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I'll be posting some random thoughts here about my photography: my travel plans, technical information behind some images, stories about how certain pictures were captured, etc. The timing of the postings will also be random as my priority is capturing new images rather than writing about existing ones. I hope you will feel free to comment on any of my postings and I appreciate you taking time to read my entries.
It took me long enough, but I finally opened an Instagram account! I considered doing this a while ago, but opted against it because it seemed to me that Instagram wasn't designed for serious photography. When I first looked at Instagram, I couldn't figure out how to upload anything other than pictures from my phone--and it does appear that the vast majority of Instagram pictures come from mobile devices. As always, Google is my friend. It didn't take long to discover how to upload my digital files to Instagram. At this point, it's a little cumbersome--but manageable. The images on Instagram always appear in a square format. So, if my picture isn't square (and most of them aren't), I first open it in Photoshop. I add to the "canvas size" usually using a white background. I then crop the image to be square--which leaves a white background around the picture. Since Instagram uses a white background, the image then appears in the original dimension. Here's an example of one with the extended white canvas to make the square crop:
My hope is that Instagram will open a wider audience for my images. Part of the enjoyment of creating photographs is in sharing them. So, if you are an Instagram user, please consider "following" nagel_photography! Image TalkI am pleased that Apogee Photo Magazine featured my "Gateway to the Moon" photograph in its "Image Talk" column for this month. As part of the column, Noella Ballenger points out "what makes that photo work." Please click here to view the article. Apogee Photo Magazine viewed many of the images on my website before selecting a photo to feature in "Image Talk." Of the more than 20,000 pictures on my site, they selected a photo that I captured just last month! Here's a copy of that image:
Battle of the LibrariesOver the past couple of years, I've become more interested in taking photographs of interior spaces. I've enjoyed visiting the State Capitol buildings and have now visited 39 of them. Eventually, I won't have any more Capitols to photograph! I've expanded this interest to places of worship. There are an almost unlimited number of churches and other interesting places of worship to photograph. I've photographed more than 130 of them so far! More recently, I've added libraries to my list of sites to photograph. CNN recently featured several of my library photographs in the Travel section of its website. Click here to view some of my favorite library images. The first library that I photographed was my local library--the Orland Park Public Library.
Subsequently, I've visited the Seattle, Salt Lake City, Lexington, San Antonio, Denver and St. Louis libraries. My visit to the Seattle Central Library helped me realize how libraries can be amazing architectural subjects. While I was in that library, there must have been at least 8 other photographers there. I took my time working my way up as the floors spiral ten stories into the air. There's an abundance of bright colors. And, there's plenty of glass which offers stunning views of downtown Seattle.
The Denver library also has an impressive lobby area:
Most recently, I visited the St. Louis Public Library:
So, which library wins the "Battle of the Libraries" in my view? My sentimental choice is Orland Park. But, I'll have to go with Seattle in this one! "Grand Haven Lighthouse" Wins Photo of the Day!This morning, my "Grand Haven Lighthouse" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day". CLICK HERE to view Imaging Resource's Photo of the Day page. This photo was captured exactly one month ago on a brief photography trip that I made to Holland, Michigan.
This marks the 27th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". Click here to view the other 26 winning entries over the past three years.
Two of a KindDuring my photo trip to St. Louis last week, I visited the St. Louis Zoo for a couple of hours. It's a great zoo, and you can't beat the price. Admission is free and I easily found free street parking in Forest Park. The St. Louis Zoo is also "photographer-friendly". Tripods are permitted and photography is encouraged. I spent much of my time taking pictures of the Bactrian camels. I thought the pair of camels made for an interesting photograph. The challenge was getting both of them to look into my lens at the same time!
"Tennis Anyone?" Wins Photo of the Day!This morning, my "Tennis Anyone?" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day". CLICK HERE to view Imaging Resource's Photo of the Day page. This photo was captured just a few weeks ago during a tennis practice at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois. It's one of very few sports pictures that Imaging Resource has selected as one of its Photo of the Day winners. And, it's the first time that one of my sports photographs has won a photo contest of any kind.
