Tag: fpj-photo-challenge

Mirror Mirror

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Mirror by jansenphotojansenphoto (jansenphoto)

Reflect well upon the world!

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography. This week's theme is mirror.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Mirror by jansenphotojansenphoto (jansenphoto)

Reflect well upon the world!

I had very little time for the Tuesday Photo Challenge this week. During the week I had researched several ideas hoping I would find the time to explore one of two of them. However, between the studio still life class on Saturday morning, my niece’s birthday party on Saturday night, and Sunday brunch with a former colleague and his wife, I had just a few hours to get something done.

While doing my research on the word mirror, I found inspiration in an image by Flickr user f/otographer. This particular user has taken an image of himself in the mirror through the front element of one of his lenses.

I decided to try this myself, but it was not an easy task. The only mirrors we have in our home are in our bathroom. That was my studio. The lens is an Asahi Pentax SMC Takumar 50 mm f/1.4 lens that I detached from my father’s Asahi Optical Co. Pentax Spotmatic II. I held the glass out in front of my Nikon and attempted to find a combination of focal lengths and apertures that allowed the image in the mirror to be in focus. It was challenging to get the focus point of the Takumar just right. I got a few good shots, but the image was slightly off centre.

Mirror Mirror —

Nikon D5100 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ (55 mm, f/8.0, ISO6400), © Khürt L. Williams

It was time to leave to meet my colleague for brunch, so I packed the camera, and we drove into Princeton. We parked close to the restaurant. We shivered under our coats as a cold, dank drizzle added and the gloomy grey skies enhanced the feeling of the miserable day. As we walked past the outside sidewalk of the restaurant, I stopped to take a photo of this woman sitting inside. She was drinking a cup of coffee while reading. Once inside I realised that there were a lot of seats in the interior of the restaurant. I think she chose the window set intentionally. I was fascinated by this woman and wanted to take more photos. I just loved the way she looked sitting there lost in whatever she was reading. But my family seemed embarrassed by my use of the camera, so I put it away.

It was not until I got home and looked through the images that I realised that I had taken my “mirror” shot. I don’t know what prompted me to snap that photo. But I think that after consciously trying so hard to capture “mirror” my subconscious had seen the image and just “knew”.

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography. This week's theme is mirror.

Land

When I was a boy my dad would to take us to sit on the roof terrace of the E.T. Joshua airport and just watch the four and six seater propeller planes land and takeoff. The airport was in the aptly named Arnos Vale.

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography. This week's theme is "land".

Saturday

Growing up, Dad had this thing for dragging us kids to the airport. Perched on the rooftop deck of the E.T. Joshua Airport, we'd watch these four and six-seater dual-prop beauties zip in and out. The airport in Arnos Vale had its charm. At home in Dorsetshire Hill, using Dad's trusty binoculars, we'd spot these planes making their way in from the Caribbean Sea right from the house’s south-facing veranda. But there was something about being right there, at the airport. Maybe it was the roar of the propellers or the pungent whiff of jet fuel, but man, it just got to me. I loved every bit of it.

Yesterday was brutally cold and windy, with the mercury dipping to -2°C. The wind chill made it feel more like a bitter -6°C. Despite the weather, I headed over to Princeton Airport, despite the chill. The cold was still biting even under my wool coat, multiple layers, thick socks, gloves, a hat, and a hoodie.

When I arrived, I went straight to the reception at Princeton Airport and met two gentlemen there, Steve and Parth.

Earlier this week, I emailed the airport and got the green light to snap pictures of the planes for the Tuesday Photo Challenge. So, Steve and Parth handed me an airport map, pointing out the safe spots to stand and shoot. They wanted to ensure I didn't get in the way of the student pilots.

From where I stood on the field, I had a clear view of the planes landing. My lens of choice was the AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8, but it didn't take me long to realise it didn't have the reach I needed. Through my viewfinder, the planes were like distant birds nearing the runway. With my sightline level with the planes, they practically vanished into the scrubby horizon as they touched down. Safe to say, it wasn't quite going to plan.

I decided to switch it up and moved to the runway's far end, hugging the airport's southern fence. My shots improved, but the lack of zoom was still biting me. I might've been in better shape if I had been nearer the landing strip or had a telephoto lens. Anyway, I did manage to snag one decent shot, which I posted.

Sunday

Dark-eyed junco
Dark-eyed junco · Sunday 5 February 2017 · Nikon D5100 at 1/1000 sec, ISO 250 · AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G at f/1.8

I found myself standing, lost in thought, by the kitchen window. I had just brewed a pot of freshly ground coffee, savouring the distinct taste of South American beans. I watched the small birds zig-zagging between the trees and the pair of bird feeders I had installed some years back. Bhavna often points out that I've now taken on the role of guardian for these feathered creatures, constantly reminding me to keep the feeders stocked.

