Exploratorium & China Town

These were taken on my solo photography adventure to China Town in the rain. It was a fun challenge. I ended up losing track of time and having to rush to find a bus back to the hotel.

Church Editing: Librodo sharpening technique.

Wall Editing: Pioneer Woman's Seventies Action

These bottom two pictures were taken at the Exploratorium--a science exploration museum. Outside the actual museum there is some amazing architecture called the Palace of Fine Arts. It was a fun place to play around with the wide angle lens. Emerson hopped up onto this pillar all by himself.

Emerson Editing: sharpen and vignette

This sculpture was hanging from the ceiling inside the Exploratorium.

Silver Sculpture Editing: Coffeshop Color Pop Triple-Shot Action (free!) and then sharpened

Castagnola's

From our first night in San Francisco. Shot from the window of our restaurant. I'm wishing I had used a polarizing filter to darken the sky a bit. Anybody know of a good way to fake a cool sky? Honestly I wasn't happy with this photo, but decided to edit it for a friend whose last name is Castagnola. Afterwards I decided I liked it. See the people walking on the left? They're about to encounter a homeless man crouched behind a garbage can and covered with branches and leaves. He jumped out at people passing by, scared them, and then hit them up for donations. From our table in the restaurant we got to watch at least a dozen people fall victim to the prank. Much better than getting startled ourselves :) Editing: Pioneer Woman's Soft and Faded Action with a few tweaks (her actions are the best!), Soft Light layer on the sky only, slight saturation bump on "Castagnola's" sign, Librodo's sharpening technique, and add border.

Rainy Day Photography

Fog City Diner

We ate lunch here one day--a strategic move to make lunch double as a photo op. The rain added a bit of a challenge. I had a grilled cheese... it was yummy.

Organized Chaos

While the boys napped back at the hotel I went on my own solo photo excursion. I rode a streetcar to the Financial District and walked to California St, where I'd been wanting to shoot pictures. I probably crossed this street ten times trying to get the shot from the center line. Did I mention it was raining? My solution: holding the camera in one hand and a giant umbrella borrowed from the hotel in the other. I'd stop in the middle of the crosswalk, crouch down (I wanted a low angle shot), shoot a picture, and then continue across the street. On the opposite side I'd check my shot, and then wait for the walk signal so I could cross again. As it turns out the best shot ended up being one taken from the curb. I usually don't like when there's so much going on in a photograph, but in this case I like the variety. You've got Chinatown sandwiched by all these modern business-type buildings. I was bummed out by the road construction, because it meant that no cable cars would be passing by.

March Brag Post - Karolyne Fabian

Karolyne is my MVP and not just because she takes beautiful pictures.

1. She's in three of my classes (two as a TA) plus she sometimes eats lunch in here... and I never ever get sick of her :)

2. As a TA she is awesome--always looking for something to do and quick to help students who have questions. I think she'd make a great teacher. She's good at getting students motivated to get their work done.

3. "I got you Miss."

4. She's the reason I'm going to accomplish my goal #6 - To get at least 10 of my students blogging. I think at least half of my bloggers are because of Karolyne.

5. She tells it like it is. If I need an opinion on a photo she'll be honest about what she thinks.

6. And finally, Karolyne is an amazing photographer. She's very detail oriented and it shows in her work. Her most recent work over spring break is breathtaking. Karolyne should own a macro lens some day, because it really suits her style. I also really liked her documentary about the animal shelter called "We All Need a Home."

Karolyne, you are awesome!

Somewhere in San Francisco

Where oh where to begin........

Just got back from our San Francisco adventure, and what an adventure it was! I could go back ten times and still not see it all. This particular photo was taken on Kearney St. between Chinatown and the Financial District. We were walking from the BART (subway) station to our bus stop. Such a good decision to skip renting a car and use public transportation. You get to see so much more! Plus it's so cheap! In hindsignt I'd have used a polarizing filter to get at least some color in the sky. Tried faking it in photoshop, but it just looked... well, fake.

Puzzle Macro

We're doing an assignment where the goal is to take a macro shot that puzzles the viewer. Mine is not very puzzling. All of my students are guessing it right away, but I still like it. The setup is something new, and I think I'll use it again soon. It's white paper with glass on top and a softbox for backlighting. It gives this cool reflection. Then I rotated it 90 degrees and did a little with levels. It's something different for me... maybe that's why I like it.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Teachers get in free this month, so we had to go! Forgot to bring the monopod, so the ISO had to be really high, which I hate. On this first one I held the camera up against the edge of the window to try and stabilize it. There were waves in this particular tank, and I wanted to capture the motion blur, so my shutter speed was pretty slow to be hand-held. I don't know, I just loved this starfish hanging on for dear life. And the colors!