Spooky Cyclops Pumpkin - 2007

One of my favorite parts of Halloween was letting the kids design their own jack-o-lanterns. I would often get crazy looking faces with features that are too small for the pumpkin's size, or detail that was well beyond my ability as a pumpkin artist. We would try to find a compromise on the design that they wanted and one that I could actually carve. I would do the slicing and let the kids do the major brain surgery. Gutting the pumpkin and separating the seeds. This was one of Joey's ideas from a few years ago, and probably my favorite. We sketched it out on the pumpkin and I broke out my handy dandy dremmel tool to do the carving. It sat around for a few days and I had a few days off due to rain, so I though I'd take a picture. I needed a dark room so I set it on a stool in my bathroom. (no windows) I experimented with a few shots to get the exposure and ended up with a great shot of a jack-o-lantern. I applied the radial blur through photoshop just to give it a little extra spookiness.

Sunset at Disneyworld

Honest to God, these were the actual colors of this sunset. I did not touch this photo up at all.

In February of 2006 Melissa and I went to disneyworld and then to Daytona for a race. I had just gotten my Rebel Xt a few days before and I couldn't wait to try it out. The results of the camera upgrade showed themselves right away. We were at the hotel that night and were heading out to Downtown Disney for dinner. While we waited for the shuttle I couldn't help but notice the incredible colors of the sunset, and me having a thing for sunsets needed to get a shot. I took a few but it was too dark and the images were blurry. So I went used a railing to support the camera and got this shot off. The speed was slower than 1/8th of a second, but it came out just fine. I can't wait to get back there. The sunsets are beautiful, and the mouse is fun too.

Trees 2

So you may have noticed that I have a thing for trees.

In my earlier trees post I explained why I like them, but I'm always looking for another trees shot. To some they may all look alike. Trees in black and white, but I seem to see something fresh every time.

This time I was in Pine Knot, Kentucky on the Hills and Hollers mission trip through church. We heard about an old mill and waterfall near the house we were working on. So, one day after work we hiked into the woods. There was a trail with an occasional challenge, but really pretty nice. Soon we came across a small creek and the trail followed. Up ahead was a small waterfall where another creek intersected the larger one. We were thinking that this isn't all that impressive, but after another 100 yards or so, there is was. The creek slowed down and widened out and fell down stream in a large, two tiered waterfall, and at the bottom were the remnants of the old mill. The whole area was beautiful and full of history. There was an abandoned Civil War bunker along the trail, and with the mill you just kind of knew that something went on in that area at one time.

Anyway, there were opportunities all over to capture tree shots. I took a few others but this is the one that really caught my eye.

This was converted to black and white with Photoshop Elements 6 and adjusted for contrast. Minor burning between trees, and overlayed with a 10% yellow filter.

Locomotive

We were at the Taste of Westmont the other day, and I showed up with my camera. My intent that night was to take long exposure shots of the carnival rides. I'm somewhat a novice with manual mode on the camera so while I was waiting for the sun to set, I decided to experiment with the settings. The first few shots were way overexposed, but I eventually got them to a good level.

To take the shots I needed a tripod and needed to use the 2 sec. timer on the camera. After a while a train came by and I thought "this will be nice".

I quickly set up, and pressed the button and nothing happened. I forgot about the timer. By the time the shutter opened the engine had already passed, but as I found out, 3 seconds of train going by still made for a nice shot.

My cousin Brian got married a few weeks ago and had these twin girls as flower girls. (The other one looks just like this one.) I saw them at the rehearsal and then at the wedding and all they did was frown. I could not get a smile out of them. I don't remember how it happened, but somehow her mom was able to coax one out. Luckily I was there to capture the moment. Not even the hired, professional photographer for the wedding got a shot like this. I see this type of picture all the time in wedding albums and had always hoped I could get one like this. Glowing Highlights, a little bit of color, a blurry background and you've got a wonderful shot. (not to mention a beautiful smile.)

Trees

I have a book by Ansel Adams called "Examples - The Making of 40 Photographs". It is basically an old version of the current photo blog. He shows a picture and then talks about it and the conditions of the day he took it and just goes into detail about what was happening when he took the shot. Much like I'm doing here. 

A few pictures in the book are of trees just standing there. Most often Birch or Aspen. Now I'm not trying to copy his style, but I am often inspired by  the photos he shoots. Reading his books has developed a passion for grayscale photography. I should never try to copy the greats, but I should let myself be inspired by their accomplishments. 

This was taken over at Barth Pond in Downers Grove. It was day one with the new camera and I wanted to get an idea of what I was working with.(More like I was just playing with my new toy.)

I got out early enough so that the shadows were still long and the sunlight wasn't harsh. I often look for a shot that conveys some sort of emotion. Those end up becoming my favorites, but I'm not sure what I feel when I see this picture. I just like it.

