Author Archives: Bob Venezia

White Spiders on Golden Blossoms

by Bob Venezia

White Spiders On Golden Blossoms

Fireworks on Lake Union in Seattle

How about some fireworks to celebrate the arrival of Jet Weston Co? Congratulations to Boris and Michele.

This was captured on US Independence Day 2013 from the roof of a condo overlooking Seattle’s Lake Union. I had the roof to myself and was able to space my cameras 40 feet apart. On a previous attempt I had spaced the cameras 20 feet apart based on calculations from a Don Lopp formula. But when Don saw the images he told me that since there was nothing behind the fireworks I could go double on the distance. As usual, things go well when I listen to Don.

The cameras were 2 Hasselblad 500Cs with 150mm lenses. Film is Provia 100F. Aperture at f16 and I would count off about 8 seconds from when the fireworks started popping.

Welcome Jet Weston Co! Mazeltov!

Light Rain #2

by Bob Venezia
Light Rain

Fireworks on Seattle's Lake Union, 4 July 2013

This is the fourth year I’ve attempted to capture Seattle’s 4th of July fireworks display. I have a perfect spot for shooting them, provided by a good friend. Every previous attempt has had its problems. In 2010 the triggers I used worked in my basement but not in the field. So I came down off the roof disappointed and my friend Jim, an inventor, asked me to describe the problem. Some months later he presented me with a box containing some solenoid triggers.

2011 worked better but I was trying to do too many things at once. The triggers worked pretty well but in the end I only had a couple of usable shots. When I say usable I mean awesome. The Hasselblads were spaced about 20 feet apart, based on a formula I got from Don Lopp.

When Don saw the photos he said, “You know, since you don’t have infinity in the shot you could double the distance between the cameras.” I was shooting the fireworks against a dark sky (which presents a problem in aiming the cameras) but I resolved to shoot with greater separation.

In 2012 I had 40 foot separation but my aim was not good and I didn’t get anything I could use.

Fast forward to 2013. I asked my friend to make the triggers more powerful as there were times when it seemed the signal wasn’t strong enough to go over long distances. James did beef up the triggers such that he thinks I could trigger from several miles without that problem! This year the triggers were good, the aim was near perfect, and a I got some really nice shots. 40 foot separation between cameras. I’m currently too protective of the best ones to send them out on tour but even the “also-rans” are quite good! And I hope I can get to share some of these with you in person!

And I can’t wait ’til next year!

Rose Petals with Leaf and Droplets

by Bob Venezia
Rose Petals & Leaf With Droplets

Rose from Mandy's garden shot in a DIY macro box

 

I had been wanting to try out some close-up subjects with my hasselblads and I remembered seeing some great close-up flower images that Hai Tran had shown me. And Dale Walsh shared some close-up MF-3D at one of the NSA conventions. So I started shooting some experiments.

Of course after I started shooting I got all my film mixed up so I can’t exactly tell you what I did! But I’m going to start over again when I have the time and do some better documenting!

This was shot with a hasselblad on a slide bar. I think the separation between the lens centers is about 1/2 inch. The foremost part of the rose isn’t as sharp as I want it. But I think the leaf looks awesome! And the lighting on this setup worked out better (on the leaf) than in subsequent setups, and I am going to try to match this look.

I clearly needed some dust control. The rose blossom was heavy and I propped it up with a little tripod bent out of wire but I wasn’t clever enough in hiding it so you can see a sliver of it on the bottom.

I built a DIY macro box based on this post on strobist:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

I’m not done exploring this.

Large Golden Slinky

by Bob Venezia
Giant Golden Slinky

The ride "Enterprise" in action at the Puyallup Fair in Western Washington

 

This is a shot of the ride “Enterprise” at the Puyallup (pyoo AL ip) Fair in Western Washington. The Puyallup is one of the granddaddies of all the fairs. Its url is thefair.com.

See what I’m sayin’?

