Jeremy > April 19, 2009; Day 352.

For the Love of a Pug.

Peter and I spent an hour at one of my favorite pedestrian bridges in Manchester in search of photography for our class.  There’s never a photographic lull here.  Sadly, the bridge is slowly being vandalized with graffitti and even some of the lamp posts are having rocks thrown at them.  Nevertheless, many families use this bridge to walk, run, bike, and stroll with the dogs.

While we were here a couple arrived with their 4 pugs, and they allowed us to photograph them.  I noted that two of them were very much like Peter’s pugs Bruiser and Molly.  This one that he’s being affectionate with looks more like Bruiser.  This particular expression on Peter’s face is quite fitting; a combination of bemusement and remembrance and loss…Peter had to make the heartbreaking choice to put Bruiser to sleep last year, not long before this daily project began.  Although I am not a dog person, I am humbled by the love and commitment that dog-lovers have for their pets.

That's the Manchester city skyline in the background. The sun is behind us to the left; Peter is mostly in the shadow of the couple holding the dogs.

Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0
Raw: Recovery: 100
Raw: Saturation: +8
PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > March 21, 2009; Day 323.

Jewell Grande.

I joined my friends Mike, Glenn, and Brian for lunch today.  We decided to dine at Jewell and the Beanstalk, a superb little restaurant in Manchester with some of the best ambiance and possibly the friendliest attitude in town. And the food's not bad either. Peter and I had previously been here a few times for breakfast.  This is Brian posing with his sandwich without my even asking.

This was obviously taken with a fisheye lens.  It's the last assignment for Week 2 in my close-up photography class.  The fisheye is actually great for closeups, but not so great for portraits. I’m using the D80 because my fisheye lens is for DX only.  Someday I will get the 16mm FX fisheye but not before I get the 70-200mm f/2.8.

The light is ambient.  This might have been a good place for a little fill flash bounced off the ceiling, but I didn’t have my flash with me, and you have to be quick to catch Brian in a pose.  So I used Photoshop to extract some fill light instead, and decided that the blown-out windows actually make the scene less busy.

Glenn (whose hand you can see at far right) strong-armed me into revealing to the staff at this place that one of my long-time fantasies is to have a photo of mine hanging on their wall.  Their reply: “Bring it to us.  We’ll hang it for a month.”  Sweet!  Now I have to get busy.  Thank you Glenn.

I will submit this to the class if I don’t get a better fisheye shot tomorrow.

Raw: Color Temperature: 4450K; Tint: -6
Raw: Recovery: +100
Raw: Fill Light: +25
Raw: Saturation: +8
PS: Crop: 7.5MP
PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity
PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > March 18, 2009; Day 320.

Closer, Mr. DeMille.

Tonight I delivered to my friend Scott the photos of his loft I took two weeks ago.  He liked them and now thinks that it might be fun to collaborate more, him making artistic suggestions and me creating the subsequent images.  I look forward to this.

I am in search of wide angle close-ups this week, so I was delighted that he let me run around chasing his cat with the 14-24mm lens.  Luckily Rocky has no problem with the camera in his face.  It’s just another toy to him, which means I’ll be cleaning the lens tonight.  I don’t know if I’m going to submit any of these shots for my class.  I might.  This one is a bit underexposed but I’m not correcting for it because there’s noise lurking in those shadows.  I must admit, I really like the warmth of incandescent light.  I didn’t seem to need any correcting.

A brighter variation of this shot was submitted to my closeup photography class.

PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > March 7, 2009; Day 309.

Three Point Practice.

Today I joined my friends Mike and Glenn in Manchester for breakfasting, shopping, and strolling through 59-degree weather.  The snowbanks were noticeably smaller by the end of the day.  And we’re still mosquito free, just about the most ideal combination for the perfect day.

On the way back to our cars, I saw these guys at play and we diverted into the adjacent park.  Normally when I’m outside in daylight I leave the ISO at 200, but I wanted to freeze the action here so I set it to 1600.  That allowed me to set the shutter speed to 1/1000 second, easily stopping the guys in mid jump and the ball in mid flight.  I plan to be in search of action like this for the rest of the year.  I just wish that I had run to the other side so that I could try this with the park in the background.  I bet the shots would tell different stories.

Raw: Color Temperature: 5150K; Tint: -2 (camera set these automatically)
Raw: Saturation: +10
PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset
PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity
PS: Burn Corners: 200 pixels
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > February 17, 2009; Day 291.

Psyche.

I joined my friends tonight as we once again filled up 3 lanes at the alley.  I already captured close-up pins, so tonight I sought close-up people.  I brought my longer lenses and they were useful, but this close shot with my mid-range zoom was my favorite.  This is my friend Chris who’s being a very good sport as the camera will be firing off 5 frames per second once he’s started his approach.  Luckily we bowl for fun.  Chris will do me a big favor and videotape my approach so I can see it.  The verdict?  I don't wind up far enough.

The alley does not allow flash photography because it will irritate the leagues, but luckily this is a well-lit sport.

Raw: Color Temperature: 3400K; Tint: +29
Raw: Exposure: +1.3
Raw: Recovery: +100
Raw: Saturation: +8
PS: Burn Corners: 200 pixels
PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > August 16, 2008; Day 106.

Storm front.

