Archive for the ‘Still Life’ Category:
Mishra’s Helix
I love this. I love the concept of it, I love that it exists. I loved that somebody created it. I love that somebody paid for it. And, I love that I got to take a nice picture of it.
What is it? It’s a giant clock sculpture. It works – it ticks, it chimes, it moves, it spins.. everything a proper artistic contraption should do.
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105 f/4L @ 24mm, 1/80 sec at f/11, ISO 400
The Purple Rose of Spring
In honor of the winter-like weather the Californians seem to think we are having here in Newport Beach, I’m putting up a powerful image of spring. Seriously, I saw a guy yesterday wearing a stocking cap and scarf in 70 degree weather. It’s a simple image made from our Easter bouquet shot with very low depth of field (that’s the blurry background) focusing on the center of the flower. I also made a point of not centering the flower that is in focus – I put it on one of the 1/3 lines on the side of the image. On top of all of that technical mumbo-jumbo, I just think it’s a really pretty, peaceful image.
It’s also a sneak preview of one of the images to be shown at my gallery opening on November 6th at the Mill District Art Gallery in Minneapolis!
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105mm f/4L @ 105mm ISO 400, f/4, 1/60 sec.
4 Million BC
Here’s a glamor shot of my newest toy – a 1971 Bally 4 Million BC. I’m not really into the old-school pins – but I’ve always liked this game. When an opportunity came up to buy one locally, I couldn’t turn it down.
It’s surprisingly difficult to shoot pinball machines. If you use a flash, well – it looks like it. Long exposures are about your only hope – but with all the chasing lights on the playfield, it looks strange because multiple lights will turn on and off while the shutter is open. Depth of field is also interesting – you have to close focus on things, and because of the flat view of the playfield – much is out of focus without a very small aperture.
As for getting the ball to show up – well, that’s my little secret.. 
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135 f/2L ISO 200, f/8, .8 sec.
Window Dressing
Here’s a quick blast of color for you on this Tuesday morning. It’s one of the many flowerboxes located on Acorn Street in Boston. Most of the row houses on this 8′ wide street have ornate flower boxes. This is one of the reasons it’s such a photogenic alley – there is color everywhere! It was purposely shot with a large aperture to blur the background and drive focus to the flowers in the foreground.
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 17-40 f/4L @ 36mm ISO 100, f/4, 1/20 sec.
Crayola Kayaks
This is a classic example of ‘If you see a lot of color, take a picture of it’. This is the row of rental sea kayaks located in Rockport, MA just behind where the famous Motif #1 is located. I used a lot of zoom to compress the perspective and make it look like a whole row of color crayons stacked up.
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 70-200 f/4L @ 200mm ISO 400, f/8, 1/250 sec.
Oh Buoy!
This picture was taken in Rockport, MA right near the famous Motif #1 in the inner harbor. There’s an old photography adage that says “If you see something colorful, take a picture of it.” This absolutely screams color – and it really sums the town up. Rockport is a lobster fishing town turned tourist destination that’s about as colorful as this pile of buoys. While you’re there – don’t miss the ice cream!
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105 f/4L @ 105mm ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/160 sec.
Wheels of Yesteryear
Today was my mother’s birthday – and we spent it as a family together in Waseca. During the afternoon, we went to Farmamerica – an Agricultural Interpretive Center because they were having a family day with a petting zoo. William had great fun milking a goat, looking at pigs and ducks, and getting inside the old cars. Here is a beautiful 1931 Model A Ford they had on display.
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105mm @ 24mm, ISO 400, f/4.0, 1/800 sec.
Gimme a kiss, baby!
This is a picture from the night I was trying to dial in all the studio gear. I had just recieved my first AlienBees light as well as a reflector, back background, and radio controls. Fortunately, both kids were in a great mood – and giggled a lot during the shoot.
Vital Stats: Canon 40D w/Canon 70-200 f/4L, ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/100 sec.
Easter Flowers Bring April Showers?
This was the centerpiece at our Easter dinner on Sunday. I was on a mission to get Easter pictures, and up until after dinner – I had forgotten. This meant that I had to scramble to keep up – and started firing pictures every which way. This one was a little more planned out – I set the bouquet in the good diffuse light and eliminated distractions. I like how it turned out – very peaceful.
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24-105 f/4L, ISO 400, f/4, 1/60 sec.
Lost in the Zone
This is my old Bally Twilight Zone pinball machine. I don’t own it any more – but my good friend Adam does. This shot was taken the day before it left my house.
See anything unusual about this picture? Sure – it looks surreal – but why?
The answer is the focus. There is a very narrow band of focus – about 8 inches worth – centered right on the door. A normal lens won’t produce this effect to such an extreme – you need a selective focus lens, also known as a “Tilt-Shift” lens. A tilt-shift lens allows you to change the plane of focus letting it either lie parallel to or perpendicular to the subject (or somewhere in between). In this case, I’ve got the plane of focus driving right into the playfield making everything in front of or behind it really out of focus. It’s cool stuff!
Vital Stats: Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 24mm TS-E. ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/15 sec.