Michael Dunmire's Photography Blog

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-24T19:51:00.001-05:00

Chocolate Chip Cookies, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Fresh Bread

2011-11-24T14:49:00.005-05:00

Fresh Bread, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

The table is set

2011-11-24T14:49:00.003-05:00

The table is set, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Place settings

2011-11-24T14:49:00.001-05:00

Place settings, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Bee is for Bokeh

2011-11-15T18:48:00.001-05:00

Bee is for Bokeh, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Groceries

2011-11-15T18:06:00.001-05:00

Groceries, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Corning, NY

2011-10-31T18:29:00.001-04:00

Corning, NY, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

No SwiMin

2011-10-26T10:37:00.003-04:00

No SwiMin, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Ford

2011-10-26T10:37:00.001-04:00

Ford, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Watkins Glen

2011-10-11T20:58:00.001-04:00

Watkins Glen, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Sunset on Seneca

2011-10-11T20:36:00.001-04:00

Sunset on Seneca, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Corning, NY

2011-10-10T17:03:00.001-04:00

Corning, NY, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Watkins Glen

2011-10-09T18:23:00.001-04:00

Watkins Glen, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Car Show

2011-09-21T11:22:00.001-04:00

Car Show, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Vette Stingray!

Shooting the Red Land Patriots game Friday night.

2011-09-19T12:52:00.001-04:00

Shooting the Red Land Patriots game Friday night., originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Red Land Patriots

2011-09-18T09:54:00.001-04:00

Red Land Patriots, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Red Land Patriots

2011-09-18T09:53:00.001-04:00

Red Land Patriots, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Red Land Patriots

2011-09-18T09:43:00.001-04:00

Red Land Patriots, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Ford Pickup

2011-09-17T17:04:00.003-04:00

Ford Pickup, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Opel GT

2011-09-17T17:04:00.001-04:00

Opel GT, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Honda Civic Si

2011-09-12T15:26:00.001-04:00

Honda Civic Si, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

5 years ago today I took delivery

9/11 - Never Forget

2011-09-11T11:10:00.002-04:00

9/11/09 - Never Forget, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Flood 9/9/2011

2011-09-09T08:40:00.001-04:00

Flood 9/9/2011, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Flood 9/8/2011

2011-09-08T14:38:00.003-04:00

Flood 9/8/2011, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Flood 9/8/2011

2011-09-08T14:38:00.001-04:00

Flood 9/8/2011, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Giggles the clown

2011-08-20T19:11:00.001-04:00

Giggles the clown, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Pirate

2011-08-20T19:10:00.001-04:00

Pirate, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Solitude (with treatment)

2011-08-19T15:34:00.001-04:00

Solitude (with treatment), originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

First Light

2011-08-19T14:50:00.001-04:00

First Light, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral

2011-08-10T18:33:00.001-04:00

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Looks Like Fun

2011-08-09T22:12:00.001-04:00

Looks Like Fun, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Scott Kelby's 4th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk

2011-07-31T12:53:00.007-04:00

I'll be hosting the 4th Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk in Harrisburg, PA again this year. We had a tremendous turn-out last year for this walk which sold out (well, it's free, so it didn't SELL out, but you know what I mean). :) There will be openings for 50 walkers again this year, so if you're interested, don't delay in signing up.

Saturday, October 1, 2011
9-11 am

Learn more:
http://worldwidephotowalk.com/

Sign up for the Harrisburg walk:
http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/harrisburg-pa-united-states-downtown/

Microsoft Camera Codec Pack released

2011-07-27T22:59:00.003-04:00

If you use Windows 7 and shoot RAW then you'll want to look into this.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26829

Potrait Professional Coupon

2011-07-26T22:12:00.003-04:00

Portrait Professional 15% off coupon code:

VJJI-UDAX-KRQN-FALC

Version 10 just released and is on sale around 1/2 price. Use the coupon to get an additional 15% off.

