PMK's Photo-a-Day

May 3rd, 2010

2010-05-03T08:46:00.002-04:00

For those of you following this Photo-a-Day blog, I've launched a brand new Portrait-a-Day challenge over here. Be sure to check it out and follow the new one!

April 9th, 2010

2010-04-09T08:18:00.002-04:00

So my year long challenge is over . . . but I an not nearly finished! It's been an amazing year for me as far as my photography goes, having released more than a few books, been featured in a number of magazines and - the most impact on me - gotten involved in a few charitable events. I hope you guys have enjoyed the ride as much as I have . . . I'll be taking a month off from the Photo-a-Day blog . . . but then in May, I'll return with an even bigger challenge - a Portrait-a-Day blog I am calling Paul Michael Kane's FACES.

The End . . . for now!

April 8th, 2010

2010-04-08T10:56:00.003-04:00

So I lied about there being one more camera phone image of the day before I wrap up this challenge tomorrow - and there's a good reason. It is astounding to me to see this shot and know that it was taken by a camera phone. So I am sitting in my office thinking about what I can put up today and I hear the heavy thump of the helicopter. I run up the stairs, snagging the first camera I see, my camera phone. Head out to the back deck and see this thing flying right over head - had to be maybe 300 feet off the ground. Snapped the shot and processed in-camera. Now the astounding part? Take a look at the blades! They are frozen - my little camera phone froze helicopter blades that have to moving in excess of over 1,500th of a second! Astounding! Last time I am going to say it on this blog - the best camera is the one you have with you!

April 7th, 2010

2010-04-07T10:30:00.003-04:00

So warm outside . . . stunning! The buds are blooming everywhere. The color contrast is outstanding. I often get asked how I get my backgrounds so soft and out of focus and it's an easy task to accomplish. Simply set the smallest number on your lens as your f-stop - in this case I went with f/2.8

Captured with the Nikon 70-20mm VR at a 50th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is down at 100 for this shot.

April 6th, 2010

2010-04-06T09:45:00.002-04:00

I've said it before and I maintain my position . . . I am a sucker for sunset shots. This is is one of those that I consider an epic sunset. The colors, the textures . . . just can't NOT shoot something like this. Again, the trick to getting colors that pop in a shot like this is to under expose or shoot with a higher shutter speed. When you process the image and bring back in the light, you'll be amazed at how much color you'll pull from the image!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20 at a 50th of a second at f/5.6. On Aperture Priority mode, the camera wanted me to shoot for a 6th of a second and would have given me a pretty washed out image. Switching to manual enabled me to hand hold the shot and achieve the color I was looking for! ISO is down to 100.

April 5th, 2010

2010-04-05T14:48:00.002-04:00

Only four more images to go after this . . . and this may be the very last Camera Phone Image of the day . . . taking just before stepping inside my home office. The program I use for my Droid Eris is called FX Camera and processes the image for me. This particular effect is called "grung" and I like how it works with the clouds. The subjects themselves are great and I can't even believe I was able to capture them both as they soared past each other! Proving that the best camera indeed is the one you have with you!

April 4th, 2010

2010-04-04T15:44:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter!! Captured this during Peyton's outdoor escapades with the family! It helps to have such a photogenic family! I did this run twice - once when she didn't know I was shooting and the other when I asked her to run towards me. Without fail, every time she knows the camera is taking pictures, she hams it up . . . this shot, she was unaware that I was taking the picture.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 5600th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is down at 100.

April 3rd, 2010

2010-04-03T15:50:00.002-04:00

The marvelous weather continues as bird song awakens us in the morning . . . made sure there was some fresh bird seed provided and just waited for my subjects to arrive.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 250th of a second with an f-stop of f/5.6. ISO is down to 100. The trick to any wildlife photography is to get that little glint of light in their eyes - give the image a flash of life.

April 2nd, 2010

2010-04-02T13:20:00.002-04:00

Spring has officially sprung here in Northern New Jersey . . . almost 70 degrees out there and it's simply beautiful!! Couldn't resist taking a shot of the buds finally sprouting . . . love the green pop of color against the otherwise brown backdrop.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm wide open at f/2.8. Shutter speed is set to 350th of a second with an ISO of 100.

April 1st, 2010

2010-04-01T08:47:00.002-04:00

8 more days to go and I wrap up this Photo-a-Day challenge! This morning was a glorious morning. Fog rolling out, fabulous blue skies rolling in . . . couldn't pass up a little drive around town to see what I could shoot. Came upon this and knew I had a decent shot!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20mm - one of my favorite lenses! Shot at 125th of a second at f/8. ISO is set down to 100.

March 31st, 2010

2010-03-31T08:45:00.003-04:00

So Peyton's class learned the old adage about March Weather - that being in like a lion, out like a lamb. That said, she also learned that sometimes old adages are not always correct. Take yesterday for example . . . more of the same biblical rain fall all day long. This is the constant drip just outside my office window, proving that at some point soon, I am going to have to head up to the roof and clean out some gutters!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro shooting at 250th of a second with the flash mounted to the top of the camera. I shot at f/8 with an ISO of 100.

March 30th, 2010

2010-03-30T08:19:00.003-04:00

So I am cooking dinner last night and my little 5-year old comes running, telling me my photo-a-day is out on the back deck. So - never one to doubt her - I grabbed the camera and raced to see what she was talking about and this little guy stuck around to get his picture taken. She was so cute about the whole thing, telling me to zooooooom way in.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 150th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is bumped up to 500 for this shot.

