I just thought what could I do to an iPhone photo? I grabbed one from my iPhoto library from the same trip.

(Original Image)

I didn’t keep in mind that I was editing an iPhone image when I was editing with the HDR Efex Pro. I just did whatever effects I would to my Nikon RAW images. Keep in mind that this is one very small sensor vs my 35mm full frame sensor. Not only are we comparing sensor size and difference in dynamic range we are also comparing a camera which I cannot bracket 5, 7 or 9 exposures, I can only do 1!

I cranked the “structure” and contrast in the image. I also applied a control point near the furthest arch and cranked up exposure over 1ev. Something this accessible was nonexistent when I started shooting, you had to own a DSLR, which was hardly better five and a half years ago.

(Image After Nik HDR Efex Pro)

Because of the lack of dynamic range and image information the image left quite a bit of visible noise. Even in the small image on the blog the noise is very evident in the skyline. I just ran it through the automatic Nik Define noise removal and it seemed to do a great job.

(Image After Nik Define)

I am flicking between this image on my iPhone and others taken with my D700 and I cannot tell a difference.

I hope this has inspired you to take some image regardless of what money you have or skill set you have.

I arrived in the afternoon at Penn Station at 34th street. By this point I had all but conquered the trains, but now something new challenged me: The subway.

At first, I stood in the station for more than a little while scratching my head in confusion. I asked a few people what to do and they helpfully pointed me in the right direction. Pretty much all of the subway system smelled like urine and looked as though they were just short of finishing construction. There were cables hanging everywhere and the thought that crossed my mind was, “What would happen if I would snip the blue wire … maybe the red one?”

I definitely had an idea of what to expect once in NYC, and it was a good one until the end.

One day, I took a subway train from 34th Street station to 103rd Street and Broadway. Suddenly, I popped my head above ground and out of the station stairs, and there it was… New York City!

I arrived midday because I was slow to move around with my 60+ pounds of gear. The temperature was cool, as in every other city, and I was surrounded by tall buildings, as in every other city. Questioning the sketchiness of the area immediately, I realized that even though it may have looked bad, that was nowhere near the truth. Soon I arrived at what I would call home for the next week or so and met my new best friend, Brian Yorkey!

I cannot thank him enough for being so kind and letting me stay for free and drink all of his Diet Coke. Brian if you are reading this, you’re the man. To cap it all off, I grabbed some pizza and got some sleep for the next day, my first real day in NYC.

That first day, I decided to take everyone’s advice and check out the different areas simply by walking all the way down Broadway, heading from 106th Street all the way to 42nd Street. Immediately, I was distracted by the Mecca of all photography stores, BHPhotoVideo. I was in there for quite some time without buying a thing (needless to say I was very proud of myself).

When I arrived at Times Square, I simply enjoyed the tourists and sights for awhile. I ate, more pizza (of course) and after thinking about checking out some Broadway shows I headed home. I decided I didn’t want to hop on the Subway again and so I walked right through Central Park. At night. I enjoyed the walk quite a bit despite the fact that my phone map and the paths kept me dazed and confused. At times, I would end up walking halfway across the park before realizing I had missed a pathway I needed. Eventually I made it home and slept like a baby after my first eventful day.

Day Two in the Big Apple was spent walking through the park again during the day and then taking a trip to The Big Apple. This Big Apple of course would be the famous Fifth Avenue Apple store.

This was the first time I was truly shocked by something I saw in New York. Of course you’re now questioning my sanity, because there are so many other epic things to see in NYC. But I said it was the first, not the only. I took a few photos, like a normal Apple fanatic would, and entered the Apple kingdom. I spiraled around the staircase and was shocked by the number of people inside the store. My main purpose for being there, other than fanaticism, was to back up my photos. And so I backed them up on one of the hard to locate free computers and afterward I flashed my fancy Apple badge to one of the employees and asked for a tour.

The employees were so nice and welcoming and so many of them were from the San Diego area that it was odd. I finished the tour with meeting just about every person there. After saying my goodbyes I headed back out and through the park. I stumbled upon a really cool, well lit room with an interesting ceiling and settled in for a few images.

I shook off my fear of the confusing subway the next morning and stuffed my face with two bagels from the local bagel shop. Little did I know it was going to be the day I viewed the second structure that shocked me.

