I spent almost 4 years of my life in Des Moines, IA going to school. Twice a year I head back to my old school and each time I spend some time wandering around downtown. It’s not even comparable to Chicago or New York but they have a very nice and beautiful downtown.
A couple of years ago as I was walking around, I noticed that there were a bunch of bike racks with bikes to rent. Since I don’t live there I’m unsure how often they are used but I think it’s a good idea.
ISO 160 1/1500 f/1.4 50mm
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
Here’s a shot I took at the Lincoln Memorial. I was fortunate to get this picture amongst the crowd. Also, the sun had set and was shooting handheld without a flash (my preference).
ISO 500 1/45 f/1.4 50mm summilux
Most of the time when I post pictures they are not pre-planned. I sit and go through the thousands of pictures I’v taken and I try to find something that is interesting, tells a story, or has some sentimental value. Often times it’s hard to find the “one” picture I want to post.
The picture I’m posting today, was taken last fall at Arlington National Cemetery. It was a beautiful late fall afternoon and a friend and I came across this large tree with many fallen yellow leaves. The contrast between the green grass, yellow leaves, and headstones was remarkable. It’s hard to call a cemetery beautiful, especially one like our National Cemetery but I’m sure most would agree that it is a great place to pay respect to our fallen.
ISO 160 1/360 f/2.0 28mm summicron
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
I’ve always loved “people watching”. This gentlemen was sporting a nice red pair of pants that I found interesting. I think the bystander in front of me also agreed?
When I attended Steve Huff’s Photography Workshop, one of our assignments was to ask someone on the street if we could take a picture of them. I think most would agree, this is not an easy thing to do. Once you do it a few times, like most things, it becomes less awkward. Probably, the best advice when doing this is to tell your subject why your taking their picture and try to carry a conversation with them for a few seconds to get them relaxed and comfortable with you.
This picture was taken of a lady waiting for the bus at Steve’s workshop. She actually approached me inquiring why we were all taking pictures. We talked for a few seconds and she allowed me to take this shot of her.
Leica M9 – ISO 250 1/2000 50mm summilux
As we were walking around the harbor during our recent visit to Tampa we came upon this dog sitting on the deck of his owners ship. I hoped that I could get him to turn around but wasn’t so lucky (I even tried to get in front of him but he decided to move). Anyway, I still liked the shot.
It can be interesting what you can capture, just holding your camera at the hip and clicking the shutter. With the Leica M9 you can set your lens focus (using zone focus) distance and can easily capture sharp pictures (this can be done with any camera with manual focus). It’s also a great way to capture people unexpectedly.
As I was walking in Chicago, I saw these 2 people sitting and smoking cigarettes. By shooting at the hip, I was able to capture them at their level, which allowed for a better composition.
Summer of 2008 was around the time that my interest in photography began to pick up. During my 3 years prior, I was too involved with residency to have time to take pictures outside the office and surgery. Summer of 2008 I went on the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk. I was just starting to experiment with HDR and here is one of those pictures. The shot was taken using 3 exposures and I hand held the camera (typically you want to use a tripod).
