St. Mary's Hospital: Chapel - Part 4

Here's the last picture from my trip over to the little chapel.

I'm torn between this one and the stained glass picture from Part 2.

The warm glow of the window and the soft lines of the figure really keep me looking.

I remember when I took this shot, I really focused on keeping the cross separate from the lines in the window.

I may take this into Photoshop and try and bring more of the face into the light, but I just don't think it will be what I want.

I've got no photo shoots planned for this weekend and I probably won't be bringing my camera to work in the next week or so. My SIL is expecting her first baby, so I've been travelling light. The Mrs is the birthing coach so all plans are on hold. Babies do that. Hopefully, I'll get some cute baby shots.

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St. Mary's Hospital: Chapel - Part 3

I'm not Catholic so I'm not really sure why this was here.

It appeared to be a staute of a baby Jesus in a Kings clothing. It was just sitting in the window next to the flowers.

The light through the stained glass and the flowers just made for a beautiful scene.

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There is one more picture in this series. It's my favorte. This particular photo shoot only last about 15 mintues. We were on break at work...

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In more news, today marks the first time I had scheduled two photo shoots in one day. The first was shooting pictures of a coworkers friends daughter's (whew) prom. I didn't actually have to go to prom, which was a good thing cause the lighting always sucks there, but we were at the local historical museum. I'll probably never post a picture from that, I never got model releases.

The second was a trip to Oxbow Park at sunset. Upon further review, sunset sucks here. Its in a valley so the sun is gone long before the sky burns. We live and learn.

St. Mary's Hospital: Chapel: Part 2

Thanks to one of my co-workers, I discovered the campus chapel.

The sun was in the east as it was mid-morning. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary just outside this stained glass.

I really experimented here trying to get the exposure just where I wanted it. The reflection on the super clean floor was really amazing to see.

The biggest problem with this picture was getting the exposure right so the church disappeared and the reflection had color without washing out the window in the background.

We still weren't sure we were supposed to be here doing this.

Once I found an exposure that seemed to work for what I was trying to accomplish, it worked on how I wanted to do the composition.

As I usually do, I have not altered these images. They are as shot.

I get the impression that they might not be level or centered, but I can fix that in Photoshop if I need to.

Does the large amount of dark space in the bottom right picture convey the message I'm looking for or does moving the window up and making it more prominent just make for a better picture?

I really like both. I think I'm leaning to the bottom one, but I'd be very grateful for any comments about what people like best.

We learn by sharing.

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St. Mary's Hospital: Chapel - Part 1

At my last job, one thing I was really getting in the habit of doing was bringing my camera to work. This all stopped when I found out it would be 12 years before I get to park on site.

Well, tough cookies. Today, I brought my camera to work.

The facility where my office sits in a building connected to a very old hospital run by the Sisters of St. Francis. Techincally, they don't run it any more, but the presence is still every where.

On the campus is this chapel. I took a series of pictures today on a break. I hope to take many more pictures this spring, the campus, as it turns out, is beautiful after the winter has cleared out.

This chapel was something I didn't even know existed before I started working here. One of my co-workers told me about it and offered to take moe down for a visit. We weren't sure if any of this was above board, but no one kicked us out either.

I'll be posting a few more in the coming days. Let me know if you like them, hate them or think you see something in a dustball in the corner.

The Venetian

On our last night in Las Vegas, we went to the Venetian. The world's largest hotel.

This place is magnificent. This hotel boasts canals, shopping and gondola rides. We didn't get to ride in the canals, but I really think I could see a nice, romantic weekend for two here.

Most of what you see here is the hotel. Harrah's is in the background, that is where we stayed. The big tower with "Phantom" on it, yeah, that's still part of this hotel.

One thing you take away from Las Vegas, besides empty wallets, is just how amazing everything looks at night. This town definitely is for the photographer that likes to shoot at night.

The colors, the movement...its all here.

The Paris Hotel

One of the amazing things about the new Vegas is how they are recreating some of the worlds greatest destinations.

This is a shot of the Paris Hotel, across the street from the Bellagio.

I love my 17-85mm IS lens. No tripod. Just point and shoot, with a pretty steady hand.

The Bellagio - Part 2

I knew heading out to Vegas would cure my lack of color.

This bizarre looking scene is in the hotel lobby at the Bellagio. In fact, its the ceiling right above the seats.

Like I've said before, this hotel is beautiful around every corner.

I took two frames of this, not sure if I like one more than the other or if there is really a difference. One is at an angle, the other straight on. What do you think?

The Bellagio - Part 1

The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV is a positively breath taking hotel. On our recent trip, we spent a great deal of time here. This hotel hosts one of the world's toughest poker rooms any where. Unfortunately, I can't get in there with a camera.

They spared no expense decorating this hotel. It is elegant like no other, well, maybe the Venetian.

This first picture was taken looking up in one of the domes above the shopping area on the Caesar's Palace side. The colors and the flowers were just beautiful.

This second picture shows the same area from the side. I thought this frame was just about as interesting as the first one.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, you owe it to yourself to check out this hotel. Heck, even the casino area was beautiful, but I still like the card room.

A little more Vegas

We survived day 2 in Las Vegas.

We headed down the strip today to the Stratosphere. You know me, I love a fun poker tournament. I took some shots from on top of the tower. It was actually a hazy day here in Vegas, so not sure about how well they'll turn out.

On our way back, we stopped at Treasure Island to check out the show. We were standing on the pirate ship side. I captured this first one. I think it turned out pretty cool. It was a difficult time to shoot. The sun was setting.

If I had been on the siren's side of the show, we may have needed to change the rating of this blog. Although taking the pictures would have been fun.
We also walked up the strip a little. I believe I got this one from up by the Bellagio.

I'm finding it tough to shoot here with the Mrs with. She likes to keep moving and I like stop and take a good shot.

Oh well, we are having a blast!!! Not sure if we are going to make it downtown. I wanted to try and get to the Freemont Street Experience and Binion's, but it may not be in the cards.

Welcome to Las Vegas

We started our parent mini-vacation here in Las Vegas. My camera has been with me the whole time.

I haven't much time to process anything yet. The Bellagio is an amazing hotel. I took a ton of pictures there last night. Let's hope some of them will turn out.

Here's a sampling of what I've gotten so far.

The weather here...absolutely perfect. Its 80 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night. Maybe we'll sell the house and change address'. Or not.