Canon 7D, Tamron 18-270mm @ 18mm, f/4.5, 1/4000 sec, ISO 800
Skyscrapers amaze me. Heights scare me. I imagine what kind of person it takes to work on these structures. My knees shake and start to buckle. Looking straight up for me is also difficult. When I raise my camera to take a photo like this, I feel like I am going to fall over backwards. I need to work on this!
Canon 7D, Tamron 18-270mm @ 65mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 800
This year we will miss joining our friends on our almost annual spring trip to New York City. Our thoughts will we be with them as they make the trip without us. I am very thankful for the many trips that we have made together and look forward to many more in the future.
This image was taken on our trip last spring. I recall walking down the street, looking up and seeing interesting reflections. I lingered back and worked this image until I got the reflections to line up with the windows. It took a bit of time and my wife and friends were several blocks ahead egging me on to catch-up. The delay was worth it.
Canon 5D MkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200
Karen and I spent the last day of 2013 exploring the Jamestown museum and settlement reconstruction. It was a wonderful day of exploring and learning about our history. Karen and I visited Jamestown back in the mid 80’s when we were living in Fairfax, VA. Back then there was really just the beginning of the excavation of the site. So much has changed. All Americans should visit this museum and settlement site to get an appreciation of the Jamestown Settlement. It was a day to remember and reflect on.
This image is taken from the inside of the Jamestown Settlement Church. My objective was to create symmetry and balance between the diagonal, vertical and horizontal elements.
Canon 5D MKIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 62mm, f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 400
When I saw this fireplace, my mind went immediately to black and white. The shadows, bright highlights, and shapes captured my attention. As I view simple subjects, I am slowly becoming able to pick out the shapes and tones that make the subject interesting, at least to me.
Canon 5D MKIII with EOS 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/22, 1/15 sec., ISO 400
These charcoal kilns seem to be in the middle of nowhere in Wildrose Pass. They were built by Swiss engineers in the the 1870’s to feed the smelters of Modoc Mine about 25 miles away. This was the closest source of wood.
The most difficult part of taking this image was to avoid the row of other photographers trying to take the same image. See below.
Canon 7D, EF 24-70mm f2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/640 sec, ISO 400
Rhylolite is a old ghost town just west of Beaty, Nevada. See the following site for a brief history of the settlement: http://www.rhyolitenevada.com/rhyolite_history_settlement.html. There is a lot of history behind this little settlement. We were here a very short time for a quick shoot. It will be a place that I go back to.
This image was taken in the bright early afternoon sun. The color image looked very blah. Black and White gave it a little punch.
Strolling down a walkway in Balboa Park, I saw this pattern of shadows from the late afternoon sunlight. Experimenting with Snapseed, I converted to B&W and applied a little grunge. The following is the original for reference.
I haven’t been very active in expanding my photographic knowledge and experience during the last several months. Something was always in the forefront. I fell into a real slump. When I did shoot, nothing seemed to pop out to me. I continued following my favorite photographers on-line and became more and more envious on what they were doing. My work seemed to be so mundane.
Today, I took a few moments to look back on some of my work last summer. I saw this image of the Limekiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island and felt that it wasn’t so bad after all. It provided me with a stimulus to go back out and continue to shoot and enjoy the outdoors that I love.
September 11 was twelve years ago. It seems like it was just yesterday … It seems like it was so long ago. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial at Ground 0 puts it right back in front of us. How could this happen here at home? Why did it happen? What are the underlying causes? What can we do to make sure this cannot happen again? What causes such hatred? Can we ever be at peace between all the peoples of the world? So many questions … so few answers.
We will always remember and never forget what happened. We must also devote our efforts to resolve the underlying causes that led to this act.
I can imagine what a problem Mercer had with finding places to put his collection. Can’t find a place? Just put a net on your ceiling and stuff it full of interesting things. Here, Henry could lay on his sofa below, look up and view his Etruscan pottery collection.
For some reason this collection captures my attention each time I enter Mercer’s study. Not necessarily for the photographic interest but by my awe of Mercer and his ambition and drive to collect such a variety of artifacts from around the world. His fascination of pottery led him to develop and create his fantastic tiles.
The image below shows the perspective that Mercer could have viewed his collection from. I am sure there were a lot of good naps taken here in the comfort of his study.
