Pontiac Alley

Pontiac Alley

This shot is a reprisal of a shot I took years ago with my old Nikon 5005 camera. I like the way the arches progress through the alley way. I took this on Wednesday this past week and was surprised to have the Pontiac Police tell me to stop photographing. A pan handler was asking me for money and I told him I would give him some money if I could take his picture. I was in a public place and parked legally, yet I was told to stop taking pictures. I think they did not want me to encourage pan handling, but the shot would have been great. I put my camera away, but I know that I had the right to take pictures.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 38 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Portrait of a track star

Portrait of a track star

This track star had a bit of a mishap this year with her knee, but that didn't stop her from posing for this great portrait. She's extremely talented athlete and I know these crutches are only a temporary thing. I told her it was an MTV pose and she graciously smiled for the camera. This is one of my favorite portraits to date.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Beam Feet

Beam Feet

This photo is about 6 months old, but I thought I would share it with you. It's one of the first really great shots I took with my D80. This gymnastics show had a "No Video Taping" policy, but cameras were allowed. I had my D80 mounted on a monopod and was approached a couple of times to turn off my video camera.

Lady Bug Tut Tut

Lady Bug Tut Tut

This is the last of the shots from last week's photo shoot with the umbrella. I like how the shadow fills the frame and leads the eye to the focal point of the shot (umbrella.) What are your thoughts?

Red Wagon Wheel

Red Wagon Wheel

It's time for another challenge with my fellow photographer Kevin from http://guyotphotography.blogspot.com/. This weekends photo challenge was to represent the color "Red." Here is my take on the color and what I found on my photo walk. I never realized how much representation the color red has in the world. Once you start to pay attention to a specific color in he world, it's all you begin to see. Stay tuned to Kevin's blog to see what he came up with.


Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/5.3
Focal Length: 46 mm
ISO Speed: 100

ILY

ILY

Sign language allows you to converse very quickly at times. In American Sign Language, the ability to convey the words "I Love You" can be done with one gesture. That gesture consists of finger spelling the three letters I, L, and Y at the same time. In this shot I used my camera's multiple exposure feature to capture each letter separately.

Fly Be Free

Fly Be Free

This umbrella was the prop for yesterday's photo shoot and I felt like it needed to take flight. This one only took a few shots before the right one came out. The hands were accidentally in the shot, but I felt it told a bit more of the story here.

Corporate Cloudy

Corporate Cloudy

This corporate building was displaying the reflection of the sky so well on this late afternoon that I had to capture it's awesomeness.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Driving Captures

Driving Captures

What happens when you are the passenger in the vehicle and armed with a DSLR camera? It's a license to play with captures. This shot was taken at 25mph from the window of a minivan with a high shutter speed (1/1250 of a second.) I had to crop it just a small bit, but I think the result is great. Taking shots while riding in a car can be very hit or miss, but sometimes a gem shows up. I had the deck stacked in my favor on this event because the sun was setting through the trees and the light beams were what caused me to grab my camera in the first place. Hope you enjoy this photo as much as I do.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 640

Fire Hydrant Pommel

Fire Hydrant Pommel

Gymnasts seem to find gymnastics everywhere. This boy is no exception.

Lost and Found

Lost and Found

The lost and found is a busy place at the local school. This table was full of gloves, hats, shirts, and coats. Based on the amount of gloves on this table, many children went home with cold hands this winter.

Actress Portrait

Actress Portrait

I caught this snapshot of an actress as she was coming out of an audition for a horror movie. I hope she gets the part. Thanks for permission to post this shot today. I should have used a fill flash to lighten up her face a bit. How could I have improved this shot? Your comments are welcome.

Golden Shadow

Golden Shadow, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Man's best friend. Meet the most friendly Golden Retriever that I know. Ok, many Golden's are friendly, but this one is no exception. She let me take several shots of her, and this one is my favorite. I like how the shadow hits the sidewalk showing the profile.
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Water Faucet

Water Faucet, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

One of my final pictures from a photo walk at the Meadowbook Mansion. This water faucet had all the features of a black and white shot, but the more I looked at it the more I wanted the colors to stay. All other aspects were great including aperture and shutter speed, but I failed to get the composition just right. Taking my time with every shot is very important, and I need to continue to keep composition in mind when shooting. I still like this one anyway.