March 29th, 2010

2010-03-29T11:39:00.003-04:00

Cemeteries are a marvelous place to find striking images . . . so much so, that I am putting together a folio edition on cemeteries. They are full of history and emotion - things I look for in my image making! Stay tuned for more on that!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm at f2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/160th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

March 27th, 2010

2010-03-27T19:30:00.003-04:00

A foreshadowing of things to come . . . my baby girl pulling out of the driveway on to make her own mark on the world . . . fortunately today, her little Jeep engine couldn't make it up the hill! It was a glorious day out today - a day off to boot. We enjoyed a movie, some shopping and the outdoors . . . these are days I cherish . . . and these are my favorite photos to take!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20 at a 30th of a second with an f-stop of f/5.6. ISO is down to 100 and I dropped out the color using Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta 2.

March 26th, 2010

2010-03-26T15:20:00.005-04:00

Totally amazing day out there today . . . a bit chilly, but then I prefer it chilled then too warm. No brainer as to what to shoot today. Slapped on the Sigma 10-20mm super-wide, laid out a blanket and snapped away from the front yard, shooting straight up. Sun flairs are always a great creative play thing. They sing when you stop down your lens to it's highest setting - in this case f/25. The trick to getting the amazing blue sky is to select a fast shutter speed. For this shoot, I went into Aperture Priority mode, took a shot and evaluated my setting, went over into full Manual mode and went for 640th of a second. Any faster and the corners of the image without the sun became too dark. ISO down to 100. Also when shooting sun flairs, if you have a lens hood on, take it off . . .

March 25th, 2010

2010-03-25T09:41:00.003-04:00

Camera phone image of the day . . . Shot this last night before a camera club meeting. I am very impressed with some of the image processing software that comes in downloadable Apps. They make pretty great looking images . . . saw the moon up there . . . wanted to get it in the basket, but it was moving in the wrong direction . . . but I still ove this shot . . . =]

March 24th, 2010

2010-03-24T09:03:00.002-04:00

If you've been to my office, or known me for any amount of time, you'll know that I love comic books and graphic novels. I have a number of great statues around my office and these things are just begging to be photographed. Pictured here is Matt Wagner's Grendel. It's a very dramatic pose and needed very dramatic lighting - stage lighting, if you will. I shot this with the camera on the tripod and lit it with a little pocket flashlight. This allowed me to move the lighting around during a long exposure . . . worked out rather well, I think . . .

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f2.8 and a shutter speed of one full second. ISO is down to 100 for the least possible noise out of the image.

March 23rd, 2010

2010-03-23T08:09:00.002-04:00

This is a fun technique to try if you have a zoom or telephoto lens. And this morning was the perfect condition to try this out on . . . overcast skies and a lot of fog. You go into full manual mode, select a high f-stop and a slow shutter speed. Zoom all the way in on your subject . . . as you begin zooming out, snap off a shot while continuing to zoom out. The long shutter speed will give you some very nice motion blurs in camera . . . a wonderful abstract technique that is a whole lot of fun to experiment with. Try it with a flash and a person as your subject . . . have fun with it!

Captured at a full second exposure at f/22. My ISO is down at 100. I set my White Balance to Tungsten to give the image a very cool hue.

March 22nd, 2010

2010-03-22T12:37:00.003-04:00

I am very fortunate to have more than one creative outlet . . . when things get frustrating and confused and hectic, nothing sorts everything out like banging out a few songs on the piano. It's instant therapy . . .

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 for a 50th of a second. ISO is way up at 800 for this shot.

March 20th, 2010

2010-03-20T13:30:00.002-04:00

Can't even express to you how much I am enjoying this weather outside . . . took a break from a very cool project I am working on to get some sun and snap a shot . . . most times, you want to try and avoid a sun flair . . . but I couldn't resist breaking the rules this morning!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro at 2500th of a second at f/22. ISO is down at 100 for this shot!

March 19th, 2010

2010-03-19T13:18:00.002-04:00

Haven't done a camera phone image of the day is quite some time, so today had to be the day . . . sometimes I am all about shapes and abstract . . . couldn't pass up this lawn decoration. I know there's some fancy name for what this is, but right now, it escapes me . . . just can't get over how these little camera phones can capture something so sharply! And the in-camera processors do an amazing job of going to black and white!

March 18th, 2010

2010-03-18T09:17:00.002-04:00

Now I am having just too much fun with this . . . after doing some experimenting last night, I think if I shift my view a few degrees to camera left, and concentrate on the northern sky, I can get these stars to do a full circle around me! This time around, I popped off a flash in the foreground to see what would happen. I love experimenting and learning from my mistakes/findings . . . I think next, I wanna try taking the camera up to Heater's Pond and trying this with a body of water in the image . . . could I get this in reflection?? Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Captured with the Tamron 28-80mm. Shooting timed intervals at at 5 seconds long every 15 seconds for an hour and half. My aperture is set to f/5.6 and I bumped my ISO up to 200 for this shot.

March 17th, 2010

2010-03-17T12:16:00.003-04:00

My first attempt at capturing star trails . . . this is an on-going experiment that you'll see more of in the coming days. I'd say it was a success, but I want to do some more testing and playing. The bright dots you see in sort of a pattern are jets and planes that few across the lens while it was recording. This is a fun project and am making many discoveries about this sort of work!

Captured with the Tamron 28-80mm. Shot at a shutter speed of 10 seconds ever 15 seconds for an hour and a half. 362 frames were then blended together in Photoshop for the final shot you see here. The benefit of doing it this way as opposed to a very long exposure is a lot less digital noise. ISO is down to 100.

March 16th, 2010

2010-03-16T14:09:00.003-04:00

What a difference a day makes . . . the past few days have been filled with nothing but rain, but now blue skies are out and it's just stunning out there. Hope everyone affected by the flooding and water damage can begin drying out process! Me, I took a nice long walk at lunchtime to recharge and try and find something fun to shoot. This little fellow seemed to be hopping from tree to tree, keeping a wary eye on me, so I though I'd give him some attention.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 1/1000th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is down at 100.

