Open house...

on the N.S. Savannah, the first and only nuclear powered US Merchant Vessel.  Berthed at Pier 13 in the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore Harbor. Built in the '50s and filled with a lot of period artifacts, which I found as much or more interesting than the ship itself.  All with X100, a number of shots didn't work out as I am not completely comfortable with the camera yet and conditions were generally really dark inside and really bright outside.  Almost all were taken bracketed, although because of the wind the outside shots were generally processed as a single image, the inside ones are all done generally as strong HDRs to emphasize the period.

First, and maybe a little reminiscent of the Eastern State Penitentiary barber chair, Beauty shop I.

Beauty shop II

Dining room I

Dining room II

Main Galley I

Main Galley II

Hospital

Officer's mess

Passenger stateroom

Crew ladder

Engine room with the Control room beyond

On the Bridge

Gotta love the idea of sailing around in a nuke with a bunch of electro-mechanical controls and filling up those gigantic ashtrays with one pack of Lucky's after another.  Maybe this wine was a little before its time

Sparkling morning

After a week of pretty rainy weather, apparently worse further up the east coast, Saturday dawned rather brightly over the harbor.  This snap from about 6:35AM a precursor to what is forecasted to be a pretty nice day. This has to mark the last post of a Veranda # 4 shot for a while — more than a little repetitive over the last few days.  Perhaps due to the lack of mobility from being somewhat under the weather.

It is National Maritime Day and the N.S. Savannah is open for tours today, so that will occupy at least part of the middle of the day.  Snaps latter.

X100, three shot bracket, HDR Efex.

Planned Pano

So this is a better prepped pano.  5D Mk II, 45mm TS-E with some plus shift applied. Thirty nine shots, thirteen frames each bracketed with three images then combined using HDR Efex pro. Stitching in Photoshop CS5 as Panorama Factory kept running out of memory. This thing is big, just under 7' x 1.5' — I wonder if I will ever try to print it, I could and then what.  The mounting fees would be astronomical.

Anyway, Canon 5D Mk II, 45mm TS-E, HDR Efex, CS5 Photomerge and the usual Nashification recipe.  The B&W Version via Silver Efex Pro.

Panorama from Veranda #4

Haven't tried one of these in ages.  A real quick attempt with the X100 @ f/8.0 and ISO 200, unfortunately I can only reliably clamp the X100 to the Gitzo in landscape mode, not portrait. Six stitched images, each a three shot HDR bracket.  Some stitching problems with some ghosting in the distant buildings. Will try again with the 5D Mk II, with a RRS L Bracket, in portrait orientation with the 45mm TS-E.  I suspect that will be without any stitching problems.  Panorama creation using Panorama Factory from Smoky City Software.  Actual size at 300 dpi is 47 x 8.25".  Lacks height, that is why portrait orientation for the next one.

Reframed

A week or so ago, right after the X100 first arrived, I popped off and posted a shot from the fourth floor front (see Reading the book). I liked the snap but it was somewhat mis-framed.  So, I went ahead and tried to get it framed right.  Think I have it with this.  Do need to yank that print and replace it with something of mine.

X100, three shot bracket, HDR Efex and Silver Efex Pro.

There are gates...

that are generally closed right where I am standing to take this snap.  On the way back from DC yesterday, I noticed they were open — I noticed because someone was taking a similar shot. On the way to Lowes on a paint buying spree this AM, they were still open and someone else was taking the same shot. On the way back from Lowes, I got over my reluctance to be a copy cat, and took a three shot series.

This, the USNS Fisher is one of three (was four not too long ago) similar Military Sea Lift Command Ships berthed in Baltimore.  There were two berthed side by side here on Clinton Street.  There still are two at Locust Point, although I think they all shifted positions when the fourth departed.  There are 11 of these Bob Hope-class Roll-On, Roll-Off vehicle cargo ships.  More info here.

X100 bracketed around 1/125, ISO 400, f/8.0.  HDR Efex Pro and the normal Color Efex Pro Nashification.

Friday the 13th Stars

Apparently some flags in Baltimore have 13 not 50 stars, this one is in Patterson Park.  Oooops, I guess not, according to Wikipedia, the Baltimore flag is 15 stripes and 15 stars, which was the flag in 1812.  I guess I am going to have to count them.  In any case, the snap was taken through the window from the fourth floor front as Friday the 13th, 2011 winds down.  That 15 star thing kinda of blows the raison d´être for the image — well maybe it will have 13 stripes.

X100, f2.0, ISO 3200 at 1/17.  Silver Efex Pro 2 Selective Color. 

Stormy Weather

no Lena Horne, just some late crummy wether rolling in, in the late afternoon.  Shot from veranda #4, with the X100 and the wrong aperture at f/2.0 producing the out-of-focus condition on the railing.  Three shot HDR sandwiches.

Just for fun and to see if the new 16GB SanDisk Extreme Pro 45MB/s is better than the 8GB SanDisk Extreme 30MB/s card.  Seems like it dumps the three bracketed RAW + jpeg images a bit faster.

