Photo: Bricks and Sunshine

Bricks and Sunshine

The corner of the Riverside National Bank at 1060 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach FL. It looks interesting by itself. I angled the camera and set this against a blue, cloudless region of the sky. Then, I made the sky dark and the bricks redder on the computer. Ha ha. Always have to do that sort of editing.

This was an interesting study in geometry and architecture, though I don’t think about those things at all when taking photos. I just photograph what looks unusual.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/1250, F4.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-09-25T10:13:45-04, 20080925-141345rxt

Location: 1060 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Reunion

Reunion

I think Brice and Kayla were just meeting up after a long vacation. I didn’t ask, but either way they’re a nice couple.

This isn’t a candid shot, but their smiles are authentic because I said something funny… I can’t remember what.

I let the camera auto-expose, and it was too dark, so I upped the exposure afterward in Adobe Camera Raw. Though it was bright and sunny out, there were no harsh shadows so this is still a great portrait.

Kayla looks a bit like the actress Adrienne Shelly. I don’t know who Brice looks like.

This reminds me of one of those stock photos you see in the picture frames at Wal-Mart… except they always seem like fake people. I only take pictures of real people.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/2500, F3.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-09-26T12:13:32-04, 20080926-161332rxt

Location: Daytona State College, 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

Photo: Gridiron Sky

Gridiron Sky

The science building, #410 at Daytona State College. The side of the building is all clear glass in a white grid formation, but from this angle all it does is reflect the sky. It was a bright and sunny day out, and with the fluffy white clouds behind, the effect was quite charming.

I forgot my polarizing filter when shooting this, but I added the polarization effect through burning in Photoshop, so I’m including it under the polarizer tag.

Editing brought out the colors quite a bit. I added lots of contrast, burned in the sky, the corners, and the clouds especially. You can see the dark halo around the clouds from my use of the burn tool, but I like it so it stays. I also brightened the building, as it was a bit dim in relation to the clouds. The turquoise reflection is my favorite part.

Canon Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm, 1/1250, F4.5, 18mm, ISO100, 2008-08-25T11:54:20-04, 20080825-155420rxt

Location: Daytona State College, Building 410, Schildecker Science Hall (outside), 1200 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL  32114

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Sublime Sunset

Sublime Sunset

My last work with the Sigma 105mm macro lens. This is a closeup of backlit clouds against a cotton candy sunset. The colors are my favorite part of this; the lens really brings them out.

I used to think sunsets were only good as panoramas, but it’s just as interesting to focus on a small piece of the sky.

Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma EF 105mm 1:2.8, 1/200, F3.2, 105mm, ISO200, 2008-09-04T19:48:58-04, 20080904-234858rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Light the Way

Light the Way

A car with yellow headlights illuminates the road on a dark, cloudy evening.

This car had lights that were unusually colored. I bet they had a yellow filter over them, but they looked brighter than normal too.

For editing, I decided to go with really warm colors, much more so than the actual scene. It gives a better mood than bluish tones. Also, I dodged the ground to make it look like the headlights are brighter, while adding contrast and burning the corners to make the scene more eye-catching. Because I shot this at ISO400, I brought out a good bit of grain with the editing.

I borrowed a Sigma 105mm lens from a friend to take this and other photos, which I recently returned. It was a lot of fun to play with. I might have to buy my own if I can save up $400. It’s hard, being unemployed and all, but it’s so worth it. :cool:

Canon Rebel XTi, Sigma EF 105mm 1:2.8, 1/160, F2.8, 105mm, ISO400, 2008-09-04T19:41:01-04, 20080904-234101rxt

Location: Golf Ave., Ormond Beach, FL  32174

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Sunrays 6

Sunrays 6

Sunrays 6! W00t! :grin:

Saw this outside my door, so I ran out into the street snapping pictures. It’s amazing what pops up if you watch the sky every evening. These were the most impressive beams of light and darkness I’ve seen; I didn’t even have to edit much. I did a bit of dodging and burning, and added contrast with the curves tool, but that was it.

The light is good. Let the light guide you to courageously fulfilling your dreams and aspirations. But like any good sunset, your dreams are always on the move. I know that, because these sunrays disappeared just a few minutes after I found them.

Canon Rebel XTi, EFS 18-55mm, 1/1600, F4, 28mm, ISO100, 2008-08-26T19:06:22-04, 20080826-230622rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

More of the Sunrays series.

Photo: Night on the River

Night on the River

Nighttime at the docks, under the bridge over the river. This was a fun shoot, though anything at 3 A.M. is. I did three versions: one at 1/6, one at 3.2″, and this one at 30″. In the slower versions the water looks rippled and ugly, but with a longer exposure it’s beautifully smooth, and the streetlights turn to stars. You can see eight points to each light because my lens has eight aperture blades. If I’d have opened up all the way there would be no spikes, and if I opened up further they’d be less prominent.

The number of spikes is equal to the number of aperture blades if even, and double the number if odd, though they’ll be half as bright. They are often a nice touch. For editing, I did simple contrast and color adjustments.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 30″, F9, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-07-21T02:50:56-04, 20080721-065056rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Streetlight

Streetlight — a flying saucer pretending to be a street light

This is an overhead light at Publix that resembles a streetlight. In this photo, it looks like a weird spaceship. I found the shape of the light interesting, so I pointed my camera up and snapped this. In Photoshop, I removed all color and added contrast so the background went to black.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/1600, F2.8, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-07-12T12:18:55-04, 20080712-161855rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Shoes

Shoes — hanging by a shoestring, from the power lines

A pair of shoes, dangling from a power line. This line sweeps down across the road rather than being level. I thought the shoes made a nice silhouette, though I wasn’t considering that at the time. The blue sky is quite visible in the original. In Adobe Camera Raw, I pushed the contrast slider all the way to the right, which made the image look like this. I didn’t have to white out the background at all, since it was the brightest part.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/1000, F4.5, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-07-10T19:31:07-04, 20080710-233107rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.

Photo: Heart

Heart — silver heart necklaces

Two silver hearts. These were necklaces in the display case at Target. Don’t forget your heart. It’s better to have two, because then if you lose one you still have a back-up.

Canon Rebel XTi, EF 50mm 1:1.4, 1/200, F3.2, 50mm, ISO100, 2008-06-29T18:34:21-04, 20080629-223421rxt

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Please credit me as “Photo by Richard Thripp” or something similar.