Losing A Lens For THIS??

It was a snowy night in Chicago, so I headed out with my gear to capture some city shots.  The most interesting photo I got was the corner of this parking garage (click image to enlarge) - and actually not too interesting to me anymore as I'm already tired of looking at it.  Or maybe it could be the fact that my stopping to photograph this shot caused me to drop my camera.

Yes, gravity got a hold of it, and onto the nice hard cement it went.  Granted, it could have happened anywhere.  But I'm blaming this parking garage! 

But I was lucky!  How was I lucky?  Well for one, I had on my most inexpensive lens (Sigma 12-24mm) - albeit still pretty expensive.  For two, its cracking in half upon impact with the earth served as a cushion for my 1DS Mark 3, which seems to have taken no damage whatsoever.

I was quite calm throughout the whole process of picking up the pieces, however I did get bummed out a couple hours later.  But it's all insured, which means it's all good!

Happy New Year's Eve! 

Broken-Winged Hawk Makes Front Page

Upon photographing a broken-winged hawk on the Eastern Shore in Stevensville, MD during a trip home, I contacted the local papers and my photos ended up on the cover of The Evening Capital Newspaper. Story by Pamela Wood, Staff Writer, The Capital / hometownannapolis.com

An injured red-tailed hawk has a second chance at life thanks to some quick-thinking witnesses, a skilled bird handler and a bird-rescue organization.

The bird, with a mangled left wing, was spotted on the side of Route 8 near Batts Neck Road in Stevensville on Wednesday afternoon.

Kent Island resident Stephen Reverand, who is a licensed falconer, got a call from his friend, Chris Bird, about the injured hawk.

"They had seen the hawk on the side of Route 8 and they knew I handle hawks. … People know people on Kent Island. They knew I am licensed to handle hawks," said Reverand, who said he works by day as a filmmaker for the National Geographic Channel.

Rest of article at http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/top/2009/12/29-38/Good-Samaritans-help-injured-red-tailed-hawk.html 

More info about Stephen Reverand on National Geographic website: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngt/whoswho.html


 

Magical Fog

A foggy night in Annapolis, Maryland.  This location was at Jonas Green Park, just below the Naval Academy Bridge.  I kicked myself for not getting there sooner, however I had not planned on arriving.  I wanted to shoot something of interest other than a bridge fading away into the background, so I used my mom's car.  Still, there needs to be something in this shot to give it a bit more interest.  I'm open to suggestions!

I had a very small flash unit, my Canon 1DS M3 on a tripod, and my running shoes on.  I set the timer to 10 sec, and ran around the car lighting it up with small bursts of light, here and there, until the shutter closed.  I did this for approximately 30 exposures, some even for the inside of the car. Still, there's something missing, and I'll figure it out and get it Photoshopped in there!

click to view larger

www.adamdaniels.com 

 

Holiday Image

A quick hello from Mr. Snowman.  Happy Holidays everyone!

More images

Mclovin

Inside of an abandoned barn in Iceland. HDR.

Dec 10, 2009 Photo of the Day

Click to enlarge


chicagodogportraits.com (site is ugly, but live)

How to weigh your dog

1.  Weigh yourself.

2.  Pick up your dog.

3.  Do math.

Note: No dogs were harmed physically in the filming of this scene.  Mentally, well that's a different story (see pumpkin outfit).

Dec 8, 2009 Image of the Day

Iceland Stream

 

click to enlarge

adamdaniels.com

Dec 7, 2009 Image of the Day

click to enlarge

The Cold Months

Exactly one year ago, I moved to Chicago to escape the heat and humidity of Tampa.  Yes, some call me crazy for leaving the tropical climate, but I see cold weather as a challenge: a challenge to stand up to mother nature's blustery blizzards and below-zero temperatures.  This year I'll be ready with numerous layers of clothing, from my ears to my toes.  One pair of gloves/socks/pants will not be enough to combat the wintry weather with all the miles I walk each week through the windy city.  I couldn't be more happy with the choice I made to move up north. 

Chicago's first significant snow begins in a few hours, and I'm eager to wake up to a transformed world.  I'll be strapping up my waterproof boots, and heading out with camera in hand to capture the beauty. 

Painting with Light

One small flashlight, one tripod, one camera, one orange, one copy of Photoshop to blend a few 30-sec exposures.  Try it!
  

click to view larger

adamdaniels.com, Chicago Photographer