Monthly Archives: December 2012

To celebrate the holiday, I decided to shoot today entirely using a technique that I’d never tried: freelensing.  It’s basically shooting without the lens physically attached to the camera.  Instead, the lens is held close to the lens mount, tilted, manually focused, and, in my case, prayed over…all in hopes of getting something interesting.  The effect is somewhat similar to what can be done with a tilt shift lens: the focal plane can be manipulated all over the frame (and even back and forth in the Z-dimension) depending on how the lens is held and focused.  So far I would describe the technique as “impossible.”  But I did like a few images from today, including a couple of rare shots of my sister.  All images were taken with a 50mm lens wide open at f/1.4.

 

I love this image, because its CRAZY to shoot at f/1.4, from this close, and have both her chin AND her eyelashes in focus.  Awesome.

This image was actually taken the “normal” way, with the lens attached.  But I always love images of my niece, so it somehow found it way into this post:-)

  • nice work. last two are particularly awesome.

20 years since Jon Theodore and I have seen one another.  Since we were classmates at Gilman School in Baltimore.  In the meantime, he’s become an acclaimed drummer, first for The Mars Volta, now with One Day As A Lion, a collaboration with Zack de la Rocha (click here to check out “Wild International”, one of my favorite ODAAL songs).  After his most recent tour, we were able to catch up in the Haight.  Good times!

 

 

Some of what I captured during my very first trip to New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • […]  If not, you should be.  Hi.lar.ious. tweets that bring the gang into the modern age. * Beautiful photos of New Orleans. * I love the cooking blog Smitten Kitchen & the vast majority of my “hits” are […]

Even before they were the Doroguskers, I loved the Doroguskers!  I think this year’s holiday shoot may have been even more fun for me than for them.  Either way, we ALL loved the result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Al

    Dana you are an artist. You truly capture the soul of the subject. Thank you.