Plot: Twist

I found this far too amusing:
http://www.postmodernbarney.com/2009/04/uncomfortable-plot-summaries/

Thanks to Mr. Neil for the link.

I didn't even read the whole list, it's much too long. But I couldn't help but create a few of my own. Hitchcock is sorely underrepresented on the list so I focused on some of his better known works:

• Strangers on a Train: Gay man tries to help a tennis player marry his girlfriend.
• Rear Window: Despondent cripple projects his fantasies onto neighbors.
• North by Northwest: Businessman finds a new career while on vacation.
• The Trouble With Harry: Town conspires to hide murder.
• The Birds: Socialite is frightened by wildlife.
• Psycho: Son grieving for his mother is harassed by out-of-towners.

This exercise is not unlike those re-cut movie trailers in which the meaning of the plot is twisted. (ex.: "The Shining") Here, an economy of words and simplification of just one element of the plot seem to do the trick.

Here's a couple of bonus synopses for you:

• Young Frankenstein: Man falls in love with his surgeon's fiancée.
• Jaws: New guy in town prevents collapse of the local industry.
  

Insert Parenting Pun Here

Baby Bridge Belly, April 22, 2009
Aurora Bridge, Seattle, Washington
Nikon D80, Lensbaby Composer @ f/2.0, 1/320s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, Camera D2X Mode 2 profile

For a moment, your indulgence in pun is required.

Last night, after 6 hours of gestating on Craigslist, I became the proud papa of a slightly used Lensbaby Composer.

Since most folks that read this blog aren't hip-deep in the photography swamp like myself, a little clarification may help. A Lensbaby is a special effect camera lens that allows the lens elements to be moved off-axis. This results in exaggerated streaking, blurring, or distortion around the area of focus (the "sweet spot"). Among other neat effects you can get the "toy train town" look, where real-world views appear to be miniaturized. (Here's a random example from Flickr.) There's a little bit of that look in the shot above, if you look directly at the in-focus cross beams. Keep in mind I've only had it for a day. Check out the Lensbaby gallery for an idea of what it can do in the right hands.

Lensbabies have been incredibly popular for the past few years. They can be just a toy, something fun to fiddle around with, or they can be used for serious photography. Until I learn to take advantage of its capabilities, my Lensbaby will remain in the toy category, but I'm looking forward to playing with it.

Oooo, also, today I received my tripod and head. The Gitzo GT2531 and Really Right Stuff BH-40. Cooler (and more expensive) than the Lensbaby, though much harder to see through. It's been just over one year that I've been saving for this support system; my anticipation and decision making process for it was obsessive. Now I can retire the cruddy old tripod I got in high school that has sand in the leg locks, is falling apart, and never came up to more than half my height anyway. The new tripod is 21st century carbon fiber, magnesium alloy, and anodized aluminum. Very neat and shiny, and an important tool in my photographic arsenal.

Two fat new photo toys in 24 hours. I better get out shooting. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: don't get into photography. It'll drain your bank account and ruin your life.

Photographic Goldmine

White River Crevasse, April 17, 2009
White River Falls State Park, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 @ f/16.0, 20mm, 1/2s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, ACR 4.4 profile


Decaying Powerhouse, April 17, 2009
White River Falls State Park, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 @ f/18.0, 18mm, 1/2s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, Adobe Standard profile

Today was my last away from civilization and schedules, so I had limited options on where to end my photo safari. I picked White River Falls State Park off the map purely by name and location. At first the park doesn't look like much: some picnic tables on a grassy field and the White River beyond. But walk down the trail and, hoo boy! This place is a photographic gold mine. Besides the falls themselves there's the decrepit old powerhouse (from the decaying, graffiti-ed generators inside, that's my assumption) and the pipes, rusting metal, and other debris from a forgotten age. This is definitely worth a second visit, preferable early in the morning when the sun will be hitting the falls just right.