http://www.portraitprofessional.com/buy/

MGB

2011-07-16T16:43:00.001-04:00

MGB, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

The Capitol Building

2011-07-10T07:04:00.001-04:00

The Capitol Building, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Angel's Punishment

2011-06-19T17:54:00.001-04:00

Angel's Punishment, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Court House

2011-05-28T09:48:00.001-04:00

Court House, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Window

2011-05-27T06:23:00.001-04:00

Window, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Dancing Buildings

2011-05-25T18:06:00.001-04:00

Dancing Buildings, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Cabinet d'Autographes

2011-05-11T18:24:00.001-04:00

Cabinet d'Autographes, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Bokeh Fire

2011-04-11T22:50:00.005-04:00

Bokeh Fire, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Harrisburg

2011-04-11T22:50:00.003-04:00

Harrisburg, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Winter Stream

2011-04-11T22:50:00.001-04:00

Winter Stream, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk 2011

2011-02-22T19:04:00.002-05:00

Tentative dates are Oct 1 or 2. They've decided to move it from the summer into the fall so it's not so hot outside. I will be hosting a walk in the Central PA area again this year. Location and more information to follow!

Harrisburg, PA USA (Downtown) | Worldwide Photo Walk

2010-07-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

Last week leading up to the 3rd Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. I'm leading the walk again, this year in Harrisburg. Only room for 4 more people as of this posting.

Harrisburg, PA USA (Downtown) Worldwide Photo Walk

5th Annual Motorsports Day at the Capitol

2010-06-16T10:22:00.010-04:00

I took the MG to the car show yesterday in Harrisburg, PA, USA. What a beautiful day for a show. There were about 100 cars on display in Soldier's Grove behind the Capitol.

Harrisburg, PA USA (Downtown) | Worldwide Photo Walk

2010-06-03T13:33:00.002-04:00

I'll be leading the walk this year as we discover Downtown Harrisburg. Follow the link below for more information & to sign up. There is a limit of 50 people for this walk, so don't wait.

Harrisburg, PA USA (Downtown) | Worldwide Photo Walk

MG Logo

2010-05-13T07:47:00.001-04:00

Been a LONG time since I've posted anything to this blog. Took this shot on Saturday.

Stone

2009-11-03T07:54:00.001-05:00

Stone, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

I passed this gentleman one day while taking a walk at lunch. He seemed so cold and lifeless, hardened to the world around him, missing all the beauty that can be found if one chooses to look for it. He was probably on his way to the office, or maybe he was rushing to visit a sick friend at the hospital, or maybe he was just a visitor from another town. Fate made us cross paths that day. I noticed him but he ignored me.

More on Lightroom 3 beta

2009-10-22T11:37:00.004-04:00

Lightroom 3 beta Power Session with Matt Kloskowski
http://www.kelbytraining.com/online/all-classes.html&id=matt_lr3_beta#matt_lr3_beta

Lightroom 3 beta First Look with Terry White
http://terrywhite.com/techblog/archives/3747

Lightroom 3 beta announcement at LightroomKillerTips.com
http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/2009/adobe-announces-lightroom-3-beta/

Adobe Lightroom 3 beta announced!

2009-10-22T09:34:00.003-04:00

Some of the new features included for you to play with in the Lightroom 3 beta are:

Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
Portable sharable slideshows with audio—designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*

http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/

Mustang B&W

2009-10-16T09:27:00.003-04:00

Mustang B&W, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Car show in Soldier's Grove behind the Capitol.
Harrisburg, PA, USA
June 10, 2008

Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Photoshop CS5 Sneak Peak

2009-10-16T09:23:00.002-04:00

Some fantastic new technology that Adobe is working on for the next version of Photoshop.

