The World of Ahamed

Zinc Photography updated for 2012!

2012-01-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Check out the all new zincphoto.com and make sure to "like" Zinc Photography on Facebook (facebook.com/zincphoto)

Zinc Photography Update

2011-02-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Zinc Photography is now completely new with an updated look and new photos in the portfolio!

Zinc Photography update

2009-09-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

New photos are in the portfolio at zincphoto.com. Click on the engagement section to see six brand new photos.

zincphoto.com

Zinc Photography update

2009-07-27T07:14:00.001-07:00

New photos have now been posted to the children section of the portfolio. Also become a fan of Zinc Photography on facebook by clicking here

Introducing Zinc Photography

2009-07-01T10:03:00.001-07:00

I am happy to announce my newest venture, Zinc Photography. Zinc Photography will specialize in wedding, portrait and event photography that celebrates the uniqueness of every person and every day.

Iqbal Photography v4

2009-03-03T21:06:00.001-08:00

Check out the brand new iqbalphoto.com now with 75 images from all over the world

Iqbal Photography Update

2008-04-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Iqbal Photography now features the photography of Robyn Reinmiller and Ahamed Iqbal. Look for Robyn's work in the Humanity Gallery (3 at the very top) and the Civilization Gallery (bottom left-hand corner)

Additionally if you'd like to become a fan of Iqbal Photography on Facebook, click on the button below.

Iqbal Photography- Version 3

2008-04-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here's the new homepage, there are a bunch of additional changes as well including a total of 5 new photos in the galleries and a redo of each page.

Iqbal Photography Site Update

2007-10-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

I completed a pretty comprehensive update to Iqbalphoto.com. There are still a number of kinks to work out but the site generally works right now.

Once again the site is www.iqbalphoto.com

Iqbal Photography

2007-03-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I haven't been posting to this blog that much recently (or at all). Most of my extra time has been spent developing my new website which offers a number of my prints in both color and black and white. After close to a year of design and development, it is now ready to go.
The website is called Iqbal Photography and can be found at http://iqbalphoto.com or by clicking on the image above.
Thanks to all those who helped with the creation of the site and who offered advice and support.

Fenced In

2006-12-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

I took this photo about a year ago in a local preserve in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The township sets aside plots of land like this so that the entire area won't become a sea of housing developments.
I like these areas because the lack of buildings and clear space lets the sun really light everything up as it sets. Additionally you might notice how the grass in the photo shifts from being somewhat green in the foreground to a more golden color in the background.
The fence seemed to be an interesting contrast to the openess and freedom of the general area. Even stranger is that there seems to be a gate in the fence without any road or path near it.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@70 mm, f/22.0, shutter-1/20 sec, ISO-100 (used tripod)
[click photo to enlarge]

Forest Movement

2006-11-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

I took this photo at Kings Gap State Park in central Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. I planned on taking some interesting shots of fall leaves but I quickly realized that it's very difficult to get a type of image you haven't seen before.
So I experimented with some techniques to get the limited color of the leaves to pop more. I'm not sure if the end result is interesting or just gimmicky but at the very least it's different. It seems to have the look of what you would see if you were running through the woods.
In case you didn't figure it out, I used a longer exposure and zoomed the lens in while the shutter was open. This blurs everything except the very center of the image where the light travels the same distance.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@40 mm (to start), f/13.0, shutter-1/20 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Old Leg

2006-10-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of a Galapagos Tortoise at the Philadelphia Zoo earlier this summer. I used black and white to emphasize the details and texture of the shell and the rough skin.
To me this photo looks more like a dinosaur than an animal you can find today. The tough skin, hard shell and slow movements of the tortoise make me think of it as a tank rather than a living thing. Amazingly they move somewhat fast when they are hungry and there is lettuce lying around.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@200 mm, f/4.5, shutter-1/1600 sec, ISO-200
[click photo to enlarge]

Toilet Light

2006-09-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Very strange title for a very strange image. I took this photo at the Eastern State Penitentiary, which is near the Art Museum in Philadelphia. It is basically a very old prison that has been left to fall apart (with only essential repairs and modifications). The building is open for tours and makes for some very interesting photographs.
In this photo you can see the crumbling and cracking of the original walls that reveals the decades of layers of paint. Originally the only light that came into the cells was from narrow slits in the roof like the one above.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@35 mm, f/8.0, shutter-1/30 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Orange Chicken

2006-09-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

I saw this brightly colored chicken at the Hopewell Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. I like the brigthness of the feathers and how you can make out the individual 'hairs' of each feather along the chicken's neck. Amazing how such a simple animal can be so colorful and complex.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@200 mm, f/5.6, shutter-1/200 sec, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Street Eye

2006-09-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since my last post and the updates will probably be less frequent now that Law School has started up again (and since I'm still setting up my new website).
I took this shot while walking through Philadelphia. Near Chestnut street and 11th there was this old abandoned parking garage that was falling apart and completely covered in graffiti. I was drawn to how the face seems to peer out from the wall and how so many layers of paint and dirt have covered a once clean wall.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@45 mm, f/4.5, shutter-1/80 sec, ISO-1000
[click photo to enlarge]

Cracked Wall

2006-08-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've been away from the blog for some time as I have been developing a full scale website/gallery/storefront. I'll try and keep everyone posted on the progress.
I took this photo at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Because the prison is very old and hasn't housed prisoners since 1971 most of the walls and surfaces are cracked and peeling.
You can almost feel the history in the decay and wear as you walk through the halls.
This shot of peeling paint reminded me more of a topographical map than an ancient wall.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@70 mm, f/16.0, shutter-1/500 sec, ISO-800
[click photo to enlarge]

Cloud Scrapers

2006-07-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I took this photo while visiting New York City this past weekend. These two towers make up the Time-Warner building and are a very impressive sight. Apparently they were designed with the gap in the middle to increase the amount of sunlight available for nearby Central Park.
I was happy to get a really interesting environment for this shot. Where a plain blue or completely overcast sky would have made the scene dull, the small clouds behind the building and the reflections of the larger clouds in the building windows creates an appealing image.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@24mm, f/4.0, shutter-1/6400 sec, ISO-320
[click photo to enlarge]

