Mike's Right Brain

Dog Beach II

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:44:49 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 28, 2008 10:44
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/8 | 1/1250
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO: 320
Flash: None

One more from dog beach... this little guy was anxious for me to throw this ball, but he wouldn't let me pick it up! He kept barking at me and taking it away as I reached for it. His owner said it was a "strange psychological affliction." Happy July!

Dog Beach

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:15:48 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 28, 2008 10:21
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/11 | 1/640
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 320
Flash: None

We took our dog Nellie to Chicago's newly refurbished dog beach yesterday morning. It was her first foray into the water and we were glad to see that she could swim, although being a lab we would expect that! Chicago has a number of dog-friendly areas, including several beaches on the lake and dog runs at several local playgrounds. For once, the sky had some great clouds, too. It has been very hazy around here. The water was still pretty cold, but many owners were out knee-deep tossing tennis balls to their pets. (The black dog with the tail up on the left is Nellie).

Not The Monorail

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:45:38 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 22, 2008 14:25
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/22 | 1/20
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 160
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Not a lot of Disney-esque photos taken during this trip! Spent most of my time shooting video clips of the family. But this one is probably one of the most interesting, and it was the last shot taken yesterday with the D3. We were on our way to the outer Terminal at the Orlando Airport, riding the elevated tram. My kids of course clamored for the very front car and my youngest positioned himself right against the window as we zoomed along. Amazing how my kids now know exactly how to pose a shot when they see me pulling the big camera out knowing that "oh it's a MikesRightBrain shot!!1". We managed to fly through the oncoming storms without much effect, by the way.

Soaring Sort Of

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:54:26 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 19, 2008 10:15
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/3.5 | 1/50
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 80
Flash: None

This is one of those sneaky camera shots. We were riding on the Epcot "Soaring" exhibit yesterday, which is basically a huge flight simulator wherein they suspend your seats over a giant IMAX screen to great effect. They even blow wind and various scents on you for that "4th dimension" effect. Anyway, you could see the row of seats suspended in front of us here as we zoom over the Pacific coast.

Individuality

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:08:22 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 18, 2008 20:22
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/3.5 | 1/50
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 80
Flash: None

Hello from Walt Disney World! We're here for a quick visit with the family. Tonight we visited Downtown Disney, and when it started to pour we spent a good hour at the Lego store. We have a Lego store in Chicago, but this one had a very cool wall full of these Lego people. Every one of them was different! I managed to get this closeup using my new Olympus point-and-shoot. i've been fooling around with this camera (and one other one that I'll mention another time) on this trip and i'm really liking it.

One One More

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:01:22 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 4, 2008 21:50
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/8 | 1/1000
Focal Length: 10 mm
ISO: 200
Flash: None

Okay, one one more from North Carolina. Been very busy so I haven't had time to update; my apologies! Anyway, this one of my son is another favorite so I thought that I would share. I miss using that lens, and I cracked out the old D2x just to be able to use it!

One More Day

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:17:28 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 4, 2008 21:00
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/5.6 | 1/2000
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: None

One last day in North Carolina! We're sad to leave. I had to fly up to Baltimore yesterday for something that I am very excited about... I will tell more next week. I came back down today. For now, one of our last pics from Topsail.

Water Bug

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:09:47 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 2, 2008 21:00
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/2.8 | 1/4
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 2000
Flash: None

We ventured to the beach yesterday after the sun set. There was still a glow in the sky to the east, and the kids had a great time tossing around in the waves. The water was so warm that it felt like bathwater. I'm intrigued by all these night shots on this trip because the days have been very hazy, which makes for fairly uninteresting daytime photos and foggy lenses.

Worklight

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:58:58 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 3, 2008 22:08
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/9 | 3:32
Focal Length: 15 mm
ISO: 800
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We spent a couple of hours on the dock this evening. It was nearly pitch dark out there, there was a really nice light breeze, and the mosquitoes were on hiatus. We lay there for quite awhile looking at the stars and listening to the sounds of the marsh around us. After the family went inside, I took several long-exposure shots of the stars and the area around the dock. This one was more of an accident, but I really like the way it turned out. It is a nearly four-minute exposure, and I got bored waiting so I answered some emails on my Blackberry. Well, the small hand-held device was the most powerful light out there tonight!

In other news, if you want to see something pretty cool, check out the twelve-hour time-lapse movie I made yesterday. I perched my trusty D2X outside our bedroom window on my heavy tripod and left it there all day. You can see the movie here.

Dock Again

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:08:00 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 2, 2008 16:23
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/8 | 1/80
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 400
Flash: None

There are dozens of photos of this dock on MikesRightBrain, and I find it one of the most challenging things to photograph because it is so difficult to convey how unique it is. It is long; almost 200 yards, and it meanders over a few interruptions in the landscape. But it is narrow (about 5 feet wide) and simple, and for that reason it becomes a striking yet subtle part of the marsh of the Intracoastal Waterway behind the house on Topsail. The reeds over which it traverses at a height of about four feet catch the light and glow a bright green all day, especially at dawn and dusk. And when the tide goes in and out twice every day, you can see the oyster beds around and beneath the structure. Here is just a part of it...

