B Payden Photography

Postern Gate – Fort Monroe

B Payden Photography — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:03:33 +0000

Postern Gate - Fort Monroe

Today’s image is an HDR, High Dynamic Range, image of the Postern Gate at Fort Monroe. I shot this beautiful image today and chose to do an HDR image as there was wonderful diffuse lighting through the high altitude rain clouds. Blending the three images into one image using Photomatix Pro allowed me to bring out the ominous feeling of the cloud cover as well as intensifying the fall colors and warming the fortress’s walls. The lines of the walkway to the gate transition the viewers eye from the foreground through the wonderful blue green of the water to the strong receding horizontal lines of the forts walls which are warmed by the fall coloring and the soft lighting. The foreboding dark grey cloud cover focuses the viewers eye back to the Fort serving to further reinforce the strength of the subject. This image is printed on professional metallic photo paper and is available for sale here at my online art print store, Etsy.com.

To view more of my work or for more information about me and my studio please visit my website here, www.bpaydenphotography.com

Fort Monroe – HDR

B Payden Photography — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:42:00 +0000

For the past several weeks I have been visiting Fort Monroe as it is only 5 minutes from my house in Hampton, Virginia and since the Army decommissioned the base and turned the property over to the State of Virginia and the City of Hampton it is no longer a hassle to visit the post. For the past several days I have been shooting HDR images on my visits and will be sharing a few of my favorites. Thanks for taking the time to look and I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy sharing them with you.

USN Destroyer - Chamberlin Hotel seawall

This first image is a tonemapped black and white of the USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) steaming past the Chamberlin Hotel seawall at Fort Monroe.

Battery Church

This next image is of a coastal defense battery on Fort Monroe overlooking the Chesapeake Bay called Battery Church. The battery was commissioned January 1901 and was named for 1st Lt. Albert E. Church of the 3rd U.S. Artillery. The image was created using three exposures 1 stop apart from each other then merged into one image using Photomatix Pro.

Powder Room - Water Battery

While walking the Water Battery in front of the old fortress at Fort Monroe I saw this copper coated door for the powder room of the old Water Battery. The powder room is all that remains of the Water Battery, I decided to blend 3 images for an HDR image of this door to bring out the grain of the wood peeking beneath the copper cladding. This is one of my favorite HDR images from Fort Monroe because of the vibrant rust, wood and copper patina blending together to make a wonderfully colorful image.

Fortress Monroe

Finally, this last image is an HDR in B&W of the moat and walls of Fortress Monroe. I blended three 1 stop exposures to bring out the subtle clouds and keep the interesting texture in the masonry walls of the fort and the water. I tend to prefer HDR in B&W more so than color as it looks more natural to me than the over saturated colors of color HDR images. In B&W the images tend to take on a more serious and foreboding feel that I think works very well in my B&W landscape work.

For more information on my work or to see more please visit my website at:

www.bpaydenphotography.com

Three Families at Three Fox Vineyards

B Payden Photography — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:43:36 +0000

Three Fox Vineyard

Last week, we shot three families at the Three Fox Vineyards in Delaplane, Va. It was a beautiful late fall day and the vineyard is a beautiful location for portraits as it is located in the rolling foothills of Virginia’s hunt country and Mosby Heritage area. Although Three Fox is only 40 minutes from the beltway you feel like you are a world away in the tranquil setting with 50 rolling acres.

We shot the Savoca, Fukui and Praizner families in this scenic location and I couldn’t be happier with the portraits. If you find yourself in Delaplane do yourself a favor and stop by for the wonderful Virginia wines and the spectacular scenery and hospitality. You can find more information about Three Fox Vineyards here or their Facebook page here.

Poetry of Motion

B Payden Photography — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:08:09 +0000

In the Spring of 2011 I started an art project entitled “The Poetry of Motion” centered on capturing the beauty and artistry of dance in still photographs. The project is set to wind up in the fall of 2012 with The Gallery at 915 in Fredericksburg, Va. hosting the exhibition of the images in late Winter 2012.

We have created a blog for the Poetry project and we hope you visit it here, to enjoy the images of the wonderfully talented dancers. To purchase any of the limited edition prints from this project please visit our storefront, if you have any questions about the project or are interested in participating please email me for further information.

