San Francisco’s Carnaval celebration is an eyeful! Women (and a few men) of all ages, shapes and colors get a chance to cut it loose and strut they stuff – much to the delight of this photographer! Oh my! I had to deal with direct sunlight when shooting these, so I used the camera’s low…
Category: Photography
Printing D2X Images (Really Large)
It’s difficult to get a shot of this image without glare, but you get the idea. This was printed 40 inches wide from one of my tulip images without any fancy footwork at all. Just a tiny levels adjustment and unsharp mask in PhotoShop. Pictopia did the rest. It looks fantastic – much better than…
This is Just Too Easy
This camera is so wonderful. It doesn’t seem to matter what I point it at – the results are spectacular. Even the mundane becomes captivating. I’m so totally blown away by the fact that I can walk a block up 4th street and shoot images that would not be possible with any other camera. The…
Nikon D70 for Sale SOLD!
When I made the decision to purchase the D2X, I assumed that I’d keep my Nikon D70 and use it as a second body. Well, that was before I dropped my wallet into a sewer in France. The other reason I’m selling the D70 is that the results I get from the D2X are somewhat…
Koln to Dusseldorf at 2,000 Miles an Hour
I finally finished a couple of time-lapse videos from our recent trip to Europe! I think they’re pretty cool. Of course, I was there, so they may not have the same impact on you, but I hope you’ll check them out anyway. To create these, I zip-tied the camera on a monopod to the railing…
Dusseldorf
I made this panorama of the riverfront from the deck of our ship in Dusseldorf without a tripod, and the stitching of the 8 images did not go too well, but you get the idea. I also made two time-lapse videos of the trip from Koln to Dusseldorf, and they turned out pretty cool, but…
Nikon D2X First Impressions
My newest Nikon digital camera is a work of art. It feels solid, shoots smooth and fast, and the images are the best I have ever seen from any digital camera. However, to really appreciate them, you’ll have to use your imagination a bit. You see – the 12.4 megapixel images are 4288 x 2848…
Gabby
I don’t often photograph children, but I found four year old Gabby to be simply irresistable. I posted these at a somewhat higher resolution than I normally do. I am anxious to compare these D70 images with those from The D2X. 🙂
What I’ve Learned About Photography
We all know this – and it’s absolutely true. Hardware has almost nothing to do with the quality of your work. I’m convinced that results don’t even have much to do with skill. What it’s about is motivation. I mean, what if I had shot the images in the collages I hung in our hallway…
The Finished “Pillar Piece”
I’m quite pleased with the results, and feedback has been almost 100% positive. Some feel that I should mount it, but that would add significantly to the cost, and well… it simply ain’t gonna happen. Not for the office. Not worth it. On the home front, we double-matted, framed and hung our elephant painting in…
Official Thai Photo Pose?
Here’s a funny thing about Thai people. A photographer friend told me that they’d all strike a certain pose whenever a camera is pointed at them – and sure enough – they do!
More Wedding Shots
thedude was not the only photographer at Jack and Tres’ wedding way back in July 2004. Their friend George Hartzell chose a Nikon D100 digital SLR, a black velvet backdrop and a single studio flash with a large a SoftBox to produce these beautiful images.
Image Restoration
My dear friend Kalvin sent a scan of this lovely photograph of his parents. Shot in 1941, the original hand-tinted black and white photo had lost a bit of its original color over the years. The restoration turned out to be a bit harder than I originally thought it would be. After the usual dust-spotting,…
I’ve Been Horribly Lazy…
It seems like months since we last traveled to Wisconsin. I made the mistake of shooting more than 800 pictures, and the thought of prepping them for the blog has been daunting, to say the least! I’ll see if I can get a few shots up from time to time. Thanks soooo much to our…
I Was Lucky This time
How often does this happen to you? You shoot 100 photos at an important event and discover that the very best shot of the day is useless for one reason or another. It’s way out of focus or 2 stops overexposed or – as in this case – something totally unexpected has happened. Something like……
Thule Star Trails
Here’s another shot I’m quite proud of. Again I attached the camera to my tripod, pointed it back towards Thule and opened the shutter. I ran back inside the cabin to stay warm during the 45 minute exposure. In the distance you can just make out the unique profile of Mt. Dundas.
Picnic in Thule
By popular demand, another image from frozen Thule, Greenland. This image was made during a winter in Thule. If I recall, it was shot around noon – in almost complete darkness. I set up my trusty Pentax 35 mm camera on a tripod, and painted light onto the picnic table with a flashlight during the…
Shane and Tanya’s Wedding
Looking at my blog, you might think I like shooting wedding photos. Well, I don’t, really. It’s a lot of nerve-racking work. It involves lugging camera gear around for hours trying to stay cool while worrying about the zillions of things things could go wrong! For me, most of the challenges are related to lighting…
A’s over the Rangers, 6 – 2
Shot a nice panorama while at the game.
Congratulations, Jack and Tres!
What a perfect day – what a lovely wedding!
I Still Get Nervous Before a Shoot
Sure, digital photography takes a lot of the guesswork out of portrait work, but you still never know how a shoot will go. I worry about everything. And then this happens… shane Shane and Tanya – you look mah-velous!
Chris’ Masterpiece is Finished!
I got a peek at the upcoming Extreme Weather book written by my good friend Chris Burt, and it’s awesome! The book is gorgeous – loaded with beautiful maps, stunning photographs and unbelievable weather facts. Chris has endless enthusiasm for all things related to weather – and it shows in the quality of this amazing…
thedude in His Element
I told you I’d have some fun with this lens…
This Lens Will Be Fun
I have always wanted a wide angle lens this wide. My new 12 – 24 mm zoom lens is the equivalent of an 18 mm lens on a 35 mm camera. Woo-hoo! This sort of extreme coverage was until recently impossible to find in any digital camera.
Film vs. Digital – Results Are In!
OK, there is simply no comparison between the 4 megapixel digital images from my Canon G3 and the images I shot with my dusty old Nikon 35 mm camera. The scanned 35 mm slides display more accurate color, wider dynamic range, no digital artifacts, and offer a full 60 million pixels to play with. They…
Tahoe Trippin’
My Lake Tahoe film vs. digital experiment is over. It looks like digital photography is the hands-down winner – at least in terms of speed and convenience. I have been home almost two days now, and I still have no film photos to show for my considerable efforts. Dragging the bulky film camera around was…
A Reminder…
Mark Downey’s images will be on display on Central Avenue at Webster in Alameda this evening at 6:00. See you there!
Amazing New York VR
Thanks, Carl for pointing me to this incredible shot of New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
I Hate Sunset Photos
I mean, haven’t we all seen just about enough sunsets, already?? Aparently not. This beauty was shot by Cyrus Harmon (one of the founders of the company I work for) from a vantage point somewhere in the hills above Berkeley. Seems like a nice shot to end 2003.
Mark Downey at Alameda Gallery
I’m still scanning images for Mark Downey. All of the scanned images are going to be printed large at Pictopia and displayed at a new gallery opening in Alameda. I’ll post the time, date and location as soon as I have them. Hope to see you there!