Category Archives: b26

Light Rain #2

by Bob Venezia
Light Rain

Fireworks on Seattle's Lake Union, 4 July 2013

This is the fourth year I’ve attempted to capture Seattle’s 4th of July fireworks display. I have a perfect spot for shooting them, provided by a good friend. Every previous attempt has had its problems. In 2010 the triggers I used worked in my basement but not in the field. So I came down off the roof disappointed and my friend Jim, an inventor, asked me to describe the problem. Some months later he presented me with a box containing some solenoid triggers.

2011 worked better but I was trying to do too many things at once. The triggers worked pretty well but in the end I only had a couple of usable shots. When I say usable I mean awesome. The Hasselblads were spaced about 20 feet apart, based on a formula I got from Don Lopp.

When Don saw the photos he said, “You know, since you don’t have infinity in the shot you could double the distance between the cameras.” I was shooting the fireworks against a dark sky (which presents a problem in aiming the cameras) but I resolved to shoot with greater separation.

In 2012 I had 40 foot separation but my aim was not good and I didn’t get anything I could use.

Fast forward to 2013. I asked my friend to make the triggers more powerful as there were times when it seemed the signal wasn’t strong enough to go over long distances. James did beef up the triggers such that he thinks I could trigger from several miles without that problem! This year the triggers were good, the aim was near perfect, and a I got some really nice shots. 40 foot separation between cameras. I’m currently too protective of the best ones to send them out on tour but even the “also-rans” are quite good! And I hope I can get to share some of these with you in person!

And I can’t wait ’til next year!

Rose Petals with Leaf and Droplets

by Bob Venezia
Rose Petals & Leaf With Droplets

Rose from Mandy's garden shot in a DIY macro box

 

I had been wanting to try out some close-up subjects with my hasselblads and I remembered seeing some great close-up flower images that Hai Tran had shown me. And Dale Walsh shared some close-up MF-3D at one of the NSA conventions. So I started shooting some experiments.

Of course after I started shooting I got all my film mixed up so I can’t exactly tell you what I did! But I’m going to start over again when I have the time and do some better documenting!

This was shot with a hasselblad on a slide bar. I think the separation between the lens centers is about 1/2 inch. The foremost part of the rose isn’t as sharp as I want it. But I think the leaf looks awesome! And the lighting on this setup worked out better (on the leaf) than in subsequent setups, and I am going to try to match this look.

I clearly needed some dust control. The rose blossom was heavy and I propped it up with a little tripod bent out of wire but I wasn’t clever enough in hiding it so you can see a sliver of it on the bottom.

I built a DIY macro box based on this post on strobist:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

I’m not done exploring this.

Large Golden Slinky

by Bob Venezia
Giant Golden Slinky

The ride "Enterprise" in action at the Puyallup Fair in Western Washington

 

This is a shot of the ride “Enterprise” at the Puyallup (pyoo AL ip) Fair in Western Washington. The Puyallup is one of the granddaddies of all the fairs. Its url is thefair.com.

See what I’m sayin’?

The enterprise starts out as a flat disk and then tilts up, making a fun pattern. The ride doesn’t last very long!

Trick or Treat!

by Bob Venezia
Trick or Treat!

White sandstone formations in the area of the Pillars of Silence

This one reminds me of old-school halloween costumes. All you need is a sheet.

This was taken in the same area as my image, “Approaching the Pillars” from the last round. I hired a photo guide out of Page, Arizona and he would take me around to great spots each morning and evening.

Taken with the TL-120.

 

Anachronistic Couple

by Lattie

This handsome couple is doubly out of sync with both modern times, and the medieval/Renaissance revelers all around them.  They were sitting at the bar, near a grounded Pirate Ship boutique, at the PA Renfest last year. If you thought you were viewing some Victorian Costumer movie outake starring Jane Seymour and Gene Wilder, you’re not alone!

Baby Vincent, 11 months

by Philip Steinman

Title       Baby Vincent, 11 months
Location        Van Nuys, California April 2013

Technical      Fuji GA645w (slide bar, F22, 2”, Kodak EPR 64)

Comments         He is my little star, my darling, my 4th child in 5 years, my second son, and my future.  The only way to photograph a baby cha-cha style is while they sleep.  Here he is shot with my Fuji GA645 closeup filter, with a Benbo tripod hanging over his body.  His eyes fluttered when I pressed the release on the 2nd and 3rd exposures.  I used the 1st and 4th  exposures and got lucky because the separation of 1cm was made for pairs 1&2 or 3&4, but 1&4 also had 1cm and created the proper separation for this  3D image.

