Types of Photography: – Page 19

“Desolation” the Photography Exhibit Arrives…

As some of you may have seen I have been working on a series of photographs which I have been referring to as “Desolation”. The series is based on abandoned buildings and houses throughout the region. I started this series last year with the intentions of just getting a few interesting shots from an old house that I had come across. I can certainly say that I instantly was fascinated with the idea of the these forgotten places. Since then I have been photographing and visiting as many places that time allows and the series has been growing. Starting tomorrow night I will have an exhibit of some of this series at the Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pa. The opening will be Friday, February 10, 2012 from 5pm to 8pm. The show will run through March 8, 2012. If you are in the area please stop by and take a look at the show and let me know what you think.

The photographs that will be on display consist of Black & White and Color HDR (High Dynamic Range) images. I decided to take this series in a “digital altered” direction to add some dramatic effect to the photographs. Also, to better show some of the amazing textures and detail that can be found in these capsules of time. It is always interesting to look inside these places and wonder why did the owners leave, where did they go, and why did they leave so many of their belongings behind? I have seen everything from pianos to a business check book that contained a un-deposited check. Some of the places look as though the people just gathered up some of their belongings and walked out the door. And then I come along all these years later and take the photos of the emptiness and desolation of these places. And even though the places are abandoned and without people, to me, they have somehow managed to take on a personality or life of their own. And this series captures some of the “life” that I have come to call “Desolation”.

I hope that you have a chance to stop by Allegory Gallery and take a look at the show.

“Desolation” a photography project.. update

I have been working on this project for a while now and some of it will soon be on display during February at the Allegory Gallery, in Ligonier, Pa. www.allegorygallery.com

This project began with an old abandon house that I photographed, which sparked an interest in finding more abandon places. I have decided to use the HDR technique for this project which has resulted in some very interesting results. As I work on this project it often comes to mind why did the people leave? Where did they go? And why did they leave so much of their belongings behind? Questions, I fear, that may never be completely answered.

I hope that you find the photography of this project as enjoyable as it was for me to produce the photos. I will update with the particulars of the show as soon as they become available.

Hope to see you at the show…

Until then here is a quick teaser…

Headed out and about…

Headed out to find some more buildings for my “Desolation” project. I think I will head over to Green County and see if I can find some of those old abandon coal mine building. I will post some photos of what I find later.

Just a few shots…

Just wanted to share a few shots from a recent trip to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pa

Photography Exhibit…

There is a photography exhibit at the Allegory Gallery in Ligonier, Pa. The photographer is Lorie Lee Womack.

Her exhibit is titled “Human Nature” which is a series of photographs that incorporate people and nature.

If you are in the Ligonier area and have a chance to stop in Allegory Gallery take a look at Human Nature.

www.allegorygallery.com

Just a Quick Sunset Shot

On my way home from work this evening I saw this sunset, jumped off the turnpike at Irwin and grabbed this shot.

Hope you enjoy.

“Desolation” – A New Series of Photographs

So i’ve been working on a new series of photos. A while ago a good friend of mine suggested that I work in series, and I have done a few small ones and find it very interesting to keep them in mind as you are looking for something to photograph. I did a series on reflections where I used chrome on automobile and reflections in glass windows on buildings. The series worked well for me as I used it to become a member of Pittsburgh Society of Artists as well as the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.

The new series that I’m working on is: “Desolation”

The dictionary defines desolation as a state of complete emptiness or destruction. The following photos are the beginning of this new project and as I work on it I will post more of the series.

Hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment back and let me know what you think.

Sometimes You Find….

Sometimes when your out riding around you find interesting things.

On Sunday I was riding down a road that I travel often when I noticed an old fallen down building.

I decided to stop and was able to find two interesting photos.

Photos of Fireworks.. The Easy Way….

Well, with the forth of July quickly approaching and everywhere having a fireworks display I thought I might give you my “secret” formula for taking photos of fireworks.

Back in the day when I was using film, fireworks were very simple. I used 100 ISO film and set the aperture to f8 and the shutter speed to 8sec. That was it, nothing to it. But in todays world of digital photography with different types of sensors and such I have found that a little experimentation works best.

But even with all that it’s really not that hard to do. So here is what I use and suggest as a good place to start.

Equipment:

DSLR (Nikon D300)
Lens or Lenses (Sigma 24-60 f2.8, Nikon 80-200 f2.8)
Sturdy tripod (Bogen with ball head)
Cable release (optional but recommended)

Settings:

200 ISO
f11 or f16
shutter speed between 2 and 6 seconds

That’s it, not much in the way of equipment, but you really don’t need too much to get the job done. Now for the experimental part of the process.

I have found with my particular camera that 200 ISO and f16 works the best and then I move the shutter speed around a little. I recommend not looking at the meter and using the manual exposure mode in your camera. I start with a shutter speed of about 2sec and go up to about 6sec. As a side note: during the grand finally I suggest a shorter shutter speed to counteract the extreme amount of light and avoid overexposure.

When I start the night out I usually will compose my shot and present the focus manually, in the area where I expect the fireworks to be going off. Once the first one goes off I will make any adjustments to the composition and focus and typically will leave the camera alone from then on, only changing if I decide to go from horizontal to vertical. I use a cable release to eliminate camera shake from touching the camera and it also allows me to watch the fireworks rather than look at them through the viewfinder. So that’s the big “secret” to fireworks photography. Well I hope this is a little helpful, if you have any questions or would like any more help feel free to leave a comment and I will respond as quickly as possible. Also if you are in the Pittsburgh area on Monday there will be several of us up river from Station Square, If you would like to join us stop by for a little socializing and great fireworks photos.

Do you think you might like to attempt some shots this year?

Here are a couple of my shots from last year in Pittsburgh, Pa.