Photo Story

Wired to the Sky in Suidobashi Tokyo Japan

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Nikon D80 Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/320thThough I have never photographed in New York or London, I am still absolutely sure that Tokyo is one of the top five cities for photography in the world, if not the best.  So many factors contribute to how good a city is for photography that have nothing to do with photography itself, for example public transportation, safety, regulations restricting what can be photographed, etc.  Tokyo excels in all those areas with a great train system, an absolutely safe city to walk around with a thousand dollar+ DSLR at any time of night and no restrictions on what can be photographed.  Want to set up on a tripod in the train station, go ahead!

Then of course it has an incredibly rich source of photography subject matter.  Perhaps what I have written so far should be for another future post.  The photograph above was taken in the Suidobashi area of Tokyo, Japan.  It is a central part of Tokyo, more toward the older, traditional side of the metropolis.  There is an amusement park right in the middle of all the roads and buildings, surprisingly.

Using all 200m of reach I framed a mother and son in what looks like a converted airline food server tethered high above the sky in a series of elongated cables.  I thought it looked like a great way to see the city.  I never went up on the ride myself.  So that is a tip for any current Tokyo photographer who wants what will undoubtedly be a unique vantage point.

A fuller view of a most unusual sky carousel in the middle of Tokyo.

Permanently thinking . . .

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Nikon D80 Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D @ f/2 ISO 800 1/100th

As myself, I do not often go over to other people's houses, being somewhat of a recluse.  However, as a photographer I find myself in places I would otherwise never venture.  One such place was a downtown St. Petersburg condo with as good of a view as you can get in this area.  I was there to photograph a wedding (photos).  The owner of the condo was obviously well off and appreciated the arts for the condo had assorted sculptures and paintings throughout it.  

The sculpture above at first startled me with its realness.  It was creepy.  I did not want to look at it, but one does not see such a piece of art in a domestic setting that often.  The start of the wedding was delayed so I had a few spare moments to try and best photograph this most unusual severed hands, abruptly scalped sculpture.  The figure appeared to be staring into the room.  Boring her eyes into something.  I did not want to photograph that gaze directly so opted for this profile shot, allowing me to include a bit of bokeh from the hanging lights in the dining room.  

What do you think has her so perplexed?

Favorite Five Photographs of 2010

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This collection of five photographs are my personal favorites that I made in 2010, all from a different category.  All the images were made in the St. Petersburg and Pinellas County areas.  All were taken with a Nikon D300 DSLR.

 

Nikon D300 Tamron XR Di II 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable release5 - Purple Fiery Florida Sunset Sky - category: Fine Art

This HDR shot was taken on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island, Florida while teaching a DSLR photography lesson to a student.  It is amazing how little I have gone out by myself to photograph the dramatic sunset and twilight skies that are the highlights of fine art photography for Florida.  If not for teaching a photography lesson that evening, I would never have made this shot, so I am very glad I did.  Why I chose this shot in particular is for the mix of colors ranging from purple to yellow tints, to the pink reflecting off the clouds in the left-center.  There appears to be a kind of vortex opening and my imagination always believes something fantastic just might pass through to our world.  Read more philosophy behind this shot.

 

Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1000th

4 - Sandy-faced Kiki at Honeymoon Island State Park - category:  Pet

It was easy choosing this photograph of my own beloved puppy, Kiki.  For me it is two things about this photograph, first, her sandy snout.  Second, and most of all, it is the super creamy bokeh created by the awesome Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens.  It was a really hot August day at the dog beach part of Honeymoon Island State Park.  The light was extremely harsh.  Not the conditions one thinks a well exposed image can be made in.  Thanks to the Nikkor lens and thanks to Kiki having black fur, the harsh summer light served to show detail in her fur not normally seen in photos.  I have an 8x10 mounted print of this image on the nightstand by my bed.  It is the last thing I look at before I go to sleep every night.  Read more about that day at the beach.

 

Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 Speedlight to left & SB-600 to right

3 - Mother & Daughter bond on Sunset Beach - category:  Portrait

I cannot take complete credit for this portrait.  Placing their heads together was the mother's idea.  I take many portrait photographs over the course of a year, so this was perhaps the toughest category to choose a single favorite.  It might be odd to choose as a favorite portrait an image where you cannot even see the subjects faces, but to me, that is one of the reasons why I chose it as my favorite.  The viewer has to use her/his imagination, not just for wondering what their faces look like, but also for what they might be thinking and feeling at that moment.  I hope it is something this mother and daughter continue to wonder twenty years from now.  

 

Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 to left & SB-600 to right

2 - Smiling Bride with Veil on Pass-A-Grille Beach - category:  Wedding

This was an easy choice, and I knew it would be my favorite wedding shot of the year the second after I took it.  As soon as I saw Rosa in her veil, I got excited because I knew, finally, I would have a chance to make bride/veil shots, which are some of the most beautiful a wedding photographer can produce.  Again, I was greatly helped by both Rosa and her big smile, as well as Mother Nature for being able to make this shot on Pass-A-Grille beach at the very tip of St. Petersburg.  View the Bride Series images of Rosa.

 

Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame left

1 - Grandmother's Kiss - category:  Black & White

As soon as I applied the sepia landscape filter to this image in Silver Efex Pro, it became perhaps my favorite black & white image I ever made.  This was not shot in a studio, but right on Sunset Beach, the scene of many other photography sessions this year.  I still consider this a candid image, my signature type of shot, even though the grandmother was aware I had set my light stand next to her and had taken a position some paces away with my camera.  Her granddaughter I believe had no idea of my presence.  The contrast between the granddaughter facing the lens, but eyes to frame left, and the grandmother in profile lips just slightly pressed against her granddaughter's cheek, are what make this shot my favorite of 2010, in addition to the magic Silver Efex Pro does for black & white image conversion.  Read more about the inspiration for this photograph.

