The tilt-shift technique of faux-miniaturization has seen a lot of use in the past year, with amazing still subjects and short films like The Sandpit. So while my wheels are turning to shoot my own tilt-shift film, I’ve been looking for locations to give it a try. This overpass near Eglington West was a great location to catch cars and trains. Too bad I ran out of daylight.
Going up.
Back in the city for the first time in more than 5 years, I had a checklist of shots to try. Subways, buildings, streetcars. But the chance to do long-exposure shots from an outdoor patio at the Park Hyatt’s 18th floor bar was a nice surprise. There will be more from this trip in the coming days, but here’s one of my favourites.
Taken during my ill-fated attempt at a timelapse photography using a tripod mounted on a moving kayak. At least I kept the boat upright and my glasses on my head. This is also one of the few shots I’ve posted with no post-processing.
Seen in an alley.
In the sweltering heat of Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church, Stars gave another fantastic performance. With the show split into two sets, they first played their entire upcoming record, The Five Ghosts, then eight familiar tracks from previous albums.
The top of the Cardiovascular & Critical Care Tower, part of the billion dollar expansion that includes a new children’s hospital (and a second tower), due to open in 2012.
After a long hiatus from posting pictures, I’m back with something somewhat new. This is a 3 shot (-2, 0, +2) HDR of the Gulf Of Mexico, processed using the amazing tools in the new Photoshop. More to come, I hope, and sooner than six months.
Amidst two feet of snow, ice and general Decemberish weather on the shortest day of the year, this shot from this summer struck me as the polar opposite of what’s outside.
Another from the swamp in Edgewood, about a half hour north of Baltimore. It should be worth returning in a few months amidst the snow and frozen water.
I’m trying to have my camera with me more often, and stumbling upon a swamp with interesting trees is reward enough for carrying my gear around.
After a night of incredible performances, getting to meet some of the musicians was an extra bonus. Heading to the subway, I walked around to the front of Carnegie Hall. Standing on the sidewalk was Larry Mullen Jr.
I’m not sure whether this production can be considered “scaled down” when compared to the last time I saw a U2 stadium show on the PopMart tour, with its 150-foot wide screen and rolling lemon and on and on. But anything after the staging of ZooTV is going to be very tough to top. This panorama was shot on the way to the main floor, where it was loud. Here’s hoping for more shows next year.
It would have been easy to spend an hour or two exploring the various angles of this great old barn. The details of the wood grain are hard to see, but I hope to have more from this series and this trip.
Shot from a moving van after visiting the Seno Otway penguin colony, I just missed a Ñandu (similar to an Ostrich) that was running across the field. This shot was skipped on the first pass, but pulled out now because I haven’t posted anything in forever. So much for one a week!
Amy Millan of Stars. Live at the Trocadero, Philadelphia, September 19, 2008.
From Heroes Square in Budapest, this is a different take on a nighttime 360-degree panorama, using the “mini-planet” technique. The original is extremely large (583 megapixels – over 8 feet square if printed at 300 DPI), so it’s difficult to display on screen and still keep sharp. A challenge (and learning experience) to shoot — I plan for there to be more.
The ceiling at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD.
Along I-76, in the western part of Pennsylvania, is the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel. I’ve tried to photograph it before (while driving), but this is the first time I’ve taken something I’ve liked.
From above the MoMA parking lot, this shot toward the CBS building is one of my early attempts at “miniature faking.” The tilt-shift technique produces an image that’s like looking down on a model scene, with a narrow focus and saturated colours like the metallic paint on toy cars. I’m not sure if this was the best photo for the processing, but I wanted to see how it turned out.