Dumbo in Motion

In the first shot I combined a shot of the Dumbo ride while it was stopped with the HDR version of it in motion so you could see what ride it was. Ideally I would of loved to have a shot with Dumbo froze midair that lined up with the blur. I have ideas for next time. In the second shot I like the way the ride is blurred from top to bottom and you can see detail of the scene behind the ride.

 

 

 

Mark Twain Paddle Boat Disneyland

Disneyland has a way of transporting you into the land of fantasy kind of like the stories Mark Twain wrote. You can hop on a the Mark Twain Riverboat and pretend you are on the Mississippi River on a paddle boat. When I think of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn I can't help but think of what a great way to grow up. Living on the Mississippi River living out real life adventures. It makes me think of my childhood and the adventures I had. I can go back to some of the places and they just don't feel the same as an adult. They don't have the same sense of intrigue, Disneyland transcends that having something of interest no matter how old you are. Photography has taught me to slow down and enjoy the moment. Whether I have a camera or not I watch the way the sun hits objects and rakes across them it changes from minute to minute.  I remember as a kid I would watch the shadows creep across the ground. I also watch clouds pass by in the sky and try to guess what they will do next. It is a great way to relax and forget your troubles. Looking at things differently is a new way to enjoy things. Quite often I learn a new technique or come up with a new idea and want to go back to a location I have been before to try something different. It's a way to keep thing fresh and new.

I used a longer shutter speed to get a sense of motion. This image is tone mapped due to the motion you can not line up two images. The boat is not as sharp as I would normally like but that is the trade off to show objects in motion. I could of used a shorter shutter speed but that would freeze the paddle wheel.

This image could have been tone mapped due to the low contrast caused by the over cast sky. I realized that after I tone mapped the image above and it showed just as much detail after I had created this one in HDR and composted the white boat in from a single shot of the boat.

Emily and Jacob Christmas 2012

I tone mapped this image using Nik Software's   HDR Efex Pro 2 Tone Mapping. I shot the image using camera RAW and I could of ran it through the RAW processor with different results because you have different adjustments. Tone mapping is similar to HDR but using a single image to get a HDR look. My wife wanted an "artistic" portrait to send out with Christmas cards. She did not want me to post this until the Cards were sent out to our friends and relatives. Unfortunatly the lab did not process the prints very well and we did not have a chance to get them out for Christmas. I have essentially tone mapped another image in another post. I did not understand what tone mapping was and went through a lot of extra steps. It is one of my favorite images that I have ever taken. It is of a purple Mercury in the post Pacific Coast Dream Machines Automobiles. I shot for an HDR image, but this was the only image that did not have distracting elements similar to the post Taking Control of the Uncontrollable but I did not shoot extra shots. I was still new to HDR at the time. Tone mapping does not have the same dynamic range as HDR, but it mimics the look. Shooting in RAW allows you to save some of the dynamic range as opposed to shooting in jpeg. RAW format does not compress the data and allows you more leeway with your adjustments.

New Orleans Square Disneyland

New Orleans Square has always been my favorite place in Disneyland. It is where I fell in love with chocolate pecan pie at the Blue Bayou restaurant. I have never been to New Orleans, but I hope to make it some day. I know I would eat lots of food and listen to jazz music. The following images are roughly the same area one taken during the day with a cool tone from the overcast sky and one taken at night with a warm tone due to the tungsten lighting. Both shots were taken shortly after a rainstorm which helps bring out a rich tone on the ground surfaces. The rain also ads a slight reflection adding more color to the scene.

 

You can almost count on a kid walking by with one of those light up toys that spins to walk by at any time of night in Disneyland. I used the shot with the lighted toy to add color and mystery to the image. Whys is the light there? Who had the toy? What kind of toy? ...............etc.

Main Street Disneyland

Main Street is designed to look like Main Street Marceline, Missouri (Walt Disney's boyhood town) in the early 20th century. On Main Street Walt Disney honors people that have contributed to the park with there names in the shop windows. It's a nice way to step back in time and get away from the fast pace of life. Seeing the old cars, horse and buggies, barbershop quartets, old ice cream, candy stores and penny arcades. During Christmas it is also nice to see the Christmas decorations and the caroler's. I like the Esmeralda fortune telling machine it reminds me of the Zoltar machine in Big.

  

It's a Small World Chritsmas Time (composition)

I'll be the first to admit I am not happy with the composition of this image. I wish I was to the left so you could read the It's a Small World sign and lower so the sign and the ride were two separate elements rather than one. I still think it is worth posting for the people who have never seen Disneyland with the Christmas decorations up.

King Arthur's Carousel (photo merge)

The image below is of King Arthur's Carousel at Disneyland. When I shot it I did not notice I did not get all of the carousel. I was disappointed, but remembered photo merge in Photoshop. I figured I would try to save the image. Before I used photo merge I had to align the image because it was shot off kilter. I then copied the original image and flipped it so I could try to use the left side information to complete the right side of the image as if it were shot for a panoramic image. I could not get the images to align with out checking the geometric distortion correction which is why you see the curve in the bottom of the image. I made a blank layer under the final image and filled it with black. You can not see it on the top because the sky is so dark. After I merged the two images I flipped it again because there were blemishes where Photshop did not blend it well. I then made a mask that was black to remove the whole image and painted white to remove the blemishes and the a little cleanup with the clone stamp tool, healing brush and paint brush in color mode. The resulting image is just below.

