Tag Archives: Photography

Henrik Lundqvist – The Gameplan

Henrik Lundqvist – The Gameplan

April 26th, 2011

Henrik Lundqvist - The Gameplan

Here is my first New York Rangers graphic this season, and that is ironic because the season is over! The one game I actually got to attend to take pictures was their second to last game; The heartbreaking double OT loss to the Caps. Getting pictures was a bit difficult this time due to people getting in my way, but I was able to accomplish some goals and get pictures of things that I wanted to get, which has led to this result.  I wanted to have an “All Alone” feel while not being a simple v3, so I wanted to visualize what could be going through Henrik Lundqvist’s head as he concentrated. Smooth moves, good position, and technical accuracy. So, to separate the main cut of Lundqvist, I gave the rest of the cuts a cloudy dream-like look.

You can download it at multiple resolutions below:

Imperial Baths of Trier, Germany

Imperial Baths of Trier, Germany

March 15th, 2011

Imperial Baths

I have finally made it out of the continent of North America, and it is definitely a nice change of pace to be able to photograph things that are much older than you are used to seeing. Trier is Germany’s oldest city, and features many glimpses into the past. I thought the contrast between modern and historical structures was very interesting, but with my photos I wanted to try to focus on only the old, leaving out as much modern stuff as I could.

What’s this? A new toy? Can I play?

What’s this? A new toy? Can I play?

November 26th, 2010

It can't take photographs of itself from three feet away unfortunately

Everyone usually regards their first purchase of a Canon L lens as the “start of an addiction”. In my case, that addiction has been around long before the actual state of owning one. I’ve had the chance to use a few of them over the years (70-200 2.8 IS, 16-35 2.8, and 24-70 2.8 for the most part), so I know exactly what they are capable of, and my desire to own one has been pretty big from day one. It feels good to have a quality lens even if it isn’t the super max aperture/image stabilized version, since I’m used to having to deal with slow lenses with sub-par quality elements. I’ll take that f4 with much satisfaction, and I’ll enjoy its lightweight feel and sharp focus until the day where I am able to upgrade. Until then, I’m a happy man!

Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to use it too much aside from a random outdoor cat picture:

Alley Cat

The sharpness of the lens is pretty evident, and the details in the fur on the cat’s face stuck out to me right away, as I am used to seeing a lot of chromatic aberrations and general softness on my previous lenses. The picture isn’t all that special, but it was just a test. I am liking the USM focusing a lot as well. Hopefully I can put it to some good use and have more photos to show that have been created with the aid of the new lens!

HDR Photo Test – Night Street

HDR Photo Test – Night Street

June 17th, 2010

Another Test Shot

This was another test with multiple exposures in conjunction with HDR merging. The actual execution of the shot was a lot more difficult than the post production, as I underestimated the length of the longest exposure, which ended up being around 30 seconds. Luckily, no cars drove down the street to ruin the shot.

HDR Photo Test – Blue Street

HDR Photo Test – Blue Street

June 17th, 2010

Last Test Shot

I’ve been doing some technical tests with panoramas and HDR lately, and before you say “Oh no! HDR!!!”, I’ll explain my intentions.

Most people will think of over-sharpened, over tone mapped, surrealistic images when HDR photography comes to mind, and while some people do like it, I don’t think I’ll be doing too much of that. I just want to have it compliment my existing work flow instead of having it replace my work flow, and I wouldn’t want someone looking at one of my pictures to have their first thought be “well, looks like someone maxed all the attributes in photomatix again…”.

While I am just starting to try it, I have been observing the battles that have been going on in regards to HDR photography for a while now. Most people love it or hate it. My viewpoint is that subtlety is the best way to go. My current tests are more on the extreme side of what I’d like to accomplish, but I think that using HDR while still keeping a more natural feel is something that is overlooked, but in an obvious way. Works that employ that style are simply not noted as being HDR by viewers, and that is a good thing.

All in all, it is fun to experiment with and we’ll see if I will end up using it in a more serious manner.