Not much to say today; sorry. And to top that off, this picture is… Well, I won’t say what I think of it, but it IS a chair (and it’s even shot with my 50mm 1.4 lens), and I’ve not posted one (a chair shot, that is) for quite some time. But don’t worry, ’cause I’ll make it up to you next week, I think, as I’ve got plans to hit a new site with a very interesting history, and some REALLY cool things to shoot. But for now, I’ll just let the light shine on this chair.
I really liked this scene, especially the interesting wallpaper and the almost shroud-like linen dressing gown laid out across this old hospital ward bed at Asylum “T”. I could have shot this at an angle, but I really liked the view head on facing the side of the bed because of all the great lines. I also liked the soft light coming in the window at the left, flowing down ever so gently across the delicate material of this long discarded gown. I can imagine the last person to have worn it while sleeping so “peaceful” and deep, like a child, while the world passed on by outside. How much, I wonder, did this person miss while they were sleeping and time marched on?
By the way, this is another shot I grabbed using my 50mm lens, with which I’ve falen in love all over again. I shot this one closed down to f/8, rather than wide open to f/1.4 as I usually prefer when trying to isolate the subject.
I know I mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again now. I have too dang many lenses, and it’s cramping my style… or at least my creativity. That’s why I decided, the last time I went out on an Urban Explore, to limit myself to taking just a few with me. On top of that, I forced start the day off with one of my favorite, but oft neglected lenses: the Nifty Fifty! That’s right, the 50mm (in this particular case, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 HSM, a great lens for detail shots. I keep forgetting how much I love this focal length, not to mention the creamy bokeh (that wonderful blur, for those not familiar with the term bokeh). For this particular photograph, I closed her down a bit from f/1.4 to f/2 to get just a touch more depth of field, and this is the result. I was REALLY quite pleased with all I was able to do with the Fifty (or Fiddy if you will), and I know I’ll have to take her out more often to keep the creative spark alive!
Dear friends; it is my sincere wish that all of you are all blessed, abundantly, with health and love now and in the coming year. May you all love and be loved, unconditionally! And, may you all be moved to give selflessly, and meaningfully, to someone less fortunate than yourself! Happy Holidays to all of you!
I don’t know about you all, but I have WAY TOO MUCH camera gear! Ask my wife if you don’t believe me! And, sometimes, I think it really weighs me down, not just in terms of the weight I lug around with me to an URBEX shoot, but also creatively. Far too often, I often end up with six or seven lenses in the bag, in addition to my Nikon D700 dSLR, though I rarely use more than three lenses on any trip. So why drag it all along? Perhaps it’s because, thinking back to my years as a Boy Scout, I’ve always got to be prepared for absolutely anything? Maybe. Maybe not. Truth of the matter, though, is that I’ve found myself far more creative on those trips where I take fewer lenses, which I had hoped to do today.
Today was the day I had intended to do just that, but again I took too much. And, as expected, I really only used two lenses, for the most part: my URBEX workhorses, the Nikkor 24mm f/3.5 PC-E (tilt-shift) and my Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8. I have to admit, though, that I was glad I brought along my Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP AF Macro Lens (great lens!), as a came back with a great shot of some tiny morphine ampules (still full) I’ll post in the next few days or so. I also had my Sigma 50mm 1.4 along, which I mounted once, composed with, but did not shoot, as well as my Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye (which also did not clear leather today). Were I to do this again next week, I’d probably pare down to four lenses, leaving the fisheye and macro lenses at home (but dang they’re so small, it’s easier to just take them anyway!). Lenses aside, I have some essentials that are always in my Domke F-2 Ruggedwear shooter’s bag when I’m on URBEX these days, including: my Gitzo GT-1541T Traveler 6X Carbon Fiber Tripod, a Really Right Stuff BH-40 LRII ballhead, a Promote Systems Remote Control, an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport, a Surefire G2 LED Flashlight, a Petzyl Tikka XP2 Headlamp, a Leatherman Wave tool, two cell phones, a GPS and chalk (to mark ingress/egress routes in unfamiliar buildings (basements, tunnels, etc.). And, believe it or not, it ALL (minus tripod and ballhead) fits in the aforementioned Domke F-2! Sweet! Like I said, everything but the kitchen sink! What do you take on URBEX?
