Wendella Boats' "Linnea" passes under the DuSable Bridge that connects Michigan Avenue over the Chicago River on October 19, 2010. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 42mm | Exposed 1/160 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Finally, I present the last of my Chicago images.  Not necessarily for the master’s project, but for me: Elizabeth and I lived in Chicago for a time, but I never really carried a camera with me because I was concerned about keeping my equipment safe at our apartment in Hyde Park.  I figured the less I had, the safer we were (and we never had a break-in).  But this project gave me an excuse to walk around downtown and the Loop with some of my better gear.  Frankly, the 5D Mk. II and a 50mm lens would be a great combination, with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto as two accessory lenses, but I really needed to have the 24-70mm with me that day as I was working on my project, and needed the flexibility that it provides.  The next time I go to Chicago with a camera, it will just be for me, and the equipment choices will certainly reflect that!

Taxi and Carbide and Carbon Building (Hard Rock Hotel) | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm | Exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400

Elevated train on Wabash Ave. and Smurfit-Stone Building | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Three more photographs after the jump!

A woman walks on the crosswalk at the intersection of Wabash and Lake as an elevated train goes by. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/125 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 400

A discussion near the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 57mm | Exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 3200

Cloud Gate sculpture, Millennium Park, and the Chicago skyline at twilight | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 32mm | Exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/4.5, ISO 3200

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | 2 comments | Filed under Travel | Tags: architecture, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Chicago, EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism, pictorial, street photography

The city's eponymous river, Chicago Riverfront, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 250

Chicago and the river that bears the city’s name are a large part my project about Asian carp: the river is a conduit through which the fish are likely to find their way into Lake Michigan.  (In all fairness, they have already found alternative routes that take them into Lake Erie.)  Here, then, are a few more photos of this city that is the seat of so much controversy.

"Corn Cribs," IBM Building, and Trump Tower, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 250

Aqua, designed by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, is the largest skyscraper project awarded to an architectural firm headed by a woman. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 240mm | Exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Window cleaning crew on 333 W. Wacker Drive | Canon 5D Mk. II and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 300mm | Exposed 1/400 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Master's Project | Tags: architecture, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS, Chicago, EOS 5D Mark II, Master's Project, photojournalism

Chicago River from the Wrigley Building, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 24mm | Exposed 2 seconds @ f/8, ISO 400.

While making a long walk back to Union Station from Navy Pier, with a detour to Water Tower Place (some detour, I know…my legs are still burning a bit) I happened upon the Wrigley Building right after twilight.  The image about would have been better if I had taken my 24mm TS-E with me, but I had borrowed my dad’s 24-105 f/4L IS because it’s lighter and smaller than my 24-70. and I only wish that the couple in the image below hadn’t been standing right by those beverage containers.  You can’t have it all.

Making out by the river, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm f/4L IS lens @ 105mm | Exposed 1/25 sec. @ f/4, ISO 3200.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | One comment | Filed under Updates | Tags: architecture, Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, Chicago, EOS 5D Mark II, landscapes, photojournalism, pictorial

Walking into the "Joe" (Rosenfield center), Grinnell College | Canon 5D Mark II and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 200mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/7.1, ISO 200.

They’re photographic clichés, but everyone I know seems to respond positively to silhouettes.  On my last morning in Grinnell (4 Oct.) I decided to take a (slightly) different tack on an old idea: blend architecture and pictorial, but have architecture remain the subject, not the person walking through it.  To achieve this, everything beyond a few “feet” in the image is soft.

Normally, in a situation like this, either a photographer would make everything in focus by stopping down to maximize the depth-of-field, or would focus on the place where people were moving in and out and let everything else fall out of the DOF.  I wanted to try something a little different.  Does it work for you?

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Updates | Tags: architecture, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, EOS 5D Mark II, pictorial

Science library at Noyce Hall, Grinnell College, Iowa | Canon 5D Mark II and 24mm f/3.5L TS-E Mark II lens | Exposed 1/20 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 100.

Lens envy is something every photographer experiences, and sometimes it’s made worse when a lens you love is replaced with a newer, more expensive version.  I suppose this is what people who have iPhone’s go through every June.

