Burning steel wool makes for some really cool effects. With St. Lawrence University Photo Club, we experimented with illusions of depth and movement over the course of the exposure.
Whirly Thing
The Millersport Sweet Corn festival is a delightful slice of midwestern Americana.
Window to Seattle Glow
Waking up early at the Fairmont Olympic means peaking out the window to a contrast: the blue sky says day has begun, but the sodium-lamp-lit streets say night continues. The tan brick and window frame provide a logical grounding point for the viewer, placing you directly into the otherwise-fantastical scene.
Let’s Ride
A scene from this summer’s Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park: This serious young rider is ready to, well, ride. Look at that focused expression.
Ram on Bridge
There’s fundamental power in the laminated wood structure of this through-arch bridge (which I’ve photographed before), and I love the way it’s enhanced by the imposing pickup truck and the dramatic sky.
Dawn Becomes Day
This street scene from my trip to Seattle jumped out at me because of the shift in tone: As the cars drive around the corner, they drive from the last dark, street-lit parts of the dawn into the full light of day. The passage of time is mapped onto the transition of light.
Strange Village
Photo nostalgia for the day: the strange, flat light of the marine layer burning off the Bay. The mix of architectural styles from the early twentieth century makes Berkeley, on a day like this one was, seem like a scale model of itself.
Smooth Water
When the water is too high the trail (pictured!) is impassible and it is necessary to take the high water trail. The trail is not impassible in this shot.
Interstate Through Portland
The raised interstate looks like a crown, with bridges for gems, just above the emerging skyline of Portland’s Pearl District.
Buckeye Sunset
You may not be able to get your boat out on the lake right now, but the upside is that you have a plot with a view west over the lake that’s not all bad.
Scenes from the Ferry Across Lake Champlain
The ferry across Lake Champlain is brief—no need for cabins when a few benches will do. The calm of mid-century American design makes the place feel like every other ferry you’ve ever been on.
Cars and bikes waited on the deck below. I rather like the notice about stopping motors and setting brakes above two vehicles for which that isn’t likely to be an issue.
Vuitton Seattle
The streets of Seattle are almost empty, early on a Saturday morning in August. The retro lettering and style of the Louis Vuitton display and the science-fictional curve of Rainier Tower above it make me think of 1970s-era film. A car chase must be just around the corner. (I suspect I’ve thought this about a post before, but as this is apparently my 600th Decaseconds post, that should be forgivable.)
Wetland Bridge
The tranquility of the lake in Bays Mountain park just blows me away.
Flying Over St. Lawrence I
This image, taken from the air over Campus Security and with the restored steeple of St. Lawrence University in the background, might not be quite up to my normal quality standards. I find it more interesting for another reason: it’s the first (good) picture I’ve captured with a quadcopter drone. I have to admit, the potential of the technology for landscape photographers is pretty exciting. Now if I can just get a drone to carry something as heavy as my DSLR…
Reflective Reservoir
Bays Mountain in Northeast Tennessee is home to a large public park with a cool nature center, some pretty hiking trails, and a large reservoir. Sitting in a little bowl on the top of the mountain, and allowing only a single boat (a barge for showing guests around the lake) means that the water is often exceptionally smooth, leading to amazing reflections on days like these.
Decaseconds 