635 Images

Daylite Pier

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:08:32 -0800

Not the best image I have posted, but its something. Long exposure during the early hours using a 6 stop ND filter.

A Tree In A Park

Sun, 7 Mar 2010 13:20:06 -0800

This is the first image of a project I am working on. Pano iPhone shots. I like to add a few textures and color treatments to add to the organic nature of the iPhone. There are 3rd party apps that help with the color balance on iPhone panos, but I like the randonness of the iPhone-its a mondern day Holga.

A Few Dead Trees

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:53:13 -0800

Ice skating, pairs or singles. Why is it an Olympic sport?

Pier 1

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:55:02 -0800

With all the snow, not much to do this weekend.

Ocean #2

Sun, 7 Feb 2010 10:11:27 -0800

This is a companion image to this one. I like these blurry images of the Ocean. It may not seem it, but its not easy finding the right one to use.

Sunrise at The Broken Pier

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 18:55:47 -0800

For those that are frequent flyers to 635images, you will recognize this Pier. Get used to it, Its going to make a few more apperaances in the next day or so.

The Tree

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 16:54:00 -0800

I processed this in Apple Aperture 2. I have long neglected Aperture. Like an old pair of shoes you find in the basement, you wonder why they made it out of your current wear cycle.

Aperture is a great DNG processor and just works for me.

Tall Trees

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 15:16:59 -0800

Taken on my recent trip to Utah.

Icy Creek

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 18:59:33 -0800

I got up early to catch some of the snow we had overnight. I took this shot then just sat there, all on my own, not a sound to be heard, not a single person around. PERFECT.

On a separate note, here is a link to what has swiftly become my favorite blog Jack Brauer is living my dream. Check out his portfolio and especially the Norway series.

Mountain Man

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:41:19 -0800

This is Patrick. Athlete, Skier, IT Guru and Pork loin Master!

Sunrise At The Ben

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:59:25 -0800

Not the best photo in the world, but a funny thing happned when I took it that I thought I would tell.

I had finished the shoot and was walking back to my car when I was stoped by the Delaware River Port Authority Policeman

DRPAPD: What are you doing?

Me: Taking photos of the sunrise

DRPAPD: Why?

Me: Its my hobby

DRPAPD: What are you going to do with the images?

Me: I dont know, depends on how they come out-Is there a problem

DRPAPD: Depends on what you are going to do with the images

Me: I wasnt aware that there would be a problem taking photos here

DRPAPD: There isnt, if your not going to use the images for anything suspicious.

Me: Wow, I didnt think taking photos of the sunrise would count as suspicious.

DRPAPD: There are people that would pay good money for intelligence.

Me: That would be odd, I would just use Google Earth or Google Streets to get what I needed.

DRPAPD: No reply-he just drove off........

Frozen in Time

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:15:48 -0800

You have no idea how close I came to breaking my leg to get this shot. Ice can be very slippery....imagine that.

Sunrise at Jimmy's

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:14:05 -0800

This was the view Diane and i woke to every morning-ish during our ski trip to Utah. Its the view from our friend Jimmy's house. Hopefully, if all things go well, it will be the view from our house as well. Its yet to be built....but its a plan!

Jeff Takes A Break

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 16:16:37 -0800

Sorry things have been so quiet around here, but 17 days of skiing in Utah had to be done and as I have said before, "Theres time to shoot and time to ski" More on my trip to follow.

Lights On The Boardwalk

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:59:07 -0800

I went down to Ocean City early Sun morning. I didnt get what I set out to capture, but the Boardwalk offered some interesting images. This is the first of a possible 3.

The Inlet

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:59:36 -0800

Not the most inspiring of landscape shots, but i like the blend of light and the differing colors. My activity on this blog has been quite limited recently. This was due to some large scale study efforts for my Boards. I am happy to say that I passed on Friday. I cant tell you what a weight that is off my mind. it also means I can now spend more time on my photography and start studying for the next exam-Lightroom ACE! Having said all that, Im going to be low profile for the holidays as I am off to Utah on Wed. 3 weeks of skiing :-))))))))))))))))))

Lucky You

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:06:54 -0800

Lucky you indeed......

