blog | photography by David Kennedy » EOS 1D Mark III

Like living on a working river

David — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:52:36 +0000

Capt. Dan Egan minds the rear of the boat as Steve Gray stands on point at the bow of the empty barge while they push it up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal on Illinois Marine Towing's "Albert C." on October 20, 2010 near Lemont, Ill. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 38mm | Exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/10, ISO 100 (flash @ -1/3 EV)

A few more frames from my day on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with Illinois Marine Towing. I wanted a little “more” both from the portrait of Dan Egan and the image below, with Steve Gray growing in proportion from one frame to the next. As for the third image, I can’t help but be drawn to photos of flowing water, although usually I try to make it silky, I enjoyed the way that the faster shutter speed froze the large droplets.

(Two more photos after the jump!)

While trying to position the barge parallel to the others, Steve Gray, a deck hand for Illinois Marine Towing, takes point at the front and radios-in the location to Captain Dan Egan in the pilot house. | Canon 1D Mk. III and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens with 1.4x II TC @ 280mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 100.

A pump clears the water out of the lower tank of a barge at the shipyards near Lemont, Ill. A barge may be flooded intentionally to help even its load. | Canon 1D Mk. III and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 165mm | Exposed 1/1000 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Master's Project | Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism, pictorial, portraits

Scenes from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

David — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:06:11 +0000

Antonio Lopez, a deck hand for Illinois Marine Towing, looks on as a barge loaded with components for gasoline passes by on October 20, 2010 on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Ill. Perez, who is in his sixth year in the industry, has already earned his steerage license and plans to make a career on the canal. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 51mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/3.5, ISO 100.

Last Wednesday I had an opportunity to spend most of a day on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal with three men who make their living pushing cargo up and down the man-made waterway created 110 years ago. Bill Russell at Illinois Marine Towing, a small barge company in Lemont, Illinois, granted me access to one of the fleet boats as it repositioned barges and other tug boats around the shipyard and up and down a stretch of the canal. Capt. Dan Egan, Antonio Lopez, and Steve Gray were all very open to the idea, and basically allowed me great access to the work that they do, although there are some safety precautions that certainly limit how much of their job I could photograph from close range. But I didn’t want to be the victim of a snapped line or fall into the water, either! Be sure to see the rest of the images after the jump. And there will be more to come!

View from the pilot house: Capt. Dan Egan watches as Antonio Lopez, right, a deck hand with Illinois Marine Towing, prepares to detach a barge from their fleet boat. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 30mm | Exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/10, ISO 100.

Capt. Dan Egan adjusts the rudder on Illinois Marine Towing's fleet boat, the "Albert C." | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

A cleaning crew scrapes the last bits of the previous cargo from the bottom of a barge at the yard near Lemont, Ill. Most barges that hold dry goods are swept clean first by a Bobcat with a large "broom" and then spot cleaned by hand. | Canon 1D Mk. III and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 135mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 200.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | 7 comments | Filed under Master's Project | Tags: Asian Carp, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L, Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism

Gettin’ Hitched

David — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:00:51 +0000

Heather Calkins, left, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holds back the electro-shocking boat as Brett Witte, center, prepares to turn the wheel to let it roll towards their truck, while Andy Plauck, right, looks on at the Sleep Inn parking lot in Tinley Park, Ill. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 42mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100.

From the early morning before I rode out on the Cal-Sag Channel with the crew pictured above. Oh, if only that lamp post wasn’t growing out of Andy’s head…or if I could have a little more separation between Heather and Brett’s feet. As always, comments and criticism welcome.

More to come…

Scenes from the Cal-Sag Channel

David — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 15:00:17 +0000

Andy Plauck pilots the FWS electro-shocking boat through the Cal-Sag Channel, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens | Exposed 1/6400 sec. @ f/1.2, ISO 100.

Warehouse and crane, Cal-Sag Channel, Chicago, Ill. | Canon 5D Mark II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens | Exposed 1/3200 sec. @ f/2, ISO 100.

Cormorants fly off as smog hovers over the Sears Tower and the Chicago skyline seen from Lake Calumet on the Cal-Sag Channel. | Canon 1D Mark III and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 135mm | Exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/4, ISO 100.

On the road again: 1,873 miles and then some

David — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:00:06 +0000

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

Scenes from North Beach

David — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:30:08 +0000

Washed ashore, North Beach, Racine, Wis. | Canon 1D Mark III and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

I am presently writing a full review of RawWorkflow’s LensAlign Pro–a product I briefly worked with in June–so I’ve been busy adjusting the autofocus performance of my cameras with several of my lenses. While it’s nice to look at a test photo of a focus alignment ruler and see your depth-of-field falling exactly where it should, there’s no substitute for confirming that the changes are for the better than to go out and make some images!

