Photo of the Week
Stones
National AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park
Broken Vase
National AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park
Cranes
National AIDS Memorial Grove, Golden Gate Park
Prisma
Prisma just won Apple's coveted "App of the Year 2016", and justly so. The free app for iOS and Android can take an ordinary phone shot and turn it into something extraordinary... in only a matter of seconds. Here I've take a family snapshot (original unfiltered shot is in the center), and applied 8 of the dozens of filters available as examples.
Seriously, give it a shot. Anything with decent lighting and a little color can become wondrous. Plus it's incredibly easy, and fun.
Go download it, and let the fun begin with your holiday shots!
http://prisma-ai.com/
#prisma
Skyline Fog
Because I am a slave to photography, I bought the iPhone 7 Plus for it's new camera(s), and the ability to shoot in RAW. Why would anyone shoot in RAW and what is it you say? It's a file format that stores far more data than a JPEG, both in the colors and values of each pixel... but it takes up more space, and needs to be processed before it can be seen on screen. So I did just that here for the first time, and have posted the results. On top is the "original" as the camera chose to expose it. On bottom is the "edited" version I brought into Adobe Lightroom and made adjustments too. I brought back a little more warmth to the white balance, brightened some of the detail in the shadows, and most importantly recovered some of the lost detail in the shafts of light that had "blown out". I'm happier... what do you think?
Been far too long since I posted... I hope to do better in 2017. Happy shooting on your phones!
Love
I meant to post this immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling, but better late than never. I took this photo at SF City Hall on June 16, 2008… the first day same-sex marriage licenses were issued legally in California (following the ban being overturned by the California Supreme Court).
Regardless of your politics, the amount of joy and love on display was amazing to behold. Civil ceremonies were being held in all corners of the building, a professional violinist was donating her time to serenade the happy couples, and crowds were gathered outside just to be present. I spent a good chunk of the first two days at City Hall just taking it in. There were so many happy new couples, families, children, and friends… all smiling and laughing and crying all at once.
From those two days, this is my favorite image: a brand new married couple walking out into the sunlight, greeted by a huge crowd of strangers… wishing them nothing but love.
The Oaks
Wasn't planning on this shot, but actually had to pull over to the side of the road as the light was too beautiful to pass up. This was probably the last 10 minutes of sunlight near Los Olivos ( some gorgeous wine country north of Santa Barbara). With the red-tinted sunset to my back I was treated to an incredibly bright foreground, long shadows, and an ominous dark sky.
ISO 800, 32mm, f13, 1/160 second exposure.
In the Ruins
This is one of my all-time favorite images. While touring a deserted temple near Angkor Wat, I turned the corner of a hallway and saw this young girl sitting by herself on a stone block about 30 yards away. No thinking, no prep, I raised my camera and took a quick shot, with just enough time for her to give me a beautiful Mona Lisa half-smile. Between the overcast days and trees overhead it was so dark the shutter was open for a full quarter of a second, giving the whole scene a dreamy softness. Ancient monochrome stone - bright, beautiful child. I wish I took more pictures like this!
ISO 100, 90mm, f5.6, 1/4 second exposure.
Young Love
Happy Valentine’s Day! One of the most popular activities for young couples visiting the YTN Tower in Seoul, South Korea is to write an inscription and their names on a padlock and attach it to the fences as an expression of their love. Have to admit it’s an awfully cute tradition. There are thousands and thousands of these locks all over the grounds at the tower.
ISO 400, 29mm, f5.6, 1/60 second exposure.
Santa on His Break
Happy holidays everyone! Spotted this Santa taking a breather in San Francisco’s Union Square a couple of weeks ago- and shot him through the window of Macy’s. This is special for two reasons: first, it’s my first photo of the week shot on my phone (the way we capture so many photos these days), and second it was suggested, nay insisted upon, by my good friend and constant supported Eric Strasser. Hope everyone enjoys some time off with friends and loved ones and appreciates both the big and small things in life. And don’t forget to take a few photos!
Layers
What happens when you happen to be flying from Denver to San Francisco… at dusk… as the smoke from the now-infamous Yosemite Rim Fire is settling across California? Some crazy-cool photos if you’re lucky enough to have the window seat. The setting sun turned the higher smoke plumes reddish-orange as the lower layers caught in mountainous valleys was in cool blue shadows. Surreal and gorgeous.
ISO 320, 75mm, f6.3, 1/640 second exposure.
Second BONUS SHOT from same flight below.
