Friday, August 31, 2007

Off Limits



Nikon F4s, Nikkor 35mm f2.0, Fuji Superia 400

--Warren

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Monday, August 27, 2007

Falls, Kings Canyon NP, California

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

Hi Everyone,

I am asking for some feedback for this image. Please study this shot for a while. I would appreciate if you would tell me what emotions or feelings that it invokes from you. It's perfectly fine and okay if you tell me that it does not invoke any feeling at all. I would also like to invite you to suggest an appropriate title for this.

If you want to, you can also give me a "real" critique if you feel up to it.

On another subject, we are closing in our THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! We are up to 982 posts and counting! I wonder if we'll make it to 1000 posts by our anniversary?

I want to thank everyone for joining me in the fun. As always, I would appreciate any ideas for some fun or challenging themes to photograph. If you suggest something, you are obligated to participate!

If you can please drop a comment here to let us know that you're still around, and let us know what you're up to, both photographically, and just in general.

If you are just visiting, please drop us a line just to say "hi", if nothing else.

--Warren

3 Comments:

Blogger Steve Rosenbach said...

Hi Warren,

It's a beautiful composition, beautifully executed in dramatic, contrasting dark tones of the rock and very light tones of the falling water.

The emotion I immediately experienced was, "Wow!" - awe- both of the natural beauty of the scene and your ability to capture it.

best regards,
SteveR

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 5:15:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Lea said...

Great pic! High energy. First impression was imagining being there and hearing the water splashing on the rocks as it makes its way down. Must've been a great place to be! :)

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 12:05:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Benson said...

I like the contrast between the black and white. Also the shutter speed was a nice compromise with some stop motion and some blurring of the faster moving water. Very dramatic with both of these elements in there.

Sorry for staying off the blog for so long. I promise to post some stuff once I have a chance. I have some stuff from our Alaskan cruise and a recent camping trip to Yosemite I would love to share with the group.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 1:59:00 PM PDT  

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Friday, August 24, 2007

low light portraight p&s f30 iso 800

uncropped, but exp. adjusted in picasa (and reduced in size/quality)

2 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Nice one, Ted!

The first thought that comes to mind is: Very intriguing pose and expression.

IMO, this picture has "impact".

There just three little distractions, the person's shoulder in the background, the two bright lights on the right, and the blown highlight on the subject's nose.

Thanks for it posting here.

--Warren

Sunday, August 26, 2007 at 7:51:00 PM PDT  
Blogger tedm said...

Thanks Warren, I think your feedback is excellent, and are 3 things I didn't catch during the capture or the review.

The subject is a model, so the pose was immediate, but I wish I were more alert about the items you mentioned.

Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 9:24:00 AM PDT  

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Slo-Mo

Spur-Thigh Tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) Maryland Zoo in BaltimoreAnother "Wild Kingdom" photo shot during a recent trip to the Marlyand Zoo in Baltimore.

This is an especially nice-looking Spur-Thigh Tortoise (Geochelone sulcata), probably weighing over 200 pounds (they can grow to 240 lb, according to the Zoo.)

Ol' Spur-Thigh's usual stomping grounds are the southern fringes of North Africa, a band that goes all the way across the continent.

Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel (D300) Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel (D300) mounting a Sigma 70-300mm Macro II zoom lens racked all the way out to 300mm.

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Monday, August 20, 2007

Brockville Farm

Old Barn - Brockville, OntarioA rusty wheel from an ancient farm implement guards the door of a long-unused barn in Brockville, Ontario.

Taken last week while visiting my wife's cousins in rural Brockville, an area full of beautiful farms south of Ottawa.

For this photo, before snapping the exposure, I envisioned that the textures, shapes, and shadows suggested a black-and-white treatment. Shot with a Canon Digital Rebel and Canon EF-S 18-55mm zoom. Back in the electronic darkroom, I applied a gradient mask in photoshop to produce the B&W version.

1 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Hi Steve,

i think you were right on with your choice of B&W for this picture. That's an odd place for a wheel :).