Way Better Than I

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:55:00 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:June 1, 2008 14:23
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/6.3 | 1/1250
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO: 160
Flash: None

Long story behind this shot. We're down at our annual vacation spot on Topsail Island, North Carolina, this week. So far it has been a great trip! We spent a good part of today lazing around on the beach. I was perched on a low beach chair with my trusty old D2X and a manual-focus macro lens taking some very close shots of grains of sand on my hand. Then this happened in front of me. A woman with a skimboard (who really knows how to use it) stands five feet in front of me and waits for just the right wash of light waves to coat the sand. Then she throws the board down, runs very quickly after it, and slides a good twenty feet or so on the board without losing her balance. She goes back and forth in front of me a few times. I of course am frustrated because I only have a manual prime 100mm macro lens on my camera, and my left hand is full of sand. And I'm way too close to get her into the frame! I manage to readjust the camera settings with a combination of my right pinkie and my nose, and fire off a few shots. Of course the shots are too cropped in because I was not far enough away, but somewhat dramatic nonetheless. I'm happy with the way this one turned out...

I must clarify that this is NOT my daughter.

Furthermore, skimboarding holds a special place in my heart, in that it was in this very spot almost exactly two years ago that I tried skimboarding with disastrous consequences. On only my second attempt, I fell hard upon running onto the board and I tipped over with my foot planted on the board. This caused a severing of one of the major ligaments in my ankle and it nearly ended my running career. After enduring months of physical therapy and pain, my ankle still is not 100% today. To see this girl skim around this easily brought back a bit of envy, not to mention some painful pangs...

Thanks For A Great Year!

Wed, 28 May 2008 18:30:30 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:May 27, 2008 08:33
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/4 | 1/60
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1000
Flash: None

Well, this is the last week of school here for my kids. And that means it's time to get teacher gifts. In our family, our kids always try to make things as opposed to buying them, and this year they elected to do miniature paintings on 2x3 inch little canvases. This was done by my youngest, who is now going through his "realist" stage. It is fascinating how each child has his or her own artistic style that develops so differently from the others. Anyway, this one made me smile and so I thought I'd share it.

On Bikes

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:46:00 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:May 22, 2008 08:20
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/6.3 | 1/5000
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO: 500
Flash: None

If I could summarize the sights in Denmark in one photo, this would perhaps be it. Bikes. There are a ton of bikes in Copenhagen, and I think this city is unique because so many people ride them while fully dressed up for work. I learned on this visit that owning a car in this city is very difficult (the sales tax on a car is 200% and gasoline costs about $6.50US per gallon), and it is so easy to use a bike here that their sheer numbers make regular riding a must. The city certainly makes it easier: Bikes do not appear to have the right of way, but they do have permanent, offset bike lanes that separate them from car traffic. Most importantly, Copenhagen dwellers on bikes actually OBEY the bike rules. When a light turns red, they stop. Even if no traffic is coming across, they will wait for the light to change back to green. I cannot even fathom people here in the US doing this.

I took many shots of people (esp. women) riding their bikes around, in full business attire or while wearing boots. I must say, though, that riding in high heels fascinated me the most. I have no idea how they do it, but many many of them do...

Which leads me to plug one of my favorite blogs, Copenhagen Cycle Chic. It is an entire site devoted to biking in high heels in Copenhagen. I must say that the photography is outstanding, which is of course why I like the blog!!!

Nyhavn

Fri, 23 May 2008 17:13:08 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:May 22, 2008 01:50
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/10 | 2 mins
Focal Length: 20 mm
ISO: 250
Flash: None

Here is a favorite view of the harbor at Nyhavn in Copenhagen. It is a famous tourist spot with outdoor cafes and restaurants, and beautiful tall ships anchored to the narrow canal. This was taken very early in the morning when the sky was darkest. The sun only goes down there this time of year for about 4 hours before starting to rise again at 3 am.

I returned from Copenhagen last night, and I'll probably post a couple of more shots over the next couple of days. Have a great weekend!

Skyline

Thu, 22 May 2008 07:55:48 -0600

]]> Capture Date/Time:May 20, 2008 12:50
Aperture/Shutter Speed: f/10 | 1/30 sec
Focal Length: 24 mm
ISO: 640
Flash: None

This is the view off of the Rundetaam, or Round Tower, in the center of Copenhagen. The tower was built by King Christian IV in 1642. The tower has a very wide spiral stairway--which is more like a ramp--that makes the trip up and down quite easy. The top of the tower is the tallest structure in the downtown area of Copenhagen, and the views are quite breathtaking. We managed to get out of there just before a storm broke, but it let up soon thereafter.