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Posts Tagged ‘travel’

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

UPenn Classic

2013 UPenn Classic

We are finalizing our plans for the first ballroom dance event for TimeLine Media this year. We are returning to cover the event for the Penn Latin and Ballroom Dance at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. This is an event that we first covered in 2009 when we were very new to photographing ballroom dance. Like us, it has changed and grown, and we look forward to this year’s event!

Ballroom Dance photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media
Ballroom Dance photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media

The last times we covered this event, there was so much energy in the room from all the dancers! With many college team in attendance, there were many friends cheering on their teammates. There were also some flags in the crowd to represent the sections from each school which makes the event unique compared to most others that we cover.

Ballroom Dance photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media

Venue

It will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, a venue which we have not been to previously. I hope to get in there early to get setup lights, and get an idea of where we can position to get the best photos. My style has changed much since the first time we went up to cover the event, but I’m interested to see how things have changed for me – both in lighting, and in composing photographs. I did use images from this event for a long time in my portfolio, and I hope to get more this year.

Event Details

With a full day of dancing scheduled, I’m estimating between 6000 and 9000 photos which will take about a week to process. Hopefully I can still post some blog posts during that time! To keep up with details as the competition approaches, you can follow the competition on Twitter – @UPennClassic13

After I finish editing the photos from the event, I will post them to the proofing site where I put all my other ballroom dance events-  http://proofs.timelinedc.com

Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Air Force Memorial – Arlington, VA

Photo project at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington

I forced myself on this Friday to get out of the house early while the sun was still low on the horizon to try to get some photos. Living in the Washington DC area gives you lots of opportunities to make images of memorials, monuments, that are familiar to everyone around the world. That makes it a challenge to make something new.

Having easy access to these sites, gives you an opportunity to get images that tourists, and visitors do not have. Waiting for the best light can be tough, but this was the best day I had in a while. I was hoping for clouds with a striking sunrise, just as everyone does, but this day was something different. Lots of cloud cover, with only the hint of a sunrise low on the horizon. It was not what I was planning, but I made the best of it. The Air Force Memorial rises up above Arlington, VA with a beautiful view of the Pentagon and Washington, DC. Going early in the morning also ensure not too many visitors to remove with software later!

Air Force Memorial - Arlington, VA - www.timelinedc.com

Post-processing with Nik HDR Efex Pro

While shooting, I reviewed the images on the back of the screen, and thought that these would benefit from HDR, or High Dynamic Range processing. In order to do this, I placed the camera on a tripod, and bracketed the exposures. The aperture was set at f/8.0 to get a large depth of field to see all the way to the Washington Monument. Then I took 8 different exposures from overexposed to underexposed around the meter reading in the camera.

When I got back to the computer, I loaded the photos into the Nik HDR Efex Pro plugin for Adobe Photoshop. In the first image, I was attempting to make adjustments to bring out a little drama in the clouds, but make the rest of the photo as close to how I saw the scene. The image below, I cropped out the horizon to emphasize the fact that this was a memorial to those that serve their country in the air. I processed the image as before, then converted it to black and white. This makes the tones in the monument match the tones in the clouds, but with a striking contrast from the organic clouds, and the man-made structure centered in the frame.

Air Force Memorial - Arlington, VA - www.timelinedc.com

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Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Washington Monument Birthday!

The Washington Monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885. I guess that makes it the 127th birthday of the unmistakable landmark that greets visitors to the capitol city. The height restrictions on buildings in the city make it the most visible and identifiable marker, and it makes for a great backdrop for photos from the White House to the cherry blossoms, or even from across the river in Virginia. I’ll have to refresh my collection of images that include the monument next time I have the chance.

Contrail from plane passing over the Washington Monument ©TimeLine Media
Contrail from plane passing over the National Mall ©TimeLine Media

This image was one from a walk around the National Mall on a beautiful spring afternoon. With the clear blue skies, and strong sunlight, strong shadows were on the sides opposite from the sun. Adding a darkened vignette on the edges helps to emphasize the monument.

Washington Monument at a beautiful sunset over the National Mall ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument at a beautiful sunset over the National Mall ©TimeLine Media

Although the structure looks basic, it can change its looks drastically throughout the day. On this occasion the up lighting below nicely highlights the edges in the setting sun. Since it is such a recognizable monument in the city, it gives you plenty of opportunities to set its location from you entire collection.

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