Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, 50mm, F 2, ISO 100, HDR, 1 Exposure

I am in the middle of working on a project with Trey Ratcliff of Stuck In Customs that has me going all through my archive of images and I have to say, I need to do this more often. It’s so fantastic to stumble onto shots that have simply been forgotten. It’s not like you forget them intentionally or are absent-minded (well, I know I am pretty absent-minded). But in these cases, it is mostly due to me trying to shoot as often as possible, almost over-shooting, and creating a backlog of images that need to be thoroughly reviewed. On top of that, I also saw images that I had marked as finalized that I know can be better because of all the new techniques and processing skills that I’ve picked up since then.

So I plead with all of you. When you have some time, go back to your earlier work. Sometimes, reviewing your library with a fresh set of eyes (as opposed to seeing them within a day or two of shooting the images) will give you a totally new outlook and a vastly different route that you would take during Post.

This image above was taken with a lens that I -hardly ever- use. My 50mm f/1.4 is such a capable lens but because I usually shoot wide, it ends up getting left on the shelf to tend after the other random accessories that also get left behind. But after seeing this shot, I am reminded of how well it handles in the field and will definitely be making room for it in my bag going forward.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

I took this shot in the Dry Docks area of South Boston with the ever-capable Bob Lussier.  We have a great rhythm and play off of each other’s creativity really well.  So, part of my intention of using this shot is because I’ll be spending the day shooting with Bob and am hoping that this little homage brings us both luck for some solid brackets.

A lot of shots are seen pretty randomly.  Or, rather, a lot of random circumstances need to be in play to get your brain to see a shot.  Like this shot above, for instance.  I was just walking down this random road, at this random distance from the opposing wall, and something clicked.  I just saw opposing patterns between the crosswalk and the corridor above.  It took me a minute or so to position my camera just right so that both patterns were filling half the frame.  I also wanted the left line of the crosswalk to terminate in the lower left corner of the frame (I am a huge fan of terminating lines into corners).  I also busted out the luminance and saturation of the double yellow lines to give the eyes an anchor in the frame.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 14, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

The other week, I had written about my shoot with Bob around the Dry Docks area of South Boston.  We were treated with a pretty spectacular sunset.  The sunset, in and of itself, would have made an amazing picture… especially with the crazy clouds that were rolling through.  But, I thought it would be more fun to juxtapose this jaw-dropping natural event with something that was more cold, more industrial.  As luck would have it, Bob and I were standing in a parking lot with four gigantic silos and an adjacent warehouse.  Juxtaposition accomplished.  I really do like the way the gorgeous sky plays off of the dingy foreground.  I opted to bust up the yellow saturation and luminance to really make the parking space lines pop.  I think it helps lead to eyes right towards the silos and then up into the sky.

You can check out a similar Silo offering from Bob, as well.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 4, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

I am pretty sure that the motorcycle above is not actually a chopper, but I really wanted to quote ‘Pulp Fiction’ anyway.  I want to thank the owner (whoever you are) for parking it in such a great location.  A lot of times, I’ll see an awesome vehicle but it is usually parked around too many other distracting elements for a good wide shot.  All is not lost in those situations, the easiest thing to do is to fill the frame with specific parts of the car.  Get really tight and focus on a headlight or the reflection in a bumper.  But, I do love me some wide shooting and this motorcycle just fed the need.  I especially liked the effect that the parking lines brings, as well as the number signs painted on the background wall.

I opted to slice the plane of focus to only include the portion of the frame that the bike was in by tilting my 17mm T/S lens upward and opening up the aperture to its widest f/4 setting.  This gave me the shallow DoF that I was looking for.  I used a combination of post processing tricks to further bring the focus to the motorcycle.  All in all, I am very excited about this shot.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

This is one of those examples where two photographers can hit a scene at the same time and walk away with totally different shots.  I took the shot above just around the same time that my buddy, Bob, took his shot.  As you can see, we attacked it pretty differently but both are strong and stand on their own merit.

