Fields of Gold
I am often asked why I have so many 50mm lenses and how do I choose which one to use for a shot. First off they are all old (70′s vintage) and really inexpensive to get. Most importantly they each have a different optical design and therefore they each render a different flavor of lens flare and bokeh from one another. When I shoot a scene in backlighting, (and all my friends know that’s what I love to do every chance I get) I pick my lens based on what I want the flare and bokeh to look like. This is a case in point. The lens I used has a damaged front element and I won’t throw it away because I know it does this when I use it right. You may find it hard to believe but there hasn’t been a single thing done to this image in post processing. This is exactly what was produced in-camera because of my lens choice, the lighting, and the subject matter.
Albuquerque Afternoon
I love to make artistic use of lens flare in my compositions and the late afternoon sun was willing to go along with me as I roamed the old city plaza.
You’re my Blue Sky, You’re my Sunny Day
Lens flare, saturated colors, repetitive patterns… You know I was totally sucked into this one.
Lockheed Electra
I think I forgot to post this one back when I shot it last month. The plane in the image is a Lockheed Electra, the same model aircraft that Amelia Earhart used in her infamous attempt at trans-global flight. While I was photographing I was told that this is the specific plane that was used in the 2009 documentary film about her life.
In other news, a book that I worked on as photo editor, photo restorer, and contributing photographer, Tampa’s Hyde Park by author Del Acosta was just published on Monday. It is a pictorial history of one of Tampa’s oldest neighborhoods. Available at Amazon.com, bookstores, and museum stores.
Flight Preparations
I was prepping one of the hot air balloons for flight at the Sun N’ Fun Fly In the other morning at dawn. Of course I had a couple of cameras on me as I worked and this was one of the snaps I made as the sun began to rise.