Posts Tagged: Photography
Is it cheesing out?
Fog on Hwy 132 © neo serafimidis 2010
In addition to committing to a projet to post every day on this blog (I know, I know, that Vegas trip got me two days behind. But I’ll catch up!), I have been participating in a post-a-day project over on flickr as well. Needless to say, it is pretty hard to get all this in, especially after a painful 2 hours working with the kid on his homework. And I really didn’t have an opportunity to shoot anything today.
So, I was reading a discussion thread over on the flickr project 365 group where a poster shared his strategy for deflating the pressure of getting something up every day. That was to shoot the same object every morning as a backup shot in case no better shot gets taken that day. That way there is no pressure in completing the daily assignment. I was about to start employing this myself, with a little queasiness that I wouldn’t feel too good about just putting up a dispassionate shot of something sitting on my desk every once in a while.
Then I saw another strategy that I like even better and I can combine with another task I have to do anyway. This strategist points out that her goal in participating is to get post-production practice in as well as clicking the shutter. So, she’ll sometimes post a photo that was taken previously, but that was processed on that day.
I realized this would work well for me. I too, have thousands of photos that I have not processed yet. I also have a huge amount of file backup work to do. So, if I don’t have a newly shot photo to put for a given day, I will process an untouched photo from the current batch that is getting backed up. That way, I get some processing practice in, and some processing done, and get back to burning backups of all my files. Whew!
Here is the original unprocessed version of the shot found I rediscovered today while digging back through for the backup task.
Alternative Trailer
Travel Trailer © neo serafimidis 2011
I have been walking by this trailer twice a day for a few months now. Every single time I walk by I say to myself, “photograph that thing before its gone.” It is parked out in the back 40 at El Cerrito Plaza. I can’t quite tell if someone is living in it or not. I’m a little surprised that it is still there, because the Plaza security is, or used to be, quite vigilant about people parking in the Plaza when not actually shopping there, for example, while catching the BART to work for the day. Maybe the bad economy solved that problem and so no one’s watching anymore. Or maybe the owner is paying to park it there. Still I wish I had shot it when I first saw it, because at that time, it was all alone out there. Lately, there have been a few other motor homes and trailers parked around it, too. And often this little guy is sandwiched between a couple larger ones. So, when I saw it open on one side, I decided I better go for it. As it was, I had to get in close at 16mm because there was a blue Fiero or something parked nearby in front, and a big motorhome right behind it. Getting close and crouching down, I managed to get it to look lonely again. I’ll keep an eye on it, and hope for better light, maybe in the morning hours, one of these day. This is my second try at post-processing. Here is my first attempt at a fake lomo film kind of look.
Minna 3
Last month we went to see the Cartier-Bresson exhibit at SF MOMA. It was a wonderful exhibit, and very inspiring. Yet upon leaving the building, I found myself up to my old ways as I tried to photograph an empty, unremarkable alleyway. It guess it was the converging lines that caught my feeble attention. But getting the shot took me several tries on account of the people that kept walking by. And why shouldn’t they? They had somewhere to go, somewhere to be, things to think about; they had no reason to pay any mind to yet another tourist with an oversized camera. Well, persistent misanthrope that I am, I finally got my desired shot in all its starkness. But now in the weeks that have gone by, the more I look at them all, the more I like the intrusions. Perhaps some of that sympathetic Cartier-Bresson started to sink in after all.
Minna #1
Minna #2
Minna #3
Albany Commercial Streetscape #5
Albany Streetscape Project
I managed to get some shooting in yesterday and today, and so made good progress on my project to photograph all of Albany’s commercial streetscape. In fact, I managed to finish off the north side of Solano Ave between San Pablo and Peralta. I even went into Berkeley a bit there. Where is that border anyway?
This leaves the south side of Solano as the big chunk left to do. But it’s a hard one, since the building fronts are virtually always in shadow, except for the sunrise and sunset during a few weeks around the summer solstice. Of course, I can just leave them dark. Or I could shoot for exposing the storefronts and not worry about blowing out the sky and surrounding objects. I’m not about to try HDR on this one section, so let’s not go there.
I suppose I should consider Solano on west side of San Pablo as well, but that feels more residential down there. Perhaps just the first block would suffice to call the project truly complete.
Vintage BART Sunset
BART Sunset / © neo serafimidis
I shot this yesterday and marked it for deletion. Today, I decided to play with it a bit before deleting. I came to like it after the color got messed up. It reminds me of tungsten slide film somehow.
Lampposts
Oakland, CA, February, 2011
I left work tonight a little later than usual. It was the blue hour. As soon as I walked out the door I was struck by the contrast of the old fashioned street lights against the deep dark blue sky and charcoal gray buildings. And just beyond was the Tribune building peeking up like a playful old friend.
Despite the fact that I was in hurry to get home and get Theo to his Cub Scout den meeting, I pulled out the camera and took a few shots. As I walked out into the marble courtyard, I noticed the warm light falling on the few leaves clinging to the cold branches and tried to capture it.
