North Point Sunrise 2

North Point Sunrise 2, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

Now that I'm itchy to play with my new Canon 5D Mark II, what better place to put it to the test than sunrise at North Point on Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. It's a favorite spot for many local photographers and I often see the same friends also checking out the sunrise. If it's a nice sunrise that morning, the chatter is minimal while we all set up and compose our images. If the sunrise is so, so, we spend the time talking about photography, the weather or whatever strikes us at the moment.

Canon 5D Mark II

IMG_0030nr, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

Well, the wait and anticipation was long. I sold a lens or two and still have to sell my Canon 5D Mark I. But I am now the proud owner of a Canon 5D Mark II. All I can say is that the hype on this camera is for real. The image shown here was shot at ISO 6400. That's right, there's no missing decimal point here. I am simply, amazed.

The file sizes are also amazing. Raw images are between 25 and 30MB. I haven't even tried a layered photoshop file yet. The camera has so many features that I'm actually reading the manual cover to cover.

Then there's video! The camera can shoot in live mode and capture HD video. I had to try this out to so I shot my son playing a quick guitar riff in low light to see how it would do. Again, amazing

Check out some images and the video at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjiphotography.

First Snow

First Snow-3, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

There's hardly a sight more beautiful than the first snow of the season. Especially, one that coats everything. This was just enough of the white stuff . . . a couple of inches that will melt quickly but it coated the trees and made for a winter wonderland.

This image was taken at Johnson Park in Racine on my way to work.

North Point Tree

North Point 111708-23, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

It was a spur of the moment decision but I ventured down to the lakefront to visit North Point yet again. It was a cloudy but not really stormy day. I shot with my IR converted camera to capture this scene. While not you're traditional IR shot, I really like what IR can do with moody scenes such as this. When I first converted my camera to IR, I figured I would be shooting nothing but green foliage. My opinion has now changed . . . and I think I'll be using this all winter long.

Way of Life

Way of Life, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

I've really come to appreciate Urban Exploration or 'URBEX'. There a sense of excitement entering a place for the first time. It certainly feels like discovery even if only personal. There's also anxiety, especially at first, with thoughts of getting caught. However, once inside, there's a lighting bonanza, aged textures and a history of stories waiting to be told. Urbex has become a "Way of Life".

Holy Hill Toyland

Holy Hill Toyland, originally uploaded by RJIPhotography.

I've always been fascinated with the lens blur technique to create a toyland effect. Well, I finally gave it a try. It's not that hard but takes some practice to put the lens blur in the right place. Basically, in Photosphop, you create a quick mask and use a gradient filter and apply a lens blur to the mask. There's a little more involved in getting the settings just right. The other aspect is to find the right image. Since we're creating an image that looks like a toy model, it works best with images where you are looking down at the scene. You can read more on this at http://recedinghairline.co.uk/tutorials/fakemodel/

Here's my first attempt!