Adobe MAX Keynotes - On Demand

2009-10-08T10:00:00.001-04:00

Day 1
Technology as the Engine of Innovation
Date: Monday, October 5, 2009
Time: 9:20 AM - 11:00 AM PST
Duration: 100-minutes
http://max.adobe.com/online/keynote_monday

Day 2
The Flash Platform and the Community
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Time: 10:20 AM - 12:00 PM PST
Duration: 100-minutes
http://max.adobe.com/online/keynote_tuesday/

Forest Bokeh III

2009-10-02T12:40:00.001-04:00

Forest Bokeh III, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Photo taken @ Greenwood Furnace State Park near Huntingdon, PA, USA.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

This is the type of stuff you can't possibly see with the naked eye. Just add a little bit of creative photographic vision and a wide-open lens and watch the magic happen. ;^)

Wallpaper - Dew V

2009-09-30T17:21:00.001-04:00

Wallpaper - Dew V, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Dew V, revisited

Now in 1680x1050 size for your computer wallpaper!

Enjoy!

Adobe Lightroom presentation tonight!

2009-09-28T12:58:00.002-04:00

Michael Dunmire is presenting Adobe Lightroom at the Central PA Adobe User Group meeting tonight. CPAUG meetings are always free and open to the public. If you have an interest in photography and/or Adobe products, you'll want to come out tonight for this presentation. There will be drawings for software and Lightroom books at the end of the meeting. For more info, follow the attached link.

http://groups.adobe.com/posts/5317b96ded

Stryper

2009-09-24T19:02:00.001-04:00

iPhone 16/365 - Stryper - 0322, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Stryper in concert at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA, USA

Great show. The guys sounded great and it was good to see all 4 of them back together again.

Photo taken with the Apple iPhone 3GS.

Never Forget

2009-09-11T13:02:00.001-04:00

iPhone 8/365 9/11/09 - Never Forget, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

I was just sitting at my desk today thinking back on 9/11/01 and put this together during my lunch break. Taken with my Apple iPhone 3GS.

Hole in the World

2009-09-11T09:26:00.001-04:00

NYC from Liberty State Park, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uyF3VXODPI
There's a hole in the world in the world tonight.
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There's a hole in the world in the world tonight.
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

The gaping hole in the New York skyline reminds us of the horrific events of September 11.

NYC from Liberty State Park

Photo of Lower Manhattan, taken from Liberty State Park in NJ.

Canon EOS 40D
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
1/60 @ f/8.0, 70mm, ISO 200

Sadness

2009-09-03T07:49:00.001-04:00

Sadness, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

I had some things on my mind today regarding how thing always come full circle in life. What is old becomes new again, generations pass and families continue. Round and round we go, hoping to make the most of it and enjoy life. I took this photo yesterday morning before work and it made me realize it's not just us. Even trees go through this cycle. I can't believe that it's dark at 8pm and that I had to break out the long-sleeve shirts already. I found some comfort in the strangest of places though; the dogwood in my front yard at 7am on a dew-covered morning. The tree is feeling the same effects as we are in the changing of seasons. I know that there will be new leaves on this tree several months from now and we'll start fresh again.

Sadness as Autumn sets in...
The dogwood on my front lawn awaits the morning sun.
Light is life for the tree, but as the days shorten, so does the life of the leaves.
Soon theses leaves will fall and will be followed by others until the last remaining leave touches the ground. The days grow shorter and colder.
Summer has gone.

Dew V

2009-09-03T07:09:00.001-04:00

Dew V, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Dew on the front lawn yesterday morning. I got down on the wet sidewalk and shot this straight across the front lawn into the sunrise. Ah, the joys of shooting at f/1.4.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Dew VI

2009-09-02T20:23:00.001-04:00

Dew VI, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Dew on the front lawn this morning. I got down on the wet sidewalk and shot this straight across the front lawn toward the sunrise. Shot at f/2.8.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Dew I

2009-09-02T09:57:00.001-04:00

Dew I, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Dew on the passenger window of my Civic Si this morning.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
WB set to Tungsten to force the blue colors.

Chickenfoot

2009-08-19T13:06:00.001-04:00

Chickenfoot 0524, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

Went to see Chickenfoot in Baltimore last night. Awesome show, although the acoustics of that building sucked. It was great to see Sammy and Mike on stage together again.

Eddie and Alex have be fuming over this, LMAO. ROCK ON, CHICKENFOOT!