I tried to take the train to Brooklyn but my lack of subway knowledge combined with no phone service to help me complicated matters. I had meant to stop at one point but instead got off the train … when it ended. Where did it end? Well, that would just happen to be in the middle of the ghetto. The ghetto, where white people have a population of zero, the same ghetto where I felt like I’d been robbed and beaten before it happened.

To comfort myself, I grabbed some pizza and then left before anything could happen. And so I got back on the train and off at Clark Street. There is a memorial there and the area was very upscale. As I walked near the water, I knew the filmic bridge was close. Eventually, I walked onto a river front walkway and there it was before me, the Brooklyn  Bridge.

Wow. This guy blew me away.

The sheer size of it was unbelievable. I walked right up to it and just starting taking a crazy amount of photos. Walking on both sides of it, I shot it from through a building and over the water. (More drooling over the bridge to be found in my next blog post.) Finally, I headed over the bridge by foot. Not surprisingly, the wow factor continued all the way over the bridge. I stopped for a bit in the center to take in the views of the city.

The view of New York City from Brooklyn is just amazing. From the inside the city, it’s hard to tell just how big it is. But the view from the bridge answers that question definitively — NYC is the queen of cities. This is one beast of a city, where King Kong (almost) called home, and to where millions flock to change their lives daily. While in the center of the bridge, I looked to my left and saw another shocker, the Statue of Liberty. I was wowed and semi-scared to looked, and the awe inspiring nature of it reminded me of Lincoln’s Memorial in D.C. I took the subway home safely and ended it with none other than pizza.

I got a late start on Nov. 13, but treated it with bagels and headed toward Wall Street. I know you are probably wondering if all I ate was pizza and bagels … well, yes. Why change something so good?

Anyway, I arrived at Wall Street, which had surprisingly more tourists than most other areas. I saw all the big important man buildings and saw the raging bull. Next I headed over to Ground Zero which I expected to be my fourth shocking sight but when I arrived, there was nothing really to see. The area was surrounded by gates which had banners on them describing what the area will look like and where to find information. As a tourist, I assumed there would be some kind of viewing platform or area made for viewing Ground Zero, but I was mistaken. I ventured over to Battery Park and soon after it started drizzling. I headed home but on my way I took some images of the new Upper West Side Apple Store.

The day before I had applied to a Chase Jarvis Social, and I surprisingly got an email invite. The group was to meet up at a photo studio in SoHo at 9 am. Chase was nothing but inspiring and humble. I learned quite a bit and before he sent us off into the world, Sandisk and Chase gave us CF cards! We were all so excited and grateful for such generosity.

Chase then told us to go out and shoot. We would shoot images to bring back to the second meet-up. We all left the studio headed out into the drizzle. I didnt think I would have to get out the umbrella but shortly after the rain came and it did not hold back. By the time I was at Grand Central Station, I was soaked from the knees down. I decided the station would be a good place to shoot rain or shine, an also to wait out the rain (maybe even to dry off a little).

Now that I think of it, Grand Central Station could be the next item on the list of sights that shocked. It’s an older building surrounded by skyscrapers and still in use; I didn’t find too many popular destinations that were still in heavy use such as the station. With my soaked shoes and love for this hobby, I went over to Times Square to shoot it in the rain. I walked until my feel were so pruned that I couldn’t take the pain and cold anymore and headed home.

I edited a couple images a bit early for Chase and the New York crew. Then I was notified by BHPhoto that my bag was in stock (OK, so I did end up buying something from the Mecca.), so I walked out of the house with just lenses and a camera. I didn’t end up getting the bag I’d ordered, but long story short I love my new bag.

After, I headed down to meet with the CJ group, but not before I saw a street fair near Hells Kitchen and took some images there. There were some really unique knickknacks with a cool skyline in the background. I met early with a few of the photographers from the group and we wandered around. We ended up at the studio on time and a bit more familiar with each other. As we sat down with Chase, we had an open Q&A for a few hours with him before we broke out all the food and drinks. I got a chance to ask him a few questions, with pleasing answers. Chase and crew drank quite a bit, which led to a lot of good laughs. I left with a few people and we chatted till we went our separate ways at our stops.

