The Photography Mine

Alone in the Dark but with Pattern

2012-01-27T17:20:00.002-06:00

I am going to defend the couple in this picture. It is better to be early than late. Besides, since I took this picture, I must have been early, also.

The problem with this shot was the great difference in light levels. Of course, I decided to allow the back of the room be a little dark to bring the far and near walls to a better exposure level. I was willing to let the windows be bright. Another approach would be to produce a HDR picture. The problem was that I did not have a tripod. I still like the shot.

The Joke

2012-01-16T14:19:00.000-06:00

I asked the couple to repeat the joke but they just smiled.

Today's photograph is a cooperative effort. Sherri took the original raw picture and I played with it.

Hands

2012-01-13T08:05:00.000-06:00

I got tired of my neighbors on the left. These are the hands of my neighbor on the right. We all need some helping hands sometimes in our lives. I asked her if she also had cold feet.

The room was very dark and what light was present was an orange with flashes of blue and purple. The lens on my Canon 5D II was a 50 mm, 1.2. The ISO was set to 32000.

You Don't Get to Pick Your Neighbors

2011-10-19T11:23:00.000-05:00

I have some strange neighbors. I think that they drink. Maybe they were not born near here? I am sure that they need to be outside in the sun much more.

2011-10-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

A person who would let a dog sleep on their leg can not be all bad. Meet Sherri and Cronus. Cronus is sometimes called "grand dog" by my daughter. Cronus is the best alert guard dog. If something is near the house, he sounds as if he would kill you if you don't retreat. The secret is that he has never bitten anyone and he likes people that he knows.

Bridge Angel?

2011-09-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

This bridge angel was on the Danube. (I assume it is still there.) I shot the picture from a boat in the middle of the river. The picture was cropped to less than one third of the original size. The original shot had too many wires, poles, people, cars, etc. I tried to emphasize the curve of green produced by the statue.

Energy Break

2011-09-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken by Sherri. It is one of her street photography efforts. I like the vertical lines of the columns, the sign behind the lady and the edge of the display case that match the image of the girl.

Charles Bridge

2011-09-04T16:24:00.000-05:00

The Charles Bridge was often listed as a "must see" sight.

I had hopes that one of you would comment on the previous picture. The building with the eyes is the resort where the Potsdam conference of WWII was held.

The Eyes Have It

2011-08-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

The building is watching you. Don't litter or pick the flowers!

ABC-Another Beautiful Cathedral.

2011-08-20T12:03:00.000-05:00

Today, I wanted to show what is possible with a smaller camera. This shot was taken with my new Canon S95. It will easily fit in my shirt pocket. It can do many of the things that my larger 5D Mark II can do except I am limited to the lens that is on the S95. Now for a few secrets, I don't remember which church this image represents. It is either a church in Prague or Dresden. So, it is a ABC scene, another beautiful cathedral. I saw so many town squares and churches that they all vaugely merged in my memories.

The Long Divide

2011-08-18T14:05:00.000-05:00

This image is another shot of the Berlin Wall. I am standing on what was the East Berlin side. This remaining section is about one block long. I tried to make the wall appear to continue forever.

Divides in the World

2011-08-14T13:18:00.001-05:00

Fifty years ago, East Germany started building the Berlin Wall. Part of the wall has been preserved and this shot is my picture of the present-day wall from my July trip. Notice the '89 graffiti on the wall indicating when the wall started to be removed.

Check Point Charlie

2011-08-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

Many things in Berlin are younger than I am, although the Germans have rebuilt many locations to look old. Here is a shot of the tourist fake "Check Point Charlie". The real building is in some museum. This replicate is located about a half block from the site of the original check point. The original site is now a vacant lot with some tables for drinks. Notice the new building with a McCafe behind the guard building.

I later passed through Check Point Baker and the site was just old buildings on the highway.

Human Changes

2011-08-10T10:06:00.000-05:00

Sherri lingered behind the tour group to take this shot early in the morning. The Danube was no longer blue but grey and I never saw anyone fishing in the river. I like Sherri's picture. It shows the effects of using a river in an urban environment for transportation.

Toes

2011-07-18T16:59:00.000-05:00

I have a new Canon S95 and I am just learning to use it. This shot was taken with the auto setting.

This is my trainer

2011-06-29T08:34:00.000-05:00

This image is another shot of the model in Nashville. The buildings in the background are in an old fort that now contains the county office buildings. The model was standing in the shade of a large tree to block part of the late mid day sun. I wanted to blur the background. I was using two soft boxes to either side and a flash on my camera with a Fong diffuser. The main soft box was the one to my right. I wanted the model to pop.

Floating in Air?

2011-06-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

I was recently in a room with no visual clues as to its size or shape. I could not see the walls, floor, or ceiling. The entire area was just white. Today's contribution is of a model in this room. She was positioned in the center of the room and I illuminated her with one flash attached to my camera. I used three fingers of my left hand to reflect some skin tones. Yes, I know that perhaps the picture could have been better with the flash off the camera and with a diffuser. Later, I took shots with two, three and four Speedlites flashes, all with soft boxes on them.

What's Your Game?

2011-06-03T14:20:00.000-05:00

This image is one of Sherri's pictures. I like the colors in the ball with the shirt. Notice the heart in the ball and the intense concentration on the young man's face. The moving car clearly shows that the game was in the street.

Red Blue and Green

2011-05-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

Summer is almost here and we will be outside more. Today's picture was a part of my testing of blurs. But, it also contains the blue, red and green of the color charts. The biggest advantage of this picture is that it does not contain a car with a funny plate.

Number One Car

2011-04-25T16:58:00.000-05:00

I wonder who owns this car!

