Weekend Photo Shoot 10/29 - 10/30

A fantastic weekend for wandering and shooting.  We made a day out of it, shooting in the quaint little town of Fredericksburg, VA.  Loads of history and very picturesque areas but one thing that really caught my eye was some fantastic wall art.

We were told that this mural was painted by the former owner of the building and that he was a potter.  The scenes are of various people making pottery.  The bright colors are contrasted by the fading and peeling of the paint from the side of the wall.

Three men wall art

I have more images to go through from the weekend but there wont be many more days like this past Sunday before winter.

Stay warm and keep shooting!

Weekend photo shoot 10/10

Well today was an interesting day, I decided to get up early and go chase a sunrise.  Well worth the effort, I was rewarded with one of the best sunrises I have seen in a long time.  Beautiful crimson red on the water and fantastic clouds to to play the light off the water

Red Dawn

Not really sure how to top this one.  I know that sunrises/sunsets have been done by everyone but I can never seem to get my fill.  Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did seeing it and photographing it.

I spent the rest of the morning downtown in DC alternating between the Occupy DC rally and the Taste of DC food festival.  Very interesting juxtaposition of ideals and values here.  I will update with some images after I have had a chance to process them

Weekend Photo shoot 8/21 - 8/22

It was good to get out again, I have been very busy since my trip to the Virgin Islands.  I went in search of some interesting architecture images to add to our newly decorated living room.  Since we went for an Art Deco/40's supper club look, I wanted to find some buildings or architecture features that could be printed in black and white.

My first find were these lions at the base of the Justice Department outer doors.  Very cool 30's period relief on the metal, perfect for what I had in mind.

Knock if you dare

Washington, DC has many such features, some more visible than others.  My next stop was the Old Post Office Pavilion.  Unfortunately I was there too early in the morning before the August heat but I managed to get this great exterior shot

Old Post Office Pavilion

Although I am not sure that I will use these for my living room, they are good enough to be on my website Brian Shannon Photography.  I have some additional shots from the National Cathedral that I need to work on in Lightroom a bit more but I will post some of these soon.  In addition, the National Cathedral is now high on my list of places to revisit as I found some fantastic things to photograph.


Update, here is one that I am featuring on Brian Shannon Photography

Until next time, keep shooting.

Weekend Photo Shoot -- The Virgin Islands

Well the vacation moves along, slowly at least.  We spent the weekend trying some new things in the Virgin Islands.  On Saturday we took a fast ferry from St. Thomas to Tortola, BVI.  Lots of fun skimming the waves and the trip takes less than 50 minutes.  Get yourself a passport stamp and head into another country.

First stop is the iconic BVI store, Pusser's.  Pusser's outpost and bar, along with Pusser's rum are well known across the Caribbean.

Pusser's Outpost

Quaint bar and shop, filled with nautical themed items and memorabilia.  Looks like a fun place to just hang out.  Tshirts, nautical clothing, rum, mugs, shot glasses . . . really gets you in the island mood.

Pusser's Pub

Road Town was very small and many shops were closed.  We were hoping for more to see and do but the time for our return trip was at hand so we came back home to St. Thomas.  One day we will revisit here and look for more things to see and do.

On Sunday we visited another new beach, Lindquist beach.  Beautiful water that was emerald green even though the day was mixed clouds, a little rain and some sun.  The Magens Bay authority now owns this beach and hopefully one day it will be like Magens, with facilities, parking and chair rentals.
Until then, you rough it on the sand, which is well worth it.

Lindquist Beach

Hope you had a great weekend, thanks for reading and keep on shooting!

Weekend Photo Shoot 2/26 - 2/27

Another trip to the small stream near my home to test more of my new equipment.  This time I brought more than I needed and my shoulder feels it.  A backpack with 2 extra lenses and a tripod was good exercise.

I captured this using my new Nikon D700 and a new 16-35 Nikkor lens.  I coupled this with my Singh-Ray gold and blue polarizer to give the water and the rocks a shiny deep look on an average looking February afternoon.

River Rocks

The image takes on an almost 3d like quality and the lens is very sharp.  A great combo that will give me the wide close ups I want.  The Singh-Ray polarizer is a special purpose polarizer that does a better job in worse light.  Even though that sounds strange, it is true. I enjoy using filters, especially polarizers.  Many effects can be done in Photoshop or Lightroom but not a polarized effect.