Onward...

first HDR shot with the X100.  Image reflects a modern technique and a new instrument and the need to always, no matter what, look forward.  No rear view mirrors, just windshields and headlights.  Pierce the darkness, overcome the hurdles and the hurdle makers.  Onward.

A Berkshire (2-8-4) in the B&O Museum Parking Lot, taken today en-route from Boston via BWI to home. X100, three shots bracketed around 1/120, f/2.0.  HDR and Silver Efex Pro.

Cape Ann

well... before the impromptu visit to the Public Garden (see the prior post), I planned a trip to the North Shore of Cape Ann, specifically, Essex, Wingersheek Beach and Annisquam.  The trip was curtailed by the X100 battery running out of juice but not before I got some decent snap candidates.  As it turns out, I think really pretty decent given it was the first real attempt with the camera that just arrived on Friday.

All pretty much f/8.0 at ISO 200 (the minimum) at whatever shutter speed soultion that yielded, all of course at 35mm - standard one-shot Nashification recipe.

Ipswich Bay from the end of Coles Island Road

Dashed transportation in the Annisquam River

Wingersheek Dunes and the Annisquam Light

Through the dunes and on to the light

Mothers Day picnic

The second course

Pretty much the middle of Annisquam

Perhaps the only grit in very polished Annisquam

Public Garden

and one from the Common.  The X100 battery died in Annisquam because it was never fully charged.  That dampened my enthusiasm as I wasn't much interested shooting the 7D.  So two weekends in a row, on trips especially planned for snaps, no juice.  On the way out to Cape Ann, I spotted a Best Buy so I figured I would stop and get yet another 12VDC to 120VAC converters.  Turns out there is a Target next to BBY, so I guess I saved a few bucks.  Anyway, a half hour charge on the way from Danvers to Boston got me a a decent number of attempts in The Public Garden and yielded one from the Common.

I think they were all f/8.0, at ISO 100, Aperture Priority, pretty standard Nashification.  Missed some, seems that the X100 is a bit slow unloading images to the card, maybe it is the RAW + JPEG setting or maybe because the battery was low. Something to explore. Anyway here are some snaps ...

A rather pedestrian shot of an equestrian George Washington at the west entrance for starters

Why ruin a pedestrian roll when you are on one

Hoofin' it on the Lagoon Bridge

Paying the piper (well guitarist)

Short, as in stature, not Bobby

Looks like things have changed since 1848

Ibid

the one from the Common

Small favors...

Dateline, Lowell, MA, 7:14PM, May 7, 2011

Dear Joe,

We won't be making that trip on May 8th.  Please try later in the season.

Capt. Steve

Cap'n Steve is an astute man or at least his customers are.  One lighthouse was cold enough six would have been hypothermic.  Maybe still a little too early for seersucker bermudas north of the Hub.

Annisquam River and Light in Background, from Wingersheek Beach,  7D, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS, 180mm, 1/320, f/8.0, ISO 100.

The Pagoda and the Fuji

The X100 arrived while I was up north in the Hub.  Got to pick it up at the office on Friday, couple shots in the office, running to a medical appointment, then home with a bunch of calls unfortunately booked for a gorgeous Spring Friday afternoon.  Then, wrong keys, locked out and a wait for RN to get back.  So over to Patterson Park and some pagoda and fountain snaps.  The X100 draws, as Sean Reid would say, uniquely. Snaps don't look like the Canons ones at all, maybe because of a weaker or non-existent AA filter, actually doesn't matter why — the snaps sure are good looking.  

Pretty normal RAW post processing (with ACR in Photoshop as Aperture doesn't have support yet), except the close-up where the peeling paint has been made more peeling via a pretty heavy dose of Nik Tonal Contrast. I like this camera, it is going to fill its role perfectly — serious photography in a smaller than DSLR package.  It will be coming to Boston tomorrow and along to Denver later in the week.  I was only going to bring the X100 but I decided to take a boat tour of Cape Ann and I am sure I am going to want more reach, so the 7D and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS are coming too. The 50mm f/1.8 is small and light so it is in the bag but the intent is to use the X100 everywhere it makes sense.

35mm, ISO 200, 1/1000, f/2.0, standard Nashification post processing except Nik Tonal Contrast to emphasize the peeling paint.

35mm, ISO 400, 1/120, f/8.0, standard Nashification post processing

35mm, ISO 400, 1/420, f/8.0, standard Nashification post processing

35mm, ISO 400, 1/450, f/8.0, standard Nashification post processing

And again some more

No sense complaining about the equipment fiasco.  I like a lot of the Carrie Furnace shots.

Canon 10D, 70-200 f/2.8 IS, f/2.8, 70mm, ISO 800, bracketed off 1/3200.  Three shot, Slight (low opacity) Midnight filter application plus some Topaz Adjust and Nik Glamor Glow.

Canon 10D, 70-200 f/2.8 IS, f/2.8, 70mm, ISO 800, bracketed off 1/1250.  Three shot, Slight (low opacity) Midnight filter application plus some Topaz Adjust.

Lots of post processing in a not all that sucessfull attempt to make up for a not very technically good snap.

Canon 10D, 70-200 f/2.8 IS, f/2.8, 80mm, ISO 800, bracketed off 1/80.  Two shots HDR.