Photolog

My random life, infront of the lens.

A rare view...

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Here is a view I the famous State Theatre sign. This is a view that not many people get to see, let alone photograph. I have been lucky enough to shoot it twice. The first time was with my phone, on a quick sneak attack with my son. We snuck up to the top, exploring the theater while it was open for construction. This time I was able to get a nice private tour from Bruce Eide. He showed me the amazing work that is going into restoring the building. Even from the last time I was up there, so much work has been done!

I can not wait to see many movies, and performances in this building. Again though, they are in need of your help. They still need well over 2 million in private donations to get the job done. Please think about giving to an amazing project.

Visit siouxfallsstatetheatre.org to view the history of the theatre. If you are able, please donate to restore the last jewel in the crown of downtown Sioux Falls, SD.

Thank you

Jon

30/52...

I was walking around down town Sioux Falls, for the Hot Summer Nights event: which is a bunch of corvettes, and music, and all around good fun. i came across this guy, doing some street performances. basic stuff like juggling, and just making an ass out of himself, very entertaining. turns out he was helping to raise funds for the restoration of an old theater in our town. its the State Theater in Sioux Falls, SD. http://siouxfallsstatetheatre.org/

if you have time, check out the website i provided, or swing down and look at the building. they are about 1/3rd the way through the renovation. but they are in need of substantial help. they still need close to 2 million in private donations. the city is not willing to help with the restoration of a historic building.i would love to take my son to some movies in this place, the same place my mother and family went when they were kids. its a beautiful building, and when its done it will be an amazing attraction. if you are able to help n any way that would be awesome! if not, no big deal. they will get it done, it will just take more time.

so if you're down to help a good cause, hit them up.

jon

@thejonseaton-twitter @jonseaton-instagram

Hot Harley Nights...

here is a 3 shot HDR from the Hot Harley Nights gathering last night. i set out to check out some bikes with my son, watch the parade, and snag a few photos. i still m not a lover of the one shot HDR froma RAW file, so i will still use AEB as much as i can. this was one of the few shots i could get AEB without a lot of ghosting. nothing really special about the motorcycles, i just liked the line up and the sunset in the background.

29/52...

4 shot HDR image. using my 8mm fish eye lens. post process with Photomatix for the HDR, cs5 to remove some ghosting, and light room for final touch up.

this happens to be one of my dream bikes, for the last couple years i have wanted to buy and old Honda CB or CL to turn into a cafe racer. my only issue would be if i happen to buy one this nice!! i don't think i could rip a beautiful bike like this apart.

jon

@jonseaton - instagram @thejonseaton - twitter

Waterfall...

20120710-094322.jpg This is a photo from my recent trip to the Black Hills, of South Dakota. This is Roughlock Falls. This is a 3shot HDR, using my sigma 17-35 f2.8-4. I used a ND8 filter and my tripod to get 1, 3 and 5 second exposures. This was difficult due to the natural movement of everything in the photo.

Luckily I didn't get too much ghosting! I did try to compose an HDR image from a single RAW file, but the colors were so off, and very noisy. I hope to try some more single shot HDR images soon.

Jon

@jonseaton - instagram @thejonseaon - twitter

28/52... Part 2.

ok, so i had the chance to edit a few photos from my trip.... so i decided to make today a double post day.

this was on the way back from Devils Tower, WY. the whole day was overcast and spitting. there was literally no good shots all day. i spent a better part of a 4GB CF card trying to catch something. needless to say i was upset. i had never been to the Devils Tower, it has always been something i wanted to see. i wanted to take some amazing photos, but i had such crappy weather.

on the way home the clouds broke, and the most amazing landscapes started popping up. i was just in awe! i saw this and pulled over. i had been looking for a safe place to stop for about 10 miles. i have about 40 photos all AEB for HDR to go through. this was the fist batch i decided to look at. i didn't have much time, the sun was already behind a large hill behind me. i did what i could to compose about five different angles, and spots. hopefully the rest turn out as good as this one!!

thanks again for looking.

jon

@jonseaton- instagram @thejonseaton- twitter

Drive to nowhere....

