Thank You Steve Jobs

This one is way cool but first a thank you to Steve Jobs for either thinking this one up (doubtful) or at least having the foresight to allow the creativity and vision within a corporation this call Apple.

This little App proved its worth of memory space on my iPad tonight. When I am out of town, I always call my wife at 11:00 at night be for we go to bed. Tonight though when I went for my phone, it was not to be found. Hmm... Yes! use the work Blackberry to call my phone and I will hear it in a pocket or on the floor somewhere. No sound anywhere, Nada!

This i the first time I have ever totally misplaced my phone. Prior to panic setting in, I remember the Find iPhone App on the iPad. I tapped the App and once I logged in to the Apple account a location of the hotel came up on the screen. Well that makes sense as it was locked into the iPad. I clicked on the Doug's iPhone and this is what came up.

For a nanosecond I was confused as I had not been any grassy or wooded area all day. But then I realized that the building and the ramp with aircraft was the NetJets ramp in Columbus, OH. The grassy area is where the new building is located. It was there that I spend the day in a cubical working on a project. I had left the phone on the desk for sure.

I grabbed my I.D., wallet, and keys and headed out the door in my work-out shorts and tee shirt. Sure enough it was sitting right there on the desk.

So once again, thank you Steve Jobs!

Cya... Doug

Secrets in the Closet

Back in July I posted about Leaving Paradise from Palm Beach Florida. Had some really nice images from that layover but I forgot to put one up that I had to process a little more.

This is a pano shot from the shore of Palm Beach to the west which ironically show downtown West Palm Beach in the image. I was walking around shooting in the Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden and was unaware of the impending deluge. I knew I wanted to get a pano across the iner-coastal waterway but had no idea of what loomed beyond.

As it turned out, I was able to get back to the car without getting wet except for the beads of sweat form the incessantly hot and humid South Florida weather.

I was able to make it across the bridge and grabbed this image imminent squall. You can make out the double towers of the historic Breakers Hotel in the background.

Need to pack it in for the night. Take care... Doug

Chromatic Aberration

This is an image taken with a Canon G9 and suffered from some pretty bad chromatic aberration in the high contrast areas of the leaves. You can see it in the image below. The purple and red coloring around the edges of the leaves is really unacceptable in a good shot. So what causes chromatic aberration?

This shot was at 1/200 at f/4 which really was too wide of an aperture for the conditions. Anyhow when an aperture is at its lowest, or widest opening, more of the lens is being used to expose the sensor. As the light hits the outer portion of the lens it can refract at slightly different angles. This changes the alignment of the light photons being absorbed by the sensor buckets and spreads the colors slightly. Fortunately we have a couple of sliders in Lightroom that works on these two issues.

Making a very slight adjustment with these sliders results in a much cleaner image when it comes to chromatic aberration. Here is a screen capture of this same image after the adjustments.

The lens has a lot to do with the amount of chromatic aberration you may get. Obviously if you avoid high contrast images, you can reduce the effect. True but not realistic. One of the fixes is to realize the limitation of your lens and work around it. Like I said above this shot was at 1/200 and f/4, I could have shot it at 1/60th and f/7.1 for the same exposure but i would have used less of the lens and thus probably would not have had to post correct the aberration.

That pretty much does it for today so take care.


Cya... Doug


For more information of our photography, visit us at peekfoto.

Morning Light

It is fun looking back through folders of images I have captured while on tour. It brings back flashes of moments where I was able to break free form the fast pace f aviation and just roam and relax. Sometimes it took a little planning like the image above. I had gotten to the hotel in Marina Del Rey CA the night before ant it was about 1:00 a.m. eastern time. My body was three hours ahead of the rest of the time. This actually played into my plans to get up early and go across the road to this scene and grab a great sunrise it the weather held. Being in Southern California it was a pretty safe bet. The colors and richness are really incredible especially after you find out this was shot with a Canon G9. The specs were 125th second at f/8 and an ISO of 100.

There is another post-lite in the bag, have a great day.

Cya... Doug

For more information of our photography, visit us at peekfoto.