Giraffe Hide

2006-07-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of a giraffe at the Philadelphia Zoo earlier this summer. I wanted to capture the strange animal in a different way. By focusing on the coloration and shapes of its hide I tried to bring out the oddness of the animal without simply showing it was tall.
Looking at the hide closely it resembles more of a geometric pattern than a random texture.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@200mm, f/4.0, shutter-1/1250, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Rain Flower

2006-07-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a break from the Shenandoah photos and a bit of color. I took this photo of my Mom's flower (no idea what the name of it is) a few minutes after a quick thunderstorm. I wanted to capture the beading of the water on the colorful leaves before they dried up so I quickly set up the tripod and took a few shots.
I made sure to use a shallow aperature to blur the background enough so that the details in the petal and the drops really "popped". As an interesting side effect the pistils and stamens of the flower (I think that's the right terminology) seem to be floating in the air.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@70mm, f/35, shutter-1/125 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Rushing Water

2006-07-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is another shot from Shenandoah National Park. I believe this is a small waterfall on the White Oak Canyon trail.
I set the camera and tripod up close to the edge of the rocks (very carefully) and used the mirror lockup and a 2 second timer to reduce vibrations and camera shake. Even with a 1/8th second shutter speed, the rush of the water over the falls creates a pleasing blur. I cropped out the trees and plants in the foreground and background in order to create a more abstract and interesting image.
I also converted to black and white after I took the shot because I liked the almost 50/50 balance between dark and light in the photo and because the lack of color emphasizes the shapes better.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@51mm, f/22.0, shutter-1/8 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Dark Tree

2006-07-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

This is another shot from Shenandoah National Park. I was really happy with how all of the elements came together to form a really interesting and detailed shot.
The rolling hills in the background are typical of what you normally see driving on Skyline drive in Shenandoah and you sometimes see burned and dried out trees along the side of the road like this one. In addition to these elements, a bird was resting on the very top of the tree and the sun was setting, leaving a faint pink tint in the sky.
I used the tree leaves and branches to the left of the frame to balance the image and to emphasize the twisted appearance of the dead tree. Overall I am very happy with this shot.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@70mm, f/10.0, shutter-1/100 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Forest Stream

2006-07-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Back to posting after a long time off. The next few shots should all be from Shenandoah National Park in northern Virginia which I visited during the July 4th weekend. Shenandoah is a really beautiful park with great hiking and views from Skyline Drive.
Some of the trails follow the many streams and rivers which run through the park and make for great photo opportunities. I was able to capture the rich greeness of the forest while giving the water a soft a fog-like look by using a long exposure.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@38mm, f/22.0, shutter-1.3 sec, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Color Pack

2006-06-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

I took this shot during the Women's Liberty Classic in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. The race is over 50 miles long and each lap takes a long time to complete.
Knowing the bikers would pass by me in a certain pattern, I set my aperture at a shallow depth to isolate a few bikers, composed the background to remove some distracting elements and fired away.
Because I was so close to the action I was able to get a nice perspective of the action while including a large part of the field. The bright colors of the different teams were really strong thanks to the bright sunshine.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@200mm, f4.0, shutter-1/800 sec, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Two Sheep

2006-06-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

I am really happy with how this photo turned out. There seems to be a sense of balance and calm with the positioning of the two young sheep and the thick grass and flowers. I waited for a while to get an interesting look from the sheep as I watched them from behind a fence.
I was very happy with the rich colors which came from the bright but overcast lighting. The 'ring' lighting around the frame of the left sheep really helps it stand out and gives a sort of warm glow to the image.
This photo was taken the same day as this other sheep photo although I think the colors in this shot are much better.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@159mm, f/9.0, shutter-1/25, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Museum Steps

2006-06-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

This should be a familiar sight to anyone who has visited Philadelphia. This is the view from inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art once you come in through the main entrance.
I tried to convey the sense of size and open space in this image by using the widest possible focal length. Also by using a relatively low shutter speed, I was able to add some motion blur to some of the people in the frame in order to create a more active shot.
On a side note I was really impressed with how the 5D exposed this complex lighting situation (with the numerous dark and different degrees of light areas).

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@24mm, f/3.5, shutter-1/10, ISO-1000
[click photo to enlarge]

Still Leaf

2006-06-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

I took this photo on the banks of the Schuylkil river where it winds through Valley Forge National Park. I used a longer exposure so that the small ripples around the stones were captured in a softer way. The result is an almost 'shrink wrapped' or plastic look to the image.
The leaf in the middle shows the stillness of the scene as you can see it balancing delicately on the surface of the water. Also the water is still enough that you can make out the reflection of the leaf and the surrounding tree branches as well.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@163mm, f32.0, shutter-0.6 sec, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Three Windows

2006-06-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I took this photo at Hopewell Furnace State Park which is located near French Creek State Park in Southeast Pennsylvania.
I like the look of this old barn and how the three windows were each similar but different in their placement. By converting th RAW image to monochrome and then applying a sepia filter, I tried to make the photo look as old as the barn.
Also I was happy with how the black and white made the peeling paint and the texture of the roof tiles stand out more.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@118mm, f32.0, shutter-1/15, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Yawning Cheetah

2006-05-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

I caught this cheetah in mid-stretch when I went to the Philadelphia Zoo last Sunday. I had hoped to get some more photos from the new Big Cat Falls exhibit but the exhibits were so busy it was tough to compose a good shot.
The cheetah enclosure is split from the other cats and was relatively free of visitors. After standing around for some time I caught a generally lazy cat stand up to stretch. In my effort to crop out the man made things in the background I accidently cropped out some of the cheetah's tail as well.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@149mm, f4.0, shutter-1/200, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Falling Petals

2006-05-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

I took this photo at the Viscaya Palace and Gardens in Miami, Florida. This was one of many colorful orchids displayed in the garden area. The overacast lighting helped bring out the soft colors in the petals and emphasized the details.
I made sure to use a small enough aperture to include the lines of the wooden table the orchid was placed on. I felt the diagonal lines and the dull color helped bring out the beauty of the flower better.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@58mm, f/8.0, shutter-1/200, ISO-200
[click photo to enlarge]

Little Lamb

2006-05-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Finals finished up this week and I flew out to Philly this morning. I finally got a chance to go take some serious SLR photos instead of being cooped at home. Now I am completely amazed at the options and quality you can get out of shooting in RAW format.
I took this lamb's photo at Hopewell Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. It's an old iron mill that is restored to its original style.
In this shot I included the fence and the rolling hills in the background to give a sense of how tiny the lamb was. To give you an idea I had to kneal down to shoot through the fence. This lamb kept turning back to look at me whenever my shutter fired.
By the way I'll be in Miami till the 25th so expect some updates after that.