Boot Shine Blur

2011-04-04T06:51:00.000-05:00

I must have attended the Houston Rodeo on the worst day. It was during Spring Break and a Saturday. In some locations it was hard to walk and to photograph. Perhaps you cannot judge but the boots belong to a young woman. She appeared to be a real Westerner and not a weekend wariour.

The Picnic Queen

2011-03-22T15:46:00.000-05:00

f/3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 160, partial center focus, at 1.5 meters with 24-70 mm lens at 58mm

I decided to practice my partial focus techniques at a picnic on Saturday. I was trying to use focus to highlight one subject. This image is one of my attempts at chosing a subject in the middle of the frame and the middle of the possible depth of field with blurred objects in front and behind the subject. I had better results with either spot or center focus and a shallow depth of field.

After the Rodeo

2011-03-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

Is this scene how you feel after the Rodeo?

Space Mushrooms

2011-03-08T22:14:00.000-06:00

This picture was produced by my wife, Sherri. She was awarded a Gold rating at our Photo Club. The subject for the month was "blur". She shot an amusement ride at Kemah, TX.

Tovar

2011-02-22T11:54:00.000-06:00

14mm lens, F/16, 1/50, ISO 160, Daylight WB

This image of the Tovar Lodge was taken later in the day but not a sunset.

Grand Canyon Corner

2011-02-17T17:27:00.000-06:00

Canon 5DII, 14mm f/2.8L II USM lens, f/4.0, 1/13 sec, ISO 2000, +0.33ev

I know that the Holiday Season is over for 2010; but I am still processing pictures from my stay in the Lodge at the Grand Canyon. This image is from the main lobby of the Lodge on Christmas evening. The room was a little dark and I was not using a flash. I was using a very wide lens but I straightened the lines within PhotoShop. I increased the saturation more than I normally do. Perhaps I was still in a Holiday mood; but also, I want to have some color in the rainbow in the picture on the wall.

Morning Light at Grand Canyon

2011-02-08T11:07:00.000-06:00

Canon 5DII, 50mm lens, f/11.0, 1/250 sec, ISO 160, HDR

This image is another example of the lighting in the Canyon being produced by the morning sun and the low clouds. The HDR was produced with three frames of -2, 0, +2 exposure.

Grand Canyon Morning

2011-02-03T19:44:00.000-06:00

Canon 5DII, 50mm f/1.2L USM lens, f/11.0, 1/320, ISO 250, HDR

The clouds were low and sometimes below the canyon rim. You can see the shadows in the lower part of the frame in addition to the far canyon wall.

Grand Canyon Clouds

2011-01-30T15:39:00.000-06:00

Canon 5DII, 14.0mm F/2.8L II USM lens, f/16.0,1/60 sec, ISO 160, HDR

I am less enthusiastic about this image but I was trying to capture the white clouds and the canyon wall effect of pointing to the same general spot in the distance. Perhaps there is too much of the green tree in the center of the frame.

Grand Canyon at Christmas

2011-01-25T16:05:00.000-06:00

Canon 5DII, 50mm f/1.2 lens, f/11.0, 1/200 sec, ISO 160, HDR

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day at an old lodge on the Grand Canyon. This image is one of the many pictures taken during the two and one half days visit. The days were cold and a weather front was producing low hanging clouds and snow. The canyon had less haze than I found on my two previous trips. The clouds were intermittent and the far canyon wall had many points of brighter lights. I tried to capture these spots of illumination and the river at the bottom of the canyon.

Liquid Art

2011-01-23T21:10:00.000-06:00

I am not sure what the importance of the bottles is. Since the image was taken inside a catholic church in the Houston area, I assume that the liquid may be holy water or perhaps wine. I tried to add to the display's purpose by making art with it.

The area was dark and the picture was taken with a high ISO.

Bow Jabail and Bow Sky

2010-12-04T17:28:00.000-06:00

Today's image was taken by my wife from a tug boat in the middle of one of Houston's ship channels. The camera was set at f7.1 with a shutter of 1/250, ISO 100. She was using a Canon 5D Mark II camera and 16-35mm 2.8L lens at 25 mm. I did the processing with PhotoShop CS5 and other Nik software.

The picture shows two chemical tankers docked at a tank farm near Seabrook.

2010-11-22T08:41:00.000-06:00

If you were going to build a house would you hire this designer?

Cullen's

2010-11-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

I am thinking about building a new house or buying this one. This building appears to have some gun turrets. Maybe it is a castle. I think that the parking is too big. Too many people may want to sleep at my house.

Are We Close?

2010-11-12T15:39:00.000-06:00

Have you been to the Mall lately? I don't find much decoration with a Thanksgiving theme. It seems to be all about Christmas. So we must be close?

Father-Daughter

2010-10-14T16:54:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it is just obvious that people are related. The gentleman in the photograph is an office mate to my wife and the lady is his daughter.

The room was very dark. I was using a telephoto lens and a very high ISO. Another weaker technique was that my flash was on my camera in ETTL mode and I was at the distance limits of the flash. Never the less, I think that the image is an interesting one.

Personality

2010-10-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

This image is one that I took last month in Galveston; or, maybe the timing was August. Our young model had a refreshing personality. I like her face turned upward and the left hand on the far side of the column. Hiding most of the butterfly shirt behind the column helps focus our attention on her face. The shot was taken with only available light.

Sit

2010-10-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

This image is for my daughter. During a small break in our travel, I believe that she was trying to train her dog, Cronus, to sit. Her mother took the picture but I did a little processing of the file to put it on the blog.

Future Reporter?

