Photo of the Week
Moeraki Boulders – New Zealand
Sometimes the most beautiful light is not during the sunset, but shortly after in what is known popularly as the “blue hour”. One of my favorite spots in all of New Zealand was captured here in that light- the Moeraki Boulders- an usual geological formation of near-perfectly spherical boulders. Setting the camera on a tripod and using a long six-second exposure brought out the detail in the rock textures, while revealing the subtle color changes across the sky.
ISO 100, 24mm, f/22, 6 second exposure.
City Eclipse
In honor of Halloween, the spookiest moon shot I could find… in this case a BLOOD RED MOON. Well reddish anyway, caused by the edge of the earth’s shadow towards the end of a lunar eclipse several years ago. One of the coolest things about digital cameras is how easy it is to get great night shots- just put it on a steady surface, use the auto timer so you don’t vibrate it accidentally when pressing the shutter, and see what happens. In this shot the searchlight was a wonderful happy accident – I couldn’t see it with my naked eye – but a 20 second exposure made it truly glow- and it ended up shining right towards the tip of the Transamerica pyramid.
ISO 400, 41mm, f/11, 20 second exposure.
Bump
She’s getting big! Only about 2 weeks to go… Shot with a single remote flash through an umbrella for softer light. I love black and white for portraits (or portrait details in this case) – something inherently classy about it, and it’s always fun to really be able to experiment with the lighting.
ISO 250, 105mm, f/9, 1/100 second exposure.ArtBWFamilyKarisa pregnant karisa1010KarisaPregnantPortraits048
Angels Over the Bay – San Francisco
It’s Fleet Week again in San Francisco- always a great weekend as we get a break from the fog (usually) this time of year, and get to see some amazing planes and pilots, and hear that amazing roar as they fly past in a power-turn. Used my longest 200m lens and a 1.4x extension tube to get the bridge and the angels together in one shot, and ISO 400 to get a nice high shutter speed to try to keep them in focus.
ISO 400, 280mm, f/5.6, 1/6400 second exposure.
Harajuku Girls – Tokyo
I’ve wanted to check out the Harajuku district of Tokyo ever since Gwen Stefani sang about the fashionistas that hang out there. Thousands of Japanese teenagers haunt its alleys looking for the perfect designer handbag or accessory to complete their outfit. I wasn’t disappointed- so much to see. Ask nicely and they might even just mug for the camera with a classic Japanese “peace” sign.
ISO 320, 65mm, f/4.5, 1/320 second exposure.
Swing Life Away
If you’ve never been to Burning Man, it’s hard to explain. Go burners go! Shot with a Canon point and shoot near dusk on a glorious day on the playa.
Canon Point and Shoot.
Dragon in the Garden
Sometimes it’s the small things. I don’t often break out my macro lens, because it requires a lot of patience, something I’m not always prone to. But when I actually do… I’m almost always happy I did. One of the things I love most about photography is the ability to once in a while show someone the beauty of something more often over looked or passed by. Caught this dragon fly sunning itself in my mother’s garden. Take picture, step closer, and repeat until subject flies away.
ISO 400, 100mm, f/10, 1/100 second exposure.
Laguna Colorada – Bolivia
I almost destroyed my wide-angle lens taking this shot. The Bolivian Alitplano is one of the driest and highest altitude deserts in the world, but still has a few lakes dotting its landscape. The Laguna Colorada is famous for the red algae that fill its waters, and the thousands of flamingos that feed and breed here (barely visible as the tiny white dots on the horizon). It is also filled with feathers and flamingo droppings, and as I was switching lenses on my camera I dropped one onto the grass ringing the lake where it proceeded to start rolling down. I managed to grab it inches from the waters surface- a bit filthy on the outside, but at least still intact and flamingo-poo free on the inside where it really matters.
ISO 100, 17mm, f/20, 1/60 second exposure.
The Gates – New York City
Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be visiting Manhattan for work on the opening day of Christo’s “Gates” art installation in Central Park. The frozen park in February was a perfect contrast to the over 7,500 fabric and metal gates installed in the park for a short two-week stint.
ISO 400, 90mm, f/5.6, 1/800 second exposure.
