Washin'

Washin'

NOLA09D-63

April 19, 2009

While my advisor would not approve, during a long conference, eventually you get saturated with the science and the meetings and the wearing of ties, and you have to escape.  When the Experimental Biology conference was in New Orleans, it gave me a great opportunity to flee the convention center and head out into the city, armed with just a camera and a 50mm lens.  There was such a diversity in the districts of New Orleans, an atmosphere that was so different than other cities, and more than a few scenes that were throwbacks to a different time.  This laundromat, found in the Garden District, had that old-time look to it.  A few chairs sitting outside for folks to sit and watch the world turn as their clothes spun.  The signage, the lone person sitting in a tank top, all bespoke of former days, and it all came together as a single image.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 50 f/1.4

Focal length:  50 mm

Exposure: 1/800 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 200

Post-processing: Desaturation, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

Dads knew Filters

This post, from Dads are the Original Hipsters, pays tribute to the crazy photo filters that once dominated catalogs from camera companies, and their modern age digital equivalents.  The blog dominates in snide comments to modern hipsters and their proclivities, from messenger bags to skinny jeans.  

From yesterday's posting on DatOH: "Your dad knew about photo filters before you did and he’s got the lens attachments to prove it. He was a master of world recalibration that used honed glass to send 35mm moments on drug trips. Each shutter pull shot 4x6 hallucinations and captured altered images through his collection of laced lenses.   So hipsters, next time you’re using instagr.am to show everyone on Facebook what your brunch looks like and you can’t decide on what filter makes it look best, remember this… If your dad’s photos hadn’t inspired your app, everyone would be able to see how shitty of a photographer you really are."

I loved the last sentence, because it does encapsulate some of what I feel has saturated photography these days.  Instagr.am and other apps have made this sort of manipulation easy, in an attempt to turn everyday, hum drum snapshots into larger, more artistic creations.  But it is, in this photographer's opinion, gimmicky and false.  While those effects (and others... from Lomo-esque shots to shortened depth of field images) have some place to help augment a good image, they do nothing to help a mediocre image (which are the majority of pictures taken by cell phones and posted online).  They end up looking cheap and contrived, a cry to be creative while taking the road of least artistic imagination and passion.  Remember: friends don't let friends use cheap, artificial filters.  Just don't do it.

The Rain and the Sun

The Rain and the Sun

PLAN07D-37

April 7, 2007

Macro photography can be so challenging, and yet so seemingly simple, all at the same time.  We try to capture this tiny, magnified slice of life, usually a flower, insect, or texture, and it is really an endeavor to enlarge our own perspective.  We spend our time going by so quickly, not (to use the cliché) stopping to smell the roses, and sometimes the details can be lost.  I think that macro photography is about re-centering my vision, concentrating on something so small and seemingly insignificant, yet that is detailed and beautiful in its own right.  This flower, the color change, the detail of the stamens, the dew drops on the leaves; in an ordinary photograph this would pass as just a smear of color in a larger scene, barely worthy of note.  But here, letting it take center stage, highlights all of those aspects, and makes me more aware of what is around me as I hike, or walk through a city, or pick up a camera.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 105 f/2.8 micro

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/250 sec @ f/16, ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

Flying to the Summer Sky

Flying to the Summer Sky

ILLN07D-45

August 12, 2007

Following up the post from last week of the Santa Monica Ferris wheel, today's image comes from the Illinois State Fair a few years back.  I was attracted to this scene because of its levity.  the kids, spinning around and around in the chain-linked chairs, give off that vibe of youthful energy and possibility.  Adding in the lone clouds makes it seem even more like they're flying, escaping the summer and taking to the air.  And the monochrome just fit perfectly, with good contrast in the scene.  It was not my favorite image when I first was cataloging everything, but as I look at it more and more, I like the imagery and the feeling that it invokes.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  28 mm

Exposure: 1/200 sec @ f/8, ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturation, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

The Lake of Mono

The Lake of Mono

MONO07D-1

July 14, 2007

It is fitting, perhaps, that this image was made in monochrome, as it is the infamous Mono Lake in California.  Sitting just a hop away from the eastern edge of the Sierra, this lake has crazy rock formations jutting up from the center, reminiscent of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon.  The water has been drained for irrigation, showing more and more of the rocks that had been submerged for centuries.  The image, with the clouds and the seeming monotone of the rocks, was perfect for a black and white composition.  The strong skies above helped accentuate the mood of the lake.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  26 mm

Exposure: 1/80 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturation, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

The Hand of Wat Si Chum

The Hand of Wat Si Chum

THAI041324

June 23, 2004

This is without a doubt my favorite temple in Thailand. This tower has an air of mystery and magnificence about it which is unforgettable. The Temple was reconstructed after it's "discovery" by European archaeologists, using the original brickwork as much as possible. The Buddha is about 15m tall, in a courtyard that just barely fits his legs, 11m wide. It lends a feeling of impressive size and humility to the statue. There is a walkway in the stone wall surrounding the courtyard, which contains over 50 images painted centuries ago depicting scenes of the Buddha's life. That is usually closed and gated, but I always dream of going in there one day. 

 

This is an image from a long time ago, during my first excursion from the United States, when I was still shooting film on a regular basis (well-before the digital age crept up to me).  Ilford Delta 400 film was used in a Nikon N80 camera, and then was scanned by a Nikon LS-5000.  The rich depth of tones that the Ilford film gave me reminds me to this day how wonderful this medium can be, and makes me harken back to those days when you didn't know what you shot until it came back from the lab. 

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon N80

Lens: Nikon 28-105 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  ~100 mm

Exposure: n/a, ISO 400, Ilford Delta 400

Post-processing: Scan on Nikon LS-5000, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4

Thundering Across the Plains

Thundering Across the Plains

THRO09D-72

July 11, 2009

Watched this train storm past the badlands formations of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, just after a summer shower had passed us by and broken up into puffy cumulus clouds.  The badlands of North Dakota are often overlooked for their more famous cousins in the south, but these have an interesting, rustic setting, appearing out of nowhere in the plains of North Dakota to drop into canyons and buttes.  I felt here that the higher contrast of monochrome would highlight the cumulus clouds better, and help eliminate some of the distractions that I perceived looking on the image.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  38 mm

Exposure: 1/50 sec @ f/16, ISO 100

Post-processing: Desaturation, minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4