Steal Nothing But Photographs

Cooling Down (Street Photography):

RalphEGrant — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:54:07 +0000

We were between sets of a Senior Photo Shoot on Saturday morning at the City Garden and the activity was endless. It was about 94° in the shade and I was being tortured by the cool continuous vertical jets of the fountains. My subject was in the car changing into her next ensemble when I noticed this little boy having a tremendous time playing in the water. I couldn't help but notice his blue plaid shorts and how they contrasted brilliantly with the fountains. I immediately thought, "Black and White w/ Selective Color". I don't normally do selective color but in this case I think it worked out well.

Cooling Down (D3S, ISO200, 1/16ooth, f/6.3 @ 56mm Through Nikkor 24-70mm)

I converted the image to B&W using NIK Silver Efex 2, dropped a pin on his shorts and used its selective color feature to get the effect I wanted. So easy. A little sharpening and vignette in LR as well as an export to Zenfolio using Jeffrey Friedl's wonderful export plug-in and I had this image done. Visualization to camera to computer to NIK to Zenfolio with less than 60 seconds of diversion in my busy life. Gotta love it when a plan comes together and your vision is achieved. I don't have a clue who this little guy was but, "Thanks little buddy!"

Stay tuned for a boatload of wonderful Senior Images coming soon!

Aerial Photography (St. Louis, MO):

RalphEGrant — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:56:05 +0000

This week I had the opportunity of a lifetime to take a helicopter ride over St. Louis with a fantastic fellow Photog, Tom Rollins. Jump over and check out his images at http://www.thomasrollinsphotography.com. I would also like to thank Clark Thomas, President of "Fostaire Helicopters" in Sauget, IL for an amazingly smooth ride! Clark did a very fine job piloting the Robinson R44 Raven II. Once we popped the doors off, we were on our way!

Although this was my first time in a helicopter and a first shooting from the air, I had an amazing time and look forward to the opportunity to do it again. We spent about an hour flying the river along downtown St. Louis and I managed to get a few shots of the skyline from a completely different vantage point. Make sure you click on the images to see them full size on your monitor.

Gateway Arch (ISO 800, f/14, 1/1250th, 70mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

Virtually the same image only through the "Fisheye" and a little later in the morning.

Gateway Arch - Fisheye (D80, ISO400, f/8 through Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye)

We also had a great view of the new bridge being constructed.

Bridge Construction (D3s, ISO800, 1/800th, f/14@31mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

It was a perfect day for flying and an amazing experience that I won't forget any time soon.

From the Cockpit (D80, ISO100, 1/320th, through Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye)

If you would like to see some of the other images I shot, feel free to go HERE:

Until the next image theft, Enjoy!

Happy Sixty (Roger Urbani):

RalphEGrant — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:33:22 +0000

We had a wonderful time celebrating a good friends birthday at one of my favorite places in the city, The MOTO museum near St. Louis University. I didn't have the greatest lighting setup but here are a couple of portraits of him and the family.

37 Years (D3S, ISO800, 1/10th, f/4.5 @ 31mm through Nikkor 24-70)

The Urbani Crew (D3S, ISO 800, 1/10th, f/5.6 @ 26mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

Did I mention it was a "Roast" as well? Hopefully I didn't get him in too much trouble. See the rest of the images HERE.

The lighting was pretty tough in this venue. Low light with a lot of colored accents. You may also remember this awesome Indian Motorcycle in a previous Blog post HERE:

Until next time, Enjoy!

Claire (First Communion):

RalphEGrant — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:24:55 +0000

I shot lovely little Claire's 1st Communion images. Whe was a wonderful subject and VERY patient. We shot a bunch of photos that you can see HERE:

The following were my favorite images from the Shoot. Enjoy!

Claire at the Altar (D3S, ISO400, 1/6th, f/5.6 @ 32mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

Future Bride (D3S, ISO200, 1/160th, f/2 through Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 prime)

In The Light (D3s, ISO200, 1/320th, f/4 @ 29mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

Portraits are easy when you have a good subject!

