Spinning the Washington Monument

Spinning the Washington Monument from Craig Corl on Vimeo.

Here is the link to the full screen HD version:  https://vimeo.com/58307861

With a bit of free time on my hands this morning before the full onslaught of classes, I took the opportunity to make this little project.  The process is pretty simple.  Start by picking your subject then locate it on Google maps.  Take a screen shot, then draw a circle around your subject adjusting the size of your circle so you have clear views as much as possible.  Draw lines through the center point of the circle with intersections on the perimeter of the circle.  Your goal should be between 10 and fifteen degrees between intersection.

With your shots mapped out, start shooting.  Try to line up one of the focus markers on your camera to keep your subject in the same position for each shot.  Your distance from the subject should remain constant if you are able to stay accurately on your route.  This, coupled with maintaining a constant focal length will keep your subject at a constant size.  After each shot marked on your map, continue 7 paces around your circle and take another shot.  In my case, I ended up with 66 photos.

After your shooting is complete, import your photos into your photo processing software (Lightroom 4 in my case).  My first task was straighten each photograph.  Next I selected the photo with the tip of the monument closest to the top of the screen.  I put a sticky note on my computer screen with a small arrow and aligned the peak of the monument.  I then adjusted all the other photos so the peak of the monument was aligned with my sticky note.  Finally, I adjusted the exposure and toning on each photograph to smooth the transition between photos.

I next imported all the photographs into Final Cut Pro X and set the duration of each photograph to 3 frames.  And there you have it.

Craig 

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms 2012

This year was a tough year for the cherry blossoms ringing the tidal basin in Washington DC.  With an extremely mild winter followed by an early arrival of spring, the blossoms were out well before expected. So far, these conditions are not a big deal, but when the arrival of blossoms is accompanied by high winds and rain, the blossoms were not around long.

With just a few short days to get some shots, I made two attempts.  My first attempt, shown here, was a foggy morning that provided a unique view of the tidal basin.  On my second attempt, a clear morning with a wonderful sunrise, there were so many people around the tidal basin, I could not find a parking spot and eventually gave up.

With a large portfolio of photos of the annual arrival of the cherry blossoms, I counted myself lucky to get these shots with a wonderfully foggy back drop.

I will be back soon with more of the blossoms in the fog.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Part 2

In my last post, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, MLK Jr. Day 2012,I shared some photography of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial taken on the holiday of his namesake.  Today I am sharing a few more photos from that shoot.

I decided to present these separately because the two groups of photographs are dramatically different and tell very different stories.  The previous set is an intense portrayal of monument and the man it represents.

These photos tell a partial story of how people interact with the memorial.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, MLK Jr. Day 2012

Today marks the first day visitors to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial can celebrate the legacy of civil rights leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. at his memorial which opened in the fall of 2011.  With the expectation of tremendous crowds, I decided to visit the memorial on Sunday.

Enjoy the photography, and take a moment to consider the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.


Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Lincoln Memorial – One Up, One Down

Living in Washington DC, I am often challenged with photographing and processing subjects I have seen thousands of times.  Frequently I find myself asking how can I make something new and interesting of a subject I have shot hundreds of times.  In the case of this photograph, I was wandering around DC on a foggy morning and had no intention of shooting the Lincoln Memorial.

As I was walking to another location I wanted to shoot, I looked over and saw these two men – one walking up the steps and the other coming down.  This interested me for two reasons; 1) rarely is the Lincoln Memorial so devoid of visitors, and 2) the juxtaposition of one man going up and another coming down.

I cropped the photo to this panoramic composition to further accentuate the two subjects in front of the memorial.  I am a firm believer in cropping to suit your vision – don’t be afraid to crop, and don’t feel constraints of “standard” sizes.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington Monument in the Fog

It has been over a week since my last post.  My apologies.  I was working hard on finishing my eBook, Craig’s Grape Adventure – Loving Life with a Skillet and a Corkscrew.  I made the deadline, and the launch of the book exceeded my expectations.  With Christmas on the horizon, the book makes a great gift for the chefs and wine fans in your circle of friends.

With the book kicked out of the nest, I am ready to get back on my routine of photography adventures.  Today’s photo of the Washington Monument in the fog combines my attraction to minimalism with fog – two things that go hand in hand.

While mucking around DC in the fog, I also stopped by the Occupy DC camp.  I will be sharing some photos from the McPherson Square tent city later this week.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

A Couple More Photographs of the U.S. Air Force Memorial

In my last post, “The U.S. Air Force Memorial–Can it be Made Interesting Through Photography?” I wrote about some common criticisms I hear about it.  In an attempt to moderate these criticisms I posted several photographs in the hope of bringing out some of the beauty of this memorial.

I am sharing a couple of photos in this post that did not quite fit with the first.  The title photograph is a diptych comprising two of the memorial spires.  Quite different than the previously shared photos, I thought to present this separately.

The next photograph also differs due to maintaining the color in post processing.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

The U.S. Air Force Memorial–Can it be Made Interesting Through Photography?

