Category Archives: photography

Forever Remembered

Posted by Mike on

Forever Remembered Exhibit, Kennedy Space Center

The first time I visited Kennedy Space Center this year I was so overwhelmed with seeing the Shuttle Atlantis that I failed to see the Forever Remembered Exhibit in the same building. This is an exhibit honoring and remembering the astronauts of the Shuttles Challenger and Columbia. Walking down the hall with the displays of each astronaut was very emotional. Each display had objects from the astronauts life, their hobbies and/or passions, along with a short bio and picture.

Walking down that hall didn’t prepare me for what I saw when I turned the corner. The two pictures below are the displays I encountered as I entered the room. The first is a section of the fuselage from the Shuttle Challenger. The second is of the window frames from the Shuttle Columbia.  I was floored.  It all hit me like a ton of bricks.  I couldn’t move.  I just stood there in silence for what seemed like forever, the emotions from those two days flooding back to me.

I’m a child of the end of the Space Race.  Sometimes I think I was born a little too late.  I remember going down to the gym in school to watch the TV coverage of the lunar landings.  Granted I am not quite old enough to remember the first from Apollo 11 but I remember the last few.  I also remember the Apollo-Soyuz mission as well as Skylab.

I’m also the kid who was building model rockets and launching them into the sky out in the middle of the hay field.  I followed the development of the shuttle and you could say I was obsessed with anything to do with space.  I missed being in Florida for the first launch of Columbia in 1981 due to bronchial pneumonia.  I was listening to the radio somewhere in Pennsylvania as my Mom drove us to Florida for spring break.

I also remember that awful day in January 1986 when Challenger exploded.  I was a sophomore in college studying Aerospace Engineering.  I just returned from class when everyone was talking about the accident.  I didn’t believe them!  I didn’t make it to any more classes that day.  I sat on my bed watching the TV in complete disbelief.

The Columbia disaster hit me just as hard.  Even though I was an “adult” with kids and a job, the kid in me was floored as I watched the news that Saturday morning in 2003.  We left the TV all day.  I guess those dreams of space never really leave you.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Challenger

Challenger
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/40s, 22mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Columbia

Columbia
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4s, 27mm, f/2.8, ISO 1600

 

I know I will be going back to KSC.  Visiting the center rekindled that passion I had as a kid.  I look forward to what happens next at the center.  The launch and landing by SpaceX of their Falcon 9 rocket was incredible.  Yes, there were a few hiccups along the way, but you can’t deny the accomplishment!  Hopefully next time I visit it will be for one of those launches.

Morning at the Bridge

Posted by Mike on

192 Causeway over the Indian River

We had just spent the last two days at Disney. It was Wednesday morning and I was planning on taking the kids up to Kennedy Space Center. I had time, they were not getting up any time soon. I had just downed the cup of coffee my mother-in-law had made so the caffeine was going to kick in at any time. When I looked out the window I could see the sunrise was going to be beautiful.

The day we arrived in Florida I had taken the kids over to Melbourne Beach.  My Leave Your Cares Behind post was from that little excursion.  It wasn’t a great day then but I didn’t care.  I was in Florida and on a beach.  On our way over to the beach I had spotted a little park right on the edge of the Indian River where the 192 Causeway crosses over.  I had a good feeling the view of the sunrise would be best from that vantage point.

When going out for sunrise pictures it is always best to arrive early.  You want to be there at least thirty minutes if not an hour before the sun is suppose to break the horizon.  The reason for the extra time is two-fold.  One, you want to be able to search out a good location (if you haven’t done so already).  The second is the light before the sun rises is actually the best.  The time just before sunrise and/or just after sunset is known as the blue hour.

During this blue hour the sky takes on an extra deep shade of blue, fading as the sun nears the horizon.  If you are lucky enough to have a few clouds in the sky, the sun will color those shades of red and orange as it rises.  This is what I was hoping to capture this morning.  I got lucky…

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Morning Bridge

Morning Bridge
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 25s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 400

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Shoot the Middle

Shoot the Middle
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 30s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Going East

Going East
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 25s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Lonely Path

Posted by Mike on

Two Paths

Saturday morning started out beautifully. It had snowed during the night but it was the fluffy, light snow which I enjoy shoveling. I look at shoveling as the exercise I need during the less active winter months. I’m not above using the snowblower when needed though, I’m not totally crazy.

