LIRR Entrance

I was starting to get better at posting frequently. But it has been a little bit since I last posted. So here is a looking up shot of the Long Island Railroad entrance to Penn Station off of 34th Ave. Holidays edition.

Going Down
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/30sec, 125ISO, 11mm

Empirical Wide Angle Views

Looking Downtown
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 100ISO, 11mm

Earlier this year, we did an event on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building. Usually, that floor has coverings over the windows, as it is a walk through space for the 86th floor observatory. But since a private event had rented out the floor, the coverings where removed. I was happy that I had brought my camera with me to the setup so I could take these photos. 

Slice of Southside
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 100ISO, 11mm

 

Water Taxi

Water Taxi Route
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5, 1/250s, 1600ISO, 42mm

It is Thursday, so time for a Throwback Thursday photo! I took this photograph last November while at work. The sun was setting over New Jersey, painting the sky different reds, ambers, oranges, and purples. The camera still cannot capture the beauty I saw in person, but this shot comes close.

Museum Monday

This is my first attempt at a mobile post. Keeping it short today, been working at many of New York City's iconic institutions, new and old, that are actual museums. But today's post is from a couple years ago. 

The New York Hall of Science is a science museum located in Flushing Meadows Park. Some of exhibits could use a refurbishment, as it is an outer borough institution and doesn't get the support the more famous Manhattan locations receive. Best part about it is that on Sundays, from 10a-12p, admission is free. It is a great cold or rainy weather activity! 

Bringing my daughter there as a toddler was a great experience. Each time we would visit, she would be fascinated by a new exhibit. Watching her interact with exhibits at different ages was fascinating to me as I could see the progression in her mental growth. 

This photo reminds me of the curiosity she had with light, and the curiosity I still enjoy with light, which is the basis of my entire professional life.

Looking Up Wide Angle Wednesday

Usually, in New York City, you can spot the tourist pretty easily as they are the ones always looking up while clogging the sidewalks. I do enjoy looking up, even after living here for 14 years. It amazes me that some of these buildings, which don't seem that tall in their place in the Manhattan skyline, but would be towering over other cities.

World Financial Center
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/40sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

I found myself attending a meeting at the World Financial Center, across the West Side Highway from the World Trade Center. Inside the World Financial Center (now called Brookfield Place), there is the Winter Garden Atrium, a place where palm trees grow year round. I made my way to the meeting, the sun was setting, but I didn't have the luxury of time to stop and take some photos. I had people to meet after all.

Winter Garden Atrium
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/40sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

When I left my meeting, I remembered I had my dSLR with the wide angle lens in my bag. I decided to take a couple of photos inside the World Financial Center, and one of the new One World Trade Center building. Since all the streets right next to the Freedom Tower are closed to through traffic, I was able to stand in the middle of the road to get the photo of 1WTC and 7WTC looking up. 1WTC is so tall, you cannot even see the top of the building from the base. 

Looking Up!
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/3.2, 1/30sec, 3200ISO, 11mm

Museum Monday

One of the great perks of living in New York City is our abundance of museums to attend. It is also one of those things that residents don't do that often. I had worked in many of the museums here as a vendor before actually visiting them as a patron. One of those museums is the American Museum of Natural History.

Tusk
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/80s, 3200ISO, 20mm

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest museums in the world, having over two million square feet. Only a small portion of their collection is actually on display. But perhaps their most recent claim to fame is serving as the backdrop for the movie "Night at the Museum" (2006) that spawned several sequels.

Skeletal Underside
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5.6, 1/40s, 3200ISO, 72mm

My sister and her two daughters came for a visit this summer. We took them to AMNH for a visit. My sister was disappointed that the museum wasn't laid out exactly just like the movie. I had to remind her that Hollywood always takes liberties with movie making.

Polar Bear and kids
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/2.8, 1/80sec, 3200ISO, 40mm

AMNH is one of the sites that visitors should see when they visit New York City. My wife and I signed up to become members through the idNYC program, so we will be making more frequent trips during the colder months since the museums are perfect cold weather activities. It is another massive institution that you cannot tackle all in one day.

Minerals
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5.6, 1/100s, 3200ISO, 18mm

#tbt Autumn in Central Park two years ago

Central Park Detail
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125sec, 200ISO, 40mm

Two years ago in October, the company I formerly worked was illuminating a wedding at the Central Park Boathouse. My day consisted of me stopping by the venue to ensure quality was top notch, and interface with the client and the venue contacts. The event setup went well, the crew had no real issues. I can't remember if I took photos of the setup for that wedding or not, but I had taken my camera with me, and the lens of choice for that day was the 40mm pancake lens. 