St. Louis Skyline (Three Sixty Nightclub):

RalphEGrant — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 11:30:56 +0000

After the Cardinals game the other night, a few of us went to a club called 360 which is essentially the rooftop of the Hilton in Downtown St. Louis, right next to the Ballpark. I obviously had my camera and managed to steal a few images of downtown St. Louis. The entire place had glass walls to keep the drunken patrons from dying, an obvious imperative for a rooftop bar. It was kind of challenging to get a good shot because the place had fire and lighting everywhere which kept reflecting in the glass and it was pretty late in the evening so Windex was needed. Here are a few of my favorites. Make sure you double click on them and check them out full size!

Looking East (D3S, ISO 6400, 1/10th, f/9 @ 24mm through Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)

Busch Stadium (D3S, ISO 6400, 1/200th, f/9 @ 26mm through Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)

Gateway Arch (D3s, ISO 6400, 1/40th, f/9 @ 24mm through Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)

Photogs Notes:

I'm actually pretty dang proud of the first image. I shot that HANDHELD at 1/10th of a second, after a bunch of Budweisers, a single malt, and timing my shots between wind gusts. Pretty tack sharp under those conditions at 1/10th. The color rendition of the Nikkor 24-70 is amazing. There is NO color fringing anywhere on that image, even with the contrasts between light and dark. Awesome lens. These images were only possible with the D3S high ISO capability. 6400 ISO and almost no image noise. Incredible! Why do I need a D4? I can't think of a reason.....

Until the next image theft....

The City Garden (Digital Fine Art):

RalphEGrant — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:51:44 +0000

I've driven past it 1000 times. I've walked by it 100 times. I've photographed it once. I'll be going back, at night, with a tripod. The City Garden is a funky little area on Olive Street in Downtown St. Louis located in the shadow of the Peabody Energy Building. I had a few minutes before a Cardinals game with collegues so I managed to run through and shoot a few images with the intent of doing a little HDR. Here is the result....

Eros Bendato Statue (D3S, ISO 200, f/9, HDR, 24mm through Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8)

The severed head is a statue called Eros Bendato by Igor Mitoraj. I thought it was screaming B&W HDR. Too bad the sky sucked.

Big Suit (D3S, ISO200, f/14, HDR, 40mm through Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)

Big Suit is a huge painted aluminum statue by an artist named Erwin Wurm. I decided that B&W HDR with selective color for the pink was the ticket.

City Garden Fountain (D3s, f/14, HDR, 24mm through Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)

And finally a simple HDR of the fountain. I'll be going back to shoot this bad boy at night. Each one of those fountains has pink and blue lights. It will be a cool HDR image.

Remember, you can click on an image and it will be displayed full size on your monitor.

Well, until the next image theft. Enjoy!

Hiking, Boyz, and Black & Whites:

RalphEGrant — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:32:40 +0000

I was born way too late. I think black and white images have a certain character to them. Add the texture of tree bark, rocks, and sky and I absolutely love them. The boyz and I went hiking today and I managed to steal some portraits of them along the way.

Balance Beam (D3S, ISO 400, 1/160th, f/5.6@50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

Cliffside (D3S, ISO400, 1/60th, f/6.3@50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

JD on the Trail (D3S, ISO200, 1/4000th, f/1.4@50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

Natural Bench (D3S, ISO200, 1/1250th, f/1.4@50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

Tree Throne (D3S, ISO200, 1/1250th, f/1.4, 50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

And of course, the gratuitous color shot just to remind me that it wasn't 50 years ago....

Blow! (D3s, ISO400, 1/640th, f/3.5, 50mm through Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D)

All images were shot with ambient light and converted to black and white using Nik Silver Efex 2 with minor sharpening and vignette added in the new Lightroom 4. Make sure you click on the images to see them full screen on your monitor.

