The Future is on the Street

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I did not edit this photo, so much as I imagined it . . .I do not want to explain the technical aspects of the above image.  I made it based on a feeling I had this evening.  I was thinking of the street and of the future.  A home can be a cocoon, especially on a cold day.  Desire to go outside lessens in favor of remaining inside, in warmth.  However, the street is always out there.  On the street is a network.  There is a potential to go anywhere, do anything.

The future is on the street too.  The future is not going to come from within one's home.  Pieces of the future can trickle into it, but they will not spring from it.  

How is photography connected to the street and to the future?  That is up to the individual photographer to express.

Photography Tip:  make an image based on a thought, not thinking of exif data

VIP Eye Care St. Petersburg Interior Commercial Photography

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VIP Eye Care St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR mounted on Induro CT214 tripodI have been a contact lens client of VIP Eye Care every since I moved to St. Petersburg nearly three years ago.  I chose them as my contact supplier since they were an independent local business, rather than going with one of the chains or an eye care place in a department store.  They recently moved to a new location and had a ribbon cutting with St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster, which I attended and took a few photographs of.  That began my business relationship as a photographer with Dr. Henri and her staff.

Granite countertops on the reception desk - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR mounted on Induro CT214 tripod

By networking at the ribbon cutting event I learned that there was interest in having professional interior shots done.  A few weeks later, the shoot was scheduled and VIP Eye Care returned the favor by helping my local business by hiring me to do the commercial photography work.

Right on 4th St N & 22nd Ave N - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDR mounted on Induro CT214 tripodThe focus of the interior shoot was to highlight how many pairs of glasses were on display while also showing the exterior view of 4th Street North.  To accomplish this I used the HDR photography technique.  

VIP Eye Care exterior at night - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 5 sec mounted on CT214 Induro tripodThe lone exterior shot requested was a night shot showing light trails from passing cars.  Since cars passing straight across blocked much of the ground level windows of the boutique, I decided that traffic making left hand turns was better.  However, it took quite a few signal cycles until there were enough cars heading in both opposite directions to be able to make the desired shot.  After making this long 5 second exposure, I took another faster exposure so that the signs on the building and the signal post were not blown out.  I then blended those two images in Photoshop CS5 using a layer mask to reveal the signs on the long exposure image.

I look forward to continuing both my eye care customer and commercial photographer relationships with VIP Eye Care and its friendly staff.

Jason Collin Photography now accepts all major credit cards via Square

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Photo courtesy of Square, Inc.Jason Collin Photography is pleased to announce that all major credits cards can now be accepted for payment for any photography service from any location.  Square, Inc.'s iPhone app can be used to process credit card payments for large commercial jobs, individual photography lessons and even single fine art prints.  If you are purchasing from Jason Collin Photography in person, your credit card will be swiped using the reader seen above.  If the purchase is made over the phone then payment is input manually using just the Square app.  

Jason Collin Photography is always striving to make the professional photography experience more convenient, more valuable and more fun.  

Photo courtesy of Square, Inc.

Give the Gift of Photography this Year - gift certificates available

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CALL NOW:  813-240-5357  ||  E-MAIL CONTACT ANYTIME 

If you want to give a unique gift this holiday season, Jason Collin Photography is offereing gift certificates for any of its outstanding photography services and prints.  You have the option of being e-mailed a PDF gift certificate that you can print, wrap and give as a physical gift, or the option of having the gift certificate printed and sent to you.  Give a gift certificate today!

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Double Headed Cabbage Palm of Cape Coral Florida State Tree

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A rare double headed cabbage palm in Cape Coral Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/320thI would say that this double headed cabbage palm is the most famous object in all of Cape Coral, Florida.  I cannot even think what the second most would be.  The cabbage palm itself, in normal single head form, is the Florida state tree.  Personally, I think the cabbage palm is perhaps the least good looking of all palm trees in Florida.

While visiting Cape Coral a few years ago someone tipped me off to the existence of this most unusual tree.  I was able to find it, but I cannot recall the reason why I did not photograph it at that time.  This time I sought it out prepared to shoot it. 

It does not hold any hallowed ground, living its life in a very humble bit of land that serves as the median of a suburban road in a little traveled part of Cape Coral.  

If you would like to visit the most famous denizen of Cape Coral, you can find it here:


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Color Efex Pro 3 - Make Fake Autumn in the Park

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Kiki running on grass turned brown by Color Efex Pro 3 - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G @ f/2.8 ISO 400 1/800thI really like that Florida is such a green and lush place nearly year round.  This, however, means there is a near complete absence of autum colors.  At Walsingham Dog Park last weekend, even though it was in the second half of November, all was as green as always.  However, as you can see, Kiki is running on brown grass.  This transformation was done with just one mouse click.

I really recommend the plugin app Color Efex Pro 3.  I have it for Aperture 3 and use its filters on everyone of my photographs.  It is very easy to use wiht a list of filters on the left that are applied with a single click.  The effects can be modified down to very fine details if desired by using the fine tuning controls on the right column.  The "Indian Summer" filter does just one thing - turn greens to browns.  So with just the application of that single, simple filter, photographs can have that autumn look to them no matter what time of the year they were shot.

Kiki at Walsingham Dog Park - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/500thThe green leaves that make up the bokeh of this shot were made to look like autumn colors once again by applying the "Indian Summer" filter in Color Efex Pro 3.  As you can see, Kiki's markings and collar retain their correct colors since none of them included green.

Vivid St. Petersburg Florida Downtown Skyline at Night

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St. Petersburg Florida downtown skyline at night from The Pier - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 20 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with Nikon MC-30 cable releaseIt is easy to make photography all about handheld daytime shots.  After all, one is outside more during the day than at night and cameras are mostly conveniently held in hand.  This is all the more reason to venture out at night, and all the more reason to buy a good tripod.  Want to do something radical with your photography?  Go out at night.  Put your DSLR on your tripod and leave it there.  These two actions will have dramatic effects on both how you make photographs and the photographs you produce.

Photography tip:  shoot at night; shoot on a tripod

Things are calmer at night, at least in St. Petersburg.  Making a photograph using a tripod is a calmer way of producing a shot than handholding the camera.  Night photography requires very long shutter speeds.  For the above image I kept the shutter open 20 seconds.  You cannot just go around shooting willy nilly when just one shot takes 20 seconds.  This is a good thing.  

Working at night on a tripod requires a lot of setup and previsualization before pushing the shutter.  I have not shot at night much in the past myself, but am really liking it and plan on doing it more, especially since earlier this year I bought a "no compromises" tripod that is simply a pleasure to use.  This kind of tripod just plain makes photography more fun.  Does it cost $600 for such a tripod?  Yes, it does.  Are there any cheaper "no compromises" tripods out there?  No, I could not find one.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.

Please link to your night photography images in the comments below. 

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