New Buckroe Fishing Pier

B Payden Photography — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:10:09 +0000

Buckroe Fishing Pier

The new Buckroe Beach Fishing Pier replaces the old wooden fishing pier destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The City of Hampton rebuilt and operates the pier and it opened for business on May 30th 2009. Construction began March 14th 2008 and is in the same location as the previous pier, it measures 709 feet in length and is 16 feet wide, it includes restrooms, a snack bar, and a bait shop. The pier is constructed with concrete pilings and beams with wooden decking and railings which should help it withstand heavy winter storms and hurricanes. The estimated cost of rebuilding the pier was approximately 4.1 million and the pier is already gaining a reputation for it’s excellent Cobia fishing.

Buckroe Fishing Pier

Fort Monroe – Chapel of the Centurion Wedding

B Payden Photography — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:51:11 +0000

Chapel of the Centurion

On a wonderful late fall day in October 2011, Jeremy and Chelsea were married at the beautiful Chapel of the Centurion within the walls of the historic old fortress at Fort Monroe. The Chapel is the oldest continually used wooden military structure for religious services in the United States. It was decommissioned by the Army on May 22, 2011, as part of the transition of Fort Monroe from Army to civilian control, the last Army led religious service occurred on August 28 2011. We here at B. Payden Photography were honored to shoot the first wedding at the Chapel, since the transition from the Army, for Jeremy and Chelsea. The Chapel is named for Cornelius the Centurion, who it is thought, was the first Gentile to convert to Christianity. It was designed by Richard Upjohn with construction beginning in 1856 and its consecration on May 3, 1858.

Following the beautiful ceremony and the formal portraits afterwards, on the grounds of this scenic historic fortress, the reception was held at the Chamberlin Hotel, also on the grounds of Fort Monroe. Jeremy and Chelsea were a beautiful couple and all of us here at B. Payden Photography were honored to share in their special day and to record the memories from their day that are sure to be cherished heirlooms for generations to come.

Fort Monroe – Old Point Comfort Light

B Payden Photography — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:18:44 +0000

Today, November 1st 2011, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation designating Fort Monroe as a National Monument. The Army decommissioned the instilation and transferred their facilities to Fort Eustis on September 15, 2011. The six sided fort, surrounded by a moat, was the last active fort in the Army before it’s decommissioning and was named for US President James Monroe. Fortifications were first erected on the location in 1609. The point of land containing Fort Monroe has long been valued as a strategic location to protect Hampton Roads, the confluence of the Elizabeth, Nansemond, and James Rivers with the Chesapeake Bay. With the decommissioning of the fort access to the property is no longer restricted to military personnel, the image below is of the Old Point Comfort Light located on the property of the Fort. I took this image in early October 2011 shortly after the property was opened to the public.

Old Point Comfort Light

Old Point Comfort Light is the second oldest lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay and the oldest still in use. The current structure was constructed by Elzy Burroughs and activated in 1803. A keepers house was built in 1823 with the current keeper’s house dating to 1891. The lighthouse was automated in 1973 and the keeper’s house was transferred to the Army who used it as an officer’s dwelling. The lantern is painted with a distinctive red roof, green rails and decking. The light is visible up to 13 miles with a double red flash every 12 seconds.

Welcome to my new Photo Blog!

B Payden Photography — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:40:59 +0000

Welcome to my new photo blog on WordPress! I am currently transitioning my blog from blogger.com here to my new home on wordpress. I hope you enjoy these photography related posts as much as I enjoy bringing them to you. We hope you visit often for information about our photography services, new images, and recent shoots that we are excited to share with you. If we can be of any service to you please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Bryant Payden – Owner/Lead Photographer
bryant@bpaydenphotography.com
757-771-5857

Dawn Savoca – Sales and Marketing Manager
sales_marketing@bpaydenphotography.com
571-991-6695

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Manassas Ballet Theatre

B Payden Photography — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:21:46 +0000

For the past two years I have been fortunate enough to be the official photographer for the Manassas Ballet Theatre and have enjoyed the beautiful performances and watching the talented and creative dancers. This years production of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at The Hylton Performing Arts Center was no exception!

Amy Wolfe – Artistic Director, Vadim Slatvitskiy – Choreographer, and all the dancers including Aleksey Kudrin as Ichabod Crane, Jorden Kullos as Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, and Margaret Hannah as Katrina Van Tassel put on an amazing production of this often told Halloween favorite.

Below are just a few of the images from this years performance, the full set can be seen here: http://bpaydenphotography.com/store/