Life is Beautiful – Argentina
A view from the road approaching the Perito Moreno glacier in southern Argentina. Taken several years ago, this is easily one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen, or expect to see, in my lifetime.
ISO 100, 55mm, f/10, 1/400 second exposure.
Year of the Tiger – Beijing
Off to China in a matter of hours for a week or so of business… Here’s one of my favorite shots from a previous trip to Beijing during the New Year celebrations. The Chinese take their fireworks very seriously.
ISO 400, 17mm, f/5.6, ½ second exposure.
The Curious One – Boulders Beach, South Africa
For the last day of the World Cup, a final glimpse of South Africa. This colony of African penguins (once called Jackass penguins for the braying noise they make) is less than an hour’s drive from Cape Town, in the quaint town of Boulders. The only penguin species that breeds in Africa, this colony established itself in the 1980’s. If you move slowly they’ll let you approach quite closely. This one was particularly fascinated with his own reflection in my telephoto lens.
ISO 640, 92mm, f/7.1, 1/250s exposure.
SF4th – San Francisco
Happy birthday America! Shot several years ago from the Marin Headlands above San Francisco.
Tip: Shooting fireworks can be frustrating, but a few simple tricks can make all the difference. Turn your ISO to 100 (or the lowest you can) so you get a long exposure. Use a good tripod or at minimum rest your camera on something. Use the auto timer to avoid camera shake if you don’t have a remote cable. Focus on ‘infinity’ or at least something close to the same distance as the fireworks. If you have the control, turn your f- down to f/8 or below to get more of the scene in focus. Finally, try to get something interesting in the frame along with the fireworks… a little context can make the shot much more appealing than fireworks alone. Happy shooting!
More great tips here: http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Photograph_Fireworks
ISO 100, 28mm, f/8, 30 second exposure.
Chicago
When you can put a world-class cityscape in front of a body of water, you can get some amazing reflections at night. Throw in a little fast-moving fog and it gets even better. The John Hancock building (the brightly lit tower near center) was popping in and out of visibility as the fog and clouds drifted past its massive 100-story edifice, so I needed to take a few tries to get a nice mix of visibility and brightly-illuminated fog. So far this is my favorite image from my mini-vacation to both Chicago and NYC last week, but I still have some hunting to do…
The image above was digitally stitched together from six separate vertical/portrait shots using a combination of both Lightroom and Photoshop.
ISO 100, 17mm, f/13, 20s exposure
Edge of the World – Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
With the World Cup in full swing, all eyes are on the beautiful nation of South Africa. Here’s a shot of its rugged coastline at the Cape of Good Hope, about an hour drive south of Cape Town. It’s a world away, but in many places like this I can’t help being reminded of my native Northern California. This image is assembled from six vertical shots which were stitched together digitally. Though a lovely sunny day, the wind was blowing so hard I had to use a bean bag propped on a rock wall to get the shots, and even then had to keep the shutter speed high as the camera kept getting blown around.
Tip: When you don’t have the space or energy to drag a tripod around, a small bean bag in your camera case can often be just the trick to help you keep your camera steady and get sharper landscape shots. Rest the camera on the bean bag for stability, turn on your auto-timer so pressing the shutter doesn’t jiggle the camera, and let your camera do the rest.
ISO 500, 17mm, f/13, 1/400s exposure.
Art Movement – New York City
Happy accidents are a remarkable thing, and in this case gave me one of my all-time favorite New York images. Taken several years ago inside the Museum of Modern Art, I was trying to capture the bustle of the crowd in contrast to the stillness of the art. Tripods aren’t allowed, so I was doing my very best to hold still in the low light when this woman stopped and framed herself perfectly on the giant abstract canvas and stayed there transfixed for enough time for me to snap a few frames.
Pro Tip: How can you get your pictures sharper (especially in low-light when the shutter speed is slow)?
1) Tuck your elbows in tight to your chest and hold the eyepiece firmly against your head to create a “tripod” with your own body. Exhale, and then gently press the shutter.
2) If you can, rest even a small part of your camera (or your own body) on a wall or railing for extra stability.
3) Turn on burst mode if your camera has one and take several shots. Zoom in tight and you’ll find that one of your shots will almost always be sharper than the others based on the natural sway of your body.