Flying Recovery

This is going to be pretty quick as I have been getting hammered this week in a development project we have going on. So here we go!

When you take photos from aircraft there is always a certain level of haze in the atmosphere caused by our activity. Sometimes a good rain will clear it out for a few hours but that is not often the case. So how do we get results like the one below.

We really don't cheat but a few sliders in Lightroom really do help out. The photo was of the mountain range in the San Bernardino National Forest. Below are the sliders in Lightroom to recover the image to how it looked to me at the moment.

Full disclosure time. I did use the localized adjustment brush to boost the snow on the mountains by 1/3 of a stop but is does look nice. Here was the before image.

That's going to cover it for today so have a great Friday and abetter weekend.


Cya... Doug


For more information of our photography, visit us at peekfoto.

Just for Fun

Every once in a while you just have to have some fun with digital manipulation. Today it is turned towards aviation. All the terrorist threats and the reactions (sometimes knee-jerk) the government makes to make us feel safe have caused a catastrophe in the aviation industry. The airlines are just squeaking buy and many operating in and out of bankruptcy. Most people would rather drive five hundred miles rather than fly, not because they don't feel safe but because how they are treated. It starts when they get to the airport, charging for baggage, the intrusion of our privacy by the TSA and their rules (3-1-1). But enough of that!

One area of aviation that was not effected so much by the terrorist actions of 9-11-01 was business aviation. Yes it is those "Fat Cats" the President and the Press has called on the carpet recently. So who is feeling sorry for them? I am really trying not to get political here so I will continue. When Bernie Madoff brought the investment industry to its knees (in association with the banking failures) many of those they called Fat Cats went to liquify any asset they had, often an airplane.

So why is this post titled Just for Fun? From the image below you can see the front end of a large corporate jet on the ramp in West Palm Beach FL. The fun part was working in Photoshop installing the "For Sale" signs in various places.

From the original image, there were a total of twelve layers to create this effect before I flattened it for the blog. The window with the sign in it required to be disassembled so I could place the sign behind the glass, The Sign on the ground is completely created from within PS as is the sticker on the side of the aircraft. The warp option under transform was used to make the sticker look like it fits the curvature of the aircraft. Using a selected black to transparent gradient on the sticker allowed me to match the shadow of the fuselage. The opacity of that layer was reduced to match the shadow.

That will do t for me today so take care. 

Cya... Doug

Back to Work

Sorry about Thursday and Friday but it was the last couple of day of our son being home and I wanted to spend time with him rather than tapping keys on a keyboard blogging. So there!

Anyhow on with the show. A week ago Saturday we were up well before dawn in Chicago (actually it was 4:00 a.m.) to take an airplane down to West Palm Beach Florida. As we were ferrying the airplane (no pax), my first officer was flying from the left seat (don't freak out, we can do that under the rules we fly) and I took the opportunity to get a grab shot of the pre-dawn sun rise. Yes the image is slightly blurred and when you see the camera specs you will understand why. Canon G9 2 second exposure at f/5 and ISO of 100, and get this, hand held. Actually the hand holding was true but I was suspending my hand from the sun visor rail so the vibration from the aircraft would not shake the camera.

So you ask what I was doing shooting at ISO 100 in the light. Well the G9's noise level goes up exponentially when you get off the 100 setting. I was much more willing to have a little shake in this image rather than noise. So that is why.

Hey, I am in Louisville right now getting ready to do something for my day job so I am going to cut it loose right now.

Cya tomorrow... Doug

Day in the life...

Last week I had an early show in Scottsdale Arizona for a flight to Louisville Kentucky and onto Chicago's Midway airport. This image above is from my hotel room just before sunrise. This will not be a long post, but here are a couple more images from that flight.

This was while on descent into Chicago and taken into the sun. It could have been rather bright but I shot it through the sun visor we use in the cockpit.

I have been waiting to get a shot like the one above because it is just so cool. We are just about ready to enter the clouds and when the sun is behind you this is the view you get. It is actually a full rainbow as the light is refracted/ice crystals in the moisture within the cloud tops. I'll give you a couple moments to ponder on why the aircraft is not in the middle of the rainbow.

