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April 11, 2011
personal work – Manhattan cityscapes
It’s been a long cold winter without much chance to roam around and explore with a camera. The past weekend it seemed like the weather was finally relenting and becoming warmer. Taking to the streets to shoot for myself a bit with no purpose in mind, I ended up with three images that I liked – all deserted New York city scenes. Or in the case of the image above, nearly deserted.
It felt good to let my thoughts roam for a while, getting some exercise and listening to music … looking for anything that visually appealed to me in the camera’s viewfinder.
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July 8, 2010
In 1998 I had the great opportunity to visit Madagascar to photograph stock images for a travel agent. This guitar player in one of the markets in Antananarivo caught my eye, especially with the bold colors. This photo from the archives is this week’s entry for the Alive for 365 project.
Antananarivo, Madagascar // Jan ’98
Nikon F90; Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D
81A warming filter; Fuji Sensia 100
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July 1, 2010
My entry this week for the Alive for 365 project, is another one from the archives:
A typical London taxi photographed by panning the camera. Doing so with a wide-angle lens creates additional distortion during panning, and only the centre of the photograph is left sharp.
Date: March ’93
Pentax Z-1; Pentax-FA 28-80mm f3.5-4.7 (zoomed to 28mm)
Hyper Program mode; -1 EV compensation; Fuji RDP 100 transparency film
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June 3, 2010
This alien-looking Quiver Tree is indigenous to the arid regions of southern Africa. This photograph was taken in the Namib Desert in Namibia. Apparently the tree only blossoms after 20 or 30 years and can grow to 300 years old. The nest seen in the tree is built by a community of Sociable Weaver birds. It is quite unusual for any animal species to herd in large numbers in arid regions. The large nests is an adaption by the birds, helping then keep cool during the heat of the day, and warmer during the cold nights.
This photo is my entry this week in the Alive for 365 project.
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May 6, 2010
I took this photo of the Hotel du Louvre during a trip to Paris in 1993. I carefully propped my camera against a hand-railing to steady it during the slow exposure of 1/4 second. As I took my first frame, a bus drove past. I cursed my luck and took the photograph again. (This was pre-digital, and I was poor enough that every frame of transparency film that I shot was expensive.) Anyway, I cursed my luck, thinking the bus would spoil the image I was after. However, when I saw the results, the ‘accident’ looked far better than the intended shot.
This favorite photo of mine, is this week’s entry for the Alive for 365 project.
[ Pentax Z-1; Pentax-FA 28-80mm f3.5-4.7 / Fujichrome RD 100 ]
[ Paris, France / April '93 ]
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March 11, 2010
iPhone photos: Las Vegas
As mentioned elsewhere, I attended WPPI 2010 in Las Vegas the past week to present a masterclass there. And in short, I had a great time. I just love Vegas! The constant hum of activity, and the glitziness of it, and the impressive architecture .. all of it energizes me the moment I step out of the cab from the airport.
Roaming around The Strip with some friends in the afternoons and evenings, I opted out of carrying a Nikon D3 with me all the time. It just felt like so much brute weight when I’m not working. So instead I kept it simple with just my iPhone. And as you may have heard recently, the iPhone is now the most popular camera on Flickr!
Above is a selection of some of the iPhone photos. I think they look surprisingly good for so little control over the image-taking process! The photos were manipulated with the ShakeItPhoto app on the iPhone. No other work went into these.
As for the title … well, late one evening, going down the Strip in a cab with a friend, we waited at the Flamingo intersection. And we waited. The cabbie suddenly exclaimed, “Curse you, Flamingo!” Apparently that slow intersection is the bane of all cabbies in Vegas. We feel your pain, brother.
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December 11, 2009
Nelson Mandela / Madiba
Digging deep into the archives again, re-scanning some 5×7 prints in my portfolio:
I had the pleasure of photographing Nelson Mandela, then president of South Africa, at a function in March ’98. I was one of several photographers covering the event where he addressed people attending a function.
What made this photo-shoot difficult was that NO camera flash was allowed. This was in an attempt not to aggravate eye problems the president experienced. So all photographs were taken with ambient light alone. Which is a challenge inside a dimly lit marquee tent in early evening. I remember being the only photographer there with a tripod.
Date: March ’98 - Johannesburg, South Africa
Equipment: Nikon F90x; Nikon AF-D 80-200mm f2.8
Exposure: spot-metered; tripod; 1/15th @ f2.8
Film: Fujicolor 800 Super G Plus
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President Mandela obviously enjoying the Imilonji Choir, as he dances to their vibrant singing. His warmth and lack of officiousness have endeared him even more to South Africans and people across the world. President Mandela was also affectionately known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela’s clan. The title came to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.
Date: March ’98 – Johannesburg, South Africa
Equipment: Nikon F90; Nikon AF-D 35-70mm f2.8
Exposure: matrix; handheld 1/8th @ f2.8
Film: Fujicolor 800 Super G Plus
As an unrelated anecdote: On one occasion, I even had the opportunity to shake Mandela’s hand – even if it was quite accidental …
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August 10, 2009
On the first evening on our recent trip to Cork, Ireland, we walked around the city to soak in the look and atmosphere of the place. It had just rained, so the colors really stood out .. and I was drawn to the boldness of the colors, especially of the shopfronts.
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Filed under: journeys — Neil vN @ 11:32 pm
April 28, 2006
This year I visited the WPPI and DWF conventions in Vegas again. And in-between seminars on wedding photography, and meeting with friends and colleagues, I managed to roam around a bit with my camera.
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Filed under: journeys — Neil vN @ 10:30 pm
March 29, 2005
My first visit to Vegas was in March ‘05 when I attended a photography seminar there.
In the evenings I would explore the city around the hotel. Roaming the streets, and taking it all in,
I was just in awe of the architecture and hyped by the vibe. I love Vegas!
The photographs in this gallery are essentially just record shots of what Vegas looked like.
Over-awed by the experience and with limited time, most of the photos are meant to record the wow!theyreallydothat!? impression it had on me, and to show family back home.
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Filed under: journeys — Neil vN @ 11:12 pm
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