Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 29mm, f/8.0, 1/5 sec, ISO 3200
This is not quite what I would envision as a comfortable lounge chair. It does have its advantages though. For example, you don’t have to get up to go to the bathroom, you don’t have to worry about sliding out of the chair, and you do not have to worry about your head flopping around when you fall asleep. Maybe it might not be to bad after all.
This image was taken at the Dewitt Hospital Museum in Colonial Williamsburg, VA.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 59mm, f/7.1, 1/7 sec, ISO 3200
Colonial Williamsburg’s Dewitt Museum has a fantastic collection of Revolutionary era hand guns and muskets. These two small hand pistols caught my eye. They look almost too nice to shoot. Composition and managing the light were the challenges for this image. The guns were all mounted behind glass with various lights shining from above and in front of the pieces. I first had to pick guns where details were not obscured by direct and reflected light. I then had to further select subjects that were somewhat isolated to minimize clutter from elements. I was hand-holding my camera, so I used the protective glass as a brace. I felt that this image was not too bad for hand held.
For processing, I used NIK Color Efex Pro Tonal Contrast and Detail Enhancement to pull out the details in the handles. I then added an antique preset in NIK Silver Efex Pro to get the antique tone.
Dewitt Hospital Room, Williamsburg, VA – Early 19th Century
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 52mm, f/6.4, 1/50 sec, ISO 3200
Sixty years later than my previous post, this was a typical inmate room. What a contrast in how they thought of a person inflicted with mental illness. Things are getting better! The windows were still covered with iron bars.
Dewitt Hospital Room, Williamsburg, VA – Mid 18th Century
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO 3200
Wishing your New Year is better than the poor fellow that lived in this hospital room. The Dewitt Hospital was the first mental institution in British North America. This room depicts how inmates were treated in the mid 18th century. Notice the shackles! The single window was encased in bars. They did not want afflicted people back out in public. How things have changed!
Without getting fancy, I tried to adjust the light tonality to the way I pictured the room.
Fonthill Dedication Mural
I couldn’t leave my last post alone. The message was important to me, but the image was not. So here I try working with black and white. I was able to reduce the color cloudiness caused by the bright light coming in from the window. The individual letters are also a little bit sharper, maybe. However I was still not able to pull out all the different colors of the letters. I still need to go back and reshoot.
Fuji X-T1, XF55-200mm @ 55mm, f/4.5, 1/200 sec, ISO 800
Walking around downtown Philly, I saw this old stately building with ordinate sculptures decorating the facade. This image spans the main building entrance. From my viewpoint the vertical lines were perspective distorted. I took the opportunity to work with perspective warp in photoshop to clean up the distortion. Below is the overall main entrance facade.
Fuji XT-1, XF-18-55mm @ 55mm, f/11, 1/17 sec, ISO 400
Rodin – The Thinker
It was an extremely bright day. Light was blasting through the gaps in the leaf canopy. It was difficult to get a decent exposure. My color images looked terrible. But it was a good day for B&W.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/8.0, 1/140 sec, ISO 800
The intersection of the warm straight lines of the internal wood concert halls and the cool curved lines of the metal external structure of the Kimmel Center fascinates me. I stumbled and almost fell several times as I was looking up and moving around with the camera to my eye.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/4.0, 1/1200 sec, ISO 400
I could not let this iconic sculpture in downtown Philly pass by. It was Red, so I shot it of course. To further highlight the red, I converted to B&W with NIK Silver Efex Pro and used selective color.
I am posting this today for my wonderful wife on her birthday!
Fuji X-T1, XF 18-55mm @ 55mm, f/5.0, 1/3 sec, ISO 1600, handheld
The curves of the balconies and acoustic structures inside the Kimmel Center main concert hall are fascinating. I recall attending a classical concert and getting lost gazing around all the curves and listening to the musical score.
Balancing the composition of all the curves was the challenge for this image. I wandered about the hall with my camera to my eye to balance the curves, shadows, and lights. I took multiple shots to get acceptable sharpness at 1/3 second shutter speed. I can’t wait to come back and do more exploring.