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Morning glow

panorama from mt. washington over pittsburgh at sunrise

Figured that I would follow up the Pittsburgh skyline yesterday with one more today!  I took this one a few months back during an early morning run with my sister.  We made a stop on Mt. Washington and I took this 7 image panorama just as the sun was coming over the horizon.  What an incredible view it was!  The one thing that you can’t tell from this picture is how freezing it was!  My hands were almost freezing by the time that I finished taking the brackets.

I hope that you all enjoy your weekend!

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Jimi Jones - May 18, 2012 - 7:18 am

Stunning shot, Dave!
I like how the sun is rising just above the river. Perfect. This is a really nice scene, man.
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Curt Fleenor - May 18, 2012 - 7:33 am

Nice Dave! Great timing to catch the sun rising right over the river.

Rick Louie - May 18, 2012 - 7:33 am

Wonderful sunrise, Dave!
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Chris Nitz - May 18, 2012 - 8:17 am

Looks like a solid way to start the day!
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Rich McPeek - May 18, 2012 - 11:56 am

Terrific pano Dave! Great sunrise from Mt Washington!
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Edith Levy - May 18, 2012 - 4:53 pm

The things we do for our craft. Well worth the freezing hands for this final result. Beautiful Dave.
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A.Barlow - May 18, 2012 - 9:24 pm

wow man, this is one is freaking spot on. Love it.
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Flying high

I feel like most times that I fly, there is something preventing me from getting decent pictures.  The one exception in the past 5 years or so has been on our way home from Jamaica two years back from our honeymoon, but that was a much longer flight.  I always seem to be on the wrong side of the plane, at the wrong time of time to get any decent pictures.  Well, coming back from New York City last month I finally got some good luck!  First off, I managed to get upgraded to first class because a family wanted to sit together.  It being my first time in first class, I was pretty excited.  After enjoying my bourbon on the rocks I tucked my camera beside me, armed with just my 50mm lens.


The first view I was treated with after taking off out of Newark was the New York City skyline.  This is only the second time that I’ve seen it from the plane, so I was happy to finally grab a few shots.  The first one in the post is of midtown Manhattan, with the Empire State Building front and center.  The second one, right above, is towards the lower end of Manhattan, with Freedom Tower, Jersey City and Ellis Island all visible.


After we got to cruising altitude I took a look back at the propellers and noticed the sunset reflecting right small in the middle of it.  You can just see the speck of the sun as it dips ove rthe horizon.


Having a little more room that I normally do on planes, I leaned up to grab a shot of the silhouetted window and sunset as well.


Finally we made it back to Pittsburgh and I got the best shot that I’ve ever taken of the Steel City out of an airplane.  I’ve seen this view plenty of times, but as I am usually coming back at night, I’ve never been able to get a crisp shot.  While this one is still a little blurry, I’m really happy to have captured the view.  Pittsburgh as seen from an airplane is just as awesome as Pittsburgh seen from the ground!


One more look at the city.  To give you some perspective, the Civic Arena demolition, of which I have posted so many shots recently, is taking place on the rand hand side of the screen, where you can see the faint outline of a dark circle.  That’s where the Igloo used to stand.  Just to the left of that is the tallest building in Pittsburgh, the Steel Building, where my last panorama was taken from.

Thanks for stopping by today folks!  See you all tomorrow!

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Steven Perlmutter - May 17, 2012 - 7:15 am

These are some terrifc aerial shots. I’m with you in never seeming to be in the right place at the right time for good shots from a plane. Nice work to capture these.

Rich McPeek - May 17, 2012 - 8:07 am

Awesome shots Dave!

edith Levy - May 17, 2012 - 8:29 am

Awesome! These are very cool Dave. What did you enjoy more sitting in first class or taking the pictures??
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Rick Louie - May 17, 2012 - 9:38 am

I was thinking why is Dave in a prop, then I realized how close Pittsburgh is to NYC. It’s fun shooting out of the airplane window. Good stuff!

Chris Frailey - May 17, 2012 - 10:05 am

Cool aerial shots Dave.
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Eden - May 17, 2012 - 12:42 pm

Really cool set, Dave! Nice work!