Lone Branch

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:38:26 -0800

This is the tree on its own.

Its my Branch

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:33:07 -0800

I like this image because they are my footprints!

A Tree and a Lake

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:43 -0800

One absolutely beautiful morning made all the more relaxing knowing that my wife was busting her arse in the Philly Half Marathon. With work the way it is, getting out isn't as easy as it used to be!

Lake Michigan

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:30:27 -0800

Not everybody's cup of tea I'm sure. A long exposure of Lake Michigan with a little texture added.

Sunrise in the wire

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:27:19 -0800

Its insane the ammount of hours I'm working at the moment. I had put 67 hours in by Wednesday! and a 70 hour week last week-and thats with a day off on the Monday. At least I have a job...... As you can imagine I havent been out with my camera much, so much so my 5D filled divorce papers on me. Hopefully next weekend should be fruitfull.

Almost Covered

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:48:50 -0800

Almost covered in sand.....the title refers to my camera!!!!!!!!!! For those intrested, the clouds are inverted in CS4, a trick I learned from Chromasia.

Posted #2

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:47:32 -0800

I promise this is the last we will see of these posts, I have shot them to death! I dont like this image, I dont know why, but I worked on it for an hour, so its going up. Feel free to tell me why it sucks, honest criticism is welcomed.

Night Posted

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:53:43 -0800

First, thanks for all the comments on my last post. On Tuesday night i did something that i have only done once before, and thats to go out and shoot after work. I wanted to try some star trail shots so headed back to the same location as the last post, Brigantine Beach near Atlantic City. Surfice to say I didnt get what I was after, but I am happy with this long exposure. I have one more to post of the night-I think!

Posted

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:26:03 -0800

I took these shots last weekend. As I stated on my last post, I forgott to clean my ND grad after the first shots. If you look at the 5th post down on the left side you can see the distortion created by the water. Ah well!!!

Atlantic City

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:33:23 -0800

I broke the cardinal sin of landscape Photographers this weekend. I got up at 04:15 to go to the shore and take some sea landscapes. I shot about 50 photos and was quite pleased with the results. Then I got home and saw that all my images were useless as I hadnt cleaned my ND grad from the sea mist after my first shot. There was enough diffuse water to ruin my day!!!!!!!!!! This was taken on my way home-sans ND grad.

Camden Side

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 12:42:19 -0800

Just playing around with textures

The Pool is Open

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:14:26 -0800

I have to go put and shoot. Living off the archives isnt going to get me far!

The Dyke

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:54:31 -0800

A quick image to throw up on the site

Wind Swept

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:22:32 -0800

1 shot processed through ACR twice, 1 for the clouds and 1 for the rocks. Toned with my special creamy white tone recipe I thought I had lost. If you like it and want the ingredients, drop me an email.

Rte 66

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:27:59 -0800

This is an old car that commemorates the original Route 66 as it runs through Arizona.

Buds

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:41:35 -0800

Taken at the same lake from my last post

Sunrise over the lake

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 12:16:35 -0800

You may recall this lake from this shot It looks like I shot it on the same day. However, I took this one on Sunday morning. Mysterioulsy, the tree stump in still waters has dissapeard!!!

UPDATE: Debbie Hartman over at the excellent Paddletramp blog made a sugestion about how I cropped my photo. She recommended I crop the upper 1/4 to elimante the sky. So I tried it, and it worked. its adds a story as to where the cloud came from and also accentuates the trees. I also appreciate the constructive criticism, for me, thats what the comments system was designed for, credit when its due and criticsm that should be noted and discussed. After all, thats why we blog so we can improve.

Thanks Debbie for the feedback, you took this Photographer out of a rut today.

Postcards from The Beach

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 13:21:06 -0800

Summer is closing fast

In The Bus

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 13:59:41 -0800

I know this photo will not be everybody's cup of tea, but not only do I like it, I am quite fascinated by the whole technique. Its a long exposure pan shot of a Chicago bus driving by. I wanted to create an illusion of speed while also capturing a split second of time in the bus. I didn't quite get what I wanted and will try again with a monopod.

