G'morning, Folk! Back today with an Image of Sarah performing a new song of hers in front of youth, not much to say other than Wow, Powerful.
Nikon D60
35mm f/1.8 DX
Exp: 1/250th
f/stop: f/2.0
ISO: 1600
Exp Comp: - 4/3rds (1.3)
Confession. I shoot 1600 a lot, as of recent. Why? When lighting conditions are right, it works fine, and I will Always take a little bit more noise if it means a better all around image.
I'd rather have more noise and a blurrless photo than less noise and a bad exposure. It's all about the trade offs.
In some cases, I'll do the opposite, usually on a still subject when I'm in a stable position. Hunching over, laying on your stomach, torquing your body to the point of 3 different cramps at the same time, none of these are particularly stable, certainly not the latter. (Trust me, it's not stable)
Along with that, I tend to shoot on a minus Exposure bias, for the same reasons. I'd rather up the photo half a stop in post than get a blurry shot to begin with.
It's all about the trade offs.
That's all for now, I'll be back soon with some more Rumors stuff.
I'm back! Crazy month, no joke. FCP produced a little play by the name of Rumors. You may have heard of Neil Simon? Yup, he wrote it. Hilarious! I shot it, of course.
Cast photo! With the lovely Director, David Ratliff.
Nikon D60
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Exp: 1/100th
f/stop: f/5.0
ISO: 1600
Exp Comp: -2/3rds
I shot ISO 1600 ONLY because I knew I had good lighting to keep the noise down.
The best part of any play is always Photo Call, just because of all the Jokes you can make while running lines for the camera. Sometimes ruining the shot by going out of character and laughing til you fall over.
That's about it for this one, more to come thru the week.
Oh, and we totally need music next time. I was dancing to the tune in my head, and I looked awkward.
Good Morning Everyone! Been a while, eh? Yup. Holidays are busy, and with all the snow we've had, it still feels like December. There's only been one full day of school since Christmas Break ended, the past 3 days were snow days. We had a lot of snow.
Anywho, who wants a photograph?
Exp: 1/80th
f/stop: f/2
ISO: 800
Exposure Bias: - 2/3rdEV
PP: + .45 Exp, Aperture 3.
Boom, Christmas Morn. All of the family gathers at the Elder House, they eat a feast of food, usually comprising of Cinnamon rolls, Li'l Smokies, Sausage, Danish, Cookies, and the like.
Not to mention Egg Nog, Coffee (Maxwell House), Chocolate Milk, And OJ.
Then they open presents, socialize some more, take lots of Blurry, Horribly composed, Lack Luster snapshots. So. Many. P&S's. How much you want to wager that 90% of those shots had flash bounce off AT LEAST 1 reflective item? You know it happened, there's no denying it.
Then the family disperses back to their respective homes, to nap, play, and edit photos. Well, I guess that last one's just me. Only to soon realize that it's time to leave, to eat the Christmas Beast. A Turkey, I do believe. 'Twas a good buzzard.
And so concludes my Christmas Story, humor and all. Ciao.
Bad Title. Good Morning All! Hope your week is starting off nicely. Last week, we had a winter freeze session. Lots of ice. Lots of FWD cars amusing me. But, as I've mentioned, this is the time of year for pictures. This is exciting stuff, people.
Ice! A great layer of ice decided to make home of the garage-side Crepe Myrtle.
Exposure: 1/250th
F/stop: f/2.2
ISO: 800
Exp. Bias: - 2/3rds
Got about a 1/2 inch of ice on everything. Gravel driveway was an ice rink. Tried to head out at 11:00 and our splendid Japanese engineering couldn't crest the hill leaving.
I suppose that's all for now, I'll finish sorting Thursday's shots and maybe get another one up tomorrow.
Morning, Folks! Back again I am. Sincere apologies for not blogging, but the past month has been just crazy. I had a two week run of Harvey, Family, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, so much stuff, I just haven't been waking up the last 2 weeks. My Google Reader had 700 unreads.
But, now the Holidays are here, and the Holidays were made for photography.
It's snowed twice in the month of December here and the second was legitimately great. I didn't get too much done due to several different things, but I did get this:
Not exactly what I wanted, but I ran out of light. Definitely not good at the self timer yet. I need a remote.
The fun side of these shots is the self timer part, though. Press shutter, run like heck, stop and breath and stand still. You can't help but laugh at how stupid you must of looked. I fell once, darn snow.
Nikon D60 w/ 35mm F/1.8 DX
Exp: 1/40th
F/stop: 2.8
ISO: 800
Exp bias: -2/3 EV
I'll try again next time it snows, I also really need a remote. I want Winter self-portraits and have some ideas.
Hello There All! It's that time of year, another production is here!
We're doing Harvey. Yes, the Rabbit. The set is insanely complicated, and I am loving it!
Great set of actors, great crew, and a great time. But you want to see pictures.
DELIGHTFUL! John Cherry playing the roll of Dr. Chumley in "Harvey"
Techy stuff-
Nikon D60
Nikkor 24-70 F/2.8G @ 34mm (OMG more on that later)
Exposure: 1/400th
F/stop: F/2.8
ISO: 800
So, my Assistant photog came Wednesday, and we both shot full dress. My Assistant happens to be a pro. Like D700 and a ton of lenses. He does good stuff. He wasn't using his 24-70, and let me shoot with it. WHAT? That's awesome! It's an amazing piece of glass. Balance fail with my scrawny little D60, but amazing nonetheless. I highly recommend it.
