14. Neon - September 15-21, 2013
Kevin-
This is my image for the WPOTM event. Neon was a great topic! There were so many things to do with it' I could have captured a photo of a Dodge Neon. Or a record player with the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence "…when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light…" or I could have drawn something with Neon crayons and then photographed it, or, or, or,,,
But I decided to take a very traditional approach and photograph a local drive-in (http://www.galaxy-drivein.com) that has a lot of neon lights illuminating it. I was lucky enough to find a perfect evening this week, with at least slightly interesting skies. The sun had just set about 15 minutes before the image was captured. The tripod-mounted, ISO 200 exposure was 1.6 seconds at f/11 with my 24-70mm Nikkor set to 29mm. Then I cropped the image a bit further to what you see now. I also had a soft-edge split neutral-density filter on the lens to darken the sky and then darkened it a little more in Lightroom to make sure the clouds were at least somewhat visible. I worked quickly as I hadn't asked for permission to shoot the location (which kid working at a drive-in would I ask?). So I captured the image, and then ordered a chocolate malt to go!
This is my image for the WPOTM event. Neon was a great topic! There were so many things to do with it' I could have captured a photo of a Dodge Neon. Or a record player with the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence "…when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light…" or I could have drawn something with Neon crayons and then photographed it, or, or, or,,,
But I decided to take a very traditional approach and photograph a local drive-in (http://www.galaxy-drivein.com) that has a lot of neon lights illuminating it. I was lucky enough to find a perfect evening this week, with at least slightly interesting skies. The sun had just set about 15 minutes before the image was captured. The tripod-mounted, ISO 200 exposure was 1.6 seconds at f/11 with my 24-70mm Nikkor set to 29mm. Then I cropped the image a bit further to what you see now. I also had a soft-edge split neutral-density filter on the lens to darken the sky and then darkened it a little more in Lightroom to make sure the clouds were at least somewhat visible. I worked quickly as I hadn't asked for permission to shoot the location (which kid working at a drive-in would I ask?). So I captured the image, and then ordered a chocolate malt to go!
Paul-
This theme was a bit of a challenge for me. No, shooting the image was easy enough. Finding it was the hard part. You try driving around in the evening in a town of nearly a quarter million trying to keep your eyes on the road while looking for a neon sign that contains the adjacent letters “N” and “E”.
I finally found one on my way home after giving up and deciding to fall back on some kind of “Plan B.”
“NE”, after all, is not only the abbreviation for the state in which live—no Kevin, I don’t mean confusion…I mean Nebraska—but also the letters used to denote Neon on the Period Table of Elements. (Personal note: I realize the second letter of an element on the Period Table is not capitalized, but if you bring that up as a critique of this photograph I will hunt you down, tie you to a chair, and make you watch Les Miserables dubbed into Korean.)
The sordid details: Photo taken at 7:27PM on Tuesday (9/17). 1/40 sec., 40-150mm lens, ISO 100, monopod used. No animals harmed.
This theme was a bit of a challenge for me. No, shooting the image was easy enough. Finding it was the hard part. You try driving around in the evening in a town of nearly a quarter million trying to keep your eyes on the road while looking for a neon sign that contains the adjacent letters “N” and “E”.
I finally found one on my way home after giving up and deciding to fall back on some kind of “Plan B.”
“NE”, after all, is not only the abbreviation for the state in which live—no Kevin, I don’t mean confusion…I mean Nebraska—but also the letters used to denote Neon on the Period Table of Elements. (Personal note: I realize the second letter of an element on the Period Table is not capitalized, but if you bring that up as a critique of this photograph I will hunt you down, tie you to a chair, and make you watch Les Miserables dubbed into Korean.)
The sordid details: Photo taken at 7:27PM on Tuesday (9/17). 1/40 sec., 40-150mm lens, ISO 100, monopod used. No animals harmed.
Byron-
I found an artist on the "NordEast" side of Minneapolis that works with neon. He allowed me to photograph what he had hanging on the wall. It took me a while to figure out how to get the most interesting photo. The camera was set to ISO 400, -2 EV, f/5.3, 1/60 sec. The key was under exposing it.
Paul, you are way too clever. When I saw "NE" I thought of Nebraska. I should have realized it is also periodic table symbol for Neon. Of all the pictures we have all submitted since we started this, the one that comes to my mind first is your picture of the gear from last week. It was stunning.
I found an artist on the "NordEast" side of Minneapolis that works with neon. He allowed me to photograph what he had hanging on the wall. It took me a while to figure out how to get the most interesting photo. The camera was set to ISO 400, -2 EV, f/5.3, 1/60 sec. The key was under exposing it.
Paul, you are way too clever. When I saw "NE" I thought of Nebraska. I should have realized it is also periodic table symbol for Neon. Of all the pictures we have all submitted since we started this, the one that comes to my mind first is your picture of the gear from last week. It was stunning.
Deron-
Well, I had a few to choose from... and I'm not sure I'm making the right choice, but I went with something Byron and Kevin are familiar with.
Semi-famous for their Italian Beef Sandwich and the delicious Chocolate Cake Shake, this is Portillo's Hot Dogs, a Chicago-style eatery, started in 1963 by Dick Portillo in a small trailer in the Chicagoland area.
Well, I had a few to choose from... and I'm not sure I'm making the right choice, but I went with something Byron and Kevin are familiar with.
Semi-famous for their Italian Beef Sandwich and the delicious Chocolate Cake Shake, this is Portillo's Hot Dogs, a Chicago-style eatery, started in 1963 by Dick Portillo in a small trailer in the Chicagoland area.