Chickenfoot
www.chickenfoot.us

Tuesday August 18, 2009
Lyric Opera House
Baltimore, MD

Canon PowerShot SD770IS
(Couldn't take my camera gear into the concert)

"I'm a Photographer NOT a Terrorist" labels for your website/blog

2009-08-19T13:03:00.001-04:00

"I'm a Photographer NOT a Terrorist" labels for your website/blog, originally uploaded by Wizwow.

Speaks for itself. If I'm out taking photos, please let me alone unless you have something to contribute or you are interested in what I'm doing. If you're there to give a photographer a hard time, go find somebody else who's really doing something wrong.

Thanks to Wizwow for this great image.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wizwow/

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral

2009-08-10T14:37:00.001-04:00

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral, originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral on State Street in Harrisburg, PA, USA. This photo was taken from Willow Street, which is the alley that runs along the Eastern side of the church. I was walking around the City one day last Summer and I notice how bright the sun was and its angle in the sky, so i headed down this alley hoping for a good shot of the church backlit by the sun.

Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
1/640 f/11 18mm ISO100
PP done in Lightroom

Goldman Sachs Tower & Liberty Towers @ sunset

2009-08-07T12:10:00.001-04:00

Goldman Sachs Tower & Liberty Towers @ sunset
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

Composite of 5 different exposures, taken from Liberty State Park in NJ.

Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm IS USM
17mm @ f/22, ISO 200
Five exposures from 3 to 13 seconds layered in Photoshop, with various blends and transparencies and some lens correction.

State St. Bridge

2009-08-06T16:55:00.001-04:00

State St. Bridge
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

State Street Bridge behind the Capitol building in Harrisburg, PA, USA.

Photo taken during the VR Photo Walk on April 18, 2009.

Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8
17mm, f/8.0, 1/320, ISO 100

Reflections of Glory

2009-08-04T07:36:00.001-04:00

Reflections of Glory
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

Every time the wind would pick up, the flag would open up, but the puddle would get ripples in it. When the wind stopped, the water would calm, but the flag fell back down. Took a few shots in order to catch the flag after a gust, but before the puddle started to get ripples in it.

Photo taken Saturday, July 18, 2009 during Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in Mechanicsburg, PA, USA.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Under the Bridge Downtown

2009-08-03T07:55:00.002-04:00

Under the Bridge Downtown
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

Keeping with the Bridge theme that I seem to have going here... :)

Caught this shot on a cold day in January, 2009 under the train bridge in Harrisburg. The lighting and the shadow of the unknown person across the street are what make this photo I think.

Canon 40D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
17mm f/3.5 @ 1/6 sec handheld
ISO 200

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1N_JDqHOZ8

Market St. Bridge B&W

2009-07-31T13:51:00.001-04:00

Market St. Bridge B&W
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

The Eastern side of the Market St. bridge over the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and City Island in Harrisburg, PA, USA.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
75mm f/32 @ 1/60
ISO 200

Market St. Bridge

2009-07-30T09:47:00.001-04:00

Market St. Bridge
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

The Eastern shore of the Market St Bridge in Harrisburg, PA, USA.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
70mm f/8.0 @ 1/1250 sec handheld
ISO 400

Processed in Lightroom using my Pine Street Mono preset that you can download and use for free at www.michaeldunmire.com/lrtemplate/MikesPineStreetMono.zip

Enjoy!

Hanover FD

2009-07-28T07:10:00.001-04:00

Hanover FD
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

Hanover Fire Department
Hanover, PA, USA

Taken during the 26th Annual Hanover Dutch Festival. The FD had the front doors open so you could see the inside of the firehouse, the trucks and the various pieces of equipment. We spent some time looking at, and photographing the trucks before moving on to the festival.

Canon 40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4

Firebird

2009-07-27T10:52:00.001-04:00

Firebird
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

I spent Saturday afternoon at the 26th Annual Dutch Festival in Hanover, PA. Lots of great muscle cars, hot rods and other classics on display. My first time visiting downtown Hanover. I'll go back for this festival next year. Sign said it's the last Saturday of July each year.

