26. Local Landmarks II - December 8-14, 2013
Deron-
On Saturday, I drove out to Hollywood to make the 5 mile hike up Mt. Lee to the Hollywood sign. One unexpected addition to this photo is the fact that I was able to capture two other local landmarks- the Griffith Observatory and the U.S. Bank Tower.
-The 'Hollywoodland' sign was erected in 1923 as an advertisement for a housing development of the same name. It wasn't until 1949 when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took over the sign and shortened it to 'Hollywood' to reflect the area and not the housing development. In 1932, actress Peg Entwistle, unable to find work, committed suicide by throwing herself off the 50 foot tall 'H'. As legend has it, the next day she received a letter in the mail from the Beverly Hills Playhouse offering her the leading role in a play... about a woman driven to suicide. Today, the letters are 45' tall and 31' to 39' wide.
-Sitting atop Mount Hollywood, the Griffith Observatory, seen just above the flying crow, was opened in 1935 and named for Col. Griffith J. Griffith, who donated funds to build it and 3,015 acres of land for it to sit upon. His idea was to make astronomy accessible to the general public, instead of being in remote places and restricted to scientists.
-The 73 floor, U.S. bank Tower, seen in the distance, shrouded in marine layer and smog, is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and 11th tallest in America.
On Saturday, I drove out to Hollywood to make the 5 mile hike up Mt. Lee to the Hollywood sign. One unexpected addition to this photo is the fact that I was able to capture two other local landmarks- the Griffith Observatory and the U.S. Bank Tower.
-The 'Hollywoodland' sign was erected in 1923 as an advertisement for a housing development of the same name. It wasn't until 1949 when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took over the sign and shortened it to 'Hollywood' to reflect the area and not the housing development. In 1932, actress Peg Entwistle, unable to find work, committed suicide by throwing herself off the 50 foot tall 'H'. As legend has it, the next day she received a letter in the mail from the Beverly Hills Playhouse offering her the leading role in a play... about a woman driven to suicide. Today, the letters are 45' tall and 31' to 39' wide.
-Sitting atop Mount Hollywood, the Griffith Observatory, seen just above the flying crow, was opened in 1935 and named for Col. Griffith J. Griffith, who donated funds to build it and 3,015 acres of land for it to sit upon. His idea was to make astronomy accessible to the general public, instead of being in remote places and restricted to scientists.
-The 73 floor, U.S. bank Tower, seen in the distance, shrouded in marine layer and smog, is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River and 11th tallest in America.
Paul-
Considering the perfect trifecta of this week’s theme, the eponymous name of my city, and the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address—arguably one of the most extraordinary pieces of oration in American history—I had to take this picture of my favorite piece of statuary in this town that bears the name of our 16th President.
The statue of Lincoln faces west (on the grounds of the capitol building), so I had intended to take a late afternoon shot to capture an interesting shadow. What I was not prepared for was the impact it had on me. In When Lincoln gave his famous speech, both death in his family and on a much vaster scale weighed heavily on the man. I can only begin to imagine the moral and political demons he must have wrestled with, and the toll they took on his body, perspective, and fears for the future of a more perfect union. The shadow that falls off him in this photograph seems to suggest—to me at least—an almost primal sadness and somber contemplation at the formidable task set before him: trying to encompass the meaning and purpose of Gettysburg at a time while the war still tore at the fabric of the United States. The words chiseled into the wall behind the statue are, of course, those he spoke on November 19th, 1863.
Interesting note: Daniel Chester French was commissioned to produce the Lincoln statue in June 1909 and collaborated with architect Henry Bacon to provide the statue with its architectural setting. French and Bacon later collaborated in 1922 to produce the Lincoln Memorial with its seated Lincoln in Washington, D.C.
The usual suspects: Olympus E500; 40mm-150mm f3 zoom lens set a 53mm; 1/200 sec. at f11; bracketed; ISO 250; monopod used. Very cold fingers.
Considering the perfect trifecta of this week’s theme, the eponymous name of my city, and the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address—arguably one of the most extraordinary pieces of oration in American history—I had to take this picture of my favorite piece of statuary in this town that bears the name of our 16th President.
The statue of Lincoln faces west (on the grounds of the capitol building), so I had intended to take a late afternoon shot to capture an interesting shadow. What I was not prepared for was the impact it had on me. In When Lincoln gave his famous speech, both death in his family and on a much vaster scale weighed heavily on the man. I can only begin to imagine the moral and political demons he must have wrestled with, and the toll they took on his body, perspective, and fears for the future of a more perfect union. The shadow that falls off him in this photograph seems to suggest—to me at least—an almost primal sadness and somber contemplation at the formidable task set before him: trying to encompass the meaning and purpose of Gettysburg at a time while the war still tore at the fabric of the United States. The words chiseled into the wall behind the statue are, of course, those he spoke on November 19th, 1863.
