Tag Archives: iphone 5

On The Road: Southern California

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106º F is hot! How hot? So hot that when you stick your arm out the window doing 75 MPH it still feels hot! Like burning uncomfortably hot! Wind chill factor did not seem to apply. This was somewhere along I-10 just south of Joshua Tree National Park. I’d never experienced heat that great before, and I’ll be fine if I never do again.

It was 6 hours on the road through the southern California desert, on our way to Oceanside. We’d left Phoenix earlier that morning and had the A/C cranking nonstop. The temperature had dropped to 102º by the time we reached the Dinosaurs of Cabazon. So, you know… cool! Despite the heat we couldn’t resist that famous roadside attraction. Americana at it’s weirdest!

Eventually, jumped back in the air conditioned compact and pushed on to the coast to visit with family, attend nephew’s wedding, hangout by the beach and just generally explore Oceanside, California. Which, by the way, never broke 80º our entire stay.

dinosaur. roadside attractions. Southern california. I-10

Rachel and a Cabazon Dinosaur.

jessica and brendan at their wedding rehearsal.

Wedding practice in Oceanside.

wedding planner. this is not a rehearsal! It's the real thing!

The wedding planner keeping us in line.

flower girl at wedding in oceanside, ca.

Flower girl.

silhouette of man under oceanside pier. oceanside, california.

Timing the surging waves under the Oceanside pier.

surfer paddling out past the breakers. Oceanside, ca.

Paddling out past the breakers.

beach comber on oceanside beach. Oceanside, ca. early morning.

Early morning stroll along the Oceanside beach.

Wildlife Photography with an iPhone.

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Move slowly, be patient. This is my mantra when it comes to wildlife. And it is especially important when you’re without a telephoto lens!

This morning as I walked along the C&O Canal towpath I saw a heron far up ahead as it landed on the edge of the trail. I was armed only with my iPhone so I thought I’d see how close I could get before it took off. And who knows, I thought, maybe it’ll fly in my general direction and I’ll get a shot as it soars past.

This was my first photo. (I’ve edited out many more that were repetitious and didn’t add to the story) From this point on I closed in… little by little, pausing between each small step.

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The bird did not seem troubled by my presence so I pushed on. Step… Pause… Step… Pause…

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At this point I was kind of hoping the creature would just take off and give me that nice action shot I was thinking about. A bird standing still isn’t all that remarkable. But no… It seemed to be perfectly content to hang out. So I moved closer. Step… Pause…

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Now it’s just getting ridiculous. I’m within 10 feet! It has to be feeling a little uncomfortable with this human’s presence, right? Surely you want to fly away! Apparently not.

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The heron simply saunters a few feet down the path and stops there. However, now a bicyclist is barrelling down the path toward us and I feel certain this will freak the bird out and send it on its way. Action shot to come!

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Nope. The creature casually ignores the bike and opens its wings and begins to dry itself in the sun. Its not going anywhere. OK, fine. Now I’m thinking, if it will let a mountain bike zoom past at close range I should be able to walk behind it and get a decent backlit photo from there. So I work my way slowly in that direction. (Careful to avoid that big pile of horse crap there on the left!)

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I move around the backside and get into position. This photo will be OK, I think. Not great. But OK. Then I notice the water stretching out to the right has interesting shadows and light. So I move a little further to my left. And…

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There. Much better. A groovy silhouette.

great blue heron silhouette. c&o canal nhp. potomac, maryland.

 

From start to finish this took about 15 minutes. Slow, deliberate movements, a laid back bird, and constantly on the lookout for an interesting composition, I finally ended up with this. Not bad for an iPhone, I’d say.

Thanks for tuning in.

Good light and good shooting.

iphone 5, creative lighting

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Trying a little “studio” lighting with the iPhone 5. The flash on the iPhone is fairly ridiculous, unless you’re going to use it in the daytime and then only as fill light. So I turn it off completely until I need it.

For this shot I used a flashlight with some tissue over the head and my old iPhone 3Gs (I brought up the “Reminders” app which has a mostly white background so it’s like a tiny softbox.). I laid the 3Gs flat in front of the tiki idol and then shined the flashlight on the back wall from underneath the stool the tiki was sitting on. Got some groovy shadows going and ended up with the photo below.

Of course, this is all for giggles. I don’t see doing this for actual paying gigs. But for the purpose of exercising that little creative corner of my brain, why the hell not?

 

Tiki idol cup. Lit with flashlight, shot with iPhone 5.

iPhone 5, iPhone 3Gs, Surfire flashlight, tissue paper, Tiki idol cup.

Washington DC with iPhone 5

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Back on the streets again. From Capitol Hill to Georgetown. Looking for the soul of the city. What is Washington DC all about? Is there a defining characteristic?

I can’t say I know the answer yet… Even after all these years. I just keep looking.

washington dc capitol building

Capitol Building

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

National Gallery of Art

Admiring, National Gallery of Art

In the Dutch and Flemish hall.

Window shopping in Dupont Circle, Washington DC

Window shopping, Dupont Circle

Walking past Kramer Books in Dupont Circle, Washington DC

Walking past Kramer Books in Dupont Circle

A seagull takes flight in Georgetown, Washington DC

Taking flight in Georgetown

Overlooking the Potomac River in Georgetown, Washington DC

Sun setting over the Potomac River