Dark Frigates
Jun, 2016Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Winner in Military ships Photo Challenge
Member Selection Award
Summer Selection
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I was travelling for work to the Philadelphia Shipyard. As it was summer, the light held well past 5 pm. The Shipyard houses Navy vessels for both shipped that have been scrapped, and those who are in storage, but still on the Navy roster. These 3 frigates were moored together at a dock just inside the main entrance to the Yard.Time
It was late afternoon, early evening, around 6 pm or so. The sky was overcast, but with a good amount of light still filtering throughLighting
No special lighting here - I was shooting manual and reviewing after each shot. Where possible, I like to use bracketing to get a range of exposures for a single image. It's primarily for HDR processing, but it also helps give an immediate range of exposures against which to judge the lighting.Equipment
I took this with a Nikon D7000, with a Nikkor 18-70 DX lens. As I was just walking around, it was taken without a tripod.Inspiration
The military has always fascinated me. This was the first time I'd been that close to such vessels. Thinking about them under way painted amazing images in my head, and I wanted to capture something of that.Editing
I love the look of HDR images. This was one of my earliest attempts to modify pictures with HDR tools. As a result, some images look overly processed/ghosted. This one turned out well over all in the end.In my camera bag
My primary bag is a Case Logic SLRC-206-BLACK. I generally have my D7000 body, the Nikkor 18-70 lens, along with a 50mm 1.8 AF prime, and a Nikkor AF-S 70-300 mm. It gives me a great range with which to shoot. I also carry a Yonguno YN565EX Speedlite, with a pack of 12 AA rechargeable batteries. I also have a black light flashlight, and a Surefire 6P LED head flashlight. The black light is useful for not killing night vision, and the Surefire is a really powerful light, which offers interesting options for light painting. Other than that, there are some random items like cables, a couple regular cloths (for wiping down stuff), microfiber cloth for the lenses, and a power pack charger. I have a tripod that stays strapped to the side of the bag too.Feedback
I don't think I have enough experience to be giving advise, just keep taking pictures. If you see something you find interesting, take pictures of it. Take the camera off auto and shoot manual as much as possible. The first pics will likely be useless, but within 20/30 minutes, you'll be getting great shots. I would shoot a friend of mine who did improv, and using a flash there was impossible. It forced me to learn to use ISO/shutter speed/aperture exclusively (and what led to my getting the 50mm). Nearly all my gear is refurbished or second-hand, so there's no requirement to get new gear. It's a good idea to learn as much as you can about the gear to be able to judge what items are worth and what you should be looking for when picking gear. And finally, if you're in the Atlanta area, please drop me a line. I would very much like to get to know more photography people (photographers, models, etc.) in the area, and work on collaborations.