Adobe Lightroom 2 Presentation

2009-07-24T17:31:00.003-04:00

Just announced: I will be presenting Adobe Lightroom 2 to the Central Penn Adobe User Group in September. This is a great opportunity for local photographers and camera club members to check out the CPAUG. Our meetings are always free and open to the public.

September Meeting:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 with Michael Dunmire

Date and Time:
September 28, 2009 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Address:

Computer Aid, Inc.
Susquehanna Dining Room - 3rd Floor
(Former AMP World HQ, next to Harrisburg Mall)

470 Friendship Rd
Harrisburg, PA 17111

Find out more at http://groups.adobe.com/posts/5317b96ded.

Gentlemen Sign

2009-07-23T13:07:00.001-04:00

Gentlemen Sign
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

Apparently the ladies are allowed to wear those kinds of shirts and are permitted to get really stupid in there. :)

Photo taken Saturday, July 18, 2009 during Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in New Cumberland, PA, USA. I was the walk leader and we had about 25 people in our group.

Inside Frankeberger Tavern I

2009-07-23T12:43:00.001-04:00

Inside Frankeberger Tavern I
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

I got to tour the inside of the Frankeberger Tavern on Main St in Mechanicsburg, PA, USA on Saturday. From what I understand, it's the oldest building in town. 3 stories, although the attic part was blocked off. 1 room downstairs and a couple rooms upstairs. Huge fireplace, very period-specific decorations inside. This was just one of the nice groupings of items I found while inside the building.

There are about a dozen more photos of the Tavern interior/exterior on my Flickr stream, which you can visit by clicking on the photo.

Photo taken Saturday, July 18, 2009 during Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in Mechanicsburg, PA, USA.

Yellow Finch

2009-07-22T17:03:00.001-04:00

Yellow Finch
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

The bird was hiding way back in somebody's yard. Luckily I had taken my 50mm off the camera and had the 70-200mm on at that moment.

Photo taken Saturday, July 18, 2009 during Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk in New Cumberland, PA, USA. I was the walk leader and we had about 25 people in our group.

The New Cumberland crew

2009-07-21T12:57:00.001-04:00

The New Cumberland crew
Originally uploaded by Michael Dunmire Photography

The New Cumberland crew

I hosted the Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk on Saturday, July 18, 2009 in New Cumberland, PA, USA. We met at the NC Borough Park and walked a 1.9 mile path through the park along the Yellow Breeches creek, and then up Bridge Street and through downtown New Cumberland. The weather was beautiful and we all took lots of great photos (I'm hoping they'll be posted here in in our Flickr Group). It was fun meeting everybody and chatting at Coakley's after the Walk.

This is the group photo that I took before we began our walk. We had about 25 people total including a few that joined after we started walking. Hope everybody had a great day!

My Worldwide Photo Walk is Just Four Days Away!

2009-07-15T11:00:00.002-04:00

My Worldwide Photo Walk is Just Four Days Away!

Posted using ShareThis

Magical Manhattan

2009-07-13T16:08:00.008-04:00

I spent some time recently photographing Lower Manhattan from Liberty State Park in NJ. I arrived around 6:30pm and left some time around 9:30pm. It was amazing to see the skyline transform over those 3 hours. As the sun started to set, the scene changed from just a row of buildings, to a magnificent array of colors and shapes that didn't stop changing until I finally decided to leave.

The brick buildings seemed to change texture as the evening progressed with the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, the light only reflecting off of their windows like fire.

The glass buildings were solid sheets of color though, changing from silver to a golden glow and finally to reds and purples that can't be described with words.

In the 3 hours I was there, I saw about one hundred people of all different shapes, sizes and nationalities. Several of them stopped and talked with me for a while about the area, photography, and of course the question that I heard often, "Where is it that the Twin Towers would have been?" I pointed out the area and answered the questions to the best of my ability, but the really cool thing about it was thinking about being hundreds of miles away from home and having people asking me questions about the area I was shooting. I think that when people see a photographer, they must automatically think that he or she knows something about what they're shooting.

