July 5, 2006

Another Look At The Fourth

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Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: 2 sec. at f/8 | Focal Length: 300mm

Another view of the fireworks at the Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida.

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July 4, 2006

Painting With Light (Happy Fourth!)

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Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: 2 sec. at f/8 | Focal Length: 300mm

The fireworks at the Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables, Florida light up the night sky and serves as the highlight of the Gables' Fourth of July celebration.

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July 4, 2005

Playing With Light (And Sound)

Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: approx. 8-12 sec. at f/8 | Focal Length: 90mm

One of the easiest ways to play with light is to photograph fireworks. The truth is the pyrotechnics do most of the work, and with a little luck, you can catch dramatic combinations.

This particular image was created at a Forth of July celebration in Gainesville, Florida. The celebration culminated with the orchestra playing John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" while fireworks exploded overhead. One of the things that makes this image memorable for me is that it was created in a very low-tech way: I used an old, manual rangefinder camera with the shutter set so that it would remain open as long as I held the shutter release. Instead of timing the exposure with my watch (or using an electronic camera where the exposure would have been dictated by a preset speed), I let the beat of the music dictate how long the shutter should be open. Thus, for me, the music became a part of the image.

Posted by slewis at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 31, 2005

Chasing Light

Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: 4 seconds at f/8 | Focal Length: 300mm

Posted by slewis at 10:38 AM | Comments (0)

May 4, 2005

Painting With Light

Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: Not recorded | Focal Length: Not recorded.

Another view of the Eiffel Tower, Paris.

Posted by slewis at 6:27 AM | Comments (0)

May 3, 2005

Illuminations & The Arc

Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: 8 sec. at f/8 | Focal Length: 24mm

Another view of the Arc de Triomphe, this time at night.

Posted by slewis at 6:34 AM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2005

Chasing Light

Details: ISO: 100 | Exposure: 8 seconds at f/8 | Focal Length: 300mm

All photographers, whether consciously or unconsciously, chase light. A photographer is constantly trying to freeze a moment, a time, a place, an event, by capturing light. In most cases, the amount of light captured is limited to what can be recorded in a fraction of a second.

At some point, every photographer experiments with longer exposures. I remember developing a particular fascination for longer exposures after reading Ansel Adams’ account of how he made the image "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico." Adams based his exposure on his memory of the luminance of the moon. What always fascinated me about the image was the way that the clouds seem to streak across the sky, all caught in Adams’ 1-second exposure. The image had a profound impact on my thinking about light and about making images.

So, in early 1988, I was in Paris for the first time. In addition to seeing the city, I wanted to buy a particular tripod that is manufactured just outside Paris. With limited language skills (I had learned enough French to ask where the bathroom was and to apologize for not speaking French), I made my way through the city to a camera store and placed my order. The only problem was the store would have to drive the tripod into Paris from the factory, and I would have to return to the store later that day to collect my order.

I returned to my hotel to find that the group I was with had booked an “illuminations tour” for the same evening to see the city at night. Knowing I was going to have very little time to pick up the tripod and still meet the group for the tour, I grabbed my cameras and ran back to the camera store. I arrived just as my tripod did, and after a few minutes of paperwork, I was on my way, new tripod in hand. All I had to do was get back to the hotel in time to meet my group.

Getting back to the hotel turned out to be something more of an adventure than I had originally expected. It was rush hour, and I had been told that the fastest way back to the hotel was using the Metro. Even though it was Winter and freezing above ground, the Metro packed with the rush hour masses was a steamy 85 degrees. The heat, coupled with the adrenaline rush of trying to get meet the group in time for the tour, coupled with my lack of understanding of the vast underground system of underground walkways, was exhausting. By the time I reached my hotel, I looked as if I had run a marathon.

I made it to the hotel just in time to board the coach for the illuminations tour. Much of what followed was a blur; I told my friends about my experiences with the Metro, about rushing through tunnels in an effort to find the exit for the hotel, and the purpose behind my adventure. By the time we reached the last stop on the tour, the Eiffel Tower, I had finally cooled off and was ready to put my new tripod to work.

The illuminations tour culminated with a trip to the top of the Eiffel. At the top of the Eiffel, the Winter wind blew bitterly cold. The wind was so cold and strong that as it blew, it felt like it went right through you. As my friends shivered and looked for cover from the wind, I looked down and visualized the image I wanted to make. I quickly set up my new tripod, mounted a camera on it, and started making images. At that moment, for me the wind and the cold disappeared, and I suddenly felt very warm with the image in my head and on film. When I was satisfied that I’d captured the image, I invited my friends to look through the camera and explained what I had just created.

And now, I share that image with you.

Posted by slewis at 7:50 AM | Comments (0)

April 1, 2005

Time To Go...

Details: ISO: 200 | Exposure: 8 sec. at f/14 | Focal Length: 75mm

Posted by slewis at 7:46 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2005

Port of Miami

Details: ISO: 200 | Exposure: 13 sec. at f/8 | Focal Length: 450mm

Posted by slewis at 7:21 AM | Comments (0)

February 5, 2005

City Of Lights

Details: ISO: 400 | Exposure: 1/8 at f/2.2 | Focal Length: 35mm

Posted by slewis at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2005

The City Of Lights

Details: ISO: 400 | Exposure: 1/30 at f/2.0 | Focal Length: 35mm

Posted by slewis at 9:28 AM | Comments (0)

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