It is because the angle of the sun is crosses the counterpoint of the viewer on its way to the moisture. In this case I was in the cockpit. If the this had been captured further back in the aircraft cabin, the aircraft shadow would be more centered in the rainbow.

That will finish up today. Cya... Doug

Options

We were waiting for takeoff last week in Scottsdale Arizona these mountains present a slight obstacle on the initial climb out of the jet. Two good points about the SDL area is that the weather is generally as you see it. Clear sky's and a bazillions miles visibility. The other is the normal departure route is a left turn to 250 degrees to avoid the whole mess.

The problem with images like this is the wide angle does not give the depth that a zoom does but to zoom you end up not getting the vastness of the scene. So once I got it into Photoshop I figured a little zoom effect might enhance the image. Once that was done another thought struck me. Remember the old corny T.V. program called time tunnel...

You guessed it. My own version of Time Tunnel. The effect really deepens the image and kind of like it better than the zoom. The problem still exists with a close and far relationship with size and vastness mentioned above.

Either way it was a fun little exercise in PS.

Take care... Doug

Wired for... for What?

This image was take while waiting for a ride to the Fixed Base Operator in Fl Lauderdale Fl last Saturday. It was a nice sunny day yet if I were to turn 90 degrees to the left I would be looking and an ominously dark sky that was about to bust open with rain.

Anyhow, the structure for the waiting area drew my attention. These loose wires on the structure looked like they were waiting to be adjusted or to eventually support some kind of walk covering. Upon closer inspection, these are not cables, wires or anything like that. They are steel rod that are already set in place to make the structure look like it is not finished. This is South Florida I thought to myself. So now it must fall into the realm of art. Which is truly in the eye of the beholder.

I am up for a good day of grouting so we will cya tomorrow... Doug

GUILTY!

Hey all,

On Saturday I was sitting at the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight to Ft. Lauderdale FL. After going through security I was riding an escalator down to the terminal train and saw a little alcove that was at ramp level. Thinking it would make for some interesting images I rolled on over and proceeded to dig out my XTi and 28-135 lens that I just started taking with me on the road.

Airport ramp... DSLR smart or not so smart? It really does not matter but knowing what I know about the current DSLR threat (read hysteria) against the civilized world and the overall paranoid condition we have in this country around airports and anything public, it may not have been the best idea. Anyhow here are some of the pictures.

Just some simple industrial shots of an everyday event at hundreds of airports across the country. No subversive or covert intensions just interesting photography in the moment.

So here is the verdict, I did not get abducted or even approached by security but then I still have the rest of my life to answer for my activity. One thing this did bring home to me is that I have often taken a shot at the airport with my G9 but yet this time I felt oddly in the wrong yet totally within my rights to take a picture. (I do not know if ATL has some prohibition against photography).

It is really unfortunate that we even have these feelings. Kind of like when you are doing the speed limit and see a police car and automatically feel guilty until you look at your speedometer only to find out you were doing nothing wrong.

Take care… Doug

Must be Florida

Last week I was on a tour to do some more checkrides. As we only do them on ferry flights, the check airmen (yours truly) is airlined to a location were a ferry flight is supposed to take place. Well, being at the whim of the aircraft owners and their sporadic schedules, it is like shooting an arrow at a moving target that has not left the ground yet. If that did not make much sense, suffice it to say that I see a lot of airline cabins and hotels rooms. It is really a great job because it provides me the opportunity to enjoy the sights even on a limited basis.

Who after a rough day of travel will not want to relax in one of these hammocks. These were on the grounds of the Ft Lauderdale Airport Hilton.

Here is the walk out to the pool area, I was trying to go for a little bokeh effect so I was planning on shooting at f/2.8 with a mad shutter peed to bring the exposure in but the little G9 when zoomed racked the aperture down to f/6.3, so much for the blur. I am actually thinking of caring my old Rebel XTi with an EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens rather than the G9.

