2012, Day 81 - Beam & Anchor

This morning I have the pleasure of visiting Beam & Anchor's studio space.  It is home to furniture makers, upholsterers, and practitioners of the fine arts.  Actually, that statement is a bit unfair because everyone who works out of that space is an artist but perhaps not in the a strictly conventional sense.  The proprietors, Robert and Jocelyn, are justifiably proud of what they're doing so I was able to get the nickel tour.  They will have retail space on the lower level and I can't wait to see what they will have when they're ready to throw open their doors to the public.  From what I saw it should be fantastic!

Canon T3i, Sigma 50/f1.4EX
50mm, f2, 1/100 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 80 - Midnight maintenance

This photograph was the one after which I said to myself, "I'm done."  In reviewing it on the back of my camera I was certain that I captured what I wanted.  That's not to say it is perfect, I would have preferred that the Union Pacific obelisk further from the center but to the right there was a huge floodlight that would have been distracting and to my left there were a lot of trees and brambles that would obstruct the view because, you see, this was taken from the concrete barrier along the side of a freeway onramp.

I sat there, checking my composition, looking over my shoulder to make sure there were not semis coming (their draft was tremendous and could have caused camera vibration), and trying to keep warm.  When the trucks weren't barreling past you could hear the ding ding ding of the warning bells as train after train entered the rail yard.  I like that all the distractions of real life are absent and the yard have a feeling of tranquility, the stillness that we witness only at night.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Sigma 50/f1.4EX
50mm, f5.6, merged layers of 2.5, 5, and 10 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 79 - Before and after

I thought tonight I would post a little before and after.  This is another photo from Saturday night taken where I-405 and I-5 intersect.  Last night I posted a photo of the highways taken from a distance and is the same place but taken from a different angle.  I am astonished that what looks so well-ordered from a distance appears to be a chaotic mess close up.

Below the processed (over-processed?) finished photo is the image straight out of the camera with the only adjustment being for white balance.  From there I toned to add texture, ran a high pass filter to create definition, and then an exposure overlay to balance out the lightness of the intersecting roads.  The result is a high contrast and slightly gritty/dirty looking urban scene!

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 17-40/f4L
17mm, f8, 8 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 78 - Confluence

Last night I went out adventuring with my friend Julie.  She was relying on me to take her somewhere interesting to shoot because she's a country girl and I live in the city.  Well, there was a false start when I tried taking us to an industrial area but accessibility was poor so we left and went to try another area I had kind of scouted previously and success!

This is the interchange where I-5 and I-405 meet right by the Union Pacific rail yard.  I love the graceful arcing lines of the freeways as they intersect, it almost looks like someone was starting to build a basket out of our highway system.  You could hear the muted roar of cars passing overhead and the chiming of bells as trains entered and exited the yard.  It was a nice night to be running about and enjoying some of the lesser seen sides of Portland.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 17-40/f4L
20mm, f8, 13 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 77 - Morning sun

Yesterday, while walking the dogs, the clouds broke and we got some of that odd early morning light that has the warm orange cast more typical of the later afternoon.  These flowers caught my eye because they look so lush growing from a thick carpet of moss.  Once the dogs were back in the house I dashed back with my camera and this is, I think, my favorite shot.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Sigma 50/f1.4EX and Canon Extension Tube EF12 II
50mm, f4, 1/400 sec @ 640 ISO

2012, Day 76 - Frankie Friday

It has been almost three weeks since Frankie came home and in that time he has proven to be a wonderful companion.  He is respectful of the other dogs, walks so well he has graduated from the harness, cleans his bowl most of the time, and sleeps soundly through the night.  My erratic comings and goings no longer upset him, I work from home but leave daily and rarely at the same time two days in a row, but he knows I will be back.  There are only two things we're still working on.  The first is coming when called. He knows his name but often waits to see what the others dogs are doing and if they make no move he hangs back with them.  It's okay, being singled out can be daunting, he will get the hang of it.  Second, he loves his naps a little too much.  There are times I have to carry him outside for a walk.  It doesn't matter if he doesn't have to answer the call of nature, but I want him to participate in the household activities.  Plus, I am sure if I left him at home he would be upset that he wasn't included...

In the photo below I Frankie was napping in his favorite chair.  When I first pressed the shutter release he opened his eyes and this is the second shot.  I really like the smooth bokeh of Sigma's 50/f1.4, it really blows the Canon 50/f1.4 out of the water but it is a much more fiddly lens.  Nevertheless the results make it worth the hassle.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Sigma 50/f1.4EX
50mm, f2, 1/100 sec @ 1000 ISO

2012, Day 75 - Remains

After getting thoroughly soaked twice today while walking the dogs I felt that a picture with a little warmth might be nice.  I suppose I could have gone further back into the archives to find something even more suitable but this one caught my eye.  The haphazard remains of the puddles, the reflection, the blue sky and the fire-damaged walls were enough for me.

This warehouse now looks almost like a campsite.  There is evidence of squatters everywhere, they have left messages and trash when they have moved on or been forcibly ejected.  On a clear days it is probably not a bad place to take refuge as there are a few cozy niches to be found and the neighborhood have relatively little traffic after the end of the business day.  There is something sad though, it is the same feeling you have after a party when everyone has gone and you're left with a mess to clean up and an eerily quiet house.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f4, merged layers of 1/40 and 1/20 sec @ 100 ISO