Project 365, Day 7. Eh, I've seen pictures of that...or have I?

There are quite a few things in this world that have their picture taken all of the time.

Even out in the middle of nowhere, there are places that you have to beat off other photographers with your tripod just to get your shot.

Another problem with this is that with the advent of the internet, everyone on the planet has seen pictures of this place or thing and no one wants to see more of them.

They all look the same.

However....every once in a while...a photographer will capture an image of this highly photographed item and through their creativity, they will show you how they see it.

Even though you've seen a million pictures of it, this particular image will catch your eye. You stop and look at it and wonder why you've never seen it like this before.

There is a place like that here in Denver. It's of the sculpture called "I See You" and it's a two story tall big blue bear looking in the window at the Colorado Convention Center. Now, if you're not from around here, you've probably not seen a lot of pictures of this, but around here? Eh, who wants to see another one?

I, of course, did NOT scout my location like I should have. I had no idea which side of the building this sculpture was going to be on. Which means I had no idea how it would be lit at any point of the day. I figured I would get lucky and it would be lit just how I wanted it to be.

Guess who isn't buying a lottery ticket tonight...

I got there and it was a big dark blue blob. Shit. Now what?

I cant light it with flashes. Number one, I didn't bring any. Number two, I don't have the skill to do something like that. Where is Joe McNally when you REALLY need him?

Well, I didn't drive all the way down there, feed a parking meter just to turn around and leave with no pictures.

So, I pulled out several of my favorite techniques, shoved them in the blender and hit puree on that bitch.

I shot a nine image bracket for a HDR (High Dynamic Range) shot to make the most of the light, since I had too much in some areas and not enough in others. I used my fisheye lens for a unique perspective of the bear and shot at an unusual angle. In post processing, I used selective color to emphasize the color.

It went from a two story lump of blue poop to this:


I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that even if you've seen a ton of pictures of this thing, this one would make you stop and look at it. I'll bet you'd never have seen it like this.

Go ahead and click here to take a look at a couple of other shots I took of him today.

Remember to click on the picture once or twice to see it larger!

Until tomorrow!

Brian Hatch photography