Whine list

I'm thinking of starting a new blog to comment about things people do that bug me. I'd call it my whine list. Case and point, people who chew gum with their mouth open and sit right next to you on the subway.

Matchbox traffic jam

Some things are not as they seem

I know this is gross, but...


Just goes to show, you can't always go by first impressions.

Empire state of mind.

Took this shot out side of a bar on 35th St. here in NYC. I thought it was an odd perspective on the Empire State Building at night. You can just see the blue and white of the top peeking out between the two buildings. A long exposure is why the flags are blurry.

My favorite time of the year

It's only the middle of August and I'm already giddy with anticipation for Autumn. As a photographer in the Northeast, and since I bought a car, it has become a yearly activity to take as many weekend trips as I can to shoot the foliage. I put 2000 miles on my car a couple of years ago just to find the perfect spot to shoot. Soon enough this blog will be filled with more Fall shots like this.

We've got the biggest balls of them all.

Step 2: You put your stick in a box

Enough said.

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Barry Struhl! He was the closest guess with 333. The actual number of rubber-bands was 312. The color with the most rubber-bands was red, then green, yellow and finally orange. The blue and pink ball in the middle may have thrown some of you off.

Barry, I'll send you the ball just as soon as I put it back together. :)

Thanks to everyone for playing and visiting my blog. If you find this blog interesting, keep coming back this month as I'm challenging myself to post one photo each day through the end of August.

Best,
Gregg

Nature's Happy Ending

Ok, I know sunsets are cliché and overdone, but what a way to end the day. No matter how many I see, they always make me happy.

24 hours left of the rubber-band ball contest. Get your number in soon!

Just toying around

Professional photographer Vincent Laforet has had a lot of recent notoriety for his pioneering use of the Canon 5D MKII SLR camera, making stunning HD videos. Many folks don't know he is also a very well established still photographer with years of experience. Much of his work includes extensive use of Canon tilt-shift lenses. These lenses are typically used to correct distorted perspectives caused by tilting a normal lens up or down which is most apparent when shooting buildings and interiors.

However, there is an odd phenomenon that occurs when using a tilt-shift lens and shooting wide and distant or from above. When the lens is tilted it throws a portion of the image on a plane out of focus and a blurring effect occurs at the edges. Because of this, the photograph appears to make everything look like it is a toy or miniature, similar to a toy train scene.

Above is an image I took using an iPhone app that simulates the same effect. It's called appropriately, TiltShift. You should try it out. And for some inspiration, check out similar work by Vincent Laforet and other tilt-shift photographers at Smashing Magazine.

Remember, only two more days left of the rubber-band ball contest!