Casino Construction

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:30:40 -0800

It safe to say that the economy has hit the Atlantic City Casino business very hard. However, new casinos are still being built and old ones are being demolished.

The Breakwater

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:38:34 -0800

I took this yesterday with my new tripod head. Here is a link to Svens blog that shows what it is.

Speed Boat Across Lake Powell

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 12:35:42 -0800

Taken 2 years ago on our houseboat trip to Lake Powell

The Betsy Ross Bridge

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 12:45:16 -0800

I was trying out the Lightroom to Photomatix plugin on an old HDR I had.

Anger Pier

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:35:41 -0800

I had this in my possibles folder for quite a while, actually, i should say that I had a folder called Possibles that i didnt know I had and this photo was in it. Not the best by any stretch.

On a separate note. i bumped into the one and only Matt Kloskowski at my local-ish Barnes and Noble, He was just finishing 2 roadshow's one in Chicago and one in NY. I had paid up to attend his class last year in Philly. However, work got in the way and I was a no show. Anyway, we had quick compare of magazine purchases and a "What are you doing here" conversation while we were stood in line. Nice guy!

My reason for being in the northern NJ Barnes and Noble was to accompany my wife to the pre-race packet pick up for the New Jersey State Triathlon she would be in on Sunday. Diane was looking for another win to make it 3 in a row. The olympic distance is her strongest event. Sadly, she had to retire from the lead due to a pulled calf muscle. I took her to Physio today and its not as bad as we thought. She has SheRox next weekend and Chicago at the end of the month.

Lennox

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 07:12:40 -0800

I have been sat on this for a while so decided to work on it. Its a shot I took in NY of Lennox Lewis and Trace Adkins while they were shooting The Celebrity Apprentice I was inspired to try and get a Mute Photoblog Black and White effect, I very much admire his B&W technique and as you can see, I failed miserably. The main reason for my failure, I think, is that my original image was a little underexposed, as you can imagine, life in NY goes by quickly and doesn't wait for a histogram check.

4 Old Green Posts

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:27:46 -0800

These posts have made several appearances on 635images.com My favorite of all is this post.

The Green Swamp

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:20:06 -0800

Its quiet round here.

Sunrise Over Atlantic City Pier

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:54:00 -0800

I took this early this year in the winter. For some reason I tend to be more active in the winter! I had doubts about posting this, the Pier is not as sharp as I would like, in-fact I think the whole image is a little soft. But here it is ayway...

Caught By the Light

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:33:10 -0800

I have not been very Photography lately, mainly due to the accidental removal of my ring finger tip while chopping onions, VERY painful. Hopefully I will get out in the coming weeks when the bandage is off.

Log Jam

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 14:56:09 -0800

I had to use 2 ND hard grad filters to slow the water down on this shot. Its just one reason why I prefer the hard grads rather than the soft grads as you can split them more effectively.

Industrial Sunset

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 15:02:53 -0800

Another shot of the Delaware River.

Phily Sky #2

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 14:53:31 -0800

This one was taken 1 hour ish, 6 miles and 180 degree south of the last post

Phily Sky

Thu, 28 May 2009 13:34:58 -0800

I needed to get out of the house lastnight so decided to take my camera. Im still in my non-creative mood so it was like taking a girlfriend out you dont want to date. I had been meaning to come to this spot for a while now. its definatley one of those places that looks better than it shoots. After, I headed to the Ben Franklin on the Camden side to shoot some more crap!

King of Spray

Fri, 15 May 2009 13:21:20 -0800

Im starting my annual creative and motivational slump. Cant be bothered to take any photos and at the moment and I dont see the point of doing so either, all is not lost as I will pull out of it, just not sure how long it will take though. Dont be surprised to see-or not see many photos over the next few weeks.