About five years ago I purchased a Canon 24mm f/3.5L TS-E lens for its ability to control perspective…that is, I wanted to get a view looking “up” at a building without the lines converging.  And it was a small, albeit dense, lens, so it was pretty easy to slip into a camera bag and take it along just in case a landscape or architectural situation demanded it.  But it had its flaws, chief among them being that the tilt (also known as swing) movement comes from the factory 90 degrees from the shift (rise and fall) movement.  That means that if you want to use shift to get a higher perspective, but also tilt the lens downward, then you’re out of luck unless you send the lens in to Canon to be altered so that they’re on the same plane.

Canon 24mm f/3.5L TS-E lenses - the Mark II is on the right, and now takes an 82mm filter thread instead of the 72mm thread on the older version. | Canon 5D Mark II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

Then, Canon announced that it was revamping the 24mm TS-E to be introduced in 2009, and the biggest change was that tilt and shift movements could be rotated to be on the same plane, or 90 degrees from each other.  But, as with any advance, there’s a drawback: the new lens is huge in comparison to the old one!  Finally, one thing I don’t like is that the filter thread jumped up from 72mm, which was a little small for my taste, but my 77mm polarizing filter easily went onto a step-up ring.  However, now that the new 24mm TS-E takes an 82mm thread, like my 16-35mm f/2.8L II, so a true 82mm polarizing filter might just be a necessity.

That said, did I hold my 77mm polarizer up to the lens with my fingers?  Yup.  But I think it would just get old, so if/when I buy a lens like this one, I think an appropriately-sized polarizer is just going to be part of the cost-of-entry.

A wall with some personality to it, Joe Rosenfield Center, Grinnell College, Iowa | Canon 5D Mark II and 24mm f/3.5L II lens | Exposed 6 seconds @ f/11, ISO 800.

The bottom line is that the new lens is sharper, more versatile because of the ability to change the alignment of the shift and tilt movements, but also bigger and much more expensive.

Anyone want to buy my old one?  I may be broke, but I’m only half-kidding. . .

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Reviews | Tags: architecture, Canon 24mm f/3.5L TS-E, Canon 85mm f/1.2L II, EOS 5D Mark II, Grinnell College, Reviews, tilt and shift

Jakob Berr pores over Valerie Mosley's photos for her story, "Doing the Right Thing," for the 62nd annual Missouri Photo Workshop at the Comfort Inn in Macon, Mo. | Leica M8 and 50mm Summicron f/2 lens | Expsed 1/45 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 640

On September 11, 2010, I left Durham, North Carolina to get to Racine, Wisconsin by way of Chillicothe, Ohio. Last Sunday I departed Racine for Columbia, Missouri, by way of St. Louis.  Since then I’ve lost a pillow (it will be returned), been slimed by a Silver carp, photographed a levitating Kim Komenich at the 62nd annual Missouri Photo Workshop in Macon, Missouri, and played tourist at my Alma mater.  My odometer cracked 27,000…not so happy about that, and I’ve also had my share of meals on the road.  Things will slow down soon, but not yet…

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Flying Fish

On Wednesday I went out on the Big Muddy with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to see just how responsive Asian Silver carp are to the sounds of boat motors–to say nothing of the electro-fishing rig onboard. I got slimed…

Wyatt Doyle, Branch Chief of the US Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Columbia, Mo. pilots a boat on the Big Muddy. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm | Exposed 1/1600 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200.

Netted Silver carp from the Big Muddy, Columbia, Mo. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 27mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200.

Colby Wrasse of the US Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Columbia, Mo. holds a Silver lamprey that detached from a Silver carp when it jumped into the electro-fishing boat. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/4, ISO 100.

Missouri Photo Workshop

The 62nd annual MPW was held in Macon, Missouri this year, and was coordinated by two of my favorite people in the world, Jakob Berr and Calin Ilea.

Jakob Berr photographing Calin Ilea, Macon, Mo. | Canon 1D Mark III and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/3200 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 100.

Erin Schwartz standing on the steps to the Elks Club on Rollins Street, the headquarters for the Missouri Photo Workshop held in Macon, Mo. | Canon 1D Mark III and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/2000 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 100.

Taylor Glascock at the "vortex" downloading station, Macon, Mo. | Canon 1D Mark III and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

Valerie Mosley tears up from the stresses of the week. This could be me in a year. | Leica M8 and 50mm Summicron f/2 lens | Exposed 1/30 sec. @ f/3.4, ISO 640.

An Interactive “Sloth Crawl” Reprise!

My friend Calin Ilea told me to follow Kim Komenich around and make a “flip book.”  Kim crawled around before activating his levitation mode.

Is This Heaven?  Oh, right, it’s Iowa…

Honey, I made a miniature East Campus. Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa. | Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24mm f/3.5 TS-E Mark II lens | Exposed 1/640 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 100.