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L
@200mm, f/9.0, shutter-1/60, ISO-50
[click photo to enlarge]

Spiral Stairs

2006-05-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

I took this photo from the top of the steps at the Point Loma lighthouse in San Diego. It was near closing time and the one of the National Park Rangers let me go up right before they locked up for the night. Being the only one in the lighthouse made this shot much easier.
I have always found the design of spiral stairs to be interesting and this set reminded me of a human eye. While I normally don't like centering the subject within the frame, I felt it was neccessary here to emphasize the spiraling effect of the stairs.

Canon 5D, 24-70 f/2.8L
@24mm, f/3.2, shutter-1/20, ISO-1000
[click photo to enlarge]

Twisted Tree

2006-05-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is one of my early attempts at landscape photography taken at Joshua Tree National park, a few hours east of San Diego. I noticed this really interesting and well worn tree walking up to the top of a small hill on the outskirts of the park. I was drawn the to the detail in the weathered bark and trunk and how the entire tree was twisted over time by the high winds and dry climate.
In framing the shot I used the twisting and curving tree to lead the eye towards the snow capped peaks in the background.
I plan on focusing a good bit of this summer to landscape photography, so look out for those photos.

Canon 20D, 22-55 f/4.5-5.6
@22mm, f/5.0, shutter-1/400, ISO-100
[click photo to enlarge]

Donuts Stop

2006-05-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

This is a sort of a demonstration of the power of image processing (which I am just rediscovering now). The top image was created from taking the bottom image and running it through a few saturation and hue adjustments.
I took this photo in San Francisco in January somewhere around the marina district. I noticed the old retro looking donut sign and thought it would be interesting next to the bright red stop sign. Unfortunately the strong lighting and the faded colors of the sign left a less than interesting image.
Normally I'm all about minimal or no post processing but certain photos lend themselves to more aggressive image editing. For some reason the rusty color I got in the second image seemed to fit the look of the sign and the over-saturation really makes the photo jump off the screen.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5
@24mm, f/4.0, shutter-1/2500, ISO-200
[click photo to enlarge]

City Lights

2006-05-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

This photo instantly reminds me of New York City whenever I look at it. The combination of the NYPD vehicle, the taxicabs and the bright lights of Times Square.
Even though I took this photo around 9 at night, the number of lights and the reflectivity of the glass made for a very bright scene. As I've mentioned before, I'm always looking for reflective surfaces to increase the number of elements and colors in my photos.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8
@28mm, f/3.2, shutter-1/250, ISO-3200
[click photo to enlarge]

Color spots

2006-05-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

I tried to be a little bit more abstract in this image. I chose a pretty bland night scene and purposely blurred and underexposed the image so that it looked more like a graphic painting.
As you might figure out from the colors, this is a shot of a traffic light with some street lights and car headlights on the side.
In the same way macro (close-up) photography forces you to look at the details, I think purposely blurring photos makes you see the world in a more general and broad sense. Instead of seeing a boring city street you see a whole bunch of shapes and colors interacting with each other (notice where the edges overlap).

Canon 5D, 70-200 f/4.0L, AV f 4.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Wine Cask

2006-05-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of a huge wine cask in the Sonoma/Napa Valley of California when Robyn and I visited earlier this year.
The cask itself was huge (over 10 feet tall) and was just there for display as more modern containers are used today. I liked how the bars from the window cast strong lines on the cask while the sunlight brought out the grain and rich color of the wood.
In case anyone was wondering, the candle serves no useful purpose, it's just there to add some mood lighting. In addition to the well maintained fields and gardens, 'Wine Country' has a lot of old equipment and buildings which make for interesting photo subjects.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Happy Seal

2006-04-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

I took this photo a few days ago when I went to my Brother's graduation (Law School) in San Diego.
I initially just wanted to get a close-up of the seal's face with the shadow on the sand but after reviewing the pictures I noticed the sleeping seal had a sort of smile on its face. I'm sure it's just how they normally look but I always find it interesting how we give human charactistics to animals.
Also it reminded me of how nice it is to lie out on the beach when the weather is nice.
This is one a large group of seals that lounge on the protective coves around La Jolla, which is about 20 minutes north of San Diego.

Canon 20D, 70-200 f/4.0L, AV 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Nice Hand

2006-04-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I took this photo mainly to play with shallow depth of field. For anyone who has played Texas Hold 'Em poker, this is a very welcome sight.
I tried to simulate what a person playing poker would focus on in this situation. By using a 4.0 aperture, I was able to keep only the A of the cards sharp while blurring the rest.
I also set up the scene so that only poker chips were in the background.
Setting up still life scenes is a good way to exercise your photography habit when the weather isn't so great (I think it was raining on this day).

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 4.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Criminal Squirrel

2006-04-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

The strange title for this photo comes from the story behind this shot. I took this photo while staying in my Aunt's home in India last summer. The netting you see on the window is to prevent mosquitos from flying into the room.
Apparently this squirrel picked up the scent of choclate in my room, pulled back the velcro that held the edge of the netting down, crawled on the netting and into the room. From there he opened a closet door and climbed up a shelf, opened a bag of choclate, took a piece and ran off.
I walked in on a seperate occasion to take this photo of him trying to break back in.
I like how the soft diffused lighting creates a sort of glow behind the squirrel and how he breaks up the symmetry of the window and screen.

