Thursday, December 20, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
How I Got The Shot #35: Senior Portrait Session and One Lens
This was a senior portrait shoot, and for this one we went very basic in both approach and gear.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The Angel Statue - In Memory of Our Neighbor
This time of year can be a mixed bag for some. For most, it is a time of great celebration and joy. Exchanging gifts, family get together's, music, singing, laughing.
For some it can be a time of great sorrow, especially if they are mourning the passing of a beloved family member.
Not too long ago, we found out that our neighbor had suffered from a stroke in her home and later went home to God. My wife had known her longer than I - almost 12 years.
We have 3 dogs and they can be very vocal at times, but she never complained. She was the sort that knew your schedule and looked after our house and let you know if someone was snooping about, and we would reciprocate.
She was always willing to talk with you anytime about anything.
She took special pride in her yard. She had hired a lawn service to care for it professionally and she would be out almost every morning tending to her flowers or creating some yard art.
I remember one day a few years ago, I had approached her and asked if she minded if took some pictures of her creation. You see, she absolutely loved angels and her yard contained more than a couple statues throughout.
I took this picture.
I had the picture printed and I gave it to her. She started crying. I asked her what was wrong and she just replied, "I'm just so glad that someone else sees the beauty that I do when I look at my yard. Not everyone appreciates it." I just told her that my wife and I do and to keep up the good work.
A few days after her stroke, my wife spoke with our neighbors daughter. The subject came up about the angel picture. It turns out that the image was one of her favorite pictures. She had written on the back of it - "I will treasure this picture for the rest of my life".
Her daughter took it to the hospital and put it at her mom's bedside. She plans on keeping it in memory of her mother.
I can't explain the feelings that I had when I heard that. There are so many things that we do for people that, at the time, seem so small or relatively trivial...but can affect them more than we realize.
I can honestly say that all the hard work in photography was worth it for just that one moment, when you realize that what you've captured and shared touches someone. I don't care if I NEVER create another image. I know that I have made a positive influence through my work to someone. I did something that made someone feel better about themselves, their lives and through my appreciation of what she had done with her yard....she paid me the ultimate compliment.
I just ask that every time you walk past a stone angel statue, reflect on ways that you can use your skills to positively influence others and make the world a better place. Even the smallest gesture can mean more than you think. Pay it forward.
For some it can be a time of great sorrow, especially if they are mourning the passing of a beloved family member.
Not too long ago, we found out that our neighbor had suffered from a stroke in her home and later went home to God. My wife had known her longer than I - almost 12 years.
We have 3 dogs and they can be very vocal at times, but she never complained. She was the sort that knew your schedule and looked after our house and let you know if someone was snooping about, and we would reciprocate.
She was always willing to talk with you anytime about anything.
She took special pride in her yard. She had hired a lawn service to care for it professionally and she would be out almost every morning tending to her flowers or creating some yard art.
I remember one day a few years ago, I had approached her and asked if she minded if took some pictures of her creation. You see, she absolutely loved angels and her yard contained more than a couple statues throughout.
I took this picture.
I had the picture printed and I gave it to her. She started crying. I asked her what was wrong and she just replied, "I'm just so glad that someone else sees the beauty that I do when I look at my yard. Not everyone appreciates it." I just told her that my wife and I do and to keep up the good work.
A few days after her stroke, my wife spoke with our neighbors daughter. The subject came up about the angel picture. It turns out that the image was one of her favorite pictures. She had written on the back of it - "I will treasure this picture for the rest of my life".
Her daughter took it to the hospital and put it at her mom's bedside. She plans on keeping it in memory of her mother.
I can't explain the feelings that I had when I heard that. There are so many things that we do for people that, at the time, seem so small or relatively trivial...but can affect them more than we realize.
I can honestly say that all the hard work in photography was worth it for just that one moment, when you realize that what you've captured and shared touches someone. I don't care if I NEVER create another image. I know that I have made a positive influence through my work to someone. I did something that made someone feel better about themselves, their lives and through my appreciation of what she had done with her yard....she paid me the ultimate compliment.
I just ask that every time you walk past a stone angel statue, reflect on ways that you can use your skills to positively influence others and make the world a better place. Even the smallest gesture can mean more than you think. Pay it forward.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Travel Photography - What To Take.
Traveling can be a great opportunity to get some fantastic images. It's always an exciting proposition to see something you have never seen before and be able to get an image to remind you of that trip.
Like most of you, I do not get to travel a lot for just photography's sake. Most of my travels, I am blessed with going on holiday with my family.
One of the most important things that I want to say before we get into a gear/technique discussion is this. If you are going on your vacation with family - make sure to make the trip about family and relaxation first. I learned the hard way that a trip can go off kilter if you get obsessed or overly concerned about getting an image over having fun with your family.
