Night Photography Class 6c: Fountain abstracts

So I finished my first photography class.  This is the final post for the photo shoot down in San Pedro. After getting scores of photos of the "Fountain Fanfare," I started to get bored of shooting the same thing. I then tried turning my camera to give my shots a different angle. Coupled with the black & white, this made for an interesting photo. While we were taking shots of the fountains, Bernard (our fearless instructor) offered a new perspective on the subject; "Try moving the camera vertically with the movement of the jetting water." I gave it a try and captured some great abstract shots of the water. I am very pleased with the effect (almost like fireworks in some cases) and I think it looks even better in black and white. As this was our final class, I won't have any more night posts for a little while. I may upload some of the "odds & ends" photos that I took during the course that didn't quite fit in with the assignment subject I was capturing for the week. Thanks for all the comments.

1/80 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100
1/10 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100
1/10 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100
1/10 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100
.5 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100

Fireball

Fireball, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I finally got an iPad.  I have been using it for a few days now and its great!  I think I like it more than my MacBook but it certainly cannot take the place of my DSLR.  Its really goofy taking pictures with it and the inability to change any settings makes it hard to take great photos.  Still, its very fun to play with...

The Challenge:
Take a photo with a tablet. It can be an iPad (old or new) or Android machine.
http://gizmodo.com/5893215/shooting-challenge-rise-of-the-tablet-cameras

My Comment:
I splurged and ordered an iPad! This is my first tablet of any kind so I was super excited that this week's challenge would require an iPad. To throw a wrench in my plans though, we decided to go up to the mountains as a winter storm was moving into Southern California and we were hoping for snow. Of course, we have no internet connection at our cabin so I would have to wait setting up the iPad. I could use the camera however.
It is incredibly awkward shooting with the iPad and I feel I must look like a complete idiot holding it up while taking a picture. After snapping a few shots of the wintery mountains from inside the cabin as it was snowing and I wasn't inclined to take my brand-new iPad out into the snow. I ended up taking a photo of the fire through the grate on the fireplace using one of the Photo Booth effects. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Hope you like it.

Night Photography Class 6b: Fountain Fanfare

This is part two of three of our shoot in San Pedro. After the first portion of our final night photography class in Ports O'Call village, we hopped in the car and drove a few blocks north to the "Fountain Fanfare." This area is near the cruise ship terminals and is a knock-off of the Bellagio hotel's dancing waters. It is lit up at night and every 15-30 minutes it has choreographed water jets synced to music blasting from speakers. I was totally pumped as it is an interesting place with lots of angles, lights and movement. I switched to black and white at times while we were here as it gives a very different feel to the water and fountains. I took a hundred or so pictures here but I pared it down to ten. I'll have one more post with some abstract shots from this shoot. Hope you like them.

2 second exposure, f/9, 27mm, ISO 100
1.3 second exposure, f/3.5, 18mm, ISO 100
10 second exposure, f/18, 18mm, ISO 100
4 second exposure, f/11, 18mm, ISO 100

4 second exposure, f/11, 18mm, ISO 100
2 second exposure, f/11, 18mm, ISO 100
1/60 second exposure, f/4.5, 29mm, ISO 100
1.3 second exposure, f/5, 40mm, ISO 100
1/100 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 200
1/60 second exposure, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 400

Night Photography Class 6a: Ports O'Call

So I know I just said I was in a funk but I think I busted out of it. For our final night class I shot a bunch of great photos. Too many to put into one post. I think I will break it up into three separate posts so stay tuned. So for the first part of the night, we shot down in Ports O'Call village in San Pedro. Because of the time change on Sunday, I was able to take some shots at dusk; coupled with the lights from the harbor, giving the skies a nice purple color. The shops down in the village are very charming and I can see how this can be a nice tourist destination for the cruise ships that frequent the port of Los Angeles. Even the public restrooms get a taste of the New England architecture! My favorite shot of the night has the blue lights of the Vincent Thomas Bridge (4th longest suspension bridge in California!) reflected in the harbor with a tall ship silhouetted in the foreground. Look carefully and you can see a crane (bird) on the dock. I was pleased with many of the photos I took. Here are a few more than I normally post:

1 second exposure, f/8, 25mm, ISO 400
1.3 second exposure, f/8, 55mm, ISO 400
4 second exposure, f/16, 33mm, ISO 400

4 second exposure, f/16, 28mm, ISO 400

4 second exposure, f/10, 18mm, ISO 400
6 second exposure, f/6.3, 55mm, ISO 100

8 second exposure, f/6.3, 18mm, ISO 100
5 second exposure, f/18, 90mm, ISO 100
10 second exposure, f/11, 40mm, ISO 100