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 2.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Two Windows

2006-04-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in Valley Forge National Park earlier this year. I noticed the two similar windows of this small building near George Washington's base during the revolutionary war.
I managed to get image of the old Valley Forge train station reflected in the glass while keeping also capturing the light from the opposite window.
I used the frame of the window to split the image up into elements. The put the fence in the bottom two panes, the train station in the top left and the other window in the top right.
Overall the interplay between the reflected and real images and the light make an interesting image.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Bridge Out

2006-04-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

While I generally like to convey a sense of peace and balance in my photos somtimes it's nice to take a different approach.
This shot of an old bridge out sign near Valley Forge National Park is an inentionally cluttered and confusing image. The strong colors of the sign combine with the tangled mess of vines and graffiti to create a visual overload.
I bumped up the contrast and saturation in order to emphasize the grittiness and visual confusion of the shot. I feel the photo is an interesting combination of natural and artificial vandalism (vines and graffiti) that is strangely interesting.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Bubble Tuna

2006-04-15T00:08:00.000-07:00

I took this photo of the deep water exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium from the upper viewing area. This huge tank holds big tuna and other fish found in deep ocean water. It's the same tank where the first great white shark to survive in captivity was displayed.

The bubbles you see in the photo are created near the glass so that when the aquarium is empty or not that busy, the fish know there's a barrier and don't run into it.
I like this photo because it conveys the immense size of the tank and how it draws viewers in.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f3.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Seeing Red

2006-04-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

I took this shot in January when Robyn and I were walking around San Francisco.
I noticed this sign because of the intense red colors in it which were further enhanced by the bright direct sunlight. In order to focus on the intensity of the image and to capture the woman's gaze I framed the ad with a crosswalk sign.
As a result the darkness of the 'frame' make the center image pop out of the dreary and dimly lit background. It also has a strange quality as if the model in the ad is actually looking through the traffic sign.
I am always looking for ways advertisements interact with everyday life and things as you can see from this previous shot.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Hill Tree

2006-04-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

This is a simple image I took last winter near my parents home near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was taken in a small local park made so migratory birds had a place to land.
I took the photo near sunset so the grass would have a nice glow and look like it was on fire. Also I liked how the diagonal of the hill played with the diagonal of the snow near the bottom. The only tricky part was making sure I didn't get my shadow in the frame.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

People Watching

2006-04-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in San Francisco earlier this year. At first I just thought the man sitting and looking out of the window would make an interesting photograph with the strong reflections in the window. After noticing the woman walking up the hill I set up the shot so that having her in the corner balanced out the image.
The white wall behind the woman simplifies that side of the image in contrast to the business of the left side. Also the strange and varied light throughout the frame gives the photo some depth.
Overall I was happy to capture a simple but interesting slice of everyday life.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

City Symbols

2006-04-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

I took this photo in New York last year. I set it up to include the three distinct symbols of a traffic cone, the American flag and the neon sign for Radio City Music Hall.
Although it isn't a 'traditional' composition I think the similar color of the elements within the rough city background makes it an interesting shot.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Finding Peace

2006-04-01T00:02:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back to posting after about a month long break.
Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it. I'll probably be posting once every few days or so, daily posting was a bit too much. Law School is going well and I put a few more links to my newspaper articles at the bottom of the page.
I took this photo on a rainy day in Big Sur on the Northern California coast. I liked how the rain and the soft overcast sky created a peaceful scene for the Budha statue. Also the sense of scale and depth seemed to fit nicely with the 'Zen' of the image.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f8.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Top 10

2006-03-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

In recognition of 5 months of posting (with a few gaps), I decided to post some of my favorite images from each month based on your comments (2 per month). They are in no particular order, and you can click on an image to get to the original post.
Thanks to everyone who has commented, this blog has definetely helped me become a better and more well rounded photographer.

That being said I will probably take a month or so off from posting so I can refocus on Law School. So feel free to scan the archives or just stop by in April when I should be posting again.

Eye Silhouette

2006-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

This is a somewhat abstract image which I think is interesting despite violating certain 'rules' of photography (not enough detail in the black and a 50/50 composition).
As the title says this is the silhoutte of an eye (Robyn's actually) in relatively low light. I liked the subtle on the surface of her eye and also wanted to capture the shape of the eyelashes against the light background.
By the way the cross in the background is from the shape of the window.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV f2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

Cooking Corn

2006-03-02T00:03:00.000-08:00

I took this photo in Munnar, India when I visited last year. This corn stand was at a tourist area called Echo Point where sounds would echo when spoken from a certain riverbank.
The man in the photo was selling fresh cooked corn in a roadside cart. After cooking the corn he would cover it with chili powder and then hand it to you. Not a bad way to have fresh corn.
In order to capture the freshness I framed this shot with the raw corn in front and the cooking kettle in the back.

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 4.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Lost Statue

2006-03-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

I'm in a New York City /East Coast frame of mind so I thought I would post this image from Times Square.
I was drawn to this base of a statue because it seemed lost amid the overblown lights and colors of Times Square. The big neon McDonalds sign serves as a good example of this sensory overload.
It seemed interesting that a huge statue that would be a point of interest in most any other city, was barely noticeable in a city like New York. In order to emphasize the statue, I allowed it to take the majority of the frame and blurred the background since they would be noticiable anyway. By the way George M. Cohan was a playright who was known as the "man who owned Broadway".

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Perfect Reflection

2006-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

I took this shot when a took a break from walking up the steep incline of Powell Street in San Francisco.
In what looked like an abandoned building site (very rare for SF) there was this dirty pool of water filled with dead plants and branches. I thought the patterns of oil or chemical in the water along with the perfect stillness of the water would make for an interesting shot.
After reviewing my photos I was amazed at how the image reflected in the pool appeared sharper and more distinct than the real thing. There is something else about this image that seems interesting and holds my attention but I can't really figure out what it is.
At the least it's an unconventional photo.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f 6.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Yellow Cab

2006-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I took this photo in New York City in February of last year.
Originally my only goal was to get a shot of a yellow taxi cab for the typical representative shot of the city. I took a section of the cab rather than the whole thing in order to be a little different.
When I was reviewing my photos I noticed that the image had a lot more than just a yellow cab. First a "God Bless America" sticker was in a good place in the frame along with a nice reflection of Times Square in the cab's rear window. In the remaining part of the frame, the laughing girls, and some standard big city signs and symbols helped tie the image together.
I think simple but different shots like this one sometimes convey a city's attitude better than images of landmarks and buildings.
By the way, I'm back on the East Coast (Spring Break) so look for an earlier posting time for this week.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Hungry Bird