I wanted to set up a laser-based camera trigger to capture bird photographs. Unfortunately, the Kickstarter project I backed to produce the laser-guided system shut down last week. Their initial project was unsuccessful, and it seems they never bounced back. Consequently, my bird project never took flight (pun intended). I was disappointed and angry.

Bhavna was under the weather this weekend. But this morning, as she awoke, I enthusiastically pointed out the spectacle of about a dozen birds feasting outside our kitchen window. She turned to me and said, "You know, birds make landings too". That revelation astounded me! Why hadn't that thought crossed my mind?

With renewed excitement, I positioned my camera next to the sliding door and started capturing photos. I managed to take around two hundred shots in total, not an easy task considering how swiftly these small birds move. Many of my frames were empty; many images were blurry. I increased the shutter speed and carried on. The focus isn't perfect, and the depth of field is quite narrow, but I captured one excellent image of a bird landing within that hour.

The bird in the picture is a sparrow known as the Dark-eyed Junco. I uploaded the photo to the Merlin Bird ID app for confirmation from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Tuesday Photo Challenge - Abandoned

Along the trail were some abandoned buildings.

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography. This week's theme is abadoned.

I had been thinking about what I might do for the weekly challenge all week. Because of my workday time constraints, I do most of my photography during the weekend. Initially, I had thought to photograph an abandoned barn along Route 206 in Skillman. I have passed the dilapidated barn many times over the last sixteen years. I am always curious about it but have never stopped for a photo. I guess I am afraid of being called out for trespassing.

I woke up on Saturday morning, made breakfast, and performed my daily coffee routine. I sat down at the computer, opened Google Maps in a browser and typed in "abandoned places". Google found a handful of places "nearby" if by nearby, you mean driving one hour or more. I found an abandoned high school building forty-five minutes away in Lambertville, but further research showed that it had been demolished in 2012. Frustrated, I tried again, using the keywords "abandoned building near Princeton".

I got exactly one result for Princeton. From Google Maps entry, I could see that Herrontown Woods Arboretum had a hiking trail. Along the trail were some abandoned buildings. I found a trail map on the New Jersey Trail Association website and prepared my camera bag.

My wife, Bhavna, awoke just as I was about to leave. We chatted about our plans for the day, and she offered to go out with me; soon after, she had a quick breakfast. I was happy for the company. Herrontown Woods Arboretum is less than two miles from our home, but because of my illness, I always feel better when I have someone with me when I am out in the woods.

We took the red trail to a fork from the parking lot in the trail and walked through an opening in the fence. We followed what appeared to be a new "green-white" path and found the abandoned property quite quickly.

An active farm, deeded to Mercer County by Princeton University mathematician Oswald Veblen and his wife Elizabeth in 1957, occupied the southeastern part of the woods, including the cottage clearing with its now-abandoned house and barn. Wood-cutting for timber sales continued through the 1920s. The Levine tract, additional land on the eastern side of the woods acquired in the early 1970s, had seen traprock quarrying around the beginning of the 20th century. ~ New Jersey Trail Association

We walked around, exploring the property. Bhavna was quite patient while I kneeled in the grass, composing one shot after another. I wasn't happy with the photos I was getting. The buildings were abandoned, but my compositions were not capturing the feeling.

I also felt that the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8 was not the right lens. I bought the lens for landscape photography; at the time, I wanted a wide DX lens. But I now regret the purchase. I think a 16mm f/2.8 DX lens (24mm full-frame equivalent) would have been a better choice. I am starting to regret the purchase.

We walked the path over to the abandoned barn and barn house. While I tried compositions with the barn house, Bhavna explored the barn. She peeked through an opening in the door and spotted an abandoned bathtub. I took some photos from outside, with the door ajar and part of the tub visible. I planned to create an HDR. I could also see the bathtub through a small hole in the side of the barn. I took a few more shots using the hole to frame what I could see of the bathtub. Eventually, I ventured inside. Someone had placed the tub in the middle of the room with two rocks inside.

Who placed a bathtub inside a barn? Why right in the middle? Who put the rocks inside the tub? What was the purpose of the rocks? How long had the bathtub sat here? I looked around, but I saw no signs of any plumbing. All I saw were leaves and other debris. I realised I had found my "abandoned" photograph.

I captured three bracketed exposures and combined them in Photomatix. I then applied a Kodak Ektachrome 100 film emulation preset.

After a few more experimental portrait shots with my Bhavana as my model, we decided to head back to the car. Bhavana was feeling cold, some snow flurries were coming down, and we were concerned about losing the trail path if the snowfall was heavy.

With more than three miles of hiking trails, Herrontown Woods Arboretum is on the eastern end of Princeton Ridge. We got "lost" on our way back. We were on the green trail but somehow ended up on the white trail before finding the red path back to the parking area. It was like having a mini-adventure. We encountered intermittent streams that wound along our return trip to the parking lot.

I want to return to the Herrontown Woods Arboretum in the Spring, Summer, and Fall.