The ground was covered in a white blanket and the clouds were sparse enough to let the morning sun cast great shadows across the snow. As soon as the sun made its appearance I grabbed the camera and went out walking along the road to see what pictures await me.

I didn’t have to venture far before finding this deer path through my neighbor’s yard. The setting was perfect. Tracks through the fresh snow. The sun just breaking through the clouds. Still an orange glow in the sky. I grabbed a couple images and then as I normally do I turned the camera and grabbed a few more in portrait orientation. It is a practiced I learned from Bryan Peterson’s Understanding Exposure book. You will also hear him repeat this practice if you watch his videos on his website or at Adorama TV.

The reason for the title of this post is I processed this image two separate ways. The first image, which I actually processed second, was done entirely in Lightroom. The second image I did my normal tweaks in Lightroom and then finished the image using OnOne Photo Suite 9. There are really only slight differences in the images.

The first image has not been sharpened as much, there is a slight softness to it. The second image has stronger colors in the sky.  I also lightened up the shadows more in the second image.  The more I look at both the more I favor the first image.  It feels more real to me.  It could also just be my morning coffee talking…  🙂

I would love to hear what you think of the images.  Which do you prefer?

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Lonely Path

Lonely Path
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/160s, 27mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Lonely Path

Lonely Path
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/160s, 27mm, f/16, ISO 200

Barbed Flakes

Posted by Mike on

Squared – SQ81
Monochrome Winter

The first day of the new year was very unclear of itself. There was snow. There was wind. The sun showed its face. And there were a few moments of calm.

During one of those calm moments I ventured outside with the macro lens. It has a very long lens hood which would protect the front of the lens from the elements. I also wanted to see what I could capture of the new snow. I ended up behind the house pointing the camera at the fence since it was the only thing not swaying in the wind.

Frequent readers of my ramblings will know my penchant for the barbed wire fence around my yard. It didn’t disappoint me yesterday. The snow gathered on the barbs and if you look closely you can make out the individual flakes. As I often do, my winter images end up as B&W. I like the clarity it brings to the image.

This is another entry in my growing Squared series as well as the first installment this year for my old Monochrome Winter series.  The MW series did not receive any love from me last year and I hope to correct that going forward.

MLCreations Photography: Squared &emdash; Barbed Flakes

Barbed Flakes
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8, 1/200s, f/5.6, ISO 200

Big Rocks

Posted by Mike on

West Canada Creek

Although the last day of the year was an overcast day I took the opportunity with the recent rains to go play in the West Canada Creek. The area just below Trenton Falls is a favorite spot of mine and always provides me with great views for images. I was also trying out my adapter ring to allow me to use my old 77mm circular polarizer with my 12-40mm lens. I can’t use the lens hood with the filter but on a day like yesterday, a hood wasn’t needed.

There was a light coat of snow on the rocks around the overflow area which made for some slippery footing. My biggest fear was ending up in the water! Luckily I avoided that concern with some good balancing maneuvers.

I’ve mentioned before that capturing the water flow is a balancing act in itself. I don’t want too long of an exposure and completely smooth out the water, but I also do not want to freeze the motion with a quick shutter either. For this image an almost 1 second exposure produced the water flow I was looking for. The polarizer did not help a great deal with the shine on the rocks but I think the shine adds a nice contrast to the water.

These water images always look better in black & white.  I also do not do as much sharpening on these water images as I like the look of the water with the long exposure.  After all processing is done, I add just a slight silver tone to the image which is really just a personal preference.

Staring at the image I can still hear the water rushing past…  it is very hypnotic.

MLCreations Photography: Monochrome &emdash; Big Rocks

Big Rocks
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.8s, 25mm, f/16, ISO 200

2015 Through the Months

Posted by Mike on

My Year in Review Post

I will admit that I have been wanting to work on this post for quite a few days now.  Taking a vacation the week of Christmas did throw some havoc into the end of the year but oh was it worth it.  Finishing up the year at work so I can enjoy a nice long weekend gave me plenty of reasons to keep putting this post on the back burner.  As I sat down at the computer around 4:30pm to start reviewing my images I already had it in the back of my head that this will probably be posted on January 1st but truly thinking it over it might not be a bad way to start the new year…  with a look back at the past one.