2006-02-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

I took this photo of a White Egret yesterday while biking in the Guadalupe River Park in San Jose. I noticed this bird standing in the shallow water and walking along the river bank and started taking a few shots. All of sudden it jabbed its head in the water and pulled out what looked like a crayfish or some other crustacean.
This shot is of the bird flipping a piece of the animal in it's mouth before eating it. I also have a shot of the the Egret holding the crayfish in it's mouth which I may post in the future.
I was happy to freeze a moment where the bird was in motion, as most animal shots are where they are still.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f7.3
[click photo to enlarge]

Canyon View

2006-02-25T00:07:00.000-08:00

I took this photo of the Grand Canyon when my family and I took a west coast trip of the U.S. The Grand Canyon is a really amazing place but surprisingly difficult to portray in photos (here's my other attempt). It's difficult to express the size and scale in a single image.
In trying to give a idea of the size I included the woman looking off into the distance in this image.
As you can see the railings get very close to the edge and are not good for those afraid of heights. The distance to the very bottom in this area is about one mile (1600 meters) but you can only see about a third of that depth in this photo.
More than any place I've been, the Grand Canyon is something you have to see in person to truly appreciate.

Canon 20D, Canon 22-55 4.5-5.6 lens, AV f4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Ocean Lighthouse

2006-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is a simple photo of Pigeon Point lighthouse located just off the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway in California. This is the same area that this other photo was taken. The lighthouse and the surrounding areas were in the process of being refurbished for visitors as part of the state park system so a lot of the paint was fresh.
I wanted to frame the photo so that the picket fence led the eye across the frame towards the lighthouse. Although the fence doesn't look too old you can see the effect the constant mist from the ocean waves has on the paint.
I was also happy to see that the clouds framed the lighthouse against the blue sky, helping to emphasize it even though it's outside the range of focus.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f4.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Barrels of Wine 2

2006-02-23T00:20:00.000-08:00

This another shot of wine barrels Robyn and I saw on our trip to the Napa/Sonoma valley, north of San Francisco. This was taken at Sterling Vineyard, the same winery that this photo was taken.
I like this one because the lighting is so interesting. On certain barrels there is soft natural sunlight from the windows while other barrels have the strong indoor lighting on them. I think this difference in lighting and the multiple rows of barrels stretching into the shadows creates the illusion that the barrels continue on forever.
As I've mentioned before, California wine country is a beautiful place to visit even if you aren't into wine and it's relatively close to San Francisco and the rest of the Bay area.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

TV Abstract

2006-02-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

If you don't see what the image is, step back from your monitor and take another look. What you should see is a person's face. I'll be very surprised if any guesses who it is.
This is probably the most 'experimental' shot I've posted on my blog. The image is a photograph of an image on TV which I altered significantly using the Gimp photo editor.
I converted the image to black and white and tried to break down the image so it looked more like a print in a newspaper rather than a photograph. By using an extreme angle and the macro mode of the camera, I tried to capture the detail while presenting a common subject in a different way (you can really pick up the detail if you click and expand the photo).

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro Mode, AV f5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

Red Plant

2006-02-21T00:08:00.000-08:00

I took this photo near the Monterey Bay Aquarium, this fence overlooked a part of the bay where some seals were resting on the beach.
The first and most obvious reason why I like this photo is the rich and intense color of the plants. I'm also always drawn to examples of nature overcoming man-made things. It's amazing how the chain link fence is worn and rusted from the salt water in the air while the plant is vibrant and full of life.
I have no idea what type of plant this is but the 'leaves' look like thick cut french fries or potato wedges dipped in ketchup.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Mural Reflection

2006-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

I took this shot in San Francisco while wandering around the city with Robyn earlier this year. The mural was very colorful and bright on it's own but I wanted to capture it in a different way. By facing across the street and framing the mural within the simple and muted shades of the restaurant, I was able to create a more complete shot.
The bright lighting on the mural side of the street helped the painting 'pop' out of the frame.By the way Robyn took a shot of me in front of the mural and the photo ended up being selected for a University of Pennsylvania photo exhibition. Maybe she’ll post it on her blog sometime.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

One Step

2006-02-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

I took this shot in New York at the MoMA near the entrance to the museum. I wanted to shoot through the replica helicopter/art installation so I waited a few minutes as people walked through. Finally this woman walked alone and entered the frame created by the helicopter.
I was happy with the lighting as there seemed to be a spotlight on her and even lighting throughout the frame. Adding to the interest in the photo is the fact that the woman's foot is frozen in the air above its shadow before it touches the ground.
While a central composition of the subject is generally a bad idea, in this case I felt it accentuated the balance and geometry of the photo.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Green Pepper

2006-02-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

This shot is somewhat of a tribute to the great photographer, Edward Weston. Some of Weston's more famous shots are simple black and white photos of bell peppers which look almost like human forms.
I first shot this bell pepper in black and white with a shallow depth of field and a high level of contrast. Then I bumped up the saturation and contrast even more in order to get an even more dramatic look using the gimp image editor. Finally I used a dark green tint similar to the color of a real pepper and applied it to the whole image.
I'm pretty happy with the end result as it one of the first 'post processed' images I've done.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f3.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Resting Elephant

2006-02-17T00:04:00.000-08:00

I took this photo of a magestic asian elephant as we were driving through the rainforests of Munnar, India last year. Apparently this big guy was used to move large timber around and occasionally give tourists a ride on his back. It was very humbling to see such a large and impressive creature resting without a fence or wall between us.
While I don't think he was being abused or mistreated the expression on his face and the line of tears running down from his eye strike me as sad (although the tears could have been caused by something else).

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 2.0
[click photo to enlarge]

And if you're interested in seeing other photoblogs, I've just updated my links section below...

