blog | photography by David Kennedy » travel

The Internet loves Steven Slater, and so do I

David — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:12:46 +0000

Earlier this week, Steven Slater, a professional flight attendant of 28 years who most recently was working for JetBlue, finally told a customer what the rest of us in coach grumble about: bags that are too big and people who aren’t strong enough to control them. Yeah, the bag hit him in the head. But rather than taking it, Slater did what the rest of us wish we could do: have a cold one and take a ride down the emergency slide.

And where would we be without Jonathan Mann to write a song about it:

Back from the Galápagos

David — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:38:05 +0000

Marine Iguana against the Pacific Ocean, Fernandina Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS lens with 2x TC (800mm effective). Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

Blue-footed Booby calling, Isabela Island. Canon 1D IIn and 300mm f/4 L IS lens. Exposed 1/300 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400. Click image for larger version.

I returned from the Galápagos islands to Quito, Ecuador on Saturday and flew back into Milwaukee, Wis. yesterday around 9:30am CST. All luggage arrived back home safely, so I spent most of the day alternating between unpacking and laying on the couch. (I didn’t sleep on the red eye flight from Quito to Atlanta, but I did get a couple hours on the flight back to MKE).

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and the group, led by Artie Morris, was composed of many great people as well as our excellent guide to the Galápagos.

I have just begun the process of ranking and keywording my photographs from the trip. So far, I have only worked up three images–none of which have had more than Lightroom adjustments applied to them. I’m saving the cases that need some Photoshop magic for later!

Eventually, I will post the best photos from the trip in a gallery on my Zenfolio Web site, and many images might find their way into my wildlife and landscape portfolios on this Web site.

Blue-footed Booby preparing to display, Hood Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS lens. Exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 320.

A perspective on Washington, D.C.

David — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:47:02 +0000

About three weeks ago I traveled to Washington, D.C. and decided to take only my Lumix G1 and what was at the time my only lens for it, the 14-45mm “kit” lens (28-90mm 35mm equivalent). These were some of the more experimental images I made on the walk around the National Mall, the National Museum of the American Indian, and a few rides on the metro.

Washington Monument. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/2500 sec. @ f/5, ISO 200

The idea I had in mind for this image came through almost as well as I had hoped, aside from a compositional error that left the monument not quite centered. Also, I have no idea why I allowed the camera to go up to ISO 200 or chose f/5 instead of f/8. I will say that some dials can move inadvertently with that camera when walking around with it hanging at my side.

Museum of the American Indian, interior. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/5.1, ISO 400

The style and mood of this image is an homage to that of one of my close friends from college, who recently earned her M.F.A. and was also married, Meghan Kirkwood. I actually enjoy the wide expanse of negative space on the left, but I appreciate that it’s not for everyone.

Metro train. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed1/30 sec. @ f/4, ISO 1600

The D.C. metro provided a lot of opportunities for photography. I wish that the G1 was less noisy in these situations, but I think the grain adds something to this scene. Still, it’s certainly not like the 5D II or the Nikon D3 or D700 in its low-light abilities!

Metro train blur, duotone. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1.6 seconds @ f/4.8, ISO 1250

Probably the most conceptual of the images I’ve made in a while. I intentionally overexposed the train tunnel to give the scene a black and white negative-like look.