Towne Park

Towne Park, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Saw this sign in downtown Camden today and thought, that's a pretty cool old sign. It's just sitting in the middle of a parking lot with no hotel in sight. I'm guessing the Towne Park hasn't been around in many years. Although if it did exist, they'd have to pay me to stay in downtown Camden after dark.

I did a little more research and found this old picture of the motel from the 70's when it still existed:


"The Towne Park Motel stood in the 800 block of Market Street in Camden NJ. Built after World War II, its business declined as Camden's economy fell off. By the early 1990s it had devolved into a rooming house, inhabited mostly by junkies. prostitutes, and other undesirables. It was razed early in the decade."

One raw image edited in Photoshop.

Under the Boardwalk

Under the Boardwalk, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Under the Pier at Caesars, Atlantic City. Storm surge from Tropical Storm Bill, although you can't really see it here.

What was I doing under the Pier at Caesars? Well, I can't tell you that.

Independence Hall

Independence Hall, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Independence Hall. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Birthplace of the Nation. Declaration of Independence. Constitution. Ben Franklin. Etc., etc., etc.

One exposure raw image processed in Photoshop using Topaz Adjust.

Walk With Me

Walk With Me, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

This shot was taken on Forbidden Drive in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. About 6pm on Sunday, August 23rd. Sometimes, walking, hiking, biking, or running through Fairmont Park, it's hard to believe you're still in the middle of the 6th largest city in the country.

Sunday's walk in particular was special, as it was my first official hike traipsing through the woods with a tripod. I didn't get as many odd stares as I thought.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.", originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

The title of the shot is a quote by Churchill.

This is the new (although a few years old now) WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. Really beautiful memorial and I'm not sure I was able to capture it's full beauty. It was amazing to me how many people were there enjoying the memorials at 10 pm at night. It was nice to see.

Anyway, I'm not 100% pleased with the way this came out, but it will have to do. Created from 1 exposure, shot in raw format.

The Angry Sky

The Angry Sky, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Two days ago we had strong storms roll through the Philadelphia area. When I say "roll" that's really what the sky looked like. The clouds were churning and rolling and twisting as they moved across the sky, so I ran up to my roof to take a picture. I would have liked to have the 10-22mm on the camera, but I didn't have time to change it, and the clouds were gone in less than 5 minutes. I had to share, since I've never seen the sky seem so angry.

Also, here's a secret for you loyal blog readers (as best as I can tell, there are between 0 and 1 of you): the streetlight beams are fake.

The Lincoln

The Lincoln, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Looking down the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. I'd love to get back to the same spot to watch the sun set behind the Memorial.

This shot is much better viewed larger where you can actually see the Lincoln Memorial as more than a white speck in the middle. If you go to the Flickr page by clicking on the picture, you can do just that.

The Jefferson

The Jefferson, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

The Jefferson Memorial at night. Friday, August 14th to be exact.

I lived in Washington, D.C. (or just outside) for almost 5 years, yet it took until now (when I haven't lived there in 4 years) to finally visit the monuments at night. It's awesome the things you do and the places you'd never otherwise visit when you take up photography. It's so cool to see the world in a whole new light. Sappy, but true. And I'm sure all of you on Flickr already know this.

This is actually an HDR shot, so it's a combination of 5 exposures of the same shot. This technique worked well here, since the building was lit so brightly but the surroundings were so dark. Taken with my new Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens.

Into the Clouds

Into the Clouds, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Two exposure vertorama taken with the trusty Canon 10-22mm. Processed in Photoshop using Topaz Adjust. Shot was taken in the Manassas National Battlefield Park in Northern Virginia.

Birth of a Nation

Birth of a Nation, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built between 1732 and 1753. It was within those walls that both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed. The tower at the top originally housed the Liberty Bell (which is now across the street). This is actually the rear (South) side of the building.

Funny story, I decided Saturday would be a good day to go take pictures at Independence Hall. Normally, I would have had to deal with tons of tourists walking around in front of the building. On Saturday though, Michelle Obama and the kids decided they wanted to take a tour, so the whole area was shut down while they toured. Bad for tourists, but great for me, since I could walk up to the barricades and take pictures without anyone getting in the way. If you look hard, maybe you can see the First Lady and First Children in the windows.

Finally, I should point out that this is not and HDR shot, even though it looks like it. It's a single .raw exposure that I processed in Photoshop with Topaz Adjust

Second Bank of the United States

Second Bank of the United States, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Carpenters' Hall was designed by architect Robert Smith (1722-1777) in the Georgian style and built as a four-story brick building between 1770 and 1773 by the Carpenters' Company. It would be first used as a meeting site by the guild on January 21, 1771, and would continue to hold annual meetings there until 1777 when the British would capture Philadelphia. On April 23, 1773 (St. George's Day), it would be used by the Society of Englishmen and Sons of Englishmen.