March 15th, 2010

2010-03-15T08:38:00.002-04:00

One last shot from yesterday's crazy weather . . . proving no matter how long the struggle between Man vs Nature goes on, Mother Nature will always win out . . . the evidence is all around us today!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 250th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is bumped up to 400 for this shot.

March 14th, 2010

2010-03-14T11:46:00.003-04:00

It pouring outside . . . biblical pouring! The marshlands across the street are flooding and it's snowing no signs of stopping . . . crazy weather! At least it's not the fluffy white stuff!!!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at a 60th of a second at f/8.0. ISO is down to 100. This was shot through a screened window, giving it that soft, diffused look.

March 13th, 2010

2010-03-13T18:15:00.003-05:00

I am always looking for the 'one of a kind' shot . . . and today, during a charity event I was appearing at, I knew I had my shot. It was a St. Baldrick's event where folks - men and women - were having their heads shaved to benefit kids with cancer. A very worthy cause that I was just thrilled to participate in - even though my head is shaved, already . . . So I am watching dozens of people getting shaved and also watching the clean up . . . Regular dust pans just weren't working very well . . . so out came the shovels . . . Couldn't pass it up!

Shot with the Sigma 10-20mm at f5.6 at a 60th of a second. ISO down at 100.

March 12th, 2010

2010-03-12T14:47:00.002-05:00

There are some days where I question my choice to become a creative professional . . . and this week was full of them. Has nothing to do with the creative process - I LIVE FOR THAT. The aspect that I don't always come to terms with is the business end. The unreasonable deadlines . . . the extraordinary expectations . . . I could do without those, sometimes . . . which is why, on this Friday afternoon, I am thinking of nothing but quitting time and drowning myself in some sort of chilled beverage of choice . . . hence the martini glass you see below.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro. This was lit with two flashes - and the fun part is to paint the scene with light, rather than blast it. A lot of times, people don't think that a flash can be controlled or applied . . . it's just another tool to help bend, shape and control light - the subject of every photograph! Shot at f/8 with a shutter speed of 250th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

March 11th, 2010

2010-03-11T18:55:00.003-05:00

You never know when the mood might strike to create an image . . . sitting at a stop light, for instance. Seeing all the different color lights . . . knowing applying the technique known as Bokeh would make for a pretty neat image!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at a 40th of a second at f/2.8. ISO down to 100.

March 10th, 2010

2010-03-10T14:50:00.002-05:00

Springtime isn't always pretty . . . My astute daughter pointed out that with the return of warmer weather, the bugs are out in force. For what ever reason, there are a ton of flies buzzing about the house - nothing smells funny and I sure hope we're a long way off from Amityville . . . but I saw them and knew I had my shot for today!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 640th of a second and shooting at f/4. ISO is way down at 100 for this shot.

March 9th, 2010

2010-03-09T08:39:00.003-05:00

First up is my 11th anniversary video - hard to believe I've been doing this for almost a year already! April 9th will mark the one year date and I'll be taking a month off - only to return with something extraordinary! Can't wait to show it off! In the mean time, enjoy this review of the previous month! And scroll down for a better look at today's image!

Continuing my Spring shots, as I was hunting for a shot today, I heard all these geese flying way up high . . . couldn't resist the shot! The singular cloud they were passing by give the image an almost painterly effect!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200 mm VF at 1/1000 of a second at f2.8. ISO is down at 100.

March 8th, 2010

2010-03-08T13:41:00.003-05:00

Judging by the weather out there, Spring has finally sprung! Captured this out in the front yard this morning. I have high hopes of more of the same for the next few weeks. I love shooting macro as not only is it about photography, but also about composition and design.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro on a tripod at a 10th of a second with an f-stop of f/5.6. ISO is down to 100 for this shot.

March 7th, 2010

2010-03-07T13:01:00.002-05:00

I love doing this . . . having my 5-year old art direct my photo-a-day. I asked her this morning what I should shoot and she was playing with her current toy of the week, her GoGo Crazy Bones. Near as I can tell, it's like marbles, but with collectible characters. She loves them and I have to admit, they are cute. So I had her set up a shot and help me 'press the button!'

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro at a 50th of a second with an f-stop of 5.6. ISO is down at 100.

March 6th, 2010

2010-03-06T11:25:00.002-05:00

What's this I see out the window . . . blue skies? Feels like forever since I've seen a clear blue sky. And even better? It's supposed to hit 50 degrees this afternoon! Dare I hope spring is on its way . . . ah, what a warming thought!

The trick to getting a nice bright sun flair in your shot is to close your aperture to a nice high number. For this shot, I went all the way to f/22 and shot at 1/500th of a second. My ISO is down to the lowest my camera will go, 100. The down side to shooting blue ski is this - nothing will show off your sensor dust better than a nice blue sky. So unless you keep your sensor nice and clear, be prepared to do a little spot removal!

March 5th, 2010

2010-03-05T14:58:00.003-05:00

Gearing up for the next version of my Photo-a-Day challenge . . . this might give you some indication of what. It's a light study . . . how light falls on the human face. How it wraps the contours of the features. Looking forward to exploring this more . . .

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8. Shutter speed at 1/125th of a second. ISO is up at 400.

March 4th, 2010

2010-03-04T13:46:00.002-05:00

Yet another camera phone image . . . quick one for today . . . a study of light, shadow, texture and shape . . . I am so digging this philosophy of 'the best camera is the one you have with you!'

March 3rd, 2010

2010-03-03T09:56:00.003-05:00

Not sure about you guys, but the day I am having already has me thinking about a nice chilled glass of Merlot this evening. So much so, that I thought I'd shoot it this morning. Going for abstract here . . . processed in Lightroom to give the image the red overlay.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro. Shooting at f5.6 at 125th of a second with my ISO all the way up to 800.