2010-10-04T10:27:00.000-05:00

This image is of my son taken in Washington D. C. when he was 7 years old. He is standing near the White House fence producing a similar effect to that used by many reporters. I believe that the reporters try to smile. I do want to deny that I had any input in the the clothes that he was wearing; and, the shirt that he is wearing is not a UT, burnt orange shirt.

Belinda 15

2010-09-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

Today's contribution is an image of my daughter when she was almost 15 years old. The original picture was taken with a common home camera using slide film. I scanned the slide at 300 dpi after cleaning; but, I always have trouble with removing all the dust spots. So, I spent some time removing the black specks. I have some concerns that I smoothed the image too much; but, I am told by some of the female members of the family that women react positively to smoothing.

Does she resemble the Beck side of the family? You may feel that she looks like her mother. Few of you have ever seen a picture of one of the Brown relatives; so, it would be hard to make that comparison.

Old Farm Equipment

2010-09-28T15:41:00.000-05:00

The first cool front has passed Houston. There is a sense of Fall in the air. So I needed an image that had a similar sense. For those of you who know more about farming, I believe this equipment is actually some kind of planter that would be used in the Spring.

Broken Egg Plot

2010-09-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

Small accidents can add to my photography skills. I was not planning to eat eggs for breakfast but I hit the egg with the box that would have been the meal. How about a picture before removing all the evidence? Sherri never needs to know! My story was that I planned this entray. I even prepared scrambled eggs, which I hate, so she could eat part of the bounty. Now I am a good husband and I have a picture of a broken egg.

Mother and Daughter

2010-09-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

Yes, these ladies are the two most important women in my life. I am not much of a portrait photographer; but, of course, I like this picture. Yes, I did take the shot in a dark room during a wedding reception. I looked at this image several times before I realized that Sherri had a scarf around her neck. No, that black material is not a scarf; it is the strap to her Canon camera that she is hiding behind her back.

Belinda at Heather's Wedding

2010-09-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

This is an image of the young girl from yesterday's offering, same girl but 27 years apart. She does not look unhappy in this image. She has neither her mother's brown eyes nor my blue eyes.

Independent Girl

2010-09-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

Another picture from almost 30 years ago is today's offering. My daughter, Belinda, was sitting on the ground in front of our house. Today she is a very independent lady; and, although the connection was not intended at the time, I like the image and its prediction.

Cheetos Fuel Future Computer Professionals

2010-09-18T09:33:00.000-05:00

I often work to improve old pictures to share with the family. It is so easy to lose old photographs! The more copies that many people possess, the greater the probabilities that one copy with survive.

This image is a picture of my son, Brian, from about 1980. He is in the basement of our home in Russell, KY. Since he is wearing a robe and one of his parents had time to take the shot, I am going to suggest that the timing was a weekend morning, probably Sunday since he is already munching on Cheetos. The family ( read Wayne over the objections of his wife (;->} ) had just purchased their first computer, an Apple 2. Brian now uses computers to help determine the structure of proteins. And my wife later obtained a Masters Degree in computer science. The moral of the story is to provide the opportunities and let people decide what to do.

The original picture was taken with slide film using a common family camera. The timing was well before Sherri or I had any real understanding of photography. We were just taking pictures of the family. I first cleaned the film; and just before scanning, I used an air blast to further remove dust. There were still many black specks in the resulting file that I removed individually. The colors had faded in 30 years. I tried to improve the image in PhotoShop CS5 and then used Noisewear software to remove more noise and soften his features. The lighting came from two, high windows behind him.

Cliff Dwelling

2010-09-16T20:38:00.000-05:00

This Arizona ruins of an old cliff dwelling is north of Phoenix on the road to Flagstaff. I wonder if we could could live in such cliffs? Or is this house a version of our modern tower apartments?

Cotton and Wire

2010-09-04T11:42:00.000-05:00

Today's image is another cooperative effort. Sherri took the original picture and I processed the file.

I liked the variation in lighting and the diagonal of white cotton boles. The cotton plants were mounted on the wall of the Humble Cafe location near Main Street in the old section of Humble.

Expert Shine

2010-08-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

This picture was taken in Houston near an old fashion barbershop. I was wearing black shoes so I did not pursue the opportunity. After looking at the image again, perhaps they only shine shoes for women. And I am sure that the brand that I was wearing were not the "Expert Brand".

Simple Brown Eyes

2010-08-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Perhaps some of you know that I have an independent streak a mile long. There could be a little stubborn spice in the mix. At a course in New Mexico, I got a big dose of negative re-enforcement about using lighting equipment in the field. The course took all the fun out of photography. I learned to love Natural Lighting. So, during a recent Photo Club field trip designed to let members learn how to use "lights" in the field, I refused to use the opportunity and took all of my pictures using only available light, just me and my Canon. I also did not give the models much direction about posing. I tried to obtain more normal images during breaks and pauses. Are the models really the posed people or the natural people? Besides, it was my camera!

This image was partially posed in the sense that I did asked the model to look at me. I like the absence of a big posed smile. In this picture the eyes dominate the expression. Normally when I talk to people they are standing directly in front of me and squarely facing me, not at a 45 degree angle. I suspect this image captured the look that her friends and family most often see.

The setting sun was to the left of the frame and it gave the model more of a Mona Lisa shadow on her left cheek. I did almost no manipulation in PhotoShop.

Love Sand

2010-08-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

Before Ceremony

After Ceremony

Recently, I attended the wedding of a relative of a co-worker of my wife. Part of the ceremonies were completely new to me. Toward the end of the event but before the final declarations of the minister, the couple combined colored sand. Perhaps my ignorance means that I should attend more wedding? I was told that some locations will not allow the open flame of candles and the "Love Sand" is used in place of lighting candles. I think that I need to work harder at staying current.

