Do you have a photographic bucket list?

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Do you have a photographic bucket list?

I’ve been thinking about this a bit lately.  You know the bucket list.  That list of stuff you need to do before you reach the “final print out”.  Turning 50 later this year has placed me in a bit of an introspective mood.  Almost half way done on my job here (God willing), I’ve started to ask myself “what else?”.

So here is the beginning of my photographic bucket list.  How about helping me out and adding some of your bucket list photo ideas or giving me some I may have missed.

THE LIST

1) A series of star trail photographs

2) Photograph Yellowstone

3) Visit the bottom of the Grand Canyon and photograph upwards

4) Photograph A pier that goes off into the ocean or harbor with an interesting item in the background

5) Tokyo at night, Tokyo with the cherry blossoms in bloom

6) Washington DC:  Architectural pictures in Spring

7) An old building interior before demolition

8 ) The moon through a 500mm lens

9) Australia.  Anywhere Bill Bryson has been.

10) A red sunset

11) A surfer in the tube

12) A skier in the middle of a jump

13) Horses running wild in South Carolina

14) Flying over Boston in a Helicopter

15) A lone tree in all 4 seasons.

16) Glaciers in Alaska

17) Mount Rushmore

18) Fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge

19) The Great Wall of China

20) The Castles of the UK and Ireland

21) Time lapse of a flower blooming

22) The Northern Lights

23) Snow Monkeys

24) A long drive down Route 66

25) US Route 1 from Maine to Florida and every photo in-between

26) A long exposure of a pier on a bay.

27) Smoke, fire, water

28) A Steam Engine

29) All the items mentioned in the song Junk by Paul McCartney.

30) Luna and Solar Eclispe

Now your turn, what would you add to my buck list or share some of yours…

>> just noticed comments are closed on this post so email your ideas to robert@robde.com and I’ll post them. <<

 

Excellent Photographic Reference Books

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Way too many months since my last blog post.  It has been quite a busy winter here in New England.

I’ve recently been using three books as reference to help me think creatively and also learn how to become a better photographer.  The interesting common element for these books is that they are all published by photographers who share not only their art but also provide the details on how they achieve creating this art.  I find them very useful for reference since I can first see what they’ve created then learn their technique.

Each of the images below will take you websites where you can purchase the books. 

Speedliter’s Handbook by Syl Arena

I’ve recently set up a mini-portrait studio as I try to learn what makes a great portrait and then how to create those images.  This book has such deep insight into all the details, I consider it the best reference on the subject of Flash photography. [Although it is geared towards the Canon photographer, it has great detail that other equipment owners will find useful.)

Expressionism by Andre Gallant

I recently listened to Andre Gallant speak at the Stony Brook Camera Club.  This is the third time I’ve had a chance to listen to him.  He is a wonderful out of the box photographer.  He takes photography into a different direction in a style he calls Dreamscapes.

His most recent book (that he is currently self publishing) opens with the following paragraph in the Introduction.  “After I did a presentation on expressive photography at the New England Camera Club Council, in Amherst, Massachusetts, a gentleman came up to me and asked if I had a book on the techniques I described in the program.  “Your images speak to me, and I need more time to look at them and figure out how they are created,” he said.  That comment planted a seed in my head and set the wheels in motion for this book.”

This book is very much a cook book providing images of the results and explanations on how to get there.

Expressionism: Digital Dreamscapes and other Techniques

 

 

 

 

 

 

Night Photography:Finding your way in the dark by Lance Keimig

A third photographer whom I truly appreciate having taken the time to document their knowledge is Lance Keiming.  Another photographer whom I’ve listen to present, Lance provides images that are not only his own but of other photographers and it is full of tables, techniques and explanations on how to create amazing images at night.

 

 

My Top Images of 2011

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My Top Images of 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, I’ve decided to keep the tradition I started last year and am posting my favorite images for 2011. This year I had a bit less time for my photographic passion as I started a new job and needed to focus there. That said, I am very pleased with the results this year.

I think I am beginning to discover some patterns in my photography. The types of images are certainly an eclectic mix of life but what I am starting to see is that my favorite images are those that shows “Man-Made” coexisting with nature. Not all the images here are of that subject but I think this might be where I am going over time.

You can get a feel of what I mean in the first three images.

You can see larger versions of these images In this gallery.

#1 Bench By The Golden Gate Bridge

This high dynamic range (HDR) photo was created in April 2011. It was a cold blustery day on the San Francisco Bay and I wanted to capture the drama of the moment. The bench and tree made a great subject with the bridge in the background. You can learn more about how I created this image here.

#2 Brookalino

Brookalino was the name given by the Italian immigrants for their adopted home in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge is an excellent metaphor for this bridge of Old World to New World. It is special to me since this is where my mom and grandparents started their life in this country of opportunity. Here the beauty of the sky is strongly contrasted with the structure of the tower.  Man-made contrasting nature.

#3 Sayville Dam

Captured in October 2011, Sayville, CT. Fall was just starting as I drove by this dam and spent a few minutes studying this control tower. I love the symmetry of this image, the sky and the diagonals of the hills in the background. All of these elements give the feel that the image is three-dimensional. Also here again, it is the nature in the background that contrasts the man-made structure which I think adds so much.

#4 Blue Angel 6

Flying by at 500 miles per hour, the US Navy Blue Angel took to the skies in June 2011 at the Rhode Island National Guard Air show. The drama created by these expert pilots always entertains and impresses.


#5 Scenes from Porto, Portugal

Two images reach the #5 postilion. Downtown Porto is a beautiful place. It holds much of the Old European feel of history. Porto is one of the oldest ports in Europe. These images were captured September 2011.The first image could have been taken decades ago. You can learn more about this image here. The second image has an interesting mix of colors, shadows nature (river) and man-made (buildings).


