I know it has been a little while since I posted some new images, but here goes. I’m up in the Adirondacks for the month of March, and I thought I would play with a new toy I got for Christmas. My uncle, who’s also a photographer, found a great radio controlled shutter release for Nikon cameras, and got me one for the holidays. I had a ton of fun this morning playing with the new toy capturing everything and anything that came close to the feeder just outside the house.
I’m so excited about this new technique, as it incorporates the sense of place I like about a wide angle lens, with the frame-filling ability of a telephoto. Both images were taken with a 12-24mm Nikon lens, and a bit of fill flash to help define the subject from the background. It’s just a start, but I’m excited already to see where this new technology will take me.
One of the great things about winter - beyond the opportunities to ski and sled, is the free time to catch up on my processing from previous shoots during the year. I’ve included some images here that are part of my Adirondacks Project.
As I look toward my schedule for 2010, there will be plenty of time to explore perhaps the greatest of all of America’s parks - the Adirondacks. I will be there for much of the month of March working on both video and stills.
I know it has been a while since my last post, but I’m still busy traveling, photographing, and teaching around the country. On my way to Alabama for some teaching, I stopped to see a dear friend in Atlanta. He insisted that I spend a day and photograph at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
They are gearing up for their annual orchid show. The displays were incredible, and what’s best is that they allow you to take your tripod and get right close to the flowers. If you’ll be passing by, or have a free weekend, you owe it to yourself to stop by and warm up your macro lens.
If you can, my recommendation would be to stop by during the week, as crowds will be minimal, and you’ll have plenty of free space to photograph and explore the magical colors and compositions.
I’m proud to be included in a new photography exhibit featuring 3 generation of creativity. My grandfather, mother, and cousin are also showing work along with myself at the New City Library http://www.newcitylibrary.org during the month of November.
It is an honor to be displaying my work alongside those in my family that have inspired me, and who I’ve hopefully been a help to as well. If you get a chance, the show is worth checking out. The New City Library is located about 45 minutes north of New York City.
Just a quick post from Vermont. It’s peak for the foliage season here, and I’ve found a new waterfall just south of Newfane. It’s a beauty of a spot, and I had a great day there photographing.
It’s off to teach a workshop here for the next week, and then on to Ithaca for their foliage season. I hope you all out thee are finding good fall foliage and having a great time exploring it with your lens.
I’ve headed back north to the Adirondacks - to work on my documentary concerning sustainability and the Adirondack Park. I’ll be there for a couple weeks working with some local farmers, restaurant owners / chefs, and a unique organization called Adirondack Harvest. More about this later…
I’ve just been out filming and photographing on a cool clear morning. It was a bit below freezing, and the water of this lake was absolutely still as the last of the gentle fog lifted. What an amazing place, I can’t wait to experience and share more of my time here.
Have a great fall - it’s officially begun here in the Adirondacks.
I’m down in Alabama teaching Photoshop, and thought that I would do a experimental timelapse. I’d seen some amazing night timelapse video on the website www.timescapes.org and thought I would give it a try.
Traditionally digital cameras are pretty bad with night exposures, as digital noise often overtakes image detail. I was very impressed however with my Nikon D300. I used a fixed 24mm lens, and set the aperature to full open - F 2.8, and used a 25 sec. exposure at ISO 400. I then processed the whole set of RAW images as a batch, and lightened them a bit. I didn’t use any noise reduction software, and I was quite impressed that the resulting video was quite clean. It’s not perfect, but I was truly impressed that it came out pretty good.
Just a day ago, a friend and I hiked a local New York State Park, Harriman State Park. Located just north of the New Jersey border, and a quick drive from southern New York or New York City, Harriman offers hiking, camping, canoeing and more.
Our goal was to explore one of the old 1777 trails used in the revolutionary war, and climb Bald Mountain - which overlooks the Hudson river, West Point Military Academy, and the other mountains of the park. While atop the mountain, I decided to try my luck at a panorama, hand held. I didn’t have my tripod with me, and wondered whether Photoshop would be able to stitch the image together - It had no problem. Of course, all this worked because there was enough light to give me a very fast shutter speed.
Next time you’re out with just your camera - sans tripod, don’t think that you can’t try a panoramic. You don’t need a special panoramic head, just a fast shutter speed, a good view, and the software to stitch it together. If you’re new to panoramas, you might want to check out my detailed panorama instructions, which are part of the December 2007 Newsletter.
I just wanted to let everyone know about a great way to display some of your more artistic, abstract works. I recently purchase some canvas paper for my printer. Mine takes rolls, but Epson and other manufacturers make sheet versions as well. I thought I would try some prints, as I’ve been reproducing acrylic paintings for a couple local artists on the canvas, and thought my photographs might look good on the material.
The images with a more “painterly” feel have really worked out well. The added canvas texture creates a unique fell to the image. If you’re doing your own printing, and you tends toward these type of images, you owe it to yourself to experiment with canvas. After the printing is done, you can purchase stretchers from your local arts and crafts store to stretch the canvas over - this gives it a really authentic look and feel.
I’ve been in Maine for just a short few days, and thought I would make a second attempt at capturing Pemaquid Lighthouse. The first time, the day looked great, right up to the time when the fog rolled in. It was so thick, you could barely make out the lighthouse.
I was really looking to photograph a bit before the actual sunset - to capture the light streaming across the amazing rocks at Pemaquid Point. Yesterday, that’s exactly what happened.
The shot really highlights the concept of showing up early for sunset. The best images from the shoot were about an hour before sunset. I was there during sunset, and for the 20 minutes or so after the sunset, but the best light to be had was earlier - when the rocks were well illuminated, with glowing golden light.
It would have been nice to have great color, but unfortunately the clouds didn’t stick around. I suppose we all just need to make the most of opportunities we have.
Just a quick post from Vermont. It’s peak for the foliage season here, and I’ve found a new waterfall just south of Newfane. It’s a beauty of a spot, and I had a great day there photographing. 
I’ve headed back north to the Adirondacks - to work on my documentary concerning sustainability and the Adirondack Park. I’ll be there for a couple weeks working with some local farmers, restaurant owners / chefs, and a unique organization called Adirondack Harvest. More about this later…
