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From the Archives, Mothball Fleet
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 7:24PM I went through the photo archives over the weekend and stumbled upon a few unpublished Mothball Fleet photos that I had overlooked before.
I haven't been back to the fleet in a few months, but I am anxiously awaiting another trip...
Pics of the Week
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 12:19PM Untitled - sureShut
The contrast between the soft white curved lines and sharp dark lines in this photo really do it for me. The framing is really nice, especially with the curved lines leading in from the bottom right corner of the frame.
Giant's Causeway - DavidCidrePhotography
The color combination here is very beautiful; the sky in warmer tones and the water in cooler hues. The motion in the clouds and water add a nice fantasy feeling to this image.
scale - moucri
The framing in this shot is spectacular. The fact that it's extremely off centered is fantastic. I also love how the color of the car almost camoflages it in the scene. Really great.
The Lost City - AndersonImages
To me, this photo emmulates a fantasy world. Having been to Machu Picchu, I can say first hand, that it is a very alien-like landscape. The fog in this photo really helps to accentuates that.
Elephant Seal Pup - Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography
This photo captures such an incredible moment. This pup looks very curious and playful, almost as if he is interacting with the photographer. The exposure is incredible. He captured the details in the foreground without over-exposing the sky.
JFW - Zena Holloway
I stumbled upon this photographer accidentally and was immediately captivated by her work. This photograph was definitely one of my favorites. You might not know from looking at this shot, but it was taken underwater. To me, that makes it more intriguing. The photographer captured beautiful expressions and poses even despite the constraints of the water. The shape of the model's body on the right is beautiful.
back to the beqa lagoon #5 - pats0n
Wow! I love how in-your-face the shark is here, yet at the same time, the photographer was still able to keep his whole body in the shot. That makes it much more powerful.
/ / / | \ - maxxsmart
The anonymous nature of this photos subjects really works here. The light reflecting off the towers in combination with the clouds is truly stunning. The photographer's black and white processing is fantastic, as usual.
Untitled - LaraJade
For me, the hanging flowers in this shot make it really magical. The similar hues and tones work well here, and the contrast of the model's pastel dress on the grass really works nicely.
Untitled - Christoph Morlinghaus
This photo captivates me in a strange way. I love the symmettry and lack of it here. The angle of the cars is pleasant to the eye and the lines in the empty stalls really put this shot over the top. Fantastic abstract!
ppics of the week in Pics of the Week Update
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 12:18PM Looks like I'm about a month behind on my "Pics of the Week" blog...
Things have been pretty busy. I was on a camping trip over Memorial Day weekend and spend a week in Napa and Monterey working.
During the camping trip, we did get in a bit of shooting at Fort Ord.
Other than that, I haven't done much shooting lately, other than the time lapse I shot at the event my company produced in Monterey.
1,875 frames (played back at 15fps.)
Average interval between frames = 60 seconds
Total time lapsed = 3 days (31 hours)
I'm still not caught up with posting all the photos from my April Salton Sea/Los Angeles trip, so you will be seeing those on Flickr soon.
Pics of the Week
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 4:02PM Jeremy Cowart
Radiants - Extra Medium
Ella in Blue - Mr. Moog
Moonrise - andy keels
Saint Nick's Coal Breaker - FutureImpaired
Clinical Solitude - earthmagnified
Yuca, Soaptree. White Sands - edsel12
Locust Moon - Darren White Photography
The Psychiatric Hospital Theater - tunnelbug
Dave and Liz at home - claire.photography
My Cream Will Make You Scream - TakenPictures
African Elephant - Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography
Photographing the Gubernatorial Debate
Monday, May 3, 2010 at 8:40PM Yesterday, I had the chance to photograph the 2010 California Republican Gubernatorial Debate. Though I associate myself with the Democratic Party, I knew this would be a challenging opportunity that could teach me a few things.
I have some experience photographing concerts, but I anticipated this would be different. While many of the techniques are the same, the lighting was at 3200 kelvin and free of colored gel which makes it different then most live concerts.
I shot with the Canon 5D and 2 of the lenses I own; the Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS, and Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L. As you can imagine, the 70-200 peformed circles around the other lens, but a longer zoom would have been helpful.
Throughout most of the event, I shot at ISO 1600, with my aperture set at f/3.5 (on the 70-200) and f/4 (on the 24-105). I also set my EV (exposure value) setting to -1 to compensate for the bright stage lights. (Without this, the lights would overexpose faces and details in clothing and the set.) This allowed my shutter speed to be around 1/200th, which was just enough to get sharp shots.
Southern California Photo Trip
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 4:47PM This past weekend I managed to get Friday and Monday off work, so I went down to Southern California for a 4 day photography trip. When I landed Friday, a group of us explored a few abandoned buildings in the Los Angeles area.
The first building was a women's facility. Every wall was a pastel color and it contained a large blue and teal pool, gymnasium and sauna.
The next building was a 13 story Neo-Classical building that was comprised of various store fronts on the ground floor, such as a photo studio, Italian Restaurant and a Bar, while the upper floors were comprised of commercial offices.
Saturday, we all drove out to the Salton Sea for a UER meet-up, where we attempted to fish and explore Bombay Beach.
We met some local kids while we were out fishing and they gave David and I a tour of Bombay Beach. They showed us the paths out to some of the decaying structures, and warned us that if we stepped off the pieces of wood and palm leaves, we'd sink into the mud. Two of them were brothers who liked to wrestle each other and the third spoke and acted like Chunk from 'The Goonies.'