This marks the 26th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". Click here to view the other 25 winning entries over the past three years.
All For Under $40!Earlier in the week, I made a short trip to Holland, Michigan. My original reason for visiting was to photograph the tulips. However, I discovered many other interesting photography subjects while in the area--including three churches, two lighthouses and even a wooden shoe factory! This was a very brief visit. I arrived in Holland at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, May 12th and left Holland at noon the next day. Despite the short trip, I captured a relatively large number of images. Click here to view my favorites from the trip. When I first planned this trip, I intended to arrive in Holland on Thursday and to return on Friday. I made reservations at the Hampton Inn for Thursday night. Then, I remembered that I had a prior commitment for Thursday and rescheduled my trip for Tuesday. The Hampton Inn was sold out for Tuesday night. So, Prius camping came to the rescue! Prius camping provides me with a great deal of flexibility. I can spend the night practically anywhere with very little advance planning. It allows me to get close to interesting locations like the Grand Haven Lighthouse for more convenient access. For example, I was able to photograph the lighthouse late one night (sunset was after 9:00 PM) and to return before sunrise the next morning (arriving at 5:30 AM). Prius camping also makes a trip like this incredibly affordable. The cost of making this trip amounted to less than $40--and that included gas to cover 450 miles, tolls, food and the $10 admission fee to the tulip garden. The result of such an inexpensive trip is the addition of more than 30 photographs for my website and more than 75 images added to my stock portfolio. Here are some of my favorites from this $40 trip:
The Churches of HollandDuring my brief visit to Holland, Michigan, I visited three churches: Hope Church, Pillar Church and the Dimnent Memorial Chapel on the campus of Hope College. As during my visit to the churches in Raleigh, North Carolina, the people at the these churches in Holland were very cooperative. I was welcome to enter these churches and to take as much time as I wanted to photograph the interior of these impressive buildings. In all of these buildings, the lights were turned on to make the photographs more appealing. I was also allowed access to the balconies of all three churches. While I was taking pictures inside the Pillar Church, the oldest building in Holland, I was asked if it would be alright for the organist to practice while I was there. He was concerned that his presence might negatively impact the images! I figured that I was a guest at the church and had no right to prohibit the organist from getting his practice session in--but it was very nice of him to ask. Following are a few images from these churches. Please click here to view more photographs of the churches of Holland.
The Morning AfterLast week, I took a short trip to Holland, Michigan. My plan was to photograph the tulips. The Tulip Time Festival ran from May 2nd through May 9th. Rather than visiting during the festival, I timed my trip to arrive in Holland shortly after the festival ended. This allowed me to capture photographs of the tulips, and many other interesting subjects, without the crowds. Click here to view photographs from my trip. Following are some pictures of a large field of tulips without anybody in the frame. Capturing this picture would have been impossible during the festival. This particular location, Veldeer's, is crowded with hundreds of people walking through this field during Tulip Time. During my visit, I was the only person there for the first two hours of my visit. Then, four or five people finally arrived.
When Everything Comes TogetherEarlier this week, I took a short trip to Holland, Michigan. I timed my visit to coincide with the prime season for the tulips. In addition to the tulips, I discovered some other interesting photography subjects--including three churches and two lighthouses. During the evening, I took a drive north to visit the Grand Haven Lighthouse. I wasn't optimistic about my chances to get good photographs of the lighthouse as the sky was overcast and dull. But, as I was driving to Grand Haven the sky began to clear at the horizon. Once I arrived, I immediately started shooting. I was happy with some of the images, but as time passed the conditions kept improving. So, I kept shooting. Thankfully, we live in the digital age. If I had been shooting film, this would have been a very expensive night. Once the sun started to set, the light became far more interesting. I always enjoy including multiple sources of light within a frame. In this image, my first thought was to include the warm light of the setting sun. A little later, the white lights along the pier illuminated. Then, the red lights in the lighthouses activated. It took many tries to get everything to come together. Finally, I captured the following elements within a single frame:
After more than 100 attempts, I finally nailed it! Here's the final image:
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