First Grade Teacher

2010-08-13T09:44:00.000-05:00

I remember my first grade teacher looked just like the first image. I loved her and was afraid of making her mad so she would look more like the second image. Our model is an actual first grade teacher in the Houston area.

My wife is a much better portrait photographer than I am. These two pictures were shot by her. She took the images while adjusting her lighting at the beginning of the shoot. I am not sure that she intended to do anything with them. But I liked the effect; so, I processed the pictures and even darkened them a little more. Thus, the presentation for today is a team effort.

Pappas Cross

2010-08-11T10:04:00.000-05:00

If you lived in the Houston area, you would recognize the St. Joseph Cross. It is next to Interstate 45. But I have titled this image "Pappas Cross". For religious viewers there is a "one way" message in the frame.

Protection

2010-08-09T09:13:00.000-05:00

What do you need when you go for a hike in the woods? You need protection! You need "dawg" to frighten other animals. You need a hat to soften Mr. Sun. And you need some big people to find the trail.

Woodroe and Viola about 1970

2010-08-07T19:21:00.000-05:00

You saw their wedding day photographs, now view the same couple 30 years later. Yes, I know! My father was wearing a suit; but again, the occasion was special. I think that they looked much the same.

I did not take this picture.

Woodroe's and Viola's Wedding Day

2010-08-05T12:48:00.001-05:00

Today is a good day. I think that I just discovered wedding pictures of my parents. These images were in an old basket of photographs that once belonged to my grandfather. The pictures were not labelled but I recognise my parents. In the pictures they are very young. They were married on 2 November 1941. When you look at the pictures you see leaves on the ground but few are left on the trees. So the picture was taken probably in the Fall. My mother has a ring on her left hand. So the pictures was taken after they were married. The occasion of the picture must have been very important. My father is wearing a suit. He seldom wore a suit and tie. I am not convinced that the suit was his. The pants seem about two inches too long. There were two pictures taken on this occasion. At this stage of their lives, the cost of a camera or pictures were probably a luxury. The newspaper announcement said that Mother wore a blue dress. The dress in the pictures is consistent.

I am convinced that these two pictures were taken on their wedding day.

Mao was not my Friend

2010-08-01T15:13:00.002-05:00

Just in case that any of my younger relatives believe I am older than Mao, I want them to know that this is the closest that I ever came to him and he was already dead. In case you notice that the picture is a little dark, there was a lot of "morning fog" that day. And since I am in the frame, I did not take this picture.

Christen and Door

2010-07-30T10:12:00.000-05:00

Christen with Red Door

Christen (Closer Crop)

Christen was one of three models who posed in front of the red doors at the Galveston field trip. I took all of my pictures with available light only. I worked on two versions of this shot. I am not sure which version of this image that I like best. In the top image the door adds a frame effect and give more information on the local. The second image not only concentrates more on Christen but I have also moved her slightly to the right to place her closer to an one third point. In either case the graffiti on the window door helps give the picture a special flavor.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/2.8, Shutter: 1/250 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 160, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Favorite Pose

2010-07-29T05:24:00.002-05:00

You have seen the feet; now you get to see the face. When instructed by her parents to pose, our young model assumed this position, looking directly toward the flash equipment. When her parents reacted negatively, she stated that she like the pose. Well, I am with her. You can see some honest parts of her personality. Look at her mouth and face.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 60mm, Aperture: Av at f/4.0, Shutter: 1/400 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

These Shoes are Made for Walking

2010-07-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

My photography club had a field trip to Galveston and invited a few models. While our other members were photographing one of the models, I decided to emphasize her shoes.
Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/4.0, Shutter: 1/250 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Smart Decision

2010-07-25T12:03:00.000-05:00

Wayne and Sherri (nee Bryant) Beck

Today's image is another old family picture. There is some discussion of if relatives look like other relatives. Since most of my relatives are much younger than I am, I had to find some pictures of the proper age. I think that I have more of the features of my mother and less of my father.

This picture was taken on my wedding day in 1966. It was a Friday afternoon and we were in a room of a Bible Baptist church with Rev. Chick. That was his name; I swear. Both Sherri and I were 22 years old. I could prove my age with a driver's license but Sherri did not bring her license. I took her to the local Highway Patrol station and had a record check done on her to prove her age.

My children have seen another version of this image; but, this version had a clock remove from the wall, dust spots removed, the color increased, and a little sharpening. There are limits on what can be done when the starting picture is an old, low pixel, blurry image.

Dam Brothers

2010-07-23T11:36:00.000-05:00

I have had a request from a member of my family for old photographs; so, I decided to share a few images with the rest of the family. This shot was in poor shape before I tried a few procedures on it. Since I am within the frame it must be obvious that I did not take this picture. As I remember, my wife took the picture with a fairly cheap and standard camera. The time was 1981 and the location was a dam on the Ohio river near Greenup, KY. For members with bad eyes, I am on the extreme left (It should have been the extreme right.) and my brother Ron is the person on the right. He was about 30 years old. I think that it is hard to tell that we are brothers. I have black hair; he has brown hair. I am handsome.... (;->}

Panda Food

2010-07-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

I am tired of looking at Bee Food; so, we now have Panda Food. Yes, I know that some of my relatives will think that I need to find my camera. But this image gives me a peaceful feeling.

Bee Food

2010-07-14T19:17:00.000-05:00

I present another image from the garden in Port Arthur.

