Behind The Scenes Pt. 2 : Smartphone on a Platypod eXtreme

For the time being, these images will be the last one's taken inside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. 

I am planning to travel to New York City and Washington DC soon, to photograph inside other cathedrals and churches. Some of these buildings offer spectacular architecture, which can translate to unique and interesting compositions. 

Platypod will never replace my trusty tripod. But have earned a permanent home in my camera bag if I am using a DSLR, a GoPro action camera or my smartphone.

Foto Friday - Behind The Scenes

One warm summer, a few years ago, we were getting drenched every weekend. So there was no motivation to ride my motorcycle.

So instead of riding, I went out on a photo walk with my camera in tow. That particular evening I decided to first visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Afterwards, I walked a few blocks near the Schuylkill River and tried to shoot one of the locations I always have a hard time photographing, the Philadelphia Boathouse Row. Even if my life depended on it, I can't get a decent photograph of this place.

- Boathouse Row is a historic site which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River just north of the Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It consists of a row of fifteen boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing shells. - wikipedia

It didn't help that the cloudy overcast made for a dull and gray sky. But hey, I figured I got nothing to lose so I might as well take a couple of pictures. Who knows, I may just get lucky.

It seemed as if it was going to rain again, so I hurried setting up my camera underneath the Fairmount Water Works gazebo used for wedding ceremonies.

I was so put off by the lousy weather, that only took 5 or 6 pictures of the Boathouse Row, including a couple of them behind the scene images. The timing couldn't be more perfect. By the time I packed my camera gear, it started to drizzle and the SEPTA bus arrived.

Another photo shoot, another lousy Boathouse Row picture.

Behind The Scenes Photography

Just to quench my photography thirst, yesterday evening after having diner at my favorite joint, I took the train to downtown Philadelphia to take a couple of pictures.

Philadelphia has been photographed ad nauseam, in fact I am running out of places to shoot in the city. It was still early, so I wandered around aimlessly and finally decided to visit Lenfest Plaza, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

If you are not familiar with this location, it is famous for a naval plane sculpture called "Grumman Greenhouse" that it's displayed in Lenfest Plaza. It was donated by Philadelphia artist Jordan Griska.

A while back I tried photographing this plane sculpture next to my motorcycle using a light painting technique. Maybe it was the wrong composition, bad lighting or I was rushing to finish it, but I wasn't happy with the final result. Click on this link to see the plane sculpture next to my bike.

Lately, I've been doing something different. This is an idea that occurred to me after finding this picture that I took 4 years ago.

I figured why not include myself in the photograph? It gives the viewer a different perspective and composition of the entire picture. In my opinion, adding a person to your images can also give a sense of scale and add interest to your photography. Now I can go back and recreate some of my older favorite images by putting a personal spin using this idea.

Do you include yourself in your photography?

Click on this link to see a bigger version of the image above....