After DLWS it has become an annual tradition to finish off the year of teaching by relaxing at the McNally’s home. It really is a great time with great company, great food and an over abundance of laughter. Part of the tradition also is to head back into the city and have an elegant dinner and take in a Broadway play. Last year was Young Frankenstein and this year it was Frueza Bruta.
Now here’s the thing, these stills DON’T EVEN tell the story of this performance. It is a highly charged hour of amazing actors/athletes that are at times literally in your face. It’s a beautiful performance based on energy, gesture and light. But to really see what it’s all about, check this out.
The photography part was darn easy. First, the theater encourages photography (no flash though) so I went in with the D3s and 28f1.4. The camera was set to ISO800 and AWB. The shutter speed most of the time was around 1/350 and aperture was always at f/1.4. The video was freaking easy to do and its quality ain’t to bad (keep in mind it’s been “sized” down to get through the web). The one thing was pilot error on the video. I didn’t think about turning on the Flicker setting in the D3s which probably would have helped the second half of the video clip. It’s unedited, straight from the D3s (other than converting to web) Other than that, I just enjoyed the show and shot. Both were a killer experience!
One of my challenges when shooting in NYC is to stop looking up and looking down at the life on the street. I think if I wasn’t a wildlife photographer, I would be an architecture shooter. I just love the lines of a fine building. In NYC, there are some fine buildings, some cool old ones and when you’re really lucky, great clouds to put with them. Here’s just a couple of my favorites from our DLWS walks through Manhattan.
None of these were taken with a PC-E lens for many reasons. First, I didn’t have them with me but that was by design. Shooting street style, stopping to do PC-E work isn’t practical. Next, a lot of thought has to go into using them because of the available space. Looking up from the street, you simply can’t get the whole building in by chance. Lastly, I wanted the distorted view to emphasis that this are tall suckers.
Some will ask why are some in color and some in B&W. That is a really good question. I like both mediums for architecture and base my selection typically on the light, design of the building and the sky. It was a very productive trip for me in these regards adding some really nice pieces to my architecture portfolio.
Photos captured by D3x, 70-200VR2, 28f1.4 AF, 24-70AFS, 16Fish on Lexar UDMA digital film
That DOF thing, I have come to really like shooting at f1.4 and thinking about the background in a new way in the story telling process. Humoring me in this quest are some really great friends, ones who understand (but don’t want to admit they do) what’s going on in my head. So the other day while cruising Central Park, they humored me as I saw backgrounds that interested me.
After working our way through Washington Square, killer breakfast in SoHo, we walked up to Adorama for the regroup. From there we bussed over to the Plaza where we walked south to Time Square. Joe planned it perfectly so we would experience his NY and one of his favorite photographic subjects, the folks of NY.
I did a little better this time, seeing those unique moments of daily life and combining them with the world in which they happen. It’s hard for me to be carrying on a basic conversation while trying to find these images. While they are happening all the time all around you, getting all the elements to line up though takes concentration, for me at least.
I actually got more images I like this walk then I’ve gotten in the past. I posted the two that I feel are closer to the goal. I’ve got a whole bunch more to edit through and think if what I saw translates.
Photos captured by D3s, 70-200VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
We started our day where we left off the night before, with an amazing view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Traveling down in to Jersey, we arrived and got in place just prior to the first glow of the day. One the light started to come up, oh my!
McNally said bring long glass and that was the perfect call! I bogged down the path to the right to get the torch in front of the dark predawn clouds to make it pop. It’s rare I get to use a wildlife technique with landscapes but always happy when it works.
What seems to be a recurring theme the past week as I’ve been shooting in NYC, but that’s the Empire State Building. I just love it’s classic shape and it’s placement on the NY landscape so it just sucks in the lens. I intensified the color with under exposure, this one was taken at -2.
We finished up with this amazing single God beam coming through the clouds. There was a major shift to the left in order to incorporate it and then dialing an addition -.5 to bring it out. What a start to the day!
Photos captured by D3x / D3s, 600VR / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
Oh man, does McNally know this town or what! On a bluff overlooking the Hudson, the entire DLWS group looked across at the amazing NYC skyline as the sun set. The color slowly came up, glowed for a heartbeat, faded out and then the lights of the city came up.
As the light started to wein the textures and colors of the buildings just sucked me in looking for patterns in all the lines. I might be the only one who likes this, but I really like it.
Then the glow of the fading sun passed and the glow of the city came to life. I might be a simple mtn boy but I just loved the light. Oh yeah, I’m a photographer, we love light!
Then there was the last gasp of available light with the glow going at full blast. Simply gorgeous! The key to making these images was first letting the camera sort out the various light sources with Auto White Balance. Next is under exposure for color, black and mood. I shot all of these at -1.5. Then just follow McNally’s lead making the evening just a blast!
Photos captured by D3s, 600f4VR / 70-200VR2 on Lexar UDMA digital film
