MOG Walkway

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.

Approaching the Pillars

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.

Small Light Stream

One more Bob V. tribute!

I took a series of close-up, Autumn stream shots just down from the Kilgore Falls pictured in my last entries. They turned out OK, but not too exciting. Then I remembered seeing how Bob improved a Bryce Canyon shot with a pan mask crop in the last folio. So I just scooted the smaller frame mount over the pics and arrived at this. I really utilized the 3D World mounting jig for the first time on this one, to try to save everyone too much eyestrain!  (and criticism) 🙂 

The DOF, of course,  suffers shooting at such a close and slanted angle.  But the shapes and colors remind me a bit of Klimt and other curvy,  Fin de Siècle paintings. So, I can just enjoy the pure abstraction of it, without worrying just how sharp or well exposed everything is.  I like looking at the floating, squiggly highlights and finding all the tiny, nearly invisible jets and drops of water poking out in depth. View this one with maximum lighting, if you can!

Artscape #2

This was taken at Baltimore’s Artscape Festival in July – said to be the largest, free outdoor arts event in the country. I set out to do a series of slides to contribute to a  “Summer in the City” themed  gallery group show  last year. The gallery was enthused about the stereo format, but we still have a way to go in presentation ideas and executions for them.

This was shot at a performance by the frenetic “Baltimore Rock Opera Society” (BROS).  Think Ed Wood-meets-Bosch, set loose on the sweltering streets – but the music and singing was actually pretty decent. I just set up my tripod and TL-120 behind a stage, hoping not to get knocked over.

Tacky, silly, and so very Baltimore, Hon!

Fresh Fruit

I did another small series of MD Renn Fest  shots this Fall, but a freak Oct. snowfall prevented me from doing the PA one this year.

April, the confident, photogenic vendor shown here, was introduced to me by Tom, (another roving, middle-aged photographer who was toting an impressive lens and digicam). 🙂 He said he has a Realist camera and was into NSA and such a few years ago, and I invited him to jump back into the fold.

Anyway, I did a few shots of her and others that warm day. I waited until the later afternoon when the sun slanted thru the thick, forest canopy of the grounds. It really is a special time, and no, I didn’t usually bother with fill-flash or reflectors. I like the way the sharp lighting heightens the fabric textures of the costumes, even at the expense of harsher shadows on the skin. Check out the fine print detail on those bills she holds!  I got a whole, small series of various Renn Denizens, (including 1st attempts at Bob V. Style close-up portraits).  I’ll slip more into the folios to come.

US Consulate at the Chateau

The Stars and Stripes and the US Seal are subtle signs of the US Consulate close to Quebec City’s Chateau Frontenac: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Frontenac

The Consulate is witness to two centuries of friendship between the US and Canada following the war of 1812. I am playing in the early morning light with a mirror to juxtapose adjacent objects in new ways.

Original slide shot October 10th, 2011 with a tripod-mounted Sputnik using Provia 100P exposed at 1/25th at f22.

Champlain at the Chateau

A large statue of Samuel de Champlain stands beside the Chateau Frontenac, in honour of his founding of Quebec City over 400 years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_de_Champlain

In this early morning light I am playing with a mirror creating a picture within a picture, juxtaposing adjacent objects in new ways.

 

Original slide shot October 10th, 2011 with a tripod-mounted Sputnik using Provia 100P exposed at 1/25th at f22.

Old Quebec City and the Citadelle

A historic building of old Quebec City is juxtaposed in the mirror onto the green fields surrounding the Citadelle, the city’s fortifications:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadelle_of_Quebec

In this series I have played with a mirror to juxtapose adjacent objects in new ways.

Original slide shot October 9th, 2011 with a tripod-mounted Sputnik using Provia 100P exposed at 1/25th at f20.

Green oval on Burning Bush

The green leaves in the oval mirror are in striking contrast to the red of the Burning Bush. It is ironic that the shrub is called a Burning Bush as it sits in front of Quebec City’s Armoury that burned in July 2008: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City_Armoury

In this series I have played with a mirror to juxtapose adjacent objects in new ways. I am bothered by the softness of the image in the mirror, probably caused by the wind moving the mirror, but my wife likes it the most of the four and asked me to include it anyway.

Original slide shot October 9th, 2011 with a tripod-mounted Sputnik using Provia 100P exposed at 1/25th at f20.

Blue Flower

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.

YOYO & Fireworks #8

Captured at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Washington, August 2011.

Last year there were fireworks at the Evergreen State Fair and I didn’t know about it until it was happening. I was in a rotten spot to capture them and it all ended in tears.

This year I got the dates for the fireworks beforehand and guesstimated some good spots for shooting.