Behind The Shot: Photography Meetup and Motorcycle LightPainting

Last summer, one of my photography meetup groups hosted their annual picnic event in New Jersey. This time they selected the J. Own Grundy Park at the Exchange Place in Jersey City. These picnics are always a lot of fun, you get to meet and socialize with other photography aficionados, and I always learn something new. This is my second year attending. 

At this event I got the chance to meet people from China, Australia, Canada, India and Croatia who are members of the group. It's like they say, the ethnic and cultural diversity is what attracts millions of visitors to the NYC area each year. 

Granted, the Exchange Place is one of my favorite locations to photograph the NYC skyline, especially at night. Last time I visited was last year, for the 9-11 anniversary of the attacks. 

For this trip, my goal was to capture a better light-painted image of my bike using the NYC skyline in the background, either of Jersey City or Hoboken, NJ. I recognize I am my own worst critic, so as expected, I wasn't happy with a light-painted photograph of my bike that I shot last summer. 

I scouted the area in the Exchange Place looking for a dark location to shoot the picture, to no avail. So I decided to see if I could find an empty parking lot near Pier 13 in Hoboken where car enthusiasts photograph often. 

After riding my bike around for a while, I found a perfect dark spot near Frank Sinatra Drive and 14th street in Hoboken; between the Sovereign Garage and Hudson Cat Sailing Charter. It was around midnight, and only a few souls ventured out to walk their dogs near the Hoboken Waterfront Walkway. I had the place all to myself for the next 45 minutes, so I took pictures to my heart's content.

The next day during editing, I noticed I had the bike image I was shooting for, but was not thrilled with the skyline background of NYC and the Empire State Building. The image didn't have the elusive "wow effect" I was looking for. Did I mention I am my own worst critic? 

A quick solution was to create a photo composite made up of two pictures blended and merged together. One image was of the Philadelphia night skyline image I took last year, and the other one was the lightpainted picture of my bike in Hoboken, NJ. I am very pleased with the end result. 

If you like to see a bigger version of this image, click HERE.

Behind The Shot: Love Park

The other week, one of my Philadelphia photography meetup groups invited it's members to attend a meetup at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As it almost always happen with online meetup groups, twenty two people signed up, only three other members and a friend that I invited attended.

If you have been reading my other blog, you know that it's my preference to shoot city skylines during the blue hour, and at a completely dark night when shooting motorcycle lightpainting. One of the reasons I am not too fond of museum photography, is that tripods and flash are not allowed inside the museum.

From past experience, I've never been able to take great photos inside a museum without a tripod. In low light circumstances, a tripod is essential because you usually can’t hand hold a camera when using a slow shutter speed and expect to get sharp pictures.

I figured this is a great opportunity to use a Platypod Ultra I recenly purchased. If you are not familiar with this little gadget, the Platypod is a versatile compact flat metal plate that let's you mount a ballhead on it. It is so small, it can be taken virtually anywhere.

To make a long story short, I wasn't happy with the few pictures I took inside the museum, and I didn't had a chance to put the Platypod to the test.

I stopped to eat on my way home, not far from the "new" remodeled Philadelphia's iconic LOVE sculpture in LOVE Park. The park is always crowded with tourists taking selfies, especially during the summer. Much to my surprise, the planets were aligned that day for me because the park was nearly empty. And it was perfect timing, it was getting to be around the blue hour. I quickly setup the tripod and took a couple of shots.

I am very happy with the final result, so far this is the best image I've taken in this location.

Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon Finge Indignacion y Amenaza con Renunciar

Hace apenas unos dias, la comisionada residente Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon aparecio en la prensa apoyando y aplaudiendo como foca amaestrada el muro que el racista xenofobico presidente Trump propone en la frontera de Mexico y Estados Unidos.

Lo interesante es que una arrodillada que no tiene ni voz ni voto en la Casa Blanca, ahora aparece defendiendo a un presidente que ataca vilmente a nuestro hermanos mexicanos. Tipica actitud subserviente, defendiendo cobardemente al opresor de su pais.

Ayer, chiquitota puso el grito en el cielo y amenazo con renunciar a su puesto cuando se entero que su racista y xenofobico presidente esta amenazando con quitarle a Puerto Rico fondos federales asignados para la recuperación por los daños causados por los huracanes Irma y Maria.

Por otro lado, es chistoso ver como los alicates del gobierno ahora aparentan una supuesta indignacion por los comentarios del racista xenofobico presidente Trump. Estos politicos añangotados, son vende patria limosneros sin escrupulos viviendo del mantengo.