During my last long road trip, I allocated a couple of days to photograph some of the amazing architecture in downtown Los Angeles. One of my favorite buildings is the Disney Concert Hall:

Disney Concert HallWalt Disney Concert Hall at 111 S Grand Avenue in Los Angeles, California on July 31, 2017 To me, the most amazing thing about this photograph is how considerate the pedestrians were. This picture was taken on a weekday morning on a busy intersection in downtown Los Angeles. As I was getting ready to take this exposure, nearly 15 people stopped in their tracks so that I could capture this picture. I wasn't expecting this type of considerate behavior in such a big city!

One of the reasons I included Los Angeles in my long road trip was to photograph the most unusual Petersen Automotive Museum. And, I'm glad I included this as part of my itinerary!

Here's a photograph from across the intersection that I captured to give the viewer a perspective of the entire building. All of my other pictures from the photo shoot are architectural abstracts.

Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 One challenge with capturing this photograph was dealing with the expanse of dull, ugly pavement in the bottom of the frame. My approach was to capture some traffic blurs using long exposures to add some interest to the scene. This required several exposures (later blended together in Photoshop) because traffic was so light. Just my luck...this was the only section in all of Los Angeles with light traffic!

The rest of my pictures are architectural abstracts. Here are a few of my favorites:

Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 Given the colorful subject matter, I captured very few B&W photographs that night. But, B&W is still a viable option here:

Petersen Automotive MuseumPetersen Automotive Museum at 6060 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, California on July 30, 2017 There were numerous architectural sites of interest in downtown Los Angeles. In addition to the Petersen Automotive Museum, I visited the Disney Concert Hall, Broad Museum, Los Angeles City Library, Bradbury Building and Union Station.

When I arrived in Redding, California, I immediately drove to the Sundial Bridge. After capturing a number of black and white exposures during the afternoon in some rather harsh light, I returned for some night photographs.

It took a great deal of luck to capture this image. There were at least a hundred people on this bridge at any given time. My strategy was to take an exposure, then wait for various patches within the frame to free up of pedestrians before taking the next exposure. After four of five exposures, I was able to clear up most of the frame by selectively blending these images in Photoshop. There was still a group of people left toward the back of the bridge (it's a killer when they just stand there)--and I removed them by using the cloning tool.

My next challenge was the dealing with the length of these exposures--15 seconds each. After I would finish my third or fourth "people eraser" exposure, someone would walk close to my camera and cause the bridge to vibrate...so, it was time to start all over again!

By the time I finally started to get a few good exposures in a row, the sky was getting very dark...losing all color and bringing too much contrast into the scene. I shot a 2 second exposure at the end to bring back some detail in the sundial and the floor lights...as they were getting blown out now.

A local photographer from Redding approached me during my photo shoot to say I would have to wait for a very long time to capture this photograph. Apparently, he's not overly familiar with technique of blending exposures during post processing for removing people from the scene.

This morning, I sat down to process the whole mess--never expecting it to end up being an acceptable image. While it's not the greatest image in the world, I'm very pleased with the result!

Sundial BridgeSundial Bridge at Turtle Bay on the Sacramento River Trail in Redding California on July 28, 2017

Nikon D800, Nikon 14-24 2.8

This morning, my "Indian Hawthorne" picture won Imaging Resource's "Photo of the Day". CLICK HERE to view Imaging Resource's Photo of the Day page.

I found this very tiny flower while walking around my neighborhood. I recently posted a blog entry about this photo shoot. I captured this picture inside my mini studio in the kitchen.

This marks the 44th time that one of my photographs was recognized by Imaging Resource as its "Photo of the Day". Click here to view all of the winning entries over the past few years.

Indian HawthorneImaging Resource's Photo of the Day for August 31, 2017

During my recent 32 day road trip, I used a tripod for the vast majority of my shots. But, there were times when using a tripod wasn't possible. In some locations, tripods aren't permitted. In other situations, the positioning required of the camera made a tripod impractical.

Fortunately, the RRS Multi-Clamp enabled me to secure my camera and capture shots in certain situations where the use of a tripod wasn't possible. I carry this small piece of equipment in my camera bag at all times.

I just started processing photographs from my journey. During just the first day of shooting (in St. Paul, MN), the clamp allowed me to capture two pictures that would otherwise not have been possible.

PHOTO #1

This image of the Minnesota House of Representatives required the clamp. Access was restricted to the chamber floor by a tall gate. This gate was about 7 feet tall. I clamped the camera to the top of the gate in a position that allowed me capture a symmetrical image of the chamber. The camera was so high that I couldn't see through the viewfinder, so I used the Live View feature on the D800 to align the lens. Here's how the set up looked:

And, here's the processed photograph:

Lady MinnesotaMinnesota House of Representatives chamber in the State Capitol at 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 16, 2017 So, why was stabilizing the camera so important?