March 2nd, 2010

2010-03-02T12:54:00.002-05:00

Another camera phone image for this week. One thing that amazes me about these little cameras is the minimum focus distance between the lens and the subject. The pawn in the foreground is less than an inch away as I took this . . . . I love that intimacy you can get with these handy cams!

March 1st, 2010

2010-03-01T13:54:00.003-05:00

So I am in my office trying to come up with something to shoot and I hear this commotion outside. The snow is still pretty deep out there, but closer to the house, you can almost see grass. The local birds discovered this and have been searching for food. I quickly startled them upon investigating the noise, but they left behind a feather, which I promptly snagged as my image for today!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro and let with one off camera flash. Shot at a 60th of a second at f/8. ISO is down to 100.

February 28th, 2010

2010-02-28T14:57:00.003-05:00

My Image of the Day can come from anywhere . . . this beautiful flower was taken at a BJ's Wholesale this afternoon during some food shopping. It was good to get out after being snowed in for four days . . . I practically threw the family in to the car to go - cabin fever had set in. So I knew not only was I shopping for some much needed food items - but for my image of the day, as well!

Captured on my Camera phone. No edits.

February 27th, 2010

2010-02-27T08:45:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting to try a shot like this for a while . . . had my daughter watch some cartoons while I simply took some pictures of her. By now - she's five - she is very used to having the camera in her space. We have a lot of fun with it and she's the perfect muse.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro at f5.6 at 250th of a second. Lit from a single snooted flash fired from of camera. ISO is down to 100. Dropped out the color in Adobe Lightroom 3 beta.

February 26th, 2010

2010-02-26T10:56:00.002-05:00

I am getting very tired of all the snow, but thought this would make a whimsical shot for today's image . . . shot off my back deck where the snow is undisturbed by the 25-35 mile an hour winds we're getting. The driveway, a lost cause, has been cleared twice and I've come close to cardiac arrest clearing said driveway . . . but it's pretty out there, yes? Suuuuure . . . . =]

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime shooting wide open at f/1.8. Shutter speed is 1/1000th of a second and my ISO is down at 100.

February 25th, 2010

2010-02-25T09:18:00.002-05:00

So I woke up this morning, trying to figure out what I was going to shoot . . . it's snowing out there - AGAIN - and my daughter has a snow day today. So we're up and coloring and it's one of those special days where we have to open up a new box of crayons. Who here remembers how doing that just evokes a childish joy? The sharp, new crayon smell . . . I bet you all can smell it now, even just looking at this shot!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro and lit with two flashes. Shot at 1/250th of a second at f/5.6 with an ISO of 100.

February 24th, 2010

2010-02-24T08:43:00.003-05:00

So as I am clearing the drive way this morning, trying to figure out where to put this additional 7 inches of snow - in anticipation of even MORE snow over the next couple of days - I can't help but notices how the snow effects all the little things around me. How the littlest branch could hold an amazing amount of snow . . . or the contrast between the sharp thorns shown here against the fluffiness of the snow.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300 mm Macro at 1/1000th of a second at f/5.6 with an ISO of 400.

February 23rd, 2010

2010-02-23T08:55:00.002-05:00

It's raining outside - threatening to turn into snow/freezing rain. I felt this shot conveys my feelings about the weather of late . . . =]

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro. Shooting at f/5.6 with a shutter speed of 60th of a second. Fired an off camera flash via a commander unit. ISO is at 100.

February 22th, 2010

2010-02-22T14:32:00.004-05:00

Sometimes fortune smiles upon the lowly photographer. I was out this morning trying to find something to shoot today and this jet passed overhead . . . thought it made for a great shot!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 450th of a second with an f-stop of 5.6. ISO is down at 100.

February 21st, 2010

2010-02-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

I love to experiment with different things . . . sure, I love to shoot sunset shots, but what if I took a shot of the setting sun through a screen, focusing on the screen, rather than the sunset itself? Pure visual magic . . . loving this. The colors - the textures. Sometimes experimenting works out, sometimes it doesn't. I think this time around, it worked!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 1/500th of a second at f/2.8. I used the auto focus to lock in on the screen and the shallow depth of field and the brightness of the sun did the rest! ISO is down to 100.

February 20th, 2010

2010-02-20T15:52:00.002-05:00

So today, I aimed to do a "Camera Phone' image of the day. We were heading out to do some shopping and hit the book store. I love going to the book store. Always have. Browsing the shelves and seeing all sorts of inspiring images and titles. One thing that struck me about the photography section, though, was the abundance of How-To books, rather than Why books. At this point in my photographic journey, I am much less interested in how to take pictures. Very much more interested in WHY i seem drawn to the pictures I take.

There's something poetic there, I just can't put my finger on it . . . something about me not taking pictures, but being taken by the pictures I take . . . I guess it's better that I let the whole "a picture is worth a thousand words" concept speak for me . . .

All I am saying is this . . . these books have their place . . . but only use them as a reference. The best way to learn your way around a camera and how to take a decent picture is to SHOOT, PLAY and HAVE FUN!!

February 19th, 2010

2010-02-19T13:55:00.004-05:00

What a long Friday . . . and can you tell where my head is at today? Looking forward to the end of the day when I can open up a nice, chilled bottle of wine and just kick back and relax . . . I think that's all the explanation I need for this shot . . . =]

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime, shooting wide open at f/1.8 with a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

February 18th, 2010

2010-02-18T09:20:00.003-05:00

Strange morning . . . went outside to warm up the car and found a poor little bunny dead at the driver side door of my Baja. Didn't look like a violent death, but I found evidence of the culprit all around me in the snow. Though I'd go all CSI on it and captured my Camera Phone image of the day. Buried the poor bunny shortly after dropping Peyton off at school - who, by the way - will never know what happened . . . what a weird way to start the day? I don't believe in omens, but that's enough to make me consider it . . . treading very lightly today . . .