Sandy Drop

2010-07-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

Within the frame is just a small part, the center, of a huge leaf. The owners of the garden had spread a load of sand in the area and the morning rain had collected the dusting of particles to the center of the leaf. The droplet is magnifying the grains.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 64mm, Aperture: Av at f/14.0, Shutter: 1/200 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 640, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

High Water Mark

2010-07-07T09:09:00.001-05:00

As I travel around the Gulf Coast area I notice signs about hurricane Ike. Here is one located in a restaurant in Galveston. For some people the event was a major one. The owners seemed to want the public to know that the water surge was at least 6 feet deep. Maybe it's their way to explain why the cafe was closed.

I left the man in the frame to help people judge the height but I wanted the attention on the marker. So, I left the left side of the image darker.

One Working

2010-07-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

I wonder if it really takes seven men to wet the dirt in the infield. Do you think that they are holding the hose in the same order as their rank? I will bet that the one at the nozzle end is the boss and gets paid more. It takes a lot of training and experience to wet dirt. Now, grass growing is much easier. You just have to watch it. If I were the boss of this crew, I would use more men and stand on the right. The number of people on your crew is directly proportional to your importance.

What Makes it Right?

2010-06-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

I Caught You

Today's image is one of my recent great ones. Now some of you have already decided that Angelica is out of focus, her eyes are shut, and there are distracting elements within the frame. Without listing the other things that are wrong with the picture, you have decided that I am wrong; it is not a great image. Perhaps you are right if the image was for judging.

But you don't have all the information. I still like this image and it makes me smile every time that I see it. All night, Angelica would pose when she saw a camera. She must have a big album of official pictures, all in focus. But I was trying to catch the unguarded moments for her parents. Using a 200mm lens from across the room, I wanted to document the little traits and moments of the night that made Angelica unique. I told Angelica that I was trying to photograph her when she was not posing and she tried to catch me each time. It was a game that we had played for most of the night. Usually I stopped when caught, but this time I quickly press the button. I am glad I did. It is a great photograph!

Student Photographer

2010-06-24T13:15:00.001-05:00

Fellow Student

My wife would like for me to improve my portrait technique. Heck, she would settle for me to show a better attitude about the style and to practice more often. So she enrolled me in an instruction course; and, she went to be sure that I learned something. I learned a lot. Don't take a course with you wife.

Create your own...

2010-06-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

Simple Image??

This picture, on first glance, seems to be a simple image, perhaps overly simple. One may wonder if it is a photograph. It is. But if we view the image in more detail and for a longer time, are there other stories contained within the frame?

This picture was shot inside an establishment in the Clear Lake area. Perhaps we could play a guessing game. Do you know Clear Lake well enough to recognize the business? A hint could be that viewers from Oklahoma City might also recognize the place. Maybe the story of the image is the phrase "create your own..." Create what? Some of you might suggest that I create a better image; but, I am having fun. Sometime it is not the final product; it is the process of getting to the end.

But the real reason that I took the shot is the small spot under the second letter "e". We all have heard someone say that they would like to be a fly on the wall when they wanted to know what was said in the room. Well, that spot is "the fly". I wonder what stories he has to tell?

I really have to go shoot more often!! I need pictures for the blog. Oh, maybe the story is that I need to go create my own images!!

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 38mm, Aperture: Av at f/6.3, Shutter: 1/40 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 500, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

A Full Life

2010-06-16T08:19:00.000-05:00

Port Arthur Lotus

I have always liked the delicate pink tint to white flowers. I have the standard shots with this flower in the center of the frame but I wanted more. It was my intent to blur most of the background. When I moved the flower from the center, I had to think more about balance and the contents of the space on the right of the frame. I was drawn to the flowers with at least one pedal which was about to drop. My wife bypassed all such flowers. I was trying to capture a beautiful flower that probably had had a tough life; but, still had much to offer.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 43mm, Aperture: Av at f/5.0, Shutter: 1/800 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 250, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Above His Knees

2010-06-13T06:07:00.002-05:00

This picture is also from last week's Astros' game with Chicago. I don't remember whether the pitch was a strike or a ball. The batter did not swing; but, he is seeing the ball. The ball is above his knees and the umpire has his left thumb extended. Maybe it was a strike? You get to decide.

A Strike in the Making

2010-06-08T11:24:00.002-05:00

I went to the Astros' baseball game on Sunday. They have a policy of restricting big lenses; so, I decided to only take a 24-70mm lens. I intended to take most of my pictures of the fans in a "street photography" mode. But since I was seated in the second row behind the visitors’ dugout, I did test the limits of 70mm and high pixels. This image is about one fourth of the original size. I tried to catch the ball somewhere in the general area of the batter.

I was able to catch the ball just as it reached the batter. A shutter speed of 1/100 was not fast enough to stop the ball; so, it is the white streak just in front of Number 9. You can tell that he is swinging too high and the pitch will be a strike. Just think what I might have been able to record if I had been able to bring my 70-200mm lens with a 2X extension tube with a tripod!!! I would have settled for a monopod. Well, I have a lot of images of sleeping babies and of ladies texting their friends.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/8.0, Shutter: 1/100 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 1250, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Mother and Twin Sons

2010-06-05T06:18:00.011-05:00

Versa May, Woodroe and Theodore

Today's image is of my grandmother, Versa May, and her two twin sons, Woodroe and Theodore. I can place the time as late July 1918. Versa May and Theodore died about a month after his birth. I don't know which baby is my father. Besides showing my ancestors, I like the scene because Grandmother is looking at her sons and not the camera. She must have felt bad because of the difficult births and the complications that led to her death shortly after this picture was taken. But she still dressed for the picture.