 

 

This is the original image that was shot. I did not notice that I cut the right side of the carousel off until I tried to process the image. I originally was going to scrap the shot, but then thought of photo merge to try and save it.

 

I flipped this image after it was aligned in a layer on top of the middle image in this post. You can tell if you look at the top of the right hand side of the image you can see the lights from the top of the carousel.

Other images from Disneyland are at the follwing link The Magic of Walt Disney.

The Magic of Walt Disney

Even though Walt Disney  (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) passed on less than one year into my life his legacy lives on in our minds, the origional Disneyland park and the Disney animation. His nephew Roy E. Disney  son of Roy O. Disney (co-founder of what is now The Walt Disney Company) was the last member of the Disney family to be actively involved in the company. The company continues to grow in 2006 bought Pixar which made Apple's Steve Jobs Disney's largest shareholder. Just recently on October 30, 2012 The Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm. The Walt Disney Company continues to open more parks and resorts around the world. All this started because Walt Disney wanted a place where adults and their children could go and have fun together.

Keep an eye out for  more posts of images I took while I was in Disneyland and a tutorial explaining what it took to process the first image in this post.

Bliss Dance at Night

Bliss Dance must of been a hit at 2010 Burning Man I am so glad the artist returned here to the Bay Area. I made a previous trip shoot her during the day. It was worth the trip to see her at night. I wanted to get farther back and use a longer lens but there was a farmers market going on. I also want to use a longer lens during the day. Looks like another trip in the future. On this trip I also had a chance to shoot the eastern span of the Bay Bridge at night.

I corrected the perspective of this image also notice the plane above and to the right of the lamp post on the left side of the image. I did not correct perspective in the next three images, because I liked the lights. When I composed the images I made sure to cut them out. That just goes to show you only see about 98% of the image through the view finder. I would rather have too much and crop if I choose later.

I did not corrected the perspective of this image and the next two. I like the light rays from the LED array and I think it makes sense to see where the light is coming from. I wanted her to turn blue, but I like the other colors too.

I like the light tail from the plane just in front of her face. The light on the grass in foreground is lit by a pickups headlights. The truck actually drove in front of the camera on another exposure. I was upset when it happened, but I actually like the foreground lit for a different look. If you look behind Bliss Dance you can see another photographer in this and the next image. She was quite popular on this night.

I like how you can see the stars despite all the ambient light and the person that walked in and took a cell phone picture during the exposure on the left.

Bay Bridge at Night (New and Old)

I have always been interested in night photography and light trails. I am making a point to keep shooting after the sun goes down and even plan specific trips to take advantage of the "lack of light" after sunset. I have shot star trails in the past but I have not fully delved into night photography. I have always been in awe of great images taken after sunset. I am always looking to expand my horizons. I have studied photography since I was in high school and I have people ask me "how much is there to know about photography?" I always tell them try it some time. With technology changing so fast there is plenty to learn! With the hardware (digital cameras, computers, camera accessories...etc.) and software improvements constantly improving it is hard to keep up. I have always had a hunger for knowledge. Maybe not what I had to learn in school, but a curiosity to learn something new. I think it is what keeps life interesting.

When I first started getting into photography I spent so much time wishing I had this or that piece of equipment. If I had "that" I could take great photographs. When it was knowledge and imagination that were holding me back. Sure you need the basics a camera you can control and understanding how it works. Maybe a few lenses a tripod and the hunger to want to take great images. But in the end it is knowledge and imagination. Sure having nice gear and a lot of it helps, but in the beginning it helps to find out what you can do with what you have and forget about new gear. Then you have the knowledge and know why you want a certain lens or what ever it is you need. It will also save you a lot of money also. I have purchased a lot of "mistakes" in the past. It amazes me what I could have done all these years with what I had. That is one of the things that keeps me going back to some of the same locations. A few other things also make me go back weather, time of year, new ideas, new equipment...etc.

I have always wanted to shoot the western portion of the bay bridge with the city in the background just before Interstate 80 ends. I have seen that shot many times and wanted to make my own version, but I started thinking about the eastern portion and the new bridge when I crossed the bridge and did research when I was on Treasure Island shooting Bliss Dance. I found the right spot and got the eastern portion before I got the western portion. I was only able to get the eastern side because of the light and I had another shot I wanted to get. Keep an eye out for more of Bliss Dance at night I had a chance to shoot her on the same trip. I missed out on another shot due to fog. I will be back another day and another adventure. I can't wait for the new bridge to be finished.

