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Architecture

Stool and Windows – Lonaconing Silk Mill, Lonaconing, Maryland

 Abstracts, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Workflow, Architectural Photography, Architecture, Lightroom, Lightroom Enfuse, Lonaconing Silk Mill, Maryland, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Robert H Clark Photography  No Responses »
Feb 272012
 

Stool and Windows • Lonaconing Silk Mill, Lonaconing, Maryland

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. This image, along with many more, was made this past weekend on a shooting excursion to the Lonaconing Silk Mill. The trip was arranged by Tony Sweet and a group of us including my WV shooting pal Mark Muse, made the trek to Lonaconing, Maryland to photograph the old mill. The mill closed down in 1957 and has been abandoned ever since. It is like a time machine inside. Virtually everything from machines, tools, spools, and equipment was left in place and intact. It is three floors of photographic fun. The lighting inside the mill is very diffused and in most cases required multiple exposures to capture the dynamic range of the light.

I found this little stool in the basement and framed it against the beautiful light of the large windows. The image is a blend of four separate exposures, each one processed in Lightroom, and then blended together with Lightroom Enfuse. Each exposure was made 1-stop apart. The resulting file included all the information necessary to capture the full range of light within the space. This was a fantastic shooting trip and I will be posting more images as I process the files.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

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USS Arizona Memorial – Island of Oahu, Hawai’i

 Architecture, Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Pacific Ocean, Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial  2 Responses »
Dec 062010
 

The USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Island of Oahu, Hawai'i. Shot with a Nikon D3x and Nikon 24mm PC lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f11 for 1/25 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to todays post. Sixty nine years ago on December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and other military installations on the island of Oahu. The attack was the culmination of nearly ten years of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States. The attack to immobilize the Pacific Fleet was integral to Japan’s continued expansion into Asia and the western Pacific. Opposed to Japan’s expansion the United States exercised diplomatic pressure and severe trade sanctions all to no avail. By the summer of 1941 both countries were entrenched in their positions and retreat was impossible without loss of national prestige. For Japan war was the only option.

At 7:55 am, December 7th, 1941, the first wave of the Japanese attack arrived at Pearl Harbor. At 8:06 a 1,706-pound armor-piercing bomb dropped through the forward deck of the USS Arizona and into the ammunition magazine. The incredible explosion ripped the ship apart and ignited a firestorm. She sank within 9 minutes along with 1,177 members of its crew. As the attack continued the USS Oklahoma sank with 400 members of its crew. California and West Virginia sank at their mooring quays, and the USS Utah sank along with 50 members of its crew. The devastation to the fleet continued as the Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Nevada suffered significant damage. Twenty one vessels were sunk or damaged and American dead totaled 2,390. It was the United States Navy’s greatest defeat.

Today the USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ships 1,177 crewman. The 184 foot long memorial structure spans the mid-portion of the sunken battleship. Designed by architect Alfred Preis, the memorial was completed in 1961. As a special tribute to the ship and its crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship.

December 7th, 2010 marks the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The site has undergone major construction over the last 4 years and includes a redesign of all the facilities including new exhibits and visitor services. Today World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument includes the USS Arizona Memorial, the USS Oklahoma Memorial, and the USS Utah Memorial.

The image was shot from Ford Island at sunset. Heavy clouds had blanketed the site and rain fell off and on for most of the day. As I set up I did not think there would be any light from the setting sun. But as if on que the clouds cleared from the horizon and a beautiful shaft of sunlight illuminated the memorial. It was gone in 30 seconds. As the light faded I was reminded of Alfred Preis’s words in describing the memorial “wherein the structure sags in the center but stands strong and vigorous at the ends, expresses initial defeat and ultimate victory….The overall effect is one of serenity”. Like a shining beacon this last light of the day reminded me of the severe cost of war and that we must never forget those who stood in harms way and made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Bob

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Wedding Chapel, Kona Coast, Hawaii

 Architectural Photography, Architecture, Black and White, Churches, Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nikon D3x, Photography Technique  No Responses »
Sep 162010
 

Wedding Chapel, Kona Coast, big island of Hawaii. Shot with a Nikon D3x and a Nikkor 24mm Perspective Control Lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/2 of a second.