Photogs Note:

Incidentally, this is the first time I've bolted the old Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 prime onto the D3S. After shooting exclusively through my new Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 for the last 2 or 3 months, I'm a little disappointed in the sharpness of the 50mm wide open. There may be a 24 or 35mm f/1.4 prime in my future! I hear it is RAZOR sharp. If your gonna have an f/1.4 lense you gotta shoot it there. If it doesn't make you happy, UPGRADE! Dang Nikon Acquisition Syndrome is hard to cure!

The St. Louis Zoo:

RalphEGrant — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 07:14:45 +0000

St. Louis has one of the best zoo's in the nation, period. Did I mention it is completely free? Except for the popcorn, soda's, pretzels, ice cream, toys, and other delights of course! Obviously a zoo is a target rich environment for photogs but I often find shooting zoo animals kind of depressing. When you get down to it, when you compose an image at the zoo, too often what you get is that "Caged" look in their eyes. Its not easy to capture images that show the fun and adventure of being a free animal thriving in the wild, able to do whatever I want. Probably the same reason you don't see any images of my co-workers from the corporate jungle on here! This king cobra is a perfect example. I bet this guy hasn't raised up, spread his hood, and scared the bejeezus out of anyone in months. Poor guy should be free to bite a honey badger every once in a while! He still looks pretty "Bad Asp" if you know what I mean.

King Cobra (D3S, ISO1600, 1/60th, f/2.8, 56mm through Nikkor 24-70)

Today I had the opportunity to watch the Hippopotomus and they were obviously having fun. I wish I would have recorded their "Voices" because in all the times at the zoo, I have never actually heard them talk. They certainly have that gruff and gutteral "Barry White meets Satchmo" kind of sound down. Here is my favorite image of the day.....

Hippopotamus (D3S, ISO200, 1/640th, f/2.8, 70mm through Nikkor 24-70)

Make sure you click onit and see it full size on your monitor! The rest of the images I took today were so boring that they even put this penguin to sleep.

Sleepy Feet (D3S, ISO800, 1/100th, f/2.8, 70mm through Nikkor 24-70)

Until the next image theft, enjoy.

Michael and Megan (Engagement Shoot):

RalphEGrant — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:25:28 +0000

Oh to be young, in love, no kids, and engaged again! This past weekend we all had a blast shooting some fun engagement photos in "Old Town St. Charles". The weather was fantastic and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day for a combination of photography and smooching. Actually a few awesome clouds would have been nice to enhance the images with an amazing "God Sky" but I'm not complaining because its February in St. Louis ang 60+ degrees!

Our choices were a little limited because everyone else in St. Louis decided to come out and join us including an entourage of about 50 other photographers doing some kind of photo-walk / photo-class. However, we managed to Steal a few images regardless. Here are my personal favorites from the shoot:

The Warmup (D3S, ISO 200, 1/100th, f/5.6 through Nikkor 24-70mm)

So Serious (D3S, ISO 200, 1/160th, f/6.3 @ 32mm through Nikkor 24-70)

Smoochin' (D3s, ISO100, 1/200th, f/5.6@24mm through Nikkor 24-70)

The Last Image (D3s, ISO 200, 1/125th, f/5.6 @ 32mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

Megan's sister was there as part time chaperone to keep things from getting too steamy and help out as full time photo assistant. She did an awesome job considering how much she was being paid. Here is an image of the team at work. This is her response to my request, "Give me your Super Hot and Sassy Photo Assistant Pose"....

The A-Sister-ant (D3s, ISO200, 1/400th, f/5.6 @ 24mm, Nikkor 24-70)

We finally broke free from the bonds of St. Charles and made a trek to Busch Stadium for my favorite image of the day. We finished up with a really cool and sentimental shot of the couple and Megan's grandfathers "Cardinals Fan Brick" and a few other shots at the stadium.

Super Fans (D3s, ISO 200, 1/60th, f/5.6 @ 24mm through Nikkor 24-70mm)

If you would like to see some of the other images we stole that day feel free to visit HERE. Remember, to see any of the above images "Full Size" on your monitor just click on one!

Until the next image theft, enjoy!