--WT

Sunday, August 26, 2007 at 7:44:00 PM PDT  

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Sunday, August 19, 2007

Pour Les Oisseaux

Gull's lookin' at youI don't know what it is lately, but my best photos over the last few weeks have been for the birds. Well, of birds, that is.

I met this handsome fellow on the deck of the ferry from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE the other week. We were returning home after having seen the Rain concert in Atlantic City the night before. Atlantic City, in our humble opinion, is dumpy and depressing, but the ride down the Jersey Shore to Cape May the next morning was anything but - one handsome beach town after the other.

Taken with a Canon Digital Rebel (D300) mounting a Sigma 70-300mm Macro II zoom lens.

1 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

We don't see too many (if any) black headed gulls here on the West Coast.

I like the colors of this shot, the delicate stripe of mauve on the railing is a good complement to the blues and grays.

--WT

Sunday, August 26, 2007 at 6:09:00 PM PDT  

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Monday, August 13, 2007

Solo


Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D
This was taken yesterday at the Burlingame Art & Jazz Festival.
--Warren

2 Comments:

Blogger Steve Rosenbach said...

very nice indeed! I like the way the background is completely gone - everything focuses on the player and the shape of the sax.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 7:13:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Thanks Steve. The wall in the background was brightly lit by the afternoon sunlight. This is a case where a digital's tendency to blow highlights was used to the advantage of the picture. :)

--Warren

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 9:36:00 AM PDT  

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Thursday, August 09, 2007

Puttin' on the Schvitz

Shadow Bike Boy - Baltimore, MDWelcome to August in Baltimore!

It's hot...it's humid...I'm talkin' serious schvizten here.

The other day, I stopped thinking about the weatherly misery just long enough to catch some boys just ahead of me, crossing a bricked patch of street adjacent to my Light Rail stop.

Out of the camera, the image had the boys almost, but not quite, in silhouette. Using the Levels layer in Photoshop Elements 4, I darkened the shadows further. Then I slid the midtone control quite a ways to the right (dark) side. This darkened the image overall and made the bricks more prominent, but it also surprised me by resulting in a sepia-like tone.

I had planned to add a gradient layer to convert the image to B&W, but at this point, I decided to leave well enough alone.

Meanwhile, we only had a temperature-humidity index of 100F today, down from a "feels like" 110F yesterday.

2 Comments:

Blogger martin said...

Really a great image!! I like how the boy's face is in profile. Nice graphic look, sepia look works too.

Friday, August 10, 2007 at 8:40:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Good eye and good timing!

This picture reminds me of paper silhouette art (not sure if that's the correct terminology).

i also like how the boy on the left along with the other objects have been blended together into interesting abstract shapes, AND the boy on the bike can be seen looking in that direction (which draws attention to that side).

I agree, the sepia tone really works well here (vs. pure b&w).

--WT

Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 8:18:00 AM PDT  

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And the sun sets in the west




It's been very foggy out here by the beach. On a rare evening, one can catch a good sunset. This was near the Cliff House.

2 Comments:

Blogger Lea said...

Wow -- Great pic!

I like the crisp detail of the bird silhouettes contrasting the fuzzy outline of the giant ball of fire!

Very interesting :)

Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 8:26:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Very nice sunset shot, Martin!

Let me guess, you used your 300mm on the dslr body?

33 years ago, I made a similar shot from the same location using Kodachrome, a cheap 400mm preset lens, and my Nikon F2. I enlarged it to 8x10 and gave a copy to Gail as a gift. I'm not sure if I can find it now, unfortunately, othewise I would scan it and post it here just for a fun comparison.

--Warren

Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 8:21:00 AM PDT  

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Rain - The Beatles Experience

It's Real Love

Rain: The Beatles Experience - A Hard Day's NightYes, we did see the Beatles, live, last Saturday night in Atlantic City! Or about as close as it's possible to do so since August 29, 1966.