Central Park Autumn Evening
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/10, 1/200sec, 640ISO, 40mm

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you will notice that I mainly use three lenses. I use the Tokina 11-16mm f2/8 lens a lot for work, and it is usually the lens for my Wide Angle Wednesday posts. When I purchased my first dSLR, it came with a kit lens, the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, which is my third most used lens at this point, it is the lens I use when I know I will want wide angle shots and a little telephoto action. But my pancake lens, the EF 40mm f/2.8, might be my favorite. 

Boats and the Boathouse
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/10, 1/250sec, 640ISO, 40mm

The small size of the shorty forty means that the 60D doesn't feel as bulky or heavy, so I am more apt to throw the camera in my bag and take it with me. I also like the challenge a prime lens offers, as I have to think more about composition, and use my feet to zoom. 

8th Ave Looking South from Columbus Circle
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

That day two years ago in October, I walked from the west side of the park to the Boathouse, which is closer to the east side. Afterwards, I walked back out to the west side and down to Columbus Circle to the ACE trains, and then down to Penn Station. I was glad to have taken the camera with me, as my walk to and from work became a photo walk, allowing me to stretch my photographic muscles. I also captured a few of the photos that have become favorites of mine, such as the second one in this post, and the final one below.

LIRR Penn Station Clock and Flag Entrance
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/160sec, 1600ISO, 40mm

Met Exterior Wide Angle Wednesday

Met Exterior
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/200sec, 320ISO, 11mm

I have lived in New York City for 14 years. I had never been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art until 2 weeks ago though. idNYC is an ID program for New York City Residents. Through this program, at least for this first year, you can sign up for a free membership at many of the cultural institutions around the city. So far, my wife and I joined the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Met. Should give us plenty to do in the winter months between the last two museums.

The Met is enormous. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and really only had time for the Egyptian Art Wing, as I had to go work a gig on the otherside of town at 6p. I hope to go back several times to spend more time in the rest of the galleries. 

Queens Museum InstaMeet Wide Angle Wednesday

The sun is starting to set behind the Museum
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/640sec, 640ISO, 11mm

A little after joining Instagram, one of the things I was hoping to achieve through it was a free helicopter tour of New York City. I still haven't obtained that, but I was invited to my first private Instameet at the end of August.

Atrium
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/3.2, 1/200sec, 1600ISO, 16mm

 One of the people I follow started a hashtag call #Queenscapes (also his screenname now). When searching through this tag, you get to see the diversity of the borough. Often times, the outer boroughs have this feeling of second class citizens since Manhattan is what everyone usually wants to see. Queenscaps celebrates Queens, my adopted home since November of 2007. 

The minute I found this project, I became a supporter of the tag. It pushed me to try to capture my viewpoint of Queens, to show the rest of the world how great my new borough was. I also live in a part of Queens that doesn't have a view of the Manhattan skyline, so I really tried to capture things that I love about this county (the county and borough have the same name). I still have a lot more to explore, and I doubt I'll ever be done.

Lines and Shades
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/80sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

The Instameet took place after hours at the Queens Museum, located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair. The physical structure of the Queens Museum was built for the 1939 World's Fair, and contains one of the gems of the 1964 Fair, the Panorama of New York City. You can read more about the World's Fair on a previous blog posts here and here.

It was a pleasure to meet some of the people who I follow on Instagram, to put a face to the screenname. It was nice to take our time and explore the exhibits on our own time without too many other people there. Unfortunately, I still have not really gone through my pictures from that meet to post them. I will attempt to fill up a couple of posts with some of the highlights from the displays I captured.

Goodnight Queens
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/125sec, 1250ISO, 11mm

 

Wide Angle Wednesday Stitch

Today's Wide Angle Wednesday post features one final image. But it took seven individual images to create this one image of the Epcot golfball. As my family was leaving Epcot after the fireworks show, you can't help but notice the dimpled ball lit up in blue and reddish purple, you do have to walk right past it to exit. I wanted to grab a shot of it, but even with my kit lens zoomed out to 18mm, I was not able to capture the entire structure from the vantage point. Any further away, and people and other obstructions would have been present in the photo. So I snapped a series of seven photos with the same settings, content knowing that after I returned from vacation, I would get around to processing them.

I used Adobe Lightroom 5.5 to process the individual photos, then exported copies of them to Microsoft Image Composite Editor, a free program from Microsoft that makes stitching panoramic images pretty painless. A few clicks, a little processing time, and then I was left with the image on the post. You will notice that the image has some really black parts. Those are the areas of the image where the photos did not fill in, so the program filled it in with pure black.

I recommend anyone with an interest in panoramic images, or even attempting the Brenizer Method, download Microsoft ICE.

