Lone Tree in a Field - Part 2

I upped the contrast in this version of the photo. It seemed to give it a little more umph. The sky's shade of gray in the previous photo matched that of the grass a little too closely. A friend of mine at work suggested I try it out and it worked.

Eric

Land of the Giants

While taking a hike this weekend, I was able to catch a fun shot. I made 2 of my friends seem like giants and another friend look a hobbit. The affect is kind of amusing. Hope it makes you laugh a little.

Eric

Lone Tree in a Field

This is a shot of the same tree but from a distance. I wanted to relay a solitary feeling, but it was only partially successful. Any suggestions?

Eric

A Tree By Bodega Bay

While up at Dillon Beach this past weekend with Warren, Gail (his wife), Genie (my wife & Gail's sister), and some great friends, I was able to get a shot of this lone tree with the sun behind it. Took it during a hike with the Sony DSC-H1.

Eric

Sunset at Dillon Beach, CA

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

We were up at Dillon Beach for the weekend with some friends at a rented house. Eric was there too, so I'm sure you'll be seeing Eric's pictures here soon.

This is picture from Friday evening... just your standard sunset shot. Our rental house was located on a bluff overlooking the beach. At sunset, we walked out to the edge to get a better view. We had some unusually great weather for a couple of days up there before it got cold and cloudy on Sunday morning.

--Warren

Variations on a theme

Along the same lines of my previous post, I would like to offer the following variations on a theme. The shot was an uncorrected, unprocessed, jpeg straight out of the camera and mutated via Photoshop. Thoughts?



Original shot



Straight desaturate



High contrast monochrome via channel mixer



Illford HP5 400 pushed 1 stop



Kodachrome 64



Velvia 100



Cross processed C41 in E6 chemicals



Lomo cross processed Fuji

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I made this version from Tom's original shot, posted with Tom's permission. (see comments)

--WT

Unedited. Halloween Is Approaching.

One of the craziest things I think I've ever seen is this grasshopper skeleton sitting on an unopened queen anne's lace. When I saw it, it really blew me away and I felt pretty creeped out to be honest...

I thought it was something fit for a horror film. Good thing it was the daytime or I would've been running outta there screaming!!!

I was told that it was likely the leftover from a praying mantis' dining. I didn't even know praying mantids lived in Ontario... and coincidentally, I saw one a few days later at a baseball game climbing up the fence by our bench. Its movements were very slow. Reading up on them a little, I learned that their slowness and green camouflaging helps them hunt unsuspecting creatures such as this grasshopper and eat their heads first! I don't know how I'll react if I see one ever again...

Nothing but Photoshop

With all of the discussion of the implications of post processing, I decided to upload a shot that is only possible with Photoshop. This is actually a scaled down HDR or high dynamic range shot. The original is a 32 bit image that is composed of three RAW shots, shot metered, +1ev and -1ev. The resulting file is a shot that contains all of the information and range of the three and is the closest we have that can approximate human vision. Unfortunately, I don't have a monitor capable of displaying the whole dynamic range. This shot is an 8 bit cut down of the original 32 bit image.

Without Photoshop, the shot would not be possible. Meter off the stain glass and the shot will be black. Meter off the church and the stain glass will be blown out. Canon 5D with 16-35L f2.8. Tripod used.

Smoke Break

This photo is a tribute to Dave Beckerman, whose online journal was quite an inspiration to me a few years ago as I was considering getting back into photography.

Dave's journal, in a sense, was the Mother Of All PhotoBlogs - it was in essence a blog before there was such a thing.

Dave is a great B&W photographer and a great street photographer. I never shoot B&W any more and only seldom convert one of my digital images to B&W. But over the past few weeks, as I walk the final block on the way to work before I get to my building, I've been seeing small groups of smokers sitting on the window ledges of the Candler Building along Pratt Street. If I walk very close to the building, I would often just see a few pairs of legs, a hand or two, and puffs of smoke, backlit by the early-moning sun.

Those little scenarios started to strike me as "compositional," and Black-and-White-y. Well, yesterday, I finally snapped a few shots, with B&W in mind as the final product.

