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
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
I recently posted pics of our baby girl on our couch at nine months. The picture posted was taken with my Leica M9 and Noctilux. I also took a few pictures with my Sony NEX-7 and Zeiss 24mm. Because, Aperture does’t process NEX-7 RAW files currently, I’m using Capture One Express and finally got around to processing them.
I have to say the images in my opinion are comparable to my Leica M9. The sharpness is dead on and the colors are great. I even noticed that the Leica M9 output causes some red tones in her skin that is not seen on the NEX-7 (I’ve heard others comment about these red tones but I never really noticed other than when shooting at high ISO’s). Let me know your thoughts?
P.S. If you want to see the full size images let me know and I can email them to you. Last, even though I speak very highly of the Sony NEX-7, I still love shooting with my Leica. There is something I find fascinating shooting with an all manual camera (I suppose I like the challenge).
ISO 100 1/200 f/1.8 24mm zeiss
ISO 100 1/200 f/1.8 24mm zeiss
ISO 160 1/1000 f/.95 50mm
I was wanting to catch the rain drops as they fell off the pedals. The sky initially took a lot away from the flowers. I used Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 to improve the sky, this definitely help with making the flowers stand out.
Repost from May 2011
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
August I pre-ordered the much anticipated Sony NEX-7. I’ve been wanting a good back-up camera for my Leica M9 and thought this would be the camera to have. Wednesday, I got my wish. B&H Photo surprised me (I didn’t get the typical shipping notice in my email) with my NEX-7. I’ve been shooting with it constantly the past few days and so far I’m amazed how “light” and “snappy” it is.
This is my first shot posted using the NEX-7. I have the Sony 24mm Zeiss lens but I also have the Novoflex M-mount to Sony E-mount adapter. This was taken with my Leica 50mm summilux.
ISO1000 1/60 f/1.4 50mm summilx (80mm equivalent)
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
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