Light Rise

Sun, 10 May 2009 10:10:50 -0800

After a painfull 2 weks off, Im back to posting. Got up this morning to shoot a reservoir about 1 hour from my house. However, once I got there the park was closed until 6am. Sunrise is 5:58am. Once the gate was opned, I had 5 mins to find a good spot, get my tripod down, meter and set the ND grad. I took about 6 shots and only got one woth posting, at least I know where to go in the winter.

Get Out Of The Water

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:16:53 -0800

A Very Big Thank You to all that commented on my last post. I dont have much to say on this. its the storm that rolled in for yesterdays post.

The Storm That Comes

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 12:51:15 -0800

Taken in Mexico and a little PP in CS4 ;-) I am happy how this came out so I thought it would be an ideal picture to try a new size for my portrait oriented pictures. Let me know if its too big.

Dark Sunset

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:45:56 -0800

I am not sure how this will come out. On my 24 inch Apple screen on my main Mac Pro it looks ok. On my 17" MacBook Pro glossy screen it looks great. Thats the problem with the glossy HD screen, all my pictures look great!

The Ben At Night

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:30:12 -0800

My plan on taking this shot was to have a colorful night, long exposure. However, once I opened it up in PS and adjusted the WB, the image lacked something. So black and white here we come! This conversion was done with the channel mixer as opposed to my usual conversion technique, the excellent Nik Software Silver Efex. I toned the image using curves and finished of with a high pass sharpening.

Towers

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:51:33 -0800

This is a long exposure night shot of some towers at Penn Landing in Philly. I had a few strange looks as I was laying on the floor to get the up-shot.

Earth Tube

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:12:46 -0800

OK, not the best shot in the world, but I had nothing else I wanted to post.

A Working Woman

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:10:39 -0800

There is a never ending argument in our house-When does Diane stop working?

Still Waters

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 14:58:52 -0800

This is a companion image to the last image I posted, I took it right after. As you can see, Mexico was nice, but very flat and not all that inspiring-landscape wise.

Mexican Sunset

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 09:10:51 -0800

Again, Im not sure how this will look on the big screen, it was hard to take this shot as I was battling not only the bright sky, but also the bright water, throw in that the rocks and the bushes were all in the shade of the sunset and you have quite a few shadow/highlights to blend.

On a separate note, Its my 43rd birthday today! My wife bought me some new clothes (much needed as I have long since given up styling myself) some aftershave and a GPS mount for my iphone ready for V3.0 release.

Life sure passes you buy, the great thing about Photography is that it makes you stop, savour and enjoy moments. I love being a photographer! (and a skier-scuba-diver...)

Flagler Pier #2

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 05:11:38 -0800

Im not sure how this will come out on the big screen, There seems to be a lot of noise that Define cant remove, I even removed the sharpening layer as it was way too noisy. Anyway, this is my second take on Flagler Pier.

Flagler Pier

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:37:41 -0800

Down here in Florida with my Brother Nigel-the owner and operator of Fatpix. We went out yesterday and shot a few images in the State Park, then got up this morning to catch this image.

Sisters

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 13:58:32 -0800

This is My wife (on the right) and her sister looking out to a flat and calm sea. Seconds later we saw a Stingray swim right past us.

Mexican Lady

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:43:34 -0800

I have been taking lots of photos, but not many good ones. As I stated, the landscapes are not that inspiring and I'm sure there are other things I should be shooting. This was taken at Chichen-Itza. I paid her 10 pesos which is 8 pesos more than if I had bought the white hanky she was selling.

Me Cassa

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:03:22 -0800

So I copied this technique from Scott Kelby's new CS4 book. Here in Mexico for 2 weeks so hope to get a few good shots. I have to say that the landscapes are not that Inspiring.

Ocean Mist #2

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 10:45:33 -0800

The second image in this series.

Into The Canyon

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:40:54 -0800

I thought I would try a B&W version of an Antelope Canyon shot. Came out quite nice. Shame about the footprints in the sand.

Atico Sunset

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:29:42 -0800

I think I'm not mistaken by saying this is the first sunset I have posted. I am definitely a morning person and like to get up early to shoot.

