Fisheye Friday

The Revolution will not be televised!
Canon 5D Mark III, Rokinon HD8M-C 8mm f/3.5 HD, f/, 1/25sec, 6400ISO, 8mm

Oh hello there blog. I seem to have forgotten about you. What has it been, three or four months? I'm sorry I have neglected you. You see, life got busy, then it was the holiday season, and next thing I know, it is almost March, and I haven't posted since October!

East River from Williamsburg Waterfront
Canon 5D Mark III, Rokinon HD8M-C 8mm f/3.5 HD, f/, 15sec, 400ISO, 8mm

In my absence, I obtained a cheap, manual 8mm fisheye lens. It doesn't fill the frame on my full frame Canon 5DmkIII, and not quite an entire circle, but I am really enjoying using it and discovering how to shoot with a fisheye. I have found it pretty hard to nail the framing with such a wide lens, any slight movement of axis is apparent in the final image, and I love for things to be lined up just right. I also had to learn that the exposures seemed a little darker than original thought when shooting, so having to compensate for that. 

Grand Central Terminal Ramp
Canon 5D Mark III, Rokinon HD8M-C 8mm f/3.5 HD, f/, 1/40sec, 3200ISO, 8mm

Without further ado, here are some of the fisheye shots! EXIF data is incomplete, as the lens is manual and doesn't communicate the aperture to the body. 

Grand Central Ramp Below
Canon 5D Mark III, Rokinon HD8M-C 8mm f/3.5 HD, f/, 1/25sec, 6400ISO, 8mm

I used Lightroom's lens correction tool and cropping to fill the frame of the above shot. 

Empire Views
Canon 5D Mark III, Rokinon HD8M-C 8mm f/3.5 HD, f/, 1/60sec, 800ISO, 8mm

Museum Monday Lamps

In honor of #MuseumMonday, here are some of the lighting fixtures hanging in the Contemporary Arts + Design Wing at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Teardrop
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/800sec, 6400ISO, 55mm

Bottledrop
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/800sec, 6400ISO, 24mm

Glass Vase
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/800sec, 6400ISO, 45mm

Duo
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/800sec, 6400ISO, 67mm

Dancing People
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 6400ISO, 58mm

Closeup
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 6400ISO, 105mm

OctoLamp
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/800sec, 6400ISO, 73mm

Museum Monday (Lino Tagliapietra's "Endeavor")

I have recently posted about the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, and wanted to share a few more shots of Lino Tagliapietra's "Endeavor" in the Contemporary Arts + Design Wing.

Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 3200ISO, 24mm

Going not that long after the museum opened allowed for less people, so I was able to get these empty shots.

Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 3200ISO, 47mm

The daylight filtered through the skylights and the white walls made photographing this wing a breeze after bumping up the ISO to 3200.

Birds, ships, or whales?
Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 3200ISO, 55mm

Museum Monday Corning Museum of Glass

I visited the Corning Museum of Glass recently, and took an obscene amount of pictures. Still going through them, but I wanted to post a photograph I am really proud of, as it looks like it could be the advertisement for the Museum's Contemporary Art + Design wing, which just happened to open last year. 

Canon 5D Mark III, EF 24-105mm f/4, f/8, 1/500sec, 3200ISO, 24mm
Nancy Bowen's "Red Root + Running Cold" in the background of Lino Tagliapietra's "Endeavor"

We had arrived at the museum two hours after it opened, so I was expecting people everywhere. When we first entered this room, a tour was happening just left of the frame of this photo with about 15 people. I looked at some of the other pieces, learning the light in the room and seeing what worked for shooting the glass art pieces. I noticed that the room was starting to clear out, and was able to grab this shot with no people in the frame. 

If one ever finds themselves anywhere near Corning, NY, I highly recommend a visit to the Corning Museum of Glass. It surpassed my expectations, and all in our party enjoyed it, even the (almost) 5 year old!

Museum Monday

Yesterday was my fourth Father's day as a dad. I had spent the day before working, and my daughter and wife are going out of town for two weeks without me soon. So I wanted to spend the day with her, just her and I.

I offered my daughter the choice of three places, the Natural History Museum, The Met, or the New York Hall of Science in Queens. At first, she wanted the Natural History Museum, I mean, what 4 year old doesn't love the dinosaur bones?! But the Hall of Science had a Brickfest, a Lego installation around the venue. So I was able to talk her into that since they had a bunch of stuff for the Brickfest that was only going to be there yesterday.

Woody
FujiFilm FinePix XP90 f/4.4, 1/25s, 200ISO, 7.7mm 

We traveled light, we took the LIRR to the subway, as I didn't want to deal with Mets traffic, and the kid likes an adventure like that as well. I chose to leave my DSLR at home, and brought a little Fuji XP90, a waterproof and shockproof camera. We picked it up recently to use in the water, and to allow our daughter to have a camera that is okay if it gets dropped.

She loves the "robot", a interactive version of the Mars lander. Kids can send a sequence of movements to the lander, and then watch it carry them out.  She also likes the interactive environment in the Great Hall, which is video that shows different climates. You can redirect the water on the floor, plant seeds, chop down trees.

Rocket Ship
FujiFilm FinePix XP90 f/6.2, 1/350s, 100ISO, 5mm

There was also free mini golf that day, the playground was open (where she wanted to spend a ton of time on the pyramid rope thingy), and free face painting. After our trip there, we ate at a Mexican joint in Corona I have been meaning to try. And ended our outing with some lemon ices from the Lemon Ice King of Corona.

Taco Quartet
FujiFilm FinePix XP90 f/3.9, 1/8s, 800ISO, 5mm

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.

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