The day after the rain, was one of the first days that the skies were blue and so I headed down to the Brooklyn Bridge to reshoot the bridge and surrounding area. This time, I got off at the right exit and knew my way around. I shot everything and while in the middle of it all my tripod broke. I dealt with the tripod the rest of the day and unfortunately had to buy a new one at B&H.

The 17th was my last day in New York — I didn’t expect it to be, but it was. I walked through Central Park during the day and ended up spending a lot of time in there. I realized I had spent a good amount of time enjoying New York and I had finally started missing San Diego. I planned a short trip to Boston that night and headed out in the morning. I truly felt I should have spent more time in New York but I decided it was time to move on.

It was about time for an early Amtrak ride to Boston.

Philadelphia is such a proud city. I could tell all the owners of the shops were happy to serve such a unique community. Red and blue lights lit up buildings to show off Philles colors and everywhere you looked were red caps. I walked out of the station in Philly and headed down Market Street.

I started seeing an older building fill my view and the street ahead of me. It was City Hall, a ghostly building because of the way it just glowed in the center of the road.  It was very dimly lit and I would spend a great amount of time over the next few days staring at this great building.

I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton with Steve, a friend of mine. He left a key with me downstairs and I made my way up to my room. Despite the fact that I’m not used to such high class amenities, I liked the hotel. It was definitely quite a change from my earlier street corners and grassy areas. Steve came home from work shortly after I arrived and we decided that we would kick my first night off right with some legendary Philly Cheesesteaks.

We took a taxi to “Pat’s King of Steaks” and ordered a few cheesesteaks. I ordered one pizza steak and one pizza steak with prove and wiz. Not only was there apparently an art to making the steaks but also ordering. There were signs posted directing tourists how to do so correctly. I went over the top ordering and sadly, I waved my tourist flag.

I did a lot of walking in Philadelphia, and because of this I rarely felt full at anytime during the trip. After the two steaks I could have gone for another but I decided that it was probably best for my heart to wait a day.

We made it back home and I formed a bed out of chairs and an extra blanket. I slept like a baby and it felt good getting a full nights sleep after D.C. When I woke up, I grabbed my camera bag and headed out — it felt great not to have all that extra weight.

This was the first time on my trip that I was able to leave my house bag at home. I felt light as a feather, walked twice as fast and covered a lot more ground. It was more of the same, but Philly introduced me to something that would change my trip and lighten my wallet: her shops. I shot less and enjoyed myself more.

After being all about the photos of the trip, my first day in Philly was all about taking in the culture and the views. I snagged a few images but mainly walked about town. When I got home Steve and I went out to Marathon Grill for New York strip steaks.

The next day I spent it with Mr. Liam Lawlor (@llawlor) and we started off with breakfast at Marathon Grill. We ate and, as I said earlier, I have an appetite that cannot be tamed. I mentioned jokingly that I could do a steak over at Pats after barely  finishing breakfast. Next thing I knew we were at Pats ordering another epic steak.

We cruised north along the river and we discussed where he and sister could drop me off. We checked out Mount Pleasant and then headed to Strawberry Mansion. The mansion was being restored but they dropped me off there anyway and I ventured toward some abandoned buildings.

After being scared by the local wildlife (people), I headed to Fairmont Park. I walked next to the river and enjoyed the sun setting over the water. Before it set I made my way back to the mansion on Pleasant Hill. I walked behind the mansion and discovered some train tracks, I know they are cliche but these tracks were hidden in the bushes.

I made my way from the tracks and up to the mansion on Mount Pleasant. Up the hill, covered with autumn leaves, I spotted the place I had seen once before. The small road leading up the mansion had trees on both sides leaning over it. I started walking up the road looking all around and I noticed the sun bursting from behind the mansion. I made my way over there and spent a good deal of time laying in the grass snapping images. One thing I love is that in all these places I was the only one in sight so I could just sit and stare without interruption. I did this often, probably a bit too often.

After daydreaming for a while, I headed south toward the river once again. I enjoyed my walk home and the city over the water where the sun was still casting its golden light. I eventually arrived home and did nothing but rest. I wanted to do more but that day had been one of the longest walks yet.

