…to all who celebrate it.
Category Archives: Still life
1965 Corvette Stingray
Every year, one of our local cemeteries hosts a car show. Folks from a wide area bring their classic vehicles for display, and you can walk through the lineup for free while… I don’t know… pondering your mortality? I can’t explain it, but the juxtaposition works somehow.
Here’s an infrared (530nm) photograph of a 1965 Corvette Stingray taken at the 2023 Fairmount Cemetery Car Show.
EXIF:
Olympus E-PL8 camera converted to full spectrum
M.Zuiko 14-42mm EZ lens, 530nm IR filter
ISO 320, 14mm, f/9, 1/60 sec
Bacchus sends his regards
A nice bit of decorative silversmithing on display at the de Young museum in San Francisco, California.
A small bouquet
This is probably my favorite photo from an afternoon spent experimenting with my 90mm macro lens:
For scale, the “vase” in this photo is a bit over 0.5″ / 12mm across at its widest.
EXIF:
OM-System OM-1 camera
M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 macro lens
Olympus FL-700WR flash
KR Macro Diffuser
f/11, 1/10 sec, ISO 100
Fun with infrared light and modern architecture
Over the past few years, I’ve dabbled here and there with infrared (IR) photography, but didn’t take it very seriously until I recently took an online course in the subject from Derrick Story (a.k.a. The Nimble Photographer). If you’re at all interested in IR photography, I can highly recommend the seminar — you’ll learn a lot from the instruction, and quite a bit as well from your fellow students.
In particular, one of my fellow students recommended taking IR photos in office parks with mature vegetation. You can, he said, get some nice results with the architecture, windows, and greenery.
So as my first example of this subject matter, here’s the Pacific Western Bank building in the Denver Tech Center (Denver, Colorado):
The above is a quick reference photo I took with my iPhone — it’s poorly framed but still a good comparison for the images below.
The Runabout
This is a 1904 Ford Model A Runabout — on display at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Seal Cove, Maine:
From the placard:
The first Ford made was the 1903 Model A. This early 1904 model differs primarily by having a larger radiator and flywheel. An alphabetical series of Fords followed the Model A. In 1928, after building the 1927 Model T, the designation “Model A” was used again from 1928-1931.
These vehicles usually had a rear-facing hinged door [to allow passenger access to the back seat]. The open, rear passenger seating compartment was called a “tonneau”. The first U.S. tonneau with a side door was made by Peerless. This led to the development of the modern sedan.
EXIF:
OM System OM-1 camera, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4.0 Pro lens
12mm, f/10, 1/30 sec, ISO 10000
Ullr in the storm
A snow sculpture of Ullr, norse god of skiing, on display at the 2023 Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships.
As luck (good? bad?) would have it, our drive up to Breckenridge for the 1st public day of sculpture viewing coincided with the arrival of another storm front. Appropriate, I suppose, for a bunch of sculptures made from snow.
Things are looking up in Hosios Loukas
The ceiling of the Hosios Loukas (Saint Loukas) monastery, Greece.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hosios Loukas is an architectural gem, dating to the 10th century.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 Pro lens
8mm, f/9.0, 1/50 sec, ISO 6400
Looking a bit quiet
Santorini is an awfully popular place, but even it can be quiet during the off-season.
Personally, I really preferred it quiet and nearly empty (late February). No trinket shops were open, the open restaurants were ones the locals liked, and we had no crowds to deal with.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm Pro lens
f/11, 8mm, 1/320 sec, ISO 200
Row on Row
Since today (8 May) is the 75th anniversary of VE day, I thought it would be a fitting time to post this photo (taken 2 days before the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings) from the Normandy American Cemetery, near Colleville-sur-Mer in France. The tombstones of Medal of Honor winners are distinguished by the gold leaf lining their engravings. Front and center in this shot is the grave of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. — eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Gen. Roosevelt was the only general to land by sea on D-Day with the first wave of troops — and at 56, was the oldest man in the invasion. Despite arthritis and a heart condition, he led the assault on Utah Beach. He died a little over one month later of a heart attack. His brother Quentin (who was killed during World War I) is buried just to the left of him in this shot.