Sep 03 2010

September 03rd, 2010 – No Right Way

Posted in 1S24H, Fisheye, HDR, Massachusetts, September 2010, UrbEx No comments

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 15mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 5 Exposures

I figure that we are due for another grungy UrbEx shot.:)

I’m not sure about you, but there are so many times when I get a wacky idea to compose a shot in a certain way only to bail out on it after psyching myself out. I tell myself, “ehh, this is going to be a stupid shot”. That was the case with this shot. I remember walking from one room to the other, while Bob was shooting something else behind me, and thinking about this composition. I set everything up and just before I started exposing the brackets, I started talking myself out of it.

But the more I think about it, the more ridiculous that is. We have at our disposal SO much capacity on our media cards and on the hard drives in our computers. We can store thousands upon thousands upon millions of images without batting an eye. So, with that in mind, I ended up taking the shot and I’m so thankful for it because when I got home and really started processing, this shot became one of my favorites from the day.

With today’s technology and massive amounts of storage available at an affordable price, it simply doesn’t make sense to forsake a shot.

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Sep 02 2010

September 02nd, 2010 – Redemption

Posted in 1S24H, Architecture, Boston, Fisheye, HDR, Massachusetts, September 2010, Urban show hide 5 comments

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 15mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

Getting this shot was something of a redemption for me. About two years ago, shortly after I had picked up the Canon 15mm Fisheye lens, I went to go shoot the Fed in downtown Boston. I thought it would make a perfect subject for major distortion. So, I set out towards the end of the day after businesses were closed and started composing my shot. Sure enough, within two minutes, I had two federal police officers on either side of me, telling me to leave. Now, to be fair, I was technically on government property so I didn’t have much of an argument. The shot that I ended up getting can be scene here and you can even make out the silhouette of one of the officers approaching me on the bottom right of the frame.

While I was happy with the shot, I always wanted to redeem myself and get another version without being rushed. So, a few weekends ago, I went back to the Fed and started testing the waters. I set up my tripod but just stood by it for a minute or two. No guards. Cool. Then, I started composing the shot. No guards. Sweet. Finally, I let the brackets fly. Still no guards!

Whatever the reason, I had ample time to grab a few different comps and it gave me a great sense of satisfaction. So, for those of you who miss out on a shot because of the authorities, don’t give up. Try going on weekends when the overall crowd may be thinner and security may not be as strict.

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Sep 01 2010

1S24H // Month In Review – August 2010

Posted in 1S24H, August 2010, Month In Review No comments

August

201008-01201008-02201008-03201008-04201008-05
201008-06201008-07201008-08201008-09201008-10
201008-11201008-12201008-13201008-14201008-15
201008-16201008-17201008-18201008-19201008-20
201008-21201008-22201008-23201008-24201008-25
201008-26201008-27201008-28201008-29201008-30
201008-31

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Sep 01 2010

September 01st, 2010 – Bubble Top

Posted in 1S24H, Acadia National Park, HDR, Landscape, Maine, Nature, September 2010, Ultra-Wide Angle show hide 1 comment

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, 14mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

By the time you read this, I’ll likely be running around somewhere within Mandalay Bay, in Las Vegas. I’m attending the Photoshop World Expo. If you’re there too, please swing by and say hi! I’ll be leading the APC HDR Walkshop tonight and will be presenting at both OnOne Software‘s booth (on Thursday at 2PM and Friday at 11AM) and at APC‘s booth (throughout the Expo).  As such, I’ve pre-built each daily post thru Monday, when I return home. Text content may be a little light on these posts, as I’m scrambling to make sure that I packed enough boxer shorts.:)

The scene above was a great example of setting your tripod and camera down while you go to rest from your hike, and you place it in a way that frames a shot wonderfully. We had just reached the summit of the Bubble Rock trail in Acadia and I set the camera down so that I could collapse and catch my breath. After resting up for 15 minutes or so, I decided to flip on the Live View to start composing. What I saw required no further movement or adjustments. It was just perfect to me. It had a little bit of everything that I love to see in a nature landscape shot. So, I metered, programmed the Promote, and bracketed away.

Serendipity can be such a nice thing.

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Aug 31 2010

August 31st, 2010 – Cyclops

Posted in 1S24H, August 2010, Boston, HDR, Massachusetts, Ultra-Wide Angle, Urban show hide 4 comments

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM, 14mm, F 2.8, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

There was a period in my photo pursuits when I did everything in my power to get rid of distortion. I don’t know why I did, or what caused it – because I never used to really pay much mind to it. But, at some point, something really did snap in me and I went all out with trying to correct for linear and barrel distortion. And then, probably 3 or 4 months ago, I started embracing it again. I realized that there is merit to distortion. I saw shots that my peers would post, and I found a lot of great qualities there.

And that’s when it sort of hit me. Distortion can be a very viable element to the shot. Let’s lay it out here – there are two types of distortion:

1. Intended
2. Not intended

So, the more I thought about it, the more I was trying to get rid of the ‘Not intended’ distortion to the point where I wasn’t even allowing for the creative outlet of factoring it in. So, I upgraded to the Canon 14mm Prime (Canon’s widest lens until their insane 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye comes out). And what I started doing was going totally against the grain, for me at least. I started looking for objects and elements to distort. I wanted the distortion to convey some visual feature. And that is how I came about the shot above. Getting in close and at a low angle provided this unique look to the motorcycle, along with creating some great lines through the frame.

So, if you do have a tendency to eliminate a facet of photography, try to qualify what would happen if you incorporated it in a meaningful, or intended way. I’ve never looked at distortion the same way since.

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