2010 Winter Solstice Moon Reflection Snell Isle Florida

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/8 ISO 200 13sec tripod mounted (knee high) with cable releaseI first saw the winter solstice moon as I was driving home from the dog park with Kiki.  It looked very large in the sky rising over the tower of the Vinoy Golf & Country Club.  I knew as a photographer this was something I should photograph.  I quickly fed Kiki dinner (Taste of the Wild dry dog food) then got my Nikon D300 ready for long exposure shooting, i.e. attach the cable release and mount it on the tripod.

I was in time as there was still some light left in the fading twilight sky.  Without this light my shot would not have turned out as colorful.  The water of Smacks Bayou was very uncharacteristically like glass, but even the slight water movement can be seen in the shape of the moon's oblong reflection.  

Did you photograph the winter solstice moon?  If so, please share your links in the comments below.

Historic Round Lake Park St Petersburg Florida

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 handheld 3-bracket HDRWhen away from home and packing a lunch, it is always my preference to consume it outdoors.  Back in June I needed just such an outdoor spot for four lunches.  To my fortune Historic Round Lake Park, a hidden gem of St. Petersburg, Florida, was just a block and a half away.  The small park was all alone, so I was happy to befriend it along with the squirrels and birds.  The small round "lake" itself was not much of note so I did not even photograph it, choosing instead the grand Live Oak above whose shade I gladly sat in.

Royal Palm Trees -- handheld 3-bracket HDREven though I have beheld them for decades, Royal Palm Trees still hold an exoticness to me.  This triple cluster of Royal Palms in Historic Round Lake Park were of uncommon height.  It looked to me they were each racing each other to the sun.

Banyan Tree of Historic Round Lake Park -- handheld 3-bracket HDRNow that I think about it, for such a tiny park it is home to some magnificent trees.  Decorating the eastern half of the park is the expansive Banyan Tree seen above.  Like many other Banyan trees in the area, it has been defiled by fools seeking their name to be known of that as a defiler of nature.  I apologized to the tree for these slights.  Trees are very forgiving creatures.  

Visit the park yourself for lunch:


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Purple Sky View of Downtown St. Petersburg Florida

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Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm tripod mounted with cable release @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/5th secYesterday a large cold front passed through stealthily in the night.  The whole day following was blustery, chilled . . . and clear.  There is nothing like the time after a storm passes to get the clearest shots possible.  Despite having The Pier nearby that provides spectacular, panoramic views of the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront, I have almost never gone there to shoot on my own.  The majority of times I have been there at sunset time was while teaching a DSLR Photography Lesson, as was the case this time again.

Maybe I do not go so often because I have never owned a real tripod.  The railing surrounding the roof of The Pier is tall and an average tripod cannot see over it without extending its destabilizing center column.  The view is great, but to photograph it well requires a very good tripod.  

Maybe it's because I know The Pier is dying.  It should be a more exciting place, as basically the landmark of St. Petersburg.  Yet every time I have visited there it felt like a place out of the 50s, just a structure of nostalgia that is kept around just because of that.  

The city council has voted for a new structure to be built.  My first reaction was against such a decision, since I am a very nostalgic person, and I thought The Pier, as flawed as it might be, should be preserved and maybe just needs more love.  My second reaction was it would be really exciting to have more of a destination so far out into Tampa Bay just a short drive from my house.  My final reaction was, "oh, not even demolished until maybe 2014 at the earliest?"  That time frame is far too far in the future for me.

Snell Isle Series - 04 - Silk Floss Tree in full bloom

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Silk Floss Tree on Cordova Blvd Snell Isle - Nikon D300 5-bracket HDRThe Snell Isle Series continues with a very special tree that can be seen on Cordova Blvd.  I have been fascinated by this tree since I first saw it almost two years ago.  It is a Silk Floss Tree (Ceiba speciosa) and stands out because of its thorny, green trunk which gives it a distinct fairy tale look.  When it blooms, it looks like a giant cotton candy on a stick with its dense, pink flowers.  

Bees were swarming this Silk Floss Tree - Nikon D300 using pop-up flashThe tree has an eastern exposure, meaning sunset time is not good for photographing it.  So I woke up early and brought my HDR gear setup (Nikon D300, tripod, cable release) to catch the early morning light that just starts to pop up over the houses lining the street at 7:30am.  As I parked my car and was getting the tripod setup, I could hear an audible buzz.  There were power lines directly above, but I thought they cannot be under such a heavy load to buzz like that.  Well, the mystery was immediately cleared up when I walked up to the Silk Floss Tree.  Bees were all over the entire tree.  Every bee in a 5-mile radius must have been there, as it was 3+ bees to a flower (see above) and I was getting my tower buzzed as I stood there too, but I tried not to flinch.  An old woman passing by said she was on the other side of the street just to avoid the bees, but I felt no threat, they were in a nectar feeding frenzy, and I moved only cautiously and purposefully.

The Silk Floss Tree on Cordova has a great canopy - Nikon D300 5-bracket HDRThe property overall has immaculate and detailed landscaping.  The owner is a kindly elderly man who I have never spoken directly to, but waved at countless time as I drove by as he is always sitting out in the driveway, though sometimes napping!  He has been gone for awhile, and I wonder if he will return.  His absence makes the neighborhood feel significantly less warm to me.

Hug this! Nikon D300 5-bracket HDRThe Silk Floss Tree of Cordova really is the grand landmark of the area, way more so than the two-story multi-million dollar homes that are adjacent to it.  Every time I pass by, it gives me at least a second of wonder and fancy in my day.  I just hope its owner returns as well.