Among my friends, including many who are active duty or retired Air Force Officers, I rarely hear compliments for the U.S. Air Force Memorial located in Arlington Virginia overlooking the Pentagon.  On the contrary, I hear statements such as “too big,” “inappropriate location,” “inconsistent with other memorials,” and of course, “what a piece of post modernist crap.”

Personally, I am indifferent.  However, the one comment that draws my attention in small part is that of consistency with other military branch memorials.  Most people are familiar with the Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial.  This memorial honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

Maybe less familiar is the Navy Memorial located in Washington on Pennsylvanian Avenue NW between 7th and 9th streets.  According to the Navy Memorial website, “The United States Navy Memorial is home to the Memorial Plaza, which features Stanley Bleifeld's famous statue, The Lone Sailor. The Lone Sailor, a tribute to all personnel of the sea services, overlooks the Granite Sea, an exact replication of the world's oceans. Surrounding the Granite Sea are two fountain pools, honoring the personnel of the American Navy and the other navies of the world. The southern hemisphere of the Granite Sea is surrounded by 26 bronze bas-reliefs commemorating events, personnel, and communities of the various sea services.”

The Army is more complicated.  Apparently if the Army wanted you to know where the Army Memorial stands, they would have put it in one of their manuals.  The fact of the matter is that there is no single memorial celebrating the Army as a whole.  There are not one but two Army memorials near the White House. One depicts a winged figure of Victory and was dedicated in 1924 at 17th Street and State Place NW. The other is a gilded flaming sword erected on the Ellipse in 1936.

These monuments memorialize the exploits and soldiers of specific Army divisions: Victory honors the 1st Division, the sword the 2nd. Neither celebrates the Army as a whole, nor do any of the scores of other monuments at battlefields and Army posts across the country, which honor individual units or divisions.

Finally, we come to my proud service, The U.S. Coast Guard.  Similar to the Army, the U.S. Coast Guard does not have a single memorial celebrating the U.S. Coast Guard as a whole in the Washington DC area.  Rather, the U.S. Coast Guard is memorialized by smaller monuments, plazas, plaques and the like dispersed around the country and the world.  Included among these is a 36 x 32 relief at the Navy Memorial…thanks for the nod.  Like the Army, many of these memorials remember specific acts of heroism, historic events, or tragedies associated with a specific ship, aircraft, unit, or person.

Contrasting each of the service monuments to the U.S. Air Force memorial, those who taking the position of inconsistency may have a point.  I will leave the judgment to you.  For now, lets return to the starting point of this discussion.  If you are one of those in the camp who believe the U.S. Air Force memorial is a “post modern piece of crap,” I have included a series of photos here that will hopefully moderate your assessment.  Once again, I have to leave that to your judgment.  Stay tuned, I have a couple more to share later this week.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Focus on People with the Washington DC Cherry Blossoms

This is the last of my posts for this year’s coverage of the Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.  I have plenty more showable photographs, but I’ve had enough, and it is time to wrap this year up, pat it on the back, and say farewell until next spring.

The photographs in this post follow the theme of “people with the cherry blossoms.”  It is very easy to visit the cherry blossoms and focus only on the cherry blossoms.  I thought it would be interesting to focus on the people for a change.

If you have not seen the other posts in this series, here are the links:

• The Cherry Blossoms are Back, Welcome Spring
• Washington DC Cherry Blossoms at Sunrise
• Washington DC Cherry Blossoms and Sunrise at the Jefferson Memorial
• Black and White Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms
• Washington DC Cherry Blossoms, Black and White Through a Lensbaby
• DC Cherry Blossoms with Lensbaby Macro
• DC Cherry Blossoms with Lensbaby Macro – Black and White
• DC Cherry Blossoms – Black and White – Shallow Depth of Field
• Cherry Blossom Minimalism
• Washington DC Cherry Blossoms in Black and White

I hope you enjoyed this series on the cherry blossoms as well as this wrap up focusing on the people enjoying the cherry blossoms.

We will return to our normal routine of random photography and photography subjects later this week.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms in Black and White

We are quickly coming to then end of my series of posts featuring the cherry blossoms in Washington DC.  If I am not mistaken, I have just one more shoot to process.  I’m sure there will be a few shots to share from the final group.

If you search the web, most of the shots of the cherry blossoms you will find are in color.  This makes sense because the pink of the blossoms is quite dramatic.  However, being a fan of black and white, I am convinced it is possible to get a unique perspective of the cherry blossoms by taking a slightly less trodden path.

The other contributing factor for processing these photos as black and white was the overcast sky.  Had there been blue skies with interesting cloud formations, I may have gone the color route.  However, with only the cherry blossoms filling a noteworthy color role, it was an easy decision to go black and white.

Check back later this week, and I will have the cherry blossoms wrapped up.  I have a few other things on deck you will be sure to find interesting such as some tips for food photography lighting (don’t miss the opportunity to visit my other blog, Craig’s Grape Adventure, for some great food photography, awesome recipes, and wine pairings guaranteed to please) and my recent acquisition of a new lens, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L (I will try to get some shooting with the new lens before writing about it).