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Here is the photo I set out to take, when I also took 24/52... I literally just took off in my car, and drove until I found something beautiful. I knew it would be a sunset photo, and that I would probably try an HDR shot. What I don't know is how many fun shots, and experiences would come of this drive.

The skull on the fence in 24/52... Was what got me to stop, and the field with the beautiful view, and power lines got me to stay. I sat in the ditch takin photos for over 2 hours. In that time I spoke with the owner of the farm, got attacked by some ants, and had a deer jump the fence 15ft from where I was standing.

I watched that deer run through the field for a good half hour. I tried my best to get a photo of him, but I was too slow changing lenses. I got a few shots with him about 100 yards out. I was not prepared for something that far away, but couldn't resist trying.

I don't care how long you have lived somewhere, or of you know every nook and cranny of a place. Go shoot anyway! Think of a different angle, drive an extra 10 minuets, or go without a plan. Those have always helped me with any block of creativity, or in my case, helped me think through things.

Thanks again for looking.

24/52...

20120610-111519.jpg Random drive in the county, leads to this shot. Went out on a drive earlier this week to try an HDR sunset photo, and came across this skull on a fence. The farmer that owns the land stopped by to talk while I was setting up. Turns out his son put it there a while back.

I will be posting the sunset I shot as well. That will be posted tomorrow.

Jon

@jonseaton-instagram @thejonseaton-twitter

New ride....

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Took my new Specialized Langster out for a ride last night. Thank you again to Two Wheeler Dealer of Sioux Falls for carrying an amazon line of bicycles.

This is an amazingly fun bike, and I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun commuter, or just another bike to add to the fleet!

This is the chromoly version; steel is real, and is super comfortable. Cranked out 10 miles (i need cycling shorts, bad) with my camera and a couple lenses in a backpack. Managed to snag a few photos, and decided to snap a couple of the new ride as well.

If you're a Sioux Falls native, stop in and check out the only Specialized concept store in South Dakota! You can also check them out in Rapid City, and Spearfish, SD. Or at twowheelerdealer.com

Jon

@jonseaton-instagram @thejonseaton-twitter

22/52...

last Sunday my mother renewed her vow, with her husband of 18 years. i had to pull double duty as groomsman, photographer, and keeping the ring bearer: my son, in line. as you can see from my previous posts on here, i am not a portrait photographer, so doing this shoot was WAY out of my comfort zone. i just hope i managed to capture the moments my Mother wanted to see forever.

congrats to my Mother, and Step Father.

jon

@jonseaton - instagram @thejonseaton - twitter facebook.com/seaton.jon - facebook

21/52...

this week i was using a new (to me) vintage 70-210mm f3.5 that i got off ebay for $15.

i was just testing it out and getting used to the manual focus, when i saw this family walking up. the dad was not in the best of moods, and the mom may have been the cause. they were walking down the middle of the street, i really do not know why people do this in my neighborhood, we have sidewalks. back to the story, they were walking down the center of the street the son was trailing a little while the parents "talked", loudly.

what caught my eye was the kid, was wearing the hockey mask you see in his hand, oh and he was proceeding to flip off every car that passed them... it was as if the cars shouldn't have been on the road while they were walking in the middle of it. the mom saw this and gave the boy a little smack on the head and pulled the mask off... so dad proceeded to flip off the next car that passed...

i love my neighborhood...

jon

20/52...

here is another sunrise photo at the Indialantic beach in, Florida. for this i used my sigma 17-35mm at 17mm with a ND8 filter. i believe this was a 10 second exposure at f22. i set the timer on the camera then watched the waves for a bit.

i was hoping for a more dramatic sunrise, and was pretty disappointed with what i had in camera. i was originally trying some HDR shots but the noise was just too high.

after i got home i realized the colors that were present and decided to process them in lightroom 3. there was very little post done on these, just some of my "stock" adjustment. overall i was super please with my morning.

throughout the next week or so i will be posting some more shots form this morning.

Thanks again for looking.

Jon

@jonseaton – instagram @thejonseaton – twitter Facebook.com/seaton.jon – Facebook.