Westmont Depot

Back in September Dan asked me to shoot pictures of the local area for the "God of This City" slideshow. So, I went into Westmont one morning to shoot pic of the commuters hopping on the train. I got some strange looks, but hey, I'm a strange guy. I spent about an hour there waiting for the morning trains to arrive and the riders to get on or off. This shot was as I was heading back to my truck. I decided to turn around and get one more. 

I love the parallel lines converging on an imaginary point somewhere in Clarendon Hills. The expantion joints in the platform and the ribbed walls of the train cars. Even the vertical supports on the right pull your eye to that imaginary point. The Early morning contrast I think is the kicker. You can almost see a diagonal line between the light and the dark.

Oklahoma Sunset

And here it is. This is the sunset I had mentioned in the previous post. It was so spectacular that we pulled over on the side of the road to take the shot. 

Beth had just gotten her camera and was just as excited to get out and take these. The white balance setting really brought out the contours of the clouds. There were rain streaks, and the wind was picking up. It looked like we were going to really be in for something. We got out of there before it hit, but about 10 minutes later the wind picked up the dust and blew it around so strong that you couldn't see more than 100 feet. It never rained hard, but we had golf ball size rain drops. it was all done in less than 5 minutes. 

Old Truck

Here we are back in Oklahoma for Josh's wedding. We had just finished up the rehearsal and we were all waiting around while the pastor was finishing up with the happy couple. with camera in hand I decided to wanted around the church grounds for a shot. This truck screamed "Take a picture of me". So I did. I have always envied other peoples photos of old trucks and tractors and the like, so I figured this was my chance. Very little editing was done to this pic. i did a bit of cloning to remove some distracting features, but I didn't mess with the color. I was using my camera with the white balance set to flash. I forgot to change it, but discovered that the flash setting is good for pulling out the definition in the clouds. 

    On our way to the rehearsal dinner, the clouds lifted on the horizon to allow the sunset to peek underneath the cloud deck. It was a spectacular sunset, but that's for another story. 

Epcot 2005

We took our first large family vacation in February of 2005. Not only was it my first time at Disney World, but my first time flying. It was an exciting trip. Each theme park seems to have a centerpiece that makes for great photo opportunities. To get this shot at the big Epcot ball, I had to lay flat on my back. At one point some lady actually stepped over me, but as you can see it made for a nice shot. 

   I actually thought I had lost this picture. I was new to saving and organizing digital files on the computer and for a few weeks I thought it was gone. I did find it and I'm now in control of my files.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole family went to Bengstons Pumpkin Farm back in 2005 to check out all the seasonal festivities. Everyone wanted to go through the haunted barn, except for me of course but I went anyway. Neither my dad or mom like them either, but they went in. With a vague understanding of how haunted houses work, I kind of felt my way around and avoided most of the traps set for me. I had just passed a floor sensor made to set off the surprise and knowing my mom was right behind me, I waited for her  to be scared. Apparently I took the shot at the perfect moment. She hates this picture, but I feel a calling to share it with everyone I can.

Sunset at 30,000 feet

We were coming home from the Caribbean in 2007. As the plane approached the Midwest it encountered a weather system with thunderstorms. It was really cool how the plane flew around the storms, banking left and right. The sun was getting low in the sky and through the cloud tops the sight was spectacular. I dug out "The Beast" from under the seat in front of me, (Not a lot of room there.) and shot this through the window. (duh!)

I am amazed at how different this looks in the sky. You just can't see the cloud contours from the ground like you can from up there.

Josh and Kim 2008

Josh and Kim got married in March of 2008 near Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful day and the Melissa's whole family was together for the event. This was the happy couple heading out to there "limo". Kim's old Toyota Avalon. I took about 12 pictures or so as they headed out to the car, and it was a good thing I did. There was this picture where I really liked the way Kim looked as she is looking for protection from the bubbles, but the look on Josh's face was not all that good. I found this "Josh Head" in another picture from about 2 seconds earlier. With a little copy and pasting I was able to create a really nice portrait of the couple. I probably put more post production work into this photo than any other photo I've done. About 5 hours worth. The seam where I pasted is nearly invisible. Go ahead and try to find it.

Greg Maddux -2005

In 2005 Suzie Martinson gave Dan a gift. She said he could take a Friend to a Cubs game on her expense. He took me. Yea. He got tickets in the front row right at the cubs bullpen. We called all the baseball fans we knew, just to rub it in. I believe Chris Pullman asked for help pulling the knife out of his back. The Cubs lost that night, but it's just exciting being there. This pic was taken as Greg Maddux was warming up before the game. He was less than 20 feet from my seat. it was cool to see a future hall-of-famer and 300+ game winner in action that close to me. 