Portrait Of A Track Star

Portrait Of A Track Star

Just look at the determination and concentration on this athlete. I captured this moment earlier this week at a track meet. I was able to capture many great sports action shots that day, but I find these behind the scenes shots much more enjoyable.
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/13
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 400

Meadow Handle

Meadow Handle

You are looking at the entrance to the grand Meadowbrook Mansion. This is the door handle to the front entrance gate of the mansion. The rust in the handle tells you a bit about how old it is, and the detail in the handle shows the craftsmanship of the metal artist that heated the steel and formed the piece.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 38 mm
ISO Speed: 100

What's wrong with this photo?

What's wrong with this photo?

I took this photo thinking it was a great shot. While I was standing there looking though the viewfinder I was smiling at the great shot I was seeing. My intent was to take a photo of a doorway and I thought he framing of this shot with this amazing fountain would make the door stand out. But now after reviewing the file I feel that it has the opposite effect. What do you think of this photo? I'm looking for constructive criticism here, so fire away.

Meadowbrook Entrance

Meadowbrook Entrance

This is the grand entrance to the Meadowbrook mansion on the campus of Oakland University. This photo only captures some of it's beauty. I took a photo walk looking for doorways to photograph and this bridge ended up taking the show that day. It was lunch time and the sun was covered by clouds. The lighting at the mansion was all over the place requiring me to make many adjustments throughout the whole photo walk.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Mailboxes Etc.

Mailboxes Etc.

Rows of mailboxes always seem to captivate me. I captured this shot through my car window.

Tulip Trolley

Tulip Trolley

The tulip trolley was way more interesting to me from the outside. The rich green colors of this trolleys caught my eye and I had to capture it. I like how the trolley ahead was captured in the reflection of the headlight.

Mother's Day Tulip

Mother's Day Tulip

Another set up tulips from the tulip festival in Holland Michigan. This shot is dedicated to my Mom. I feel that much of my artistic side comes from her. Thanks Mom!

Tulip pose

Tulip Pose

People were posing for photos all over the park in Holland Michigan.

Holland Michigan Tulip Festival

Holland Michigan Tulip Festival

Tulips everywhere. My next few posts will involve these flowers since it is that time of the year. I went on a photo walk today with Kevin trying to capture some of this festival. This was one of my first shots today.

Laugh Profile

Laugh Profile

Here's my favorite model showing me her profile. Her smile is just enough to say "take the picture already." I Love the detail and the textures.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Sun Beams

Sun Beams

Clouds and sun are easy targets for a photographer, but most require being in the right place at the right time with your camera. This was one of those situations. Later this same evening I missed an amazingly lit auburn sky, but I think this was better.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/14
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

Road construction was the catalyst for this photo set taken today. I was stopped by heavy traffic congestion and instead of going the same way that I always go, I decided to take an alternate path. The road above is one of Michigan's natural beauty roads, and as I was driving down the dirt road with the trees turning green and I thought of Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken."

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Wrong way to the beach

Wrong way to the beach

This bucket and shovel were the result of more experimentation with throwing things into the air. The sky was so cloudless that I had to have something with a contrasting color to stand out. It took several shots to get this, but they were all worth it. It looks like this is photoshopped, but it really is a flying bucket.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Obove the rest

Above the rest

I thought I was done taking flower pictures this spring, but this one turned out so unexpectedly awesome that I had to post it here. Tulips are big here in Michigan, and these things are so easy to take pictures of because they don't move around too much. It was a overcast day when this shot was taken, and I love the way this flower stood out of the rest of the shot. Let me know what you think.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Birds Home Plate

Birds Home Plate

A chickadee calls this home. In the morning he or she sings very loudly (waking me up.)

Sports Action Photography

Sports Action Photography

Fast shutter speeds are fun to work with. I captured this hurdler at 1/400 of a second. ISO 200, F 7.1 and a focal length of 32mm.

Dual Tulips

Dual Tulips

Portrait Time

Portrait Time

A day in the sun with a camer a is a good day. I took way too many photos to publish on this blog, but here's one from today's portrait session.