Interesting note: Daniel Chester French was commissioned to produce the Lincoln statue in June 1909 and collaborated with architect Henry Bacon to provide the statue with its architectural setting. French and Bacon later collaborated in 1922 to produce the Lincoln Memorial with its seated Lincoln in Washington, D.C.
The usual suspects: Olympus E500; 40mm-150mm f3 zoom lens set a 53mm; 1/200 sec. at f11; bracketed; ISO 250; monopod used. Very cold fingers.
Byron-
Landmarks are usually kept shiny and bright for visitors to see. In the grip of cold Winter weather, Mother Nature wins out. It's hard to celebrate our great symbol of consumption when you can't feel your face.
This was shot at ISO 200, f/11 at 1/500
Landmarks are usually kept shiny and bright for visitors to see. In the grip of cold Winter weather, Mother Nature wins out. It's hard to celebrate our great symbol of consumption when you can't feel your face.
This was shot at ISO 200, f/11 at 1/500
Kevin-
This turned out to be a difficult assignment for me, for a number of reasons. But here finally is the image that I created. It's been so cold here in Minnesota that the idea of going out and standing in the windchill to try to photograph a building or some such was out of the question for me. I played around with indoor shot ideas, even going with Byron to a favorite indoor miniature golf course. We played mini-golf, but I didn't see any appealing enough shots to want to go back and try to set up a tripod and photograph the place. I considered a number of other indoor locations, including Mall of America which Byron shot from outside, but passed on the idea. Finally I realized a) we were shooting LocalLandmarks and b) the place where I rent office and studio space is called Landmark Photography and Design. So I decided to photograph thestudio. It is a very large studio. The image in the scene probably only shows about 25-30% of the space. I set up the
lights in a style that I might use to photograph a beautiful model. Lacking an actual model for the shoot I used Persis, who I named for Persis
Khambatta the late actress who played Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek - The Motion Picture. Persis is a mannequin head that I use to set up lighting. The key light is a large beauty dish, positioned just slightly above where the camera would be. The camera and the tripod are missing from the set-up, as I was using them to take this photograph! Generally a beauty dish is aimed straight at the face of a model, as this one is. Behind and above Peris I have positioned a hair light with a snoot on it, even though Persis has no hair. There is also a background light with another snoot illuminating the grey cloth backdrop behind Persis. Through the door you can see the area that serves as the entrance to Landmark Photography. That area is also where my office is located. My D3s was tripod mounted. The exposure was 1/4 second (so that the room lights and the lights in the entry area would also be exposed) at f/5.6. ISO 200. The lens was my 24-70mm Nikkor set to 24mm. I know that Paul and Byron have already visited this space, but Deron hasn't.
This turned out to be a difficult assignment for me, for a number of reasons. But here finally is the image that I created. It's been so cold here in Minnesota that the idea of going out and standing in the windchill to try to photograph a building or some such was out of the question for me. I played around with indoor shot ideas, even going with Byron to a favorite indoor miniature golf course. We played mini-golf, but I didn't see any appealing enough shots to want to go back and try to set up a tripod and photograph the place. I considered a number of other indoor locations, including Mall of America which Byron shot from outside, but passed on the idea. Finally I realized a) we were shooting LocalLandmarks and b) the place where I rent office and studio space is called Landmark Photography and Design. So I decided to photograph thestudio. It is a very large studio. The image in the scene probably only shows about 25-30% of the space. I set up the
lights in a style that I might use to photograph a beautiful model. Lacking an actual model for the shoot I used Persis, who I named for Persis
Khambatta the late actress who played Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek - The Motion Picture. Persis is a mannequin head that I use to set up lighting. The key light is a large beauty dish, positioned just slightly above where the camera would be. The camera and the tripod are missing from the set-up, as I was using them to take this photograph! Generally a beauty dish is aimed straight at the face of a model, as this one is. Behind and above Peris I have positioned a hair light with a snoot on it, even though Persis has no hair. There is also a background light with another snoot illuminating the grey cloth backdrop behind Persis. Through the door you can see the area that serves as the entrance to Landmark Photography. That area is also where my office is located. My D3s was tripod mounted. The exposure was 1/4 second (so that the room lights and the lights in the entry area would also be exposed) at f/5.6. ISO 200. The lens was my 24-70mm Nikkor set to 24mm. I know that Paul and Byron have already visited this space, but Deron hasn't.