Note that both images in this post were created at f/8, but for different reasons. In the image of the feather and debris on the beach, I wanted to make sure that the feather, which was almost flat against the beach, as well as the taller matter, would all be rendered in sharp focus. However, for the photograph of the Ring-billed Gull below, I was using a Canon 1.4x II teleconverter, and I always try to stop down either 2/3 or a full stop from wide open in order to eliminate the vignetting introduced by the teleconverter, and to counteract any loss of sharpness.

Ring-billed Gull stretching, North Beach, Racine, Wis. | Canon 1D Mark III and 400mm DO IS lens with 1.4x II TC | Exposed 1/1600 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

Reflecting on Salmon-a-Rama

David — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:08:18 +0000

Filleted fish are pushed towards the large garbage disposal in the drain of the fish cleaning station at Salmon-a-Rama on July 18, 2010 in Racine, Wis. | Canon 1D Mark III and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400 (0EV)

On Sunday, Salmon-a-Rama wrapped up with angler Roger Hellen taking the grand prize of $10,000 for his 41.5 pound Brown trout caught on Thursday. It was the final day of the tournament, and I knew that it was a make-or-break day for me as I needed a few more interviews and some different images. I was tired of hauling all of the lenses that I had been taking with me every day, so in favor of the 70-200mm f/4L IS lens that is my standard telephoto, I borrowed my dad’s 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens–one of only two Canon lens that intentionally diffracts light to create a more compact lens. (The other is my longest lens, the 400mm f/4 DO IS.)

I’m hoping to put together an audio slideshow of Salmon-a-Rama that could stand alone from, as well as become a part of, my master’s project on Asian carp and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Cleaned and filleted salmon from the "Norwegian Fishing Team," composed of friends Chris Dorsey, Shane Callen, and Pete Brekke, sit at the end of the cleaning station at the close of Salmon-a-Rama. | Canon 5D Mark II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 35mm | Exposed 1/80 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 100 (0EV)

"Need a moment?" Shane Callen, left, Chris Dorsey, middle, and Pete Brekke, right share a moment before the awards ceremony at Salmon-a-Rama on July 18, 2010 in Racine, Wis. The trio called themselves "The Norwegian Fishing Team," and Dorsey took fourth place for "master angler." | Canon 1D Mark III and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 265mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 200 (0EV)

Paul Lohman knocks back a Miller Lite at the conclusion of Salmon-a-Rama on July 18, 2010 in Racine, Wis. Lohman said he has participated in "every Salmon-a-Rama since 1974, and this is the best one ever." | Canon 1D Mark III and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS lens @ 115mm | Exposed 1/160 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

Content © 2010 David Kennedy | View Original Post | Comment | Filed under Master's Project | Tags: Canon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism, salmon, sport fishing

A world record for Brown trout?

David — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:00:23 +0000

Angler Roger Hellen poses with his 41.5 pound Brown trout for Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel photographer Benny Sieu at Salmon-a-Rama on July 16, 2010 in Racine, Wis. The trout, caught that morning, was speculated to be a world record-setting catch. The current record for Brown trout was set last September in the Manistee River of Michigan at 41 pounds, 7 ounces. Hellen's trout, an ounce heavier, is pending review of National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and the International Game Fish Association before it can be declared the world record for this species. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 51mm | Exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/4, ISO 200 (+1 EV)

Not just any “fish story”

On the morning of July 16, 2010, Roger Hellen set out in his boat, “Get Hooked,” with his friend Joe Miller. He came back with what is quite possibly a world record for Brown trout: 41 pounds, 8 ounces. The fish will likely earn Hellen the grand prize of $10,000 at Salmon-a-Rama, and also stirred up a bit of a media frenzy given the possibility of a new record for Brown trout. The current record was set only back in September 2009 by an angler in Michigan with a 41 pound, 7 ounce Brown trout. The catch also beats the Salmon-a-Rama record for largest fish entered in the contest which has stood since 1997.

So far, I’ve met some great people out at Salmon-a-Rama, and I think that the stories I’ve heard will be compelling for the argument that sport fishing is an important part of Lake Michigan–something that could be lost should Asian carp gain access to the Great Lakes.

Center of attention: angler Roger Hellen, left, and his friend Joe Miller present Hellen's 41.5 pound Brown trout to the crowd gathered at Salmon-a-Rama. | Canon 1D Mark III and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 70mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 400 (0 EV)

Despite growing tired of holding 41.5 pounds, Joe Miller, front, and Roger Hellen, back, present Hellen's Brown trout to the crowd at Salmon-a-Rama. | Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm | Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400 (-1.33 EV)

"Hold my beer:" Craig Bender, co-director of the Salmon-a-Rama sport fishing tournament, reaches for co-director and Salmon Unlimited president Tom Pietila's beer while the two men, along with Joe Miller, right, carry angler Roger Hellen's 41.5 pound Brown trout to be displayed to the crowd. | Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm | Exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400 (-1.33 EV)