Evening Sun Two-Fer

Crooked River Reflection, April 15, 2009
Smith Rock State Park, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 @ f/8.0, 36mm, 1/200s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, Adobe Standard profile


Inverted Sunset, April 16, 2009
Painted Hills Unit, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 @ f/8.0, 48mm, 1/15s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, ACR 4.4 profile

You get a double-shot today because the Internet in my hotel room in Bend went on the fritz last night. After the long, late drive back to civilization this evening I relocated at 11 PM with a beer, Girl Scout cookies, and my computer setup (17" MacBook, hard drive, Wacom tablet, power brick, etc.) to the lobby of the hotel, where there's wi-fi. (Really? Just in the lobby? WTF, Bend Inn & Suites. This hotel is worth a post unto itself. And I opted to pay for the second night. Oy.)

I realize there's an disconcerting gap in saturation between these two photos. The Smith Rock one is kind of begging for it with those really satiny blues in the reflection in the Crooked River. (BTW, I don't think that particular rock is THE Smith Rock.) With the Painted Hills shot I'm trying to keep the colors realistic- the natural colors of the rock are amazing enough without enhancement.

Now that we know what makes these photos different, what do they have in common? They were both taken in late afternoon (or evening, depending on when you take your tea), a deliberate attempt to put myself in a photogenic location when the light was favorable. It worked to a degree; see exhibits A and B, above. These photos also were both taken with the handy but sharpness-challenged Nikkor 18-200 with a polarizer. The lens is OK at f/8 on the wide end (again, see exhibits A & B). The polarizer is bloody fantastic in these conditions, as long as you're pointing AWAY from the sun. Lessons learned.

Light (and) Rain

Intermittent Rain, April 14, 2009
Silver Falls State Park, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 35mm f/2.0 @ f/11.0, 0.6s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, ACR 4.4 profile

After shooting at Silver Falls for a couple of hours I started the drive back to civilization. As Highway 214 broke above the crest of the park's valleys I could see brightness behind the trees, a warm light spreading across the evening sky. When I rounded the corner at the park gate I yanked the steering wheel over and parked at the overlook. The glowing Spring sun had lit up the intermittently drizzling clouds like a monoblock behind a softbox. Shadows of rain draped down as tendrils of their mother clouds, reaching deep into the foothills of the Cascades like the roots of a thirsty young plant.

I grumbled a little as I dragged out the tripod again.

The Bridge Behind You

Bridge to Mo's, April 10, 2009
Mo's Restaurant, Lincoln City, Oregon
Nikon D80, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm, f/4.0, 1/160s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, Camera D2X Mode 2 profile

I like this shot. It was a throw-away; as the wife and I walked to Mo's I turned around and thought that the bridge looked interesting so I snapped a single photo. Didn't worry about the settings on the camera, or the fact that I still had a neutral grad on the lens. (Though the GND was certainly helpful.) Regardless, it turned out beautifully. My tweaks in Lightroom were subtle but extensive. I'm loving the new localized corrections, they saved the sky from being blown out.

Tannenbaum Beach

Sandy Christmas, April 11, 2009
Lincoln City, Oregon (Taft beach, near Spanish Head)
Nikon D80, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm, f/8.0, 1/400s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, ACR 4.4 profile

Kind of hard to tell, this appears to be a Christmas tree buried in the sand. A small evergreen at the very least. Exposure to sun and waves is stripping off the bark and bleaching the underlying wood, as with any driftwood. It was a bit unusual to look at.

I'm not sure if there's a lot of appeal to this composition but when I saw the tree an image developed in my head. I didn't get the exact shot that I wanted because it was very windy and I didn't want to swap lenses. Despite that I've come pretty close to what I saw in my mind. Split toning and desaturation would probably smooth out the color imbalance that's bugging me.

Cherry Blossoms 2

Cherry Blossoms 2, April 9, 2009
Adobe Systems courtyard, Seattle, Washington
Nikon D70, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 150mm, f/4.0, 1/2500s, ISO 200
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3, Adobe Standard profile

I grabbed this shot while testing the Nikkor 70-200 that I rented for a vacation in the next week. Even on the older D70 body I'm very impressed at the sharpness, color, and resolution of the lens. Wow.

I don't think I'm fully finished developing this photo, nor the prior cherry blossoms one. (Too much saturation there. I might try some of Angela Drury's tricks from Photoshop User mag on tweaking the camera calibration for subtler effects.) But I'm very happy to have gotten some snaps of the sakura this year. They've been very, very pretty in Seattle the past few weeks.