iPhone Photos

Sometimes I get tired of carrying around my big digital SLR with several lenses to capture images. Lately, I've decided to just use my iPhone 3G camera to take interesting photos. Since I carry the phone with me at all times (even while jogging) I keep an open eye out for things to shoot.

I ususally do minor editing to the iPhone photo with several iPhone applications.

The Best Camera Application

Photoshop iPhone Application

Paris

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Classic View from Place de la Concorde

One of the fountains at Place de la Concorde makes a perfect foreground to a iconic landmark.

Eiffel Tower and Vendor Artwork

While out on a Photo Tour I spotted this display of artwork hoping to catch the eye and admiration of the tourists visiting the Trocadéro area.

Fireworks Photography

Last night I walked down the street to the Avenue de Saxe in Paris to photograph the fireworks show over the Eiffel Tower. This was my first attempt to shoot fireworks, but I've researched it enough on the Internet to feel I could capture some good images.

First, I was totally surprised by the number of people outside our apartment at 10:45pm. When I arrived at the the Avenue de Saxe it was impossible to find a good spot to set up my tripod because of the large number of people already there.

I found a relatively good spot with an almost straight on view of the Tower. I set up the tripod, attached the Nikon D300 with a cable release cord. I set the camera to manual mode, set my ISO to 200, f/stop to f/8.0 and shutter speed to Bulb. I would guess with each exposure regarding the length of time I needed to keep the shutter open.

It wasn't totally dark around 11:00pm so I tested several shots and only needed about a one second exposure to capture the Tower and not have it overexposed.

Once the fireworks started I just keep firing the cable release and holding the button down for about a second. I could see instantly on the LCD screen if I needed a bit longer or shorter exposure. I learned quickly it really depended on what the fireworks were doing. If there were lots of fireworks going off and the sky was filled with light, I didn't need a full second.

I kept firing as the sky exploded with multiple colors of light. It wasn't hard to capture the big bursts. Once the big burst started to grow, I hit the cable release and held it down for about a second, viewed the LCD and liked what I saw.

The sky behind the Eiffel Tower was very dramatic so I decided to add it to the composition rather than go in tight with a longer lens. After about 20 minutes and 268 images later, I packed up and walked the one block back home.

Statue of Liberty in Paris

Happy Fouth of July

In appreciation for the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, Americans living in Paris erected a small replica, about 35 feet high, of the Statue of Liberty. It is mounted next to the Pont de Grenelle, a bridge crossing the Seine, 1.5 km South of the Eiffel Tower.

Photographic opportunites at Notre Dame

The other day I went to Notre Dame to climb the 387 stairs to the top of the South Tower to photograph the view and specifically the legendary gargoyles. I arrived at the tour entrance at 9:00, an hour before the 10:00 opening time. The lines get long, fast.

However, on this particular day a sign outside the door read “Today we open at 11:00”. I decided to wait it out and pass the time photographing inside the cathedral as photography is permitted inside as long as no flash in used.

The cathedral is massive in size and the ornate sculptures, stained glass windows, high ceilings, chandeliers, and unique light make for interesting photographic subjects. I could have spent much longer than an hour inside, but I wanted to get back to the tour line at 10:00.

Nikon D300, 50mm f/1.8, 1/40 s at f/1.8, ISO 500, WB Auto

Nikon D300, 50mm f/1.8, 1/50 s at f/1.8, ISO 1000, WB Auto

Nikon D300, 50mm f/1.8, 1/80 s at f/1.8, ISO 800, WB Auto

I went back to the tour entrance at 10:00 and was the first person in line. I pulled out a book and started to read. A line of over 100 people quickly formed behind me by 10:20.

After climbing an unknown number of well worn stairs I arrived at the Chimera gallery. All along this narrow walkway you can see the many different gargoyle creatures. Figuring the gargoyles would be shaded or at least many stops below the bright view of Paris I took along a Nikon SB-800 flash to throw some fill light into the gargoyles to pick up some detail in the stone creatures.

I shoot with the Nikon D300 which allows wireless flash through their Creative Lighting System (CLS). I put the camera in manual mode; spot metered off the bright skyline, got my reading, but decided I wanted the clouds to look a bit more dramatic so I underexposed the sky by about a full stop. I then used the in camera flash commander to control my flash. I set the flash to ¼ power to start knowing I only wanted to pick up some detail. It was hard to see how the gargoyles were being lit because the bright daylight was making it difficult to see my LCD. I figured I’d take lots of photos with different flash powers to be on the safe side.

Nikon D300, 18mm-35mm, 1/2000 s at f/10.0, ISO 400, WB Auto, Nikon SB-800 Flash

Nikon D300, 18mm-35mm, 1/1600 s at f/10.0, ISO 400, WB Auto, Nikon SB-800 Flash

Nikon D300, 18mm-35mm, 1/320 s at f/14.0, ISO 400, WB Auto, Nikon SB-800 Flash

Nikon D300, 18mm-35mm, 1/1600 s at f/9.0, ISO 400, WB Auto, Nikon SB-800 Flash

Nikon D300, 18mm-35mm, 1/2500 s at f/5.6, ISO 400, WB Auto,

Panoramic Image made with four images, Merged with Photoshop CS4, Photomerge

After spending about an hour and a half photographing the gargoyles and the views I decided it was time to head down. Once I started down the skinny spiral staircase, I started viewing the images and was very happy with the results.

Sky high view of Paris

View of Paris from the observation deck of the Montparnasse Building. My first attempt using HDR software from PhotoMatrix. Not perfect, but kind of cool.

Artistic feel to the Eiffel Tower

It was getting dark, I didn't have a tripod so I took advantage of the fact I was only getting blurry images. I set the camera to manual focus mode and put the Eiffel Tower slightly out of focus. I played around with different exposures I liked and this is what I came up with.

Photo of the Day

Here is an example of taking a boring image with gray sky and turning into something else. Like it or not, it's completely different from the original.

Before:

After:

The second image was converted in Photoshop CS4 into black and white and then using NIK's Color Effect Pro 3.0 Film Grain plug-in I added more grain to the image to make it appear older. Lastly, I used a FotoFrame Pro 3.1 to add the frame and texture to the photo.

Photos of the Day

Today I ventured out, while Delaney was at school and Gina flew to Madrid for a meeting, to start photographing the many wonderful scenes Paris has to offer. I picked the area around the Trocadero figuring there would be photo ops with the Tower Eiffel in the background. Below are a few I came up with.

Nikon D300, ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/800, WB Auto
Lens 70-200mm f/2.8, with Monopod

Nikon D300, ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/250, WB Auto
Lens 70-200mm f/2.8, with Monopod


Nikon D300, ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/1000, WB Auto
Lens 70-200mm f/2.8, with Monopod

Photo of the Day

This image of the Tower Eiffel was taken around noon and under bad lighting conditions. The sun was shining brightly on my left. I thought I'd try and take advantage of the lighting conditions and let the sun glare enter the frame (bottom left area). I liked the color image, but thought I could do more with the image. In photoshop I converted it into a black and white and then selectively blurred parts of the image.

Nikon D300, ISO 400, f/ 4.0, 1/5000, WB Auto

Photos of the Day

First shots taken after arriving at our new home in Paris, France.

This shot was taken one block from our new apartment in Paris.
D2X, 100ISO, f/8.0, 5 seconds, Auto WB

Taken New Year's Eve just before midnight on the Pont de l'Alma

D300, 200 ISO, f/8.0, 7 seconds, Auto WB