Photo Story

Jason Collin radio interview on Picture This WTAN Clearwater Florida

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On Sunday May 19, 2013 I was a guest on the Picture This radio show on WTAN.  It is a weekly radio show discussing photography hosted by Jeff Donald.  I met Jeff soon after I moved back to the U.S. in early 2009 by joining one of his many photography meetups.  Though I do not attend many photography meetups anymore due to shooting professionally full time, we have stayed in touch and he asked me if I would like to go on the air and talk about my photography history and career.  I really enjoyed it!  Thanks Jeff for inviting me.

Rainbow over Smacks Bayou Snell Isle St. Petersburg Florida HDR

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Rainbow as seen from Smacks Bayou Snell Isle St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI rushed home from a networking event to pick up Kiki and get our usual evening dog park time in before an imposing storm on the horizon passed by.  Basically, as soon as we got to the dog park a deluge opened up.  After even a huge live oak could not provide adequate shelter, we headed back home.  Naturally, as soon as we parked the rain stopped and the sun was out.

The storm that birthed this rainbow did wash out dog park time, but at least I got to make this photo - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRSo back on went Kiki's collar and leash as we headed out for a walk.  That is when I saw this rainbow appear vividly over Smack's Bayou.  Still we walked on and I let Kiki run around in a soccer field (see lower right corner of the above image for where we were earlier).  I just hoped the rainbow would stay visible by the time we got back.

There was actually a double rainbow visible shortly, but not possible to capture by this time - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRIt did.  So I mounted my Nikon onto my tripod quickly and was able to make the above photos.  I could see a double rainbow with my eye, but getting it to come out in a photograph was not possible due to a number of factors.  Still, I was glad that even though our usual plans got washed out, at least I was able to add another rainbow photo to my archives.

Harley-Davidson 50mm Motorcycle Series St. Petersburg Florida Photography

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Harley-Davidson in downtown St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/250thI like to photograph motorcycles with a 50mm lens.  I saw this Harley-Davidson parked in downtown St. Petersburg Florida.  Using a 50mm f/1.8 lens lets me select only a part of the motorcycle to show in focus by using a large aperture creating a shallow DoF.  I like this style for motorcycles where the bike is shown in ever increasing blur from front to back.  

Shooting motorcycles with a 50mm lens - Harley-Davidson - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/250thUsing a 50mm lens up close also means the whole motorcycle cannot be fit into the frame, which I think is a plus.  It is much easier to get creative with composition with focal length restrictions.  

Entrance in the Clouds

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An entrance to a cloud kingdom - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200thI have written before about how photographing clouds is always good.  To end this week I wanted to share this cloud gateway image to fuel your imagination for what may lay beyond the clouds.  This is how I often think myself.  No matter how stormy the surroundings may be, there remains at least a small portion that is bright and hopeful.  As long as that small part still exists, so does hope, and therefore so does life.

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Panorama Tampa Florida

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Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park 3-shot panorama - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/500thAn oasis of grass and community in downtown Tampa, that is how I would describe Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.  I made this 3-shot panorama image of the park while waiting for a potrait client to arrive.  On a sunny Thursday afternoon two days after Christmas, the park was full of people enjoying a crisp afternoon by the Tampa waterfront.  I thought I would try a handheld panorama shooting into the sun to see how it would come out.  

Daibutsu the Great Buddha of Kamakura Japan

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In Kamakura Japan there sits Daibutsu (Great Buddha) - Olympus 5060 digital cameraNine years ago I visited Kamakura, Japan for the first time the day after New Year's.  It was just a train ride for me from my apartment in Tokyo, but it felt like traveling back in time to a different era.  Kamakura is home to many ancient things, including Daibutsu, The Great Buddha, a statue some 44 feet tall.  You may be surprised, as I was, that the statue is hollow and you can go inside and climb some stairs to look out the eyes yourself!

Daibutsu of Kamakura Japan sits some 44 feet tall - Olympus 5060 digital cameraThese photographs were made long before I entered the DSLR world, and in fact to my knowledge there were no consumer DSLRs even available.  I had a 5 megapixel Olympus 5060 digital camera.  I do recall shooting from a tripod on this day.  The biggest holidays of the year for Japanese are on and around New Year's, so it was not surprising to see many visitors there on January 2, 2004.  

Buddha statues of all sizes are offered fruit on a daily basis - Olympus 5060 digital cameraStatues of Buddha all over Asia almost always have fruit as an offering in front of them.  I thought the scale of the large statue and small fruit was amusing in this composition as I imagined Daibutsu trying to pick up one of those small apples with his large hands.

The eyes of Daibutsu are 1m wide - Olympus 5060 digital cameraKamakura is a must see location for anyone visiting Japan.  Besides the statue of Daibutsu, there are many other ancient temples each with secret places to explore.  

Purple Hyacinth Flower Macro Photograph from Publix

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My purple hyacinth growing right in water in my living room!

I am a regular Publix (Florida grocery store franchise) Friday shopper, and have been all my adult life in Florida.  On a recent shopping trip I was thinking to finally get a new plant to replace the one that had long since died (of natural causes!) in my living room.  I was very quickly talked into getting the above purple hyacinth by the lady behind the counter.  Growing a plant right in a vase of water appealed to me, and she promised when in bloom the scent would fill the room.  She was right, it now smells great anytime I pass by the bloom!

Purple Hyacinth in bloom in my living room - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR Micro @ f/8 ISO 200 0.4 sec natural light

Having flowers right inside your house also makes for a very convenient photography subject too.  So my photography tip is if you live somewhere that is really cold, so cold it deters you from going outside with your DSLR in winter, then go out and buy some flowers and shoot from the comfort of your living room!