August 31st, 2009

Here's another shot from this weekends Ford GT photo shoot. These were amazingly fun cars to shoot and I hope to be doing so again at some point! I found myself adopting techniques I only read about in order to make some compelling shots!

This shot was captured as the GT sped by me and I panned along with the car. I had a slow shutter speed programed in on full manual mode. Shot at a 15th of a second at f8.0 with the Nikon 70-200mm VR. ISO is at 100.

August 30th, 2009

This is an effect quite easily achieved with a point and shoot - in this case, it's the Nikon p6000. I was at my 20 year class reunion last night and the party went on till midnight! Had a blast. Stood on a chair with the p6000 set to aperture priority mode, this gave me a long shutter speed, so when I released the shutter, all I did was give the camera a little twist and you get instant rave!

August 29th, 2009

Here's a sneak peek at a new project slated for next year. Cars aren't my usual subject, but I couldn't pass up the chance to shoot a series of Ford GTs - it was a historic shoot, actually. I got the change to photograph the first and last Ford GT ever made! All this will appear in a new book due out next June. I'll mostly likely be out shooting again very soon as it poured the morning of the shoot and we wanted to get some shots of the cars in action!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20 at f/5.6 with a 50th of a second and an ISO of 200.

August 28th, 2009

First up, I gotta wish my mom a Happy Birthday . . . If there's one person most responsible for my passion for everything creative, it's her. She's simply the most creative person I've ever come across - Let's put it this way, she could be the love child of Martha Stewart and MacGyver! Happy Birthday, Mom . . . I Love You!

Onto the subject of today's image of the day. I wanted to do something elegant with only available light to really push the limits of the camera's ISO setting and the fast glass of the Nikon 50mm 1.8. So as I sat, pondering a subject, I realize she's staring at me from across the room! This is Giuseppe Armani's Juliette - as in Romeo and . . . the only available light comes from the 46 inch plasma TV on the wall . . . God, I love this lens!!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime wide open at 1.8. ISO is way up there at 800, giving me a shutter speed of a 30th of a second.

August 27th, 2009

I pulled over in traffic to snatch this shot . . . This is in the town of Hamburg, NJ and I just couldn't resist the pairing. Horses make such great subjects - unlike the wildlife here in NJ, they are mostly used to people being around, so they aren't skittish when a photographer comes a clickin'!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 250th of a second at f8.0. ISO is set to 100.

August 26th, 2009

I am not a very big fan of golf. Not because of the sport itself, rather I simply can't grasp the mechanics of it. I learned the very hard and embarrassing way that I just can not hit that little ball to save my life. That said, I've always found golf courses beautiful . . . and the golfing philosophy is a lot like the photographer's . . . getting up at insane hours to shoot - or play a few holes - often provides the best results! I would imagine, had I enjoyed the sport more, today would have been a grand day to play! It was a beautiful 68 degrees this morning with a thick layer of haze all over the place. The sun just peaking over the edge of a mountain provided spectacular lighting for the scene. As they say . . . hole in one!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at 1600th of a second at f5.6 with an ISO of 100.

August 25th, 2009

When I was a kid, I used to hate going into antique stores - I didn't get what they were all about. Now - as a grown up (but still a kid at heart) I love to shoot antiques. I mean my first book was about an antique. Granted, it was a prison, but an antique prison, none the less! There is something about the way materials age that just offers itself up to my lens. I am drawn to them. This subject, for example, is just full of color and texture - two things, if you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you know I LIVE for color and texture!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 at a 30th of a second with an ISO of 100.

August 24th, 2009

I am realizing that a lot of my shots of late have to deal with time . . . could be that my baby girl is starting kindergarten in a few short weeks. Or perhaps it's my approaching 20-year class reunion. Regardless, it does make me realize how beautiful the passing of time can be!

This was captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at 80th of a second at f1.8 with an ISO of 400.

August 23rd, 2009

One of the things I love to shoot when I get the chance is other cultures . . . the architecture, the artwork and the people! While, sadly, I didn't shoot this in China, I love what this symbol represents - Wisdom - as in the wisdom to see beyond the obvious snapshots and capture an image worthy of creation.

Show with the Nikon 50mm prime at f1.8 at an 80th of a second. ISO is set to 400.

August 22nd, 2009

How lucky am I when I can step off out the back door onto my deck and capture a shot like this nearly every evening! Each and every night, weather permitting, we are treated to a spectacular show. Some days, when not clouds are in sight, the sun almost sneaks down without a hint of it's decent . . . other days, when the clouds allow the light to change and even take shape, you can't help but take a look out the window to see what's going on!