Night Photography Assignment 5: Around Town

So I appear to still be in a funk this week. I'm not too happy with this weeks shots as I was stretching to come up with an assignment. On the way home from Monday night's class at the Manhattan Beach pier, I pulled into a parking lot and shot the Chase Bank across the street. I have passed this bank many times and have always said, "I should take a photo of that bank. It's really neat looking." So I decided to take the shot. I probably should have spent more time setting it up but I was driving home so I didn't want to take too much time. I didn't use my tripod and simply set the camera on a low wall. It's a cool building and I like the photo. Fast-forward to Sunday night. I have no idea what to shoot for my assignment but force myself to do something. I decide to take shots of people in coffee shops, a la Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks." Only problem is, nothing is open up here after 8:00 PM (thanks daylight savings time! :-p - it would have been dark last week at 7:00!). So I decided to shoot lit up store fronts. There is even another Chase Bank up here! (A really neat one with a mosaic mural by Millard Sheets.) Now I have an assignment. Unfortunately, I spent most of the evening shooting with some gunk on my lens, which I ultimately rubbed off at the last location of the night. Below are my better photos which feel sadly uninspiring this week...
5 second exposure, f/22, 50mm, ISO 100
10 second exposure, f/22, 23mm, ISO 100
8 second exposure, f/22, 40mm, ISO 100
15 second exposure, f/32, 100mm, ISO 100
4 second exposure, f/16, 41mm, ISO 100
15 second exposure, f/29, 32 mm, ISO 100

Night Photography Class 5: Manhattan Beach Pier

So I feel like it has been months since the last class. After a week off (planned - ski week) and another week off (unplanned - weather), we finally had another class. This week we met at the Manhattan Beach Pier which is very different to its Redondo Beach counterpart. This pier is very simple with only one building on it (an aquarium that was closed during our class), a few benches, a number of pedestrians (though much fewer than in Redondo), and many lampposts. These lamps became my primary focus of the night. To switch things up, I tried shooting in black & white and was pleased with the results. After an unsatisfactory "light writing" attempt, I shifted my attention back to the pier. I tried to capture the shuffle of people that walked up and down the pier. Additionally, I took many shots of a large bank of clouds that rolled into Redondo and Hermosa Beach. The city lights illuminating the clouds created an eerie scene, reminiscent of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Not a super-exciting night but I did create some decent photos. Below are some of my better shots:

2 second exposure, f/13, 50mm, ISO 400
10 second exposure, f/22, 50mm, ISO 100
2 second exposure, f/3.5, 18mm, ISO 200
10 second exposure, f/13, 50mm, ISO 100
20 second exposure, f/11, 50mm, ISO 400
20 second exposure, f/11, 50mm, ISO 400
8 second exposure, f/16, 50mm, ISO 400

Table vista

Table vista, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I really don't like these types of challenges: "Do whatever you want."  It can be difficult to get the creative juices flowing sometimes and these weekly challenges can act as a catalyst for my photography.  I have been in a funk since finishing my 365 project so this didn't help me get anything going.  Anyways, I ended up working on a challenge that I didn't do a few months ago instead.

The Challenge:
Shoot anything you want. With your camera, not a gun. I don't have that sort of authority. Repeat, you do not have a license to kill.
http://gizmodo.com/5889591/shooting-challenge-free-for-all

My Comment:
I missed out on the "leading lines" shooting challenge, so I thought I would try to do it for this "free for all" week. It has been downright gorgeous in sunny Southern California this weekend with temperatures in the 80s and 90s. I went to our local park with my two boys and had a seat at one of the picnic tables. The view of the Pacific was amazing. I used the picnic table to add some contrast to the stark sky and shimmering ocean. I am really pleased at the angle of the wooden boards and how the black and white makes texture in the photo pop.

One Object 365 Days

365/365 02/28/2012 Ring, a photo by olmjohns on Flickr.

So I finally finished my One Object 365 366 Days photo project!  I can't believe I made it an entire year (and a leap day!).  While many of my photos were unexciting, I do feel that I captured some great shots throughout the year.  It can be quite difficult to make a whole year's worth of wedding ring photos stimulating.  I'm not sure what all this project did for me.  I guess I learned that I don't like shooting with my iPhone nearly as much as my Canon DSLR camera.  When I started the project last March, I took many of the photos using an app for the iPhone, instagr.am.  I feel that Instagram helped me get excited about photography as it made a rather uninteresting photo into something appealing using the multitude of filters and special features within the app.
Over the course of the year, I strayed away from this type of shooting as I began to learn more about my camera and photography in general.  All of my photography now is done without any editing (aside from simple cropping).  I feel that editing software like Photoshop and even Instagram can defeat the purpose of artistic photography.  To be able to capture a photo with correct exposure, shutter speed, aperture, lens filters, etc., shows a good understanding of photography.  To take a bad photo and make it look good through editing, while amazing to do, shows very little as to any photographic skills, more so computer and editing skills.
So where does this leave me?  I certainly am not going to start another daily photo challenge.  At least not yet.  In fact, I told myself that I will not take a picture today (March 1st) so my consecutive shots will end.  I plan on continuing to take part in the weekly Gizmodo shooting challenge along with the monthly challenge at Competition Corner.  These contests have helped me learn many new photo techniques and skills over the past year.  Maybe now I will have time to try some new challenges or simply work on new photographic ideas.  Who knows?
Thanks for following my photography and hopefully I will continue to make better shots and maybe make some nice photos along the way.
You can see my entire 365 project here on my website, or at its dedicated site One Object 365 Days or in my Flickr Photoset.
Thanks again!