Posts in Category: architecture
The View from the Marriott Long Island
I am working the NY State Ornithological Society Meeting, held this year at the Marriott Convention Center in Uniondale on Long Island. They put me on the 7th floor with a window that overlooks this view at the end of rainy, blustery day. And, wonder of wonders, the Marriott has windows that actually open…just enough to get the just the tip of the lens of my Samsung Smart Camera WB800F out the crack (and it is a very small lens). The tapestry of Autumn color under the sunset sky was too good to miss.
Camera as above. In Rich Tone mode (in-camera HDR). Processed in Snapseed on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014, using the new HDR scene effect, some Ambiance, Sharpening and Structure. I then opened the image in Photo Editor and applied some Perspective correction to pull the buildings more or less upright. The overall result is a bit painterly but, I think, interesting.
So much depends on the red fire-plug…
Lakeside Chautauqua maintains a slightly Victorian air, in part, because residents take pains with paint and plantings to make it so. You may know the Chautauqua movement from history lessons, but few are aware that there are still two in full swing: the original in Chautauqua NY, and this one in Lakeside OH. Lakeside offers a full summer program of art, music, and cultural enrichment, and its thousands of privately owned homes and cottages are rarely empty for more than a day during the season.
We are here for the Midwest Birding Symposium, an every other year event that draws pretty much the full who’s who of the birding world and thousands of interested birders to Lakeside for several days of workshops and lectures and networking 🙂
I could not resist this little snippet of the Victorian air. The house and the flowers would have been enough but the bright red fire hydrant makes it a mandatory shot. (And perhaps you recognize the oblique reference to the poem by William Carlos Williams in the title.)
Samsung Smart Camera WB800F in Rich Tone Mode. Processed in Snapseed on the Google Nexus 7.
Wood Shed
We were hiking along a road, or the last vestiges of a village street, near Tubingen, Germany, to cross the Neckar river on a foot bridge, looking for raptors late in the day over farm fields where Storks wandered…when I saw this wood shed attached to an aging barn. I could not resist. My companions, all hard-core birders, turned around to look for me when they noticed I had fallen behind. “You have to remember,” I said, “I am a tourist here, and I am going to do the tourist thing and stop to take pictures.” They had a good laugh at that…the tourist birder is a new concept in Germany…but I got my pictures!
I love the blend of textures here…raw wood, weathered wood, wood siding, bleached out particle board, concrete and brick. Such a range! I zoomed in for a tight crop with the Samsung Smart Camera WB250F in Rich Tone (HDR) mode. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Google Nexus 7 FHD.
Old Wetzlar
I am home from my 12 day swing through England, Germany, and Holland, and, while the trip was wonderful, I am happy to be home. These are two of the medieval homes from the old walled city of Wetzlar, Germany. I had only a few hours to explore on this working trip, but I always try to get out into the old city to capture some of its atmosphere. You might notice that these homes were built after the first depletion of the tall forests of the region. Older homes have corner timbers running the full height of the building. This one was built in layers, using shorter timbers…and you can see that the different floors have tilted different ways over the years. This structure gives many of the homes of Old Wetzlar their unique character.
Samsung Smart Camera WB250F in Rich Tone (HDR) mode. Processed on the Google Nexus 7 in PicSay Pro and Photo Edit.
The Dom
The unfinished cathedral of Wetzlar, the Dom, dominates the old city. It is a mix of Romanesque 1200s style and later Gothic from the middle ages. It is a building clearly not quite at home with itself but it has its own unique charm.
This image from the square on the up hill side of the Dom, has been perspective corrected in Photo Editor on the Nexus 7 and final processed on PicSay Pro. Samsung Smart Camera WB250F in Rich Tone (HDR) mode.
Wetzlar
I have loved the old city of Wetzlar since my first visit over ten years ago. I know it is not a major tourist attraction in Germany, where old walled cities are common, unless of course you are a canoeist floating the river Lahn or a Goethe fan. The unfinished cathedral (the Dom) was started in the 1200s and most of the construction done in the middle ages. Goethe lived and worked there when Wetzlar was the site of the Imperial Court of the Holy Roman Empire. His first works are based on his time in Wetzlar.
This is my fist trip back after a gap of several years and l made the most of the few hours I had morning and evening. This is a shot looking up one of many sets of stairs in the steep old town toward the one finished steeple of the Dom. I love the old stone and the angles.
Samsung Smart Camera WB250F in Rich Tone mode (HDR). Processed in PicSay Pro on the Nexus 7.
Mind-bending in Kennebunk
Sweep Panorama is a very strange thing. This is a about a 180 degree view of the dam on the Mousam River in Kennebunk Maine, taken from the middle of the bridge over the river. The dam is, of course, a straight line in reality, and the railing is both straight and continuous. I have attempted this pano with conventional stitched panorama techniques and it is next to impossible. The buildings on the left, in particular, never match up in any two shots. Sweep panorama renders what is perpendicular to the motion of the camera very well, as it records one thin line at a time…and the distortions in the other dimension are interesting. On the camera itself, you can view the panorama as a sweep, which is also interesting. Someone needs to create a panorama viewer for the computer. 🙂
Samsung WB250F in Panorama Mode. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Laudholm House
An in-camera HDR of the house at Laudholm Farms at the Wells National Estuarine Research Center. Laudholm Farms was one of the original salt farms in Maine. They actually grew hay and other crops on the salt marsh. For me, the shadow of the tree makes the image!
Canon SX50HS in HDR mode. Recorded exif: 24mm equivalent field of view. f4.5 @ 1/500th @ ISO 80. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Vegas Flowers
In typical Vegas fashion I can not tell if these are real blossoms or paper. This is a 30 foot “tree” that is part of the China themed display at the Palazzo. I suspect the flowers are fake but the make a brave show with their contrasting hanging lanterns.
This is a moderate tele shot to isolate the lantern buried in the flowers.
Canon SX50HS at 200mm equivalent field of view. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. f5.6 @ 1/20th @ ISO 1250. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Vegas Morning
I am making an effort to “keep my eye in” while in Vegas…attempting to find and take at least a few images a day. Not easy, since I am spending 10 of my daylight hours sequestered deep inside the Sands Expo Center. This is part of the view out my window yesterday, soon after sunrise. In the right foreground is the other wing of the Treasure Island, where I am staying. Center is the Encore with the classic reflection of the Wynn and the Strip beyond in its windows. I say classic, because I can not imagine that the architects of the Wynn and Encore did not pre-visualize exactly this mutual reflection when they designed the buildings. In front of the Encore is the strange space ship like structure of the Fashion Mall. The building at the far left is under construction and looks to be another play on reflections building project…or at least another building with an all glass exterior.
Canon SX50HS in Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. 70mm equivalent field of view. f4.5 @ 1/50th @ ISO 250. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.