Old Red Building Take 2

So, today I decided to head back to the dam and try to get a better picture of the little old red building. I’m beginning to learn the value of an auto focus lens. This is only my third outing as a “photographer”. I’m limited with the equipment that I’m using but I don’t feel like that is a crutch. According to some of the blogs that I’ve been reading, some of the better photographers use manual settings and manual lenses. But, I’m new at this and still getting a feel for my camera and lens.

Today was overcast but I went for it anyway. I’m afraid I still have some focus issue to figure out but here’s what I ended up with.

I know right…not so awesome. Before I get too bummed, I’ll share with you the other photos I took while I was walking around at the dam.

So, I had never noticed the creepy old pavilion before but decided to try a shot in even lower light as it sits under some large mature red oak trees. Ok, the pavilion isn’t totally creepy but I was a little surprised that the city hadn’t updated it as they usually do a pretty good job of keeping the public areas up-to-date.

Three attempts at putting what I’ve learned about photography into practice and, I have to say that I was a little discouraged today when my focus was off once again. But, beyond that I’m really enjoying it. Looking forward to my next attempt.

Old Red Building

I really couldn’t be in a much better place for taking pictures of old red buildings.  Michigan, and the rest of the Mid-West is like old red building central.  In this case, the old red building of my choice is some sort of a water treatment housing at the dam in Portland MI.  The Grand River and the Looking Glass River merge together in the heart of Portland.  There are two dams on the Grand, which is the largest river in Michigan, within close proximity of Portland.

I made my way to the closer of the two hoping to get some good shots of the river.  But the little old red building really caught my eye.

I also tried some full size shots of the building but I was super bummed when I got home because they weren’t totally in focus. I’ll head back to recapture those soon.

Another thing that Michigan has a lot of is old bridges. Of course, most have been replaced with new bridges but in the not so distant past the state was littered by old wooden and medal bridges. It seems that the state has made a concerted effort to preserve them as they are replaced. One such example is an old train bridge that now serves as a river crossing on the walking trail in downtown Portland.

I did a little color correction to this shot because of the intense sunlight but I’m pretty happy with the result.

Happily, there is still an old medal bridge in operation in downtown Portland. It’s a one-way single-lane bridge which crosses the Grand River. Maybe the subject of my next shoot!

Lonely Green Table

It’s been a weird spring and early summer here in Central Michigan. The weather has been cold even by Michigan standards, and just when it seems to warm up it rains again. Those where my thoughts yesterday as I made a quick lap around the church building with a new camera. I was taking a few shots for an upcoming welcome video that my team and I will be working on for the church.

I’m new to photography but when I saw the photo I just took of the little green table, I knew it wasn’t too shabby. The church wanted to start doing some video so they purchased a camera and entrusted it to me. I decided to test the freshly hacked Panasonic Lumix GH1 and take a picture of the cross on top of the building. After a couple of adjustments I was able to capture this image.

Not bad really. I later used an image editor to do some color correction but I’m really impressed with the camera / lens combo. This camera did not come with a kit lens but we received a donation of a Minolta MD 50mm 1:1.7 lens. Of course I needed an adapter but it turned out to be a good lens for the camera which shoots indoor and outdoor really well. The video can’t be overlooked on this camera because it’s simply awesome; after the firmware hack anyway.

I took a few more shots and ended up with some nice images including this park bench.

I’m really happy with my little walk around photo shoot as well as this camera setup. It was a little walk of discovery for me in the area of photography but I think I also made a new friend. The lonely green table and I have a date for coffee in the very near future.