The wonders of Route 20

Route 20, the old highway between Albany and Syracuse is full of all kinds of interesting artifacts. I took that route upon returning from Syracuse today after spending time with our grandchildren. Among the things I photographed were the last remaining old motel cabins on route 20, of course in terrible uninhabitable shape and this New York's Central diesel engine on display just west of the town of Duanesburg. The first two images were done in color HDR and then black-and-white HDR. The diesel engine was done in color HDR using TrueHDR. Of course, shot with the iPhone 5. Enjoy, Jeff

Another Gloomy Day Photo

Same location as the color HDR image uploaded yesterday. This time I changed the composition to landscape. Shot with the iPhone 5 in Bracket Mode then TrueHDR then Snapseed for black and white conversion and finally Retouch to get rid of a couple large utility poles in the far left section of the image. Enjoy, Jeff

  

Gloomy day potentials

When faced with gloomy weather and gray clouds, HDR photography is a terrific option. This was taken with my iPhone five along the old Erie Canal in Dewitt , New York. I used Bracket Mode to compose and capture the image, TrueHDR then Snapseed HDR then PhotoWizard for curves. A very Mono chromatic, bland image was turned into something that I find quite pleasing. Enjoy, Jeff

  

Erie Canal

These were shot at the Butternut Creek, the old Erie Canal system this morning. Shot with my iPhone 5 in 645 PRO and then edited within Snapseed using tilt shift, HDR, black and white conversion to create this somewhat dreamy  effect of these old bridges over the canal. It was a fun project. Again, it reinforces the importance of having a camera with you. Especially a camera that not only will take the photographs but you can edit the photographs in  and then easily upload them to Facebook or other media. Enjoy, Jeff

  Jeff

Camponula

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Otherwise know as "Million Bells", these little violet flowers make a great macro subject.  Shot with the EOS M setup, Canon Macro Bellows and a 50mm Canon FD lens between 5.6-11 aperture.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

Cherry Blossoms

 

                               

 

There is the wonderful neighborhood in Bethesda Maryland called Kenwood Gardens.  The streets are lined with Cherry Blossom trees.  These were shot last Sunday AM with a Sony RX10 using its 24-200, 2.8 Zeiss lens.  Crystal sharp images on a one inch sensor, great color and metering make this camera worth the price.  The images were lightly edited in PS with some High Pass sharpening.  Enjoy, Jeff

                               

Facetune

This a great iPhone app for retouching faces. Facetune has context awareness for each area that is retouched. This is my Mother's fantastic friend Molly. See the before and after results. Enjoy , Jeff

Canon Macro Bellows

  

 

  

 

  

 

Bellows Macro Flower

 

 I was privileged to receive a Canon Macro Bellows FL from Barb Lawton/ Frank Bumbartore of our photo club, The Schenectady Photographic Society.  This brings Macro to whole new level over simple extension tubes!  You can control the degree of magnification by the bellows length as well as control the aperture of the Canon FD 50mm lens I use.  Also, a live viewfinder LCD really makes this project so much easier than trying to judge composition and sharpness through a view finder.  This was shot with a Canon EOS-M.  I use a LCD light-box on a small Gorilla Pod tripod to light the flowers.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

The Best Camera

As one professional photographer has said, "the best camera is the one that you have with you". Today I took a brief walk at lunchtime and in the building next to our office building was this liberally-no pun intended-decorated Toyota Echo. Because I had my iPhone with me, it was a very easy grab shot. I used camera plus, but edited the image Snapseed. Nothing but fun.

Enjoy, Jeff

JIM

JIM

I met Jim today in Washington Park.  Nice fellow who shared a bit of his life with me.  He used to be an Import Automobile Mechanic, now unemployed.  He collects returnable plastics, bottles and cans to help supplement his income. I think he has had a hard life, but nevertheless, he remained cheerful discussing his past.   Shot with a Nikon D200, ISO 500, F4 with a Nikkor 18-105 lens.  Original in color and processed with Topaz Adjust B&W to create the final image.  Enjoy, Jeff