Now that I've posted pics from last Thursday, here's some from the day before, Wednesday.
Every other Wednesday is usually a photography day for me. Wednesdays are the days (once every 2 weeks) that I go to the hospital and get a take-home chemotherapy pump disconnected from my person. That leaves me free to move about without tubes under my shirt snagging on something or causing undue suspicion (some people get antsy when others have tubes and stuff coming out from underneath their clothing). And since I'm already dressed and out of the house (exterior tubes gone after the hospital visit), I'll take my camera with me and go to some random part of town to photograph.
I went to Balboa Park yet again, this time to test out and play around with a new near-infrared (IR) filter.
Figure 1. this was taken through the bus window on the way to Balboa Park. It was in the Hillcrest area of town, on University Ave. I was doing my usual slow shutter (1/8 sec) and panning thing. I wish I had taken more shots because I don't rightly know what's happening here. I suspect that the "person" in the blue shirt is not actually a living person at all. Maybe a cardboard-cut-out? Poster in the window? I'm not sure. It's a mystery.
Figure 2. Another Cabrillo Bridge cyclist shot. I was doing my slow shutter panning thing again, this time on foot. The intentionally lopsided composition combined with the long, yellow streaks on the road and yellow attire of the people symbolize humanity's descendant's impending, eventual doom of being swallowed up by the sun if they even make it that long, of course.
Figure 3. This couple looked too cute. I had to take a picture.
Figure 4. Lilly Pond in near-infrared (IR). One of the reasons I came to Balboa Park on this day was to play around with this near-IR filter. Keep in mind this was taken handheld (no tripod) on a digital, color camera with no sensor modifications.
I plan to make a separate post about shooting near-IR pictures with digital camera shortly, assuming people are interested in such things. The plan is to add thoughts on when you might want to shoot near-IR and when you might not. And of course I'll include technical stuff you might want to consider when shooting near-IR on a digital, color camera.
Figure 5. "Ghostly" children "haunting" an old staircase in near-IR, as ghostly children are prone too do in near-IR. (Note for the record: they're actually just normal children).
While I was at the park, I stopped in the Model Railroad Museum (I have a yearly pass for most of the museums there).
Figure 6. Miniature version of the "Old Police Station" of San Diego. Today, this collection of buildings/structures is called "The Headquarters at Seaport District." It used to be where the San Diego police headquarters were located. Now there's bars, restaurants, and a museum there (museum of the old police station and jail). I should stop by with my camera. I believe there are some good pics to be had there.
Figure 7. Miniature version of the Santa Fe Depot. This is train station that includes a station for the Trolley that I use all the time when heading downtown, and also a station for heavier passenger trains like AmTrak and whatnot. The right side of the structure (as shown above) no longer exists. It seems to have been removed at some point.
Figure 8. Old picture of Santa Fe Depot. This photo was not taken by me. From what I'm led to believe, the photographer of this picture is "officially" unknown, i.e., lost to the sands of time. Note the front structure of the building as seen from this angle.
Figure 9. Here's an Image I took of the Santa Fe Depot structure just a few weeks ago from approximately the same angle as in Figure 8. Notice the old front of the structure has since been removed (see Fig. 8 for a comparison).
Figure 10. Okay, we've left Balboa Park now and are heading home. This pic is just a modest, non-fancy, apartment building shot in near-IR. In normal, visible light this walkway doesn't look particularity special at all. But in near-IR all the foliage and greenery are emphasized, while some of the boring, manmade stuff is de-emphasized. More on that later in a future post.
