On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.
A Day in a (Photographer’s) Life
These are shots I took in and around Pasadena(San Marino, aka The Huntington, is just south of the eastern portion of Pasadena) last Saturday. All of these shots were trying a different technique that I’d not used before, mainly different filters on the cameras.
Taken on 2019-03-09 00:00:00
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
I started my morning with a trip to The Huntington arriving before it was open to the public(upper level members get early entry). Instead of shooting my IR shots with 590nm filter(it lets in more visible light), I shot with a 720nm filter. The shots come out of the camera looking like a black and white picture with a purple tint. As has become my standard practice with infrared photography, I shoot a visual shot at the same time and combine them when I process them to add some of the visual color back into the picture(mainly blues, reds and browns). If you look behind the pavilion at the center of the picture you may see some orange color. This is the framework for new additions to the Chinese Garden. They’ve started building Phase III to complete the Chinese Garden with new pavilions to the north and the hills on the west.
Taken on 2019-03-09 00:00:00
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
This is a demonstration shot of the focus stacking technique(one reason why the branch is sticking into the frame). Focus stacking involves shooting multiple shots as different focus and then putting them together in Photoshop(or another program).
Technical Explanation about Depth of Field(tl;dr)
The aperture on a lens controls how much of a photograph will be in focus(if it’s open all the way(a low f number), the distance that will be in focus is short, and if it’s smaller(a high f number) the distance that will be in focus will be greater). Shooting with a wide open lens lets in more light(good for astrophotography) and the focus is sharper. So shooting multiple shots at a wide aperture refocusing at each distance will produce a sharper shot. Fortunately my camera has software that does this for me.
Taken on 2019-03-09 00:00:00
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
One of the really nice things about shooting Infrared is that it really highlights clouds. We’ve had quite a bit of rain here in Southern California this winter and while it didn’t rain last Saturday there were some nice clouds making it perfect for IR. This is the bridge in the lower portion of the Japanese Garden with Japan House perched on the hill to the right and some really nice clouds as a background. Again this was shot with a 720nm filter with a visual color overlay.
Taken on 2019-03-09 00:00:00
Pasadena, CA
After a short nap, I headed off to a shoot with the local photography group at the Colorado Street bridge. Being that I’ve shot here before, I decided to try something a bit different, a really long exposure to get long traffic traces. So I added a neutral density filter to my lens to darken the picture. This allows me to get long traffic traces and not blow out the highlights. I also shot a timelapse: https://youtu.be/HvWJga8p8rg.
Taken on 2019-03-09 00:00:00
Pasadena, CA
After shooting at the bridge we traveled over to City Hall for more shots. This is a panorama composed of 10 shots. My goal was to get the moon(just to the right of the lower portion of the dome) in the shot and attempt to get some stars(the belt of Orion is in the left top portion of the shot).
Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
biff murphy
nice pics, thanks!
JPL
The bridge picture is new to me and quite nice. Thanks
Mary G
Love them all, but particularly the focus stacking one; it’s a beautiful composition.
HinTN
As for that bridge photo, I suspect you employed Ansel Adams’ technique and waited for hours until the clouds delivered just that composition. Well done, sir.
Elizabelle
Love Bill’s photos. Always a good way to start the day. Sometimes, rather trippy.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Thanks, Billin. Those are lovely, and wonderful to look at before heading out the door to the office.
arrieve
Gorgeous as always, Bill. I love the idea of focus stacking — I’ve never tried it.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@biff murphy: You’re welcome.
@JPL: I’ve shot the bridge before, I just thought I’d go along with the group and see if any ideas came to me for something new.
@Mary G: @Mary G: Thanks, focus stacking gives pics a 3-D effect I really like.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@HinTN: Actually I was only there for a hour and decided to shoot a timelapse for a portion of that time, that’s one of the pics from the timelapse.
@Elizabelle: I hope it’s not trrippy like the brown acid.
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Glad ya like em.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@arrieve: I hadn’t either until I installed a software mod on my camera that automates the process(I select the near focus point, the far focus point, number of shots and press start).
stinger
Technically interesting (so far as I understand what you’re doing), lovely artistic composition and coloring, and just a touch of luck! A most uplifting post, especially after reading the overnight political threads….
?BillinGlendaleCA
@stinger: Thanks.