A work in progress!

Last night I stopped and photographed the Casa Linda Theater. It hasn't been open as a theater for a number of years but the front isn't much different than it has always looked. About 6 pm the lights came on and I quickly shot a variety of compositions and exposures. It was also about 30 degrees with 30mph winds and I wasn't wanting to stay out very long. I figured this would be a great subject for a photoshop project and I can do that inside. Some of the lights are out and there are some real estate signs out front. The handicapped sign also needs to go. I have made some headway but am not finished yet. The image on the bottom  is a combination of 2 exposures. I also fixed the perspective, got rid of the sign and fixed the lights. I also got a little tweak from Topaz Adjust. I plan to put some writing on the marquee and some posters in the windows. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

A slightly frustrating evening!

Last nights shoot started atop a parking garage behind Baylor Hospital. Dan was with me again and I had felt we would have a clear view of downtown from the roof of this five story parking garage. It was totally overcast so we knew the light would not be the best. After editing my images I have come to the conclusion that downtown just isn't near as interesting from that side. I will consider a location on the other side of downtown next time. After leaving the parking lot we drove a few blocks to an old diner we thought we would photograph. The front was full of cars so we continued on to the Adler Hotel. I do like some of the shots I got there. Do you like the version where everything is out of focus except the sign? After leaving the Adler we drove back by the Diner. Some of the cars had left so we pulled in next door and got our cameras out. Before I could take the first shot a lady comes out and hollers "you can't take pictures here, get off the property or I will call the cops". In an age where most people have a camera on their cell phone and good 12 megapixel point and shoots that fit in a shirt pocket are available, it amazes me that some people still get so worked up when they see a big camera on a tripod. If someone really wants a photograph of this place, they will get one. I don't need one that bad and tell Dan "let's get the hell outa here and go get something to eat".

 

 These last two images were not taken last night but I have been playing around with some processing techniques that I thought I would show you. The first is the Lakewood Theater in Dallas and the second is Mission San Xavier in Tuscon, Arizona. By adding a texture layer and a vignette I have given them a little bit of an aged and weathered look. Photographs of many different things can be used for the texture layer. Rough concrete, tile, or crumpled paper are what I like best. I don't intend for this to be a photoshop tutorial, but you set the blending mode to Overlay for the texture layer. You might also like adjusting the opacity or masking parts of it. Every image is different so you have to experiment some. Good luck.

 

Reunion Tower and the Hyatt Regency!

Today I decided I would head back downtown around sunset and photograph Reunion Tower and the Hyatt Regency. Some great clouds were in the sky earlier in the day and I was hoping they would create some nice sunset color that would reflect in the buildings. However, about the time I headed downtown the clouds were gone. The first shot was taken right after sunset and as you can see, nothing but blue sky. According to The Photographer's Ephemeris sunset was at 5:35. TPE is a great tool for figuring out when the sun and moon will rise and set at any location. The second image was taken at 6:02. The sky would soon be totally black so I hurried around to the other side of the hotel and took the last picture near the entrance to Reunion Tower. I got that accomplished just in time to still have a little blue left in the sky. Cool!

The weather guys say we may have freezing drizzle tomorrow evening and high temps in the 20's on Thursday and Friday. I better get out my long johns.

A Colorful Mexican Restaurant!

Several years ago I took some photos of the sign at Posados, a mexican restaurant out in Plano, Texas. I'm not sure if I misplaced the images, didn't back them up, or if they took off with an old computer, but I can't find them. They were taken with my 6MP Rebel. It was my first halfway serious digital camera and it started this cycle of having to save and keep track of all these digital images. Hopefully I keep track of things better now. As I write this I look at my main computer which has 3 external hard drives hooked up to it.
I have been wanting to get some more photos of Posados so I drove out yesterday evening. The sun was just setting when I arrived and it was still fairly bright outside. The lights were not even on yet so I sat in the car and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally about 35 minutes after sunset they turned the lights on. Ten minutes earlier would have been better. I really had to move fast because that little bit of blue left in the sky vanished not long after I started shooting. I do like the shot I got of the entrada. The Cafe sign would have come out a little different if I could have taken it about ten minutes earlier. The dark part around the lettering is actually painted a light gold but its color is overpowered by the red cast of the neon if its too long after sunset, which it was.Wonder if a little fill flash would have helped? I may try that next time.

Keeping your plans flexible!

I called my friend Dan yesterday to see if he wanted to go with me and shoot. He asked "where you going"? I said "I haven't decided yet. Maybe Fair Park or downtown Dallas." We decide to go downtown and check out the new Winspear Opera House. When we arrived at the opera house we could see people inside, possibly preparing for an event later that evening. However, the doors were locked and we didn't get a chance to ask someone if we could come in and take some pictures. We did spend about 15 minutes photographing in the area and I did get a nice image looking through the glass of the opera house.

We decided to leave the opera house and see if the lights were on at the Majestic Theater. No lights on...we keep driving. Dan says we should check out the Hunt Oil Tower which has been open for about a year. It has a bunch of blue lights on the top and a really great fountain in the front. Good thing it is Sunday night.  Finding a parking spot and dealing with traffic would be a pain if we did this during the week. We spent the rest of our time shooting the fountain which constantly was moving and changing colors. What a cool place to photograph though. I had trouble narrowing it down to only three.

Back to the Square in Garland!

I have photographed the Plaza Theater before but I believe that you can never be too familiar with your subject. The light will change and so will the surroundings. Even if I have shot it 20 different ways there will always be 10 more ways that I will eventually think of. The way I process my images is also in a constant state of change. New software, new techniques, and changing visions on my part. So is the way of digital photography.
When I arrived last night I thought... Oh crap. They are having a play tonight and there are cars out front and people going in and out. I was able to shoot the top image and not include the clutter out front. I did this with one shot instead of an HDR combination of exposures like I usually do. Getting all the lights to be on in one shot is much of the problem. See how they go off and on at this link. It actually was a good thing that the theater was open. The play didn't start for another hour so I went inside and asked to take some pictures. I had never been inside before. The interior is Art Deco and quite well restored as you can see.

I've Given Myself a Project for the New Year!

First, let me wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope 2010 brings great things for all of you. For myself I have started a new project. I call it Twenty Nights in Twenty Days. My goal is to go out and find something cool to photograph every evening for twenty days. I'm not taking a trip to Europe, Mexico, or the Desert Southwest...just driving from my house and searching for photos. My primary goal will be to photograph after dark but I may not completely stick to that rule. You might think I already photograph everyday, but that is just not the case. I spend a great deal of my time out of town at shows. In between the shows I spend a lot of time printing inventory or editing images from previous photo excursions. Since it is eight weeks until my first show, I have time to focus on a project like this. I also plan to put some of the previous evenings images on the blog each day. Be sure and follow my progress!

On New Years Day I drove out to Rockwall, Texas to begin my search for photos. I did find a park with an old windmill but nothing I was really excited about. On the way back I stopped and photographed sunset at an area of Lake Ray Hubbard that I had spotted while driving to Rockwall. The wind was calm and there was some good reflections, but still no winners. I decided to stop by the Square in Garland before heading home. The top image was taken at Paw Paw's, a small cafe just of the square that I had never noticed before. The second image was taken through one of the cafe's windows. The last shot was another cafe several blocks away called Hubbard's. I have had lunch there before but not sure if I had ever driven by at night and noticed the lighting. Speaking of food, this is when I headed back home for some dinner.