30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 23

Today, I took a break from light trails and did some painting. I'm trying some abstract art with modeling paste.

Still enjoying the camera.

30 Days with the Fuji X100s: Day 22

King Street Metro Light Trails

I met a model at the King Street Metro to try and add a model the light trails pictures. While I was waiting I took some shots.

And here are the shots with Aaron. They are all about 10 second exposures with a little lighting help from a flashlight. Not bad for a first try!

30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 21

I was stuck at work until 6:30, so I had to take some pictures in Old Town. I learned that people leave Old Town after work so there's not much traffic down by the water.

Here's the only shot that I got. I'm in the median kneeling on the ground.

And here's a movement shot, I got tired of waiting for the shot to finish.

Tomorrow I try this with a model at the metro station. I should have better luck then.

30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 20

Patriotic Light Trails

I saw this flag over the highway and knew I wanted to get a light trail image with it. I love seeing American flags on overpasses. I always wonder why they are there.

I took the tripod and the camera and away I went. 30 minutes later, I had my shots. The only editing I did was to lighten the flag a little and take out some of the yellow to give it a more red, white and blue feel.

30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 19

Georgetown Light Trails

I walked over the Key Bridge into Georgetown. I knew where I wanted to take pictures, but there's no traffic on the Whitehurst Freeway on Sunday, so I had to abandon that idea.

But luckily there's lots of traffic on the Key Bridge.

I like this shot because that little blue light is a bicycle. I didn't like most of this series because I don't like the flair on the street lights.

This is on the way back to Rosslyn. I really liked the colors of the bus. Even with the black sky.

And this is my favorite. I have a ton of pictures with a washed out sky, but eventually the sunset and my exposure was just right. I like that I captured the pink in the sky.

30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 18

Washington Monument Light Trails.

I can't stop trying to get light trails. Today I learned that the Washington Monument doesn't turn on all of the lights until it's pitch black. And strangely it turns them on sections at a time. I didn't really notice until I was leaving and all the lights were coming on.

All my blue sky pictures are with the unlit monument. The street light has way too much prominence.

Here's my favorite shot even though only the top of the monument is lit and the sky is black.

I love when buses go by because I know I'll get multi-level lights. And cops always make me giggle too. 

I had to stop on my way to the car to get the fully lit monument. It was then that I realized it wasn't lit before.

I have always liked the size of this camera. It is the greatest thing about it. Even when I put it on a tripod, I don't feel like I am sticking out or taking up too much room. I fit on a very narrow sidewalk with the camera on a tripod and people were able to walk by. Another great thing is that since I've had this camera not one person has stopped to talk to me about cameras or ask me what camera to buy. It happens all the time when I pull out my DSLR.

30 Days with the Fuji x100s: Day 17

Old Town Alexandria Light Trails

I always think I'm getting a ton of great pictures and I get maybe one or two. And it's freezing out there!

I took the tripod this time and looked around Old Town for a place to shoot light trails and a model.

I tried Duke Street, where a cop came whizzing by:

I like the safety of being on the median, but the lights look so far apart!

Then I tried another intersection by the train station:

You can get close to the traffic, but the lights are synced strangely, so you get a lot of cars sitting there.

Then I tried the underpass by the train station:

Winner! I like the ambient lighting and buses go by so that's pretty cool. I have a model lined up for next Wednesday so I'll be right back here to try again. Hopefully, I can add a human dimension to the light trails.

While I was waiting for the sun to set, I played around with lens flare to see how bad it could be on this camera. It's can be quite strong and I had a lens hood on, but I can't complain too much since I was shooting directly into the setting sun.

This guy was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. She arrived about 5 minutes after this shot.