Spaceship Earth
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5, 1/80s, 3200ISO, 18mm

Torii

Epcot Center maybe my favorite park in the Walt Disney World Resort. It was the second park that we hit, and I remember parts of my visit there 21 years ago. Our plans were loose for the day except for seeing the fireworks show at night, Fast Pass style, and lunch at the Edo Teppan restaurant in the Japan pavilion of the World Showcase area. We ate there last time, and my family and I love the Teppan style. Well, my daughter loves sushi, the rest of us had Teppan.

Torii
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/200s & 1/800s, 160ISO, 33mm

This picture is an HDR photo, comprised of two handheld photos, one a little over exposed, and one a little under exposed. I liked how Spaceship Earth, the golfball of Epcot, is framed in the center of the torii. I captured both exposures with the intention of post processing to creating this HDR image, and am pretty pleased with the result. Sometimes HDR can be overly saturated, garish if you will. I also lucked out and was able to capture this with no people, it was still early enough in the park at 11:45a!

Walt Disney World Wide Angle Fireworks

Magic Kingdom Fireworks
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/4, 1/50s, 3200ISO, 18mm

I recently was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take a vacation down to Walt Disney World, where my family and I stayed at the Art of Animation Studios. This was my wife's and almost 4 year old daughter's first time to Disney World, and my second time. A lot has changed in the 21 years since I was last there, and a lot has remained the same.

The 1994 visit was during a different time in history. There were no "Magic Bands", there was not Fast Pass. You were just stuck standing in lines for every ride. My mother brought a camera, but it was the film days, so I'm not sure how many rolls she brought, but I can guarantee she didn't shoot 818 photos! I have yet to sort through my photos, but I did delete the obviously our of focus ones upon import, so that number may drop in the end. I also shot a lot of frames during some of the shows and the fireworks, so there are some shots that are doubles or ill timed that will be purged as well.

I had packed several lenses, my small portable tripod, my strap, and camera for the trip. But I knew I wasn't going to haul all my gear to the parks. I ended up just utilizing my kit lens, the EF-S 18mm-135 f/3.5-5.6 lens. I wanted the flexibility of the zoom lens, and carried it all on my over the shoulder strap. I had a lint free cloth to keep the lens clean, and I'm glad I packed several, as I left one in my cargo shorts pocket and it got soaked, as did I, on Splash Mountain. 

Epcot Fireworks (during a fireworks lull)
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5.6, 1/60s, 2000ISO, 20mm

I shot in Manual the entire time, but the conditions were constantly changing. Some of the rides are very dark with movement, so I knew photos wouldn't turn out well in those conditions. I was able to get some decent photos during some of the shows, falling back to the settings I know had worked for me when shooting my wife's dance recitals. 

I have many photos to share, but today's Wide Angle post feature the fireworks shows of three of the four parks. My daughter does not like fireworks, so the last night's photos from Hollywood Studios were shot outside the park as we were heading to the bus back to our rooms. 

Fireworks shots were done with high ISO, tried to have the aperture opened up, and a shutter speed as slow as I thought I could get away with while handholding the camera. Some of them turned out alright, but I did wish for a full frame camera, or a sensor that was better in low light.

Hollywood Studios Outside the Gate
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/5, 1/60s, 3200ISO, 18mm

Sightseeing Wide Angle Wednesday

Summertime! For many, summer means vacation. I haven't been shooting personal work with the wide angle lens recently, but having just played host to my sister and her two kids, plus my father in law the week before, I decided today's post will feature photos from a day that my wife, daughter, and I went sightseeing.
 

Concrete Canyons
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/500sec, 320ISO, 16mm

My wife purchased a Groupon for a bus tour of Manhattan for the two of us and our daughter. It expired in June, so we took a day to play tourists. We got our tickets in the Times Square area, hopped aboard the downtown loop bus, and got ready for a full day of site seeing from the second story of the tourist bus. We got off the bus near Little Italy and stopped for some lunch. Boarded the bus again and finished the rest of the tour. 

Elmo, Mickey, McDonald's, DSNY, Bus
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 320ISO, 14mm

It was cool to see the city from the second story of a bus, but I don't think I would have done that for full price. Our tickets worked out to about $10/person. 

Flatiron Backside
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/1000sec, 320ISO, 11mm

Throw Back Thursday

In 2013, my wife and I didn't have the funds to take a proper vacation, so we did a staycation in New York City and Long Island. 