Unbelievable
Unbelievable – the only word that describes both the amazing speed and grace of these ultra-exotic racing boats and the America’s Cup competition itself. The boats literally “fly” atop the water, suspended on hydrofoils beneath the surface, topping out at speeds as high as 44 knots / 50 mph.
After being behind 7 races to 1 after a dismal start, Oracle Team USA has pulled to a dead-even 8-8 with Emirates New Zealand in a “first to 9 wins” final series. In what no one thought was possible, it’s winner-take-all tomorrow at 1:15 PST in the final race… please do yourself a favor and try to catch it live on NBC if at all possible. This is one for the history books. Huge congratulations to both teams for their truly amazing efforts pushing both themselves and the sport of sailing to the very edge of what’s possible.
I was fortunate enough to see one of the races live, and tour the Oracle Team USA hangar where the boats are prepared and the team plans and trains. Heres a sampling of 6 shots from that day. Good luck to both teams!
Almost Here
Almost exactly one year ago, this was us…. my daughter anxiously awaiting the arrival of her baby brother. How the time flies. Now he’s here, one year old and my daughter is happy as a clam with him minus the occasional meltdown. Shot using a flash through a lighting umbrella to soften the shadows.
ISO 400, 32mm, f6.3, 1/200 second exposure.
Here's the sculpture I was perched atop...
Sailing the Sea of Dust
Another year, another Burning Man. Hope all my friends who were fortunate enough to go had a wonderful burn, and have acclimated back to “real” life smoothly. I took this in 2011, having left camp to go shooting by myself at dusk. I spent probably an hour perched atop a climbable 30 foot torso of a woman’s body waiting for the golden hour just before sunset, and talking to lots of other folks who climbed up to explore as well. Here you can see the Temple, several of the huge art “cars” that roam the playa, and thousands of people… yet this is only a small fraction of the size of the whole city, with grew to 60k people this year. The playa “sea” is an ancient dried lakebed in northern Nevada covered completely in extremely fine dust, and is a favorite location for car commercials.
(a few people asked me what in the hell I was talking about... so bonus picture below of the statue I was perched atop. I actually met the woman who was the model for the sculpture atop it - surreal... so she's striking the same pose for me at the very very top)
5 image composite panorama.
ISO 320, 60mm, f9.0, 1/400 second exposure.
Aloft
By now you know I’m a bit obsessed with the Golden Gate Bridge. So smitten am I, that I was given an air tour of the bay as a birthday present. As luck would have it, I managed not only to bring home a few unique angles, but was also blessed with the gorgeous summer fog. Hope you enjoy!
ISO 400, 110mm, f8.0, 1/1600 second exposure.
Wild Wild East
The Pudong New Area rises above the east bank of the Huangpo River in Shanghai, a little piece of Blade Runner in one of the oldest cities in the world. This panorama was composited from 10 separate images from the VUE roof deck bar of the Hyatt on the Bund. Like most modernizing nations, China is a land of vast contrasts, where local hipsters and ex-pats mingled amongst outdoor jacuzzis and expensive bottles of champagne at the bar, while coal barges (and sometimes the occasional pig carcass) floated slowly along in the river below.
10 frame composite, ISO 200, 24mm, f9.0, 20 second exposure.
El Capitan
I’ve been to Yosemite many times, but never during the winter… so was incredibly excited to make it up a couple of weeks ago the day after a fresh snowfall. For this shot I wanted to try to grab something a little different from the classic views, and also wanted to make it clearly “winter”. Getting up at dawn was a frigid affair, but the first early morning light on El Capitan as viewed through the water and ice on the Merced River made the frozen fingers worth it. Though potentially a little confusing at first glance, I’m hoping viewers slowly come to see the multiple layers of depth, from the sunlight on the cliffs, to the ice and snow on the water’s surface, to the subtle leaves and needles barely visible on the river bottom.
ISO 100, 29mm, f18, .6 second exposure.
The Drowned
This week I wanted to share a special shot from DEEP in the archives… one of my earliest shots that I still can look back on and be pleased with. I spent Christmas of 2004 on the south-east coast of Mexico, and stumbled across these three make-shift crosses while taking a rented scooter around the island of Cozumel. A restaurant around the corner explained that three locals had drowned there recently. Frankly I lucked out here… the crosses are already emotionally powerful, but it happened to be late in the day close to golden hour, and a storm was blowing in from the Caribbean. Hard to ask for more amazing skies to change the mood of the shot so dramatically versus puffy white clouds or boring overcast.
