Category Archives: photography

Touch your nose

Posted by Mike on

American Bison, Rosamond Gifford Zoo

It has been a couple of years since I visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. I typically went out in January for their annual photo contest. Now they do a contest every month but I felt I needed to stick to tradition and visit in the beginning of the year.

I thought by picking a weekend without an event it would lessen the crowds. I was even at the zoo as soon as it opened. My plans were slightly torpedoed. The zoo became crowded pretty quickly. I made the rounds outside first and by the time I was back to the buildings it was difficult to spend even a few minutes at each display alone.

I did manage to get to the American Bison before they were shepherded into their building so the employees could clean their paddock and refresh their food. I liked this one as he showed me how easy it is to stick out your tongue and touch your nose…

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Touch your nose

Touch your nose
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/250s, 150mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

 

Track 2, Platform 2

Posted by Mike on

Union Station, Utica, NY

I was hoping for a little color in the sunrise this morning but I didn’t get my wish to the genie in time. I stopped at Union Station in Utica where if the sunrise failed me I would at least be able to grab some interior images of the beautiful station. Although, I did like this one exterior image, my need for reflections generally wins…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Track 2, Platform 2

Track 2, Platform 2
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 6s, 15mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

Tom Sawyer in Frontierland

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW33

  

MLCreations Photography: WDW in B&W &emdash; Tom Sawyer in Frontierland

Tom Sawyer in Frontierland
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/250s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

Ridges

Posted by Mike on

Oil Can Project – OCP21

When I started this project I didn’t anticipate it would grow to be this big. I have twenty eight different oil cans. I am still working my way through photographing them all. I eventually dedicated an entire 6-shelf bookcase to the project so I could display them (I’ll have to grab a pic to share).

It is probably an even split as to if I remember where I found each can. Some I have very clear memories of the “find” while others have blended into this collective memory that is probably due to bringing multiple cans home during a single consignment shop run. Now that I think about it, this weekend might be good for another adventure through my normal haunts… 🙂

I do remember finding this particular oil can. It was in a back corner of the Foothills Mercantile up in Barneveld, NY. There were three cans grouped together on the floor and it took my quite a few minutes to decide which can to bring home. It was a contest between two of the three (I eventually went back and grabbed the other can). The deciding point between the two cans was the ragged tag still attached to this one. It added a little story to the can that I wanted to capture.

  

Ridges
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 25s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 200

Dover

Posted by Mike on

Oil Can Project – OCP20

The second image in my next wave of updates to the Oil Can Project. This oil can presented a few more challenges in the setup as well as the post processing. Most of the oil cans I have found are dark and well aged. This one is quite bright and shiny. The decal on the front is a very bright yellow which required some manipulation of the monochrome conversion in order for it to stand out against the oil can itself.

  

Dover
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 15s, 27mm, f/11, ISO 200

Major

Posted by Mike on

Oil Can Project – OCP19

I have been way to complacent and it has been way too long since I truly worked on my Oil Can Project. I remedied that situation on Sunday. I was determined to find a good space in my apartment to use for my creative, indoor projects.

I have this extra long, pub height table in my dining area and I knew it could be utilized to my advantage. The large sliding glass doors are on the left and all the kitchen lighting is on the right. I figured out a way to hold the backdrops with one of my travel tripods and I cleaned up my reflective acrylic squares which I use to create the reflections. I had my new “studio”.

The light from the sliding glass doors was not as controllable as I had hoped but I could adjust the intensity of the kitchen lighting. Luckily when I bought curtains for the doors I selected light canceling ones. I adjusted the amount of light in the kitchen and was able to achieve the look I wanted. I definitely feel more comfortable with a static light setup than I do using a couple of flashes. I think my next big purchase is a Lume Cube setup.

This is the first result from my Sunday session. I have quite a few oil cans that I have picked-up over the last couple of years that I have not photographed. I guess this is a warning that my stream will be a little full of these images in the next few days.

  

Major
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 20s, 28mm, f/11, ISO 200

Odyssey of Dreams

Posted by Mike on

WDW in B&W – WBW32
Future World, Epcot, Walt Disney World

I have been on a bit of a streak with the B&W images of Walt Disney World of late. Probably has nothing to do with the crappy weather up here in Upstate NY. Although I did appreciate the days of almost 60 deg weather, it melted all the snow and left everything looking brown and dirty. Not very photogenic. It did give me a chance to get back to some of the images from last year’s trip that have been waiting for me to process…

  

MLCreations Photography: WDW in B&W &emdash; Odyssey of Dreams

Odyssey of Dreams
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 17mm f/1.8, 1/400s, f/7.1, ISO 400