Single-Serving Photo » Aaron’s Photos

Shameless Self-Promotion

Aaron — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:12:11 +0000

I know it’s been a super long time since I’ve posted, but I assure you that it wasn’t anything you did. Perhaps it sounds like a lame excuse but as much as I enjoy sharing photography news, tips, and ideas with all of you, this blog is just a hobby and life has a way of encroaching on hobbies sometimes.

That having been said, and in the theme of “shameless self-promotion,” I would like to (very, very happily) announce that I finally posted my photos from both the Grand Teton National Park as well as Yellowstone National Park; a trip that I took nearly a whole year ago. I hemmed and hawed over which photographs to use and how to process them for an enormous amount of time.

Here’s one of my favorites from the Grand Prismatic Spring boardwalk at Yellowstone:

Because I am eternally grateful to you, my gentle readers, my loyal audience, for sticking around through months of crappy news posts and half-hearted “copy pasta” articles, I would like to offer all of you guys a special secret discount on all of my prints for the entire month.

If you visit my Yellowstone gallery or my Grand Teton gallery or my main site and you use the “add to cart” link to purchase image downloads or prints of any photo you can use the coupon code “SSP-MAY” to get 25% off your order for the entire month.

Here’s my favorite image from the Grand Tetons, taken at Jenny Lake:

You can use this coupon code as many times as you want on any images you want. Photographic prints are prepared and shipped by ExposureManager, digital downloads are available immediately (have them printed by the shop of your choice if you like).

The coupon code again is “SSP-MAY” and you can start browsing my gallery right here.

Chicago Day One

Aaron — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:16:05 +0000

Our workshop has yet to officially begin, but that doesn’t stop us from getting up well before dawn and catching a taxi down to Navy Pier to get some shooting in. Navy Pier is a “festival marketplace,” to use the term coined by the Rouse Development Company—the same company responsible for designing Quincy Market in Boston and Harborplace in Baltimore—and although it’s overrun with restaurants and eccentric attractions (such as the Amazing Chicago Funhouse & Maze Adventure), there is also a public walkway accessible even when the attractions are closed… Which they are, at 4:45 in the AM.

Here are my favorite shots from this morning. Off to a good start, I would say!

The Ferris wheel at Navy Pier is one of its most remarkable features. Here, it is reflected in the shallow pool surrounding the (currently closed) Wave Swing.

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More after the jump!

This bench near the Wave Swing is surrounded by roses. Pretty, no?

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A sculptural anchor stands at the tip of Navy Pier, which was named in honor of its service to the Navy during World War II. Previously it had been known simply as Municipal Pier #2.

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This switchback walkway caught my eye with its angles and contrasts.

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Finally, a cityscape is hovered over in the dawn hours by a nearly full moon.

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If you want to see more of my photographs from other places, click the gallery link down below in the huge, conspicuous gold box. If you’re interested in coming with us on workshops all around the country to become better at photography, visit our website and sign up!

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Aaron — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:41:29 +0000

I took the day off on Friday and went up to Cape Cod for the weekend to see what all the fuss is about. Though I was born and raised here in New England, for some reason I never visited and this seemed like the proper time to correct that.

The weather wasn’t exactly perfect, but when it stopped raining the overcast skies provided a very soft and round light that made everything glow.

Here is one that I think sums up the place and the experience, but please do view the rest of the gallery for more!

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Leave questions or thoughts in the comments!

Sailors’ Delight

Aaron — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:36:05 +0000

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailors’ delight.

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I caught Chris wrapping up our sunset shoot at Point Lobos State Reserve.

Monterey, Aquarium

Aaron — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:18:09 +0000

Here are some new quick grabs from Monterey and Big Sur that I wanted to share.

These are Chris’ feet standing on a very small beach as we prepared to photograph sunset.

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During the first two days it was very gloomy and rainy, but the fog created some awesome scenes.

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I also spent a couple of hours at the Monterey Aquarium (as I mentioned earlier). I won’t have any “serious” photos ready until after I return and get a chance to really edit them, but for the time being, here are some quick edits of some of the things I saw:

This tank has mirrors on both side walls so it looks like the jellies go on forever.

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The aquarium is literally at the seaside and although it was raining, the view was spectacular.

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Another view of the back of the aquarium and the stairway granting water access.

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Here is the somewhat famous kelp forest at the Monterey Aquarium. This is one of the most photographed and publicized features of the place.

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Big Sur, Monterey Part II

Aaron — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:39:00 +0000

This morning I thought to myself, It’s been ages since I’ve posted actual photographs on my photo blog. I decided to remedy that situation by showing off a little something I picked up in the Monterey Aquarium (in Monterey, California) on Sunday.

This is more of a stock/photojournalism style of image that I don’t think fits in with the other images in my gallery, so Single-Serving Photo is the perfect place for it!