With this shot in particular, it is actually the third version that I took while I was there with Bob.  I first took some brackets a bit further back, showing more of the scene.  Then, as I took a few steps closer, I realized that I liked the view better.  And a third time when I took the shot that you see above.  I do try to be conscientious about surveying the scene at least once before shooting but I couldn’t help it.  Throw in massive bays, some silos, and creepy paint and I am a kid in a candy store.  :)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 11, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

Another visit to the Dry Docks in South Boston. Last time, it was with my buddy, Mike Wong. This time, it was with Bob. You know, that Bob. We both needed to get out of the house and rifle off some brackets, so I suggested the Dry Docks seeing as it’s a never-ending source of industrial-style inspiration. We got some great shots in but the real money presented itself as the sun was setting. We’ve been lucky to have some great clouds over the past few days and this evening was no exception. The setting sun created this crazy fiery explosion of color that was pretty intense to look at in person. Bob and I literally started hustling back, leapfrogging each other with brackets. First, he’d rifle off a set. Then I’d run in front, grab a different comp and get my shots. We actually worked in such nice tandem, totally in sync, and never getting in each other’s way.

It really is great when you can go shooting with a fellow photographer and both walk away feeling satisfied to be able to walk away with some awesome shots.

Here is another shot that I took from this area a few months ago. It’s a different vantage point.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

I have a thing for painted-on signage.  You know, the sort of signs that you see on sides of buildings that have stood the test of time and the elements.  They are usually there for product advertisement or for area identification and the longer they’ve existed, the more weathered and appealing they become to me.

That is the case here.  Once I saw the series of painted-on ‘Section’ swatches on these walkways, I was hooked.  Well, I would have been hooked no matter what but those painted-on signs was a nice dollop of icing on a beautiful slice of cake.  Mmmm.  Cake.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 16, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

I love being able to create a story or evoke an emotion by tweaking the processing style of my subject.  In this case, I saw these four -massive- silos and started to imagine a scene in some sort of Michael Bay-esque post-apocalyptic blow’d up film where our hero (who is actually an anti-hero) has to capture some secret grain sequestered in one of these silos to make the last perfect bowl of cereal.  The film would be called ‘Honey Bunches of Explosion’.

I’ve already secured the rights and am penning the script.  Casting calls will be announced.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 4, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

I am a lucky guy.  Not in the sense that I am fortunate to be able to shoot with great gear or anything like that, although I am so thankful for that opportunity.  Rather, I am lucky because I have such a fantastic family and group of friends.  I have an unlimited resource of inspiration, ideas, and advice.  And out of this, I want to start a recurring theme within the 1S24H Series where I post a shot taken with a friend or family member who inspires me.

This shot above was taken two days ago with my good friend, Mike Wong.  Mike is the VP of Marketing at OnOne Software, makers of the Plug-In Suite family of Photoshop plug-ins – an indispensable array of applications that make up my post processing workflow.

Mike was in town for a Photoshop seminar and I had the opportunity to spend some time taking him around Boston and chatting about all-things-HDR, in addition to a variety of other topics surrounding the photo industry.  Mike is a great guy and full of some very keen insight and inspiration.  I took this shot during our walk around the Dry Docks area of South Boston as a way to exemplify the marriage of the Tilt Shift lens w/HDR processing.  I had a great time showing Mike around the city and certainly look forward to more opportunities to shoot around with him.

As a side note, I am also very proud to be an affiliate of OnOne Software.  I love their software and can easily recommend them because of the quality of the products.  If you are interested in purchasing the Plug-In Suite for your own post-processing use, use coupon code ‘MATIASH‘ to take 15% off of your order.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, 17mm, F 4, ISO 100, HDR, 9 Exposures

This building facade is located about a block from where I work in South Boston.  I’ve driven and walked passed it so many times and each time that I did, I told myself that I had to shoot it.  There is something so great with a scene like this that is about 80% symmetrical except for the one element that is a blatant disregard for pattern.  And so, when I found myself in the area one quiet weekend afternoon, I checked this one off the ol’ list.