I rather like it, and hope you do, too. I'm curious to see what Dave thinks.

Pensive

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

This is a candid of Kim, youngest daughter of my wife's best friend. She was at the Chinatown Health Fair hanging out with some of her friends who were volunteers at the event.

--WT

The Glorified Rainbow

In continuation with my photo editing thoughts last week, I have given this shot a little something extra.

It was rainy.. so of course the sky was very grey but as I stood at the shore watching some friends head out in the canoes, I saw a pretty little rainbow!

By increasing the saturation, I think I've kept the essense of this photo -- the reason I took it was because of that rainbow.

Vision is not realistic. Sit two people infront of a painting and they may see absolutely different things. It is the emotion associated with a picture that gives it it's punch. What does it evoke in its viewers.

A photo is that which is recorded by a camera, true. And editing it afterwards, perhaps, is changing an image from a photograph to a picture. But where do we draw the line? Sharpening little things here or there.. brightening a photo.. changing colours..

I don't really consider myself a photographer yet, so my views may be way different from everybody elses here.... eep...

Father & Daughter

It's good to be a father!

This is a lucky shot I caught at the tail end of Baltimore Flugtag.

I had been taking photos during the event with my Canon Digital Rebel and 70-300mm zoom, racked out to 300mm to get pictures of the "airplanes" plunging into the harbor.

Luckily, I still had the long lens on the camera when I spotted this young father with his baby girl battened snugly inside his coat.

It reminded me of the rear cover of Paul McCartney's first solo album.

Alley Plants

Here's another shot from the Canonet near my office. In this part of the neighborhood, these folx took time to beautify the front of their home. I took it on a sunny day, and afterwards I just wanted to sit on the sidewalk and just relax. They did a nice job with it. I hope my pic communicates that.

Eric

Alley Window

I was playing with the Canonet one day and took this photo at a building next to my office. As you may be able to tell, I don't work in the best of neighborhoods.

Eric

My Fierce Little Friend

Nikon D100, Nikkor 85mm f1.8D

She was basking in the late afternoon sunlight in our patio.

--Warren

The Boats by Fort Mason

I took this on my Nikon FM2 with some Ilford HP 400 film. It's behind Fort Mason.

Eric

Fun Purple

I took this with my Holga and some 120 Kodak 400 ASA Ultra Color film. It's down at the end of the Embarcadero 4 by the Ferry Building in SF. There are a bunch of artists selling different crafts and this one was selling fun purple stuff.

Eric

Two-Bit Hearts

Candy hearts in a "bubble-gum machine" at the Inner Harbor.

Sunlight on a Bowl

I saw this on my kitchen table today. The sunlight coming through the window was hitting the bowl in a certain way.

Crissy Field Beach Scene, Presidio, SF

Fed 3B, Industar-61, Ilford XP2

I'm not sure of the purpose of the building at the edge of the beach, but it was an interesting subject for a picture :).

--Warren

Fort Cronkite - Marin Headlands

Nikon F2s, 24mm f2.0 ai, Kodak E100SW

View of Ft. Cronkite & Rodeo Beach with San Francisco in the far background.

This was converted to B&W from a color slide.

--Warren

Battery Godfrey -- SF Presidio

Voigtlander Bessa R, CV 35mm f2.5, Kodak SG400

A view of the back of one of the Presidio's coastal defense gun batteries.

--Warren

Upcoming Photo Op - Sat. Oct. 21st in S.F.

Nikon F4s, Tamron 24-135mm

This announcement is for our photogs in the S.F. Bay Area.

Sorry it's such short notice, but I didn't think of it until yesterday :).

Last year, I volunteered my time to help the organizer of the annual Chinatown Health Fair, take pictures of the event. I had a lot of fun, and it was an interesting and challenging photo assignment. You may remember that I posted a few shots here on the forum from last year's event.

I was emailing with Kent Woo, who is executive director of NICOS Chinatown Health Coalition and organizer of the event, and he agreed that it would be a great idea to ask you if you're available to help shoot the event. This would take some pressure off of him (for taking pictures) so that he can concentrate on other event related issues.

The photos that we take may be used by NICOS in upcoming newsletters and promotional materials.