Hi everyone and welcome to today’s post. Well I am back from the big city of Philadelphia but still nursing the cold that knocked me out. I am afraid I have passed this one on to my family and a few friends as well. In any event I thought we would look at a classic architectural shot of a wedding chapel I discovered on my last visit to Hawaii. The chapel was adjacent to my hotel and I thought it would showcase an excellent use of the 24mm PC lens. For those of you who are not familiar with this lens it allows the photographer to shift the lens along a vertical or horizontal axis, depending on the how the lens is oriented, and provides a tilt function similar to the controls in a view camera. The lens shift function is important as you can mitigate against the distortion that occurs when you try to capture a tall subject in a wide angle lens. To see this effect aim a wide angle upward on a tall building and you will see the lines of the building begin to converge, and surfaces which should be straight, are no longer parallel. This can add to the dynamics of a photograph but is not desirable for most architectural shots.

I pre-scouted the location and determined what time, and where, the best light would be. I used an app called LightTrac on my iPad to determine the sun angle based on the time of day. In this case an early morning shot with the sun rising from camera right would serve to give me some beautiful side lighting to help define some of the chapels features. The other thing I had going for me was a small bank of palm trees which helped diffuse some of the light and cast some shadows on the facade. I was prepared for a totally blue sky but got some clouds to soften the composition. I had several angles I could work with but the straight on shot in my mind was the best. Shooting from the right would have put me in the palm trees and there was a hand rail blocking part of the shot. All this was thought through in the scouting as well as the exact placement I wanted for the camera. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to scout your shots. It is not always possible but the best results come from understanding the site, light direction, and previsualizing of the shot.

Aside from the clean lines of the church I was also intrigued by the positive and negative shapes of the cross on the steeple and at the back of the chapel. My hope early on was for the clouds to hold in place so I could capture the white cross on the steeple against the blue sky. Luck prevailed in this case. Another point I want to make is I was dealing with essentially three distinct colors; the white of the chapel, the blue sky, and the intense greens of the foliage, all of which convert very well to black and white. The conversion to black and white simplifies the tonal range and allows the chapel to “pop” within the composition.

Camera placement was centered on the chapel for a classic composition but I also achieved a nice balance to the photograph with the vegetation that framed the steeple. With the camera oriented in vertical the 24mm lens could not fully capture the top of the steeple. Not to worry of course because once I had the shot framed and all lines parallel I simply shifted the lens upward to capture the steeple and cross. All vertical lines remained parallel. But even with carful framing and set up there was still just a hint of distortion which was easily removed in Photoshop with the lens correction features.

Thanks for stopping by today. I have some other architectural shots I took on this trip and will post those as soon as I can get them processed.

Bob

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Byodo-In Temple, Garden Buddha

 Architecture, Buddhism, Byodo-In Temple, Hawaii, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Sony α900, Zeiss Lenses  No Responses »
Mar 212010
 

Garden Buddha, Byodo-In Temple, Oahu. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-700mm lens at 30mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/6 of a second.

Hi everyone. I was revisiting some files I shot earlier this year and found myself back in the gardens of the Byodo-In Temple on Oahu’s windward side. This is the garden Buddha that greets visitors just after crossing the bridge from the parking area. It is a perfect place to stop and reflect for a moment before continuing along the path to the temple. It is a beautiful view of the main temple and the Ko’olau Mountains.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

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Old San Juan – The Basilica at the Cemetery

 Architecture, Black and White, Landscape, Landscape Photography, National Parks, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan National Historic Site  No Responses »
Mar 202010
 

Basilica and Cemetery at Old San Juan. Shot with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 24-70mm lens at 70mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f16 for 1/4 of a second.

Hi everyone. Todays image is a black and white shot of the Basilica and Cemetery in Old San Juan. The cemetery is located along the ocean and  below the walls of El Morro, one of two forts built on the of island Puerto Rico by the Spanish. El Morro, along with San Cristobal are part of the San Juan National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service.

This photo was shot almost directly into the sun producing a high key, back lit image. A 4-stop Singh-Ray split neutral density was dropped in to help hold back the sky a bit but the intense light was hard to manage. But I love the dramatic light that is created with this effect. The foreground elements are sharp but the image begins to fade toward the background due to the sun and wind born mist from the ocean.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bob

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Waikiki Twilight Redux-Photoshop Layer Blend

 Architecture, City Photography, Hawaii, Photography Technique, Photoshop Technique  No Responses »
Feb 052010
 

Image 3: Waikiki Twilight Redux. Photoshop blend technique of two exposures.

