Thematic Photographic 75: "Travel" v.3.0 - A Kodak Moment

---

"Eastman Kodak Building"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

 Hosted by Written Inc.

---

George Eastman accomplished a great many things in his life, and the city of Rochester, New York could probably be named for him. A great many of the buildings in town are named for him, most notably the Eastman Theater and Eastman School of Music. It was this latter that brought my son and I to Rochester in August of 2005 as part of the Great College Road Trip of 2005 I've spoken about so many times. Ultimately, Bryan decided on another school, as impressive as ESM's history is. But in the spirit of "something for everyone" we stayed in a hotel room that afforded a splendid view of Eastman's most notable contribution to history (for my money at least), the Eastman Kodak Company. Rumor has it that the name "Kodak" came from the sound a camera shutter makes as it opens and closes. And that sound was propagated in many of the company's product names (Kodachrome, Ektachrome, etc.). Little known trivia, yeah? Anyway, I thought it fitting that I took all of the shots I did of this building (and pretty much all the others I took on this trip) using Kodak MAX film in ISO 400.

---

Stumble This!

Pic A Theme #18: "Monochrome" - 10.12.2009

---

"Roberts Wesleyan College"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

To see more from the Pic-A-Theme Community of Bloggers, visit Pic-A-Theme

---

Stumble This!

Thematic Photographic 67: "Urban" v.1.0 - Rochester by Night

---

"From the 14th Floor"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

 Hosted by Written Inc.

---

I should really remember the hotel I stayed in with my son in Rochester. It's not like I stay in so many upscale hotels that I don't remember them. But for some reason I've blanked this one out. It was in the Hyatt/Hilton class... but somehow neither of those names sounds right. (I know it was near the Eastman Kodak building, so I could probably G**gle it and find out, but that takes all the fun out of it.) Anyway, I do remember being on the 14th floor, and the view was amazing. And if I'd known the photos would work out this well I'd have taken (a lot) more.

---

Stumble This!

Thematic Photographic 52: "Dusk" v.2.0

---

"In the Beginning"
Rochester, NY - August, 2005 (Click to embiggen)

Hosted by Written Inc.

---

One stop on the oft-mentioned Great College Road Trip of 2005 was Rochester, NY. Among other things, Rochester is the birthplace of Eastman Kodak and as luck would have it, our hotel room faced the Kodak building. This shot was my first attempt at a technique I'd heard of that didn't quite work out as planned.

The idea is sort of the film equivalent of today's HDR processing, only without the benefit of being able to layer the images in post process. Briefly, the idea is to shoot a double exposure with the first shot taken before sunset to capture the detail in the subject and the second shot taken after dark to get the lights in and/or around it. What went wrong here I can only deduce. First of all, at the time I had only a cheap, lightweight tripod which wasn't really designed to support a midrange SLR (and is even less well suited to a DSLR in the same class since the digital is considerably heavier). I suspect that despite my best efforts, the tripod moved a bit between the two shots (which were taken nearly an hour apart). But when using a long-ish lens any tiny movement at the body end of the lens is amplified at the glass end of the lens (which is why the reciprocal rule is used to determine minimum handheld shutter speeds). It's also entirely possible that the overall image -- despite compensation for the second exposure -- is slightly overexposed, which would account for the "halo" around the sign atop the building. Overall though, it's not a displeasing image, and a useful study in a technique not used very often even before, and impossible to use with a digital camera (since a digital can't take a multiple exposure). It's a novelty if nothing else.

---

Stumble This!

Monochrome Friday #9: "Stacked"

---

In case you missed it: Check out my entry in Nicole B's Scavenger Hunt!

"Stacked"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

---

Stumble This!

Sepia Scenes #19 Eastman Theater Water Fountain

---

"Rich Man's Watering Hole"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

---

Back once again in Rochester in the lobby of Eastman Theatre where even the water fountains are works of art.

---

Stumble This!

Friday Photo Challenge #2: Humanity v.1.0 - "Wet Sheets"

---

"One Man's Bench Is Another Man's Bed"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

 Find out more here.

---

This month's Friday Photo Challenge theme is "Humanity". That is, something to reflect the human condition.

One of the things photography does to you is train you to see things that other people miss. Or to see them in ways that other people don't. The story behind this shot is one such case. I came across this scene in Rochester, NY on an August afternoon just after a rain. Maybe it really is just a soggy discarded newspaper thoughtlessly left on a bench. But what I saw was an unmade bed.

What do you see?

---

Stumble This!

Sepia Scenes #17 Eastman Theater Ceiling

---

"Can You Say Ostentatious?"
Rochester, NY - August 2005 (Click to embiggen)

---

One stop on the Great College Road Trip of 2005 was Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Founded by George Eastman (of Eastman Kodak fame), the school uses the Eastman Theatre for concerts and recitals. Built at a time when less was clearly not more, the theater is encrusted with artwork of all kinds. This medallion adorns the ceiling in the main lobby.

---

Stumble This!