Free Facebook Timeline Cover Photos

Recently, I switched to Facebook's new Timeline Layout. While I certainly don't like everything about it, I LOVE being able to put a big, panoramic image at the top of my page! What photographer wouldn't like that? I started going through all of my favorite photos and cropping them to 850 x 315, which is the exact size they need to be if you don't want any weird cropping or resizing when you upload them to Facebook.

After I made a bunch of cover photos for myself, some of my Facebook friends asked me if they could use a couple of them on their pages. I said, "Sure! Why not?" All of my cover photos have my credit in the bottom right corner so really, its free advertising for me. A few more people asked me if I had specific images of this or that, and I went back through my archives and made a couple of custom covers for them. Finally, I added a section to my web site where you can download ALL of my Free Facebook Cover Photos that I've made so far. If you have an idea for a Cover Photo you'd like to see, send me a message on Facebook and I'll see what I can do. =)

Lightning Over The Galleria

Tonight, I was working on my laptop at Starbucks, across from the Galleria Mall in Fort Lauderdale. The sky was really dark and there were numerous flashes of lightning. I stepped outside to get a few shots. I took around 20 pictures, all handheld, and this was one of them. It might have been a better shot if I had used a tripod. I could have combined several different exposures into an HDR image. Maybe next time.

Nikon D7000 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Exposure: f4 1/50 ISO 400.

A Storm Coming HDR

I was running some errands in the Boca Raton area and I noticed a thunderstorm rolling in. I drove around, looking for a good vantage point and finally found a spot on Spanish River Boulevard where it crosses over I-95. I had to park some distance away and walk to the top of the overpass with my camera and tripod. I took a few shots, then headed back down to my truck. Less than a minute after I finished loading my gear, the heavy rains of the storm reached me.

Nikon D7000 with Nikkon 12-24mm f/4.0 lens. HDR processed.

Scan of a Sunset on Fujichrome 35mm film

Tonight I was at my office scanning some of my old slides. Those of you who have only used digital cameras may not know what I'm talking about. Before digital cameras, I used different types of 35mm film. I used black and white, color negative, and slide film. Color negative film was used by most consumers. It was cheap, and you could take it to any drug store to have it processed. When you returned, you would get a set of prints along with your negatives.

Slide film, more accurately known as transparency or reversal film, is a special type of film that produces a positive, not a negative, when its developed. In other words, you didn't pick up prints and negatives, you simply picked up your developed film. You could hold your developed film up to a light and there were all of your pictures, in beautiful, rich color! You would cut your film into individual frames and load each one into a plastic holder called a slide. Slides could be put in a slide projector and shown on a big screen, you could have prints made at a special lab, or they could be scanned.

This particular image is from a slide I shot 7 or 8 years ago. I was on I-95, returning home from a photo shoot. I saw this amazing sunset, pulled over to the side of the road, and took this picture. This image has not been adjusted or modified in any way. This is exactly the way the slide looks when you hold it up to the light.

Nikon FM2 with Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens. Fujichrome Velvia film, ISO 50. I didn't record the exposure.

Ocean Moonlight Time-lapse

What does Robert do when the moon is full and he can't sleep? He sits on the beach with his camera and tripod and watches the moonlight and clouds over the ocean. Today's image is the last frame of a 2 hour time-lapse sequence. There was a strong breeze from the southeast and the clouds were moving quickly, even in real time. Other than being resized for this page, the image appears exactly as it was shot and has not been adjusted. The exposure is ISO 400, F4 @ 18 seconds, using a Nikon D200 and 12-24mm ED IF DX Nikkor lens. As it says below, this photo was taken at 2:26am. The illumination is all from the full moon overhead. Notice the stars in the background.

The original footage is HD 1920 x 1080 but here's the YouTube version:

Fort Lauderdale Sunrise

I spent another late night in Miami, editing web sites. I returned to Fort Lauderdale a little after 6:30am and I decided to watch the sunrise before going to bed. What an amazing and peaceful moment it is to sit on the beach just before the sun comes up. Before people are engaged in their mad scramble to get to work. Before the beach is filled with tourists and retirees. Before the noise of the city overtakes the peaceful sound of the ocean. For a moment I imagine I am somewhere else, on a tropical island, far away from cell phones, clients, and venti mocha frappuccinos.

Moonscape

It was a beautiful moonlit night. I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed for the beach. I used my Nikon D200 to make this image. ISO 200, F4 @ 15 seconds.

Thanks Kellen for texting me to look at the moon. =)

Fort Lauderdale Sunrise

I shot this at 7am one morning after I had stayed up all night. Nikon D200, ISO 100, F8 @ 1/640. No adjustments or retouching.

Fort Lauderdale beach at dusk

It's 8pm. All of the tourists and sunbathers are gone. Nikon D200, ISO 100, F4.5 @ 1/60. No color adjustments. That's how it looked. The only thing I did in Photoshop was stitch two images together to make a large panoramic image.