Posts Tagged ‘McLean’

Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center | Event Photographer

Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media

Last weekend there was an appearance by Karl Alzner, a defenseman for the Washington Capitals at Tysons Corner Center. It was great timing for his appearance as it was a day after he scored a goal in a winning effort by the NHL team.

Crowd to see Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Crowd to see Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

Tysons Corner Center

The appearance was more than just an opportunity to get an autograph. Karl also taught some kids basic stick handling in a setup for shooting. There was a large setup in the middle of the mall with a target for kids to aim practice balls. Karl spent an hour giving as many kids as possible a chance to score a goal.

Hockey shooting drills at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Hockey shooting drills at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media
Hockey shooting drills at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Hockey shooting drills at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media


 
Slapshot, the mascot for the Capitals was also there signing autographs, and playing goalie in another ball-shooting setup. He was quite a character to photograph, and really brought the personality without even speaking a word! It was nice to see a professional athlete taking time to interact with so many small kids giving them their first chance at hockey. There were a few that definitely had some previous experience, so he gave them some other stick skills to play try before shooting.

Slapshot points to the crowd at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Slapshot points to the crowd at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media
Slapshot plays goalie - ©TimeLine Media
Slapshot plays goalie – ©TimeLine Media


After the shooting drills, Karl took an hour to sign autographs. The line was almost out the door! The fans were very patient, and everyone got plenty of time to meet him. It was another smoothly run event. Even with all the parts that had to be setup, the staff at Tysons made sure we had everything we needed. The Capitals marketing team was also very considerate, and helped me setup to get some nice photos of the whole afternoon. It is always great to work with professionals!

Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Karl Alzner at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media –  www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Nat Geo Kids Club – Petting Zoo at Tysons Corner Center

Hedgehog at petting zoo - ©TimeLine Media

Well this was one of the cutest photo shoots I have ever covered. The National Geographic Kids Club had a petting zoo visit Tysons Corner Center. To say it was a big hit is an understatement! The small animals from Squeals on Wheels were quite the attraction for everyone visiting the mall. There were kids of all ages that wanted to line up and pet the rabbits, chicks, and piglets.

Duck presentation at petting zoo - ©TimeLine Media
Duck presentation at petting zoo – ©TimeLine Media

John and Jill the co-owners of Squeals on Wheels gave an orientation to everyone visiting about how to get up close to the animals. They encouraged everyone to greet and touch the animals – “It’s not a looking zoo, it’s a petting zoo!”

Piglet from Squeals on Wheels - ©TimeLine Media
Piglet from Squeals on Wheels – ©TimeLine Media

The line to come into the zoo was full the entire time they were open. The amount of people that could see the animals at one time was nicely controlled so that everyone had plenty of time and space to visit. It kept the animals calm as well so they did not have to entertain too many at one time!

Face Painting at Nat Geo Kids Club - ©TimeLine Media
Face Painting at Nat Geo Kids Club – ©TimeLine Media

Not only were there animals, but there was also talented Face painters and balloon makers. Parents and kids had a great time at the club this afternoon, and I am sure they will be back for more events this year. Go to their website for more information, and I’ll see you at the next one!

Hedgehog at petting zoo - ©TimeLine Media
Hedgehog at petting zoo – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Brain Games – Fisheye Lenses

Brain Games at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media

Tysons Corner Center

There was a very nice installation at Tysons Corner Center a few weekends ago. The display was very photo-centric and unique much like a lot of the content by National Geographic. Brain Games is a new show on the Nat Geo channel that describes how our brain interprets the visual data gathered by our eyes. If you watch this show, the demonstrations are mind-bending in the way that they show how our mind will digest information. Sometimes, there will be blind spots, sometimes the mind will fill in missing areas of information with its own data, not unlike “content aware” options in Adobe Photoshop.

Brain Games at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Brain Games at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

To go along with this show, the display had 4 different setups that made for some great illusions when captured on camera. There were rooms that were setup upside down, some with drastically sized furniture that would change the size of people in the frame, and some used mirrors to trick the eye into interpreting the scene. I do not have any photos from my camera on the setup since the camera position was very integral in getting the effect correct. I tried in a few frames, but it did not work as well as their setup – a credit to the designers and builders of the display! So after getting some standard photos of the display and the crowd that was taking part in the demonstrations, I decided I need to get some sort of strange – brain bending angles to the photos.

Fisheye Photography

This is where the fisheye lens comes in. I rarely uses these on shoots. When you first get a fisheye, you will use it constantly for a week, then you struggle to find an appropriate time to use it, especially for client work. The extreme wide angle distortion makes it difficult to use with people, and architecture photography would be too unrealistic with these lenses. If you shoot weddings, there will likely be a handful of times during a ceremony or the reception where it would be nice to get an overall view of the venues with the fisheye. The one I have is the 16mm Nikkor lens which is not the best performing lens, and has not been updated with a new model in quite some time.

Nikon 16mm Fisheye Lens
Nikon 16mm Fisheye Lens

Although there are lots of people in these photos, I had the camera on a tripod to get blurred motion from people moving through the display. It depicts more of the drama and action while keeping all of the elements of the display sharp. In Lightroom, you can straighten the bulbous curves in the frame using the Lens Corrections panel in the Develop Module. I try both the corrected and the uncorrected versions before deciding on a final version. It really depends on what is at the edges of the frame as to which is the best for the photo. Corrected frames will really stretch the edges which is not as bad for structures as it is for having people in those areas. I am happy with how this came out, and now have Brain Games on the TV watch list!

Brain Games at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Brain Games at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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