ISO 400, 28mm, f/10, 1/3s exposure.
Macaque Love – Indonesia I didn’t notice the perfect shape the baby macaque's heads had formed until I got home. A perfect heart for a perfect, beautiful family. I came across these wild macaques several years ago while riding in a taxi on the Indonesian island of Lombok. They calmly posed for me for several minutes atop their perch- a stone car railing at a curve on the road. Keep your camera ready, and your eyes on the scenery and you never know what you might spot. ISO 100, 105, f/4.0, 1/40s exposure. More Photos from South East Asia here... For larger, better viewing, try Slideshow: http://joelwadephotography.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=9285943&AlbumKey=Xa4Ae Gallery http://joelwadephotography.com/Places/Singapore/9285943_Xa4Ae#620570071_CiCqz
Bad Bunny – San Francisco
Today marks the 98th running of the infamous Bay to Breakers- the longest consecutive running footrace in the world. San Francisco is famous for its enthusiastic citizens- who often will use any excuse to don a costume. In their honor a single shot from a previous outing.
On Deck – San Francisco
Today was an amazing sailing day on the San Francisco Bay- smooth water and warm breezes. I was fortunate enough to take a spot as an unskilled passenger or “meat” in a local regatta, and promptly took a lot of pictures while frequently getting in the way of the very skilled and patient sailors. In their honor, this week’s picture features a bowman on deck with the Bay Bridge behind him from another regatta this past summer. These guys work furiously on wet, slippery surfaces at the bow to change riggings and sails as the boats maneuver through their turns.
ISO 200, 200m, f/5.6, 1/800s exposure.ArtRolex Big Boat Series 2009 SaturdaySailingSan FranciscoSelects0909RolexBigBoatSeries054
The Crater – Iceland
With Iceland and its now-infamous volcanoes in the news so much these days, a shot from a more peaceful volcano seemed in order. The crater shown here is Hverfjall in northern Iceland, which last erupted a distant 2500 years ago. The cinder cone shaped crater looks exactly what you’d imagine a volcano should look like with steep, symmetrical sides, but a short hike lets you summit to the top and circle the whole ring of the crater if you don’t mind a little slogging. Iceland sits atop the Mid-Atlantic ridge, and its gorgeous countryside is riddled with volcanic activity old and new, from boiling mud pots, spouting geysers, and pitch-black lava fields to natural hot springs and the occasional not-so-nice-smelling sulfurous hot shower. There’s even local bread that’s cooked by burying it in a bucket a few feet underground and letting the geothermal heat cook it. Tasty!
ISO 400, 17mm, f/11, 1/250s exposure.
More shots from the surreal and stunning landscape of Iceland:
http://joelwade.smugmug.com/Places/Iceland/9286017_Scf7n#620246814_aBzMa
Glorious Morning – Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
I spent over four years chasing this shot. It was so ridiculous it became known as my “white whale” to the friends who were kind enough to help “fog spot” for me. I wanted a very specific look: the fog hanging low on the water so that the towers of the bridge protruded above it, the city visible, AND I wanted it to be during the “golden hour”… that first or last hour of sunlight when everything looks golden and warm. San Francisco is well known for its thick fog- how hard could it be? Fog it turns out is incredibly fickle. Firstly, the fog rolls in all the time- especially in the evenings, but more often than not obscures the entire bridge. Or it hangs just offshore. Even when the conditions are perfect, it often only stays that way for less than an hour. Many a time I’d spot the “white whale”, quickly pack up my gear, make the drive over the bridge…. and it would be gone. In desperation I ended up packing all my photo gear, a down jacket, warm hat, snacks, and even some reading material into a giant duffle bag- ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’d set my alarm for half an hour before dawn if the conditions looked promising, and race out to see if the fog was there. After six failed pre-dawn attempts, I was finally lucky enough to get there in time for this beautiful scene just as the sun was rising.
ISO 100, 200mm, f/14, 1/25s exposure.
See more Golden Gate Bridge shots, including some from the same morning, and some foggy near-misses here:
http://joelwadephotography.com/Portfolio/Golden-Gate-Bridge/9764651_e3hdL#665695781_a4Hva
