Holiday Ornaments

For this Wide Angle Wednesday, A couple of captures from the Holiday Display at 1251 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), right across from Rockefeller Center. All of the below photographs were shot using the new EF11-24mm f/4L USM lens mounted on a Canon 5D Mark III.

One of the lenses I was debating before ultimately deciding on the one I chose was the 17mm Tilt-Shift lens. I thought I might like that for all the interior event setups I photograph for work, seeing as how it is very similar to architectural photography. I played with the 17mm TS lens at B&H Photo, along with a couple more. I decided that often times on site, I don't have the luxury of taking too long, which I felt would have been needed with that style of lens. If I need to do any perspective geometric correction, Lightroom seems to do what I need it to do.

The next photo in this post was taken, and then the correction was applied in Lightroom. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out!

The following shot does not have any perspective correction, as you can tell since the buildings have the leaning look.

Lots of pedestrian and vehicular traffic near Rockefeller Center around the Holidays!

30 Rock visible from the street across from Radio City Music Hall.

Monumental Flare

Monumental Flare
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/1000sec, 640ISO, 13mm

Shooting into the sun can be tricky, but can be real problematic with a wide angle lens. Normally I would try to reposition myself to get the light source elsewhere, but I really liked the view as we approached.

The shot above was captured the end of March, it was a gorgeous, sunny day. We spent the day sight seeing around the Tidal Basin, and before my 4 year old was completely done for the day, I managed to talk her into going up to the base of the Washington Monument. 

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

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.

Wide Angle Wednesday Holiday Sight Seeing

Bryant Park Rink and Christmas Tree
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/50sec, 1250ISO, 11mm

Twas the night before Christmas, and my blog has been silent. Not a recent story had been posted. The pictures sat on the hard drive, all secure in their partitions. 

Patience Standing Guard
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/50sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

A month has passed since the last post. The city has been transformed into a Christmas Wonderland. Tourists flood the streets to see the sights, and my family and I joined them over a couple of nights. 

Rockefeller Center
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/50sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

It is a shame that the city isn't decorated with lights year round. I guess that is what makes this time of year special, is that the lights are only up for several weeks.

The Magic of Macy's
Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/4, 1/40sec, 1600ISO, 11mm

More Autumn fun!

Orchard
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/200s, 200ISO, 53mm

This past weekend we visited Beardsley Orchard and Cider Mill and Jones Family Farms in Shelton, CT.

Beardsley
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/200s, 125ISO, 113mm

As I said previously, I love autumn and all of the activities, apple picking, leaf peeping, pumpkin picking, apple cider donuts...

Colors of Fall
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/800s, 800ISO, 50mm

This trip was planned over a month ago, and I had been looking forward to it ever since we picked a date.

Some Enterprising folks made off with all the non-rotten apples!
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/200s, 200ISO, 72mm

It was the last day of the apple season, so pickings were very slim. And by slim, I mean almost everything was gone. Plenty of rotten fruit, but hardly any worth picking. We left the orchard with the least amount of apples we've ever gotten. 

Barn
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/125s, 200ISO, 55mm

Beardsley has some great cider, and more importantly, one of the best cider donuts! So we did not leave disappointed.

Perfect Color for Fall!
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/250s, 200ISO, 62mm

We did get a pumpkin and take a hayride at Jones Pumpkin Seed Hill. 

Hayride View
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/160s, 200ISO, 18mm

Grape vines for the vineyard
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/160s, 200ISO, 44mm

Gorgeous Fall
Canon 60D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, f/8, 1/200s, 200ISO, 55mm

Sightseeing Continued! (Wide Angle Wednesday)

Day two of our adventures with the Canadian! As I had stated in the previous post, He was here for a Volvo Technicians Competition. He had another friend that was staying elsewhere, so our first stop was the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Central Park was the first stop of the day, so we entered the park through 59th Street Columbus Circle. 
 

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

It was a cool spring day in the city, the type where you are still wearing a jacket but happy to be outside soaking up the sun. Though the trees were still pretty barren in the park, there was no snow or ice, so us New Yorkers and the Canadians were happy to soak up some rays.

We had a full day of sightseeing, so after a little bit of time in Central Park, we headed downtown to the South Ferry Station to take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island, then back to Manhattan. The trip from Manhattan to Staten Island takes about 30mins. This is something I have taken most of my visitors from out of state to do, there are great views of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, and best of all, it is free!

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250s, 100ISO, 11mm

I always enjoy watching Manhattan shrink away from the back the ferry as we head towards Staten Island. When you are walking around downtown, the buildings reach for the sky and you feel so small. But once you start pulling away from Manhattan, you realize how small Manhattan really is, how all of these tall buildings are crammed onto a small little island. 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/640s, 100ISO, 11mm
Dancing for Liberty

 After our nautical adventures were over once we were back at the South Ferry station, we started making our way to Wall Street, and the World Trade Center. First stop was South Street Seaport, though it was still closed, we spent some time at a park on top of Pier 15. Some more great views of the city from the water's edge.

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/250s, 100ISO, 11mm
South Street Seaport to Brooklyn

From there, it was on to Wall Street. It is amazing how empty the financial district is on a Sunday, a vast difference from the weekdays, or even midtown. I enjoyed pointing out some of the historical buildings on our walk, point out the damage from 1920 Wall Street bombing on 23 Wall Street, amongst many other things. 

Canon 60D, Tokina Pro DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125s, 125ISO, 16mm

The Freedom Tower is an impressive sight to see. I moved to New York City in July of 2001, so I have watched the non-progress at the site for years, and now, finally, there is a towering beacon from the site. Visible from the Belt Parkway in the outer reaches of Brooklyn, to northern Queens parks, Westchester and New Jersey, it has been very cool to see the progress as the glass tower slowly made its way upward.

The final stop for the day was dinner, in Grand Central Terminal. Two days in a row I was there in the evening. It is a gorgeous venue that everyone should visit if they find themselves in New York City.

All photos in this post were taken with the wide angle Tokina lens. Every shot was processed in Lightroom with lens correction on to help minimize the distortion.