Mary Weiland Photography - A Lighter Side: December 2009

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Going on VACATION! Check back Jan. 19

I'm going to Argentina for 2 weeks (YAY!), and will be too busy dancing the tango, drinking wine, hanging with the gauchos, and hiking around Patagonia to post to my blog :)

I've got 42GB worth of memory I'm taking with me, along with my Nikon D90 and D80 infrared conversion, and 4 lenses...including my last minute splurge: the new 10-24mm Nikon lens!!! Check back with me on January 19 for the first of many Argentina posts. In the meantime, have a very happy New Year!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy Holidays

Not too much to write, but just wanted to share some pics I shot after the massive amounts of snow DC received last weekend. The shot of the Capitol Building is not very original, but it's still a beautiful site - especially for Christmas. The black and white infrared of the Potomac River was taken along Ohio Drive, looking towards Memorial Bridge. I hope you enjoy, and have a happy holiday season!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Just an Experiment

I rarely have my camera with me at all times due to the nature of my workplace as well as commuting to work via public transportation instead of my car. But, I drove to work earlier this week to take care of some things after and threw my camera in the trunk just in case. There weren’t any just-in-case moments, but I figured since I had my camera, I might as well park myself somewhere for a few minutes and shoot.

Being that I love “painting with light” and knew lights from airplanes would make nice streaks across the evening sky, I ended up at Gravelly Point Park – just at the bottom of the runway at National Airport. It’s a great place to watch planes take off or land, as they are literally right on top of you. Picture the scene from Wayne’s World. I always thought it would be fun to shoot there, so I gave it a try.

I didn’t have my long lens with me, so these were shot using an f/2.8 17-50mm lens and then enlarged. I played around with the settings, but had a rough time. The faster shutter speed freezes the motion better, but the slower shutter speed is what allows for the streaking…which in turn blurs the movement of the planes. It produces an almost dizzying effect. Needless to say, this was just an experiment and these are not the most exciting shots. I need to figure out the best combo and try again with my long lens, but this is what I have for now. My one observation while looking at the pictures - I think it’s interesting that the wings of the planes look skeletal. I also found a spec on each shot and will need to figure out if it’s in the camera or the lens. Grrrr.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Arlington National Cemetery

On Saturday, I went to Arlington National Cemetery and participated in the Wreaths Across America project. It was a humbling experience to pay respect to our deceased warfighters and their families, reflect on their contributions to our country, and remember them through the laying of evergreen wreaths on their gravesites. The speeches given at the opening ceremony were incredibly touching, especially one by a Gold Star Mother who described the pain of losing her son to the current war and her efforts to do all she can so that he will never be forgotten.

I brought both my Nikon D90 and infrared-converted Nikon D80 to the event. I didn’t take pictures during the laying of wreaths, but took pictures after the three truckloads of wreaths had been distributed. My intention was to take both color and infrared pictures, but I ended up only taking infrareds. I may go back this Saturday with my D90 and get some color shots – the red bows on the evergreen wreaths were beautiful and should be captured. It just so happened that by the time the wreath-laying was over, it was late morning and the sun was strong.

Some of the pictures in this post didn’t have to be shot using infrared. Part of me was experimenting since this was only my second time using the converted camera and I’m getting an idea for what I like and don’t like. And, in all honesty, some things happened so quickly (like the changing of the guards), that trying to use both cameras was more of an ordeal than I wanted. I have easy access to the cemetery, and knew in the back of my mind that I could come back anytime for another photo shoot.

Some conclusions from the day's shoot: I think the tombstones, grass and leafless trees in winter look especially cold and eerie with infrared. I do not think people look much different in infrared than regular black and white. This is okay to me – I think it still makes for a nice documentary shot, but the specialty of infrared really lies with foliage. I like the look of the street signs against the dark sky, but think this could be replicated with regular black and white and a red filter. I'm still learning and most definitely having fun – but this Saturday was really about giving time to a worthy cause and I'm thankful I was able to help and be a witness to it.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Digital Infrared: My Day in the District

I just got my Nikon D80 back in the mail after having it converted to be a dedicated black and white infrared camera. Yay!!! I've been waiting for this for quite some time. I took my "new" camera down to the National Mall today to test it out, carefully bracketing each shot so that I could learn what exposures work best with the conversion.

My first stop was the White House and the National Christmas Tree. This picture makes me chuckle - the White House behind bars with what almost looks like a door bell and welcome note attached. Could this make some sort of statement? I wasn't there long before being forced to move back from the fences and roads - apparently Obama's motorcade was about to leave for a special Sunday session at the Capitol and the police were clearing the area.

So I ventured across Constitution Avenue to shoot some pics of the Washington Monument. I still need to find an original view of the Monument - something that really stands out - but since I'm sharing my day and what I saw with you, this is okay for now.

I concluded my day at the Reflecting Pool and the area around the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. I love this part of the Mall. It's just beautiful and serene and so peaceful to walk through.

It was liberating to just walk and take pictures without any sort of agenda. I took my time and when my hands became too cold to press the shutter release, I called it quits. As soon as I got home, I put my pics on the computer to learn how the conversion worked and the results it produced. The first thing I learned is that it is better to err on the side of overexposure. Only a 1/3 stop underexposure made the images too dark. The second thing I learned is that all of the images were red! I looked up the Lifepixel site (the company who did the conversion), and my conclusion is that they put the Standard Color IR filter in the camera, as opposed to the Deep Black and White filter I ordered. I'm not sure yet if I want to send it back or just ask for the price difference (I paid $50 more for the B&W filter). Here's an example of the difference of the two images after Photoshop corrections. Part of me likes the reddish tint but I can't decide. I guess it's not that hard to convert to B&W so part of me just says let it be. Comments?

Friday, December 4, 2009

Reflections

The following picture is being recycled from my website. Shame on me, but for lack of shooting pictures this week, I didn't want to go too long without a new post.

I snapped the shot of the reflections in a puddle at Dupont Circle several years ago. I was taking a color photography class at Montgomery College and at the time, was using only Fuji Provia slide film [does this date me?]. My intent was to shoot pictures of the marble fountain in the center of the Circle, but I became more enthralled by the puddle and the images it was producing. To capture the picture, I remember squatting down to get the right angle, my knees in an adjacent puddle getting soaked, and patiently waiting for a passer-by wearing just the right colored clothes to make the image pop.