Dan Perovich's Cyberfront Property

1/15 sec @ f/3.2, ISO 400, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  There, again, is nothing technically special about today’s photograph.  I simply had an idea, set it up quickly, and snapped away.  Unfortunately, what seemed like a good idea in my head never materialized into what I had hoped.  This seems to be the case with my form of creativity majority of the time.  I wind up having a vision in my head, but when I try to execute it, it never turns out as I had expected.  I am not sure if this is because I never saw a complete vision to begin with, or that I do not devote enough time and energy into executing the vision.  Maybe it is a combination of both or something else entirely.  I think that over time, I will grow out of this.  I hope to accelerate the process by getting some books on creativity and looking at many more photographs by other artists. 

1/25 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 800, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)  I am back to using my 50mm f1.8 lens once again.  The rental finally had to go back to LensRentals.com this afternoon.  I highly recommend you check them out if you are ever interested in renting any kind of photographic gear.  They carry not only lens, but lighting equipment, camera bodies, point and shoots (even waterproof ones), tripods, and a slew of other things.  Also check out their news RSS feed to learn about new offerings and get your gear fix.

Pictured today is a refrigerator magnet we got while in Hawaii back in April for my friends’ wedding.  In hindsight, I wish I had moved the golf score card from under the magnet before taking the picture.  But I guess this gives you a glimpse into how lazy I was feeling tonight.

Why do I keep a golf score card on our fridge you ask?  I keep it there to remind me that I can play a decent round of golf and even beat my future father-in-law….when the planets are in alignment!

1/6 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, 35 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  Ah ha!  There she finally is…my lovely fiancee.  I bet you were wondering if she actually did exist.  Tonight we enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies and milk together while watching Big Brother (do not mock it until you try it…..Big Brother that is).

Nothing out of the ordinary is happening with this shot.  It was purely focus and shoot.  I tried to take a similar shot with some off camera flash, but found the lighting to be more distracting than helpful.

1/200 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200, 19 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  This photo 365 project is tough to get back into after being handed picture after picture in an exotic place such as the Riviera Maya, Mexico.  To try and spark some inspiration, I took a short drive over to a local park to find some interesting subjects. 

What I wound up settling on were some plants growing near one of the buildings.  I am pretty sure that these are not weeds.  However, I have never seen this flowering plant in the area before.  I tried shooting it from several angles and hoped for the best.  I was pretty certain that I was going to have to add some post-processing wizardry to the photo in order to make it more interesting.

After pulling the photograph into Lightroom I adjusted it with a crop.  I then played around with the tone curves to dial into a pleasant looking contrast level.  I also played around with the split-toning adjustment until I felt the image was complete.

1/200 sec @ f/14, ISO 200, 35 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  Today was our last day in Mexico.  The trip was such a whirlwind.  With all the activities, meals, and late nights at the resort dance club, the time flew by.  While waiting for our airport transportation, I pulled out the camera and rental lens one more time.  Hanging around on the upper wrap-around balcony was this bird.  She sat a few times for me to take her picture, albeit in different locations on the balcony.  This one was my favorite.  She must have a tough life; living on a resort, flying through the open air restaurants to grab an endless sea of food left on recently abandoned tables, and watching the waves roll in on the beautiful beaches.  I think it is time to start planning a return visit, but this time with my fiancée.

1/250 sec @ f/14, ISO 200, 16 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  During the one morning of free time which we had on our company retreat, I went along with a small group of people to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum.  While there, I must have lost five pounds in water weight from sweating in the heat.  It was well worth it though.

This is only one of many pictures I took inside the walls at Tulum.  This staircase, located behind the temple within the walls, leads visitors down to the pristine beach.  It is no wonder why the Mayan’s chose this particular spot to build their sacred grounds.

There was no wizardry in camera or during postprocessing at make this picture.  The colors are as true to life as my XSi can record them.  If you ever get the opportunity to visit this area of Mexico, I highly recommend doing it.

13.0 sec @ f/13, ISO 100, 35 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  Today was our “Olympics” day where my company competed as teams in several events.  Needless to say, we were all exhausted at the end of the day.  After a nice dinner in a French restaurant (yeah I know…French food in Mexico!), a few of us decided to relax in the pool with a few drinks.  It did not take long for me to recognize the potential the pool held for some great long exposure photographs. 

Some people may look at this photography and assume it is a HDR composite image.  They would be wrong.  This photograph was created simply by mounting the camera on my travel tripod and forcing the shutter speed to a long value and taking a single shot.  I made sure to lock the ISO at 100 to eliminate the amount of noise in the picture.  Interestingly enough, I had the in-camera noise reduction setting turned off, yet there is no noise that I can see.

To really enjoy this picture, you should check it out in the full resolution here.

1/200 sec @ f/10, ISO 200, 16 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  It was a 1.5 hour ride from Cancun International Airport to the Riviera Maya area of Mexico where our resort was located.  Along the way were several magnificent ornamental gates to other resorts.  Some were at least 3 stories high.  Today’s picture is of just a piece of the ornamental gates to our resort, the Barcelo.  The picture was taken from the back of a moving van, through a non-opening window.

1/125 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200, 24 mm (EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM)  Today marks the beginning of a “long weekend” vacation for me.  I am headed to Mexico tomorrow with the rest of my company for our annual retreat.  The camera and rental lens are headed with me.  I cannot wait for all the photo opportunities a new place will bring.

Today’s picture was inspired by the “lighter than air” mood I was in after work today.  I was making sure my iPhone was synced with all my latest podcast episodes and Audible books when the inspiration hit.  Converting the final photograph to black and white emphasized the subject and emotion of the image instead of letting the colors distract the viewers’ eyes.