Through The Lens 72 – Shay in the Rain

Taken a couple of years ago during a photo charter at the Cass Scenic Railroad, this shot of Shay #11 at the Bald Knob Wye has long been a favorite of mine.  The fog in the distance and the rain streaking through the shot create a great mood for the shot if it had simply been cloudy.

When the passenger train stopped to drop us off at this location, it was drizzling rain.  By the time we were in position under a dense canopy of spruce trees, the skies opened up and the rain started to pour down, which shows up nicely in this shot taken with a telephoto lens.  As soon as the runby was over the rain stopped again.  Couldn’t have worked out better if we planned it!

Through The Lens 71 – Woodturning

For those that don’t know, my other hobby is woodturning. I make bowls, hollow forms and pens on my lathe.  I was taking photos of my recent work, including this wormy ambrosia maple form with holly finial in the photo above and thought I’d share it here.  After a lot of experimenting I’ve figured out a product photography setup that I like.

If you’d like to see more of my woodturning, please check out www.summerswoodturning.com

Through The Lens 70 – Vehicle Assembly Building

As a follow up to my previous post about the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit, I thought I’d share another from that trip. The main reason for that particular visit to the Cape was to tour the Vehicle Assembly Building. While the building isn’t fancy architecture, as an architect I still appreciate the technical challenges of creating the largest single story building in the world. Topping out at 525ft 10in, the VAB encloses 129,428,000 cubic feet of space.

Photographing the VAB was a challenge because of the size of the building. To best show it’s vastness, I chose a wide angle lens and placed my camera on a table top tripod on the floor.

Through The Lens 69 – Shuttle Atlantis Visitor Center

Spacex’s successful launch of a reused vehicle reminded me that I haven’t shared my shots from my last visit to Kennedy Space Center.  The photo above is from the Space Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit. Seeing the shuttles in person is impressive but especially so at the Atlantis exhibit because of the way it is displayed. Instead of parking the shuttle on the ground, it is mounted at an angle at the 2nd floor level of the exhibit giving visitors the opportunity to see it at eye level and also from below.  Next time you’re in Florida, stop by and check it out.