Truth is, I was just as awestruck by what I was seeing as they were. We were all the same, just different people that met along the same path, watching a spectacular sunset unfold over one of the greatest cities in this country.

Therein lies our job as photographers, to make people believe that we understand what we're shooting and deliver it to them in a manner that they too can understand. That's the purpose of a photo, after all. To describe to people what that moment felt like in that instant, without the need for words.

As I wrapped up my shooting for the night around 9:15pm, a party boat floated past, with Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough playing. A fitting song I thought, not because of the recent passing of Michael Jackson, but the fact that I'd been standing in the same area for close to 3 hours taking photos and still hadn't gotten my fill. A couple came up, dressed up in a gown and a tux, along with another photographer and he proceeded to take their photo with New York City as the background. There were couples walking through the park holding hands and a handful of teenagers running around with each other laughing and having fun. I could hear the sound of Hudson River crashing onto the rocks nearby from the wake of the boats that were going past and it was very windy and chilly. Occasionally, I would catch a bit of jazz music on the wind coming from behind me and there was the smell of fresh-baked pastries in the air. The sights, sounds and smells during the last 30 minutes or so of that venture were amazing. I can only describe it in one word, magical.

Sinking Moon

2009-06-28T22:33:00.006-04:00

The moon sinks into the abyss of the sea, illuminated only by the stars that remain in the sky.

Processing done completely in Lightroom, no Photoshop.
Canon EOS 40DCanon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L
1/640 @ f/5.6, 200mm

Deer in the Poconos

2009-06-27T07:54:00.002-04:00

I was vacationing in the Poconos a couple weeks ago and found this deer sitting on a hill behind our townhouse when we came back from a walk. He was very tame and sat there for about an hour while I watched and photographed him from the deck. The first two images were taken with my Canon 40D and ProOptic 500mm Cat lens. The last photo was taken with the 40D and the EF 70-200 f/2.8L.

I think the colors and sharpness of the 70-200 are much better, but considering that lens costs over 10x more than the 500mm lens, it should! I love the circle bokeh effect that you get with the Cat lens though.

Super Mike

2009-06-05T19:31:00.004-04:00

I saw some people posting these in their Flickr account so I had to create one for myself. I wish you could choose your own name. Super Mike sounded better to me than The Pure Four Eyed Knight, but whatever. This was as close to me as I could get with the toon. I wish he was a little more handsome and ripped like me.

Create yours at http://cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

Photowalk Announced!

2009-06-01T18:43:00.006-04:00

Scott Kelby's 2nd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk is Saturday, July 18, 2009. I submitted for New Cumberland and it was approved and posted today. Registration is limited to 50 participants and I expect to have a good turnout.

*Update: The photo walk will be from 2pm to 4pm.

To sign up for the New Cumberland Photo Walk: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/new-cumberland-pennsylvania-pa-usa/

To find out about the Photo Walk:
http://worldwidephotowalk.com/

Some photos from Cape Cod

2009-05-31T13:49:00.004-04:00

Waterfall in the park

2009-05-25T09:42:00.004-04:00

Special treat today, nice big widescreen image for you... :)

I took this photo of the waterfall in August 2008, but just stumbled across it last night as I was working with other images. It was taken in Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA.

Camera equipment used:

Canon EOS 40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS

I C U @ 55 2.8

2009-05-14T19:09:00.003-04:00

I see you at 55mm, f/2.8.

Night #4 of 5 on this Chicago trip. It was raining and windy outside with Tornado watches for this county and several others in the area. Not much to do while I was waiting for the season finale of LOST to come on, so I challenged myself to find things to photograph in this box, er room I'm staying in.

I think most people have done one of these photos at some point, but I never really spent the time to do a good one, just fired off a few shots and moved on to the next pursuit.

