Fly-by | Washington DC
One thing that I didn’t remember from my visits to Washington DC as a youngster was the frequent air traffic near the monuments. Maybe we’re just more in tune to it these days, or maybe the approach patterns have changed, but it seemed like every monument I visited there was a way to incorporate a plane into my shots — so I did.
At the Jefferson Memorial, planes taking off from Regan National Airport would buzz by, some disappear behind the dome of the structure and then come out the other side on a quick ascent. I like shots like this, it helps pull together old and new; historical and current.
While shooting here on my last night in town, I got an idea for a timelapse of the site. I may have to go back soon to put that into motion.
Jagged Pier | New Bern, NC
This fishing pier, located in Lawson Creek Park in New Bern, still shows the scars of last summer’s Hurricane Irene. The storm surge entered the area and appears to have lifted the pier right out of the bottom of the river. I have wanted to shoot this for a while now. The way the lines sort of zig zag up and down is really neat. This particular day, the water was nice and choppy and ready to be smoothed out by a long exposure!
This is a 30 second exposure shot through a 10-stop ND filter.
What Do YOU Prefer?
Recently I have found myself doing more and more black and white photography and I must admit, I feel like I’m falling in love with it all over again. A lot of the people who have grown to enjoy my work, though, are used to my vibrant color style of photography. So, I’m interested to see- which version do you prefer?
Power | Shelocta, Pennsylvania
Connect- Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+
This is the power plant in Western Pennsylvania where my dad has worked my whole life. I used to drive past this spot every day when I lived in PA while on my way to and from school/work without paying much mind to it. I knew that during this trip I wanted to shoot some long exposures from this spot along the road. On this particular evening, there was a 35-40mph wind blowing directly at me with some rain and snow mixed in. Makes for very difficult shooting conditions to say the least! At one point, the wind actually blew my tripod over mid exposure…
This 25” exposure really captured the insane motion in the sky well. I went back to shoot it the next night too, with a clearer sky, but I prefer this version with the water on my lens. Just adds to the feel and is a reminder to myself what the scene really was like.
The shot: Nikon D90, 19-105mm VR Nikkor lens @18mm. 25 second exposure, ISO 400, f/5.6. Lightroom for some exposure correction and RAW conversion; finished in Photoshop with Nik Silver Efex Pro for black and white conversion.
©2011 Zach Frailey
Outside the Box
Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | 500px | Google+
This is a different take on the subject of yesterday’s Weathering Storms. As I find new locations and add to my Abandoned NC project, I have an increasingly difficult time deciding between processing and posting the completed image in color (as originally intended) or in black and white. Each image that I’ve completed resides on my hard drive in both color and black and white, by the way. I have decided to share this old boathouse, from a little different an angle, in black and white today. It’s a step in a different direction as I don’t share much black and white photography, but I feel that sometimes the lack of color can speak wonders of a scene. I’m interested to hear the feedback on this one.
The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105mm VR lens @ 40mm. Single exposure- f/16, 1/200 sec., ISO200. Edited in Photoshop CS4 with some Nik Color Efex tweaks, finished in Nik Silver Efex Pro for black & white conversion.
