May 3rd, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!