Monthly Archives: February 2016

February 23, 2016

To Breathe In The Sky

It was another beautiful warm winter day in Southwestern Pa. I hiked to a new area of Boyce-Mayview park today and this was the first image that I shot. I conceptualized the stark whiteness of the sycamore against a middle grey sky with the parts of the tree away from the sun having a dark shadow. The lightness of a few clouds in the bottom right corner were a bonus!

To Breathe In The Sky
To Breathe In The Sky

February 21, 2016

Follow The Path

What a beautiful late winter day this was. I had spent most of it editing in a darkened room and needed to get out. I went to a local park for the intention of climbing a tree to get my shot of the day, but this scene presented itself less than 2 minutes after I started walking the trail. The subtle curve of the well worn path and the starkness of all of the bare trees was an easy choice for my composition. I switched to my 70-200 and shot wide open for the first shot. It was too much, so I stopped down to the “sweet spot” of the lens, f/8 for this image.

Follow The Path
Follow The Path

February 20, 2016

This Little Tree

I took a friend of mine on his first Urban Exploration experience on my birthday. We went to an old factory that has seen far better days. His apprehension towards shooting an unfamiliar subject turned to unbridled enthusiasm once we got inside the old building. While walking down a long open room, this little tree caught my eye. It was in the middle of a pile of snow that entered through a large hole in the roof. The isolated spot of lightness between the dark foreground and background made it stand out and even glow a little. I shot with my 105mm f/2.8 to keep the depth as shallow as possible.

This Little Tree
This Little Tree

February 19, 2016

Woodland Reflecting Pool

While on a walk with my wife, I caught a little pool down over the bank of the Montour Trail. A quick scan revealed a way to get down to view it from the opposite side. Since the pool was at the bottom of a little hill, the trees at the top reflected really well in the murky waters. I really liked how the barkless tree dips in and out of the water.

Woodland Reflecting Pool
Woodland Reflecting Pool

February 18, 2016

Goin’ Places At Sunset

I pride myself on finding new angles to capture the city of Pittsburgh. I spend way too many hours on Google Earth and my Photographer’s Ephemris looking for spots that I haven’t been to, places that I might be able to get to, and where the light might be when I get there. Pittsburgh has so many wonderful little neighborhoods snuggling right up against the city separated by a few interestingly designed roads. This view from Troy Hill compresses a neighborhood, some of those roads, and the city into one frame. I chose an extremely long exposure to blur the clouds as well as the road’s travelers. I’m most pleased with the layered quality of this image. When you shoot with a telephoto lens, you can compress foreground elements into background and make them appear closer to one another. The houses in the foreground are 1/4 mile away, the PPG building is about 1 1/2 miles away, and the church visible on Mt. Washington sits at a distance of 2 miles. The “base layer” of the clouds has Mt. Washington in front, then the PPG, Fifth Ave. PlaceĀ  and other downtown buildings on top, and then the sister bridges over the Allegheny. Next are the houses on River Ave. In front of those are the roadways. 576 and all of its on and off ramps with a glimpse of E. Ohio St closest. Finally there are the houses at the base of Troy Hill. All of this neatly packaged into one frame.

Goin' Places At Sunset
Goin’ Places At Sunset

February 17, 2016

Cat’s Eye

My little calico darling, Cecelia, loves to come into my office and do figure eights around my legs as I work. It becomes irritating after 10 or so minutes of her head buttting my right leg as her tail brushes my left, then vice versa until I can’t take it anymore and pick her up. Sometimes she just jumps onto my desk. This is a no no. Her “punishment” this day was a photo shoot. Her dissatisfaction oozes from this image. She might stay out of my office for a few days. (not likely)

Cat's Eye
Cat’s Eye

February 16, 2016

After A Rainy Night

February 16 started wet. It poured all night long. Fortunately (as some would say) it wasn’t cold enough to show. I wanted to show what a night of rain could do to places that usually only handled a little water. I went out to Mingo Creek Park in search of a waterfall. I visited a few of the likely spots, but they were absolutely overrun. Most of the park was flooded. I remembered a nice little waterfall still technically inside of the park that was usually a trickle. Today it raged with water. It was so loud at this spot that I couldn’t hear my shutter. I was surprised that so many trees had fallen in front of the falls, but it made for a good breakup of the scene and provided stationary elements that contrasted the long exposure softness of the composition. I was hesitant to leave this one in color, but something about the pastel softness of the sky and the muddiness of the water worked for my eye.

After A Rainy Night
After A Rainy Night

February 15, 2016

Down Low On The Trail

Sometimes taking a walk is enough to stimulate creativity. I had been sitting inside editing for most of the morning and just needed to get outside. It was cold, slightly rainy, slightly snowy, and overall dreary. I thought that the Montour Trail might cheer me up. I parked at a new spot, grabbed my gear, and headed off towards a bridge and tunnel. I ran into a few brave souls out for exercise or the same “head clearing” that I was after. After about a mile, it started to fog up. from around the bend, this bridge came into view and I immediately thought to shoot it with my telephoto from far away and compress the scene. I really liked that shot, but wanted to get closer. I switched to the medium zoom, composed, and snapped a few, but wanted to get even closer. I traded lenses for the ultrawide and got really low for this final composition. I was so engrossed in my shot that I didn’t notice a jogger coming up behind me and running right past as the shutter closed. I apologized for blocking the path and also for being so startled. She seemed to laugh as she went on about her jog. While processing this image, I went back and forth on the color version and the black & white. I ultimately went with the black and white to accentuate the contrast between the straight lines of the bridge and the curves of the trees.

Down Low On The Trail
Down Low On The Trail