Category: B & W

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Streets of Chicago

Keeping my theme from the past few days I figured I would post a few more street shots I took while in Chicago.  Both of these shots were taken from “the hip”.  Meaning, I just set the camera to the proper exposure and started firing shots when I saw something interesting.  Both pics were taken while holding the camera near my waste (shooting from a low angle can give the viewer an interesting perspective).

In the first pic “Keeping it cool”, it’s a candid shot of a guy walking and waiving while holding his smoke.  Even though the subject is out of focus, it gives the viewer a feeling of movement (or at least it does me) and has a three dimensional feel to it.

The second shot “lets go out” is two people having a casual conversation.  In this shot, the sharpness is dead on.  If there was any lost of sharpness here, the shot would be ruined.

Repost August 2011

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The foggy path

When we lived in Avon Lake, OH we had a small park and walking path behind our house.  Often times after it would snow I would go and try to capture an interesting picture.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take many good ones.  One morning to my surprise, it was foggy and I quickly snuck out to the path and got this.

ISO 125 1/1250 f/2.8 70mm (Canon 5D Mark II)

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Barn by the Road

February of this year my wife and I went to Wisconsin to visit my sister and family.  We’ve never traveled to Wisconsin and never realized how hilly the landscape is.  I didn’t have time to take too many pictures but we were driving around and found this barn only feet from the road.  The sun was setting and thought it would be a great picture opportunity.  I love the sun rays coming through the branches.  Enjoy.

Repost June 2011

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Hopewell Church

As I’ve stated many times in the past, I always enjoy taking pictures of old churches.  I’m starting to have a good collection of them (maybe I’ll post them all together some time).

This church is near my home town and was taken early evening.  This is always a great time to capture landscapes because the shadows are not contrasty and you can often times get great exposure of both the foreground and background.

P.S.  I may start reposting some of my post from early last year.  I have a lot more followers and think many will appreciate some of my early pictures (don’t worry, I have plenty of fresh pictures also).

 ISO 160 1/1500 f/1.4 50mm summilux

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Leica 90mm macro-elmar user report

About 10 weeks ago, I got an email from Dale Photo telling me that a Leica 90mm macro-elmar with the adapter was available and I was next on the list to have the opportunity to purchase it.  I had the 90mm summarit which I think is very nice and under appreciated.  I opted in buying the macro-elmar because I wanted a telephoto (for a Leica it’s considered telephoto) lens that could be used for portrait and also close-up (even though it’s called “macro” I don’t consider it one) photography.  It’s also collapsable, making it easier to fit in your bag.

I don’t consider my self an expert and I’m definitely not a “specs” guy.  If you do a google search, you will probably only find 1 or 2 reviews of this lens.  It’s hard to find any real world pictures though (flickr has a few).

In the few weeks having the lens I’m extremely impressed.  I don’t consider it a true “macro” because you can’t get any closer than 0.5 meters (0.7 meters without the adapter).  The amount of detail and sharpness at such close proximity to your subject is simply amazing.  My only wish is that it had a lower aperture (lowest f-stop is 4) so that I could shoot at higher shutter speeds and not need a flash or tripod.

P.S.  All images are un-cropped.  If you are interested in seeing the full-size image let me know.  Also, eventually I’ll shoot a few with it attached to my Sony NEX-7.  I’m pretty sure these images will also be amazing (the 35mm equivalent will be 144mm).

ISO 2000 1/90 90mm without adapter

ISO 200 1/30 f/4 with adapter

ISO 2500 1/90 f/4 90mm without macro adapter

ISO 160 1/180 f/8 90mm with macro adapter and flash

ISO 160 1/180 f/8 90mm with macro adapter and flash

ISO 160 1/180 f/8 90mm with macro adapter and flash

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Carrying the little one!

I’m sure some get tired of seeing me post pics of my baby girl all the time.  First, she’s very photogenic and second, she consumes almost 100% of my time right now outside of work.  Last, it’s my blog therefore I guess I can post whatever I want. LOL.

My family has been in Louisville for the past few days and while my wife works, my baby girl and I  have been walking the streets.  I should say, I’ve been walking the streets with her attached to my waist.

This second picture was taken at Maker’s Mark.  It’s a local restaurant that makes its on Bourbon.  I’m not a whiskey drinker but their food was fantastic (it’s seasoned with bourbon).

ISO 1000 1/45 f1.4 50mm summilux

ISO 320 1/30 f.14 50mm summilux

 

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How long will it stand?

Recently, I was taking pictures of an old school building near my home town.  It was in the middle of the day therefore the shadows were to harsh for landscape shots.  Fortunately, I have neutral density filters that allow me to shoot during this time of day and allow for proper exposure of the sky.

This picture was taken of the schools chimney.  It appeared ready to come falling down.  Anyway, I liked the shadow of the tree on the brick.

ISO 160 1/90 f/4 90mm macro-elmar

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Standing

Our baby girl is not only crawling now but standing.  In our family room we have large windows and we often times catch her climbing up to look outside.  These pics were taken after our last snow fall.  I think she was really interested in all the white stuff on the ground and window.

ISO 160 1/125 f1.4 50mm summilux

 

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