Here’s another shot I took back in 2009. This is an old church that sits on old U.S. 50 in my home town of Lawrenceville, IL. I have driven by it for years and always liked the look of it. I decided one evening to attempt some long exposures and thought this church would be a great subject. The picture turned out well. My only wish was that I would like to have some clouds in the sky. It would definitely add some drama to the image.
A couple years ago my brother-in-law and I were driving around near my home town looking for places to take pictures of. We came across this old house but there were too many trees near the front of it to get a good perspective. We walk around back and I noticed this old run down shed. As I was setting up for the shot it began to rain. Fortunately, my friend was able to keep my camera dry by holding an umbrella. Personally, I was just happy that no one came up on us since we were standing awkwardly close to one another.
I’m sure most of you noticed that I take a lot of black and white pictures. I don’t know if it is just a “phase” or that my interests have changed. Most recently, I’ve began shooting both RAW and black and white jpeg so that I can get an idea of what will work best.
This shot was taken at the Outer Banks. I have both a color and black and white version but prefer the black and white.
A few weeks ago we went to the Fort Wayne Taste of the Arts festival. For a small city, there were many vendors there. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a whole lot worth taking pictures of. This picture was taken while walking through the crowd with my 28 summicron. Something caught their attention.
Here in northeast Indiana there are many nature preserves. Probably the most well known is the ACRES Land Trust. ACRES Land Trust is made up of many preserves throughout northeast Indiana. All are free and have nice trails.
One after noon I drove to one of the preserves west of my home. This preserve is mostly forest and swamp. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture any exciting shots (the foliage did not have much colors). I took this one shot of of an isolated tree within one of the swamps.
I’ve posted many pictures from our trip to the Outer Banks last year. We had a wonderful time and I was fortunate to capture many great pics.
One evening we went to the Avon Pier at sunset. I setup underneath the pier to try to capture the waves that were coming in and the many post that held up the pier. The picture is a 5 exposure HDR utilizing my old Canon 5d Mark II. I really like the texture in the piers posts.
Here are other post from the Outer Banks: The Orange Sunrise, The Empty Pier, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Recently I decided to sell my Leica 21mm elmarit and move to a 28mm summicron. This decision didn’t come easily. I’ve enjoyed shooting with wide angle lenses (I had Canon 16-35mm on my full frame 5d Mark II) but have noticed recently my interest is beginning to change. As I have become more educated in photography, I’ve realized that wide angle lenses are not always the best for landscape. Wide angle lenses can flatten your image and typically have a lot of distortion. They are best, when you have something relatively close to you in the foreground and are attempting to add some depth of field. Telephoto or at least 90mm lenses are often times better for true landscape with no subjects in the foreground.
Leica 28mm summicron is still considered to be a wide angle lens but it doesn’t have any noticeable distortion. On the Leica M9 it also will allow you to use the internal viewfinder versus an external (needed for anything wider than 28mm). This lens is very popular with journalist because of its wide angle, no distortion, low light performance, and sharpness. So far i have to agree with their assessment. Hopefully soon I’ll post a few more pics using the lens.
A few days ago I drove to a small rural Catholic church. Behind the church lies a small cemetery. I captured this image using my 28mm summicron at sunset. I really like the sharpness and bokeh produced.
I spent some time in St. Louis in late 2004 and early 2005. On a few occasions we would drive to Alton Illinois to see the second largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the United States. I’ve never had much interest in birds but Bald Eagles are the exception. They are remarkable to see and an enjoyment to watch them fly. I can easily understand why they are our national bird.
Probably, my first heavily photoshop image was taken of Bald Eagles in Alton. The below image is made up of two different birds. The five birds flying are actually all the same bird, I shot it using my Canon 20d and Canon f2.8 L series 70-200mm lens (best telephoto lens I’ve ever owned). The bird on the branch was sitting next to the road. Last, it was a very overcast day which allowed me to get such great pictures of these creatures without completely ruining their highlights. The sky used in the picture was taken outside my apartment at the time in Des Moines Iowa.
P.S. You got to stop at Fast Eddies if you are in Alton, they sell 1/2lb hamburgers for $.99 (they haven’t raised there prices in years)!!!
When we lived in Cleveland, we would visit Vermilion a few times a year. It has a nice old downtown with many shops to explore and great places to eat. Each time we came, I would take a picture of the lighthouse. I never realized until recently that it is actually a replica of a lighthouse that used to sit there (no wonder it’s so small).
This picture is a 5 exposure HDR. I used a wide angle lens for the shot and corrected most of the distortion in photoshop. Most people probably think that I shrunk the lighthouse but in reality it is very small.
P.S. Here is another post of mine taken at the same spot.
Last summer I was driving around trying to find old barns to take pictures of. It’s getting more and more difficult to find these old structures and when you do they are typically surrounded by other buildings or homes therefore it’s very difficult to get an isolated shot.
I came across this barn that set well behind the owners home. I went up to the door and inquired if I could take a few pictures. They initially questioned if I was trying to sell them something (I guess they have people come by inquiring about taking “fly over” pictures of their farm). After I informed them I was just an avid photography with an interest in old barns, they had no problem letting me walk around their property.
This was a 7 exposure HDR. I used a wide angle lens and made sure that there was something in the foreground so that I could add depth to the image. The only downside is that a wide angle lens causes “distortion” to the structures. This can be fixed in photoshop but often adds a nice effect to the image.