I read last year’s post and realized I never did follow through on my resolutions.  I believe I did continue to create better quality images but the quantity has settled down from the volumes I was capturing at the start of my photographic journey.  The easy excuse would be to blame a hectic life or being busy at work.  I think those reasons do play into the why, but the real reason when I am being truthful with myself is I think I do not have any inspiration left around here.  I hear myself claim, “You’ve taken that one before,” “You’ve been there too many times already.”  I let those thoughts keep my arse on the couch.

After feeling the joy of visiting the same few places while I was in Florida, I know there are images all around me.  I’m just not seeing them any more.  This will need to be my number one resolution for 2016…  get out and see!

I did have a few more important events happen in 2015.  The first was a total change to my camera setup.  In June I went a step further in my commitment to the Micro Four Thirds platform when I purchased the Olympus OM-D E-M10 camera and a 25mm f/1.8 lens.  This camera would be the next step up from the Pen E-P3 I purchased last year.  I was using this camera a lot more and by October when I went to Disney I used it for 75% of my pictures.

I knew when I came back I would be going full on with the Olympus cameras and by the end of October I sold all my Nikon gear and invested in the OM-D E-M1 camera along with a few more lenses.  It was the right decision for me and I am enjoying taking pictures with this new system.  Smaller, lighter and less to carry (everything fits in a small messenger bag), I am taking this camera everywhere.

The other big event for me just happened a few weeks ago.  I purchased my own domain name for my portfolio (mlcreationsphotography.com).  I was also able to change this wordpress site to blog.mlcreationsphotography.com and changed over my tumblr site as well.  I spent a good week redesigning all my sites to have a more consistent look and feel.  I have to admit, the IT/computer geek in me definitely had a good time setting all that up!  🙂

Well, if you haven’t quit reading yet I suppose I should get on to the pictures…

January – The first month of the year was very quiet for my photography.  There are only 68 pictures in the directory.  I tried starting a few different projects but nothing progressed beyond the first image or two.  There were only a few good days where I was out exploring around the house.  I really liked this image of the grass through the snow.  The light was great and the shadows add the depth sometimes missing from winter images.

Frozen Field

Frozen Field
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/320s, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

 

February – Last year this was a month of exploring still life inside.  With both kids back home I lost my photography studio (oldest’s bedroom).  I started exploring the shop I work in during my lunch hour and that provided quite a few interesting images for me.  My favorite image though was another winter scene captured around the house.  I also realized, as you will see, I have become very fond of monochrome images.

Standing Alone

Standing Alone
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/500s, 85mm, f/8, ISO 200

 

March – This is my favorite image from my In the Shop series.  At times I would pick a topic, i.e., circles, instruments, etc., and venture out on the hunt.  This image found me.  I was on my way back to my office and spied these tools on a bench.  The operator uses the pliers to hold the metal stamp.  He hits the stamp against the part to indicate a heat treatment has been completed.  I just loved how the tools were laying on the table.  I used a slight split tone effect to enhance the industrial look of the image.

Letter 'A'

Letter ‘A’
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, 1/50s, 68mm, f/4.5, ISO 800

 

April – I started the month with a trip to Springfield, MA for a training class.  You can view a few of my posts from the trip here.  The remainder of the month was spent exploring the parks around me as the snow melted and I waited for the first blossoms of Spring.  At the end of the month I was at Delta Lake State Park (my usual stomping grounds) and captured this cloudy, reflective sunset.  Views like this should prove to me there are always images to capture, even at a place I visit so often.

Cloudy Sunset

Cloudy Sunset
Nikon D7100, Tokia 12-28mm f/4, 1/8s, 15mm, f/16, ISO 100

 

May – Spring finally arrived.  Luckily for me my neighbor always has a plethora of flowers.  Usually after dinner I sneak over and grab as many images as I can as the sun is setting.  This was another tough month to choose an image.  I do love me some floral images.  I also started a new trend I hope to continue and that is including myself in my images.  Here you can see my first self portrait.