February 17th, 2010

2010-02-17T09:06:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things to shoot is this weathered garden angel I have out in the front yard. She's been sitting out there in all this show and finally I can see her again, so I thought what better subject to shoot today . . .

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 500th of a second with an aperture of f/2.8. ISO is down to 100.

February 16th, 2010

2010-02-16T09:24:00.002-05:00

Lazy day today . . . and the flowers from yesterday are holding up pretty good, so I thought I'd shoot another image from them. This one, more detail oriented and much more Macro.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro at f/4. Shutter speed is at 350th of a second with an ISO of 400.

February 15th, 2010

2010-02-15T12:52:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. As you can imagine, with V-Day over, there are an abundance of flowers to photograph. And these orange tulips caught my eye. Orange is one of my favorite colors and I couldn't pass them up! Set against a cool background, these beauties just popped with color!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm macro at f/4 with a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second. ISO is bumped way up to 800.

February 14th, 2010

2010-02-14T05:30:00.002-05:00

Real quick shot for today . . . HAPPY VALENTINE's DAY!!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm Macro at a 40th of a second and an f-stop of 5.6. Shot on a tripod with an ISO of 400.

February 13th, 2010

2010-02-13T05:30:00.002-05:00

Can you tell I am in a cold place . . . all the image I've shot the last few days have been very cold in subject and in theme. Loving the effect, though . . . and I hear we're supposed to be expecting more on the way!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300mm macro at 1/1000th of a second at f5.6. ISO is down at 100.

February 12th, 2010

2010-02-12T10:52:00.005-05:00

So as Mother Nature coated us with a ton of snow - her job isn't through. Now, with the wind, she continues to refine her work of art. This is a small snow dune that has built up in my front yard. A very nice, graphic shot for today . . . and also an experiment in Depth of Field. Shooting at f/2.8 makes everything before and behind my subject out of focus - just how out of focus can be seen in the small band of glistening snow crystals at about the midway point in the shot.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 1/8000th of a second, wide open at f2.8. ISO is down to 100.

February 11th, 2010

2010-02-11T09:30:00.002-05:00

Amazing amounts of snowfall . . . . I shall call this Shadows on Snow . . . It's insanely beautiful out there, but I have to clear the driveway to get out. Thankfully, my buddy John Deere is going to lend a hand. I can't wait to get out and see what a winter wonderland it is out there!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm at f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

February 10th, 2010

2010-02-10T13:19:00.002-05:00

Another camera phone shot . . . there's not much creative control over a camera phone, unless you know a few tricks . . . to slow my shutter speed down, I switched the camera's ISO to the lowest setting - in this case, ISO 100. This gives me a slower shutter speed and allows for some very cool light streaking . . . Get out your camera phones and start playing! Remember, the best camera is the one you have with you!

February 9th, 2010

2010-02-09T09:49:00.003-05:00

First up, here's is the 10 month anniversary video featuring shots from January 2010 into February 2010. Hard to believe in April I'll have wrapped up this challenge. As of April 9th, I'll have finished this challenge . . . wait till you see what I am cooking up next!

For today's challenge, I gotta credit Home Goods as my prop store . . . they have the coolest things available for really cheap prices. I am not even sure what this is called, but it's sitting on top of my television cabinet and just looks really cool lit with a single flash.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 at a 60th of a second. ISO is down to 100. Lit from below with one Nikon SB-800 fired remotely.

February 8th, 2010

2010-02-08T08:41:00.003-05:00

Playing around with my camera phone again . . . searching for subjects rich in color and contrast . . . My daughter's 4 year old gold fish is perfect. Not the first time "Fishy" has been a subject of mine. Fans of The Konxari Cards (www.konxari.com) will recognize fishy from the cards and the 'behind the scenes" video. I am really digging the camera phone shots and embracing the philosophy of "The Best Camera is the One That's With You."

February 7th, 2010

2010-02-07T09:49:00.002-05:00

I have a fascination with the tools of an artist . . . I think I've mentioned this before. I am amazed how they can take a blank canvas and turn it into something we all recognize - or make something unrecognizable into a beautiful work of art.

Captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at f5.6 shooting at a shutter speed of a 30th of a second. ISO is up around 400.

February 6th, 2010

2010-02-06T09:43:00.001-05:00

So in anticipation of the show we were supposed to get last night, I put out some bird seed in the hopes that I'd get this nice snow covered mound of seed and a few birds picking around it, their colors popping against a stark white background of fresh snow . . . Woke up this morning ready to shoot . . . and not a single flake of snow hit the ground. Still, the birds were up and out and hungry . . . can't blame a guy for trying!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 250th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is down to 100. The trick with shooting birds - er, photographing birds - is to make sure and have that glint of light in their eyes. It's called a catch light . . . give the photograph some life.

February 5th, 2010

2010-02-05T08:46:00.002-05:00

Another approaching storm is forecasted and you can just feel it outside . . . wanted to take a shot that conveyed that bleak feeling. We have this amazing tree in the back yard, must be 100 years old . . . it's branches are many and now, naked in the winter, gave me the look I wanted to give off for today's image of the day!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 160th of a second at f2.8. ISO is up at 640 for this shot as it was quite a overcast day out . . .

February 4th, 2010

2010-02-04T08:05:00.003-05:00

I love happy accidents . . . so I had the D2x in the back seat of the car yesterday. Picked up Peyton from school and had the heat on in the car, which instantly fogged up the lens. Had a wonderfully cool sunset going on when we got home and I had to shoot it . . . because of the fogged lens, my auto focus couldn't lock onto the detail and I got this marvelously graphic image. Almost looks like a pair of headlights on a dangerously foggy street . . . but in looking at the blurred sun image, you can actually make out the blades of the aperture mechanics in the lens. Very cool!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR set on full manual. Captured at f/22 for a 1/100th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

February 3rd, 2010

2010-02-03T11:26:00.002-05:00

For today, I am featuring one of my camera phone shots . . . working off the philosophy that the best camera is the one you have with you! I love doing stuff like this. It's a whole lot of fun to just let go and see what you can shoot. Not a whole lot of creative control over the camera settings, but the 3rd party plug-ins for processing your images is a growing list of impressive programs.