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A family enjoys one of the largest tanks at the aquarium, which is home to five hundred-pound tuna.

There will be many, many more images to come as my California adventure continues. I’ve taken approximately 950 photographs so far, picked out at least 15 solid “keepers,” and I still have three full days in San Francisco ahead of me!

Keep an eye on the blog for further updates!

New London Pier

Aaron — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:09:51 +0000

I feel like I’ve been on a streak of article writing lately, which is good, but I’ve also been neglecting the original charter of this site—to post experimental and spontaneous photos. Fortunately, I’ve been taking a lot of experimental and spontaneous photos, I just haven’t been posting them. So, without further ado… the New London Pier on a foggy morning.

This first one has a pretty wavy tone curve applied to it (in Lightroom), which brings out that great bit of light in the sky while not plowing all of the foreground shadow into an inky black mass. There is also a split tone (blue for highlights, brown for shadows) that I think gives it a very interesting feeling.

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This one is almost my favorite minimalist composition ever, and that’s saying something. I’m a big stickler for minimalism (if you didn’t know), but what really grabs me about this is the wonderfully placid reflections in the water on the left and, if you look closely, the ever so subtle and soft point of land coming out on the right edge.

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Enjoy.

Being There… With a Camera

Aaron — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:44:21 +0000

There’s been more talk than usual lately about keeping a camera with you; taking it places you might not normally take it; the disappointment of missing what could have been a great image if only you had; and the question of whether having the camera with you, though not at the ready, would even help.

Opinions differ, but you can’t lose by having the camera around even if you don’t think you’ll use it. I happened to be driving around Narragansett Bay (actually, across it) in Rhode Island this weekend and, because I was there specifically to take some family portraits, I thankfully had my camera with me and was able to capture this scene.

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This was taken from the Newport side of the Claiborne Pell Bridge, which connects Newport (on Aquidneck Island) in the west to Conanicut Island (chiefly the town of Jamestown) to the east.

The following evening, I took some advice to heart, took the battery grip off of my old Canon 10D, strapped on my 50mm f/1.4 (my smallest lens), and went for a walk by the city pier. I enjoy walking down there because it’s quite scenic and with the harbor and train station in close proximity you never know what you’ll be able to see.

Here is an 8:15 Amtrak Acela departing for points unknown (probably Boston, eventually). I braced my camera against one of those I-beams you see ahead of me. No tripod necessary!

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A close-up of a vendor’s cart parked along the side of the pier, probably left over from Sailfest. I liked the reflection in it and the texture of it.

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A handsome public observation binocular lit by the lights on the pier overlooks the Thames River and the General Dynamics building on the far shore. General Dynamics, previously known as Electric Boat, is a major submarine defense contractor and a significant source of income for the southeast Connecticut shoreline.

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General Dynamics itself glimmers against the water. I was shooting JPEG (the 10D is so slow with RAW) and I set the white balance to “cloudy” for this shot to enhance its redness.

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On my walk back home, this sailor’s monument caught my eye.

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I think the moral of the story is that it’s better to have your “second string” camera with you, stripped down to its most convenient minimum, than to have no camera at all!

Boston Loves the Lensbaby

Aaron — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:05:34 +0000

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, well, you know, photographs here on my photo blog, but I think you’ll agree it was worth the wait. I spent a day in rainy Boston last weekend with my Lensbaby 3G, introducing it to the charm of beantown.

This was the first time I took the Lensbaby out in the city and I am very pleased with the results. It’s extremely challenging to focus by sight without a proper focusing screen, and being locked at f/2 probably doesn’t help either, but I wanted the most dramatic depth of field and also the most flexibility in varying light conditions. I made several of these shots by “bracketing focus,” which is to say I would make several exposures rapidly while very slightly moving the Lensbaby’s front ring toward and away from me in the range where it appeared to be in focus through the viewfinder.

A few shots that I thought I nailed were completely blurry, and others that I wasn’t sure about came out very well, so that’s a testament to practice… Which I lack. Without further ado:

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Prints Available—Click to Visit the Gallery

Mohegan Park Redux

Aaron — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:32:45 +0000

I went back to Mohegan Park after being told that there was an “abandoned zoo” on the premises. I didn’t recall seeing what might pass as a zoo, but I had to go check it out anyway. As a bonus, it was a beautifully warm day and there can be no excuse for not going outside and enjoying it.

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Prints Available—Click to Visit the Gallery

With these two, I was experimenting with the tip I gave you on Wednesday. I set my auto-focus point to the one on the far right, which at first can feel a bit strange, but it does force the composition to be somewhat more interesting.

The first one here is with the 24-70mm f/2.8 (at 70mm), and the second is using the Sigma 105mm macro (a very fine lens, if I do say so myself).

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Prints Available—Click to Visit the Gallery