My last day in Philadelphia was spent doing laundry and eating more pizza, well, for the most part. I didn’t even pull my camera out until the sun was about set. Honestly, I was shopping and loving it. I’m sure I will regret this later but, oh well. I spent the night roaming the streets with my tripod and 24mm 2.8. I shot alleys, cobblestone streets, telephone booths and things I thought were interesting. I did this all while of course wearing my new fashionable jacket which a guy at Wendy’s apparently liked a lot.

I made it home for my last night’s sleep on a desk chair/ottoman/seat in the lovely city of Philadelphia. I woke up in the morning, packed my backs and headed to the station. The station was 15 blocks away and every block hurt with the new weight of my bag. But I love my new stuff so much, which will keep reminding myself.

New York City here I come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j323mdWL5cc

I enjoyed a bed for the first time in days and woke up to a pretty view of the country side. Amtrak first class was quite a change to what I had gotten used to the nights before. Although it was nice on the train, I never felt like I belonged. I was easily half the age of everyone onboard and probably the only one who hadn’t been married for 20 years. But I did enjoy a couple of good meals and took plenty of naps.

When I arrived in D.C. at 11pm I headed into the terminal. It was already late and I had no idea where I was going to for sleep the night. I started to exit the terminal when I noticed the statues and pretty, high ceiling.

I headed out and checked out a neighborhood near the station. I don’t think I will ever get sick of those rows of houses. I went around a corner and saw the tip of the Capitol Building sticking out of the trees.

Then, I made my way over to the Capitol Building. When I arrived I couldn’t stop staring. The building I had seen so many times in movies and history books was right in front of me. I could talk all night about the feeling but without being there it’s really hard to explain. I ended up standing and staring at the Capitol till almost 3 am. I chatted with the police a few times because they were curious why I was just staring. I eventually started freezing my ass off and headed toward the Washington Monument.

The walk from the Capitol in the cold felt like a lifetime as the monument crept closer and closer. The closer I got the more shocked I was by the size of it. I arrived and circled the monument in awe. The thought of sleeping on a bench nearby crossed my mind but I decided that this night I would not sleep, at least not intentionally.

I crossed a street nearing the pool and I woke up about 30 minutes later crashed against something. I looked around and it was quite a bit brighter now. By the time I stumbled halfway down the pool, the sun was beginning to rise. With a good amount of distance to go I decided to set down my house bag and run to the far end of the pool to catch the sunrise in time. I underestimated the size of the pool and needed a longer lens. I shot a round of images but then ran back to retrieve my bag. I got back to my spot after a newfound burst of energy just in time and captured some beautiful images at sunrise.

Behind me stood the Lincoln Memorial. Behind was another one of those buildings like the Capitol building. I saw the building from far out so I knew which direction the pool was. At this point I had seen Lincoln, but I hadn’t looked him in the face; I was oddly afraid to.

By the time I was done photographing the memorial building from the outside, and was ready to face Lincoln, the sun was just about up.

I shot a few series of images walking up the steps. I reached Lincoln and he was just as big as I would have guessed, but I was still in awe at how big of a piece of history this place was. I sat on the top step and fell asleep for a good 30 minutes under the single stream of sunlight available. I moved after waking to the base of the memorial and fell asleep for another hour or so. I woke up to someone throwing some change at me and moved on to the next destination, the Arlington National Cemetery.

The cemetery was probably the only thing I saw which did not surprise me. I knew about the sheer number of graves at this cemetery and it’s history. I walked through and then onto the US Marine Corps War Memorial.

There was so much to this memorial. The images I have seen before of it were always silhouettes; I had never seen the expressions on the men’s faces. They made me feel honored and proud to live in the United States. I sat once again and stared for a bit before moving on.

I walked straight from there to the Vietnam Memorial, photographed, awed and took the scene in once again. Afterward, I headed directly to the White House.

The White House was nothing like I expected. It was hidden and the tourists were kept caged far away like animals. It also wasn’t close to the Capitol building in any way. It didn’t have that “Oh my god, that’s the White House” effect on me. More like, “Eh, oh hey Obama.”

I checked out the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and enjoyed the large stuffed animals. I know I fell asleep during one of the informational movies for a bit. Tired and sleep deprived, I made it back to the train station to escape the night to Philadelphia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nne_udYxOtw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_tjzY6f4LM

Can someone please let me know how the video looks on a real computer or iPhone over wifi?

