This weekend Calumet had an Urban workshop that was sponsered by Tamron/Bogen/Fuji Film with Pro photographer Don Gale. He does some great work, and even though I didn't learn as much as I thought I should have taken in, I did take in some great info which I hadn't known prior to the workshop.
Being next to a pro put things into perspective for me also. It pushed me to want to be better, especially after seeing him Tag behind me as I was finding shot after shot while we were walking around. Don does mostly Landscape/Floral work, and had a successful wedding photography business when he was first starting out, so it was nice to be able to show a pro a few things. He has a great eye for lighting, and I would definitely do another workshop with him should one come around these parts.
He also inspired me to try new things. The main thing being doing everything Manually in the camera. Setting the aperture, setting the shutter speed, and focusing manually. I used to use aperture value, which allowed me to pick how much light I let in, but the camera figured out the shutter speed. And I almost exclusively used Auto focus, but no longer! After seeing the photos from this weekend, my photos are so much more crisp and sharp than when I used AF. It's going to take some getting used to, but something I want to do and perfect as time rolls on. There was a few times this weekend when I heard bikes, aimed the camera, and forgot I was going all manual, and missed the shots cause I thought everything was going to be done for me lol.
I picked out a few of my favorites from the weekend to share with you all (all 27 of you haha, I need more friends).
I hope you enjoy, and make sure you tell your friends about me and send them over!
(ps. these photos are going to have some story behind them, which is kinda a first for me. Sorry if it bores any of you)
Our afternoon adventure around old city started at the Hard Rock, and while we were waiting for everyone to arrive, I decided to start snapping some photos. I enjoy people watching very much, and love to take photos of others taking photos.
This was another shot I took at the Hard Rock. She was part of our group.
This building is right next to the PA Convention Center, the angles and shapes it gives are just amazing. It's also amazing that one building can contain hundreds of photo opps. Some of you may remember this building from a few months back...
 Same building, different crop, different lighting.
I believe this is the oldest synagogue (shit im half jewish and I cant even spell it right haha) in the United States. And as you can all see, it contains one of my favorite subjects when it comes to Urban landscapes, Fire Escapes!
I saved the best image (or atleast my favorite image from the day) for last. This was taken outside of St. Peters Church. When I saw how the lighting was hitting the side of the building, I instantly began shooting. A title for the image at hand was almost designated as soon as I saw the shot, and so I called it "Night and Day".
I hope you enjoyed these. Comments and constructive criticism are always very welcome.
|
Same building, different crop, different lighting.