Here is the last image form the Hilton. It was a slightly precarious shot as I was bent over the edge of the pool holding the G9 about an inch off the water. I was just waiting for with the camera or the camera and myself to go tumbling into the pool. You would not know it from the image but the Ft, Lauderdale airport is just beyond the tree line in the background.

That's t for today. Cya tomorrow... Doug

Three For Thanksgiving

Thats right, I am going to put up three posts this week in light of Thanksgiving. Add to that they are not going to be long but they may prove to be interesting.

Starting off is the image today is an aviation shot of a sunset back in early October in Brooksville Florida. I had just completed a checkride on one of the captains and exited the aircraft and saw this wonderful view.

I then got a rental car and drove to Tampa to come home the next day. It really is nice to be able to be exposed to the wonders of creation on a daily basis.

I told you they may not be long but it still is a great shot.

Cya tomorrow... Doug

Sun Flare

I took this some time in early 2009 as I was flying back North from Florida. By the looks of the shoreline we must have been around 35,000 feet. The camera specs are a Canon G9 shooting at 1,000 second at f/8.

What I like about the image is not only the star pattern of the sun but also the reflection off the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida panhandle. What is interesting about this image is it show two forms of lens flare. The star burst pattern from the sun as well as the reflected flare of the lens at the top left and bottom center of the image. I could have cropped this image to level the horizon bat as I am just blogging about the flare, it is no big deal. 

One really cool thing about taking pictures from the cockpit is the windscreen has some natural filtering to it. There is a layer of gold film that conducts electricity to heat the screen. This gold layer has a slight warming effect on the images. That is not what is causing the gulf water to be yellowish, that would be the reflected sunlight punching through the lat afternoon atmosphere.

So... Is this a great shot? I don't think so but it is unique and therefore was worth not deleting at the camera.

Take care all... Doug

Dallas Heat

Chase Jarvis is credited with the statement of "the best camera you have is the one in your hand." That was certainly the case with this image. I was between flights on the ramp in Dallas Texas with this gorgeous sunset. The camera in hand, or should I say my flight bag was my trusty Canon G9.

Views like this are when I realize the many blessings I have. This image represents just two of them, first is a job that puts me in the presents of such spectacular opportunities and second is to have the intuition to take the time to capture them so they can be shared.

Back to the photo, it was again with the G9 and if I recall I was leaning up against the leading edge of the wing to stabilize the shot as it was hand held at 1/20th of a second. The other specs were an aperture of f/3.5 at 17mm focal length and an ISO of 100. Yes I could have pushed the ISO up but that little G9 just gets ugly when you push it.

Hey... Have a great weekend and enjoy yourself!

Cya... Doug

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Ok… So maybe not “the” Mecca in the middle-east but certainly a central point of importance to most photographers and certainly to Photoshop Junkies. I did a checkride today from Greensboro NC to Brooksville FL. When I got to Brooksville, I had to get a car and drive to Tampa and get to the hotel which is the bonus post today.

Anyhow with a car and nothing really to do, I headed off to visit the Kelby Training Group. Better known as the home of the national Association of Photoshop Professionals or NAPP for short. It is about a twenty minute drive from the Tampa airport.

As I pulled into KTG’s parking lot I spied a spot by the building to park. As I turned into the spot the sign below presented itself.

I thought better of it and parked across the way in a Visitor spot.

I stepped in the building and was greeted by a nice gal by the name of Debbie. We talked a little and she offered a tour of the facility and I gladly accepted. There are three facilities in the local and I was at the main Administrative building which housed both the creative and editorial groups. I felt as though I was in the center of the CS brain trust.

Well it was fun to even stop by and say hi. Not that it was on my bucket list or anything like that.

Take care… Doug


P.S. I don't know what I was thinking as I did not bring my G9 with me to the NAPP headquarters so I was stuck with my piece of junk camera on my Blackberry. That is a yuck and Im sorry for the poor quality.