Walking uphill

2006-02-16T00:16:00.000-08:00

I found this interesting scene walking up one of San Francisco's notoriously steep hills (Hyde st. I think). As I walked up I wanted to take a photo showing the steepness without taking a typical 'look up the street' shot.
I noticed this short older woman walking up the street and decided to go to the other side of the street and wait for her to enter the frame. I set up the shot so that the angle of the street is clear and so the woman is placed in a good spot. With the cars evenly split and the large building as a backdrop, I think there is a nice sense of balance and scale.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f5.4
[click photo to enlarge]

Wild Jellyfish

2006-02-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Although I've posted a couple of other jellyfish photos (one and two), this is the only shot I have of a wild one. I saw this one floating around on a beautiful beach near the south eastern tip of India (at the same place this was taken).
While it's definetely not as colorful as the jellyfish I've shot at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, I thought the natural lighting and the overall peace of the image made it worth sharing. I also like how the water is so clear that the jelly seems to be floating in mid air.
I wanted to help the blandly colored jellyfish stand out more so I used a shallow depth of field to blur the foreground enough.

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 2.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T00:03:00.000-08:00

I thought this photo of my girlfriend Robyn would be appropriate since today is Valentine's Day. I took this photo when we visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. The pink glow on the wall and on Robyn's face is from an art installation that was basically a pink fluorescent light fixture.
I was happy with how the softness of the lighting, the focus and Robyn's smile created a warm and gentle look to the image.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Blue window

2006-02-13T00:13:00.000-08:00

I'm very happy with how this shot turned out. Frequent visitors may recognize the person in the photo, Selvum from my previous posts (picking coconuts and blue door).
I was looking through my photos from my trip to India last year when I noticed this one. Originally the photo had a lot more distracting elements and a boring composition. With some extensive cropping I cut out those elements and created a more dynamic composition.
My favorite parts of this photo include the pure natural lighting, the bright blue color and the partionining of the scene from the bars of the window. Also the other window in the background balances Selvum's off-center position.

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 2.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Chinatown Parade

2006-02-12T00:11:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to head down to the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco yesterday. While the actual New Year's day was last week I think they had it this weekend to avoid competing with the Superbowl.
The whole parade actually starts at night so I was lucky to walk by the pre-parade area where the floats wer lined up in advance. I took advantage of the perfect natural sunlight reflecting off the brightly painted statue and decorations to get a colorful yet peaceful shot.
I tried to make it look like the Wealth God was peeking from behind the red board. I was happy with how the buildings in the background gave the image a sense of place (rather than blank sky).

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f6.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Full plate

2006-02-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a much more technically sound and visually appealing photo than yesterday.
I set up this macro of a plate of sushi so that the detail of one piece was clear while the background was an endless repetition. In actuality I think there were 5-6 pieces in the shot.
It's interesting to see the detail and color of all of the elements of the sushi (the rice, the salmon, the cucumber, and the seaweed wrap).
What I thought was especially interesting was how the individual rice pieces on the edge were sliced cleanly by the Sushi maker's sharp blade.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro Mode AV f2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

Nature's defenses

2006-02-10T00:10:00.000-08:00

I took this shot near where my Parents live (Malvern, Pennsylvania) late last year. The sun was setting and so I used a large aperature to use what little light there was to pick up the interesting details in this old, weathered fence.
While I'm not sure about the amount of blur in the photo, I think the shallow depth of field focuses the attention on the details of the image.
The subject matter for the shot is interesting as a few old and rusted barbed wires are intertwined with a young and vibrant plant with thorns. Amazing how so many innovations are inspired by nature.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

NYC Street Vendor

2006-02-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

A shot from my trip to the Greatest City on Earth in December. I think it was 9:30 or so on a Friday and a lot of the corners were selling hot pretzels and roasted chestnuts.
What I love about New York is that you can pretty much get anything in the world you want at any time.
To me this shot conveys the vibrance and variety that makes New York what it is. I cropped out some of the darker areas so that the vendor and the food are framed well without being overwhelmed. By the way if you are looking for a free photo editor check this site out. It has most of the functions of photoshop without the pricetag.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Rusty beach wires

2006-02-08T00:03:00.000-08:00

I took this shot on a slightly overcast day in Monterey, California. This was a wire fence overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay with the beach and some boulders in the foreground.
I included the wires because they seemed to seperate the image into sections and because you can see the effect of the salt water as it rusts each of the wires differently.
From this point, you can see otters rolling around in the surf and usually there are seals on the nearby rocks. This photo reminds me of that natural beauty of the bay every time I see it.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 4.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Soft curves

2006-02-07T00:02:00.000-08:00

I know I recently posted another fork shot but I posted this one because I thought it was unique and different from the first. I'm always happy when an image of simple, everyday things seems to be more than the sum of its parts.
In this photo a simply designed fork and spoon (Ikea of course) looks more like human figures or the flowing lines of a sports car. I used black and white to focus the eye on the form and shapes rather than the color of the items.
To me photography is all about the details.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro Mode AV 2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

City Lights

2006-02-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

I took this shot in San Francisco near Union Square. As it got dark I realized that the only subjects I had were the numerous lights and signs along the street.
I tried to frame the shot so that both the actual sign and it's reflection showed up. When I reviewed the photos I thought it was interesting how the light from the actual sign looks solid while in the reflection you can make out the neon tubing. Must be something with which light rays are reflected.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Barrels of wine

2006-02-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

This shot was taken at a winery in the Napa Valley north of San Francisco. I forget the name of the winery but it was interesting to see the size and scale of the operation. Each of these big hand-made oak barrels was made from specific types of oak from around the world so that it imparted different flavors into the wine.
This room was lined with numerous rows of wine in a climate controlled environment and I thought the way the natural sunlight lit up the edges of the barrels had a peaceful look to it. I used this angle to impart the size and repetition of the barrels without getting too much light in the photo.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 4.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Hawk on a tree

2006-02-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd try a little bit of extreme cropping on this image. I took this shot on the bike/running path that leads up to Fort Mason which overlooks San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

This hawk looked like he/she was taking advantage of the high perch to get a good view of any small animals or fish that were in the area. I liked the fierce and strong gaze it has looking over the branches and how it seems to be calmy seated on a shaky perch.
The reason I chose the cropping for this photo was because I originally included a lot more sky and tree in the photo which seemed to overwhelm the bird's body. With this cropping the bird has more of place in the scene.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 10.0
[click photo to enlarge]

