urban decay

Elmira Junk Yard

in ,

During today’s travel to Hornell, NY, I pointed the jeep up a random dirt road. Steep, brush-covered and winding, I was eager to see where it led. I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the top. I spent about an hour making the below photographs before getting back on the road.

1/1000 sec @ f/4, ISO 100, 35mm, Sony A7C II

1/1600 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 100, 14mm, Sony A7C II

1/160 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100, 14mm, Sony A7C II

1/30 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 125, 14mm, Sony A7C II

1/30 sec @ f/8.0, 250, 14mm, Sony A7C II

1/30 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 160, 14mm, Sony A7C II

1/30 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 320, 14mm, Sony A7C II

Abandoned Farm School

in ,

It was bitter cold today, so I decided to spend it inside. Ha! It has been ages since I’ve been able to get out with my camera and create some images. Fatherhood is wonderful and takes up nearly all of my time (And I love it), but I really enjoyed myself this morning, stomping around these ruins wearing an N-95 mask.

You can view the full gallery of this morning’s images here.

HDR, 5 exposures, f/4.0, ISO 160, 14mm, Sony A7CII

1/500 sec, f/4, ISO 100, 14mm, Sony A7CII

1/30 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1000, 14mm, Sony A7CII

Gdansk

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I spent last week in Gdansk, Poland on a work trip. I brought my camera with me of course. I was fortunate enough to spend one morning walking the streets of this beautiful town in peace and quiet, starting my walk at 4:30am and ending around 7:00am. Below are a few of my favorite images from this walk. Though you can see a complete gallery of images here.

Gdansk has quite a bit of visual history from World War II, that I could actually feel while walking around. Many of the buildings in the town remain preserved in various states of disrepair. It was a surreal experience to run my fingers over the bullet holes in the walls of these buildings. It was quite easy to picture soldiers shooting at each other through windows and doorways. I could visualize men fighting in the streets and seeking cover among the municipal features of this town and others like it. My grandfather was one of them. It must have been just awful.

1/60 sec at f/6.8, ISO 100, 24mm, Leica M11P

1/100 sec at f/5.6, ISO 64, 24mm, Leica M11P

1/45 sec at f/11, ISO 6400, 24mm, Leica M11P

Leica M11 P

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Yesterday I traded my Leica Q2, Leica MP 240 and a little bit of cash for my ultimate dream camera; the Leica M11 P.  This is their latest rangefinder. I also picked up a Leica Elmar 24mm prime to go along with this camera body. While it’s not the fastest lens at f/3.5, it is a great angle for me. I love shooting wide. So far I am absolutely loving this camera. The colors and tones continue to please me. This image was not altered in anyway; this is straight from camera :)

1/350 sec at f/4.8, ISO 64, 24mm, Leica M11P

Cuautitlan, Mexico

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A recent business trip took me to Cuautitlan, Mexico, where I spent a free Saturday walking around with my Leica Q2, capturing whatever I found interesting. I’m finding that a my eye is starting to gravitate towards minimalist scenes and negative space.

1/800 Sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/320 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

South Otselic Fish Hatchery

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Driving home from upstate NY, I stopped by this old NY DEC Fish Hatchery to catch some frogs with my son. Onsite, there is an old building that I’ve driven past since my teenage years, and have always wanted to photograph. Built in 1932, it’s old weathered paint and classic framing is attractive to me. The hatchery itself originally raised bass but was home to trout and walleye over the years as well.

1/4000 sec at f/4.0, ISO 500, 24mm, Sony A7C II

1/1250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 500, 35mm, Sony A7C II

County Road 217

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Passing through Port Crane, NY, on my way home from the Adirondacks, this set of attractive buildings had me pulling over to make this photo. What first caught my attention was the set of windows on the front face of the blue building. The weathered tones on it’s side further drew me in and the complimentary colors of its red accents and neighboring building sealed the deal on this scene as a must make photo.

1/1000 sec at f/4.8, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

Falls Bridge

in

Driving back from Lindenwold, NJ today, I passed the Falls Bridge and had to stop to enjoy it. A sucker for bridges, I spent some time admiring it’s construction and played Frogger while making these images. Again; orange and blue coupled with decay is always a recipe for interest to me. Reading up on this bridge I learned that it was built utilizing the Pratt Truss design. 

1/2000 sec, at f/4.0, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/2000 sec at f/4.0, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

Sabreliner

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I enjoyed making these images for a few reasons. Firstly I’m an airplane nut. I’ve always loved planes. Secondly, the plane’s deteriorated condition also appeals to me. I enjoy the esthetic of decay/patina on objects. Wear, use, and neglect make items and scenes more interesting to me. Lastly, orange and blue is one of my favorite color combinations. All of these facets combine to make this T-39 Sabreliner so cool looking.

1/1000 sec at f/2.4, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/180 sec at f/4.8, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/160 at F/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/80 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

DC-3

in

Driving past the Champlain Valley Educational Services Aeronautical Institute, in Plattsburgh, NY, I noticed an old DC-3 basking in the evening sun. It has always been dream of mine to photograph a true airplane graveyard out west. This is the closest I’ve come to doing so. As a licensed aircraft mechanic I’ve always had a fond interest in aviation and just had to pull in and make a few images.

1/125 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/250 sec at f/3.4, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/750 sec at f/2.4, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/1000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

Into blue hour

in

Took a walk around my neighborhood this evening as the sun set. Wish I had passed by this scene about 20 minutes earlier to catch it covered in that wonderful golden light. I’ve made images of this car before, but I like tonight’s results better.

Golden Hour

in ,

Driving home from the grocery store this evening, I was glad as ever to have my camera with me. Which made me realize that I’ve learned a couple of valuable lessons over the years.

One is that taking my camera with me everywhere I go has given me huge rewards. It’s not that I get “banger” photos every time I use it- because that is definitely not the case. It’s more that I am so happy that I get to use it when I want to. I sometimes have a hard time enjoying a scene when I don’t have my camera with me to capture it. Not always. But sometimes. Like I learned in the Boy Scouts: Be prepared.

The other is that if I want to make great photos, I need to seek the light. Not the subject. So many times I’ve gone to a known subject (truck, building, scene etc) but the light was not cooperating and I left frustrated. Instead, I’m now realizing that I need to go where the light is. Only then, are the possibilities of making a photo available. No duh right?

Leica MP

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Using the last 30 minutes of light, this evening, I was able to get out and test my new Leica MP(240). I am absolutely loving it. Below are just some test images I took, of interesting patterns, while figuring out the best settings and how to manually focus for proper exposure. These are a little dark. Though the evening light was quickly fading. These were shot using a TTArtisan 21mm, f/1.5 lens.

1/1500 sec at f/3.4, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P

1/1500 sec at f/3.4, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P

1/500 sec at f/4.0, ISO 1000, 21mm, Leica M240P