Monthly Archives: February 2016

February 3, 2016

Picture A Day Project

Falls And Rock Walls

Waterfalls and long exposures are one of my favorite combinations. One of the amazing things about photography, for me, is that you can show so many things that humans can’t witness firsthand. You can capture a tiny fraction of a second to stop a droplet of water in midair or collect the light of a scene over the course of minutes and show a movement that is not visible through our natural vision. Over the years I’ve taught myself to see the possibilities of a scene in these different ways. When I compose or visualize a shot, I think of how it may look in different shutter speeds. Capturing waterfalls, in my mind, pushes me towards the long exposure to enhance the sense of flow. Water turns into a soft mist and elements that do not move are steady and sharp. I’m especially happy with the way my eye moves throughout this frame. This is one occurrence of getting the exact shot I envisioned before leaving the house.

Falls And Rock Walls
Falls And Rock Walls

February 2, 2016

Picture A Day Project

A Pause In The Forest

I’ve had the desire to do a nature-y pseudo portrait based on this idea for a while. Originally I was after a large tree in a field, open sky, backlighting of the tree and a touch of frontlighting on the model. This shot was part exercise for my wife and I, part realizing this image. I’m really happy with how it came out. The backlighting managed to light a fair number of trees and not halo too much and the frontlighting (thanks to a 10° honeycomb) didn’t spill over too much to the surrounding area. I’m really happy with the decision to do a long (15s) exposure here with the flashes popping off at the end to pull in the orange bits of sky in the top left.

A Pause In The Forest
A Pause In The Forest

February 1, 2016

Picture A Day Project

Liberty At Sunset

I went into the city with the dual purpose of catching a golden hour shot and returning a light to a fellow photographer. I got what I thought was going to be THE shot for the day, but after I dropped off the light, I was tempted to visit another spot to see what light was left in the sky. I’m not often fond of this angle due to the way that the Liberty Bridge blocks the PPG building and has the single green sign standing out in the center, but for some reason, it all balanced itself out. The division between water and sky by the bridge, and the light blue in the top left light orange in the bottom right made it work.

Liberty At Sunset
Liberty At Sunset

January 30, 2016

Picture A Day Project

The Crystal

I’ve been wanting to take a shot of my crystal for a long time, but never got around to it until now. Coming off an epic week of travel photography, I didn’t want to leave the house. This was a perfect opportunity to fulfill my picture a day and stay home. This simple setup involved a piece of glass suspended between 2 chairs, a black backdrop underneath, and some underlighting. I especially like the little bit of rainbow color in the center, only visible at one specific angle.

The Crystal
The Crystal

January 29, 2016

Picture A Day Project

Nifty Fifties

Here’s some insight into the way my (photographic) brain works. While driving along an interstate, I catch, out of the corner of my eye, a shipyard filled with old Navy boats. 1.5 seconds later, I’m (safely) crossing 3 lanes for the exit. We happened upon this spot and not even a closed (unstable) sidewalk over the water could keep us out. I framed this shot up and wanted a long-ish exposure to bring out the movement in the sky. The reflections and the resulting tone of the image are my favorite qualities of this image. Special thanks to the security guard, Mike (maybe) for being so cool with escorting us off of the unstable sidewalk after we got our shots.

Nifty Fifties
Nifty Fifties

January 28, 2016

Picture A Day Project

Birds Eye View Of The Generator Floor

I’m still schoolgirl giddy about this location. It has been a bucket list location for me from the first image I saw of the interior. (even though it is extremely recognizable and easily found through the Googles, I’m not naming the location) The difficult entry (and exit.. sorry, Derek) was entirely worth it. No image can express the immensity of this room. It is by far the largest open air room I’ve ever been in. The snow on the equipment was a special bonus, as I’ve never seen another shot like it. We spent over 5 hours here, which is about 48 hours to few.

Bird's Eye View Of The Generator Floor
Bird’s Eye View Of The Generator Floor

January 27, 2016

Picture A Day Project

The City Of Brotherly Light

The search for an angle on the city of Philadelphia began during golden hour. This view presented itself as we drove over the Schuylkill River past the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I quickly found a space to park and we walked over, sans tripods, to grab a few quick shots. Once we got there, it was decided that we needed to go and get the tripods and come back to capture the first moments of twilight including the light trails of the evening rush hour. Useless fact: the dashed line of red light on the right side is an ambulance.

City Of Brotherly Light
City Of Brotherly Light

January 26, 2016

Picture A Day Project

The Shimmering City Across The Hudson

At the end of day 2, we found ourselves too close to NYC to pass up. Google Maps provided a few really fantastic spots to view the Big Apple from the Jersey side of the Hudson river. Fortunately for us, the recent snow (and the need for snow removal) forced a gated community to be wide open for two opportunistic photographers. I love reflections on water and foreground elements that anchor views even more.

The Shimmering City Across The Hudson
The Shimmering City Across The Hudson

January 25, 2016

Picture A Day Project

BethSteel

The first stop on a trip to Philly, Bethlehem Steel, didn’t fail to impress. This old blast furnace has been preserved and is available to tour by the public. We visited on a very cold and icy evening during the rise of a nearly full moon. You can see it peeking out from behind the center feedstock inlet. The contrast of the reddish orange and the blue, for me, provides a natural vignette forcing the viewer’s eye to the center of the image.

BethSteel
BethSteel