February 2nd, 2010

2010-02-02T08:19:00.003-05:00

Doing everything I can think of to stay warm this morning . . . including taking a shot of on of the grills where I got breakfast this morning. It's not as cold as it's been, but today is one of those wet sort of colds . . . it's about to snow . . . you can just feel it in the air. So I am trying this mind over matter thing and shooting something hot!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at f/2.8 with an shutter speed of 150th of a second. ISO is bumped way up to 800 for this shot.

February 1st, 2010

2010-02-01T08:05:00.003-05:00

So I am sitting on the couch last night watching some cartoons on TV with Peyton . . . when she asks if she could go play on the computer. I realize how fortunate our kids are to have such wonderful technologies that weren't available to us as kids . . . so I wanted to get a shot of her using the laptop. I set up a remote flash just to the left of the computer screen as the screen itself wasn't bright enough to illuminate her face, but I wanted to give off that impression. I waited until she had a sufficiently bored expression and snapped the shot.

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at f/8 with a shutter speed of a 30th of a second, utilizing a technique called "rear curtain" or slow sync flash - where the flash goes off just as the shutter is about to close rather than as soon as the shutter opens. This give the exposure more ambient light. ISO is down to 100.

January 31st, 2010

2010-01-31T12:13:00.003-05:00

More fun with light painting, this time in total darkness and one of Peyton's novelty flashlight which comes with colored gels. If you have a camera where you can control your shutter exposure, I highly recommend this technique . . . it's a whole lot of fun!!

Captured at 4 seconds at f/8. Used the Nikon 50mm prime at an ISO of 100.

January 30th, 2010

2010-01-30T10:07:00.003-05:00

Trying my hand at product photography again . . . this time using my X-Box 360 controller. I'd like to tell you that I was playing a mean game of Halo 3 that served as inspiration for this shot, but alas, been way too busy to play. Always liked the design of this simple controller, though, and though the clean lines and pops of color would make an interesting shot.

Captured with the Sigma 70-300 macro at f5.6 and shot at 1/60th of a second with an ISO of 100. Lit with a single SB800 off camera.

January 29th, 2010

2010-01-29T10:09:00.002-05:00

I bit more artistic than I am used to posting, but I am really enjoying the processing of these types of images. This was shot through a white sheet, one flash behind the sheet, the other in front. Processed in Lightroom, then using OnOne's very effective PhotoTools to add a bit of personal artistic freedom.

Captured at a 60th of a second with the Nikon 50mm Prime shooting wide open at f/1.8. Lit in two directions with to Nikon Speedlights. ISO is down to 100.

January 28th, 2010

2010-01-28T08:14:00.003-05:00

Ok . . . I admit it, I am very, very tired of snow. I want to be done with clearing the driveway, listening for delays or closings. Bring back the sun and some foliage!!!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime wide open at f/1.8 with a shutter speed of 1/300th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

January 27th, 2010

2010-01-27T09:53:00.002-05:00

I am in a very abstract kind of place, recently and wanted to give some light painting a try. It's a very simple technique that can produce some very wonderful images. You find a blank wall - or your 'canvas.' Set the camera to shoot at a slower shutter speed, grab a flash light and just spread the beam across the wall in any pattern or shape that you like.

Set to full manual mode, this was captured with the Nikon 50mm prime shot at f/10 at a fourth of a second. ISO is down to 100.

January 26th, 2010

2010-01-26T08:55:00.003-05:00

Aside from the occasional cigar, I don't smoke . . . but I find the dynamics of smoke captivating. Every once and a while I get the urge to photograph smoke and this morning was one of those times. I got out the flashes, raided our candle supply and set up a black backdrop. My usual technique for capturing smoke involves incense, but I wanted to get a subject in the frame this time, hence the candle - the only problem is, blowing out the candle to get a nice plume of smoke. If I blew too hard, the smoke would grow to thin by the time it came back in frame - so I channeled my childhood hero, MacGyver and fastened together two straws to make a more direct 'blow out' and it worked like a charm!

Captured in full manual mode with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/8 and shooting at 250th of a second. I lit the candle from left and right with two Nikon Speedlights and fired them off with an on-camera commander unit. ISO is down to 100.

January 25th, 2010

2010-01-25T08:42:00.002-05:00

So it's pouring out . . . presenting many great photo opportunities . . . this one, not too far from my back porch. Because of the shallow depth of field and the fluid dynamics of the rain drops, what you don't see in this shot are the legs of the patio table that this water has collected on. Sometimes, it's what you don't see in the image that's important . . . =]

This was shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at f5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

January 24th, 2010

2010-01-24T15:48:00.003-05:00

Today was a great day . . . we were invited to a birthday party for one of Peyton's friends. It was at a bowling alley in Warwick, NY and I just knew I could snag a photo-a-day entry out of the trip. Not only did I snag a great shot, but we had a blast. I haven't bowled in over a decade and it was Peyton's first time! She did great, I need an aspirin - but did pretty well. Heather did fantastic, too . . . all in all a really, really good time!

Show on full manual at f5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/25th of a second and my ISO up to 400..

