Making the best of a bad situation...

Last week, I heard there was going to be an eclipse that would be partially viewable by the East Coast of the United States shortly after sunrise.  The only downside to this, so far, was that I don't like mornings.  But, not wanting to miss a rare photo opportunity, I made it a point to make it out to the beach.  As seen in the photo below, I wasn't the only one.  :)

Sadly, though, there were clouds on the horizon, so I didn't see the actual eclipse.  It's ok though.  There will always be times when things doing don't go as planned.  You can either get frustrated and let it impact your work, or make the best of the situation and come away with some good images.  Here are some photos of the sunrise.

The perspectives of flooding

A few months ago, I moved to an older part of the city.  One of the things people complain about here is the poor drainage and frequent flooding after it rains.  While I can see that flooding can pose problems, it can also create possibilities.  As with most things in the world, it depends on your perspective of the situation.

After a recent storm came through, I grabbed my camera and tripod and went for a walk.  I started out down by the river.  (which just made me think of that Chris Farley sketch about living in a van down by the water.  http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/83156259/ )  Any ways...

I got there just after the sun had set and had some gorgeous lighting and clouds.

St John's River at nightfall by John Shippee Photography

After taking a few photos, I looked to the left and saw that the road had flooded.  I walked past the flooded area and turned to see some great reflections in the road.

The taller building is an apartment complex and the smaller one that looks like a little castle is one of my favorite houses in the city.  Hopefully one day I'll get to see the interior of it.

My favorite shot from the night came from this spot.  To get the colors to show better, I opted for an HDR image instead of a standard photograph.

HDR image along the St. Johns River by John Shippee Photography

Yes, I could have stayed in and complained about the recent rain and mild flooding, but had I done so, I would have missed out on this gorgeous scene.  I'm so glad I chose to go out.

Inexpensive tiltshift

I remember sitting in a cafe with some photo-buddies of mine and one pulled out a newspaper he had been reading with an article including some type of 10 best photos, or something to that effect.  The first photo was an aerial shot of a construction site where everything looked to be miniature.  I couldn't figure it out and was amazed.  I HAD to know how it was done.

After researching the photo for quite some time, I figured out it was done with a tilt shift lens.

(If you really want one, you can pick one up here for $1,900.  http://www.adorama.com/NK4528PCU.html?gclid=CNWEkPbXybgCFTRo7AodDQ8AeQ)

After learning what tilt shift photography was, I wanted to do it myself.  That is, until I figured out how much a lens was.  :/  I figured that I'd probably use this about as much as I use the fish-eye lens that I had to have.  Yes, it's nice for certain situations, but it is by no means a daily use lens.  The lack of use makes it hard to justify almost $2,000.

Then I learned about a (toy) lens called the Lens Baby.  (http://www.adorama.com/LBMUDGNKF.html?gclid=CNKS5-XYybgCFSUV7AodUC4AIw)

While it's definitely not an actual tilt shift lens, it is the same idea, and less than 1/10th the price.

Here are some photos I took with my lens baby today.

The rest of the images from this set can be seen at http://smu.gs/18AJ2Mj