Vacation Photos (For Real This Time!)

I finally uploaded the one (insert sad smiley face, if you're into that kind of thing, here) photo that was actually worthwhile. As mentioned in my previous post, after dinner Katie (previously referred to as "the lovely lady") noticed a large farming tool decorated with Christmas lights - it made for a very nice subject.
Sadly the camera died 3 shots in! Here is the best of those three shots, with minimal editing thus far.

The christmas lights are still giving me issues, and in this picture the addition of snow and the dark of night is driving me a bit crazy. Anyways, I still really like the picture.

Currently I'm browsing through dozens of tutorials covering the pesky issues mentioned above. So far the most promising tip is to set the white balance to "Tungsten" to better catch the colors and brightness of the lights. Next time I'm in downtown Boston I will have to try that out!

Any other tips out there?

Vacation Photos

I got back from my short vacation in New Hampshire's White Mountains - Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH to be exact.

I was looking forward to getting some great snow-filled landscapes and maybe practice some outdoor portraiture with the family. Unfortunately I did not arrive until well after sunset, which meant either a lost night, or another attempt at tripod-less night photography. I chose the the latter.

Needing sustenance before any undertakings in this significantly cold environment, I headed to a great restaurant called the Common Man. If you are ever in the Loon area I would seriously recommend stopping in for a meal.

Back to the photography though. I decided to try and take some pictures with my lovely girlfriend first. I tried over and over to set the camera up on a flat surface some distance from us and make use of the self timer, unfortunately the repeated flashes annoyed other customers so we had to cut it short. And since none of the pictures met her approval, I won't be posting them.

On the way out of the restaurant, the girlfriend noticed an old farming implement - not being very knowledgeable in such areas, Im going to guess it was some sort of old-time plowing tool. What made it stand out was the snow-covered stump nearby and the christmas lights adorning it.

As mentioned in my earlier posts, Im not great with the additional light sources, so I started taking pictures, adjusting the ISO, Exposure, and Aperture as needed. Sadly my bad luck continued - I had forgotten to charge the battery before heading out! I have two decent shots that I'll post later when I upload and edit them!

The next day the weather was too crappy to take any photos. I'll have to prepare a bit better next time if I want to get any worthwhile shots.

Check back later for the photos.

A Short Vacation

The lovely lady and myself are heading up to the White Mountains for a night - Im looking forward to enjoying a nice dinner and a relaxing night with her. Im gonna bring my camera along and if Im lucky get a few shots of non-Boston related scenery.

Fingers crossed!!

Azure Arches

I finally got around to editing some of the photos from my most recent photo outing. I'm still working with the basic iPhoto tools so I'm a bit limited in what I can with the photos. All of the photos were taken at night in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall marketplace, and most featured many different types of light sources that proved to be a bit of a challenge for me. An enjoyable one though.

Here is the first before and after of the first of the edited photos from that night. It is a shot of the archways is Christopher Columbus Park adorned with wreaths and blue Christmas lights. I wanted to adjust the exposure level and the cropping.

Original Photo

Photo with adjusted exposure and cropping

The photo still isn't exactly of world shattering quality, but I am happy to see the improvements I was able to make over the lackluster original.

To see all the original photos check out my previous blog, Boston by Christmas Light.

Boston by Christmas Light

I was at work last weekend, bored as usual, when I heard music. I looked outside and saw a crowd forming around a stage. Beyond the stage, a man in a Boston Public Works jumpsuit was connecting handfuls of cables to a small portable generator. As the band worked their way to a crescendo, the man flipped the switch - and behind him a massive evergreen sprang to incandescent life.

I watched the scene from the door of the bar with a smile. High a top the tree, well above the marketplace rooftops, sat a blazing blue star.

If only I could photograph the scene as well as I seem to be able to describe it in a blog. Anyways, its now been a few days since that night and I finally got around to taking some shots last night. It wasn't too cold outside and the night sky was cloudy but not overcast - seemed like a good night for it.

I walked through Fanueil Hall Marketplace, and Christopher Columbus Park. I even headed up to the roof of a nearby garage to get a different look at the skyline. I ended up taking some decent shots - the best of the unedited versions are included below.

I really liked the way the tree was reflected in the windows of the shopping center. The color is bothering me a bit though, I guess photographing Christmas lighting presents its own challenges.

The central dome of Fanueil Hall. Im not sure about the framing of this picture, but I liked the way the lights outlined the building against the night sky. The colors seemed to have come out better this picture though.

The archways at Christopher Columbus Park. I really liked the way this looked, a bit of editing and cropping and I may have something usable. The picture doesn't do it justice though - if you're ever in Boston's North End make sure to check it out.

A different angle of the archways at Christopher Columbus Park. I actually feel good about the exposure on this one.

So much is wrong with this picture - but I absolutely love the way this building looks. The color and architecture really stand out among the other buildings on the block. I can't wait to get try again.

And my absolute favorite shot of the night! Its not perfect, and I'll probably try and retake it on another night - but this picture exemplifies what I was looking for all night. I wanted to capture a Boston Christmas scene and I think with some work this will be it. 

I continue to lament my lack of a Tripod, but I'll be holding off on that until after the holidays. It was another good night, I had a lot of fun walking around taking pictures. I'm also starting to develop my "photographer's eye." I'm starting to see things differently, and envision them in different ways - sadly my technical skills aren't quite capable of realizing these visions as of yet.

I'm looking forward to getting back out there and taking some more pictures soon.

Check out the links on the side of the page if you want to see more of my photographs, order prints, or find me on facebook.