Tiffany Wilson - May 17, 2012 - 5:08 pm

Beautiful aerial shot for the city, amazing work!

chantal - May 18, 2012 - 3:29 am

What a greta look down on the city

Marc Collins - May 18, 2012 - 7:36 am

Great set of ariel shots. Not often you get to see NYC from this angle, great job Dave.
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Jim Nix - May 18, 2012 - 2:48 pm

these are awesome Dave, great shots!!

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Manhattan Round Up

Back to New York today for a few more shots from in and around Manhattan from my trip there last month.  I knew that I took a ton of pictures while I was there, but I seem to find more and more every time I sit down to process!  I still have a whole collection of candids to share, as well as from my trip to the World Trade Center Memorial, the Museum of Natural History and many more.  So stay tuned!

We’ll start with another one from the Top of the Rock.  I know that I’ve posted plenty of these already, but it really is one of the most amazing views in the city!  This was actually the last shot that I took from my visit there.

A shot taken just a few minutes before the first one, as well as a bit more zoomed in.  I love how you can see inside some of the windows!

One of the first shots from my trip to the Top of the Rock.  The Empire State Building just dominates the skyline.

I’ve been to New York City but had never taken a shot of the Atlas statue in Rockefeller Center.

Finally, another one from the gloomy first day I spent in the city, with New York blanketed in clouds.

Thanks for stopping by today everyone!  See you all tomorrow!

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Chris Nitz - May 16, 2012 - 7:03 am

That shot at the Top of the Rock is pretty sweet. The light and city are such a treat for the eyes.
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Jim Denham - May 16, 2012 - 7:08 am

The Atlas shot is money Dave! Nice set!
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Rich McPeek - May 16, 2012 - 7:31 am

Awesome shots Dave! Wow! These are all just too cool! Great work man!

Jimi Jones - May 16, 2012 - 7:45 am

Excellent images, Dave!
I really love that Empire State Building shot… awesome.
The top of the Rock shots are beautiful views, I’ll have to make that a must-stop next time in the city.

Great series, man.
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Eden - May 16, 2012 - 8:04 am

Gorgeous processing Dave! Great work all the way around.

Chris Frailey - May 16, 2012 - 8:31 am

Good stuff Dave. Someday I need to visit NYC.
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Rick Louie - May 16, 2012 - 8:39 am

Wow, totally different view during sunlight from the top of the rock. Well done!

Edith levy - May 16, 2012 - 9:34 am

I never tire of looking at your NYC shots. Beautiful series of images. The nightscapes are stunning and I love the one with the Empire State Building as the focal point.
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A.Barlow - May 16, 2012 - 12:02 pm

Awesome set man. That ESB shot looks way cool.
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Toad Hollow Photography - May 16, 2012 - 3:57 pm

What fabulous work here, Dave! Love all the details! Like you mentioned, the ability to see in some of those windows adds so much to the story here! Great set, my friend.
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Jim Nix - May 16, 2012 - 7:16 pm

wow Dave these are incredible, loving that Top of the Rock stuff!!

Chantal - May 17, 2012 - 2:00 am

Famous sight, Rockefeller statue

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Pardoned


I’m back today after a day off from the blogging world!  Today’s post will be a collection from a show that I shot last Friday and featured a few times on my site before, Act of Pardon.  Playing at one of the local bars on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, the band had another great show, and I was excited to be there to capture it.  We did some promo work before the show began and then I stayed for the entirety of it, which always ends up being a blast.  The only thing that is difficult is the lighting at this particular bar, called Peter’s Pub.  They have different colored spotlights (red, orange, pink, purple) that my camera always seems to go crazy when trying to figure out the white balance.  I’ve tried everything, even custom WB but I always end up doing a significant amount of work in post in clean it up.  It just makes it that much more rewarding when I get to share them.  I used a combination of my 50mm 1.4, 16-35 f4 and 70-200 f2.8 to shoot these.


Anyways, on to the shots!  The first one above is one of the promos that we did before the show started, sitting at the bar.  Directly above is rhythm guitarist Christian.

Bass player Joe basked in light

Ian, the drummer

Lead singer Dusty

Leader guitarist Mark the Savage on the bar

Dusty and Christian, early in the show

Mark on guitar

Thanks for stopping by today everyone.  See you all tomorrow!