I enjoyed an afternoon in Manchester today.  The timing was good, as a big storm rolled through while we were downtown.  We had planned to attend a Latino festival, but the rain pushed us to the mall instead.  Before the rain started, I was able to capture this and a few others.

Ken Rockwell says to embrace the wide angle lens and enjoy the crazy angles.  I’m not using my widest lens here (I didn’t bring the tripod, so I’m using my VR lens), but I’m as wide as I can be.  Cropped out at the bottom of the photo is the top of another building; I lined up the camera to match that horizon.

Bike ride training update: I had a 63-mile ride today, which took me 3 hours, 31 minutes, just shy of 18 miles per hour.  My speed increased slightly over last week’s ride because I’m starting to use the left shift knob.  For flat and downhill stretches, I can attain greater speeds without much additional exertion.  I also learned that once you pass 60 miles, one water bottle isn’t enough.  Also, all the big training rides will require snacks from now on.  Hunger is not a good pain to feel when you’ve got 25 miles left to go!

PS: Crop: ~8%
Jeremy > June 26, 2008; Day 55.

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice, Stage 3: Latest Sunset. I would have preferred to have taken this shot then, but I will be busy all through dusk. Pity.

This is taken from Manchester’s new pedestrian bridge, the Hands Across the Merrimack (already featured as a photo of the day). The highway is I-293. I lament that the city strung up electrical wires on this side of the bridge.

I love the photo opportunities available at this bridge. If you can forgive the big glob of flare, I took a not bad self-portrait tonight, too.

PS: Color Balance: -10 Cyan to Red
PS: Color Balance: -20 Magenta to Green
PS: Unsharp Mask: 20-30-0
Jeremy > May 29, 2008; Day 27. Today I found a great new spot for shooting. This new pedestrian bridge is called "Hands Across the Merrimack." To the right of this shot is the skyline of Manchester, NH. Running beneath is the Merrimack River. Along the river is the Everett Turnpike. The deck is new pressure-treated lumber. The lamps are lit before sunset. The possibilities are endless. I'll be back.

Raw: Exposure: +1
Raw: Fill Light: +20
Raw: Saturation: +30
PS: Color Balance: Magenta to Green: -10
April 19, 2009; Day 352.

For the Love of a Pug.

Peter and I spent an hour at one of my favorite pedestrian bridges in Manchester in search of photography for our class. There’s never a photographic lull here. Sadly, the bridge is slowly being vandalized with graffitti and even some of the lamp posts are having rocks thrown at them. Nevertheless, many families use this bridge to walk, run, bike, and stroll with the dogs.

While we were here a couple arrived with their 4 pugs, and they allowed us to photograph them. I noted that two of them were very much like Peter’s pugs Bruiser and Molly. This one that he’s being affectionate with looks more like Bruiser. This particular expression on Peter’s face is quite fitting; a combination of bemusement and remembrance and loss…Peter had to make the heartbreaking choice to put Bruiser to sleep last year, not long before this daily project began. Although I am not a dog person, I am humbled by the love and commitment that dog-lovers have for their pets.

That's the Manchester city skyline in the background. The sun is behind us to the left; Peter is mostly in the shadow of the couple holding the dogs.

Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0
Raw: Recovery: 100
Raw: Saturation: 8
PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
Jeremy > April 19, 2009; Day 352.

For the Love of a Pug.

Peter and I spent an hour at one of my favorite pedestrian bridges in Manchester in search of photography for our class.  There’s never a photographic lull here.  Sadly, the bridge is slowly being vandalized with graffitti and even some of the lamp posts are having rocks thrown at them.  Nevertheless, many families use this bridge to walk, run, bike, and stroll with the dogs.

While we were here a couple arrived with their 4 pugs, and they allowed us to photograph them.  I noted that two of them were very much like Peter’s pugs Bruiser and Molly.  This one that he’s being affectionate with looks more like Bruiser.  This particular expression on Peter’s face is quite fitting; a combination of bemusement and remembrance and loss…Peter had to make the heartbreaking choice to put Bruiser to sleep last year, not long before this daily project began.  Although I am not a dog person, I am humbled by the love and commitment that dog-lovers have for their pets.

That's the Manchester city skyline in the background. The sun is behind us to the left; Peter is mostly in the shadow of the couple holding the dogs.

Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0
Raw: Recovery: 100
Raw: Saturation: +8
PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
April 19, 2009; Day 352.

For the Love of a Pug.

Peter and I spent an hour at one of my favorite pedestrian bridges in Manchester in search of photography for our class. There’s never a photographic lull here. Sadly, the bridge is slowly being vandalized with graffitti and even some of the lamp posts are having rocks thrown at them. Nevertheless, many families use this bridge to walk, run, bike, and stroll with the dogs.

While we were here a couple arrived with their 4 pugs, and they allowed us to photograph them. I noted that two of them were very much like Peter’s pugs Bruiser and Molly. This one that he’s being affectionate with looks more like Bruiser. This particular expression on Peter’s face is quite fitting; a combination of bemusement and remembrance and loss…Peter had to make the heartbreaking choice to put Bruiser to sleep last year, not long before this daily project began. Although I am not a dog person, I am humbled by the love and commitment that dog-lovers have for their pets.

That's the Manchester city skyline in the background. The sun is behind us to the left; Peter is mostly in the shadow of the couple holding the dogs.

Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0
Raw: Recovery: 100
Raw: Saturation: 8
PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset
PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur
See photo in original gallery.

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