Stopped at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens one day

 

A Rose of another sort
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/16, 1/100sec, 100ISO, 40mm

We visited the American Museum of Natural History

Roosevelt Rotunda
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/10, 1/25sec, 6400ISO, 18mm

Explored a little of Manhattan

72nd Street
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/14, 1/60sec, 640ISO, 40mm

And the Aquarium at Coney Island, along with a stroll around the boardwalk

Bump Your Ass Off!
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/100sec, 100ISO, 40mm

Took in a baseball game with the Brooklyn Cyclones

Murica!
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/4.5, 1/200sec, 2000ISO, 37mm

and explored some state parks in Long Island

 

Moses is Everywhere
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/32, 1/100sec, 640ISO, 60mm

This Fourth of July Weekend, we have no plans yet! But there is plenty to choose from, so it won't be dull.

Bash Bish Falls WAW

Last week, I took some time off from work after having an extremely busy start to June. We packed the car, strapped in the kid, and headed north from the City up the Taconic State Parkway. We were staying at Lake Taghkanic State Park in a camping spot secluded from the other campers that also had a hiking trail leading from the two campsites.

This was also our second time camping with our daughter, who turns four in August. She had been camping when she was 11 months old when we stayed in a cabin (no water or electricity) at Watkins Glenn. This time was tent camping. She loved almost every moment of the trip.

The photo in this post was taken down near the water at Bash Bish Falls in Massachusetts. We parked in New York State and walked to the falls. I had brought along an ND filter so I could get longer exposure times, but even with my aperture stopped down to its smallest setting, the longest exposure I could get before blowing out the highlights was less than 3 seconds.

I also had the spray of the falls to content with, so of the multiple exposure I took, only about 3 turned out alright. This shot is my favorite of those three.

Bash Bish Falls
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/22, 2sec, 100ISO, 15mm

Wide Angle Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Cherry Esplanade BBG
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/400sec, 1320ISO, 12mm

Once again, my life became busy, and I neglected this blog. But this corner of Cyberspace wasn't the only thing I have ignored. My Instagram isn't as active as it once was, Facebook has also been ignored.

Even though I'm not active online, I have been enjoying life in my freetime. There have been zoo visits, Botanic Gardens, seeing friends old and new. But I haven't been taking my camera as many places as I once did. I also haven't been editing, or even culling, the photos I do take; I have some from March that I need to go through.

This past Sunday, we took a trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens to enjoy the last of the cherry blossoms. We usually like to go several times in the spring, but this year we didn't make it until Mother's Day. I only took one wide angle shot, which is posted at the beginning.

Springtime!

This past Friday was the Spring Equinox. It was also another snow storm. That didn't stop us from heading out to Planting Fields Arboretum State Park. One of the best values as a New York State resident is purchasing the Empire Passport, which allows unlimited entry to all of the state parks. We take advantage of it, just by our visits to Jones Beach over the summer.

First Day of Spring!
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/400sec, 320ISO, 40mm

Snow was still covering most of the grounds, and the trees haven't awoken from their winter slumber. However, the greenhouses on the property both have most of their plants in bloom.

Dangling Texture
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 400ISO, 40mm

There were two greenhouses we visited, the first was the main greenhouse, which housed cacti and succulents, houseplants, ferns, orchids, amongst others. There were so many different orchid blooms, so these are just a small handful of the photos I shot.

Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 400ISO, 40mm

The lighting conditions outside were grey and overcast, though not to dark. It created a nice soft light inside the greenhouses. In the main greenhouse, I also used an LED ring light attached to the front of my shorty forty. 

Tower of Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125sec, 640ISO, 40mm

All shots are handheld since monopods and tripods are not allowed in the greenhouses. 

Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

The struggle was to keep a fast enough shutter speed to have sharp photos, but have a small enough aperture to get as much depth of focus when shooting near macro photos. 

Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

I wish I had taken pictures of the nameplates, so unfortunately, I am unaware what each of these orchids are named.

Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

That is something I should work on, as I often forget the names of the animals after a trip to the zoo as well.

Orchid
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

I have always enjoyed greenhouses. It has always been cool to see exotic flora.

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/160sec, 640ISO, 40mm

After the main greenhouse, we visited the Camillia House with its many roses.

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/200sec, 640ISO, 40mm

There was a sign outside this greenhouse that lighting equipment was prohibited, so I did not use the LED ring light. I still need to use it as more before I make a decision, but so far I am a little unimpressed. I was hoping it would be a little brighter than it seems to be.

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5, 1/200sec, 640ISO, 40mm

Once again, I failed to take note of the names of each of these flowers.

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/200sec, 640ISO, 40mm

I also noticed that a circular polarized lens would have helped a lot in these conditions, as it would have eliminated the reflections off of the leaves and petals.

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/200sec, 640ISO, 40mm

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/125sec, 640ISO, 40mm

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/125sec, 640ISO, 40mm

Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/5.6, 1/125sec, 640ISO, 40mm