I actually took my time and tried to get a really good shot last night on this. Shot in manual focus to make sure I got the text on the end of the lens barrel as sharp as possible and left everything else fade out into a blur. I love shooting at 2.8. :^)

Red Plus Light

2009-05-12T22:39:00.006-04:00

Second morning in Chicago for training, the difference in time zones and being away from home is killing my sleep cycle. It's amazing how 1 hour shift can throw off your routine.

You know how you feel that first week after DST kicks in and you loose an hour of sleep? The first week seems awkward and your body just doesn't seem to function correctly.

The only other time I've crossed time zones was to vacation in Mexico and that didn't bother me too much. That trip for for relaxing. This trip is for spending 5 days learning a new software program for work. Not quite Mexico if you know what I mean.

So 7am is the new 6am, at least for this week. I guess my body knows what time 7am is regardless because I set the alarm clock for 7am here, and I got awake at exactly 6am yesterday. Today I was awake at 5am. I figure by the end of the week, I might as well just not go to bed becuase I'll be getting awake before I fall asleep...if that's possible.

So what does one do when they're 4 states away from home at 5am in a hotel room with nothing to do? Well, if they're a photographer, they get out their camera and find things to photograph. In an effort to find interesting things, I started looking up, down, and very closely at the items in the room. One rather interesting piece that I found was the ceiling light above the entrance. A glass square that was held up by a wooden contraption in the shape of a big "+". The glass and wood looked so smooth against the textured ceiling that I decided to take a couple shots of it. So there i was, lying flat on my back on the floor of the hotel room, shooting straight up at the ceiling, at 5:15am this morning.

Some times the coolest photos come from the most mundane of places.

PP work done in Adobe Lightroom.

Christina @ the Capitol B&W

2009-05-11T23:28:00.004-04:00

A couple shots from a model shoot I did in May 2008 in Harrisburg, around the Capitol building. All photos were shot using the Canon EOS 40D with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm IS USM lens. Post production done entirely in Adobe Lightroom.

Model: Christina

Who ordered the Quesadillas?

2009-05-10T19:37:00.003-04:00

Chicken and chorizo sausage with sour cream and pico de gallo. $10.00

OK, seriously. Who photographs the room service food before eating?

Well, the presentation was so nice I couldn't resist. Got some bonus guacamole there too!

Energy

2009-05-05T12:45:00.003-04:00

"Energy"
A circle that I made from a photo that I took a few years ago. The original image was a 1-second exposure of Christmas lights taken at night.

Honda Civic SI "Katana"

2009-04-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

My 2006 Honda Civic SI
"Katana"

I took this photo a couple days after buying the car in the fall of 2006. The goofy front license plate holder was removed shortly thereafter.

I haven't shot many cars since this although it was a lot of fun. I had been shooting a lot of diecast cars at the time for a website and used some of the ideas from that to put together this image.

Three things I always try to do when shooting cars:

Get down low for a larger than life look.
Turn the front wheels in a bit. Rims always facing the camera, never the treads.
Tilt the camera a bit to add a sense of speed and sportiness to the shot.

I also saturated colors and added vignetting in post production to help pull this image together.

Capitol at dusk

2009-04-24T08:09:00.003-04:00

I caught this picture one day in February as I was going home from work. The sky was blue, the clouds were pink and it was very cold outside. By the time I got to the parking garage, all of the color was gone from the sky.

Sheds in Colonial Williamsburg

2009-04-23T06:50:00.002-04:00

Photo taken in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia in August 2008.

Just a couple sheds in the backyard of one of the properties.

Jaguar @ Roxy's

2009-04-22T07:42:00.001-04:00

Jaguar at Roxy's Cafe

Harrisburg, PA

Photo taken Saturday 4/16/2009 during the Harrisburg Photowalk. I had to walk out into the street and avoid traffic to get this shot.

Charm City

2009-04-21T07:24:00.003-04:00

Baltimore, MD

Just an artistic rendering of a photo I took in Baltimore.

Pennsylvania Archives Building

2009-04-20T19:51:00.004-04:00

Another photo from the Harrisburg Photowalk on Saturday. The small buildings in the bottom right corner made me think of what this might have looked like 50 years ago. Here's what I came up with...