HDR Photography
Today’s photograph comes from the same forrest preserve where I photographed the creek and frozen pond. The setting sun was eclipsed by the trees to my back such that only the branches far away from me picked up that lovely, golden hue. I really liked the way that contrasted with the dull trees and textured grass closer to me.
Walking residential streets at dusk transforms the most mundane environment into a magical place. The incandescent lighting tumbles from the houses along with the smells of dinner. I found this particular house, with its gorgeous jungle of a front yard and perfect proportions, to be the most welcoming.
Some buildings really have a face of their own. This image is from the northern part of Berkeley; I love how obviously the street is slanted. Still, the lobby looks quite warm and inviting (particularly on the night I took this image; the drizzle was a bit unpleasant.)
I’ve previously posted a handful of images from UC Berkeley’s student machine shop. (I even did a recent post for the Berkeley Science Review, where I talk a bit more about why I love this place.)
Today’s photograph is of the wall of that shop with its endless array of bits and blades for the plethora of machines that require them. Clicking through to view the full-sized image is particularly rewarding; each of those little strips of color is a label, put in place decades ago, describing the bit type and size, along with taped-up charts of conversion factors and tiny tutorials on how to use it all. Even a single drill bit is patterned with a mosaic of dents, dings, and damages that tell a story of the countless times it has been used; to see so many together, in one place, tells a story of generations of scientists working their damnedest to convince their experimental apparatuses to cooperate. More than plaques on a wall or papers in a file somewhere, this is the real testament to scientific achievement.
Continuing the Marin Headlands bombardment, today’s photograph shows the northern approach to the Golden Gate Bridge with Angel Island in the background. This was also my first attempt at post-processing to simulate the use of a tilt-shift lens, which produces the illusion of a miniature reality. I think it works quite nicely here to give the bridge a feeling of being part of a model railroad set.
On Monday, Brendan showed you his view of the Golden Gate Bridge; today, it’s my turn. I was lucky enough to capture the moment an enormous container ship passed under the bridge on its way into the Pacific Ocean. The scale of both the bridge, and these behemoths of the ocean, shocked me when I first thought of it. I had been watching this ship for almost an hour as it maneuvered its way through the bay from the Port of Oakland, and as it passed Alcatraz, I realized that the island and the ship were nearly the same length! To then see the ship pass trivially under the Golden Gate was astonishing.
By this point in the evening it had started to rain, and keeping the lens clear was becoming increasingly difficult. I didn’t dare risk missing the moment the ship passed under the bridge, so I dried the lens, put the cover on, and waited patiently for just the right moment.
Last month, I had a chance to shoot Brighton Boast a Bit (a.k.a. Posey the pony) and Piper J. Klemm (the rider) as they practiced a bit at Show Park Del Mar. Capturing motion is a very different experience for me, given that I’m usually shooting some pretty static landscapes, but I particularly liked this shot of Posey looking a bit unhappy as Piper asks her to pick up the gallop. The swooshing tail really tells the story.
So often in suburbia, the facades of buildings are a bit boring and a couple of designs feel ubiquitous. The back of a commercial property, though, has been given over to this hyper-utilitarian aesthetic that is a much more interesting subject. A couple of security lights cast the some of the best shadows.
Christmas in the Hill household used to mean a big roast. This year, though, the allure of a perfectly-marbled ribeye overcame us, and we fired up the grill on a 20-degree Chicago evening. The flying sparks from the drippings were really captured in the HDR shot. There’s always something particularly strange and foreign in the quickly-varying flames when different brackets are composited together.
To the adults at the beach, it was December: the light was fading fast, the wind was a bit chilly, and every surfer had a wet suit. To the kids, though, it was summer. A day at the beach is always a slice of summer, with the wave splashes and ambitious sand construction projects to prove it. With the camera down at “kid height,” the beach stretches on forever and I faced a contest in which serious consideration was given to who had created the most imposing edifice.
UC Berkeley’s student machine shop has a truly fascinating collection of old machines that are still fantastically useful. (I’ve posted on it before.) This particular photograph is of a lathe’s controls–both those for moving the tool bit relative to the metal as well as those for the automatic feeds.
When everything I work with in the laser lab is computer-controlled, it’s refreshing to work with a machine that works entirely from a clever design of gears and cogs. There’s a solidity and strength in a device that is completely independent of interference from microprocessors.
The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and San Francisco is actually a pair of bridges, resting for a moment on the island of Yerba Buena. Attached to Yerba Buena is the ironically-named Treasure Island, a man-made island composed entirely of fill. From there, photographing either the East Bay or San Francisco itself works out quite nicely. Today’s shot of the western span of the bridge has a bit of the unlit Yerba Buena outcropping on the left and the hyperintense lights of AT&T Park (home of the SF Giants) under the bridge. On this particularly clear night, I was thrilled to be able to capture it all without a thick slathering of fog.
Berkeley has a Student Machine Shop, and my scientific experiments would never get off the group without it. I’ve lost track of the number of times that I’ve needed a part that has never before been made–I can only imagine in my mind what I need. I make some preliminary drawings, and I head up to the shop to machine this fantasy part from aluminum or, more rarely, steel. To see that form from my imagination slowly becoming reality is one of the most exciting experiences I’ve ever had. (It’s probably worth noting that I started as a sculptor before transitioning to photography.)
This particular photograph is of a milling machine, used to make planes, grooves, and holes in metal. In many ways, it’s a lot more flexible than a lathe (the other ubiquitous machine shop tool), but also a bit more threatening looking.
Today, I’m posting another photograph of UC Berkeley’s greenhouses at their Oxford Research station. This area has a bizarre mix of well-maintained, modern facilities along with others that look as though they haven’t been touched since the 1960’s. The vibe reminds me a bit of certain levels in Portal 2. More than anything, it’s amazing that I was able to stand around in the parking lot of this fascinating place for 20 minutes taking photos.
I’ve always loved the little details of a gorgeous house–the tiny trim pieces, or the leaded glass windows. This particular shot reminded me of playing in the yard as a child. In the winter time, the sun set before dinner, so when the time came to head in, the house had this unearthly blue glow that made the warm light from inside so much more inviting.