Apologies for not posting in the last few weeks- turns out raising two children is even harder than raising one. Go figure. I’ll try to do better… Happy New Year to all!
ISO 400, 24mm, f6.3, 1/4000s exposure.
Angels
The Blue Angels buzzed through town a few weeks back as they do this time of year, and put on another amazing show. I always feel like a giddy little boy as I hear them roaring through their turns. Thanks a million to my sailing friends for giving me one of the best seats in the house for the show! I couldn't decide on just one shot of the week… so there’s a special bonus shot below!
ISO 640, 280mm, f6.3, 1/4000 second exposure.
Raptor
(BONUS SHOT) The amazing F22 Raptor… probably the last great manned fighter aircraft the world will see before the inevitable shift to drones. I’d never seen one in person, and it was quite the sight with its dramatic stealth-based dart shape.
ISO 400, 280mm, f7.1, 1/2500 second exposure.
Fire Vortex
A little ORANGE and BLACK in honor of our amazing home town Giants! This is Nate Smith’s must-be-seen-to-be-believed artwork “Fire Vortex” shot at the Crucible’s 2009 Fire Arts Festival. Go Gigantes!
ISO 320, 20mm, f8, 1/125 second exposure.
Little Man
The little man has finally arrived… so apologies in advance if my posting slows down a bit. My brain sure has… while my heart has swelled up. Shot this at my little home studio through an umbrella with two remote flashes.
ISO 250, 60mm, f9, 1/200 second exposure.
Stage Presence
Had a blast shooting for Redwood City a few weeks ago showcasing their Music in the Square concert series… It’s important to be respectful of people who don’t want their picture taken (especially in some Latin American countries where it can be considered a personal violation). This was not one of those occasions- happy people pumped up after enjoying a great live show.
ISO 250, 17mm, f4.5, 1/2 second exposure.
Baby Moon
With our second child impending, my wife and I snuck away for an overnighter “Baby Moon” at Cavallo Point in Marin a few weeks ago, and I snuck away for a little night photography with my own full moon.
ISO 200, 45mm, f6.3, 30 second exposure.CaliforniaGolden Gate BridgeOceanSan Francisco1207BabyMoonFortBaker046
Of Dust and Dreams
Safe travels to all my friends heading off to the Black Rock Desert this week… I’ll be with you in spirit, and don’t forget to take lots of photos for me. Shot last year, a stilt-walker crosses the prehistoric dry lake bed that hosts the Burning Man festival each year.
ISO 250, 100mm, f13, 1/500 second exposure.
London Calling
With all eyes on London during the Olympics, here’s a shot from a visit several years ago. Here waiting for the golden hour paid off as a few late rays of sun briefly poked through the clouds to illuminate two incredible landmarks at once.
ISO 200, 105mm, f9, 1/160 second exposure.
Upset
Lauren is well into her terrible twos. But I posted this shot as a plea to parents to try to capture all the moments in your child’s life- not just the fake, posed smiles. Happy memories of happy times are wonderful, but images of any emotion can be just as wonderful, especially if you’ve had time to forget just how piercing the screams could be. How many great shots of kids upset and crying have parents instantly deleted because they didn’t think it was a “good picture”? There is beauty in all life’s moments- not just the pre-posed “cheese”.
ISO 640, 105mm, f5, 1/50 second exposure.
Crosses, Mexico
Had an amazing long weekend in Mexico celebrating an old friend’s birthday who I’ve known since childhood. It had been a long time since I’ve been to Mexico, and it was great to be back. I shot this photo several years ago when driving through the Yucatan and seeing these crosses leaning against an old church wall.
ISO 100, 56mm, f5.6, 1/800 second exposure.
Testament, Argentina
Lone tree at the foot of the Perito Moreno glacier. I loved the two big layers… snowy mountains and red rock, punctuated by that one sign of life, or past-life.
ISO 200, 84mm, f11, 1/800 second exposure.
Out of the Mist, San Francisco
Dear GGB – I’ve had a huge crush ever since I first laid eyes on you. I know you have lots of admirers, and I don’t want to come off like a stalker, but I think you’re absolutely stunning. I’ve spent many hours gazing at you from afar, watching the light, fog, and waves come and go. To my eyes, you’re the most beautiful bridge in the world. Here’s to another 75 years…
Much love and good wishes to you on your birthday,
Joel
ISO 100, 90mm, f14, 1/5 second exposure.