Hope you all enjoy.

I spent some time at the airport charging my phone and plotting the first location. I took the orange line to state / lake. The whole time up and on the train I felt a little sketchy because the area was new to me. I eyed everyone and protected my bags. Everyone sermed nice and answered my questions.

I got off the train and I had no idea what to expect. I was looking out of the window the whole time looking for the place I wanted to go to first. It wasn’t until I got off when I saw these massive skyscrapers surrounding me.

The feeling this place gave me right out of the box can’t be explained with words. It was so massive, the reflections on the water were breathtaking and the fact that it seemed like I had it all to myself. See at this time it was really late in Chi Town and when it’s late there is NO ONE in downtown.

I didn’t rush to set up for pictures. I just walked around for a bit getting a feel for the place. Every night in Chicago I easily walked 5 or so miles. By the time I am ready to leave I will know downtown well and I do now.

The first night I happened to stumble upon one of the beaches. From here I shot so really pretty shots of the shoreline. I walked and walked, snapped photos here and there. I came with a crazy idea around 3am to sneak into the trump tower.

Remember I wasn’t just walking with a camera… I am walking with about 50lbs of gear and clothes around my neck. I walked of the very steep parking structure ramp (was about 4 stories of ramp) and then hiked up the the 27th floor using the stairs. I would escape the stairs every few stories to check stuff out. I know I caused quite a bit of mischief but no one seemed to care or notice me. The search of a great view failed I would now have to find a place to sleep.

I stumbled out of the trump tower and out onto the street once again. I was so tired that I remember peering into an open dirt hole, stood there and really considered sleeping there. I moved on to only find the first small corner without wind. I chose one and layed down for the night.

I woke up an hour later and was litteraly in shock. I wasn’t as cold as night two but I don’t think all the exercise and lack of sleep mixed well. I am actually not sure what was wring with me. I stumbled into a starbucks and tried to order. All that seemed to come out of my mouth was mumbles, I couldn’t speak. I then pointed at the food and started stuttering what I wanted. The guy who helped me must be an expert with kids w/ special needs because he translated what I said to English. I sat down and rested. That night I injured my hip, probably not only from the street but how I layed to protect my bags. It hurt for the next 24 hours.

I moved through the day seeing things that I saw at night but this time under the sun. I visited the John Hancock tower and gazed at the city through the observatory. No tripods were allowed but they didn’t say anything about my gorilla pod. I was able to get all the HDR images I wanted.

I ate at a pizza place and had some deep dish pizza. It was good and had a good time with the people there. I showed the guy who served about a funny review on yelp.

Before I knew it, it was dark again. It was starting to get cold and I looked for a place to sleep. I climbed onto a wooden deck of a diner and layed down. Night one I forgot / too tired to remember about my blanket. I pulled it out and layed it over me. I watched an episode or two of it’s always sunny. I layed down on one of my bags and clutched the other. Once again I woke up in about an hour. I was once again in shock and move around trying to warm up. What was really bad about this night was the fact that I went to bed 4 hours earlier than the night before, therefore I couldn’t just run into a local starbucks. If you know the game the sims when on of the people don’t get enough food / social / fun they wave their arms and freak out? Yea, that was me. I was walking in circles trying to warm up. I looked at the weather and it was 35 degrees. I ended up walking to a 7 eleven first and purchased some hot choclate. I proceeded to walk somewhere where I could step in for a few minutes to defrost. A couple of hotels let me stay for a few and then gave me the boot. I eneded up getting another hours sleep inside of a hotel that seemed close until they woke me up. I walked out and right back into the starbucks I stayed in the first morning. The same guy was there and I ordered in English. I explained myself and that I just woke up off of the streets when I first met him. He called me and my trip crazy like everyone else. I stayed for quite some time there unitil I was ready.

I had no plans set in stone for the day except have more pizza and shoot off the hancock tower at night. I ended up taking a cruise and learned a bit about Chicagos history. When I was done with the things I wanted to do I headed for the Amtrak station.

I was late because it was my first time there and I was so confused. After a long plea with the service desk it was either same train but tomorrow or longer route that leaves tonight.

I got on the train a few hours later where I am writing this from. I will write and blog about each destinations after I leave it.