Feature Friday by Rise Collaborative
Editor’s note: Each week Buffalo lifestyle brand Rise Collaborative scour Instagram for their favorite locally sourced images. Each Friday we at The Public will feature a few of their favorites, along with a little bit of info from the photographers themselves. To submit your Instagram photo use the hashtag #FFRisePublic.
1. @preciousmisfits
“Although I currently live in Brooklyn, I grew up just south of Buffalo and am back often to visit with friends and family. I ended up at the Botanical Gardens because I realized I’d never been there before, and wanted to make the trip! Each time I’m back in Buffalo, I try to chip away at a growing list of places I want to see—either because I’ve never been, or because they’ve changed so much.”
2. @taylorleigh_g
“The shot was taken during Curtain Up! this past Friday evening on Main Street in front of Shea’s. Curtain Up! is an annual celebration kicking off the start of theatre season in Buffalo. Many area theatres are involved in the evening which features on stage performances—and Shea’s also hosts a formal gala dinner right on stage! The evening is culminated by a street party with live music, dancing, cocktails, and fireworks!”
3. @sheidingerphoto
“I took this photo last week when I was visiting City Hall filing paperwork for a coffee shop myself and two partners are opening in the Old First Ward. I was fortunate enough to be able to stop into the room they used to store all the blueprints. Before Google Earth and conveniences of the internet, this is how things were sorted, stored, and accessed. It was a pretty neat space to check out. The room is constructed with concrete in the instance of a fire all the plans as blueprint would still be safe.”
4. @yeomanphoto
“My name is Matt Yeoman. I’m a professional photographer who lives in Hilton. I recently went to Letchworth State Park with a few friends to photograph the Milky Way over the Upper Falls. I am always amazed by astrophotography. I remember at around 10 years old I witnessesed my first meteor shower outside Metro Detroit. We drove well outside the suburbs to get a great view of the event with my boy scout leader and a few buddies. It was incredible! Years later after becoming a photographer, I visited Bryce Canyon at night and that was like the best 3D movie I have ever been to—little light pollution, low humidity, no moon, it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Western New York’s sky can be just as beautiful.
Letchworth State Park not only offers an area of low light pollution but great foregrounds with waterfalls, the railroad bridge and great trees. Digital photography has made astrophotography a bit more accessible then it was in the past—high ISO, reasonably sharp lenses and steady tripod is really all you need. I typically start with the camera on a solid tripod at ISO 400, 30 second shutter speed and the largest opening my lens can open to (f/2.8 or f/4.0) at infinity focus. This is always a good starting point, you will get something. Then I tweak the exposure to suit that location, sometime using a higher ISO to make the camera pick up more stars. I think great night photos of the stars have a great foreground image. In this case I used a biking light to illuminate the falls and trees as the train crossed the tracks. The light you see on the tracks are actually the reflectors off the train cars as I shine the light on them, the falls, and trees. This image was taken at around 10:30pm, just before the park closes to guest at 11pm. I think it is important to obey this rule as Letchworth could be a dangerous place at night. I recommend alway traveling with a buddy or two to make sure you have help if something happens. Letchworth is a large park so it could take many trip to find the perfect spot. I hope to continue to shoot at night in the park in search of the next great shot. If anyone is interested in a person astrophotography lesson, I do offer photo classes. Please have them contact me at 585-802-3886 or yeomanphotography@hotmail.com or www.yeomanphotography.com”