So far my Nikon D700 has been outstanding but I am really getting anxious for Spring so that I can really test the full frame sensor on some real color.

Until next weekend, keep shooting

Weekend photo shoot 2/5 - 2/6

Saturday was cloudy and rainy.  This caused me to visit my favorite camera shop ePhotocraft, which happens to be local to me and is a great photography shop.  If you have been following my blog you know that I have been looking at the new Nikon D7000.  Since I already own a Nikon D90, the upgrade to a newer DX body with a few nice features was tempting but not very practical.  The other option has always been to move from DX to an FX body.  The full frame Nikon D700 was my other choice for an upgrade.  Full frame has its advantages and disadvantages but I felt for my types of photography the advantages were a positive for me.

Well perhaps it was fortune but I found a deal that I simply could not pass up (thank you ePhotocraft) and I now have in my hand my brand new Nikon D700

Nikon D700

In a word, WOW!  I have only had the body for one day of shooting but I am already very impressed.  Bright viewfinder, excellent control layout, weather sealed ... awesome!  I have a lot to learn at this point but matching this body to my Nikkor 24-70 lens has already gotten me shots like this

Wooded path

I also had the chance to test out my new gold and blue polarizer from Singh-Ray. Amazing what this little beauty of a filter can do.  Some may not like the look but for a quick test I am thrilled.

The effect changes based on the angle to the sunlight and the amount of twist on the filter.  As a polarizer it cuts the glare and enhances the colors.  It also changes the "tint" of the image to give some really dramatic effects.  Of course it also simply adds to the scene by simply being there as in this image

I can see that I have many days of learning ahead.  Perhaps my D90 will go up for sale along with my DX lenses but I am not going to rush as the DX crop factor does have some advantages.  I also like have a backup dslr body but I am going to be hard pressed to take both all the time and the D700 will be getting most of the work.

Until next weekend keep shooting, shopping or practicing something about photography!  I know that I will be waiting to get out and soon!

Weekend photo shoot 1/29 - 1/30. Burke Lake adventure

Cold.  Snow.  Ice.  Grey skies.

All the things that make you want to stay indoors where it is nice and warm at the end of January after a snow storm.  So I decided to venture out to one of my favorite photography spots, Burke Lake park.  Tree limbs cracking under the weight of the snow and ice, Canadian geese honking as they fly overhead and the sound of snow melting in the forest.  There were not many people out so there was time for some humor as I walked.

No skating indeed!

Most of the lake was frozen but the deepest center section was still clear.  Geese and gulls were flying and swimming but there were few other signs of life.  The fishing pier which has given me some beautiful spring moments over the water was now a frozen ramp floating over ice.

Frozen fishing pier

I have fished this lake, biked around it, walked through its trails and this was the first time I have seen it like this.  Frozen, barren and quiet.  I was left feeling chilled and lonely, like I was in a foreign land.  I almost felt like I could walk across the surface.

Burke Lake

Although my Tamrac 5575 backpack was full of gear, I only used a two lenses for this trip on my Nikon D90.  This shot was taken with my Tokina 11-16 wide angle lens to create the spacious desolate feel in the image.  The low light meant a tripod as well, my Manfrotto 190 CXPRO3.

The rest of the shots were taken with my favorite all purpose lens, my Nikkor 24-70 which excels in almost every situation. The images are fast and sharp while the range is excellent across the entire length at f2.8.

I continued to walk, slowly, as the ice was bad in places.  Looking for picture opportunities I happened to spy this rock, which on a summer day would probably not even be noticed.  Trapped in the ice however, the colors pop out and the cracks create some of weird chasms on the surface.

Frozen rock

After an hour I am cold and tired of walking, my backpack is heavy and my shoes are wet.  Kneeling in the snow can create some interesting photographic angles but it reminds me to wear more layers as my jeans are now wet as well.

Iced broken trees

Many trees were down and damaged, the snow and ice covering them in a sort of cake frosting look.  I found the curves of the twisted tree to be almost like a natural roller coaster.  Finally, everyones favorite, big icicles.  They hang down like giant fangs, I would not want to be under them when they fall.

Icicles

A great adventure today, I was happy to get out and find some interesting things to shoot.  Hope you enjoy the images and the story and until next time, keep shooting.