Fallingwater

I’m obsessed with modern architecture and mid-century modern furniture, so it was a real treat to head on out to Pittsburgh and visit nearby Fallingwater. For non-architecture geeks, Fallingwater is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s greatest buildings. The impressive structure was build on the side of a waterfall and completed in 1937. In the past two years I’ve had the chance to visit some pretty amazing structures including Wright’s Hollyhock House in LA and Phillip Johnson’s compound in CT, but with the exception of maybe Sagrada Família in Barcelona, this might be the single most breathtaking building I’ve laid eyes on.

The photo above was captured from the “viewing” spot that most tourists get their snapshots at. I just added a bit of vignette and warmed up the white balance. If you ever get a chance to see Fallingwater, please don’t pass it up. The cheaper tours are under $20 and for $50 you get a long tour and the ability to take indoor photos.

Attached to a 1.6x crop digital camera like my 40D, this lens covers every possible range you could need while traveling. I originally wanted the 28-300mm with Tamron’s vibration compensation, but sadly the lens kept getting pushed back until after I left for Spain. In truth, I only missed the stabilization a little bit, and with the crop factor in place, the 28mm just wouldn’t have been wide enough to capture some of Spain’s massive architecture. I highly recommend the lens. For the price, there’s nothing much else in that range.

Turns out this wide portraitscape of Santorini, Greece is really racking up the quarters. I took the photo when I visited in 2006 using my old Canon S2SI. The camera wasn’t really great for low light photos, but it took some fantastic wide shots of landscape. Santorini was one of the most wonderful destinations I ever visited, and I barely had enough time to suck in the view with my eyes, let alone with a camera.

Luckily, I got at least this one great shot to remember it by. Judging by the amount of copies I’ve sold on the site, a couple of hundred other people also have this shot to remember it by. Can’t wait to see a ton of Greece calenders with this image above April.

Click for Photolog

I spent the early part of November on a tour of a good chunk of Spain and it really is a stunning country. Not as picturesque as Greece, but I would trade anything to live in Barcelona. The photo above is my first ever attempt at a panorama. I didn’t follow the traditional rules. This was taken from the Alhambra Palace with no tripod and a lot of faith that I could pull off a fairly seamless shot. The picture is comprised of three photos glued together using the Photostitch program that comes with Canon cameras. The shot was not flawless. I had to clone out some of the negative white space in the corners using Photoshop, but the result is pretty awesome. Click on it and check out the full size shot. I’m sure you can find the seams if you look hard enough.

Over the weekend I got the hauntingly cool experience of visiting one of the grandest relics of time gone by, Eastern State Penitentiary, located in the heart of Philadelphia. This massive structure is so imposing and massive that it’s hard to not be in awe of its sheer size and history. I spent a few hours photographing the prison’s innards just before it closed for the evening. I’ll get some more shots on Flickr in a few days. This was the first time I really got to photograph the prison with a camera that could actually take pictures in the dark, dreary hallways. I came a year ago with a Canon S2SI, and while it was a great camera, it could hardly focus in the building. I think I got maybe one good photo that time. If you want to learn more about the prison, buy Eastern State Penitentiary (PA) (Images of America) by Francis Dolan. It’s a great read.