Fisheye Morning
Courtesy of our friend, Jake, here is an excerpt from an essay by G.K. Chesterton:
“…..A city is, properly speaking, more poetic even than a countryside, for while Nature is a chaos of unconscious forces, a city is a chaos of conscious ones. The crest of the flower or the pattern of the lichen may or may not be significant symbols. But there is no stone in the street and no brick in the wall that is not actually a deliberate symbol - a message from some man, as much as if it were a telegram or a post-card. The narrowest street possesses, in every crook and twist of its intention, the soul of the man who built it, perhaps long in his grave. Every brick has as human a hieroglyph as if it were a graven brick of Babylon; every late on the roof is as educational a document as if it were a slate covered with addition and subtraction sums. Anything which tends, even under the fantastic form of the minutiae of Sherlock Holmes, to assert this romance of detail in civilization, to emphasize this unfathomably human character in flints and tiles, is a good thing.”
I guess that’s what I remember and ponder while I shoot in the city, oftentimes. This is not the first post I’ve made containing images from Factor’s Walk here in Savannah. I suppose this is a somewhat mesmerizing place for me for a variety of reasons - the texture of the stones, the different color of the lights in contrast to the clean blue sky of morning, the rich greens of the growth in and around……etc. However, this IS the first time I’ve shot Factor’s Walk in the morning with just my fisheye mounted. Veta and I are growing especially fond of wide angle photography and that’s what’s here.
For those of you interested in photography, the images below are not “photoshopped” or otherwise enhanced. They are the product of a technique in digital photography known as HDR or High Dynamic Range. The idea is to capture an image that more closely mimics how the human eye sees. It does take a little time to stitch exposures together in the “digital darkroom”, but - otherwise - they are pretty much out of the camera. If you want to see colors like these in your images, grab your camera and tripod and go to bed early. These were taken between 5:15 and 6:15 this morning.
These images have no other purpose than to serve as enjoyment for all who view. Enjoy.
Comments
The shots are great, as usual! You guys continue to elevate your art, and it is really exciting to get to experience it as your craft grows. The shot of the inverted hand railing is very cool, but the oak tree shot takes the cake for me. That shot belongs in gallery!
These are great - I thought they were ‘Shoped until I RTFA.
Nice work! I travel for a living and bringing a camera is tough enough at times, much less a tripod - but I really want to get into HDR - they look SOOOO nice.
Anyone have a pointer for digital HDR for teh noobz? Although I don’t imagine it varies from film - just 3 shots, each +/- a couple EV?
Don
(VancoD on Twitter)
I LIKED very much. Good things come to those who get up early in the morning. Great job!!!!
I’m glad I stopped over to check this out - and you were quoting Chesterton!!! LOVE it!! The photos as always are amazing. My blue skies come from that dusk time when the sky is just beautiful when shot w/o flash. I haven’t caught on to your HDR technique yet. Someday!
Leave a Comment