Swirl

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:15:29 -0800

Sory I havent posted in while-sick with the Flu-very bad Man Flu!!!!

Here is a Rorschach inkblot test-Tell me what you see?

Clouds

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:30:55 -0800

Taken in 2008 on my way to Phoenix.

Reflecting Poles

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:33:36 -0800

I should be studying for my exam on Saturday....Not posting photos!

Two Bridges

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 13:56:35 -0800

I set off this morning with good intentions. However, the Sushi that lay in my tummy overnight had other plans!

Taj Mahal-NJ Style

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 12:03:49 -0800

I went to the beach on Monday Morning, I had to work fast as I had the sunrise time off by 15min. I think I got one or 2 shots off that I will post over the next few days. This shot reminds me I need to go to Atlantic City at night some time. I did consider cloning out the cranes, after 15mins of work I decided it took away something from the photo, not sure what, but it lacked something.

Tree Frame

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 12:28:32 -0800

You cant beat taking a picture and running it through your mind via Photoshop.

The Thinker

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:03:06 -0800

I decided to go downtown Philly one night to shoot some night scenes, no sooner had I got there it started snowing quite heavily. This is all I got. Some of you may recognize the shadow of the statue, Its a rip off of this, trust me, if it were the original it would have been nicked years ago.

I got a few questions on how I shot yesterdays photo. Shooting incense smoke is nothing new and here is a link to Sensitive Light, the definitive guide on how to do it. However, I wanted to do something a little different and get a softer, smooth look. So I shot the scene at f2.8 to get some decent blur. As I was using a wide open aperture I needed to shoot at night in my basement with a black cloth background and a GOBO'd light camera right. I then made a CocoPop 8 inch snoot for a flash placed camera left.

Then shoot 200 photos and adjust the one you like in ACR/Lightroom. I adjusted the color temp to get the blue and adjusted the lights and shadows to taste.

Blue Lines

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:57:13 -0800

A big thank you to all who commented on my site over the last few days, I very much appreciate them all. i had the day off today and was looking forward to a days shooting. However, the snow and rain that hit us had other plans for me-like stay in. So, what better than a few hours in the basement shooting smoke!

4 Bench's

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:41:44 -0800

My last post didnt appeal to my brother, thats ok. I'm not a huge fan of the over cooked HDR either, but i wanted to change things up and do something different. I switched my site back to the old theme. I wasnt too keen on the old style.

I am not overly happy with this image. I worked on it for about 1 hour, left it overnight and came back, still not sure on it.

Fell Off A Back Of A Truck

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:35:18 -0800

One of those surreal HDR shots. The best way to enhance the gritty urban feel in the over cooked HDR is to do it in Photoshop. Photoshop does a better job with color than photomatix. To get the look in this image i tone mapped in Photomatix then took the image into PSCS4. I duplicated the background layer twice. In the first image hit cmnd-U and desaturated the image to B&W I then changed the blend mode of the top background image to soft light. This mutes the colors to a nice gritty feel, use the opacity slider to taste. The next thing with HDR images is to High Pass sharpen on a separate layer and again adjust the opacity to taste.

PS. The image looks better with the dark theme.

Pipe Dream

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:57:21 -0800

A bit different to what I have been posting. I do like working on abstractish moody photos.

Cold Morning Rise

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:16:11 -0800

Im not too happy with this, hacked away at it in PS for too long......but it is what it is!

As for those Iphone apps I use regularly. They are mainly to help me plan my day if Im off to the shore to take photos. The first is TideGraph it lest me check the state of the tide at any given time. When I go to the places I shoot I keep a record of the tide level at the time i shot, that way I know where the water will be at my favorite places to shoot at any given time. The next one is Focalware, not only does it tell me sunrise and sunset, it will also tell me the suns elevation at any time, when I then switch to Clinometer, I can predict when the sun will break over the trees, building or clouds. I also use Google Earth to scout places at home, its handy to have it on the iPhone as well just in case I forget where the place is I identified at home. All these apps are US based so not sure if they have EU equivalents.