More to come…

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | 3 comments | Filed under Updates | Tags: architecture, Asian Carp, Canon 50mm f/1.4, diptychs, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, Grinnell College, Leica M8, Master's Project, Missouri Photo Workshop, photojournalism, pictorial

Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Mo. | Canon 5D Mark II and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/640 sec. @ f/11, ISO 100.

Who says you can’t make a good picture in the middle of the day?

Over the weekend Elizabeth and I found ourselves in St. Louis for Independence Day, partly thanks to a hotel deal through Hotwire.com.  While I’ve been going to school at the University of Missouri for two years, and have spent some time in St. Louis in that time, I haven’t actually gone up to the Gateway Arch since a seventh-grade field trip back around 1997.  Frankly, I can’t even remember if I took a camera (taking a 35mm SLR was something I was never too keen to do back when I was in middle school).  But I do remember going up in the arch and feeling the structure sway back and forth in the wind.  Fun!  But it’s still standing there.  Unfortunately, getting up to the top of the arch is harder than I can recall from all those years ago: you have to go through a magnetometer, your bag through an X-Ray, and rangers are standing by to pat you down.  We actually tried two days in a row to go to the top, and both times the line for tickets was either painfully slow or, on the second day, not moving at all because the eight (eight!) employees behind the ticket counter weren’t selling tickets.  C’est la vie.

Tiny dog, huge tongue at the Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Mo. | Canon 5D Mark II and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/4000 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 100.

So, when life hands you lemons…

Common wisdom suggests that you can’t make a good image at mid-day.  For the most part, this is true, except when it is either cloudy, your subject is in shade, or you can block the sun within the frame.  The top photo would be an example of the third route: the sun is blocked (mostly) by the top of the arch.  Was the resulting image somewhat flat?  Sure.  But it came back to life with a few contrast and curve adjustments.  No magic required!

This image above of a man and his dog would be a case of the second option: put them in the shade, and keep ‘em there.  Below, we have the classic fourth option: don’t photograph at noon, but wait for the magic hour†.

View of the arch from Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. | Canon 5D Mark II and 50mm f/1.4 lens | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 100.

† I’ve heard the concept of the “magic hour” defined in a couple of ways.  The classic, to me, is the hour proceeding sunrise and the hour preceding sunset: the two times during the day when you get fantastic, golden light.  But then I heard a different definition this past fall at the Missouri Photo Workshop–a photojournalist’s definition: the hour preceding dawn and the hour after dusk (twilight) when the tungsten lights from inside of houses and shop-windows mesh well with the ambient exterior light so you can get a photo of both the “inside” and “outside” at once.  It’s an interesting appropriation of the term “magic hour,” but frankly I think the classic should remain the prevailing definition.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | 2 comments | Filed under Updates | Tags: architecture, EOS 5D Mark II, pictorial

Spiral Staircase in the Currituck Beach Light Station, Corolla, N.C. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and Olympus 9-18mm f/4-5.6 lens @ 9mm; exposed 1/20 sec. @ f/4, ISO 800.

While I had been up to the top of the lighthouse in Racine, Wis. before, when presented with the opportunity to go up to the top of another lighthouse in the Outer Banks, specifically the Currituck Beach Light Station in Corolla, N.C. (pronounced cuh-ra-lah, unlike the car by Toyota), I just couldn’t resist.  Sure, it was $7 per person, which is a bit steep, but Elizabeth and I were able to set our own pace.  There were no “groups” that went up–there are landings after every flight of stairs, so people can pass in both directions.  This is decidedly different from the lighthouse back home, which was much narrower.

In the end, these are my two favorite images.  Note that they’re both surprisingly sharp given an exposure time of 1/20 second.  If I had taken the Olympus PEN EP-2 along for this trip, I suppose that wouldn’t have been so great a feat to have a sharp image at such a slow shutter speed, but the Panasonic Lumix G1 does not have built-in image stabilization (instead, they put the stabilization mechanisms in the individual lenses, like Canon and Nikon).  That is a decided advantage of the Olympus method for image stabilization, but I like having the flip-out screen on the Lumix that the PEN series lacks.  To each their own.

As always, comments and criticism welcome!

Currituck Beach Light Station, Corolla, N.C. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and Olympus 17mm f/2.8 lens; exposed 1/20 @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Updates | Tags: architecture, Lumix G1, Olympus 17mm lens, Olympus 9-18mm