This is one of the last images I ever took on my Pentax K2000 (K-m), which I am now selling to a friend. My new camera, the Pentax K-x, is a marvel of technology. I haven't had the chance to use it much since it came yesterday, but I can say for sure that the ISO performance is unbeatable in its price range. The image quality even beats the Pentax K-7, which sells for twice as much. Regardless, the K2000 was still a great camera with a strong feature set, and I'm sort of sad to see it go.
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but street photography is one of my favorite "genres." There's something about seeing individuals in their daily urban lives that I find fascinating. Too bad I live in the suburbs, right? This photograph was taken in Georgetown, Washington D.C. when I spent a few days there this last April. The photograph was converted to black and white, and was burned and dodged in Adobe Lightroom 2 (as usual). I'm not really into cars/trucks/anything with an engine, but I have a soft spot for motorcycles. Not those Harly-Davidson biker gang type motorcycles, but those modern, hip and trendy ones. You all know what I'm talking about, don't deny it. Back to the photograph, it's not really unique from a compositional standpoint. But because it combines elements that I view as interesting, I can't help but like this photo.
The image above is from my personal photography collection. The original photograph was taken in downtown San Diego whilst trying to find a way to drive around a stuck freight train while listening to a Swedish radio station. Yeah, it's complicated. Anyway, I rediscovered this photograph the other day, and decided to try a few editing techniques involving Corel Painter X that I had been meaning to experiment with. What you see above is the result. In order to bring more depth into the photograph, I added more bokeh into the background of the image, increased the vignette, and selectively muted and enhanced the colors. I recommend going to the photo's Flickr page and viewing it at a larger size.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the city. It doesn't matter what city we're talking about, all that matters is that downtown pulse. In my mind, cities are alive. They are creatures in their own right, never sleeping, and always on alert. Yes, I am an advocate for nature. But in many ways, city life is better for the environment than suburban or rural living. For starters, one's carbon footprint is much smaller in a city environment. Public transit is almost always superior, and places are usually located close enough to walk to. In addition, the part of town I saw was filled with as much foliage as possible. Trees lined many sidewalks, and planters held flowerbeds. It truly felt like a nice place to be.
I only had a few hours to look around downtown Denver, but I liked what I saw. For starters, the city seemed fairly clean. Granted, I only really explored the area around the 16th Street Mall, which is a 2km long outdoor shopping mall. Nevertheless, it was clear that the city is well planned out and well managed. I couldn't begin to count how many cyclists I saw, and the free shuttle service that runs along the length of the 16th Street Mall is a great idea. Yes, the rest of the city might have downfalls, but from a tourist perspective, the retail district is in relatively tip-top shape.
View more photos of Denver on my Colorado Flickr set.