How to stop a cable car

2006-02-03T00:02:00.000-08:00

Recently I've found myself more drawn to black and white images. I think it's the combination of a more simple format and a more polished end result.
The subject in this photo is the hand brake for a cable car on the Powell-Hyde line in San Francisco. The brake is turned to initiate the friction need to slow the car on steep downhills in the city (which explains why the end is so shiny from repeated use).
I felt the brightness of the handle along with the texture of the cobblestones in the background created an interesting image. Also the strong line of shadows seemed to split the frame very well in order to create a sense of balance.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f 10.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Ghostly image

2006-02-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

A much more subtle image than the last few I've posted. This was taken at the Museum of Modern Art in New York last December.
I liked how the photo is dominated by all of the different lines (both real and refelcted) in the different levels of the museum. In addition, the dulled reflection of the man peering out from another balcony adds a mysterious almost ghostly look.
Despite being at the museum for a while I can't completely figure out what the different lines are from or which ones are real and which are reflections. But then again it's good to confuse your eyes sometimes.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Fork on table

2006-02-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

I took this odd macro of a fork on brightly colored side table. I set up the fork at an odd angle so that it cast a long shadow and so the detail in the side of the prongs is visible (which is rarely seen). In addition to turning parts of the red table orange and yellow, the strong light also makes a strange shadow which looks more like a wine glass than a fork.
While most macro shots make you look at objects closer, I wanted to present the fork so that it's seen as shape rather than a utensil.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro Mode AV f3.1
[click photo to enlarge]

Gate to the ocean

2006-01-31T00:05:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken somewhere on the California coastline on beautiful route 1 from Santa Barbara to Monterey. The walkway belonged to hostels that happened to be near a historic lighthouse that was being renovated (Pigeon Point lighthouse I believe).
I thought it was interesting how simple the walkway and gate were in relation to the majestic sight of huge waves crashing on the coast. Not a bad view from your backyard.
The best thing about this place (apart from the scenery) was that we saw a whale spout as a whale came up to breathe. Unfortunately the whale was probably a mile away and I didn't have a 1200mm lens with me to take its photo.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

All about shadows

2006-01-30T00:04:00.000-08:00

What I love about black and white photography is that it really focuses your vision on the details and patterns around you. In this photo I took at the aquatic park stands in San Francisco, I was really impressed with the richness and strength of the shadows from the railing and stairs.
While the pattern on it's own was interesting, I felt that including a person in the image would draw the focus away from the trashcan and help elevate the image from a simple shadow study.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f9.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Seed in Grass

2006-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

I've you've visited my blog in the past you've probably noticed that I've changed the format considerably. I thought this setup looked more clean and put more emphasis on the photos. All the information that used to be on the right sidebar is now at the very bottom of the page. Let me know what you think.
This photo is of a small seed pod from a tree in my Parent's backyard. I forget the name of the tree but it drops thousands of these spiky seeds all over the grass.
I liked the rich color from the bright natural lighting and was impressed with the detail on the seed. While they may look pretty and interesting, these seeds are very annoying to rake and to step on when you're barefoot.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Look closer

2006-01-28T12:07:00.000-08:00

Take some time and see if you can see the point of this photo before you read this.

I took this at the tidal pool at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. I thought it was interesting how the extremely still water was transparent, reflective and colorful at the same time.
I included the rocks at the bottom to balance out the reflection of the child holding the railing in the reflection at the top of the image. Even though I intended to take the photo this way, I was surprised to notice the reflection later on when I was reviewing my shots.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Just a peel

2006-01-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

In order to break up some dark images I've posted recently, I decided to post this image of a clementine peel. Clementines are basically really small sweet oranges without seeds.
I like how the literal emptiness inside the peel and the emptiness of the white background contrast with the fresh and bright look of the orange exterior.
To be honest I decided to take this photo because I was impressed that I could take the peel off in one piece. And also I've never seen a shot of an empty peel anywhere else. By the way here is another even more vibrant shot of an orange I took a while back.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f3.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Art imitating life imitating art

2006-01-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting shot I took when Robyn and I were at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. I don't usually like to take photos of art because it seems more documentary than anything else.
In this case I thought the similarity between the subjects of the piece and the people in the background was worth capturing. I forget the name of the artist who created this sculpture but I wonder if he/she had in mind where it would be displayed.
I had to wait for a minute or two before people were walking in ways I thought would be good for the photo. Ideally I would have like the lighting to be a little better but light is pretty limited inside the museum.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Life and death

2006-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

I'm a firm believer that in order to truly improve as a photographer you have to learn how to make the everyday and sometimes ugly look beautiful and interesting. Anyone can take a decent photo of a sunset but I think the true reward is finding the good in normally disregarded items.
And while I'm getting overly poetic, I like the contrast between the life giving sun and the dying plant in this photo.
I felt the shallow depth of field was perfect in creating a softer look and bringing attention to the details in the shriveled berries. The colors in the background are from the setting sun and a light layer of snow on the ground.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

San Francisco through the wires

2006-01-24T00:03:00.000-08:00

This is another photo I'm very happy with. I took this shot from one of the higher streets in San Francisco (Hyde I think).
Since the color was relatively bland, I decided to switch to black and white for this shot. I think the exposure and the different tones works well. I was very happy to capture the way the power lines heading down the hill were parallel to the lines of the Trans America building. In addition to showing the steepness of the street, the wires balance the photo and give the building a place in the composition. The full look of the image differentiates it from other more simple "skyline-only" shots.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, AV f7.3
[click photo to enlarge]

Conversation on a drawbridge

2006-01-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

I took this shot of a railway drawbridge in India last summer. The bridge runs from Soutern India to the isalnd where Rameshwaram is. This island is the closest part of India to Sri Lanka.
The history of the railway bridge is somewhat interesting. It was made in order to replace a similar bridge that was wiped out along with a train full of passengers by a typhoon about 40 years ago. Normally the water looks relatively calm but it's a fragile balance building on water.
What I like about this photo is the fresh and vibrant color of the water contrasting with the worn and aged drawbridge. Also the presence of the two men on the tracks gives the image a sense of scale and mystery as to how they got there. I like the downward angle of the shot which I was able to do shooting from the newer and taller automobile bridge. This angle allowed me to include the concrete pilings which lined the shipping lane.