The New Nikon D-800! (Lord Give Me Strength):

RalphEGrant — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:28:12 +0000

I've been working so hard getting a new project off the ground at work that I didn't even notice that Nikon announced its new D800 digital camera. Now lets face it, I already have the D3S which continues to amaze me with its speed and low light capabilities so why would anyone want another camera?

The New Nikon D800

This bad boy is 36.6 Megapixels! That is the highest resolution of any pro camera on the market! Do you realize the architectural and landscape images I could produce! And just in time for the height of the spring landscape shooting season!

Ok, time to calm down and think about JD and Wyatt's education. A guy can't have everything right? Perhaps there is some crap around here I can sell. Hmmmmmm.

Until an actual image theft (Next time I promise).

Enjoy!

Gateway Sunrise:

RalphEGrant — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:58:03 +0000

It's been a month since I updated the blog and it has been great! Sometimes to improve, you have to stop doing something for a while. Kinda like when you are training hard as an athlete, it will do you good to take a break and eat a huge cheeseburger to put you back on center. The holidays are kind of a creative photography buzz kill for me because often you end up shooting a bunch of mediocre "Snapshot Portraits" and aren't able to create the images you would really like to create.

I spent the week downtown at a training seminar with some collegues at the Hyatt near the Gateway Arch. The seminar was presented by The Matchbox Group and led by a really fun guy named Bob Faw (Chief Ignition Officer) who specializes in "Change Management". He presented some fantastic concepts and provided a lot of food for thought.

One morning I got downtown a little early with the intent to do some street photography but was pulled to the arch instead. I probably have hundreds of images of this architectural wonder but love the challenge of trying to always capture it from a new and more creative vantage point. Add in the environment and you always have an opporunity to "change" your perspective and still be creative. The warm sunrise was in full effect and the light fog in the trees added to the softness. I captured the following image of the arch or "Inverted Catenary" for you engineering geeks....

Gateway Sunrise (D3S, ISO800, F/22, 1/500th, 66mm through Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8)

Remember, you can click on the image and it will resize larger to fit your screen.

Oh and Hey Bob Faw, Photography is the best way for me to "Calm my Caveman"....

Until the next image theft, Enjoy!

Photogs Note:

Sometimes you gotta make do. This image isn't composed exactly like I would want but it simply was not possible. I had to shoot from a little far off with a mild zoom to get the compression of the arch into the trees which was several hundred feet behind them. Unfortunately, there is I-70 between me and the image. Therefore, I couldn't compose the trees a little higher in my frame without getting a shot of highway and the hundreds of rush-hour cars beneath it. So what do you do? Forget the rules of photography every once in a while, break them. Do 10 things right, nail the exposure and capture the image. Not every picture can follow the rule of thirds man. Its just one aspect of hundreds of things to do to get the image.

New Niner Air Carbon (Vanna):

RalphEGrant — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:39:49 +0000

I did a little product shoot with my new Niner Air Carbon Mountain Bike. As many of you know, I have been riding on the trails pretty heavy this year and so far I have ranked it second only after my family, food, and photography. Off road cycling has quickly become a passion. Here are the images shot in my home studio. This bike is completely carbon fiber and weighs less than 18lbs. It is a functional and technical thing of beauty!

Vanna White

Chainstay and Rear Cog

Front Rigid Fork

My new Motto "Pedal Damn It"

Sweet Ride

Enjoy! I know I will!

Until the next image theft!

Naughty Grant Boys (Warning – Christmas Card Spoiler):

RalphEGrant — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:17:56 +0000

The axiom of being a photographer is that there is this personal expectation to one-up yourself each Christmas with a more cute and creative image for the annual Christmas Card. Added to that is the expectation from everyone else that the image contains a picture of the Grant boyz. Here is this years attempt at both!

Naughty Grant Boyz (Merry Christmas 2011)

Merry Christmas and Enjoy!