• The chamber is dark. My base exposure was 1.3 seconds at f/9 at ISO 100. Nobody can hold the camera steady for 1.3 seconds. And, I try not to boost the ISO settings as that compromises image quality.
• This photograph required bracketed exposures to retain detail in the highlights. I captured the same image with a shutter speed of 1/8 second to tame the highlights.

To illustrate the benefit of bracketed exposures, take a look at the very best exposure that I could generate with a single click. If this is all I could capture, I wouldn't bother taking the picture:

Lady MinnesotaMinnesota House of Representatives chamber in the State Capitol at 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 16, 2017 PHOTO #2

Later that day, I visited the Sunken Garden at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. As with the above situation, I wanted to bracket my exposures inside this greenhouse. I also needed a rather wide depth of field for this picture.

Sunken GardenSunken garden at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at 1225 Estabrook Drive in St. Paul, Minnesota on July 16, 2017

The Conservatory prohibits the use of a tripod. So, out came my RRS Multi-Clamp!

It wasn't long before I was approached by a staff member of the Conservatory. She told me that tripods weren't allowed. I pointed to my tripod...which was laying on the ground next to me...and said that I read the policy and was using the clamp so as to avoid getting in the way of other visitors. After a short hesitation, she acknowledged that I was in compliance of the rules as written. I was permitted to continue shooting!

Later in the trip, I captured some of my favorite photographs by using the clamp. It helped me position the camera over the edge of railings to capture pictures of interesting staircases. Now, the clamp isn't cheap. But, it's worth the extra money to me to secure my camera and lens while it's hanging over a railing!

The clamp also lets me shoot in such a way as to not attract the attention of security as quickly as when I am using a tripod. I stand very close to the clamp and camera so that it appears as though I am just standing against the railing while looking over a scene.

After 32 days on the road, I'm back home! 

This long road trip covered more than 7,500 miles (7,634 to be exact) and 16 states (IL, WI, MN, ND, MT, ID, WA, CA, NV, AZ, TX, NM, OK, KS, MO, IA).

At one point, I was just miles from the Canadian border. Later in trip, I was only yards from the Mexican border. At one point, waves from the Pacific Ocean rolled over my feet while I was photographing a sunset.

The Prius burned 146 gallons of gas over the entire trip (52.4 mpg). The cost of fuel was $356. The price per gallon of gas varied from as low as $1.87 in some of the Midwestern states to nearly $4.00 per gallon in Los Angeles.

CLICK HERE to view my daily itinerary.

Now comes the task of processing all of the images. I will likely be editing pictures into the Winter months.

Many of my photographs feature symmetry. Several of my images also feature a vanishing point--such as the door at the end of the corridor in the first picture or the painting on the back wall of the House of Representatives chamber in the second picture. Of course, symmetry is common with architecture. Here are a few symmetrical images from an earlier photography trip:

Capitol hallway House of Representatives chamber Supreme Court Chamber Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Senate Chamber I am seeing symmetry everywhere I look--even with these doors at the Ohio Statehouse!
Door handles

With all of this focus on symmetry, I began to wonder why it is that viewers generally find symmetry to be an attractive element within a photograph. Certainly, it brings a sense of order to the image. Could it be that human beings find beauty in symmetry because our own bodies are symmetrical?

Since my Prius gets such good gas mileage, I was several hundreds of miles into the state of Oregon before I realized that the process of pumping gas was different from other states.

After a long drive, I pulled into an Oregon gas station and got out of the car to stretch my legs and pump the gas. As I approached the pump, an attendant ran up to me and asked for my credit card. He informed me that I was not allowed to pump my own gas. I told him that I didn't realize I had pulled up to a full service pump--and that I would move my car. He replied that there wasn't a self-service gas station in the entire state!

So, as I stood right next to him, he swiped my credit card and then handed it back to me. He then filled my tank while I stood right there. When I asked him why this was necessary, he told me that it was all about job creation. I don't intend for this photography blog to contain political posts, but I can't understand how putting people to work providing a service that I don't want or need (with the resulting higher price of gas) can be a good thing in the long run.

Later, I learned through Wikepedia that a "1951 Oregon statue banning self-service gasoline lists 17 different justifications, including the flammability of gas, the risk of crime from customers leaving their car, the toxic fumes emitted by gasoline, and the jobs created by requiring mini service."

Vintage Shell Gas PumpVintage Shell gas station pump on US 101 (Olympic Highway) in downtown Aberdeen, Washington on August 6, 2013

Another thing I learned while traveling through Oregon is that the state doesn't have any sales taxes. The total charge for a large Diet Coke off the $1 Menu at McDonald's was exactly $1.

My aunt and uncle happened to be attending a conference in Eugene, Oregon while I was in Oregon. So, I drove to Eugene to meet them for breakfast. When my uncle picked up the check after breakfast, I told him that I would gladly pick up the sales tax!