The Boot

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:39:38 -0800

I said I would post a review on some cool iPhone apps I am using. However, I dont have time right now. Thanks to all who commented on yesterdays post, much appreciated.

The Almost Pier

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:03:44 -0800

Im back from an EPIC ski trip to Utah with some great friends. Had to get over the first days work blues but always reminding myself that Diane and I are lucky to be in work. I will write more on my next post on some cool iPhone apps I am using for my photography.

Under The Pier

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:16:07 -0800

Poss. the last shot posted for 2008. Thank you to the Pixyblog community for swinging by my site and leaving motivating comments. Thank you RJ for all the help and creating Pixyblog-the best move I made! Thanks to Sven for the online friendship and the work he does to help RJ. Thanks to my Brother Nigel for brotherly competition :-) But most of all, thank you Diane for letting me spend money and more importantly, time on my Photography. Happy (Insert here what Holiday you celebrate) and a great New Year (If you use the Gregorian calendar)

Tides Time

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:10:56 -0800

The weather has been so bad that I woke up on Sunday and went out.....no consideration for the weather....I'm going out.....it was pissing it down......but i went and got maybe 2-3 photos that i will post, this being one of them.

Moon Over Ice

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:02:26 -0800

I am not sure why I'm posting this, overall the picture doesnt realy say anything and is a bit soft. However, in total defence-It was bloody freezing-I was having to work quick to get the moon in and my boots were leaking. Diane and I went for a walk after and my trousers froze!

On a separate note. The Boston Globe's "The Big Picture" is running "The Best of 2008" If you dont have this on your RSS you dont know photos!

*EDIT. I have changed a few things on the blog. I havent worked out how to justify the text for portrait photos. next on my ever growing ToDo!

The Wood And The Trees#2

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:09:13 -0800

I haven't been around much as work has taken over. When combined with crappy weather, the results are "No photos" My brother has just opened a Pixyblog account and can been seen at the aptly named :-) Fatpix. He started getting serious about photography 1 year ago and has some great photos. Leave some comments to keep him motivated as he tends to slack off!!!!!

I probably wont post much for the rest of the year as I'm off to Park City for a weeks skiing on Christmas Eve-As I have said before, there is a time to shot and a time to SKI!

Caught up

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 09:40:33 -0800

Another variation

Dew Drops

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 15:26:33 -0800

I posted a color version of this here, but as i have nothing to post, I thought i would try a B&W version of a slightly different angle.

Water Game

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 15:35:17 -0800

Some of you may have noticed a change in my site. I'm not a CSS Guru by any means so its a work in progress.

Water Games, I HATE getting wet! I refuse to ride any water rides at theme parks, I have more umbrellas than my wife, Gortex should take a a life insurance policy out on me, I buy so much rain gear. So why, for nearly 10 years (on and off)of my life was I a professional Diver? (underwater, not into the water)

Down By The Beach #2

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:33:41 -0800

Happy Thanksgiving to my American compatriots. I am on call today (Volunteered) and what a Thanksgiving it would be if I could get someone transplanted. As I said yesterday, I am running out of things to post so resorted to "Image Dumpster Diving" Last year I went to Atlantic City beach and used my 10 stop filter to get this long exposure during the middle of the day. I rejected todays post at the time because of the composition, its too straight and has nothing on the right of the picture to keep your eyes focused on the main element. However, I do like the ghostly appearance of the posts on the right that didn't sow too well on the first post.

It was converted in the excellent Nik Software Silver Efex Pro which I wrote about in the pixyblog forum and also made Scott Kelbys top list of gifts. I can spend hours in this filter!!!!!

Darker Skies

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:30:04 -0800

I am starting to run out of stuff to post!

The Wood And The Trees

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:30:22 -0800

An early rise again on Sunday to catch the sunrise. However, much like Sven over at the excellent From 10 to 300 I have been bemoaning the weather. Im just not getting the clouds in the mornings thats needed to get great landscapes. Hopefully some crap weather will come my way!