Daddy Daughter Dance

2010-06-03T05:42:00.015-05:00

Angelica with her father

Angelica is one of the most mature 15 years old girls that I know. Her parents need to take part of the credit. Her father was quiet most of the night until he was with his daughter. Her smile brightened the room and her father's heart. I would like to have hear what she said to him to get this reaction. I will bet that it was not about the price of IBM stock.

The room was very dark with strange orange lighting. It took me several hours and many bad images to learn how to achieve a realistic color. My wife asked me what I did. I told her that I play with pictures the same way that my mother taught me to cook. Start with the basics and then add a little spice. Keep tasting and adding spice until you like what you get.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM at 195mm, Aperture: Av at f/4.0, Shutter: 1/30 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 3200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: on, Flash: Fired

Railroad Handcar

2010-06-01T05:21:00.003-05:00

E. A. Beck on left at Hinton, OK Depot

The problem with older photographs, besides their faded quality, is identifying the date when they were taken. I know that my grandfather, Everett A. Beck, is the man on the left. I met him a few times. He was in-charge of the "section gang" at Hinton, OK. Notice that he is wearing a suit coat; but, I think that he still had to do some manual labor. The repair car has a hand pump instead of a motor. You have seen one of these in some old movie. On the far right side of the frame is a horse. So some people were still using wagons or buggies. I know that in the summer of 1941 Grandfather lived in Garber, OK; so, the date was probably in the late 1930's. Everett would have been about 55 years old. Perhaps the picture was taken when the railroad closed most of the facilities at Hinton? My grandfather worked for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until he was 70 years old.

Don't Hold Back

2010-05-30T06:14:00.013-05:00

If you are trying to have fun, don't hold back! Angelica was intent on enjoying the night and you can see it in her smile and eyes. She did not smile just a little; she really let go. This image captured her mood of the night.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM at 200mm, Aperture: Av at f/3.5, Shutter: 1/40 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 2000, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: on, Flash: fired.

Silver Slipper

2010-05-27T05:52:00.001-05:00

This image made me ask questions. Where was the other shoe? I was at a dance but I did not see any ladies with only one shoe or dancing in their bare feet. This shoe looks comfortable and it has a low heals. No one was in the chair next to the shoe. I still wonder!

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM at 100mm, Aperture: Av at f/3.5, Shutter: 1/40 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 2000, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: on, Flash: none.

The Sons of Everett Beck

2010-05-26T09:42:00.000-05:00

Woodroe, Howard, and Harold Beck

After today's image I will probably return to posting more normal images. The original back and white version of this picture was faded and scratched. I tried to improve the quality. The picture must have been taken in the first half of the 1940s since Howard died in 1945. Again I must add a little genealogical data to the image. From the viewer's left the men are my father, Hubert Woodroe (1918 - 2004), Albert Howard (1913 - 1945) and William Henry Harold (1905 - 1973). All these men are the sons of Everett A. Beck and Versa May Hacker. I did not know Howard since he died shortly after my birth. My father, Woodroe, often visited Harold who was very good with little children. He was my favorite uncle and my son also liked him. Ask my son about playing "jingle bells." Harold helped care for my son and wife while I was remote in Alaska for a year.

The sharing of the pictures of ancestors started with the question of whether people in the family had similar features. You now have seen several pictures. How similar do all the Becks appear? I think that I look more like my mother than my father. I have some other family group pictures but I think that I will let the ancestor area rest for awhile.

Just for the sake of completeness, I must state that there were two other children of Everett that I have not mentioned. My father had a twin brother named Herbert Theodore who died 11 weeks after their birth. Also, a daughter with Etha, named Laura May died within the first year of her life.

Daughters of Everett A. Beck

2010-05-25T08:17:00.002-05:00

Daughters of Everett A. Beck

The blog of today is mainly for the younger members of my extended family; so, I have to add some genealogy facts to the image. These ladies are the daughters of my grandfather Beck and his two wives. They happen to be arranged in the order of their ages. Starting on the viewer's left is Agnes Lenore (1907 - 1986). Lenore was one of my favorite aunts and the surrogate mother to my father. Lenore lived much of her life in Colorado. The next lady is Writhe Madge (1910 - 1985). Madge lived in Oklahoma City and never had children so she was very strict with me when I was a child. Catherine Ruth (1916 - 1959) is the California branch of the family. Ruth is the aunt that I don't remember because we seldom visited her. Finally, Tressie Addie (1923 - ) is on the right. All the family called her Sis and she uses Pat as a name. The mother of the first three ladies was my grandmother, Versa May. Sis's mother was Etha.

Now for the photographers, I show a version of the picture that I tried to improve. The original shot was from a simple box camera of about 1955 and processed at the local drug store.

Albert and Maud Beck

2010-05-24T09:39:00.001-05:00

Albert and Maud (nee Hacker) Beck

There seems to be a lot of interest in the appearances of relatives. So, I have found and partially restored some photographs of some my ancestors. I am trying to find images during their younger ages before life had a chance to pound people into the stage that photographers call "character."

This image is of my great uncle and great aunt. I believe that this picture was taken about the time of their marriage in 1904, before Oklahoma became a state. For members of the extended Beck family, I will try to clearly explain the relationships of the people in the photograph. Albert is my grandfather Everett's only brother. Maud is one of the four Hacker sisters. Maud is the sister to the first wife of Everett, my grandmother, Versa May Hacker. Remember that Versa May died at the time of the birth of my father. The second wife of Everett that some of you may have known was a third Hacker sister, Etha Mae Hacker. On the Oklahoma frontier, young people did not meet many other single people so the choice of mates was limited.

Do you see any family traits?

