Goodbye, Lincoln! Hello, Autofocus!Posted by drfl on August 17th, 2010

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 25mm, f/8, 1/320 sec., Singh-Ray Polarizing Filter

Last Friday was the last day of my exhibition at the Governor’s residence in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I loaded up the car and took the opportunity to capture the capitol building across the street.  Although, I live about 40 miles from the building, I have only captured a couple photos of the structure.  Beautifully designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and adorned with designs by Lee Lawrie (known previously for his work on 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and the LA Library), the building is rich with symbolism. 

As a secondary reason for photographing the capitol building, I wanted to test the autofocus on  my 17-40 f/4l lens which I had just received back from repair the previous day.  After testing the lens on both my 5D Mark II, and my 50D, I was happy to see that the autofocus was snappy and accurate.  Another pleased experience with Canon support (4 for 4 so far, Canon).  Here are some results from my session with the Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln.

This nearly 20 foot high statue was designed by Lee Lawrie who is known for works such as Atlas in Rockefeller Plaza and the Chapel at West Point. “The Sower” points northwesterly, the direction that would ecompoass the greatest amount of land in Nebraska. The dome, upon which “The Sower” stands, changes color depending on the weather. Here it is a golden color a result of the beautiful and warm day on which this image was captured.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/5.6, 1/400 sec.

Technical Details:
Canon 50D, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/7.1, 1/1000 sec.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 22mm, f/9, 1/160 sec.

Omaha Holiday Lights Festival – 2009Posted by drfl on December 28th, 2009

I don’t usually get a lot of time to photograph the city, but every year I make it a point to go to downtown Omaha and photograph the holiday lights that the city places on the trees throughout the mall. On each visit I attempt to make a photograph from a new location or a new perspective. This year was particularly spectacular as we got over a foot of snow dumped on us. I headed down right after the snow and before many people had walked through so that I could get a shot without any footprints. I was the first to make the prints, but of course, when I was done my feet were very cold, but my car was close.

Below are links to previous year’s images. It’s always fascinating to see how the city has changed.

• Holiday Lights Festival – 2005
• Holiday Lights Festival – 2006 – I
• Holiday Lights Festival – 2006 – II
• Holiday Lights Festival – 2007 – I
• Holiday Lights Festival – 2007 – II
• Holiday Lights Festival – 2008

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/9, 2.5 sec
Omaha, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: Holiday Lights Festival – 2009

An Evening At the BallparkPosted by drfl on June 15th, 2009

Last night I had the opportunity to go to Game 4 of the College World Series, played every year in Omaha, Nebraska.  The smell of hots dogs, the sound of the bat connecting with the ball, the cheer of the crowd – all remined me why I always enjoy watching the game.  I attempt to make it to at least one game each year and this year I brought my camera along to get a shot of Rosenblatt Stadium.  Omaha is building a new stadium so Rosenblatt only has one more year after this in which it will be hosting the College World Series.  Since it has been an icon of Omaha for several decades I wanted to make sure that I was able to capture an image with the game in play and with the stands filled with a crowd.  Overall, the game was pretty exciting with some good back and forth between Texas and Southern Miss. for quite some time.  In the end Texas emerged the victors, though. 

I took several images around twilight from different vantage points.  This photograph is actually two shots taken and stitched together to create a long pano.

Technical Details:
2 Photos, Canon 50d, 10-22mm ef-s lens @ 22mm, f/8, 1/25 sec.
Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Nebraska

A Capitol Evening – 100th Post!Posted by drfl on May 5th, 2009

Last week I took a small jaunt down to Frank Shoemaker Marsh near Lincoln, Nebraska.  I had pretty good success last September with a stellar sunset and it appeared that there would be potential again.  After hiking around a bit, it got dark and the sunset colors never appeared.  Determined to not come home empty handed, I headed to the capitol building to see if I could salvage part of the night.  The light in the sky was almost completely gone, but there was a bit of a dark blue hue that remained when I arrived.  I setup and quickly took about a dozen shots.  There was some major construction going on and I didn’t have a lot of time to scout some good locations, but I felt satisfied that I had something.  I hope to make it back down there this summer with a little more preparation to get a couple more shots of the unique architecture.

Additionally, I would like to note that this is my 100th blog entry!  Here’s to 100 more!

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 32mm, f/10, 13 sec.
State Capitol Building, Lincoln, Nebraska

A Lonely Omaha StreetPosted by admin on February 5th, 2009

Today’s image was taken the same night as the previous 3. I had wanted to get some snow flying through this photo, and while it was lightly snowing, it had let up pretty much by this point. I felt this image worked best in black and white with a sepia tone. I plan on returning here when it is snowing heavier and a little earlier so I can capture a bit of light behind the buildings.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 24mm, f/16, 30 sec.
Omaha, Nebraska

Illumina Confetti 3Posted by admin on February 4th, 2009

This is the final image from the “Illumina Confetti” images. The snow was beginning to let up a bit in this one, but there was still enough to create the confetti feel. I am planning on going back down to the Qwest Center to get some more images of this creative display later in the year. It is a very nice addition to the city and I look forward to photographing it again. Look for the new images in my blog when I do return.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/6.3, 1/40 sec.
Omaha, Nebraska