Abby - 2005

We invited the whole family over for our 10th anniversary in may of 2005. We had a big tent over the driveway with tables and chairs, balloons, centerpieces, and tablecloths. (Someone actually stopped and asked when our garage sale started.)

There was lots of food and people, it was a great day. I was just starting to get into digital photography and image editing but already had a good feel for what I like. Abby here was coloring in the driveway with the chalk we bought. she looked up just as I snapped the shot. that was the moment I fell in love with the "candid shot".  I did a little tweaking with Photosuite image editor and ended up with this. 

Joey wrote a book in school called "Attack of the Killer Cockroaches". 

Apparently giant cockroaches from outer space invade New York City. He needed a cover for his book and there you have it.

Jim Cmolik's Back Yard, McCrearey County, Kentucky

One of the biggest ministries that Hills and Hollers preforms is to Rattlesnake Ridge. Now this isn't Rattlesnake itself, but on the far ridge is the road that you take to get to it. About where I'm standing here is where Jim Cmolik has a chair. He likes to sit there to pray for the folks at Rattlesnake. What a great way to spend time in God's presence, surrounded by his creation.

Broken car , Indiana - 2008

So we're at Uncle Bob's family picnic in Crown Point and my father-in-law decides he wants to open up his camper for the summer. He says it's only 5 minutes away and he recruits me, Ben and Derek to help.  45 minuets later we show up at the campground and take care of business. On the way back we hit a pothole. Not just any pothole, but one that was so big that it knocked out the fillings that I don't even have yet. Minutes later we smell something burning and hear a strange rubbing sound. It turns out he broke the mount that holds the rear tire and axle to the body of the car. Oops. We waited on the side of I-65 near Rensealear for an hour or so. This was taken looking away from the highway (obviously) while lying on my back. Photoshopped to remove color saturation.

355 - 2008

In September Dan Martinson commissioned me to put together a slideshow to the song "God of this City". I took a day and drove around the suburban area that OBCC ministers to snapping photos along the way. The song states that God is not only the God of the universe and all of creation, but also the God if Lombard, Downers Grove, and I-355. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that God knows us on a personal level when we start thinking about how big He really is. This was taken standing on 71st st. looking south at 75th. As you can see, they weren't getting very far.

Blue Sunset - Bolingbrook, IL 2008

I've got a thing for sunsets. During the summer in 2008, we had thunderstorms passing for a few days in a row. This was during a break in the storms and Joey's baseball team was able to get the game in that night. The clouds were awesome that evening. I love how the clouds in the background resemble the shape of the tree line in the foreground. The storms that followed that evening were great.

I was asked to take pictures for the church website one Sunday morning, so I did. I got there early to shoot the worship team during their pre-service rehearsal. I didn't want to interrupt the worship service any more than I was going to. This gave me a chance to get up on stage and shoot the team. I thought this would be a good shot of Dan Martinson. Instead of the usual shot from the front, I thought to back light him. This gave me nice shadows, but also a few nice lens flares. I am also a Photoshop junkie, so I increased the contrast with bringing out the darkness in the photo and amplifying the highlights. It's not one of Dan's favorites, but I don't care. I like it.

My Leafy Wife - 2007

I had spent the entire morning raking leaves that day and ended up with a huge pile in the backyard. I love taking pictures of Melissa so I asked her to doll herself up so that I could take a nice outdoor portrait of her in the leaves. I set up my stepladder over the pile and get the camera ready. She looked great when she came out. I asked her to lie down in the leaves. She thought I was nuts. Almost right away her eyes started watering and her nose started running. This was about the tenth picture I took. By this time her eyes were burning. (must have been the pollen or something) I had her close her eyes and told her to open them at the count of 3. She's a real trooper. Suffering for the sake of my art. She quickly went inside to wash out her eyes.

Trash, Nassau, Bahammas - 2008

We were walking around in Nassau in the Bahamas and we passed this garbage lying on the ground. Melissa was already fed up with me slowing down the hike with my "looking for the shot". I actually went back to take this, got the shot and then saw the rest of the family waiting for me at the street corner. I love black and white photography. Taking out the color forces me to look at the subject and not be influenced by the colors. This picture tells a story. The headline is sad and pulls emotions out of the viewer.

Little Italy, New York City - 1992

In 1992 I went on a missions trip to Philadelphia with the youth group from church. (Oak Brook Community Church) We took a day trip up to Manhattan and walked around the city for hours on end. We ended the day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of the city. The colors on this street were amazing and incredibly vibrant, so I said to myself  "this would make a beautiful color photo, I've got to capture this." As you can see, I forgot that I had black and white film in the camera. It did however turn out to be one of my favorite shots. No color, but so much going on in the scene.