2012, Day 98 - Dirty bits

Okay, I admit it, I'm a flower perv.  I like the look of flower junk.  Although I have no idea what kind of flower this is it caught my eye as I was walking by but it wasn't the violet color that I noticed but what looked like golden barley in its' center.  It's dirty but I like it...

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/40 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 97 - Purity

It's odd, some of the camellias are just reaching their peak while others bloomed weeks ago and all that remains is their discolored petals on the ground decaying into the ground.  This particular flower stood out because there was a gap in the foliage behind it so it was more easily isolated.  I love the unblemished petals and almost perfect form, I walked around the bush twice in search of the perfect flower and while there are others I liked this the best; when you have a static subject you can take your time.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 96 - Oyster

This photo is from my Saturday adventuring with Brian Matiash around the remaining industrial areas of northwest Portland.  Although the Pearl district has been expanding the boom that brought it from a seedy area of drug users and heavy industry into a yuppy haven has come to a near standstill.  It grew quickly and values climbed even faster but some of the veneer is cracking.  To my mind that isn't a bad thing, it isn't want Portland wants to be really, the Pearl is inhabited by people with money but without imagination, the eat and shop at chains instead of patronizing local business because the thought of something new and unfamiliar is unsettling to them and most the the establishments in their neighborhood need corporate backing to afford the absurd rents.  Who would have thought that there was such a thing as a yuppy ghetto?  Fortunately they are still hemmed in by the river and an impenetrable wall of industry that the city is dead set on preserving.  So as they some and go from their condos of glass and concrete in the luxury of their German cars the rest of us feel fortunate that they aren't brave enough to invade our neighborhoods and drive prices up and local businesses out.  The Pearl may be the most apt description imaginable because it is a pretty little thing with more shine than substance encased in an exterior that is rather unpleasant to most but what the pearl doesn't understand is that the shell is there for our protection as much as its own.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
35mm, f11, 1/200 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 95 - High key

Clematis are an amazing family of climbing vines.  Their flowers and colors are so varied and while they are a mainstay in gardens throughout the world their roots are in Asia.  It's funny how some things become so commonplace that we forget about their origins.

It was a cold wet day today and although you can't tell by this photo it was taken in the rain.  I deliberately overexposed this photo first because all that white tricks the camera's meter but also because I wanted something a little more high key.  The important details are intact although some highlights are a little blown out but the effect is what I wanted.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 320 ISO

2012, Day 94 - Sunset robbery

Tonight's photo was taken last night with Brian Matiash along Portland's scenic waterfront.  The skies were so rich and the colors vibrant but playing with the photos for a while I decided to see what it would look like in black and white.  I was so pleased with the results that I didn't mind losing the color in the sky because there is more than enough texture to make up for its absence.  In this case less is more and I am quite taken with the results.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Sigma 50/f1.4EX
50mm, f8, HDR of 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, and 1/15 sec @ 200 ISO

2012, Day 93 - Dreaming

Today we had a respite from the rain, temperatures reached the sixties and we had a beautiful sunset.  I had to take advantage of the good weather, I knew I would be kicking myself if I stayed in this evening.  Given the conditions I tried another timelapse, the video hasn't processed yet but I am hopeful.  As the evening's shooting was coming to an end I saw this plane in the sky against the evening clouds.

It has been over a year since I traveled seriously and I am itching to pack my bags.  Unfortunately times are still a bit tight so as I processed this photograph I thought about all the places I want to go.  Central America is high on my list, a number of friends have been to Cambodia in recent years and spoke highly of their experiences, and I've never made it to Europe though I am undecided as to where I would like to go but I have been toying with the idea of Christmas in Spain.  There are just so many possibilities and that's what dreaming is about...

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f2.8, 1/5000 sec @ 800 ISO

2012, Day 92 - Tears of a flower

Ugh, another day of wet weather.  It could be worse and I should be grateful that the worst weather here don't flatten neighborhoods or lead to the earth opening up to swallow me whole.  The upshot to all of our wet weather is that our gardens flourish and there are flowers everywhere.  Maybe that's why I take so many pictures of flowers, to remind me why it is worth getting wet all winter long...

Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f5.6, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO