From architecture to wedding

Nikon D200, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/f2 ZF

Since I have lived in the US, my job has taken me several times to Salt Lake City in Utah, but I never found the time to see the Mormon temple or the famous Tabernacle. Last week I went to SLC again and was able to shear off some time after work was done. I learned a lot and met some very nice people there.

I was walking around, searching for interesting perspectives, when a freshly married couple got in position for their three (3!) wedding photographers. They did their thing, with the happy couple in front of the temple. I took a different position, more to the side. I liked the vertical lines from the buildings and the couple, which continued onto the water. The spectacular clouds gave the scene a dramatic look on hopefully the best day of their life together. I came to take pictures of the architecture or street life and ended up with wedding pictures. Wasn't a bad thing… ;-)

Simulating film

Nikon D200, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35/F2 ZF

Today we took a little Easter walk along the Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa. Besides having a nice view over the river, its bridges, and the city itself, there is a good opportunity to look at some artwork. The City of Dubuque has a temporary art exhibit, Art on the River, located along the RiverWalk and in the Port of Dubuque.

One piece that particularly caught our attention is 'City mouse' by Texan artist Andrew Arvanetes. It is a big sculpture, made out of stainless steel, and according to the artist's statement it derived from recollections of a child's wind-up toy.

'City Mouse' by Andrew Arvanetes

We had a grey and cloudy sky today and so I went for a detail shot, having B&W already in mind. I like how the patina on the stainless steel surface and the soft shadows  of the sculpture's elements turned out. The 35/f2 gave the picture a nice bokeh for the background. However, I thought the image was still too close to "digital reality". I always start processing my RAW files in Adobe Lightroom. The new beta version 3.2. now has a feature that allows you to simulate film grain. I gave it a trial for the final touch and I like the outcome very much. Should do more in Black & White…