After dinner, we went back to Bombay Beach for some night photography.
On Sunday, I spent about 12 hours in Joshua Tree. We explored a boulder cave and shot out near the Wall Street Mill at night.
It was a great weekend and it made me realize that I need to do photo trips more often...
U.S.N.S. Edwin D. Patrick
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 8:41PM I just discovered that the most recent ship towed out of the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, U.S.N.S. Edwin D. Patrick, was one of the ships I had the priviledge to explore on a recent trip to the Fleet.
She was first of the 6 ships, towed out of the fleet, that I have had the chance to photograph, which is why I'm a bit sadenned by the news. While that might sound strange to many of you, it's something that happens to us explorers/photographers when we see a place we've visited often be demolished or renovated.
Throughout the last year, I've made a number of trips to the Fleet and each time, I discover something new, which leads to a stronger attachment to the ships. This ship in particular was interesting to me because she was a troop transport ship and contained many elements most military ships do not, such as a monetary exhange booth, theatre, church and rec room.
During my trip to the Fleet, I was told that U.S.N.S. Edwin D Patrick and her sister ship, U.S.N.S. General John Pope had been sold for scrap, but there was no indication of when this would occur.
U.S.N.S Edwin D Patrick was a troop transport ship commissioned in 1945. In 1950, the Navy reclaimed the ship and placed into Military Sea Transportation Service, where she served as a transport ship during the Korean War. She was decommissioned in 1967 and places in Suisun Bay shortly thereafter. In 2005, she was scheduled to be transported to Alang, India for scrapping, but concerns about the condition of her hull prevented this from occuring. In March 2010, U.S.N.S. Edwin D Patrick was sold to ESCO Marine in Brownsville, Texas.
Photo by Tom Langford
She was towed out of the fleet on April 15, with no announcement in the media or on the Port of San Fanncisco roster. She now sits in the dry docks at BAE Systems in San Francisco awaiting her trip to Texas to be scrapped.
Photo by Dave R
Pics of the Week
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 4:34PM Duelling Zebras - wwarby
What a great moment, captured in time. Love the position of the zebras and the fact that one is bearing his teeth. Fantastic capture.
Help Is Here - TakenPictures
I see a great story within this image, about a lonely car, in need of some TLC. Fantastic exposure and lighting as well as composition.
Magic Curves - Bousure
The lighting on the steps is incredible here, drawing your eye right to the beautiful curves in the staircase. Fantastic composition.
Empty Kingdom - City Eyes
The symmetry of this shot is appealing to me. I love the colors and lines in the chairs, contrasting with the curves of the entryway.
Essex County Jail - Future Impaired
The colors initially drew my eye to this photograph, butthe textures and compsition are also very nice. I find myself wondering what's behind the barred window.
Visibility. - Julie Michelle (CaliberSF)
This photo makes me feel lonely, but I love how she's looking into the distance yet you can barely see the silhouettes of the sailboats through the fog.
The Four Corners Hotel - Tunnelbug
The colors of this shot are fantastic. I love the red fire escape and the bare trees on either side of the house. The photographer did a nice job with the HDR processing on this shot.
Brown Vine Snake, Panama - Andrew Carrano (National Geographic)
The depth of field in this shot is fantastic because it makes me feel like the snake is about to bit me. I love the detail in his eyes and mouth. Fantastic moment captured here.
Iceland - Andri Elfarsson
The blue colors in the water definitely caught my attention first, but as I studied the person in the photo, I began to wonder what he would say to me if I was there and spoke to him. I'd want to ask him what he is doing standing there. This photo gives me so many opportunities to create a story in my head, not to mention it's beautifully photographed.
Cochese. - ~ Buffalonian ~
I love the perspective of this photo. It really helps personify the car to me. Beautiful colors and processing as well.
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Monday, April 5, 2010 at 11:25AM Fin - Autopsea
At first glance, I was drawn to the colors and detail in this shot. The photographer captured a great moment here, showing a Clown Fish hiding inside an anemone.
Looking for the Light - andywon
The mood of this photo is fantastic. I love the cool tranquility of this shot. I am also left curious, waiting, because it's almost as though someone or something should appear from the mist at the end of the path.
CeCy Young
The creativity here is great. I love her take on Alice and Wonderland.
untitled - moucri
Beautifully simple and slightly abstract. I love the depth of field, especially when it comes to the waterdrops.
Changes - murdokibz
Great colors and framing of the moving water between the rocks on the left and right. The synonymous motion of the clouds and water works well together.
Dunes - Thierry Hennet
This photo has beautiful curves and lines that vanish nicely into the left corner of the frame. Nice subtle abstract feel to the shot.
Anchor and Chain - AGrinberg
Great composition, colors and textures. I love the touch of water in the left corner of the frame, giving the photo a little more context. Beautiful!
Wedge Dunes Sunset - jeffiebrown
This place looks so peaceful and serene. I love the clouds and lines in the sand. Gorgeous detail!
even ovals - Mor.gan
I've always been captivated by waves since I was a kid. I can sit at the beach and watch them break on the shore for hours and never get bored. This shot demonstrates that curiosity and fascination very well. Beautiful wave, blue water and blue skies.
Sardes, 2003 - nuri bilge ceylan
This is a truly unique photograph, as it's a cinemascope, the format of shooting widescreen from the 50's-60's. I love that this photographer has gone back to this format. There is no useless space in this photo. Every inch of this photo captures an important element of the scene. I love how the person is framed in the right portion of the photo. Great setting and composition here.
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