Twilight Lamppost #1 / © neo serafimidis
After uploading a couple shots to flickr, I decided I really liked the black and white experiment I did with one of them. So, I’ve uploaded those here and linked back to the color versions on flickr.
Twilight Lamppost #3
None of this comes close to how interesting it all looked in person, but I thought I’d share anyway.
Albany Commercial Streetscape #4
Untitled / © neo serafimidis 2011
This is the last shot I took yesterday before stopping for the day. This is processed in Lightroom with a Velvia preset I found somewhere, and that I have adjusted a bit, actually dialing back the contrast and intensity a bit. As you can tell, I’m continuing to experiment with the look for this streetscape series. It’s hard to decide what to settle on, in part because a given look doesn’t really work equally well on each shot. Also, I have at least three different process approaches that I like and can’t decide between. Even black and white is really attractive.
I want the series to have as consistent a look as possible, but I suspect that it is going to be hard to achieve on account of the quite different light conditions under which the various stretches of streetscape get shot. They are getting shot a couple weeks apart with the sun in a different place, different whether and sky, and different time of day. Moreover, it takes me a couple hours to shoot a half mile, and the light changes pretty dramatically just during that time.
Streetscape
Jay-Vee / © Neo Serafimidis 2011
Today was such a day of photography, it was almost like work. It started this morning with Albany Cub Scouts Pack 3 Pinewood Derby. That was over three hours of shooting. Then, after a little lunch, I went out to make some progress on the Albany Commercial Streetscape project. I started shooting the east side of San Pablo at the El Cerrito border and made it down to Solano Ave, before it was time to get home. My guess is that this is about half the length of it. I was pleased with the progress made today in terms of quantity. It remains to be seen what was accomplished in terms of the images themselves. Right now, I’m predicting that the two liquor stores are the most interesting subjects on the side. I thought I’d play with this one in black and white, even though I keep saying that the series won’t be. Maybe I’ll have to rethink that, too.
Albany Commercial Streetscapes
Albany Streetscape #143 / © neo serafimidis 2011
Among all the other things that were going on, I managed last weekend to finish photographing the west side of San Pablo Ave in my Albany Commercial Streetscape series. It took awhile because I wanted to do it during the morning hours. I only have weekends on which I can take mornings to go shooting. And often, it is hard to take a weekend morning with all the domestic tasks that must also be done. But shoot I did, this last weekend. So, now I’m approximately 25% done. I’ll shoot the east side of San Pablo late in the day. Then Solano Ave from roughly San Pablo up to the Albany border with Berkeley. The tricky part is knowing exactly where that border is–Solano eventually splits with one side continuing in Albany and right across the street becoming Berkeley. I’ve yet to really figure out shooting times. I’m actually hoping for some lightly overcast days to get more even light, especially for the south side of Solano, which is always in shadow.
Glass Ceiling, Invisible Line
Rotunda of the Oakland Federal Building. Oakland CA, February 2011.
The post-9/11 security obsession had built to the point where photographers are routinely harassed and intimidated, and have their property stolen or smashed. A few months ago, TSA even published posters depicting photographers as terrorists. But just a couple weeks ago came some sanity when a man was found not guilty in a case stemming from his refusal to show ID and turn off his video camera in the airport. Reading that story, I learned some very surprising things that came out of the case. Perhaps they are surprising to me because I am too much of a rule follower. But the case placed on record that, for example: TSA checkpoint staff are not law enforcement officers and have no police powers; you have the right, recognized by the TSA, to fly without showing ID, and signs and announcements in airports saying that all passengers must present ID are false; you have the right, recognized by the TSA, to photograph or film anywhere in publicly accessible areas of airports including TSA checkpoints. Who knew?! Really, check out those links above or do your own web search. Let me know what you think.
The reason I am thinking about this is that as I left work today, the big doors around the rotunda of the Federal Building were open, making it feel truly public. Whether it is, I don’t know. It is outside the checkpoints to the entrances of the building. But I have long wanted to photograph the glass ceiling from directly underneath, and this seemed like a perfect time to do it. So, I walked to the middle of the floor and looked straight up. I took out my camera and shot the rotunda. I got one click before the nice guards with whom I had just exchanged “good night” pleasantries called to me stop immediately, that photography was not allowed. I sheepishly started to put my camera away. Just then another couple of guards who were standing outside in park area approached me and insisted I take the pictures I wanted to take. “It’s ok, take the picture, just don’t photograph the checkpoint equipment area.” He seemed to be in charge in some way and was quite adamant, and then went over to talk to the guards that had stopped me. So maybe sometimes people mean well but there is confusion and miscommunication. And, of course, other times people are power drunk,… and there’s confusion and miscommunication.
I looked at my camera display and saw that I had an ok shot, and anyway, the moment was kinda ruined now. So, I thanked the second guy and turned to head for the train station to go home. Perhaps I’ll try again another day, and the light will be even better.
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