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Posts Tagged ‘urban’

Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Philadelphia – Fuji X100S

Philadelphia Fuji X100S city hall front facade ©TimeLine Media
Philadelphia city hall front facade ©TimeLine Media

Mirrorless Travel Photos

I am finally getting around to posting about my trip to Philadelphia with my Fuji X100S. While I was accompanying my wife on a business trip, I had a chance to tour the city. While we had plenty of space, I did not want to bring my bulky camera setup with me. On this occasion, we took the train from DC, and not worrying about a large camera bag was very freeing!

Independence Hall panorama ©TimeLine Media
Independence Hall panorama ©TimeLine Media

In case you are unfamiliar, the Fuji X100S is a mirrorless camera. Without a doubt it is a much smaller package, but the performance is not compromised. Also the software built into the camera has some features that are not in other cameras I have used. For example, the Independence Hall above was stitched in-camera! Of course that could be done in post processing, but testing it here was impressive.

Flag in front of Betsy Ross' house in Philadelphia, PA Fuji X100S ©TimeLine Media
Flag in front of Betsy Ross’ house in Philadelphia, PA ©TimeLine Media

The picture styles of their JPGs particularly change the look. Since these are from the same company that makes Fuji film stocks, they named the styles in the same way. This last photo is a monochrome image out of the camera – lovely – just like the Acros film I remember from film-shooting days!

30th Street Train Station - Philadelphia, PA ©TimeLine Media Fuji X100S
30th Street Train Station – Philadelphia from an X100S Fuji camera ©TimeLine Media

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Commercial, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Soaring Tysons Spaces

Vita Tower

Just driving through the area, it’s easy to see the soaring Tysons spaces going up into the northern Virginia sky. The team from Macerich asked if I could make some photos of the Vita Tower. This is a new luxury apartment tower opening soon next to Tysons Corner Center. It is the closest to 123, and the most visible to those passing through the area.

For these photos, I went up to the 30th floor of the Vita. Undoubtedly it is the tallest floor above Tysons right now with a view into downtown Washington, DC. On this floor are a lot of recreation areas for residents to use. There are TVs, tables, lounging chairs, and a pool. When the weather is not good, there are interior space available. There is a kitchen, bar, and lounge with TVs and views over the area. The residences in this building must be high end given that this common area had high end design all around. This will be a definite selling point for this property!

Tower Club – Tysons

Across the Tysons Corner Center from the Vita Tower is the Towers Crescent building. It was a soaring space in Tysons since the 1980s. My architect father would frequently comment about this Philip Johnson building when we were in the area. For another client request, I was given access to photograph from their outside spaces. I cannot help thinking this view will change drastically over the next few years!

Soaring Tysons Spaces ©TimeLine Media

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Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Washington Monument

Updating Wall Art

Washington Monument from Tidal Basin ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument from Tidal Basin ©TimeLine Media

Last May, I went to downtown Washington, DC to get photos of the Washington Monument. We are updating a wall art collection in one room. For that reason, I thought about grouping photos of DC monuments would fit nicely.

Now that I had an idea of what I wanted to create, I set out to make the photos on a clear evening. This time of day is ideal for what I was looking for. I did not want a late evening, or nighttime shot, but the middle of the day would not have the dimension I was looking to have on the monument. When the sun gets lower in the horizon, the shadows will be a little less harsh overall.

Sunset photo of Washington Monument ©TimeLine Media
Sunset photo of Washington Monument ©TimeLine Media

For these photos, I used the 24mm PC-E F/3.5D tilt shift lens. This is one of the sharpest lenses I have in my bag. Secondly, the shift function of the lens helped to correct the ‘falling away’ look of the very tall Washington Monument. As can be seen in the comparison photos, the straightened version is more accurate, and a different perspective than from the ground vantage point that you see.

uncorrected monument 24mm lens ©TimeLine Media
uncorrected monument 24mm lens ©TimeLine Media
shift corrected monument 24mm lens ©TimeLine Media
shift corrected monument 24mm lens ©TimeLine Media

Washington Monument Print

Once I had the settings of the camera dialed in, I moved around the base of the monument. Sometimes the placement of the trees at the bottom surrounding park was distracting. In another case, the construction cranes from a museum going up near the monument was distracting. Finally, I just decided to shoot, and remove the crane out of the print in software for my final selection. It was a successful exercise to gain experience with a lens, and to shoot for a specific purpose.

final black and white wall print ©TimeLine Media
final black and white wall print ©TimeLine Media

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