Photo Friday: Soft

Canon Digital Rebel, Canon 100-400L IS @ 400 mm f/5.6 1/400

An image from my visit to Australia last summer; something
of a change of pace from my recent posts.

Golden

Canon 20D, Canon 24-70L @ 70 mm f/9 1/250

Artwork on the side of a building in New York. I'm not sure who
these people are, but I liked the strong contrasts created by the
sunlight raking across the sculpture.

Windows

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @105 mm f/7.1 1/320

Another part of the building from yesterday's post.

Urban Geometry

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @ 250 mm f/5.6 1/350

I was fascinated by the two-dimensional look of this perspective
on a colorful building in New York.

Verizon Building, New York

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @ 135 mm f/7.1 1/160

Another image from my recent trip to New York.

Photo Friday: Rest

Canon Digital Rebel, Canon 24-70 L @51 mm f/4.5 1/13

Frosty gets some well-deserved rest after a hard day of eating,
napping, looking at birds out the window, eating, and napping.

Building Abstract

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @ 260 mm f/7.1 1/100

Looking up, at a sharp angle, at several floors of a New York
office building. (The yellowish shapes are office windows.)

Times Square Reflections

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @160 mm f/9 1/320

Another image from my recent trip to New York.

Tulips

Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @400 mm f/5.6 1/800

I love tulips and have been taking quite a few tulip photos lately.
These were taken this afternoon when Chiaroscuro and I visited
Sherwood Garden, a small public park in Baltimore. Every spring
the park is full of daffodils and tulips. The tulips aren't quite at their
peak yet, but there were still plenty to photograph.


Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L IS @400 mm f/5.6 1/800

Manhattan Looking Up

Canon 20D, Canon 24-70L @ 25mm f/5.6 1/1000

Chiaroscuro and I had an enjoyable visit to New York. The weather
was clear, spring was in the air, and we didn't have to be constantly
at the conference that brought us to the city. In addition to walking
and taking photos for hours, we went to the recently re-opened
MOMA -- the building and the exhibits were stunning. We also
visited the International Center of Photography, where we saw a
disturbing exhibit of Larry Clark's work. And we visited B&H Photo,
the ultimate candy store for photographers. Amazingly, I didn't spend
a dime, but Chiaroscuro bought a great new lens: a Canon 70-200
f/4 L. (Incidentally, I highly recommend B&H for on-line as well as
in-person purchases.) I'll be posting some additional shots from NY
in the coming days.

i-gizmo: Animal

Petunia


This is Petunia, a golden hamster belonging
to one of my friends. Her cheeks (Petunia's,
not my friend's) can hold a remarkable
amount. Just after I took this photo, the entire
carrot disappeared.

Dying Tulip

Canon 20D, Tamron 90mm macro, f/22 4.0 s

I've been so busy lately I haven't taken many photos --
my job keeps interfering with my photography.
Chiaroscuro and I bought some cut tulips a while ago,
mostly to enjoy but also to photograph. By the time I
had a moment to think about taking photos today,
the flowers were completely gone by. However,
they still looked interesting to me, so I took several
macro shots. This is one of my favorites. The pistil
and stamens are still upright, but the petals have
folded downward and are lying along the stem.

Chiaroscuro and I are heading to New York for a meeting
and, we hope, some photography. Perhaps we'll have
something to post when we get back.

Strobo-Rotography Abstract

Canon 20D, Canon 24-70L IS @50mm f/9 1 s

This image was created through a combination of two techniques
I've been experimenting with: photographing rotating objects
(which I've called rotography for fun), and illuminating subjects
with strobe light (hence 'strobo-rotography'). Photoshop
compositing was also involved.

The final image looks very different from what I started with,
so I thought it might be interesting to explain how it was done.

Step 1
I started with this image: a rotating spoon illuminated with
strobe light timed so as to show the spoon not continuously
but rather at a series of discrete positions.



Step 2

I then cropped to eliminate everything but the hurricane-like

pattern created by the tops of the spoons, and added some color,

yielding this image:

Step 3
I then copied the preceding image, flipped it horizontally, and
changed the color to blue:


Step 4
Next, I combined the images from steps 2 and 3 so that they
partially overlapped:



Step 5
Then, I copied the image from step 4, flipped it vertically,
and combined it with the step 4 image:


Step 6
Finally, I copied the step 5 image, rotated it 90 degrees, and
combined it with the step 5 image to produce the result shown above.