Neighbor's Flowers

Neighbor’s Flowers
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 400

 

June – This was the start of more trips to the state parks.  I didn’t go to many in 2014 and vowed to myself to do it this year.  It was a success as I visited some old favorites, tried out a few others and gathered some great images.  Next year I will need to venture beyond the parks I have already been to and see more of New York.  This image is from Buttermilk Falls State Park.  Again, I have been rockin’ the monochrome images.

The Narrows

The Narrows
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 0.5s, 25mm, f/20, ISO 100

 

July – Another month of state park explorations and generally a very big month for images.  If you go to the calendar for July you will see a very full month of posts and that made it very difficult to select an image.  This image represents a change I have been trying to do for a few years.  Images of opportunity.  I always say I should stop and get that image but I always hesitate, continue on and wish I had stopped.  On this morning after an adventure along the barge canal I turned around and went back for this image rather than continue on home.  After this I started to stop more often…

Shrouded Sunrise

Shrouded Sunrise
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/25s, 46mm, f/20, ISO 100

 

August – Another big month for images but more importantly a photo challenge recommended by my friend Karma.  Although I fell flat after a pretty good start on the month long challenge it did give me my favorite self portrait.  The daily challenge was relax, which I did on the beach at Delta Lake during a beautiful sunset.

iheartchallenge-relax

iheartchallenge-relax
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, {1/13, 1/25 & 1/50s bracket}, 15mm, f/16, ISO 100

 

September – The last of my state park visiting months brought lots of other great exploring as well.  This was my biggest month all year for images (other than Disney pics).  I thought I would be choosing one of the waterfall images but I kept coming back to this image of the area leading up to Inspiration Point at Letchworth State Park.  When I was just starting my photography this is an image I would not have captured.  I would have rushed to the grand scenic view of the gorge with Middle and Upper falls in the distance.  Now I explore more.  I see more image opportunities.  I think this view rivals the images I captured of the falls.

The Approach

The Approach
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 1/6s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 100

 

October – The month of the first big change.  I had a Disney trip this month and by the end of the month I had a new camera system. This image was captured with my OM-D E-M10.  The color image was nice but the colors detracted from the composition.  I love the rope leading into the image.  The reflections and the amount of detail make this one my favorite.

Erie Barge

Erie Barge
Olympus OM-D E-M10, M. Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II R, 1/80s, 14mm, f/7.1, ISO 200

 

November – Another image of opportunity.  I knew this morning was going to produce a beautiful sunrise.  My plan was to head to Hinckley Reservoir for the early morning show but on the way there I passed this view.  A quick three point turn, a short walk into a pasture and bam! a beautiful sunrise view.  I still continued to the reservoir…  🙂

Isolation

Isolation
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1.3s, 40mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

December – Everyone might be tired of my Christmas vacation images but that trip produced a lot of great images.  This full moon on Christmas Eve is my favorite of the bunch.  It is a great image with which to end the year.

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Full Risen

Full Risen
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 25s, 12mm, f/13, ISO 400

 

As I have with all my previous Year in Review posts I’ll end with my favorite Disney image.  This image is more about persistence than anything else.  When I found these rocking chairs on Tom Sawyer Island earlier in the year I tried to capture this image that I had in my head.  I couldn’t get it in May and it was at least two attempts in October before I was successful.  It might not be the greatest composition or technically great image but it represents another change in my approach to photography…  don’t settle on an image, pursue the image you want to create.  Keep trying until you are successful…

Rocking Big Thunder

Rocking Big Thunder Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/2000s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 400

 

I would like to thank everyone who has stayed with me on my photographic journey and welcome any new visitors.  This creative outlet I discovered has been a great addition to my life and there have been some great friends discovered here online along the way.  I look forward to what the next twelve months will bring…

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for an amazing 2016!

Wordless Wednesday: Enjoy the Beach Moments

Posted by Mike on

Melbourne Beach, FL

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Enjoy the Beach Moments

Enjoy the Beach Moments
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 14mm, f/14, ISO 200

Before the Sun

Posted by Mike on

Riverside Park, Indiatlantic, FL

Another trip to Riverside Park along the Indian River in Indiatlantic, FL. This trip was the morning of my last day in Florida. It was a challenge as the clouds were rolling in which would eventually bring the rain. On the plus side the clouds did obscure the full moon which allowed for this extremely long exposure of the 192 bridge and the fishing dock from the park.

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Before the Sun

Before the Sun
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 50s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200