A few days ago I posted a twilight image shot in Waikiki Beach in downtown Honolulu. You can refer back to that image which was posted on January 29th for comparison to todays post. The January post was quickly processed in Lightroom and Photoshop on my laptop and posted for the blog. Todays post takes the same image and shows a simple and quick method to extend the image dynamic range. Image 1 shows the original Sony RAW file. This image was exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 60 seconds. In Lightroom I made a virtual copy of this file. In the original file I opened up the image by +.50 of a stop an used the fill and recover sliders to slightly open up the image. It also received a bit of capture sharpening. In the Virtual image I opened up the exposure by +1.80 stops and used the fill and recover sliders. The goal here was to bring out more detail in the buildings and the trees surrounding the hotels. Image 1 shows the original RAW file and Image 2 shows the Virtual copy after Lightroom processing. Each file was then exported to Photoshop. The Original was named with “D” for dark and the Virtual was named with an “L” for light. The next steps are performed in Photoshop.

Image 1: Original RAW file processed in Lightroom.

Image 2: Virtual Light image processed in Lightroom.

Step 1: Open the Virtual Light copy in Photoshop. Duplicate the Background and name it Light Layer.

Step 2: Open the Original Dark copy. Select the image and hit Command C to copy it to the paste board.

Step 3: Go back to the Virtual Light copy, make sure the Light Layer is selected and hit Command V to paste the Dark copy into the layer stack. Rename this as Dark Layer. Make sure the Dark Layer is on top of the layer stack.

Step 4: Now comes the mysterious magic of Photoshop. Make sure you select the Dark Layer and hit Option-Command 2. In a few moments you will see the Marching Ants. With the Marching Ants active select Add Layer Mask. Photoshop will create a perfectly blended Black and White Mask linked to the Dark Layer. Select the mask and go to Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the amount to between 3.0 and 6.0 for high res images. For this file I set it to 5.0. Note: You must do the Gaussian Blur otherwise the effect will appear overdone.

Step 5: Make sure the Mask is selected. Go to the Brush and set it for soft edge, around 200 is good, and the amount to 10 to 15%. Select the background color as White. You can now paint on the mask. Remember that when painting into layers that white reveals and black hides. Painting in White on the black and white mask will reveal the Dark Layer. You want to keep the Brush amount low so you can build up the darkening effect. If you go overboard you can select Black and paint back into the mask. If you look at the original post from January 29 you will see the trees are very dark and the buildings did not quite have the sparkle I was looking for. Though not bad for a quick post it certainly was not what the image could be. The final result achieved through the layer blend really increases the dynamic range of the image.

Step 6: Once you are satisfied with the blending flatten the image and from there you can go through your normal Photoshop editing and processing routines. In this case I performed a high pass, edge mask sharpen, several curves adjustments and a mid-tone contrast layer for some added pop.

The end result shows a marked improvement in the image. There is detail in the trees surrounding the hotels and the buildings are more luminous. The HDR folks out there may of course scoff at this technique but I am not a fan of some of the over processed HDR images I see and prefer this simple method for blending. You can use this technique to process and blend two bracketed exposures or in this case process a single exposure. Many thanks to all who are visiting these posts and providing comments. Together we can advance our skills and find support for this great and all consuming passion.

Bob

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Byodo-In Buddhist Temple

 Architecture, Buddhism, Hawaii, Landscape, Religion  No Responses »
Feb 012010
 

Image 1: Byodo-In Temple. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 30mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/6 of a second.

Image 2: Bridge leading to the Byodo-In Temple. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Sony SAL 20mm lens. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/10 of a second.

Image 3: Peace Bell Pavilion. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 28mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 3 seconds.

At the base of the Ko’olau Mountains, on Ohau’s windward side, lies the Byodo-In Temple. Built in the 1960′s, this replica of the 950 year old Byodoin Buddhist Temple in Uji, Japan, was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The temple is located in the Valley of Temples, a cemetery located in Ohau’s Kaneohe Region. To cross the bridge is to enter a peaceful and tranquil world. I just wanted to linger there for the rest of the day. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and feature a 2-acre Koi pond. The best time to photograph the temple is in the morning light. In the afternoon the sun will set behind the Ko’olau Range and the temple will be cast in shadow. For more information on the temple please visit their website at http://www.byodo-in.com/

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Waikiki Beach Twilight

 Architecture, City Photography, Hawaii, Landscape Photography, Photography Technique, Photography Trips, Singh-Ray Filters, Sony α900  No Responses »
Jan 292010
 

Image 1: Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 20mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 60 seconds.