The enterprise starts out as a flat disk and then tilts up, making a fun pattern. The ride doesn’t last very long!

Trick or Treat!

by Bob Venezia
Trick or Treat!

White sandstone formations in the area of the Pillars of Silence

This one reminds me of old-school halloween costumes. All you need is a sheet.

This was taken in the same area as my image, “Approaching the Pillars” from the last round. I hired a photo guide out of Page, Arizona and he would take me around to great spots each morning and evening.

Taken with the TL-120.

 

Luminous Wheel Fun n Games

by Bob Venezia

The Giant Wheel at the Evergreen State Fair is illuminated behind the Fun n Games concession.

This is the one shot of the Giant Wheel and Fun n Games that worked for me this year. †his image does have some retinal rivalry but I think it serves to give the image a bit of action and adds to the image.

Fortitude in the Snow

by Bob Venezia

The lion Fortitude at the NYC Public Library after a snowfall.

The 2 lions at the NY Public Library have been called the most beloved pieces of public art in the city. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. This is a portrait of Fortitude the morning after a snowfall that paralyzed the area. It doesn’t look like a lot of snow but it hit the airports hard and our flight out was pushed back by more than a week.

MOG Walkway

by Bob Venezia
MOG Walkway #1

Looking up from a walkway outside the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

Yeah, not a whole lotta depth. But I took it and you’re gonna look at it!

It was a bit of a challenge to shoot as I wanted the lenses parallel to the ceiling and it was an awkward position from which to check my framing.

TL-120, 1/2 second at f19, Provia 100F. Taken on New Year’s Eve 2009.

Chelsea Market

by Bob Venezia
Chelsea Market

Street scene in the Chelsea district

Visiting Manhattan over Christmas 2010 we got socked in by a blizzard. Our flight was cancelled so I got in a few more days of shooting scenes in the snow. Here I’m precariously perched on a mound of snow and could have used some snowshoes on my tripod. I love the quality of the saturated color in the reflections.

Twin Hasselblad 500Cs on a custom wood bar, 50mm, Provia 100F.

Approaching the Pillars

by Bob Venezia
Approaching the Pillars

An area near the Pillars of Silence

When I visited the Southwest a few years back I stopped in Page, Arizona, and hired a photoguide to cart me around to some interesting spots. There’s one spot called the Pillars of Silence where there’s a deep layer of white sandstone topped by a harder layer of rock. As the cliffs erode there are places where a hard rock is still protecting the soft sandstone directly below it so you get to an area full of white pillars each with a stone cap. It looks like an art installation. This photo is of an area right before you get to the pillars. You can see the amazing patterns made in the sandstone as it melts away. It reminds me of brain matter!

Shot with the TL-120, Provia 100F, f22, on a tripod. Shutter unrecorded.

Blue Flower

by Bob Venezia

The Giant Wheel at the Evergreen State Fair, now in LED!

The outfit that provides the rides for the Evergreen State Fair and Central Washington Fair is Butler Entertainment. This year they’ve outfitted their Giant Wheel with LEDs. I prefer the incandescent lights, but I know the LEDs will save a lot of energy. And the LEDs look pretty cool in my time-lapse movies. On film they can have nice patterns (or some with nauseating color) but they often look like big TV sets.

The rides always look (to me) like some great engine of science fiction when captured on film, and of course people should be mesmerized by it. So I’m glad the fellow on the left is doing his part.

Carousel Light Bokeh

by Bob Venezia

Shallow DOF in a long exposure at night.

Normally I don’t think to use shallow depth of field for my stereoscopic photos but I’ve been inspired by the work of my friend Frank Roberto. It was very late, around midnight after the Evergreen State Fair was closed, that I took this shot. It was obviously a long exposure — it came out looking like noon! I miscalculated the light as I didn’t expect it to be this bright but I was pleasantly surprised to see it.

Shot with TL-120 at f2.8 using Velvia 50. Shutter unrecorded.