These four American lads sing, play, and even move like the real thing. Actually, without trying to be heretical, in many ways, experiencing Rain is better than the experience you would have had at an actual Beatles concert in the '60s.

At their last live concert at Candlestick Park in '66, the Beatles played for all of 33 minutes. They had only released Rubber Soul that March and were in the middle of their Revolver project; over 100 songs, including some of their very best, had yet to be written. And had you been there, you wouldn't have heard them anyway, what with those puny amps and all the screaming girls.

On the other hand, at Saturday night's Rain concert, they played for 1-1/2 hours. The songs were a smorgesbord, sampling every era from the Sullivan show to Abbey Road, complete with three costume changes. You could hear each note, and each note was perfect.

I can't say enough about Rain. If you are a Beatles fan, you will definitely find it worthwhile to see them.

As for my photo for this post - well, stage photography certainly is not my forté. I just set my Canon A620 to ISO 400, pointed, and hoped for the best.

On the other hand, you can see some great stage photography by young Torontonian Carrie Musgrave at delineated.com. You can pick out some concert photos by scanning the archive list, but it will be more than worth your while to take a half-hour or so and enjoy her entire portfolio.

2 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Thanks for the write-up, Steve. I never had a chance to see the Beatles live either, but I grew up with their music. I would go see Rain if I had the opportunity.

We had a great experience here locally when we saw the show, Jersey Boys. The quality of the music and vocals were top notch, and there's nothing like experiencing it live.

BTW, you picture turned out pretty good too :).

--WT

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at 9:15:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Steve Rosenbach said...

Thanks, Warren - yes, I too grew up with their music - I was 14 in '64 when they came to Baltimore on their first US tour (I didn't see them there or elsewhere.) I was a big fan, but actually, I'm a bigger fan of the Beatles now than then.

I've heard Jersey Boys is great and I hope to see it soon. That was another great group, the 4 Seasons.

BTW, I should have pointed everyone to this website of Carrie Musgrave, http://livebabylive.com/ , which is for her stage photography. Carrie is also an enthusiastic Flickr contributor at http://www.flickr.com/photos/delineated

Thursday, August 9, 2007 at 8:41:00 AM PDT  

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Monday, August 06, 2007

Sneaky Spidey...






This spider was actually a surprise to see. I had no idea it was there when I took the pic.... I was busy enjoying the bright colours! lol...

And as you can see, he's got a few food items in the web.

2 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Aaack! That's a big one!

--WT

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 8:52:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Lea said...

LOL. I know! How could I not have seen it!!?

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 5:40:00 PM PDT  

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Jay in the Wild



Nikon F4s, Kodak E100GX (slide film)


I recently processed a roll of slide film and found a few interesting images in there. Ah, the joys of shooting film, it's always fun to get a roll back from the lab and see what surprises are there.
We came upon this blue jay while walking in Carmel. This picture is cropped a bit from the original slide.
--Warren

3 Comments:

Blogger Lea said...

Wow, beautiful bird! Nice detail int he pic Warren :)

Monday, August 6, 2007 at 7:23:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Steve Rosenbach said...

Wow! I agree with Lea - this is a fabulous nature photograph. Kudos to you for being able to capture this one with such fine detail.

I like the way the bluebird is positioned within the frame, and the horizontal and diagonal braches add nice compositional elements - they are not prominent enough to interfere with the bird, but strong enough to serve their compositional purpose.

Monday, August 6, 2007 at 7:56:00 PM PDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

posted on behalf of Dolph:

Very nice Warren. The colors and detail against the dark background makes this a wonderful shot. I find getting a bird to stay still long enough to get this much detail a very difficult shot.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 7:28:00 AM PDT  

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Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Old and New


Nikon L35AF, Fuji Reala
A sculpture in front of the new De Young Art Museum in Golden Gate Park. The tower of the new museum has been compared to the superstructure of an aircraft carrier.
--Warren

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1 Comments:

Blogger Dolph Brust said...

Now that is wild. Great shot and composition.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 5:14:00 PM PDT  

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