Clouds drift over Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. Shot with a Sony a900 and a Sony SAL 20mm. Image exposed at ISO 100 at f16 for 1/6 of a second. Lenswas fitted with a Singh-Ray 2-stop split neutral density.

This is one of my favorite views of Waikiki Beach. The image was shot at twilight about 30 minutes after the sun had set. This is the optimum time to get this kind of exposure where the sky is a deep, beautiful blue that compliments the city lights. In order to get a shot like this there are a few rules to follow:

1. Scout the Shot: This is something you hear a lot from photographers but its true. I have been to this location before and pre-visualized this exposure.

2. Know your Astronomy: What I mean here is know where the sun rises and sets and at what time.

3. Set up Early: Get to your location ahead of time. This gives you time to set up, compose, figure out what filters you might need, watch the light, and take test exposures.

4. Be There: Shots like this happen everyday but you have to be there. Galen Rowell said there are only so many sun rises and sunsets. Get out and shoot.

To capture this kind of shot you need to wait till the sky and cityscape reach an equal EV, generally around 5. This means if you took a spotmeter reading on the sky and the city and the reading was approximately 5 you are ready to go. This generally occurs approximately 30 minutes after sunset. The exposure will typically be 45 seconds to a minute. The result is a beautiful cerulean sky complimenting the orange lights. I also set the color balance to about 4800 to 4900.

Image 2 was shot approximately 50 minutes before the twilight shot. This is why you get to your location early so you can capture the light on your subject as it changes.

Mahalo from Hawaii.

Bob

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The Salk Institute-Classic View

 Architecture, Black and White, Photography Technique, Photoshop Technique, Salk institute, Sony α900  2 Responses »
Jan 222010
 

The classic architectural shot of the plaza at the Salk Institute in San Diego. Shot with a Sony α900 and a Zeiss 24-70mm lens at 24mm. Image exposed at ISO 200 at f10 for 1/320 of a second.

Todays post is from the Salk Institute outside San Diego, California. Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, established the Salk Institute for Biological Studies more than 40 years ago. His goal was to create an institute that would serve as a “crucible for creativity” to pursue questions about the basic principles of life. He wanted biologists and others to work together to explore the wider implications of their discoveries for the future of humanity. Salk engaged architect Louis Kahn to design the facility. Their vision and partnership resulted in one the most iconic and engaging works of modern architecture.

The plaza shot is one of the iconic views of the Institute. On the day I visited there was an overcast sky tht engaged the horizon just above the Pacific Ocean. The light was relatively flat and uninspiring. I did not have a tripod or my 20mm lens. Luckily I was able to get on a bench to get a little elevation over the water feature. I carefully centered myself and used the grids in my viewfinder to maintain perspective. Even so I had to do a little correction in Photoshop.

In order to capture the loneliness and stark duality between architecture, sea, and sky I used a neat blending technique in Photoshop. After RAW development I brought the image into Photoshop. From there I duplicated the background and set the blending mode to multiply. This introduced more contrast into the shot. I added a Black and White adjustment layer and used the sliders to to further accentuate some of the details. Final touches were achieved with a curves layer and a Mid Tone Contrast Layer set to Soft Light. This is a powerful work of architecture and to stand and look out into the infinity of ocean and sky was a special treat.

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Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head.

 Architecture, Hawaii, Photography Trips, Water  No Responses »
Jan 152010
 

Clouds drift over Waikiki Beach, Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Shot with a Nikon D300 and Nikor 12-24mm lens at 18mm. ISO 100, f14 at 1/25 of a second.

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Oahu I am posting an image I shot early one morning on a previous trip. Sometimes you need to be resourceful and creative to get a shot. In this case I happened to be staying in a hotel that had wonderful views of Diamond Head. I discovered that the stairwell near my room had open window bays which meant I could set up a tripod and frame a nice shot. The sun rises to the image left and sets to the image right so I could have taken shot at either time. In this case I preferred the softer morning light I had this day plus the wonderful clouds over Diamond Head. Aloha!

Bob

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