Tag: University of Michigan

For the past few days I’ve been playing with a Nikon 24mm PC-E lens. I like to shoot architecture and I thought it would be fun to try a lens which would let me do some perspective correction in camera rather than in Photoshop. I still have a lot to learn about using this lens, but I really like it (which I could afford one). This shot of the new North Quad dormitory on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor was taken with this lens. I was lazy and shot this hand held. With a 24mm lens I was able to capture most of the building without tilting the camera too much, and then I used the shift capability to reduce any keystoning. The nice thing about being able to do this optically is you keep the full resolution of the image rather than stretching/compressing pixels in Photoshop.


Burton Tower

Posted under Architecture

Clock Tower

One of the things I like to do in my spare time is wander around the University of Michigan campus looking for photo opportunities. It’s particularly nice in the late spring and summer when the students are away. Recently on one of my walks I took this shot of Burton Tower. I have a thing for high contrast and raking light and I liked how the sun was shining on the tower. I really would have preferred to take this shot from a higher point, but I didn’t have access to one so I simply backed up about as far as I could and then zoomed in on the upper portion of the tower.


Feedback Please

Posted under Miscellaneous

Randall Labs

I’ve been doing some work on the layout of this blog and I would really appreciate your feedback. Mostly I’ve been playing around with the look of the sidebar. There are aspects of the current sidebar that I like, and aspects that I’m not happy with. I’ve created a couple of different styles and I would really like to know what you think of the alternatives. Below are four links. Clicking the link will change to a different style. View the different styles and leave me a comment with your thoughts. There will be some more changes in the future, but this is what I have for now. Thanks!


The picture above shows Newberry Hall on the campus of the University of Michigan. The Richardsonian Romanesque building was originally built as a home for the Students Christian Association. It is one of the oldest buildings on the U of M campus, with construction beginning in 1888 and completion in 1891. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently the building houses the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology which recently added an addition on the back.


Abstract Art (Museum)

Posted under Ann Arbor, Architecture

Abstract Art (Museum) - Black & White

This image shows the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As you might be able to guess, the original photograph was ‘tweaked’ just a bit. My original plan was to do some perspective correction, minor cropping and curves adjustments to create a reasonable architectural image. One idea I had was to create both dark and light versions of the image and create a single image HDR just to see what it would look like. As I worked on creating the darker image I found that I liked the pattern that was being created by the tree on the main wall of the museum. I decided to see what things would look like if I really pushed the blacks. With some additional work in Lightroom, including cropping, I took the image to Photoshop where I painted over some light spots which existed in the black expanses of the building.


UMMA Interior

Posted under Ann Arbor, Architecture

UMMA Interior

This image shows one of the galleries in the new wing of the University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I really like the clean architecture of the new wing, very modernist. The new wing does a nice job of showcasing modern art.


It’s been a rough couple of years for the University of Michigan football program, but one of the things which is headed in the right direction is completion of modifications to Michigan Stadium. While I still preferred the stadium when it had a lower profile, I’m getting used to the new look. This shot shows the entrance to ‘Champions Plaza’, which is the main entrance to Michigan Stadium. Each corner of the stadium has a special plaza with customized bricks which have been purchased by fans and alumni as part of a fund raising effort. These plazas were actually built before the current stadium expansion plan.


This image shows ‘Untitled Vessel’ a fine art piece by Ray Allen, on display at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. I took this shot with my ultra-wide angle lens and I just liked the way the piece looked in the museum light. The raw image was rather dark, but I was able to brighten it considerably in Adobe Lightroom. I was able to use a combination of fill light and blacks to brighten the front of the piece which was rather dark in the raw image. I used Topaz Simplify on the background to give it less detail and to keep the focus on the artwork.


This image comes from the old wing of the University of Michigan Museum of Art. I was visiting the museum to see the Lens of Impressionism exhibit and managed to take several interior shots of the museum while I was waiting for other people in my party to arrive. This image shows the main staircase in the old wing of the museum. I shot this from the bottom floor looking up toward the top of the building.


After having taken several pictures of the exterior of the University of Michigan Museum of Art over time, I decided to take my camera inside to take some interior photography. At the same time, my wife and I took in an exhibition called The Lens of Impressionism. The exhibition was quite interesting. It was a collection of photographs and paintings from the mid to late 1800’s and it showed the effect that photography had on impressionist painting. The photography was amazing. The clarity of some of the images was truly stunning. Anyway, this has nothing to do with the image above!