Blog-Bisogno
The world according to O. Bisogno Scotti
Sunrise at Pinnacles National Monument
A Sunrise at Pinnacles National Monument – California, USA
Copyright 2012 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Mamiya RZ67 Pro ll medium format camera, Mamiya 180mm f/4.5 lens, Fujichrome Velvia 50 120 transparency film scanned on Heidelberg Saphir drum scanner, Manrotto 3265 tripod, Manfrotto 3047 studio head.
I was driving back from a Headhunters concert at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, complements of my good friend and funk monster, Jerry Stucker, and decided to take Highway 101 South. I saw a sign for Pinnacles National Monument, which I had never heard of, so couldn’t resist veering off on the two lane, winding back road. I reached the monument around dusk just as some tourists were coming in off the trails. I talked to a few of them and they all said they couldn’t understand why Pinnacles had monument status when there was nothing there to see. I had to admit that there was nothing there other than a small ranger station and a porta-potty.
After car camping for the night, I headed out with a flashlight before daybreak. At about mile 1 on the trail, the landscape became quite dramatic. I reached a bowl at day break. As the sun came over the horizon, it shined on the interior of the bowl, like a spot light with an orange gel, leaving everything else in the dark. It was one of those moments one never forgets. It was too late to get my camera out so I found the best vantage point, gathered some rocks and made a cairn. I hiked the day away and then returned to the cairn, set up the camera and tripod, covered it with a cloth and camped right there. The next morning the sunrise repeated it’s performance and I tripped the shutter.
Moral of the story: If you visit Pinnacles National Monument, give it more than a hundred yards on the trail before turning back! I’m sure that’s what happened to the tourists I ran into the previous day.
Red Leaves in the Driveway
Red Leaves in the Driveway
Here’s an oldie but goody from the period when I was still shooting film, but scanning the film with a transparency scanner and bringing it into a very early version of Photoshop. I did this because digital cameras at that time sucked, even the pro cameras. I distinctly remember that on this image I discovered using Blending Modes for color, density and sharpening layers was a crazy good idea. So with only 8-bits, as opposed to 32-bits today, the image looks pretty good.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Tree in Roma
Tree in Roma, 4/25/2018
Tree across the street from my hotel, four blocks from the Vatican, Rome, Italy on a beautiful, warm, sunny day in April.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Nikon D810 DSLR, AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D, exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO: 400, handheld, WB: Auto, exposure program: Aperture Priority, capture date and time: 4/25/2018, 11:24 am.
Expiry of a Potted Plant
Expiry of a Potted Plant, 6/07/2019 Location: fotografia-LA, Korea Town, Los Angeles
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Nikon D810 DSLR, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 G IF-ED, exposure: f/7.1, 1/125 sec., ISO 64, exposure program: Manual, shutter: delay 12 sec., Induro Stealth CLT203 carbon fiber tripod, Induro PHQ1 Panhead, Smart Shooter 4 tethered remote capture and advanced camera control software, capture date: 6/07/2019-6/08/2019
Bici a Roma
Bici a Roma, Italy 4/25/2018
If you’re a photographer/cyclist, you find this scene with a woman’s bike leaning against a men’s bike on a broad, tree lined strada in Rome, Italy to be wildly romantic and artistic. Apparently these bikes have been entwined for quite some time.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Nikon D810 DSLR, AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D, exposure: f/4.0, 1/1000 sec., ISO 64, WB: Auto, exposure program: Manual, shutter: Mup mode, Vello Wireless ShutterBoss Timer Remote, Induro Stealth CLT203 carbon fiber tripod, Induro PHQ1 Panhead, capture date and time: 4/25/2018, 11:21 am.
Udo Beach Scene
Udo, Beach Scene, 우도/牛島, South Korea, June 1994
“Udo Beach Scene” was captured on Kodak Ektachrome Lumiere 100 transparency film in June, 1994. Just 2 miles off the coast of Jegudo in the Korean Strait lies the tiny island of Udo, 우도/牛. It’s about 2 square miles in area and there were about a thousand people living there at that time. I took and early morning ferry, spent the day, and went back to Jejudo that evening so I guess there were no accommodations on the Island. It was like going back a hundred years in time. I’ll bet it’s nothing like that today.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Alia, Sicily
Alia, Sicily, 5/03/2018
Located in the interior of the Province of Palermo, Alia is an outrageously scenic hill town replete with winding cobblestone streets, pizzerias, cafes and densely packed homes. It is the quintessential Sicilian hill town. I would love to say I shlepped up the hill with all my camera gear on my back to make this capture, but was actually standing on the patio of my hotel room in my underwear. Che bella cosa!
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Nikon D810 DSLR, Nikkor AF Zoom-NIKKOR f/2.8 80-200mm, exposure: f/16.0, 1/60 sec, ISO 64, WB: Auto, exposure program: Manual, shutter: Mup mode, Vello RS-N1II wired remote switch, Induro Stealth CLT203 carbon fiber tripod, Induro PHQ1 Panhead, 32-bit HDR image, capture date and time: 5/03/2018, 10:45 am
Woman Gathering
Woman Gathering, Udo, South Korea, June 1994
There was a stillness in the air on the isle of Udo, South Korea, in June 1994, and I can still feel it as I look at the image today. It was a moment in time when light and composition aligned as a woman gathered silently.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Korean Lakers Fans
Korean Lakers Fans, Wando, Korea, June 1994
While rummaging through old Kodachrome transparencies a few days ago, I found this image of two lakers fans on Wando, a small island off the tip of the South Korean peninsula. It made me think about how this is really one world and that many things are universal.
copyright 2019 O. Bisogno Scotti All Rights Reserved.
Q Baby In His Radio Flyer
Q Baby In His Radio Flyer, 8/30/2004
When I was growing up, we didn’t have a single family picture in the house. I think that artists are not into that sort of thing, and my father was one of them. He took photos of us kids and my mother, but we were well aware that they were really film and lighting tests for upcoming photo sessions…and then they would go in a box, possibly even making it into an album if my mother insisted. He had a photography business with my Uncle Vincent who was being trained by my father under the GI Bill of Rights after WW2. By the time the business came to an end, Uncle Vincent had amassed a great amount of photographic technique and was truly an impeccable photographer. Although he got a day job, he became the photographer for our large, extended family. His b&w prints (printed in his home darkroom) had that wonderful 1950s quality about them and his perfectionism was obvious. In fact, it jumped out at you.
Fast forwarding to 2004, I go to my 1st grandson’s birthday party and one of his presents is an old fashioned Radio Flyer wagon. I immediately thought of Uncle Vin, rest his soul, and his style. I hope he can see this image because it’s all about him.
Silvery Trees – Griffith Park
Silvery Trees – Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA, 2/28/2019
The wildflowers are just beginning in Griffith Park. There are patches of rapeweed which will soon cover the park, and some small blue bells and large white flowers, the name unknown to me. Also, the greenest grass you could ever imagine that fluoresces in early evening light. A few more rainy days and we could have a superbloom for 2019.
Copyright 2019, O. Bisogno Scotti, All Rights Reserved
Nikon D810 DSLR, Nikkor AF Zoom-NIKKOR f/2.8 80-200mm, exposure: f/6.3, 1/250 sec, ISO 64, WB: Auto, exposure program: Aperture Priority, shutter: Mup mode, Vello RS-N1II wired remote switch, Induro Stealth CLT203 carbon fiber tripod, Induro PHQ1 Panhead, 32-bit HDR image, capture date and time: 2/28/2019, 5:32 pm
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