Microsoft in Fall – Redmond

12. October 2012 · Comments Off on Microsoft in Fall – Redmond · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

I was at work today trying to decide what to post.  As usual I have hundreds of “backup pictures” and don’t really like any of them anymore.  Anyway I work in one building on the Microsoft Campus and had a meeting in another across the road.  As I crossed the road I noted all the leaves on the path and the beautiful colors in the trees.  So after my meeting I went back to my office and grabbed my camera.

Now a year ago I would have taken a picture at head height and the image would have been “very nice”.  But these days I’m always looking for a different perspective and I loved those leaves on the floor.  So I got done and lied on the ground.  I got this picture and immediately loved the image.  As I’m lying there of course some senior leaders walk out of the building and give me “that” look.  You know the one, the one that says, “You’re an idiot”.  But at the end of the day I love the picture so I don’t care.

The sky looked pretty white while I was outside but when I got home I managed to bring a little texture back into it which really helped the image.  The bright yellows and reds of the leaves in the trees look great, and I really love those fallen leaves too.

So I’m very happy with the end result.

Master Chief was all excited about the new iPhone 5 until Carter showed him his Windows Phone.

Silver Cloud II – Redmond

10. October 2012 · Comments Off on Silver Cloud II – Redmond · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

Those of you who visit my blog know I like to photograph cars.  Every week over summer Redmond would hold the “Redmond Exotics Car Show” and you’d get the chance to shoot loads of different types of cars – ranging from modern super cars to really old classics.  One weekend I came across this beautifully maintained 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II.  It was quite something, the paintwork was in great condition and the black bodywork and silver chrome worked really well together.

When the owner came over he started the engine and considering this was a V8 engine it was amazingly quiet, they really don’t make cars like this anymore.  The interior was all real wood and leather and was probably more comfortable than my sofa at home.  The owner was so proud of his car he was literally preening.  Mind you I would have been the same if this was mine.

What was odd was seeing this amazing old car next to modern exotics like Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s.  Given the choice I’d pick the Rolls any day.

I suggested to Carter that he and Master Chief needed to make some new friends, so they met up with Marcus Fenix for a chat.

Water Drop – Home

09. October 2012 · Comments Off on Water Drop – Home · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

So today I was feeling all creative.  It happens every now and then so I thought I’d better jump on the moment and do something different.  So I shot the water drop below.  So how did I go about doing this, and more importantly can you do this too?  Well the answer is yes, you need a little gear, and a lot of patience.

Here’s how to get your own version.  Firstly I did the dishes, not mandatory but I needed the sink in the kitchen and the dirty dishes were in the way.  Once I had a clean sink, I placed a large cutting board over one of the sinks.  Then I sent Abi off to find some of her more colorful dresses and tops, she came down with half her wardrobe (so be specific if you have a 9 year old when you ask the same).  I picked out this cute orange, yellow and purple leotard and placed it on the board.  Next I got a small glass bowl and placed that on top of the leotard and half filled the bowl with water.  With me so far?

OK, next I got some lights.  You can’t really do this with natural light as you need to shoot at a pretty high shutter speed and small aperture.  So I grabbed a couple of speed lights and set them up on either side of the bowl.  You could do this with one speed light you just might not have it evenly lit on both sides.

Then I grabbed the macro lens and placed the camera on a tripod and turned on the faucet – and the dripping began.

Now you have to start taking pictures and trying to time it as the drop hits the water in the bowl.  The lights fire and freeze motion and hopefully you get a nice picture.

It takes time to get the focus right (you need to do this manually) and you need a pretty small aperture (I used f/16 here) so you have a big depth of field (which using a macro lens is really no more than half an inch).

Tonight I took 687 shots and ended up with 49 that I really liked and kept.  Out of the 49 this one was my favorite.  You can see the leotard in the background which is in soft focus, but you can also make out the leotard’s patten in the water drop, which I think is pretty cool.  The whole thing took around an hour and it’s actually a lot of fun – go ahead, give it a go.

The guys were playing hide and seek tonight, Master Chief had a great hiding place but they found him in the end.

 

Downtown Clock – Redmond

05. October 2012 · Comments Off on Downtown Clock – Redmond · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: ,

I was trying to decide what to post today, and came across this shot of the Redmond Downtown Clock.  This is a little embarrassing as I’ve lived in Redmond for nearly 10 years but I never knew this clock existed until last week.  I was walking around Redmond with Abi and found in above a sign that said “Welcome to Downtown – Historic Redmond” (I didn’t know the sign existed either).

The clock isn’t that tall and it sits on top of something that looks like a bus shelter with a load of old pictures of Redmond inside.  Around the “shelter” are benches with elaborately carved back rests – is it me or is all this new?  I mean I’ve never seen any of this before!

Anyway I took loads of pictures and actually had a few I liked.  We did a little test this evening and Lisa and Abi liked this one most so that’s the one I’m posting.  While I was there I was looking for a different perspective or composition.  So I got down low and shot up (just missing out the shelter).  Having a nice blue sky and fluffy white clouds helped make I think a nice image.

It’s amazing what you see when you walk around with a camera in your hand!

Master Chief wanted to show Carter his plums, he’s very proud of them.

Lonely – Redmond

04. October 2012 · Comments Off on Lonely – Redmond · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

Fall is definitely here, it was freezing outside today and the trees at work are starting to lose their leaves.  Last year I spent ages trying to get that perfect image of fall.  I drove everywhere shooting trees in all states of leaf loss and at the end of the day I had some pretty trees with red and yellow leaves (just like everyone else)!

This year I wanted to do something different, try and capture fall in a different way, and this is my first attempt.  I was in Redmond Town Center and came across loads of fallen dead leaves. At first I was just looking for that “dead leaves on the floor” look, but then I saw this little yellow lonely flower (or weed) poking through.  I loved the simplicity of the image, the fact that this little weed was trying to push through to survive seemed really cool.

So I captured a few shots.  I had a massive focal length and big aperture so got a really narrow depth of field (that’s camera talk for “I made it blurry”).  This was shot in shade with natural light and I think the image camer out really well.

I was with Abi when I shot this and right after I stood up she jumped on the flower – with both feet!  I think she called it a “bunny hop”.  So this poor little thing fought it’s way through the leaves to survive was crushed by a cartwheeling 9 year old 62 lb girl.  Life sucks if you’re a weed.

Play-Doh rocks!  Carter was making interesting animals, and Master Chief was trying to suffocate himself.

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