January 23rd, 2010

2010-01-23T10:34:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite quotes goes something like this - "Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." It's what I want my photography to say about me as a creative professional. Someone passes this subject and sees a simple air conditioner . . . I see a pattern . . . a symmetry . . . I see a pleasing composition that I wish to share with others. Am I trying to convince you that it's something other than what you're seeing? No. It's an air conditioner - but I'd be failing at my task if I didn't try to make you see that simple air conditioner in a different light.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime wide open at f/1.8 at 1/400th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

January 22nd, 2010

2010-01-22T08:15:00.002-05:00

So it was my intention to shoot these roses for a couple more days, but they died . . . what to do? Follow my credo - focus on the details. And now I can't get that "every rose has a thorn" out of my head!

This was shot with the Nikon 50mm prime wide open at f1.8, accounting for that great, blurry background - love that! Captured with natural light at a 50th of a second with my ISO up around 400. Very little done to it in Lightroom.

January 21st, 2010

2010-01-21T08:11:00.003-05:00

Here's another in my Rose series . . . this is much more stylized than I am used to showing off - combining my photographic passion with my graphic design skills. I picked a surface that contained a pattern as a starting point for the image creation. The rest is layered effects done in Photoshop.

Shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 with a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second. ISO is down to 100. Processed in Adobe Lightroom and finalized in Photoshop.

January 20th, 2010

2010-01-20T08:26:00.002-05:00

Another in the series of Rose shots . . . this using a technique called Cyanotype to process the image. Shot using natural lighting on the kitchen table. I very much enjoy using natural light when I can as you get this unpredictable, yet very pleasing quality of light that makes for a stunning image.

Shot with the Nikon 50mm prime at a 40th of a second at f/1.8. ISO is up at 400 for this shot.

January 19th, 2010

2010-01-19T08:29:00.001-05:00

Second in my week long attempt to shoot a rose in all different styles and settings . . . this shot is a low key image, shot with a black background and a 'snooted' flash - meaning there's tube around the flash head directing the light right at the rose. I sprayed the rose with some water to breath some life into it - giving it a catch light, which wildlife photographers live off of!

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/1.8 at a 60th of a second. ISO is down to 100.

January 18th, 2010

2010-01-18T08:32:00.002-05:00

So with Valentine's Day a little less than a month away, I thought I'd try something fun this week for my Photo-a-Day challenge. All week long, I am going to shoot roses . . . but each day will showcase a different technique or style - From traditional to a bit more artistic than you're used to seeing from me. First up, today's image is a more traditional shot. I used a light box to illuminate the subject with a high-key background and a single off-camera flash to fill in some shadows. All that was left to do was some cropping and I had my shot!

Captured with the Sigma 70-300 macro at 250th of a second at f5.6 with an ISO of 100. Flash fired from the SU800 commander unit atop the camera. Fired from camera right.

January 17th, 2010

2010-01-17T09:31:00.002-05:00

Here's a shot from my Droid Eris that contains a 5.0 mega pixel camera. I am playing more and more with the built in camera on my phone, and also the legion of downloadable Aps used to edit photos right in the phone. I'll be doing this at lest once a week during the last couple months of this year long photo challenge.

January 16th, 2010

2010-01-16T09:37:00.003-05:00

Call me crazy, but I love scenes like this . . . this is a barricade on a walkway on 42nd street from one avenue to another - not sure which. There's some new construction going on and this is a typical scene along NYC walkways . . . I love the color, the type and the graffiti designs on the plywood . . . put a model in front of this and you'd have an amazing urban photo shoot!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at 250th of a second with an f-stop of 5.6. ISO is down to 100.

January 15th, 2010

2010-01-15T08:17:00.004-05:00

This is a shot at the western gateway to the Bryant Park. There is a pink granite fountain called the Josephine Shaw Lowell Memorial Fountain, dedicated in 1912. This was the city's first public memorial dedicated to a woman. Lowell (1843-1905) was a social worker and founder of the Charity Organization Society. Charles Adams Platt designed the fountain. As beautiful as the fountain is - Mother Natures addition of icicles surrounding the still flowing water made for a spectacular show.

Captured with the 70-200mm VR at 1/5000th of a second at f2.8 with an ISO of 100.

January 14th, 2010

2010-01-14T08:06:00.004-05:00

And here we are outside the library in Bryant Park. Every winter, they set up a free skating rink. The diversity of skill set on the ice was varied. You had people hugging the rail and other in the middle doing Olympic-style maneuvers. Was a whole lot of fun to watch and shoot. We got there just as the Zamboni was making it's way around the ice . . . stay tuned for that shot!

Captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at f5.6 with my ISO back down to 100.

January 13th, 2010

2010-01-13T08:08:00.004-05:00

Final shot from inside the New York Public Library . . . these chandeliers hang in each of the numerous stairwells in and around the buildings. The challenge in a shot like this is balancing the light coming from the bulbs with with the rest of the exposure . . . this left me with a very moody shot with shadows creeping in from the corners . . . . very nice effect, I think.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime shooting at 160th of a second at f2.8. ISO is up to 250.

January 12th, 2010

2010-01-12T08:15:00.002-05:00

The books you see here are what amount to the NYC Public Library's card catalog - in bound form. What you see are the only the 200's . . . I didn't see them all, but I did notice at the end of the row, it was up into the 600's. It's an amazing collection of materials . . . and the more I look back at the images I shot, the more I want to return and spend more time there shooting.

This was captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at f/5.6 at a 30th of a second. My ISO is bumped up to 800.

January 11th, 2010

2010-01-11T08:11:00.004-05:00

I love books . . . when browsing the shelves at a bookstore, I could get lost for hours. Put me in a historic building with one of the largest collections of texts, and I am in heaven! The NYC Public Library is a treasure trove of photographic opportunities.

Captured with the Sigma 10-20mm at a 60th of a second at f/5.6 with an ISO up at 400. This shot has become my new favorite shot.

January 10th, 2010

2010-01-10T09:50:00.002-05:00

First up, here's the video celebrating 9 months of the Photo-a-Day challenge. I am rounding third and the home stretch is in sight! I've got something BIG planned for the next Photo-a-Day blog and it does involve you! So stay tuned!!