Warning: Chemical Engineering / Environmental Satire:

I know that many of you tree-hugger types may find this image offensive and it is still true that bio-fuels and "renew-ables" are still all the rage in Washington when it comes to energy source selection but I decided to go old school with this years Christmas photo and get back to the energy solution basics with good old fashioned COAL. The kind that Naughty kids from all over the globe have been getting for centuries. Giving the boyz a mason jar of Trans-Esterified Soy Bean Oil (Biodiesel) just didn't seem to fit the tradition of the season.

Please be warned if you decide to give your naughty kids COAL for Christmas with the expectation that you will save a few dollars on the Holiday budget you may be in for a surprise. When the democratic run EPA found out that I was doing this shoot in a Non-Attainment area and a metropolitan city, I was notified by certified letter that I had to submit an Air Permit application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources stating that I would not exceed the maximum concentration of CO2, NOx, SOx, Particulates, Ozone, Organics, Lead, and other heavy metals emissions as defined by the NAAQS. The consulting fee's alone required to read and understand the local regulations and the expertise and software required to calculate the emissions plume exceeded my intended holiday budget by almost $200,000. Plus, I was going to have to get an indentures waver from my sub-division for the 150' tall addition to my chimney because of the low stack temperatures required to meet said low NOx and energy consumption guidelines. This massive stack is necessary to insure that my emissions would not endanger any tax paying Missouri voters and guarantee that they end up in Illinois where they are far too broke from enthusiastically preparing a jail cell for their past Governor to afford the bureaucracy necessary to deal with such environmental shenanigans.

Thus, I just settled for the above quick image of the Grant Boyz and had a HazMat team whisk the offending materials off to the closest membrane lined hazardous materials landfill. Even though the materials were mined from the ground in the first place........

Black Friday Tradition with Shane (And now JD):

RalphEGrant — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 16:28:25 +0000

For about the last 7 or 8 years, I've had a Black Friday Tradition (Day after Thanksgiving for those of you who have been living in a cave for the last decade) of meeting up with my cousin Shane down in Southern Illinois and going bird hunting. In good times I see him about 2 or 3 times a year. In bad times I see him 4-5 because that means there were some family funerals we mutually attended.

Shane Afield II (D3s, ISO200, 85mm, f/5.6, -2/3EV, 1/1600th through Nikkor 85mm)

Shane and I have been finding excuses to go shooting and hunting together for almost 25 years. I have always had a fondness of him and consider him the younger brother that I never had. I have great memories of my Aunt and Uncle coming to see us in Kansas City when he was just a toddler. I used to carry him up and down the block and introduce him to all my neighborhood friends. It has been a highlight of my life watching him work hard and make his place in the world. It wouldn't be fall without a bird hunt with Shane and this year JD was old enough to join us, complete with upland blaze and Red Ryder BB-Gun.

JD After the Hunt (D3s, ISO640, 85mm, f/5.6, -2/3EV, 1/1250th through Nikkor 85mm)

JD Shooting (D3s, ISO200, 85mm, f/5.6, +1/3EV, 1/2500th through Nikkor 85mm)

JD and Shane(D3s, ISO200, 85mm, f/5.6, +1/3EV, 1/2500th through Nikkor 85mm)

What a fantastic fall day spent with a couple of my favorite people in the world. And who could forget the dogs........

Buck and Billy (D3S, ISO200, f/5.6, 1/1600th, -2/3EV, Through Nikkor 85mm)

Buck (D3S, ISO200, f/5.6, 1/1250, -2/3EV, Through Nikkor 85mm)

To See all the images from the day, Click Here:

Remember to Click on the Images and you can see them full size on your screen. Enjoy!

Chillin’ on the Tenor Saxophone (Music):

RalphEGrant — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:50:42 +0000

I was hangin' out after spending some time out in the cold rainy weather and decided to do something that I haven't done in a while, play the saxophone. I apologize, I know its not even Thanksgiving but I was in the Christmas Spirit. It's been a while since I played but I think it turned out pretty good. For your listening pleasure, here is my version of "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)". Click on the Christmas Tree Image Below to give it a listen.

Click to Hear Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire

Sorry, no NEW photography this time. I hope you enjoy!