Statue of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day Life Magazine Photograph Aboard the USS Iowa Battleship

by Philip Steinman

Title:  Statue of  Alfred Eisenstaedt’s V-J Day Life Magazine  Photograph Aboard the USS Iowa Battleship

Location        San Pedro, California December 2012

Technical      Fuji GA645w (cha-cha no slide bar ), Fuji Provia F100

Comments         In 2012 the West Coast’s only Battleship opened to the public in San Pedro with the USS Iowa.   The self-guided tour takes you on a journey through World War II, the Korean War, and the Cold War to experience the life of a sailor on the lead ship of the last class of gunships.   The USS Iowa was the only ship of her class to have served in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.   Despite the 16” guns, 5” guns, missile decks, bridge, mess areas, and world famous Captain’s Cabin – with the only bathtub installed on a battleship for a President, the most interesting item on the boat for me was this statue errected of the photograph of the nurse’s iconic kiss that marked the end of World War II.  The battleship alone is certainly a symbol of this and world peace but for a public display, they chose to combine the weapon of a battleship with the softness of a kiss.  The lasting power of a single photograph lives on.

On Aug. 14, 1945 New York City’s Times Square went dark at 7 p.m. and then at 7:03 p.m.,more than 750,000 people roared in jubilation as the words “OFFICIAL—TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER” blazed across the news scroll.  Elated by the news, people in the crowd were hugging and crying tears of joy, but it was a far different experience for Edith Shain, a nursing school student.  “This sailor just grabbed me and kissed me,” she said. “Any female closes her eyes when she’s about to kiss so I never saw the guy, and then I walked away. I was kind of embarrassed. I didn’t say anything about it to anyone.”  What Shain didn’t realize, until a week later, was that her “indiscretion” was caught on film. While browsing a copy of a Life magazine, Shain, then 27-years-old, recognized herself in what has became an iconic photo titled “V-J Day” (Victory over Japan) of a sailor slightly dipping a nurse in a white uniform and kissing her.  Of the kiss, Shain said, “It was very nice, and of course, it was in the days before you’d scream and go to an attorney. It was the best of times.”  The famous photo was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, a photojournalist for Life Magazine. In his memoirs, Eisenstaedt explained, “Suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed.  I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse….People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this picture.”  Though Eisenstaedt died in 1995 at the age of 96, the celebrated picture has not lost its significance.  In celebration of the 60th anniversary of V-J Day, Shain flew to New York City where a slightly larger-than-life-size statue titled “Unconditional Soldier” by J. Seward Johnson based on the Life photograph was unveiled on Aug. 11, in Times Square.

 

View from the Shoin Building of The Japanese Garden

by Philip Steinman

Title       View from the Shoin Building of The Japanese Garden

Location        Van Nuys, California April 2013

Technical      Fuji GA645w (cha-cha no slide bar ), Fuji Provia F100

Comments         Major architectural entities in the garden include the Shoin building which projects over the lake and adjoins the teahouse. Shoin was the residential dwelling developed for aristocrats, upper class monks and samurai during the 14th and 15th centuries. The exterior of this building is authentically shoin style, but the interior has been modified to provide a place for meetings and special events. While the room does survey a panoramic view of the garden, notice the white window blinds that slide horizontally.  The Japanese garden style is to reveal only portions of the garden at a time from a seating and not the entire panoramic view at once.

View of The Japanese Garden

by Philip Steinman

Location        Van Nuys, California April 2013

Technical      Fuji GA645w (cha-cha no slide bar ), Fuji Provia F100

Comments         The Japanese Garden, dedicated June 18th, 1984, is a 6½ acre authentic Japanese garden fashioned after “stroll gardens” constructed during the 18th and 19th centuries for Japanese Feudal lords.  The trees are manicured to reduce any dense foliage and promote three dimensional views that allows one to see the pines, lake, and administration building in the background.   The foot path allows two people to enter together in order to encourage courtesy and to allow the viewing of small portions of The Garden from different vantage points.

Submission 3

by Nik Sekhar

This is my 3rd submission to the folio.   It is an honor and privilege to share my slides and view the wonderful work of the other participants. It was fun to meet some of you at this year’s NSA and I look forward to meeting you again soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Koi: This was shot at the Mission  San Juan Capsitrano during the NSA field trip.  All are shot with TL120,  This was Velvia 100 at f 16, 1/125

Alice and Mom:  This is my wife and her mother Efke 25, sb28 flash at auto f8.

Flower arrangement: f22 1s velvia

Hummingbird and Quen Mary:  This was shot during the NSA trip.  I was lucky enough to catch this Hummingbird fly into the scene.   I love the contrast in scale.  Velvia f22 1/60

 

 

El Coronado Visitor Center Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas

by dorothy mladenka

Palo Duro Canyon State Park opened on July 4, 1934 and contains 29,182 acres of the scenic, northern most portion of the Palo Duro Canyon. The Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s constructed most of the buildings and roads still in use by park staff and visitors.

The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is often claimed that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. The largest, the Grand Canyon, is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and 6,000 ft. deep.

Palo Duro is Spanish for “hard wood”. The photo was taken from the roof of our CCC constructed cabin located on the rim of the canyon. Only 3 cabins have a rim “view”. I am fascinated by the CCC work and visit and/or stay in CCC constructed cabins whenever we can.