Time and Place:

Saturday, October 21st, 2006
Cameron House
920 Sacramento Street
Fair hours: 10am to 3pm

I will be there around Noon. I think it will be very cool to post some pictures here to compare our different photographic visions. Hmmm, now what gear should I use that day.... :)

I hope to see some of you there! Let me know if you're going.

--Warren

Seeing Orange

Nikon D100, Sigma 15-30mm

I was driving in the neighborhood this morning when out of the corner of my eye, I saw these orange boards on some scaffolding, glowing in the morning light. I circled back, parked the car, and got the camera out of the trunk to take some shots.

I'm really not sure if these are worthy of showing here. Any thoughts?

--Warren

Night shot

I probably should do more night photography. I posted one a couple of years ago from Twin Peaks. Here's one I did last week from the Embarcadero of the Bay Bridge. I used a Rolleicord twin lens reflex camera with Tri-X film. A four second exposure at f/8.

Presidio Wildflower

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

I was walking the 1 mile loop trail at Ft. Winfield Scott in the Presidio. The signs tout the fact that the old fort's buildings were designed in the "mission revival" style, but to my eyes they just looked like old army barracks. Most of the barracks have not yet been "reclaimed", so they stand abandoned and neglected. I saw this refreshing splash of color sprouting out from the base of one of these buildings.

--Warren

Jason & Mary Wedding

Voigtlander Bessa R, J-8 50mm f2.0, Kodak SG 400

We were sitting in the 2nd row in the audience, not a very good angle but I did the best I could. These were shot with available light using the J-8 wide open and a slow shutter speed.

Here the bride seemed to be looking straight at my camera:



"The Kiss":



--Warren

Bridesmaid at City Hall

Voigtlander Bessa R, J-8 50mm f2.0, Kodak SG 400

We attended my cousin's wedding at City Hall recently. This is a candid of one of the bridesmaids waiting for a photo shoot with the pro photographer.

--Warren

Sunlight and Wind

Last Friday morning was quite a bit breezier than before, and the additional wind made for some really interesting reflections.

I shot this one once again near the old Power Plant building, but from the other side, standing on a bridge that links the Aquarium area to Pier Six.

I think it has an Impressionist feel to it - but other than the Levels adjustment in Photoshop, there was no digital manipulation of the image - it's all sunlight and wind.

A Sightseeing Break

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

My camera tandem today was the D100 w/Tamron 24-135mm and the Bessa R w/VC 35mm f2.5. I needed to finish a roll of film in the Bessa, but as usual I brought the D100 along. I decided to explore the Presidio some more today.

This guy was taking pictures with his cell phone camera.

--Warren

Nap Interrupted

Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 85mm f2.0 ai, Kodak SG 400

I interrupted her nap to finish off the roll of film in my camera.

--Warren

Playing on the Dunes

Nikon F3HP, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ai, 2x teleconverter, Kodak Super Gold 400

I spotted this little guy playing at Crissy Field, oblivious to the Blue Angels practicing in the sky above him.

--Warren

Running :)

I went out for a run this morning with some friends -- 10km. It was verrrrry cold when we got there. So we went for coffee & hot chocolate first :)

I have never done a race before like this with the roads blocked off and so many people. It was alot of fun. I hope to do more races!

Tedm's post on Oct 7 about digital editing got me thinking. Mostly, it has left me with the desire to try out some digital editing of my own. I am using Photoshop. But I am not very advanced yet.

I removed some of the shadows. Increased saturation. Increased contrast.

Perhaps I will try more in the future...

Whistler's Great-Great-Great-Grandaughter ?

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ai

Saw this scene at Pier 39 a few months ago.

--Warren

8 O'Clock Shadow

8 AM, heading East on West Conway Street, on the way to work (Canon A620)

Early Morning Photos

Here are a few photos I took last month in Lincoln Park early in the morning. I'm still attracted to shooting fog pictures as they are always different and changing. All were shot within a half an hour using a Canon digital camera.

High G Turn

Nikon D100, Nikkor 500mm f8 Reflex

Another shot of the vapor cloud resulting from a high speed turn.

--Warren