Digging in the archive 125/365

I gladly spent my evening helping my daughter on a project and didn’t have time or opportunity to focus on photography. So here is something I took a few months ago but didn’t use.

Incentive 124/365

This is one of many bad attempts on this subject. Anytime I used the flash, no matter the location, angle, power, bounce, defuser combo I end up with some type of unwanted reflection on the glass. Some were smaller and less noticeable but my goal was none… Even with natural light I had these undesirable reflections. Now I have motivation to revisit this again in the future.

More HDR 123/365

Played with more HDR shots today. I shot the same Orthodox Church through 20 HDR series. Mostly I shot different apertures’ and added a polarizing filter. The basic problem is the HDR shots lack contrast. Adding a little bit of contrast and saturation in post processing makes a world of difference. Now I need to revisit what I did yesterday…

HDR – Why all the hype? 122/136

I’ve seen some spectacular HDR shots but not mine. I spent significant time today taking pictures and processing them in Photomatrix and I don’t understand the hype. At best I see all aspects of a photo, good mid-tones, highlights, and shadow detail. But that’s not always the case. Perhaps it’s my subjects, which have all been close ups. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try a building or a landscape. Here is a sample of my efforts. Any advice to offer?

The top photo is HDR processed while the second one is the properly exposed shot of the 3 used to create the HDR.

ZZ Top and Aerosmith 121/365

I went to an amazing concert tonight with 2 great performances by bands I grew up with. The last time I saw either of them was back in the mid 70’s. Both groups played a “best of” lineup. Since no cameras were allowed I left the DSLR at home and smuggled in some point-n-shoots. I likely have better ones than these but its too late, and I’m too tired to look through them all. These were taken from the nose bleed section with a Panasonic P-n-S 10x optical zoom. The focus isn't great on the ZZ Top shot but if you look at the larger image you'll see the bottle of Jack in front of the drums. I’ll publish an album sometime tomorrow incase anyone is interested in viewing them.

ZZ Top photo album

Aerosmith photo album

Knocker 120/365

I liked the way the sun has faded the door over the years. We actually saw the sun today. I hope it’s a sign of things to come….

Storm Clouds Approaching 119/365

More storm clouds and rain today. Enough already! It’s zapping my motivation and is responsible for today’s lame excuse of a photograph.

Wall of Water 118/365

With all the rain we’ve been having it wasn’t hard to find a large puddle in the road. The tricky part was setting up for the shot and remaining dry. I received several strange looks and I’m convinced more than one driver was hoping to drench me.

Wash Out 117/365

This is the Little League field where the kids didn’t play… 3^rd base is an island. Yes, that's rain water on my lens....

For The Love of the Game 116/365

The month of June has been very wet in NY as its rained heavily everyday this month, with one exception. Today was the norm as we got close to an inch, so far. However, that didn’t stop this dedicated group or their families from doing what they love on Sunday afternoon.

Beneath the light 115/365

Looking up at the chandelier.

Maui 114/365

A tribute to my friend Orlie and her beloved bird.

U-Haul 113/365

One of the methods used to move cargo from the ships to the marketplace along Dubai Creek.

Dubai Favorite 112/365

This was one I overlooked the other night but upon closer examination I realized how much I like it…..

Winding Down 111/365

Our final night in Dubai and its stress free but I’ve been going for 19, 20, & 23 hours at a clip and rising early each morning.  My only regret is that I don’t have an extra day or two to see the sights.

Spice Market 110/365

The marketplace is old, crowded, dusty, but also safe and inviting. I found the merchants to be friendly, highly competitive, and eager to give away samples of their products, and they spoke English. 

Ancient Mariner 109/365

For thousands of years the seafaring traders of the Middle East have loaded & unloaded their wares along Dubai Creek. This was repeated on this hot, dry afternoon.  

Waterfall 108/365

Inside our hotel using an ND8 filter to capture the water flow, EV-1

Inside Burj Al Arab 107/365

Work is definitely interfering with my burning desire to get out and see Dubai.  Dinners have been the only opportunity for the 3^rd straight day and I have a strong suspicion its going to continue like this.  Tonight we ate inside the famous Burj Al Arab Hotel, the worlds only 7 star hotel.  It’s the one in the shape of a sailboat and the same one I posted on Wed.   This is the main entrance looking up to reception lobby. The arches are water jets and the lights rotate through several colors.   For some interesting videos on the Burj Al Arab Hotel check out these videos on YouTube

Al Casa 106/365

This is the entrance to the restaurant where we had dinner.  It was a grand slam!

Burj Al Arab 105/365

I’m in Dubai on a business trip for the next week. My schedule is full with work related activities but my goal is to post a “local” photo each night. We had dinner along this canal which provided an outstanding view of the Burj Al Arab Hotel. No I’m not staying there….

Smart Fruit 104/365

Can you guess what these are?  Strobist-EX580II bounced off white foam board, camera right.

One in Nine Hundred Eighty Six 103/365

Those are the approximate odds of a blue moon occurring.  But with a little post processing you can have one anytime you like. 

The Bronx is Burning 102/365

Joba Chamberlain  

The family took a trip to the South Bronx to see the Yankees take on Tampa Bay. With the exception of the 8^th inning it was a boring, uneventful game.  Following the immortal words of John Sterling - Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!

Watering Can 101/365

More practicing with off camera flash on a galvanized watering can within a black foam-board surround.  I’m very happy with the results.  Strobist – Canon EX580II 1/8 power, high and left with a defusing gel and a plastic household funnel as a snoot. 

Benjamin

This is to mark the milestone of my 100^th post.

Butterfly 99/365

I haven't a clue as to what kind it is, but I like the eyes.

Baby Spoons 98/365

Dense plastic spoons stacked and taped together. You can almost see them if you look closely around the edges. I put the ends of the spoons into a snoot and squeezed it closed. Strobe, EX580II at 1/64 power. Shadows enhanced in post processing.

First HDR 97/365

This was not my intended post for today. I was out on my bike on Saturday and spied a fountain I wanted to shoot with my ND filters. I went back this evening but the fountain was turned off. Damn! So I went over to the 9/11 memorial and shot a bunch of frames in aperture priority and manual mode/bulb. I wasn’t happy with anything. The best ones looked like ordinary snapshots. Quickly I realized I had an assortment of under/over/properly exposed shots, HDR. Too bad I didn’t use AEB but I did use a tripod and assumed the alignment would be useable. I’m still using an older version of PS, so I went online and purchased Photomatix. I simply went through the wizard and took the default output because I don’t have the time to learn it and experiment tonight. All things considered, it’s plausibly acceptable for the first try.

Subjects Abound 96/365

One of the nice things about this time of year is that subjects are plentiful. I have no idea what this is but I like the delicate transparency and yellow center cone.