#6 Flowers

I was on a bit of a tangent this years with flowers. The “Fancy Daffy’s” were a little late to be photographed but I think still held well for the camera. The dogwood and grass weeds were shot with my new 70-200 f2.8 lens which does a wonderful job helping manage depth of field.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#7 Fireworks

The 4th of July in New England is such a wonderful time. This year my town of Franklin, MA had one of their best Fireworks display. This image had very little post processing. and is one of my favorites of the grand finale.

#8 The Womping Oak

This oak tree dominates a country road in Connecticut. Driving by it, this was the view from my rear view mirror. It caused me to turn around to spend a few minutes admiring this tree and attempting to capture her majesty.

#9 At the Boston Library

Using a wide-angle lens, I wanted to capture the dimension of this reading room at the Boston Library. I just love the green in the lamps and how they draw the eye to the center of the far end of the room.

#10 Serendipity

Another mixture of “Man Made” and Nature. I could not plan this image. I was attempting to capture the lights outside the Boston Library and the John Hancock building when the pigeon flew into frame. Wow. Serendipity.

#11 Railway Dream

This image was captured in late morning! The moon was in the sky but not at this location. The trees were just beginning to turn to the autumn colors. I was not happy with the image. With some Photoshop steps, I created this eerie night scene.

Acratech GP Ballhead – A review

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I’ve been shopping for a new ballhead for some time. My first ballhead was the Manfrotto 488RC4.  It is a nice ballhead but heavy; weighing in at 22 3/4 oz.  I quickly replaced it with the lighter (14 7/8 oz) Manfrotto 486RC2.  I’ve used this head for several years.  This was a trade-off of weight vs functionality.  I’ve always missed the bubble level on the 488RC4 ball head and the scale for panoramas but it was good enough.

One item that always bothered me was location of the knob and the fact that it never felt like it was locking the camera in place.  So what I really wanted was the Manfrotto 488RC at the weight of the Manfrotto 486RC2.

I stumbled upon the Acratech GP ballhead through a web search and had a chance to play with it at Hunts Photo and Video [see below for information about a deal Gary Farber at Hunts is providing to camera club members].

FUNCTIONALITY

Being an engineer and photographer, I love how form follows function with this device.  It is a very nice looking unit and you can see the quality of workmanship here.  Built from aircraft quality aluminum, they’ve removed extra weight by milling out what isn’t necessary and adding where strength is required.

Even when compared to Manfrotto’s newer units, this ball head really stands up.  The laser etched scale is large and legible.  There are two knobs, not one, to set tension on the ball giving better control.  The knobs are set so the will never completely unscrew and fall off.  (A bad situation for a night photographer).

What is also interesting is that the ball is exposed.  Dirt will not accumulate inside the ball head keeping it moving freely.

BUT WAIT THERES’ MORE!

You can use this ball head upside down.  (That’s why the scale is written both ways).  You do this by removing the Acra-swiss compatible quick release clamp and mounting it on the bottom of the ball head.  Why would you do this?  Well now you have a self leveling head that allows you to do panoramas.

Two for the price of one so to say.  But there is a hitch, to do this requires removing and resetting a screw.  But if you need that function in a pinch, you have it.  Also they set the screw to work with a small coin or with the hex wrench provided with the ballhead. The same hex wrench you need to mount the plate.  Talking about the plate…

WHERE’S THE PLATE?

One annoyance is that the plate does not come with the ballhead.  Acratech provides special plates for various cameras and they need to be purchased separately.  I guess it (c) Rob DeRobertisgive them better support but after I got the ball head, I had to search out an acra-swiss compatible plate.

To learn more about how this ball head works, check out the video on their website.

SUMMARY

I  bought the ballhead.  It gives me functionality without trade-offs.  It is a great device and something I plan to use for many years.  PS I am not affiliated with Acratech in any way, I just think this is a very nice ballhead which is under marketed and wanted everyone to learn about it.

Now about Hunt’s deal.

Of the camera shops I’ve visited in the Greater Boston area, Hunts seems the most geared up for the prosumer, camera club junkies like myself.  I think Gary Farber is a sharp marketer.  He realized that us camera club junkies have special needs.  We are more knowledgable then the standard Point and Shoot photographer but not at the level of the professional (also without the budget).  I appreciate the time that Hunts is willing to put in with us where other camera shops treat us quite poorly (at least that is my experience).  Anyway, Gary Farber (who sold me this ballhead) is offering a special for a limited time to camera club members for this ballhead.  He is taking $20 off the list price and providing free shipping.  You can contact him directly at 781-462-2332 or email at digitalguygary@wbhunt.com.

 Other Photos

 

(c) Rob DeRobertis

(c) R. DeRobertis(c) Rob DeRobertis

 

 

 

Time-lapse of the Lek Yeun Bridge in Sha Tin, Hong Kong

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This week I spent a few days in Hong Kong.  Fortunately I had a wonderful view of the Lek Yeun Bridge and beyond from my hotel room.  Having my trusty tripod, Intervalometer (sponsored link) and Canon 7D, I set up the camera to photograph sunrise from my hotel room.  Unfortunately, we had mostly rainy days this week, so it is sunrise without the sun… you’ll see. Anyway, the first 3 images in the sequence are actually from 10:15PM, the rest are from 5:30AM until 6:40 AM, 1 minute apart.  The first three images may be distracting but I like seeing the city with all the lights on and seeing the river water level dropping.

(The intervalometer has a delay setting so I did not have to wake up to do this but the shutter clicking every minute was kind-of like Chinese water torture).

To learn how to create such a time-lapse sequence read this blog entry.

To see other images from my trip to Hong Kong check this gallery.

You can watch the video on Youtube here: http://youtu.be/oiCrNjV3i9c or watch embedded on the page below.