The First Continental Congress of the United Colonies of North America met here from September 5 to October 26, 1774, since the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) was being used by the moderate Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania. It was here that Congress resolved to ban further imports of slaves and to discontinue the slave trade within the colonies, a step toward phasing out slavery in British North America. The building has a long history as an assembly place and has been the home to numerous tenants in the arts, sciences and commerce. The meeting hall served as a hospital for both British and American troops in the Revolutionary War, and other institutions in Philadelphia have held meetings in Carpenters' Hall, including Franklin's Library Company of Philadelphia, the American Philosophical Society, the First and Second Banks of the United States.

The Drake

The Drake, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Constructed in 1929 as a luxury hotel, the Drake was once the tallest building in Philadelphia. I've always thought the architecture of this building, especially the top, is just fantastic. I would love to go up top and out on those terraces, I'm sure the views of Philadelphia are fantastic.

I would have liked to include more of the building in this shot, but I took it as I was leaving work, and didn't really take the time to get a clean shot of the building. The Kimmer Center was actually blocking everything below what you see in the picture.

This is an HDR image taken from 3 exposures, processed in Photomatrix and then in Photoshop.

It Doesn't Always Go Your Way

It Doesn't Always Go Your Way, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

I'm posting this photo more for the story than for the shot itself. This past Saturday, I decided I would get up for sunrise and shoot the sun rising over the Philadelphia Art Museum. My first sunrise shoot ever. Unfortunately, as I was headed to the spot I thought would be best, I found out the road was closed, which meant that there was absolutely no way I could get to where I wanted to be in time. That was immediately followed by me freaking out, because I got up 5 hours too early on a Saturday only to find out my plan was foiled.

After driving around, cursing, and looking for spots to shoot from, I found this one, which turned out to be fine, except for the fact that I was standing about 20 feet over the freeway, on the top of a retainer wall, crouched in the bushes, and terrified I would fall onto the freeway below. Not the best place to be at 5 am in Philly. So I took about 3 exposures and got the hell out of there. This is one of them. Just imagine how beautiful this would have looked without the bushes or freeway in between me and the river.

I added some notes to help illustrate my story, and so you can see that it was a good plan in theory. I'm sure we all have stories like this as aspiring photographers, I just wanted to share mine. It doesn't always go your way....

Sunrise Over Philly

Sunrise Over Philly, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

This shot represents a few firsts, most notably, the first time I have ever gotten up before 7 am when I didn't have to get to either a) work, b) class, or c) the airport. This is also the first vertorama I've attempted (created from just two exposures, this is not an HDR). Apparently, this is what Philadelphia looks like before 6 am. Who woulda thunk?

A vertorama is like a panorama, only vertical. For instance, this shot is actually two shots stacked one on top of the other. That way, the angle is not only wide horizontally, but vertically as well.

Out of Service

Out of Service, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

I wasn't originally going to post this, but why not? No reason not to post what I think is a cool image. That's actually an overturned toilet in the foreground. Let's hope it's no longer in use. If you couldn't figure it out from the other shots in my photostream, this is from one of the cells in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Summer's Calm

Summer's Calm, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Now for something completely different than what I've been doing recently.
Sometimes, when looking for subjects to shoot, I forget to look at what's right in front of me. I was going for a bit of a "dreamy" effect on this one.

This one took a bit of processing to get it to where I wanted it, and it's still not quite as ethereal as I'd like. The only way to fix that though is, I think, with a longer lens. It's hard to describe, because I can only picture it in my head. Here's a link to an example though: A Dream to Dream, by Aileenie. If you have time, you should check out her photostream on Flickr, it's really, really excellent.

High Water

High Water, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

Another shot of the flooded Wissahickon Creek from this past Sunday (7/2/09). This shot is a little busier than I'd like, but the sky and clouds were just so great in this shot, I had to process and post.

In hindsight, I should have stepped to the left so that tree wasn't in the foreground and I had more of the river. I'll have to go re-look at my pictures and see if maybe I didn't do just that, although I don't think I was that smart.

The Flood

The Flood, originally uploaded by M. Rosenberg.

We had torrential rains here in Philly on Sunday (7/2/09) and there were flash floods everywhere. This is the Wissahickon Creek, which was higher than I've ever seen it. Another foot or two and I wouldn't have been able to get to where I was standing. Good for photography, bad for travel.