Uploads from rocketdude, with geodata

Pink Petals

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:10:32 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

The flowers in Alaska grow huge in the summertime because of the almost continuous amount of light they receive. In the summertime, the "golden hour" is more like the golden 2 or 3 hours, and goes from about 9pm to midnight (and from about 4 am to 7am). Even during the day, the sun still never gets very high in the sky. The point I'm trying to make is that if you want some of the best lighting *in the world*, it can be found in Alaska in the summertime. (Go there a different time and you might have trouble finding light at all.)

This was taken on the front porch of my aunts B&B. I'm still processing my Alaska photos (slowly but surely). Hopefully soon I will have some ready to post. I'm finding myself becoming increasingly picky about the photos I post, and I am trying to choosing quality over quantity.

Autumn?

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:43:56 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

No, actually it's not. And it's not simply a color "shift" either. The leaves were originally green, and the effect was achieved by converting to lab color and dramatically altering the blue/yellow and green/magenta. Normally I don't do dramatically processed images (to the point of altering colors, etc), but I thought the effect actually proved to be quite realistic, albeit in a different season. This photo was taken in Alaska on a trail near Eklutna Lake. That was one of my favorite places I went while in Alaska. I've got some great images from that shoot which I will be posting soon (hopefully).

Working in lab color is amazing for doing white balance adjustments since you basically have the same blue/yellow green/magenta control, but instead of just sliders which adjust the white balance of every pixel evenly, you can apply curves adjustments which allows, for example, adjusting the cool white balance of the shadow portions of the image without affecting the (usually much warmer) brighter or sunny areas.

In other news: yesterday I upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6). Overall it's not that much different feature-wise (except a few system level plugins don't work). Exposé is definitely nicer, and Finder is, surprisingly, noticeably speedier, especially when loading thumbnails, previews, etc. Snow Leopard does change the gamma from 1.8 to 2.2 which doesn't affect color managed images, but web colors and unmanaged web images are noticeably darker. The images on my website are color managed, but things like the grey backgrounds appear darker in SL. Interesting. I'm actually a fan of this move because now web colors on a Mac now look like they do on windows (and linux, and everything else). Handy for web designers.

The back end is simply stunning, and while it won't produce massive changes right away, it is an amazing leap forward in multi-core technologies. These back end developments in SL will allow computers to get faster, faster (by truly taking advantage of multiple cores); and as developers start incorporating these technologies, even current multi-core systems will see a noticeable speed boost to everyday programs.

In summary, Snow Leopard does feel a bit more polished (colors look better in Finder, etc), Exposé is better, OS is speedier in general. Small things that really add up to make a difference. I am actually very glad that Apple chose to focus on the back end, and limited the front-end changes to tweaks and polishing.

Wichita (BW)

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:47:11 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

A grayscale version of the previous image.

12 FT 9 IN

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:27:19 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

An train overpass in Old Town, Wichita.

View larger image (on black)

2nd St

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:57:40 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

Another from Old Town, Wichita.

View larger image (on black)

Searchlights

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 23:19:14 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

These remind me of the searchlights on a guard tower. Old Town, Wichita.

View larger image (on black)

Warm Invitation

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:43:12 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

The path lights seem to be offering an invitation to come and explore all of the shops and restaurants further back.

View larger image (on black)

Neon At Dusk

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 08:53:56 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

Neon light configurations in Old Town, Wichita.

View larger image (on black)

Old Town Warren

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:26:15 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

The Warren theatre in Old Town, Wichita at dusk.

View larger image (on black)

Old Chicago (Color)

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:10:00 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

Old Town, Wichita, KS

View larger image (on black)

Old Chicago

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:08:56 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

Old Town, Wichita, KS

View larger image (on black)

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:10:15 -0800

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

Another abstract courtesy of my 50mm f/1.8.

Autumn Bokeh

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:35:43 -0800

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

The 24-105 f/4L is not my favorite lens for bokeh, but it works, I guess. This image was also taken in Chisholm Creek Park.

I hope everyone is enjoying their autumn! Most of the leaves are gone here, but it's been relatively warm lately.

Autumn Warmth

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:43:37 -0800

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

I went out shooting a couple of weeks ago when most of the leaves were still on the trees. This was taken in Chisholm Creek Park, which is quite close to my apartment. It's nice to finally see some color again!

Felix

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:12:04 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

I didn't want Felix (Mendelssohn) to feel left out, so here is on of my favorites of him. This photo is from the same day as this on of him jumping through the air. I actually like today's a bit better because it looks more like him. His hair is usually much shorter, but he just had a bath, and I had just spent several hours grooming him into a big soft fluffy ball.

Summer in Alaska

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 10:34:43 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

This is the original image (of the previous shot). I thought this was worth posting too.

Inverted

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:21:35 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

Another from the air show the other week. If you look closely, you can see a person on the top wing of the biplane.

I was really torn between two versions of this image. The other contained more color in the sky, but wasn't as warm. While this version has less punch, I liked the feel better overall.

Sunset Aerobatics

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:56:46 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

The same aircraft as in the previous shot performing a dangerous loop close to the ground. This image is cropped, so I have included the original uncropped image, which shows the close proximity of the ground.

Sunset Aerobatics (uncropped)

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:57:20 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

An uncropped version of the previous shot which shows the aircraft's close proximity to the ground.

Wichita

nobody@flickr.com (rocketdude) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:46:34 -0700

rocketdude posted a photo:

View larger image (on black)

Just recently I have moved to Wichita, Kansas to pursue a masters in aerospace engineering at Wichita State. If all goes well, I will graduate in two years. This image is from the "twilight air show" at the Wichita Flight Festival. The lighting was rather hit or miss, and this was one of the lucky shots...especially with the shutter speed I was using.

This particular airplane was my favorite of the evening. He did mostly very close to the ground maneuvers right next to the crowd. I have some video which I will try to post in the next few days.