San Antonio

This very cool old building is directly across the river from the San Antonio Museum of Art.  New building are great to photograph but the old ones have plenty to offer too.  Canon G11 image capture, black and white conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro.

San Antonio

After all that shopping lunch is called for...how about some tacos at Mi Tierra?  Open permanently...there's no look on the door.

San Antonio

So let's take stock shall we?  You have your guitar and your wrestlers-style face mask...what's next?  How about a sombrero?  This selection rendered through the funky Lensbaby Composer attached to the Canon 5DII.

San Antonio

So after purchasing a guitar from the the assorment featured in yesterdays post you may wish to acquire one of these masks.  In so doing you'll be prepared in the event your playing brings scorn....no one will know it's you.

San Antonio

Any one fancy a guitar?  Perhaps a cheap plastic one will fit your budget.  If so, there are plenty from which to chose at this vendors stall in the San Antonio Market Place.

San Antonio

This photo was taken in the market place in San Antonio.  Black and white coversion with Nik Silver Efex Pro software.

San Antonio

Abstract Art with the Hipstamatic!  This photo was taken at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio.  What is it?  Well, it's rusty and was once painted but that's all I'm sayin'.

San Antonio

I mentioned in a previous post that it is hard to control the composition with the Hipstamatic app.  I wanted a symmetrical composition in this photo of an arch at the Spanish Governors Palace and I got this one on the about the third attempt.

San Antonio

These back lit leaves (or are they branches...?) stopped me in my tracks as I thought 'The Hipstamatic will like this'....

San Antonio

I came across this rather run down residence just off the museum reach leg of the San Antonio River Walk.  I hurried this photo as, while the place looked deserted one never knows for sure and I had an idea that the landlord might come out with a gun.  There was a popular T-shirt that i saw in lots of gift shops that had a map of Texas on it with a revolver overlayed on it.  Under the graphic were the words 'Texas - We Don't Dial 911'

San Antonio

Here's a detail abstract of the doors to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Research Library at the Alamo.  The DRT are charged with the care and preservation of the Alamo.  To say that the Alamo means a lot to Texans is like saying Texans like BBQ....no kidding.

Richard Avedon Portraits

In today's posting I mentioned that Richard Avedon is my new favourite portrait photographer.  I saw one of his portraits at the San Antonio Museum of Art - it was a portrait of the Dali Lama.

He made some stunning portraits of John F. Kennedy and his family; you can check them out at:

http://www.hiphipgingin.com/tag/richard-avedon/

If you scroll down to the bottom there's a photo of Jacqueline and JFK that made the hair stand on my neck when I first saw it.

San Antonio

One of the aspects of the Hipstamatic app on the iPhone is that control over the composition is a bit hit and miss - just like it is on a cheap plastic film camera.  I really like this result which admittedly is a loosely planned happy accident.  Everything just worked out here, fairly typical rule-of-thirds composition, lots of contrast and tension between the positive and negative spaces...the more I look at this photo the more I like it.

As a general rule elements in a photograph should be wholly within the field of view.  Things that are cropped off tend to look like the photographer wasn't really paying attention to the composition and they can draw the eye away from what is supposed to be the focal point.  However breaking this rule can sometimes actually draw the viewer into the frame as our minds want to know what the photographer chose not to show us.

The lesson here is that clearly understanding the 'rules' empowers one to break them and in so doing more dramatic images can result.  The American photographer Richard Avedon (my new favourite portrait photographer ....google him to see some staggering portraits) once said:

'I’ve worked out of a series of no’s. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no’s force me to the “yes” '.

San Antonio

This is a detail shot of the garden wall at the Spanish Governor's Palace.  Vines growing on the wall - vines that have long ago died or been removed have permanently discoloured the plaster surface leaving the effect of virtual vines.  Photo made with the iPhone, black and white conversion in Photoshop.

San Antonio

 When I took these photos I imagined they would go together as a set so I thought it best to present them that way here. Taken with the iPhone in the Gardens of the Spanish Governor's Palace.

San Antonio

Terri and I have just returned from San Antonio, Texas.  While she attended a conference I packed camera gear through the streets in 38C temperatures - wouldn't have it any other way...!  We'll start out with a series of Hipstamatic photos as the photos taken with the big camera have yet to be processed.  Here's the first - detail shot of the doors to...well I hardly need state the rest.

Recent Projects

This is the downtown campus of the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension - formerly the home of the Hudson's Bay Company store.

Old Jasper

This is our old dog Jasper.  Jasper died at the end of June just a couple of months short of this 15th birthday.  We've been going through a lot of photos of him and this is my favourite  taken May 2008.

Never Walk Past a Photo Op

While photographing the kitchen featured these past few days I noticed the way the light reflected off the collection of stainless steel cookware hanging from the ceiling.  Here it is as seen through the Lensbaby Composer attached to my Canon 5DII.

Recent Projects

Here's the third in the series of photos of this kitchen and dining room renovation.

Recent Projects

Next up in the series of photos of this striking newly renovated kitchen and dining room area of this Edmonton house.

Recent Projects

An architect friend and his wife recently completed a major renovation to the kitchen and dining room of their house.  The results are spectacular and they wanted some proper photos taken.  Here's the first that will appear om the next couple of days.

Recent Portraits

This is my friend Brad.  He asked to take his portrait in the kitchen - this is my favourite of the many photos we took.

Weird Stuff

While attending a farmers market recently I saw this stack of poppy seed rolls and I had a vision of how they would look rendered in high contrast black and white.  I like the abstract swirls and the shimmer that comes from the plastic wrap.

Architectural Model Photography

Here are the four models together.  In actuality there was one model base with the four recladding options sitting atop.

So there you have it - the four recladding options presented.  If you were the building owner which one would you choose?

Architectural Model Photography

Here's the last of the reclad tower options.  This option would simulate and organic floor plate shape that changes  from floor to floor.

Architectural Model Photography

Next in the re-clad building model photo series.  It's not immediately apparent in this photo but this solution would employ an undulating curtain wall to two sides of the building

Architectural Model Photography

Next up in the re-clad building architectural model photography series.

Architectural Model Photography

I recently had an unusual assignment (for me anyway) from an architectural firm who was studying four different options to re-clad an existing building.  They had commissioned a model maker to construct scale models depicting each option.  The model would then go to the building owner for review and to make a decision on the preferred option.  The trouble was the model maker was really pushed for time in that he needed lots of it to complete the models.  We took these photos in his shop late one evening because the next morning they would be given to the owner.

Each building is about 40cm high and is internally lit for best effect.

Building have no shadows at night and this night effect was what we were after.

Canon 5DII with 24-105 lens, tripod mounted.  Off Camera 580EXII flash triggered via pocket wizard transmitter.

Hipstamatic at the Football Game

It had been a rather grey day and when the sun set over Commonwealth Stadium the clouds parted just a little casting a lovely reddish glow on the east grand stands.  This photo taken with teh iPhone Hipstamatic app.

Away to the Heavens

The Poplar Tree has a very effective seed dispersal system in the form of lots and lots of seeds embedded in fluff that blows all over the place; including up your nose.  it's kind of pretty and a royal nuisance all at the same time, especially for those with allergies.

Recent Portraits

Here's another photo of Jeff...this set up was his idea.  The floors in the Pharmacy Dental buildings have acres of this lovely black and white checker board flooring.  He wanted to have a photo with that has the back ground and this photo is the result.  Good Call, Jeff!