Mono Lake

I spent the better part of the afternoon waiting for the sunset with the clouds in perfect position only to have them blow away at the last second. I went to the ghost town of Bodie the next day and I heard they blew in with a storm and they got some unusually good conditions for a photography course that was held there the previous night. The sky is usually clear up there from what I understand. I spent half of the next day at  Bodie turns out I had the flu I thought it was the rich food from the 4th of July. I still had a great trip over Ebbits Pass at Mono Lake and at Bodie just got tired too soon. I have included some images with people to show the size of the tufa towers.

 

 

 

 

Bliss Dance

Bliss Dance is a sculpture that was at 2010 Burning Man that is now on Treasure Island where it was created at Bliss Dance Studios. When I was doing research for this post I found out it actually lights up and you can change it from an iPhone application. I could see the lights (if you look at the palm tree on the left you can see some of the lights and there was some inside the sculpture) while I was photographing it. I thought it was something someone put on it. I will be going to visit again at night to see it lit up. I also hope to make it to Burning Man one day.

 

Toppenish Junkyard

These images are from a junkyard that is in Toppenish Washington. All of the vehicles are pre 50's with only a few from the 50's. I saw many makes that I did not recognize the name like Fageol and Reo. Fageol was founded in 1916 in Oakland California and it did not survive the depression. In 1938 T. A. Peterman bought the factory and its contents it later went on to become Peterbilt. REO Motor Car Company was in Lansing Michigan originally the company was to be called "R. E. Olds Motor Car Company," but the owner of Olds' previous company, then called Olds Motor Works, objected and threatened legal action on the grounds of likely confusion of names by consumers. Olds then changed the name to his initials. Olds Motor Works soon adopted the popular name of its vehicles, Oldsmobile (which, along with Buick and Cadillac, became founding divisions of General Motors Corporation). The band REO Speedwagon was named after a Reo flatbed truck. Neal Doughty a member of the band had studied transportation.

A GMC truck

Two Fageol trucks on the left and a REO truck on the right in the back of the image

There is another post from this junkyard Toppenish JunkYard (Garages).

Shaniko Oregon

This is a little ghost town called Shaniko in Oregon that is located on Highway 97. There is still a hotel and quite a few other buildings. In 2000 there was 26 people living there.

I printed this one it is printed on canvas 16"X20 and is hanging in my bathroom.

 I have another post about Shaniko it is a restored gas station.

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm 2012

All these pictures are taken with natural light (obviously the flood lights are an artificial light source, I did not use flash or any other light source) at Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm. In the first image the pumkins were quite a distance from the flood lights, but I like how you can see in to the store. The bottom two images the pumkins were closer to the light source. All the images are HDR taken dusk.

Toppenish Junkyard (Garages)

I have passed past by this junkyard for all my life it is located in Toppenish Washington. Many times when I have passed it was lit with the sun side lighting the cars you can see from highway 97. I finally decided to stop. When I pulled in my wife asked my to leave because it has a house next to it that someone lives in. After we left I told her I was going to stop and ask permission on the way home. On the way home when I stopped nobody answered the door so I drove further onto the property and found a man holding a shotgun. I shouted hello very quickly and got out of the car to ask for permission. He asked can you help me get rid of the birds as he waved the shotgun. I was thinking I would do anything to get you put down that shotgun. He had cherries that he was trying to protect from the birds. He agreed and said that many photographers come by.

I saw the garage with a car peaking out  with a pair of antlers on the hood and a AAA emblem on the grill. I like the AAA emblem rather than the stickers they have today. It shows the sense of pride the motor club had. I saw an old truck at the Pacific Coast Dream Machines  that had a AAA emblem. I wanted a shot of the car in the garage but could not get a straight on shot due to the piles of car parts strewn in front of the garage. You can see the challenge I faced in the third image in this post. The second image shows the image as shot (it has been cropped a little as you can tell if you compare the first and second image). The head on my tripod slipped that's why the image is cockeyed. So I had to correct the perspective in Photoshop in post.

I loved how the garages had hundreds if not thousands of parts hanging from the rafters.

I have more of the cars out in the open that I will show in other posts. I shot out here for about two hours before my wife and kids got impatient and wanted to leave. I could of shot a lot longer and plan to return if I am welcome. The cars were in heavy brush and the owner neglected to tell me there were goats out there which lead to a little excitement for me. All of a sudden the brush started to move and I figured out I was between mama and baby. I backed up and let them reunite and continued shooting. Keep an eye out for more posts from this location.

Fleet Week 2012

I watched the airshow from Treasure Island because of the traffic and so many things going on in the city. It was not the greatest place to be but the Blue Angels put on a great show for all locations including Treasure Island. I try a different location every time I go. I have been on the Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, Angel Island and Crissy Field. When I went to Angel Island I was lucky enough to be on the ferry when four of the Blue Angels buzzed us two were inverted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Blue Angels flew straight up and stalled and when he came out of the smoke it looked like he was coming right into the lens of the camera and then pulled out of it and flew right over me shown in the next two photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geico had a sky righter right different messages in the sky. It looked like 5 remote control planes flying very close to each other.

 

 

Here is a link to my Fleet Week 2011