 

 

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Jimi Jones - May 15, 2012 - 7:05 am

These are great, Dave!
That first shot is a classic with the different expressions and poses of the guys. The guy in the middle with his hands to his face is hilarious. LOL

The band-in-action shots are fantastic as usual. Nice work.
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Jim Denham - May 15, 2012 - 7:23 am

Good stuff Dave! Looks like an eventful night!
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Rick Louie - May 15, 2012 - 7:38 am

Good Stuff! Shooting indoor with stage lights are tough. I guess that’s why you shoot raw!

Jim Nix - May 15, 2012 - 8:30 am

very cool Dave, nicely done!

Rob Hanson - May 15, 2012 - 10:21 am

Great set of images, Dave! There’s something I really like about the first one. :)
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Dusty - May 15, 2012 - 10:28 am

Nice work Dave!

Irvin A Kelly - May 15, 2012 - 11:57 am

I love these images. I’m so glad I found your blog.

Mike Criswell - May 15, 2012 - 1:07 pm

Nice work Dave, that Promo shot is super cool!

Marc Collins - May 15, 2012 - 2:50 pm

Great set of shots. Love that first one! Very Rock n Roll…

Edith levy - May 15, 2012 - 3:44 pm

Terrific set of images Dave but that first one I absolutley love.
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Chantal - May 16, 2012 - 2:22 am

Great series of the event

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The Steel City

I’m sure that we all a pretty good idea of how our shots will turn out before we even export them from our cameras.  Usually, the final product is probably pretty accurate to what we thought it would be.  Every once in a while though, they can turn out beyond what we thought they would.  This is one of those times.

Last week as you know, I was up in the 58th floor of the Steel Building, the tallest building in downtown Pittsburgh.  It is more or less triangular in nature, and my idea was to take a panorama from each side and combine them for one huge panorama of the Steel City.  Above is the final result.  I will say that I missed one shot, just one shot, to make it a complete 360 degree panorama.  You can actually see the building on the left and right had side of the screen, well, at least the edges.  That is the one shot that I missed, otherwise it would have been a complete 360 degree view of the city.  Needless to say, I am still thrilled with how it turned out!  This is a 12 image panorama, with each image being made up of 5 brackets, for a grand total of 60 images.

Thanks for stopping by today folks, I hope that you all enjoy your weekend!

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Curt Fleenor - May 11, 2012 - 7:02 am

Great pano Dave! I have to start shooting these myself.

Rich McPeek - May 11, 2012 - 7:25 am

Very cool pano Dave! I’m with Curt, I’ve got to start shooting some!
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Steven Perlmutter - May 11, 2012 - 7:43 am

What a cool perspective of the city. Very nice.

Chris Nitz - May 11, 2012 - 8:17 am

Lovely pano shot. I like how the road running up the middle basically separates the green from the drab city.
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Mike Criswell - May 11, 2012 - 8:39 am

Very cool Dave, what a view

Edith levy - May 11, 2012 - 9:45 am

This is truly a spectauclar shot Dave. Wow…great job.
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Rick Louie - May 11, 2012 - 9:56 am

Sweet! I haven’t tried a pano in a while. Well done!

A.Barlow - May 11, 2012 - 10:58 am

Like how you got the sun into this as well. Looks sweet.

Jimi Jones - May 11, 2012 - 11:26 am

Wow, man. This is totally awesome, Dave!
What a great pano image you created here. Outstanding processing and a ton of things to see. Really nice job!

Andrew Marston - May 11, 2012 - 1:41 pm

This is the coolest shot you posted… perhaps ever.

chantal - May 12, 2012 - 12:40 am

Love the panorama look

Chris Maskell - May 12, 2012 - 2:24 am

Wow. I love a good HDR and I love a good Pano. An HDR Pano, now that is something else. Great job, not sure I would know where to start

Eden - May 14, 2012 - 1:55 pm

Nice pano, Dave!

Jenny - May 15, 2012 - 4:06 am

What a great shot! I have never been to 58th floor so I can’t see such one like this.. Anyway, I still love this angle!
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Adam Allegro - May 15, 2012 - 4:19 am

Dude, this is some pretty serious work. Awesome job. What did you use to stitch them with? PS? Really nice work.
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