I did get one or 2 shots that I might post in the next day or so. This one is not a classic by anyones standard, but I did enjoy working on it.

Untitled #5

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:59:46 -0800

Thanks to all who commented on yesterdays photo. Phil over at P.A. Photography commented on it being an HDR image. While true, in todays parlance its not. The shot was a combination of 3 shots. 1 metered for the sky and one metered for the sea. As I always bracket my landscapes, I also took the a small section of the 1 stop down image from the Sea metered series and stuck it over the burnt highlights of the sun reflection on the sea. So, while I have captured 3 ranges of light, it wasnt done in Photomatix or FDR tools.

This is a study shot and reminds me of why I like going to the coastline. So many colors, textures, shapes and visions of motion that are never the same. PP in PSCS4 with curves, boost in saturation and a vignette.

The Breakwater

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:13:24 -0800

I was going to rename this "Break Neck Rocks" I am not all that pleased with this shot, It doesnt really say anything. However, Im posting it as I was nearly killed/drowned/frozen and arrested taking it!

The rocks are UNBELIEVABLY slippery (Thats a surprise) and my new Wellies dont have the best grip in the world. The waves would crash over the rock I was using as shelter and drown me and my beloved camera (hence the not so sharp image) It was also hard to get my tripod down as there wasn't a flat surface to be had anywhere.

To top it all-the local Policeman tried to tell me I couldn't be on the breakwater. As there were NO signs posted, I advised him that while I was inviting disaster, It was up to me to calculate the risk and "good photos only come to those that dare"-that should be my logo! He then told me that he wouldn't jump in after me should I be washed away, I said thats fine! He was pissed off enough to leave...I guess his donut sugar high was weaning.

Lonely

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:26:33 -0800

Thank you to everybody who commented on my last post. It certainly made it worthwhile getting up at such a ridiculous hour!

Still Waters

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:35:03 -0800

Up early to catch this one. Why is it at 04:15 the thought of getting out of bed to take a stupid photo seems sooooo dumb! Then when you have the lake and a few Canada Geese all to yourself-The world is perfect!

Untitled #4

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 13:54:09 -0800

The last of my Antelope Canyon shots-for a while! Don't want to bore you. Thanks to all for the comments, very much appreciated. This is more of an abstract version which I like more than the others, it shows more flow, texture, subtle light changes and the minute differences in color. I profiled the picture in photoshop and there are more than 30 different color hues in the photo. PP in Raw only and a boost in levels for the more recent "Petroglyph"

Untitled # 3

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 05:55:04 -0800

The second of my Antelope Canyon shots. Thanks for the comments yesterday. This place is a trial and a half to shoot in.

1. You have to be patient! You need to bracket all your shots so as not to blow highlights and shadows, therefore you need to use a tripod with an average of 20 sec exposure. What you dont see is the 100's of tourists that come through and hit you while you sooting, surprisingly its quite dark in there.

2. Sand continually falls on your gear so you need to have a jet blower in hand at all time-and dont even think of changing lens's.

3. Most shots need to be shot from knee high level. I run 6 miles, 3 times a week and row indoor 3 times a week for 40 mins-so I would say that I am no stranger to a leg work out. However, I wasn't prepared for the 100-150 squats i did in the 3 hours (which you need) I was there, my thighs (especially my left) were sore for days after.

4. You have to keep mobile. When your in the entrance and tourists come in-you move to the back-when the crowds arrive-you switch back to the front-in the meantime you need to chase the light.

5. If your looking to shot the famous light shafts that beam in you need to go in the summer months-June, July, Aug, Sept and early Oct. I would recommend the end of the summer so as to avoid the heat. You also need to throw sand in the air to create dust (Not good for the camera)

Burning

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 13:50:14 -0800

I had a great trip to AZ in the RV. I didn't take as many photos as I thought I would and those that I did are not that great. There were hardly any clouds in the desert, so light was terrible. I did take a trip to Antelope Canyon and spent 3 hours taking photos. i will post a few over the next few days.