Canon 20D, 50mm 1.4, AV f 3.2
[click photo to enlarge]

Eye in silhouette

2006-01-22T00:02:00.000-08:00

This is photo of Robyn I took when I was in the Philadelphia area during break this December. I was going for an abstract, highly artistic image that wasn't instantly recognizable. I silhoutted The side of Robyn's face against the faint lighting streaming in through the window.
What I like about this photo is the detail shown in Robyn's eyelashes and the slight reflection of the window light in the lens of her eye. While this photo technically breaks two basic rules of photography, (not using a 50/50 composition and not having detail in the dark areas) I think it brings the viewer to the details in the image and simplifies the presentation. To me the end result is very balanced and peaceful appearance.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV f3.5
[click photo to enlarge]

Alarm clock

2006-01-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

For most people this is the last thing you want to see in the morning. I took an extreme close up of my alarm clock to challenge myself to make something common look interesting.
In order to get this look I used a longer exposure and altered the focus so the image would be a little fuzzy. The result is a sun-like glow around each of the digits. Also you can see the light emitted by the 'off' sections of the numbers. To differentiate the shot even more from real life I tilted the frame.
I think the image has a stark and almost eerie look to it. Much different than what a typical alarm clock looks like.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro mode, TV 4 seconds
[click photo to enlarge]

Faucet by the ocean

2006-01-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

There are some photos which just look interesting without a concrete reason. This to me is one of those photos. Something about the rich color and the bright appearance of the faucet makes me like this photo.
I took this photo on the Pacific Coast Highway, a few hours north of Santa Barbara, California. Despite it being an overcast day with rain and rough surf, just enough light leaked down to illuminate the faucet and the plants. This was just part of a little state park beach and overlooked the Pacific Ocean. I'm not really sure what it's purpose is but it looks odd right near the water.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

Old switches

2006-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is a closeup of switches and knobs on an old amplifier my Dad was about to throw out. I added some strong lighting from underneath in order to create strange, almost ghostly shadows. The strong light made the ends of the switches seem to glow. I used a shallow depth of field in order to draw the eye to the switches and to blur the distracting background.
This photo reminds me that no matter how advanced a piece of technology is, eventually it becomes more valuable as a reminder of the past than for its original purpose.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 2.8
[click photo to enlarge]

Signs of Times Square

2006-01-18T00:02:00.000-08:00

When I was in New York last December we were walking through Times Square when I thought of this interesting relationship between the sign and the huge advertisement. I've always wanted to capture the wild and over-commercialized nature of Times Square but most shots seem simple and boring.
By including the crosswalk sign I tried to add a little humor and interest (hopefully). Even at 9pm lighting wasn't really an issue due to the intense floodlighting in the square. The only tough part was to expose the darker areas like the street sign correctly while capturing the light from the crosswalk sign.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV 5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

The King of Drops

2006-01-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

This is another photo from the 'water drop' shoot when I took this other photo. Of something like 550 attempts I got about 20 quality shots.
I liked this particular one because the splash has the look of a crown. I think the crown effect happens after the column effect seen in my previous drop photo. I was happy that the drop fell right in the middle of where the light was brightest. For the lighting I used 4 lights and shot the drop in a metal mixing bowl in order to get the strange colors and reflections.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, TV 1/6400
[click photo to enlarge]

Glowing fence

2006-01-16T00:02:00.000-08:00

I took this photo when I was back home in the Philadelphia area in December. The sun was about 10 minutes from setting and the dry grass and the wood of the fence really picked up the strong lighting.
I thought the warm glow and the positive look of the image was appropriate for the observation of Martin Luther King Jr. day in the United States. If you haven't had the chance to read Dr. King's Letter from Birmingham Jail , I highly reccommend it. For anyone who appreciates excellent writing and thoroughly thought out arguments the letter should serve as an inspiration.

Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 2.8, AV f11.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Me in New York

2006-01-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

I realized that other than the mysterious sunglasses shot in my blogger profile I haven't posted any photos of me.
Robyn took this photo of me when we visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. I like this shot because of the color of the art in the background and the strong lighting. Also the inclusion of the other people in the frame adds interesting elements.
By the way Hops our rabbit just celebrated his 3rd birthday. You can check out photos of his 'party' on Robyn's blog.
Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV f5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

Rusty chain in paradise

2006-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

I took this photo on 17 mile drive on the Monterey Pennisula in California. It's a loop through cypress groves and along the rocky coast of the Pacific Ocean. There is a little walking trail (stop #5) where you can walk along the coast and see the huge waves crashing against the rocks and sand. As you can see from the rust deposits on the chain, the crashing of the waves creates a lot of spray which covers anything close to the shore.
I like this photo because it shows that no matter how hard we try to contain or control the earth, nature always finds a way to overcome. It's an interesting contrast between the constant and ageless ocean and the temporary and fading fence.

Canon 20D, 24-8524-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV mode f5.6
[click photo to enlarge]

Close to change

2006-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

I decided to change things up a bit and include a macro shot (In case you haven't noticed I really don't like to post two similar photos in a row).
I liked the composition in this photo and how the light and focus on the dime in the bottom left brings attention to the detail.
I look at macro or close-up photography as a way to bring attention to things we normally overlook.

Nikon Coolpix 5400, Macro mode AV f8.0
[click photo to enlarge]

Boats in San Francisco

2006-01-12T00:24:00.000-08:00

I'm really happy with how this photo turned out. I took this around the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. If you've ever been there you know that is a very touristy area with tacky gift shops and restaurants. I tried hard to create an image that reflected the real wharf by including the traditional boats rather than the modern signs.
I like this compostion as it balances the boats and their reflections well. The shape of the boats seem to melt into the reflection in the still water. This balance and the great lighting make this more than a standard shot of docked boats.

Canon 20D, 24-85mm 3.5-4.5, AV mode f8.0
[click photo to enlarge]