This was captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at 250th of a second at f/5.6 with an ISO of 100.

August 21st, 2009

So after today's image of the day, who's not going to crave some licorice . . . was getting my daughter's lunch ready this morning and as I put three pieces of licorice in her lunchbox, I thought the color and shape would make for a great image of the day!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f5.6 with a shutter speed of a 40th of a second. ISO is set to 400.

August 20th, 2009

So I head out this morning to search in the back yard for today's image of the day and come face to face with this deer . . . It's low light and all I have on the camera is my 50mm prime. I am like 30 feet away from her when she spots me and freezes. I bring the camera up to my eye, resolving to get as close as I can before she bolts. I begin taking baby steps towards her, snapping each and every step as I go. I finally got within 10 feet or so when she decides enough is enough and dashes into the woods . . . but I got a nice tight shot before she does! Even got those great catch lights in her eyes!

Captured this with the 50mm prime at a 40th of a second with f2.8 as my aperture. ISO is at 200.

August 19th, 2009

Can't get to the beach this summer . . . I say, bring the beach to you! Quick trip to the arts & craft store got me a bag-o-shells and the kitchen table served as a shootable surface . . . just tossed them down, grabbed the macro lens and started shooting.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300 macro at a 50th of a second while mounted on a tripod. f-stop set to f/4 with an ISO of 100. Programed in -3 ev to darken the scene.

If you get a chance, check out the new 12-minute documentary on my and my work for the Konxari cards here.

August 18th, 2009

Sometimes, it's all a matter of putting something in front of some amazing light that makes a shot. This morning, light was pouring in through the dining room window. It was such an amazing quality of light, I knew if I threw anything in front of it, I'd have a great image of the day, so I pulled an abstract painting off the wall and tossed an antique pocket watch on top of it. as the watch has a crazy blue that spins with the second hand, I dropped most of the color in Lightroom and turned it into a sepia tone image. Yes, sometimes it's just that simple!

Shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at an 80th of second with an f-stop of 1.8. ISO is set to 100.

August 17th, 2009

I absolutely love what a 1.8 does to the background of any image . . . talk about beauty in abstract! Add to this the fact that there was barely any light out at all this morning when I took this, yet I was still able to handhold this shot! Love it!

Shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at f1.8 with a shutter speed of 250th of a second. ISO is set to 100.

August 16th, 2009

I think I mentioned I am a sucker for sunset shots . . . on a near cloudless day such as this, it helps to anchor your sunset with something, like the trees in the foreground. This was taken just outside my daughter's new Kindergarten class . . . there's a baseball diamond and I think a soccer field below in the space that is all blacked out.

The trick to shooting a decent sunset shot with today's cameras - packed with so many technical wonders that it will often give you an exposure that will wash out your sunsets - is to switch the camera to manual, thus turning off many of those bells and whistles that come with your camera!

This was shot on manual mode at 250th of a second with the Nikon 50mm set to f5.6 with an ISO of 200.

August 15th, 2009

I've been watching and reading a lot about product photography . . . the technical part, I get. It's the 'set dressing' that boggles my mind, so every once in a while, I'll try setting up a shot that's both pleasing and product-centric . . . this bottle of white serves as decoration in our dinning room. Add some fake grapes to enhance the shot and there you have it! Instant product shot!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime with nothing but natural light. Shutter speed was set at a 40th of a second with an f-stop of 1.8. ISO was set high at 500.

August 14th, 2009

Packing up my daughter for her 'meet your kindergarten teacher' day at school . . . she so excited, so I wanted to get a quick snapshot of something cool . . . dew beads on my wife's car. Hopefully proving that even the mundane can be something of interest!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/2.8 with a shutter speed of 200th of a second and an ISO of 100.

August 13th, 2009

So I asked my beautiful baby girl what I should shoot for my image of the day . . . anytime I am in a creative rut, she's my go-to gal for instant inspiration. She handed me her constant bath time companion and said Ducky would make a great subject . . . and who am I to argue?

Captured on a piece of white Plexiglas with the Nikon 50mm prime at a 40th of a second at f2.8 and an ISO of 100.

August 12th, 2009

I am currently surrounded by a ton of Military Vehicles and some of the coolest stuff made for protecting our troops in the field. From the latest in vehicle armor, to some while cameras that see in every spectrum of light. I knew I would have a great time shooting this conference!