Now I'd like to introduce you to Fortitude. Many of you will recognize him as one of the guardians of one of the most powerful places on the planet. He and his brother sit outside the New York Public Library. I call it one of the most powerful places on the planet because if knowledge is power, then the knowledge contained within these walls is staggering. It's an amazing place - if you have only just walked around the facade of the building, I urge you to go inside - you will not be disappointed!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm prime at 125th of a second at f/3.2. ISO is down to 100. Processed in Lightroom and finished with OnOne's PhotoTools 2.5.

January 9th, 2010

2010-01-09T14:59:00.003-05:00

Just got back from my NYC photo shoot . . . and boy, was it cold! How cold? Cold enough to form ice on the Hudson River . . . and if you knew what's in the Hudson River, than you know it freezing is a pretty amazing feat!!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 1/3200th of a second with an f-stop of 1.8. My ISO was set down to 100.

January 8th, 2010

2010-01-08T10:07:00.002-05:00

So it's snowing out . . . Again! I do have to say, snow - for a photo-a-day blog - give me all sorts of shots to work with. This background - a retaining wall - would have gone to solid tan blur, but with the small steps built into the structure - and the snow collecting on those steps, I get a nifty background for this composition.

Shot with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 350th of a second at f/2.8. ISO is down to 100.

January 7th, 2010

2010-01-07T08:42:00.002-05:00

Where do I find my inspiration . . . everywhere and everything around me. This shot was inspired by a recent episode of Mythbusters where the guys tested and confirmed the myth of explosive decompression. The prop was bought at one of my favorite prop shops - Home Goods. Seriously, on any given day, you can find all sorts of great props for cheap at Home Goods. Antique looking things, regional/cultural decor . . . it's a great place to shop! I just picked up an amazing floor to ceiling mirror for my studio for under $100!

This was captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR shooting wide open at f2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second at an ISO of 100. Lit from below and to the left by two Nikon Speedlights and fired remotely from an SU800 commander unit.

January 6th, 2010

2010-01-06T08:38:00.003-05:00

Taken with my camera phone - trying to prove the point that the best camera is the one you have with you - ala Chase Jarvis and his book/iPhone ap. While this isn't taken with an iPhone, the theory is still solid. As with most camera phones, most of the creative settings are taken away from you save for White Balance, so a few clicks and touches on the camera menu allows me to get creative with the overall hue of the image via a while balance adjustment. Give it a try yourself!

January 5th, 2010

2010-01-05T08:50:00.002-05:00

Here's a technique I've been dying to try and might just revisit as I don't think I nailed it quite yet. It's simply a drop of red food coloring as it dilutes in water. I shot this quickly, but if I were to spend some more time with it, I think I can get the entire thing a bit sharper.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at f/8 with a shutter speed of 250th of a second. My ISO is down to 100 and am am lighting the entire thing with two Nikon Speedlights fired via a commander unit on top of my camera.

January 4th, 2010

2010-01-04T08:19:00.003-05:00

There's a reason why photographers get up before the sun . . . and no, it's not insanity. I left the warmth of my bed this morning to great the 3 degrees of fridged weather to capture great color. The sky was amazing with wide swaths of blue and pink . . . and I thought the best way to capture this was the color reflection in the fluid dynamics of ice flow. Not only did I manage to find some great wind swept ice, but I also found a composition with some animal tracks in it . . . totally worth getting up for!

Captured with the Nikon 70-200mm VR at 160th of a second at f/2.5 with an ISO of 400.

January 3rd, 2010

2010-01-03T10:53:00.003-05:00

I love finding small details when shooting on location . . . these cabinet door knobs were irresistible to shoot. That, combined with the painting technique on the cabinet door made this a shot not to miss.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at a 100th of a second at f/1.8. My ISO was bumped all the way up to 800.

January 2nd, 2010

2010-01-02T10:01:00.004-05:00

The holiday's are officially over and I've eaten as much as I could possibly want . . . can't stuff any more in, I think! Thought this little guy would make a great image of the day and a reminder that New Year's Resolutions are calling . . .

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at an 80th of a second with an f-stop of f/1.8. ISO is all the way up at 800 for this shot.

January 1st, 2010

2010-01-01T10:18:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year! This year, I have resolved to double my creative output and as April 9th, 2010 nears - the date that marks one full year of Photo-a-Day. I have an even more challenging idea for my next Photo-a-Day blog and it involves YOU! But I'll get more into that later . . . For today's image, I do what I do best . . . seek out the details. In a home full of amazing decorations, I found this little cherub that wished to be photographed . . . couldn't resister her.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime shooting wide open at f1.8 with a shutter speed of a 50th of a second with my ISO up to 800.

December 31st, 2009

2009-12-31T09:16:00.002-05:00

This last shot for 2009 combines a couple techniques . . . the standard Close-Up shot for the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired lamp shade, and the Bokeh technique of the blurred background, which comes courtesy of some white Christmas lights on a piano set aways back from the lamp.

Captured with the Nikon 50mm prime shooting at a 60th of a second with an f-stop of f/1.8 and an ISO of 400.

December 30th, 2009

2009-12-30T07:20:00.003-05:00

Artist's tools have always fascinated me . . . I use lenses and a camera body to capture a scene while they use a variety of brushes to create their own vision of a scene - or even something unimaginable until they put it down on canvas. I love to talk with artists, watch them work . . . see their own improvisational skills at work. I try very hard to keep that spirit alive in my own work as a photographer . . .

This was captured with the Nikon 50mm prime at 1/6000th of a second at f/1.8. My ISO is down at 100. The reason for the high shutter speed was this mug full of brushes was sitting in a window with direct access to the afternoon sunlight . . . it was streaming in the window giving me wonderful natural lighting to work with.