Federal Hill Protects

Federal Hill. Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

This hillside community park overlooks Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  The canon placements provided defense and protection dating back into the 1700's.  The tall building in the distance in Baltimore World Trade Center.  to the right on it with the blue neon lines is The National Aquarium.  The center of nightlife in Baltimore is a must see for any touring visit.

The Reel Deal II

These are the colored originals for "The Reel Deal."  Someone asked to see them.  I think sharing them for examples of what can be done fits nicely.  See it in your mind.  Capture the images.  Then create it.

The Reel Deal

Shenandoah Sunset

Wrong place: right time.  I was driving South on I-81 though the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.  I could tell the clouded sky was going to POP when the sun dropped below the ridge line.  For 20 minutes I raced down the hwy try to get near a Civil War battlefield location I know about.  There just was not enough time.  I had to pull over and snap up these frames from the roadside.  It was magnificent... except for the high speed vehicles whipping past at 84 mph.

a maple tree

CKBQ: ALT Considerations

"Captain Kirk", a Navy Pilot, is who the kid wants to grow up to be.  That's what the title track refers too.  My  photo shoot with "KIRKBALL" yielded some great lessons in studio portraits and working with models.  He for the most part was responsive and cordial, but had his moments just the same.  We were looking to capture his expression of reckless abandon for life and excitement and everyday goodtimes.  Through several days in a makeshift studio we heard sea stories of his Navy adventures.  His character defined itself and we captured it.  These are some strong alternative to the album cover we ultimately settled on.  Captain Kirk was pleased.  The Beauty Queen was not.  She after all, only got a token nod on an inside panel.

www.joelportrock.com for the song.

Photo II: MPHS 1988

The early days on a field trip into a Charlotte community with the photography class.  That seems like 5 lives ago...

Basic Image Manipulation

Image manipulation is much easier these days.  Digital Darkroom software can put user friendly tools at the fingertips of beginner photographers. Learning the in's and out's of these programs will be essential in developing your craft.  In the past where we used trays of chemicals, stop and wash baths to develop film and print paper copies of our images.  Now we transfer them to a computer and get busy on them.  Here is a flower image I took and ran several different processes on.

1. Contrast enhance

2. Sepia toning

3. B&W conversion (green)

4. B&W conversion (red)

C.O.D. (clover of the day)

Photo Flashback: HS

I recently was at a high school watching and photographing some sporting events.  While I was there I noticed several students walking around with film cameras.  Undoubtedly photo students- what kid would be carrying a film camera around these days otherwise?  I had a flashback to my HS photography class and it's assignments.  Everything was shot in B&W on ISO400 Kodak Tri-X or the new (at the time) T-MAX.  We had to see everything in shapes and contrast and shadows and grays.  That foundation taught me so much.  This day I set out to "re-enact" a photo assignment.  I choose to photograph the bleachers at the football field.  I wonder if I would have seen them the same way some 20 years ago?

Sweet Dreams Baltimore

At night, the big red "Domino Sugars" sign, literally the size of a basketball court, glows from the refinery rooftop. Like the Orioles and crab cakes, the Domino sign screams Baltimore. It costs $100,000 a year to power and to keep the 1950s-vintage neon tubes in good repair. In this town, rich in the physical remnants of its working past, that's money well spent: a blazing reminder that people and machines still make things.  

Fuzzy Beans

I was driving through some farmland today in Maryland and these photographs jumped right out at me.  A peanut on a stick?  Hairy pea pods?  A little research at the USDA site led to me understand what soybeans look like in the field.  Maybe I managed to see them a little different than the average farmer.  I hope you enjoy.

OEC: Cheap Glass

My daughter and I love the quaint historic part on Old Ellicott City, MD.  We've taken several photo excursions into the antique stores along the main road.  Sometimes there are maritime wares, old furniture or figurines to snap shots of.  I did see Elvis recently right?  So this last trip I decided to use props.  I walked around the store using depression ware, cut glass and castings to produce interesting results.  The light bending and coloring through this cheap glass work created wild and interesting lightscapes.  The shallow DOF added attention to details in the intricacy of the glass itself.  It was a self imposed assignment.  Pick a subject and run your creativity, tools and ability through the paces.  You may surprise yourself with a grand happy accident.

i saw elvis

There I was... in the presence of greatness...

Bull Thistle +/- 500ft.

Bald Mountain, Shenandoah Range. George Washington National Forest near Harrisonburg VA.  With an altitude of 3680' there is some magnificent stuff happening there all the time.  I was there over the weekend having some trail rides in my Jeep Cherokee. We had a BLAST!  I found some Bull Thistle with early morning dew still clinging to it t around 10am.  Then 500ft. up when we got atop of Bald Mountain the wind was blowing steadily.  It was 37deg. and the fog/clouds were freezing molecules atop themselves in the direct wind.  What a wild image.  The flowers were still in color and unprepared for the onslaught.  It was fantastic to see.