Al Ferreira
A Repository for Random Stuff
Al Ferreira
Al Ferreira was was an award-winning photojournalist and corporate photographer before starting his own successful commercial photographer business in Connecticut.
Al is a location and studio photographer for advertising, corporate, technology, industrial, health care, education and architectural clients. His studio also offers an array of digital services ranging from 360 degree virtual reality panoramas to business portraits and headshots.
Joanne leads the way navigating around submerged treetops at Gale
Meadows Pond in Winhall, Vermont.
Gale Meadows Pond is a hidden gem, a 195
acre man made pond which is part of a 707 acre wildlife management area
straddling the towns of Winhall and Londonderry in southern Vermont. The trees are remnants
of the damming of the area in 1964 to make the reservoir and wildlife
preserve.
Kayaking on the first day, we had mirror-like surprisingly warm
placid water, perfect air temperatures, beautiful blue skies with puffy
clouds and Great Blue Herons fishing around. Picture perfect, except I
don’t usually take my Nikons on a kayak. However, I was determined to
come back the next day with my camera to get a few pics. Of course,
that day we had contrary conditions, with a variable cloud cover presenting rapidly changing light and very
windy conditions.
Trying to maneuver the kayak while framing shots through the
viewfinder proved to be quite challenging, especially since water and
cameras don’t mix well! Nevertheless, it was still a nice way to spend a
late spring afternoon.
View from the balcony overlooking The Gate to Temple of Apollo on the island of Naxos, Greece.
I usually don’t take my pro cameras on vacation. Time off, for me, has always been about resting the eyes and brain, recharging the batteries and not having to experience the world through a viewfinder. Of course, I always take a point-and-shoot camera for the memories and yes, there are often moments when I wish I had my better cameras with me.
Over the years I’ve made very few exceptions, the most recent being an anniversary trip with Joanne to the the Greek Islands of Naxos and Santorini, with a short stop in Athens before returning.
The Cyclades are a photographer’s dream; clear blue-green waters of the Aegean Sea against dramatic landscapes and bright, colorful houses. Joanne had the task of choosing which islands to visit within a short time frame, but finally decided on two of the most picturesque and contrasting islands, Santorini on the rim of a volcanic caldera and one of the most beautiful natural settings I’ve ever seen and Naxos, with its terraced hills covered with olive and citrus groves, whitewashed villages and evidence of a fascinating Neolithic civilization.
The gallery has a sampling of images, many of which are the results of experiments with different raw processors and High Dynamic Range.
HDR is a process involving several exposures of the same scene to maximize the tonal range. The intense daytime sun on white buildings posed issues with detail and some raw processors worked better than others. It’s always a learning experience.
Seeing the results made me glad I brought the cameras along. Even though capturing that magical Aegean light would never be like the actual experience, bringing back nice memories is the next best thing.
Bill Ziegler, aka “Wild Bill” is the owner of Wild Bill’s Nostalgia
Center in Middletown, a store that sells an incredible cluttered
diversity of pop culture collectibles from the last fifty years. Vibrant
graphics of pop icons adorn the exterior of the building along with a
60s VW Beetle, the world’s largest Jack-in-The-Box popping out of an old
silo and possibly even the world’s largest bobbing head doll (Guinness
Book doesn’t have a category for that one yet).
Even though bright mid-day sunlight is my least favorite part of day
to photograph people, the position of the store’s front dictated the
time. An additional portable strobe was used to fill in the harsh light.
Wild Bill was photographed for Distinctive Directories, a publisher
of regional business directories throughout Connecticut.
Despite a camera case full of lenses, sometimes nothing is wide enough to encompass a desired view. Where once specialized cumbersome wide angle and panoramic cameras were required, now it can be achieved by multiple exposures and stitching software with the additional flexibility of choosing any wide angle of view. The above image is a 220 degree view of the beautiful shoreline Avery Point Campus of the University of Connecticut in Groton taken on a recent spring day.
I recently had an assignment to photograph Desmond Tutu, the South African archbishop emeritus and winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu, who won the Nobel for his work against apartheid, was the featured speaker at ceremonies ordaining and consecrating Bishop Ian T. Douglas as the new bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. More than 2,000 people attended the ceremonies held at the new Koeppel Community Sport Center at Trinity College in Hartford.
As Tutu was leaving the stage at the end of the ceremonies, he had to walk by a steel drum orchestra playing lively caribbean music. I saw another facet of the remarkable man’s charisma when the 79 year old archbishop danced and sashayed his way out delighting everyone around.
to Al Ferreira Photography’s new photo blog; a random repository for images, ideas, exchanges and other stuff of interest. To view portfolios of our commercial work, please visit the main site at
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Thanks for visiting!
June 2010
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There will be times when you will be in the field without a camera. And, you will see the most glorious sunset or the most beautiful scene that you have ever witnessed. Don’t be bitter because you can’t record it. Sit down, drink it in, and enjoy it for what it is!
– DeGriff
All Images and Content © 2010 Al Ferreira Photography Ltd.
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