Re-post August 2011
Keeping it short today. Couple weeks ago when I was driving around Bluffton, Indiana I came across this old grey barn. Again, it was in the middle of the day which does not make for good shooting but I put my 3.0 ND filter on my 21mm lens and shot 7 exposures to create an HDR pic. I think it turned out well? I really like the movement of the clouds.
Happy Easter!!!
Re-post September 2011
If you have not noticed, I don’t stick with one photography genre very well. My last 10 posts have been a combination of portraits, HDR’s, sunrises, sunsets, black & white, wildlife, etc. I’ve always been someone who likes to explore, try new things, and have many interests that have no relation. Probably my only constant enjoyment is my wife (I’ve been with since junior high). For example, I am a foot and ankle surgeon by day, an avid photographer by night, I enjoy playing basketball 2-3 times a week, I weight lift, enjoy politics (but don’t talk about it openly), and have a very strong interest in anything technology related (I’ve always been the go to guy with computer repair or technology related questions). I’ve yet to find anyone with similar interests (it’s usually one or the other).
Having all these interests have made me well rounded. I feel as if I can find some association with all people I talk to, and credit my broad interests in allowing me to do so.
In keeping with my theme or I guess “no theme” todays post is taken at the cemetery that I wrote about a few days ago. What really caught my attention was this large Jesus crucifixion on the east side of the cemetery. It set on a large slab of concrete about 4 feet off the ground and all that could be seen behind it was the sky. I felt it would be a great place to take an HDR or time lapse shot but after attempting this many times I really didn’t like the angle (I wish I was at eye level with Jesus). I decided to put up my 28mm summicron and take a few shots with my 50mm summilux wide open. After taking this shot I realized I was wasting time with my 28mm summicron. The 50mm summilux with it’s beautiful bokeh was definitely the way to go!
Victory…
ISO 160 1/250 f/8 21mm
We were eating at a sushi restaurant called Nobu in Dallas, TX. As we were leaving, I looked across the street and there was an amazing building with awesome architecture. I ran to it and grab this pic.
P.S. This image works great for a wallpaper for your smartphone. Feel free to download and use it.
ISO 200 1/30s f/.95 50mm noctilux
Repost 8.21.11
Yesterday morning I was heading into work on a road behind our subdivision. It was foggy and as I was driving I found the light coming through the trees with the combination of fog to be very interesting. I stopped in the middle of the road and opened my door and shot a few pics.
This image was created using my Leica M9-P and 50mm summilux. I initially edited the picture with Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2. It has a slider that allows for you to selectively bring back colors. I did this to the road and really liked the look. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the rest of the pic thus I decided I would go back to my original file and process it through OnOne Softwares Perfect Layers. Once I did this I felt I was on to something. I then opened up Photoshop CS 5 and layered the two pics. Next I extended the sun rays and added a sepia tone to give it a more warm feeling.
It’s been an amazing past few weeks with the wonderful weather. Hopefully it continues. Here’s a picture I took with my Sony NEX-7 and Leica 90mm macro elmar using the Novoflex adapter. Leica glass on this already great camera, makes even more remarkable pictures. Oh, and the “pixel peaking” feature on the NEX-7 for manual focusing is wonderful and probably will be used by others because of how well it works.
ISO 100 1/60 f/4 Leica 90mm macro elmar
Colorful and Comfortable…
ISO 160 1/45 f3.4 21mm super elmar
Repost July 2011
I find flowers nice to look at but don’t typically consider them good enough subjects to take pictures of. Probably, because so many people already take pictures of them.
Another reason why I don’t like taking pictures of flowers is because of the composition. Composition is a combination of what you have included in your picture and the way or perspective you took it. For example, when taking pictures of flowers almost always, you stand over them and point down towards the ground. This allows for the flower to be in the foreground and dirt in the background. Dirt obviously is not very eye pleasing and rarely allows for enough contrast between it and the main subject.
One way to change the composition is to be creative an attempt pictures from different vantage points, one in which you typically don’t see. The picture below is an example. Near our driveway we have an island of landscape that is elevated. Because of this I was able to lay down and allow for the sky to be used as my background. This allowed for the tulips to really stick out.
Repost from July 2011
My wife and I spent 4 years in Des Moines, IA while I was receiving my degree. The first couple years I was vey busy with my work and never showed much interest in photography. Midway through my second year, my father lost his year long battle with cancer. When he passed I inherited his film dSLR and lenses. Not until later in the year did I finally gain an interest in photography. Initially, I was just taking pictures in the operating room for the physicians I was rotating with. I remember getting many compliments doing this and thought it came somewhat natural. Canon came out with the EOS 20d (you can find the most recent version, Canon EOS 60D here). I remember how excited I was to get this and try out my dads lenses. Since then, I’ve traded, bought, and upgraded from the Canon 20d and his lenses.
Many years have passed since purchasing my first dSLR and I’ve now moved on to Leica M9 rangefinder camera but I still have many good pics that I took. One of those was from a trip back to Des Moines a few years ago. I was driving around Booneville, IA and came across this old railroad bridge. At that time I was starting to show some interest in HDR photography. Below is one of those pics (I also posted it in black and white).
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