Woodroe Beck, Early 20's

2010-05-21T12:56:00.001-05:00

Woodroe Beck

I have not shared old photographs on my blog before but so many members of my extended family are interested in these pictures that I have included a picture of my father taken in the early 1940's.

Security While texting

2010-05-13T05:46:00.003-05:00

Today's image is another shot from Rice Village. At first I saw only the lady and her shadow. I liked the back light on her hair. She had turned away from the evening sun so she could see the screen on her telephone. You could see the smoke from the cigarette that she was holding. I never saw her place the cigarette in her mouth; she was too intent on the texting. I thought that the potted evergreen plant on the left helped balance and frame the girl. I would probably have snapped a few pictures of her. I thought the whole scene was OK until I saw the word security. That is when I decided to take the shot.

I had preset my camera with settings that I guessed could be used with most typical shots on the street. I was using a larger aperture to blur much of the background. I wanted a faster shutter to stop the motion of the people moving. Since it was about 7:00 p.m., I set the ISO to 320 to get the fast shutter.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/4.5, Shutter: 1/1250 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: none, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 320, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Out of Body Experience

2010-05-08T05:06:00.041-05:00

Today's image was an experiment. What I was trying to do was to place the man's head directly on top of the headless manikin. But the man was pacing randomly and his image was a reflection on the window glass and therefore a mirror image. He was really located to my left, facing to my right. The original picture was in color but the bright and colored objects in the frame claimed too much of my eyes.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/5.0, Shutter: 1/200 sec., Metering Mode: spot, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: none, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 160, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Inside Outside

2010-05-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

I have too many other projects to complete! But I have to find more time for the blog.

This picture was taken in the Rice Village area. The image is the reflection and view through the window of a small dress shop. The flowers were all real plants and each tube had some water. What part of the image is the refection and what items are inside the store?

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 64.0mm, Aperture: Av at f/5.0, Shutter: 1/40 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 100, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Walk Man

2010-04-26T06:00:00.004-05:00

Mr. Walk Man is about the same size as the light on the corner post of Main Street in downtown Houston. Neither man moved from his spot during the 10 minutes that I watched them. I know what the sign ”walk man” was doing; but, what do you imagine that a nicely dressed man was doing on the balcony for such a long time? He was more of a “don’t walk man.” He did seem to fit the theme of scene.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70.0mm, Aperture: Av at f/10.0, Shutter: 1/80 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 1000, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

A salute to Protection

2010-04-24T05:50:00.001-05:00

I thought that I would have more time for some pictures but several other project seem to linger. This shot is from downtown Houston. The wooden statue is outside a cigar store. From this angle the Indian seems to be saluting something, perhaps the police.

Steel Guides

2010-04-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

I was riding the rails last week. OK, it was the Houston Metro Rail system. This shot was made from the center of the street near the University of Houston-Downtown. I guess that I worried some employee of the system because he stopped his truck and told me to leave "their" right-of-way. This trip was the first time that I have ever used the tram system. It seems easy and I bought a ticket but no one checked.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 55.0mm, Aperture: Av at f/10.0, Shutter: 1/200 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 640, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: hand held, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Pants on the Ground

2010-04-09T06:00:00.013-05:00

I got busy with several other projects and completing my tax forms; but now I have some time to post a few more shots from the evening at the Houston rodeo.

Is the clothing fad one that will disapear in the next few years? I don't know how the pants stayed in one fixed position but I did not see the young man adjust the level.

Rodeo Bear

2010-04-01T06:08:00.063-05:00

This image was viewed by the instructor as just another photograph. He cited problems with it being posed and thus the subject knew I was taking the picture. The large bear was a little too cute. What I saw was documentation of a typical scene at the midway. We see an attractive young lady, holding a prize from some game of chance. She is clearly enjoying herself. Even the bear is smiling with her. The pattern of her shirt is similar to the pattern of money on the bear. The devil in the background may make you think about the evils of money. The background identifies the scene as a midway. The sky even has clouds! But most importantly, I was having fun. Apparently we had different objectives.

Now, I noted a few problems with his images. (;->} He showed a back view of a lady with a six foot banana. The banana was a little too silly. Where would someone put a six foot banana? He turned his camera to make a diagonal with the horizon and the background contained several of the rides. In a previous week, he commented that tilting the horizon was Photography 101 level. So, at least, he is inconsistent. The image was a little soft and grainy similar to the old, more famous street photography images. I wouldn’t drive a 1930 automobile; why shouldn’t we use all the modern techniques and technology instead of limiting ourselves to what they were able to produce 50 to 80 years ago?

I think my problem is that my personality type likes facts, known items, details, etc. Many artists seem to operate more on their feelings, how something affects them. So the struggle continues, chocolate vs. vanilla, Canon or Nikon. I think that there is room for all of us.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70mm, Aperture: Av at f/13.0, Shutter: 1/00 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 500, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monomod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

EuroSlide Front

2010-03-30T05:22:00.004-05:00

Another view of the EuroSlide gives a different impression than the previous image; but the two pictures were taken within five minutes of each other. I am standing about 15 feet from the end of the slide. At the time, I wondered why only one young boy came down the slide and all the other people in the other lanes are waiting at the top.

Some of the approaches to street photography that have been discussed in class are:

1. You should usually have people in the frame.

2. Pictures of children are too easy.

3. Posed pictures are not the highest level of the art.

4. Your pictures need to be different and not normally just documentation of the scene.

I am not in total agreement with these suggestions. My main objective is to have fun; so, I might take a shot of almost anything I see, including posed people. And a high quality documentary image of a scene is a good thing.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 57.0mm, Aperture: Av at f/18.0, Shutter: 1/60 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: -0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 1600, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Euro Slide with Speed

2010-03-28T06:00:00.007-05:00

Last Friday my "Street Photography" class went to a rodeo. Again, some of the time was more “Night Photography”. The Houston Rodeo was so crowded and busy that I slipped into a mood to document some of the typical activities one can find at such events. Over the next few weeks, I will share about 10 pictures from the rodeo. I am not sure that Street Photography is my favorate. I will explain more over the next few images.