These gears were on display about the next generation of engines that are more fuel efficient, yet match the same power of today's gas guzzling light armored vehicles. Great stuff!

Shot with the 50mm prime at f1.4 with a 40th of a second for my shutter speed. ISO is 640.

August 11th, 2009

In Detroit to shoo the Military Vehicles Expo and Conference. Here's what I love about photography . . . it brings out the inner-MacGyver in you! I had a great hotel room with a terrific view of downtown Detroit. I knew I wanted to capture the scene right after sunset, but didn't bring a tripod. The air conditioner was the perfect surface to shoot from, but a bit low, so I grabbed the ice bucket and a rolled up tee-shirt and used that as a makeshift tripod. I also didn't have a cable release, so I set my exposure, then used the camera's self-timer to trip the shutter. The results speak for themselves!

Captured at f/5.6 with a shutter speed of 7 full seconds (hence the makeshift tripod) with an ISO of 100.

August 10th, 2009

Once again, old thing seem to dominate my creative vision . . . these old hand tools fascinate me. In an age of computer aided drafting and laser guided equipment, wood crafters and the like did everything by hand and a good eye. They build the foundations of our lives and made things to last. And they also gave me a ton of stuff to photograph!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 at a shutter speed of 50th of a second. ISO is set to 640.

August 9th, 2009

First up is a short video featuring some of the images from my fourth month shooting the Photo-a-Day Challenge

When I was a kid, we had a toy train set . . . we also had those toy race tracks with the little hand-held controllers. Then we got the Atari 2600 and the simple toys of yesteryear were totally forgotten. Shot this at the same toy museum I did that creepy doll. Reminded me of simpler times . . .

Shot with the D2x with an attached Nikon 50mm prime at a 40th of a second at f1.8 with an ISO of 640.

August 8th, 2009

The movie Poltergeist forever tainted my opinion of clown dolls . . . remember the scene I am talking about? Not that I was really ever fond of these obvious evil totems!! Gotta admit, though . . . they make for great photo subjects!

Shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at f1.8 with a shutter speed of 40th of a second and an ISO of 640.

August 7th, 2009

Did you ever feel like you were being watched? This is the last shot from my Space Zoo Farms photo shoot . . . this Lioness had me in view the entire time I was shooting her pride. The zookeeper was tossing in raw chicken legs and this gal never flinched . . . she was very curious about what my intentions were . . . you can actually see my figure reflected in the pupil of her eye! It was a whole lot less intimidating standing behind a reinforced chainlink fence, I must admit!

Shot with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 250th of a second at f8.0. ISO is 100.

August 6th, 2009

I am not sure why this little guy has a tear coming out of his eye, but it does make for one powerful image, I think. Could be nothing more than a reaction to the dust in the air or maybe an allergy? Do horses get colds? I am not sure - what I am sure of it makes for one thought provoking image, yes?

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime. I would have used the 70-200mm, but this little fellow let me walk right up to him. I am about a foot from him - very little cropping done to this! Shot at a 60th of a second at f/1.8 with an ISO of 100.

August 5th, 2009

How long do you think a hood ornament like this would last on the streets today? I love the design of old cars. More and more, I can't tell the difference between a Honda and a Lexus . . . cars used to be a blend of mechanics and design - now, not so much!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at a 40th of a second at f1.8 with an ISO of 640.

August 4th, 2009

I love photographing old things . . . . if a picture is worth a thousand words, than pictures of old things are worth a million! These antique ammo boxes carried munitions to the fronts of WWII. The picture leads me to wonder where these boxes have been, was the ammo used from the box successful in defending freedom? How many lives were affected by the contents of this box. A photographer is charged not only with taking the picture, but also in conveying a message with each photograph taken . . . I hope this photo tells each of you a story!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at a 40th of a second at f/1.8. ISO is set to 640.

August 3rd, 2009

It's only been a week, but I feel like it's been forever since I posted an image of the day! After a long weekend out at San Diego Comic Con, promoting the Konxari Cards and the new Beatles: The White Album - and then returning to a crashed computer, I had to prioritize my getting back into the swing of things and Photo-a-Day sadly had to be put on hiatus. But now it's back - with a roar, no less!

This was captured at Space Zoo Farms over the weekend. Not the best zoo for photographing animals as they are all behind chain link fences, but in this case, the Lion was far enough back and I used a shallow enough depth of field to make the links disappear. I do like how the cage comes across his face as he tilted his head up towards the heavens . . . kinda sad, when you think about it . . .

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 320th of a second, f2.8 with an ISO of 100.