To that end - I try and travel as light as possible. In recent trips, I've gotten my gear down to the following:
Nikon D50
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6
Nikon SB-26 Speedlight
Lumiquest SBIII/Quick Straps
Extra En-El3 battery
two sets of rechargeable AA batteries for the flash
nikon/AA battery charger
AND THAT IS IT!!
Since my Nikon D50 is getting close to the end of it's life, I've picked up the Fuji X-E1 to replace it. With that kit, I've got the 35mm f/1.4 and I'll most likely get the Fuji 55-200mm when it is released and sell off the Nikon 55-200mm. That will be my new travel kit.
Techniques.
Given that you don't have a whole battery of lights, lenses, filters and sometimes time to get the shots that you want, I'd like to share with you the techniques I think are essential to have in your arsenal.
1. Understand how/why to use push/pull processing in digital.
Dynamic range can be an issue and without a grad neutral density filter, getting some shots can be very difficult. If you only have time to get one shots, use this technique to best suit your situation.
2. Bracketing
Again, dynamic range being an issue. At a minimum get three shots that are +-2stops. You can then either use an HDR technique or a layer merge technique in Photoshop to keep your image within tolerance.
3. Panorama
Practice shooting for manually stitching images together, especially if your camera does not have a built in Panorama mode. Even if it does, you might want learn it anyway. Panorama shots are great for showing a large area. Stitching a few images together might also be helpful if you are working with a prime lens and it happens to be too tight to get the whole image into view in one shot. Taking two or three images, overlapping the frames by roughly 20% should get you where you need to be.
4. Know the Hand Holding Rule
This helps to eliminate camera shake due to hand holding the camera at slow shutter speeds.
You want to keep the shutter speed at a reciprocal of the focal length. In basic terms, this means that if you are shooting a zoom lens at 50mm, make sure that your shutter speed is no slower than 1/50th of a second. You can increase your ISO sensitivity or open up your aperture to achieve this(sometimes both).
Below, lets look at some of the images I was able to get while on vacation with just those pieces of kit and some photography techniques. Enjoy!
Like most of you, I do not get to travel a lot for just photography's sake. Most of my travels, I am blessed with going on holiday with my family.
One of the most important things that I want to say before we get into a gear/technique discussion is this. If you are going on your vacation with family - make sure to make the trip about family and relaxation first. I learned the hard way that a trip can go off kilter if you get obsessed or overly concerned about getting an image over having fun with your family.
To that end - I try and travel as light as possible. In recent trips, I've gotten my gear down to the following:
Nikon D50
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6
Nikon SB-26 Speedlight
Lumiquest SBIII/Quick Straps
Extra En-El3 battery
two sets of rechargeable AA batteries for the flash
nikon/AA battery charger
AND THAT IS IT!!
Since my Nikon D50 is getting close to the end of it's life, I've picked up the Fuji X-E1 to replace it. With that kit, I've got the 35mm f/1.4 and I'll most likely get the Fuji 55-200mm when it is released and sell off the Nikon 55-200mm. That will be my new travel kit.
Techniques.
Given that you don't have a whole battery of lights, lenses, filters and sometimes time to get the shots that you want, I'd like to share with you the techniques I think are essential to have in your arsenal.
1. Understand how/why to use push/pull processing in digital.
Dynamic range can be an issue and without a grad neutral density filter, getting some shots can be very difficult. If you only have time to get one shots, use this technique to best suit your situation.
2. Bracketing
Again, dynamic range being an issue. At a minimum get three shots that are +-2stops. You can then either use an HDR technique or a layer merge technique in Photoshop to keep your image within tolerance.
3. Panorama
Practice shooting for manually stitching images together, especially if your camera does not have a built in Panorama mode. Even if it does, you might want learn it anyway. Panorama shots are great for showing a large area. Stitching a few images together might also be helpful if you are working with a prime lens and it happens to be too tight to get the whole image into view in one shot. Taking two or three images, overlapping the frames by roughly 20% should get you where you need to be.
4. Know the Hand Holding Rule
This helps to eliminate camera shake due to hand holding the camera at slow shutter speeds.
You want to keep the shutter speed at a reciprocal of the focal length. In basic terms, this means that if you are shooting a zoom lens at 50mm, make sure that your shutter speed is no slower than 1/50th of a second. You can increase your ISO sensitivity or open up your aperture to achieve this(sometimes both).
Below, lets look at some of the images I was able to get while on vacation with just those pieces of kit and some photography techniques. Enjoy!
 |
| 3 bracketed images merged into one. This prevented the window from blowing out completely. |
 |
| Exposed for the sky/sun and brought the cemetery back into view using the push/pull technique. |
 |
| 7 images were stitched together to get this panorama of San Diego. |
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