I may have tried to do too much with this image? I wanted the colorful lights of the Euro Slide against the evening sky. The time was about 45 minutes after sunset. OK, maybe it was an hour. I could not see my watch. I also wanted people in the frame to represent the crowds; but, I decided to have most of them be silhouettes so there would be some details in the sky. I have some head-on shots of the slide but I do like those diagonals of this side shot. This side view also let me include a couple of the other rides in the background, showing more of the activities. It is small but the giant Farris Wheel is in the frame.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/7.1, Shutter: 1/125 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: -0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 2000, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Pasadena Catholic Church

2010-03-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

This is a shot of a Pasadena Catholic Church. It reminds me of the more famous images of the arches at Rice University. Part of my challenges with this picture was that the over-head lights were only being used on the right side of the room. I used a graduated density filter to partly subdue the lighting on that side of the room. If you look closely, you will find a priest in the frame.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 24.0mm, Aperture: Av at f/7.4, Shutter: 1/25 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 3200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Post-Processing: The color was corrected with PhotoShop and the noise was removed with Noiseware Pro software.

St. Joseph Professional Building

2010-03-16T06:39:00.003-05:00

The instructor of the class was determined to get good pictures of the St. Joseph cross. I secretly believe that he picked the location to satisfy his desire for just this image because there was not much else to shoot except homeless people. (I don’t bother the homeless and drugies.) He showed two of his images but said that he liked some of the shots from the class better. My image reminded him and me of a famous picture of Notre Dame in Paris. I must admit that I saw the older picture in class the previous week and copied the approach with the tree limbs when I saw it.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/6.3, Shutter: 1/50 sec., Metering Mode: spot, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 6400, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

What is Your Need?

2010-03-14T06:37:00.002-05:00

The building across the street is the Co Cathedral Catholic Church of Houston. When it relates to a church, what is a special need? I found the sign a little unusual. I positioned the picture to place the bars in front of the building hoping the effect was to emphansize the special needs idea. I have never tried bracketed shots at night but on my next night trip I will experiment with that approach if there is no movement in the frame. I would have liked to see if HDR would have better handled the flare from bright lights like street lights.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/6.3, Shutter: 1/25 sec., Metering Mode: Spot, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 5000, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

17FT5IN

2010-03-12T06:34:00.004-06:00

The cross street in the median distance is Pierce Street. The top of the frame is the underside of Interstate 45. A Metro tram is stopped behind the sign on the left. I am trying to make Houston look a little glaring. With my eyes I could see all of the colored lights reflecting in almost any polished surface. I tried to capture that effect in this image.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/2.5, Shutter: 1/200 sec., Metering Mode: spot, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 6400, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

MetroBus Station

2010-03-09T06:00:00.037-06:00

What do you do to make the Houston Metro Bus Station look different? Since the raw image was shot well after sunset, I decided to make everything brighter and intense. Going farther than I would normally use, I saturated some of the colors but not all of them. I sharpened the image twice and used a noise reduction program to remove most of the noise and smooth it more than I would normally do. I worried about the blue buildings in the background but blue was the color that resulted if I made the colors under the shelter look normal. I decided that the cool blue gave a nice contrast to the hot green and peach.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/2.5, Shutter: 1/200 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 3200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Blowing Bubbles

2010-03-07T06:02:00.001-06:00

Is she blowing colored bubbles? Someone is watching the bubbles. This picture was shot under Interstate 45 in one of the parking lots. The night was cold and the wind was strong. The two humans are people and they were near the street but they are not street people. These people are classmates. All is fair in "Street Photography", especially in the dark of night.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/4.5, Shutter: 1/125 sec., Metering Mode: Evaluative Pattern, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 6400, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Bus Conflict

2010-03-05T06:00:00.004-06:00

Sherri and I are attending an evening continuing-education class at Rice University. The subject of the class is Street Photography but it seems that the practical assignments will have a large component of Night Photography. All of the field trips are planned for 6-9 p.m.; so, most of the sessions will be in the dark. Last Friday the class met at Pierce and Milan near down-town Houston. We walked down Pierce to highway 59 and returned using Gray Street. Both streets are next to and under Interstate Highway 45. I plan to share some of the images from that walk.

Near the one of the Metro Bus buildings I found this car hubcap next to a painted sign on the asphalt. I just felt that the scene was typical of modern cities.

Equipment & Settings: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, Aperture: Av at f/2.5, Shutter: 1/250 sec., Metering Mode: Spot, AEB: none, Exposure Off-set: +0.33, White Balance: AWB, ISO: 3200, Camera Color Mode: Adobe RGB, Bit Depth: 16, PhotoShop Color Mode: ProPhoto RGB, Bit Depth: 16, Web Color Mode: sRGB, Bit Depth: 8, Mount: monopod, Focus: Auto, Stabilization: none, Flash: none.

Are They Remembered?

2010-03-03T06:00:00.003-06:00

Graveyards will not be a theme but by accident I have a couple of related pictures. I found the approach to the design of these graves interesting because they are short and elevated. If you could read the dates on the crosses, you would find that they are hundred of years old. These graves are next to an active but very old church in Bergen, Norway. Perhaps these people are famous in the history of the country. At least someone took the time to plant the flowers.