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Cherry Blossom Minimalism

As much as I have been enjoying the exploration of minimalism in photography, it was clear I needed to apply this idea to the current series of posts featuring the Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.

With these photographs, I have achieved the form of minimalism I was seeking.  Certainly the photographs give you enough information  to possibly identify the Jefferson memorial and the Washington Monument amidst the cherry blossoms.  But aaaah! The cherry blossoms!  These are even less distinct, and without the context or an accompanying narrative, it may be difficult for someone to identify the cherry blossoms or even the time of year.

I’m ok with the indistinctive inclusion of the cherry blossoms.  I think the photographs still work from the perspective of engaging the imagination of the viewer.  As is the case with all of the intentionally unfocussed photography I have made, these were shot with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II.  Being close to the perspective our eye actually sees, this is a great lens for this form of photography.

The cherry blossoms have now passed, but never fear – I have a few posts worth of photography left.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

DC Cherry Blossoms–Black and White–Shallow Depth of Field

This post is closely related to my last post featuring the cherry blossoms encircling the tidal basin in Washington DC.  In the last post “DC Cherry Blossoms with Lensbaby Macro-Black and White” I featured extremely close up photography of the cherry blossoms.  The photographs featured in this post are similar because they are a) detail shots of the cherry blossoms, b) use a very shallow depth of field, and c) are black and white.

The shallow depth  of field (or appearance of) is achieved completely differently among the two lenses (Lensbaby in the previous post and Canon 50mm f/1.8 II here).  However, the relationship with respect to the feel of the product is much the same.  I enjoy shooting shallow depth of field to bring the viewer’s eye to what I feel is most important in that composition.

Processing in black and white furthers the process of drawing attention to a specific point by minimizing distractions that color can add.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms, Black and White Through a Lensbaby

My continuing pursuit to shoot the hell out of the Washington DC Cherry Blossoms continues.  I have several groups of photos stacked up based on some logical groupings.  This post features the Cherry Blossoms in Black and white seen through the Lensbaby Composer.

I have to tell you that I am having a great time shooting the Cherry Blossoms this year.  With the cooler weather we are experiencing, the crowds are a bit thinner than recent years making the photography a little easier albeit a bit less comfortable when shooting.

It has also been a real treat shooting with my good friend John who is on a short visit to DC.  I highly recommend you visit John A Downey II Photography to see some of the fantastic work John is doing.  Last night, John came over for dinner and we did what we normally do – talk photography.  It would probably bore the hell out of most people, but we enjoy geeking out about photography.

Part of the conversation wound around the idea of submitting our cherry blossom photography to a contest.  John has plans to do so, and he was doing his best to convince me that I should do the same.  I don’t plan on doing so.  I am not a fan of photo competitions other than viewing the work of others.  I don’t have a need for the recognition that comes from succeeding in a competition and find many of these contests little more than a scheme for someone else to make money off my work – after having to pay to enter the competition.  It doesn’t seem like an equitable relationship and therefore I stand clear of competitions.

I am quite satisfied with the recognition I get from you – all the people that continue to return to my humble blog and send your friends my way.  I shoot because of the inherent joy of doing so, and I quite enjoy your feedback.  I also enjoy the process of photography, from planning to shoot, making the photography, post processing, and writing about it.  I find inherent value and satisfaction in the process.

This evening, John and I plan on visiting the cherry blossoms for some sunset lighting.  So far, everything has been shot on the early side of the day.  I am looking forward to the new perspective brought by dusk.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Black and White Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms

I’m a bit short on time today but wanted to post a couple of shots in my ongoing series of the Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.  These shots are a bit different from the rest of the series because I chose to process them as Black and White.

The cherry blossoms are generally all about the contrast in colors.  However, the silhouette is a unique perspective of the trees around the tidal basin, and the shot of the Jefferson and Washington framed by the cherry blossoms works equally well for me.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms and Sunrise at the Jefferson Memorial

Each morning I have made a pilgrimage to photograph the cherry blossoms ringing the tidal basin adjacent to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC. I never get tired of this.  In order to challenge myself creatively, each day I take a different lens – and only one lens.

By limiting myself to a single lens a couple of things happen.  First, rather than towing along a bunch of gear, I have a free hand to hold my coffee.  In addition to this principal benefit, I am challenged creatively within the constraints of the lens I chose to bring.  This is a very helpful exercise.

For this visit to the cherry blossoms, I used the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II.  I love this lens, and in my opinion, it is by far the best value in the canon line up.  If you know of anyone considering moving from a point and shoot to a DSLR, I recommend they buy the camera as a bare body.  Don’t pay the extra cash for the kit lens.  Rather, spend $100 for this great lens.

Check back soon as I continue to document my daily trips to the tidal basin.  And just for good measure, here is a photograph that does not include the Jefferson memorial.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig