Raising a family comes with many challenges. One of the greatest is raising siblings to respect each other through childhood, not compete for everything, and show each other charity. In between the challenging moments it is always encouraging to see a moment like this, when there is peace between them. I'm glad I caught it. It is a moment to cherish.
For once the trains are running on time!
-ehw
PS Fujifilm X-E1 with the awesome 23mm 1.4
Brothers at work
Here is the premise...I wanted to capture the interior of Grand Central Station and show how busy it is when people make a break for their trains so they can get home. Yet on frame just did not get it done. I had the little bits of motion here and there, but I still wanted more of the magic this place has.
So I went ahead and tried it...a seven frame HDR. The station came out great...the people are ghosted. The motion is both visible and implied. Captures the hustle and bustle...and the grand interior of the station.
Ah a try at something new, and yep next time I'll make sure the 14mm comes along. Going to and from work I was with a one lens set up...in this case the 35mm!
-ehw
Planes, trains and automobiles...all can take us places. To these boys the power and majesty of a train is awe inspiring. I can almost hear their questions and dreams over the clickty clack of the track. "Where is the train going? How strong is it? How many cars is it pulling? Could I drive that thing? I'd love to travel the rails and be the engineer!"
Yesterday I talked about reflecting back in time, and coming into the present in prayer. Those reflections provide us the necessary torque to pull the burdens of our lives forward on the track God intended. Within those boundaries, we actually get freed to obtain the greatest rewards life can offer.
To us life is one linear motion, but to the maker of all things time has no linear boundaries. It is limitless, without boundaries, and makes sense all at once.
Just like the boys, that mystery makes me say, "Where is God's train going? How strong is it? How many cars is he pulling? Would he let me drive that thing? I'd love to travel the rails and be his engineer on the way to the kingdom!"
-ehw
PS Mr K5 working his magic...F5, 1/5000 @ ISO 1600 -3ev
Looking back over our lives I think we sometimes realize we went too quickly past the best moments. Thankfully my little passion of photography lets me remember them in ways I could not appreciate in the heat of the moment. Sometimes I think it even lets me experience the moments more deeply.
A friend recently wrote about needing to remember to take time and pray. I could not agree more. For some of you effective prayer might come from reciting a rosary, others pure meditation on a devotional, or for some it could be a spontaneous outpouring of music. It is in any of the forms of prayer that we can appreciate God's works, experience his calming power, or petition him to give us strength to overcome our weaknesses. Use that prayer to focus your efforts at coming into communion with his will, so that your works can then match his guiding hand.
I'm trying myself to follow the sage advice of my friend...just like the struggle to capture a wonderful frame...it is never easy...each time is never the same...but each frame's unique moment can open a window of reflection as you look back that can change your future positively forever.
-ehw
PS Techies...this is Mr K-5 screaming at F4, 1/8000 and ISO6400. He's not FF, but he's one good dude...edited in Aperture with a Dusted Warm preset and minor tweeks...
Three boys and a train museum...with buses! What do you get? Fun and energy all wound up and let loose at the Southeastern Train Museum in Duluth, Georgia!
The boys (my son and his two best friends) were really good, considering how much energy they had they were angels! I loved every minute of their discovery, but had a hard time keeping the lens on them in focus.
I wish I could see the world as they do...in awe and wonder...and with the vivaciousness of their souls leaping out at all times. Instead I'll do as God intended us to do. I'll look on then with wonder, accept the challenge in being their guardian for the day, and see what lessons I can bank for another day.
-ehw
PS Yet another shot showing the versatility of the Fujifilm X20 when equipped with a simple external flash unit (EF-20).
One of the effects of HDR photography is also to bring out textures and color in a very realistic way.
I took this photo and had some fun with it in HDR Efex Pro 2, then ran it through Color Efex 4. Sharpened to taste and called it a day.
RC Conception pointed out to us on the second night that the purpose of HDR is to get a good product to finish in post processing. He found many people shot, process and don't finish.
It would be like writing the first acts of a play, and then walking away from the final act.
I called this Bel Air Glamor because the Glamor Glow filter seems to be all the rage in many a circle today, and I wanted to try it out for myself.
If you want to see some really extraordinary HDR check out both RC Conception's website and Jim Begley's. Both are true master artists with this technique.
Check them out at www.aboutrc.com and www.wowphotoshdr.com.
-ehw
-ehw
Day Three at the Old Car City HDR Workshop took us to the Duluth, Georgia Southeastern Railway Museum. Twenty six photographers danced their way through this car...which except for the cooking cars was the top attraction for the day.
The team was fantastic. During the day talked gear, life, Christ, and how to get shots right in camera. It was big boy rules, if you wanted help you got it. If you did not want help you just shot... and shot...and shot again.
This postal car was the first scene one I wanted to process and share.
I'll write more later. For now I wanted to let you know to keep His Light shining in your hearts and send it out for all to see.
God Bless.
-ehw
A lovely day to shoot in Northern Georgia..Day Two of His Light's Old Car City HDR Workshop.
Check out www.billfortney.com to see what it is all about...It is heaven sent for photos and the soul.
More later..in class now!
-ehw
You need to keep your smarts up when you want the trains to run on time!
This is what you get when you want to make sure you don't cut through the wires with busy trains running over them.
Kalen wanted a few photos for his grand parents, and of course I wanted one to see if I could make something interesting out of a simple floorplan shot.
This was my fun shot...for the geeks I desaturated most color except for yellow and red. Then I threw a Kodachrome filter on it in Perfect Effects...and the camera was a simple Olympus ZX-1 point and shoot.
-ehw