Fish Millipede  Millie     This week my shots are more or less random. I took a closeup of my fly (think: lure) while walking into my fishing spot this week. Even though it was a spur-of-the-moment things I really liked how the shot turned out. I did a little editing to try and improve the shallow depth of field to make the fly and fishing rod stand out. Second, I found a millipede while walking and taking pictures in the woods. This little guy was on a mission, so I found it really hard to get a good shot. There is still quite a bit of motion blur in the legs, even after I tried to clean it up in photoshop. I think the light had a lot to do with it; it was getting dark, and I wasn't able to use a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action.  Last, of course, is a picture of Millie. We were at my parent's house, and as I was snacking she decided she wanted in on the action. I took the opportunity to work on my animal 'posing.' She was much more cooperativ...