Tampa Bay - Bonus Post

After my NAPP visit I headed to a little place in Tampa I have not been to in years, Chubby’s BBQ, a wonderful hole in the wall place with the best barbeque in Tampa. It was a clear day at the 90 degree mark and I was looking forward to getting a nice shot of downtown at sunset. I ended up sing a movie (Surrogate- very good!) and missed the sunset so I went back to the hotel.

My room faced the bay and as I walked into the room I saw the image below.

First I killed all the lights in the room and grabbed my G9 out of my flight bag. Using the window mullion and the glass I could stabilize the camera to capture two images. Below is an assembled pano of the view. Glorious I’d say!

Honestly, that is the view from my room. Enjoy... Doug

Morning Cup of Joe

I will admit that this post may be a little silly, but I had been at work all day facing yet another monitor and creative thinking is a non-artistic way. One of the guys has to have a Starbucks on the way to the office. So the first stop from the hotel is... You guessed it... Starbucks.

Today I had taken my camera to work to get some images from one of the airplanes that was in town so I could develop a section of the manual we are all working on. So I am sitting there noticing the cup of Starbucks and my 5D mk II sitting on the other table. The 5D2 had my 50 mm f/1.4 prime mounted with a close up lens screwed on the front.

The filter was way over the top for what was going through my head, so off it came. I moved some junk out of the way and put the cup in place. After a few snaps I had the shot. Nice strong main image with a very soft blur on the background. Perfect! The image was shot at f/1.4 with an exposure of 1/100th of a second giving a tight focal length which gives the cup some dimension due to the slight blurring on the side of the cup.

So here I had a great photo of a coffee cup... What to do?

How about a magazine advertisement with some really cheesy test. That will do!

Take care... Doug

Rings Just for fun

I don't know, I must have been in a weird art mode last week but this image is another I took at the Virginia Aviation Museum. It was a shot from the back of a Pratt & Whitney J58 which powered the stealthy and very high speed SR-71 Black Bird. The rings are the afterburner section that is used to distribute the fuel and exhaust gasses to get the extra propulsion for that engine.

I am back in the office working on the desk. Hopefully I will have the surface mounted by the end of the day. Photos to follow.

Take care... Doug

Aero Art

I know… What is it? 

Surely you should be able to guess. It is seven rotor stages of an axial flow compressor section for a jet engine.

So what is that?

Answer: Each one of the colored blades are in reality little airfoils or wings. As they are rotated they air across opposite airfoils that do not rotate and comprise the stator stages and are not shown. At the end of compression fuel is introduced, combusted (like a blow torch) and the hot gases exhaust across a number of turbine stages that look similar to the compressor section. This section is in turn connected by a shaft to the compressor section to keep the compressed air coming. Finally the exhaust leaves the engine as thrust. As the air flows along the longitudinal axis (front to back) rather than around the rotating axis like a turbocharger, it is classified as an axial flow compressor.

The real short answer: It is a totally rad supercharger.

The original image was taken at the Virginia Aviation Museum of a sectioned engine display. The fun part photographically was working with the image in Photoshop. I was working on it last night in Richmond VA knowing I had to get up early this morning to catch a flight to Little Rock AR but once I got into it… Well you know what happened there… Tonight Show, Late Night… It wasn’t mush after that when I hit the pillow.

The process was pretty basic but time consuming. A the lighting was not that good at capture, I had to hand hold with the aperture out to f/2.8 which is in no way favorable for a long field of focus. This basically took the magic wand and quick selection tool and trashed them because they were very confused. The most exact selection I could do was employ the Polygonal Lasso Tool and feather the selection one pixel.

So I ended up with seven layers each with one stage of compression. The problem with extracting a section and then turning the layer back on is there is that little selection line (from the feathering) that is present. After each selection, I turned the extracted layer back on, Made the original layer active and cloned in over the feathering line. Brainless activity late at night.

Finally I made a color adjustment layer and applied it to the specific layer beneath it and changed the blend mode of the adjustment layer to Color. This allowed the shape, and shadows of the blade to come through. Overlay just did not do the job right, but as often the case, youu flip through the blending modes until it looks right.

There you have it. Take care and enjoy a nice weekend.

Cya… Doug