That's about all for this time, more to come Monday.
Back Today with another image from Sunday (see previous post) but this time, a portrait.
The Girl behind those awesome shoes.
Techy things.
Aperture Priority
Exposure: 1/640th
f/stop: F/2.8
ISO: 800
+ 1/3 EV
Looking back, I wish I had shot f/2. My fault.
ISO was 800, it was bright out and I wanted to be at a safe shutter speed. Remember, I do a lot of walking around spontanity (My word, don't judge) and don't have time to fiddle with knobs and dials. The exposure compensation is usually the only thing I touch.
(Note: Jimmers, if you're reading this, I'm waiting for an I Told You So.)
Jim is a pro photographer that I met through a photography class. I was yarping about shooting manual, he said I'd learn to love Av and Exp. Comp. He was right.
Anywhoo, this took about 14 seconds from thought to shot (rhyme), with the words "Lauren. Tree. You. Now." shot was cropped, annoying kids in right background. Centerweighted metering is my best friend at this point in time, the sun was directly through the leaves. I almost switched to spot.
Enough rambling. There's the image, there's my take, now I want yours.
Good Morning! Cheesy title, I know, but I'm really happy with today's photograph.
First, the Techy stuff.
Nikon D60 - Nikkor 35mm F/1.8G DX AF-S
Exposure: 1/640th
F/stop: F/2.0
ISO: 800
+1 EV
I'm pleased impressed how blurred I got with F/2.
Today's shot is from Sunday evening, a group of friends and I went to the park.
This shot features an undeniably teenager's shoes, as if I had to tell you.
Yes, this was shot in a road.
I believe my exact words were "Stand in the road, I don't see any cars!"
We didn't get ran over, and we did get a good shot. My brother snapped a shot of me taking this with his phone, I need to get it.
I took about 200 photos within the hour, with more good than I was expecting, so this isn't the only shot from that night you'll see. And, I became friends with spot metering. Handy Dandy.
That's about it, I'll get to a post I have in my head about ISO soon.
It's a beautiful day, go shoot something! But always remember,
Photography is so cool. Once you forget you're looking through a viewfinder, you're set. You watch life happen. The only difference is, as a photographer, you can capture life, and share it with the world in seconds. As if everyone was there. Are you a pro photojournalist? You have one of the coolest jobs ever. You get to watch life, the ups and the downs, but then, you get to show the world what you experienced. You have one of the most important jobs, too.
Think about this next time you're shooting candid work. You're providing the world with an experience. Take pride in that.
Morning! Here's a peek at Friday's little shoot...
This is Kate. She's cool.
Nerdy info
ISO: 100
F/Stop: F/2.2
Exposure: 1/400th
Not much to say about this. We went to the park, shot on a sunny day.
I actually kinda wanted to shoot on a bright day. I wanted a trial & error day. After all, it was my first shoot. Was I nervous? You bet I was. But I wanted to learn what not to do.
This wasn't a planned shoot by more than a few hours. I wanted to learn, for the planned shoot we have coming up. I wanted to know what not to do. I learned first hand that once you lock focus, you DON'T BREATH. I learned that sunny days suck. I confirmed many notions.
If you're a beginner, I strongly suggest you do this. Grab a friend or two, and do what I do best.
Applied learning. It's a great thing.
That's all for now, but remember. Quantaray kills. Don't do it.
Recently, I was positioned as photographer for Foothills Community Players' latest production, On Golden Pond. Being a young teen yet photographer for something like this can be a bit nerve-racking (In February I was jumped from Ass. to Head the day of Photo Call) but we all work better under pressure, no? So I did my thing as the time came, and as always I shoot Dress (if I can), Final Dress, and of course, Photo Call. I didn't have the luxury of shooting Dress, so I was quite ridged and focused on Final Dress, leading to the following mistake.
Here he is, norman Thayer Jr., reading up. A fair shot, no? NO. See that foot, cause I sure don't. That foot was Cut Off. That's called bad composition. See all that room above the head? Cut from that and adjust. I have a very bad habit of leaving a bit too much headroom, sometimes compromising the better shot. Although he's only in this chair for maybe 15 seconds, holding still for maybe 5, that's still no excuse. Always check your composition. Focus>compose>expose. In that sequence. Save people's foreheads and toes; compose.
So what have we learned today? Don't cut toes, don't cut heads, and remember, there is Always time to re-compose. Don't let it slip, it's make or break.
On a side note: the AF-AE lock on a Nikon D60 is crap. I couldn't keep it locked without changing a setting with my manhands. I need a new camera.
Good Morning! Recently, we put some Christmas lights in a Butterfly Bush on a whim. My brother has been enjoying lots of cool nights out there on the bench under the bush, and as I walked past, I noticed it would make a good photo.
ISO: 800
Exp: 3"
F/11
18-55 3.5-5.6 @ 18mm. (27mm)
3" Exposure was, of course, due to f/11. I wish I could've used f/22, but 3 seconds was as long as he could hold remotely still. (let the records show that we had indeed just gotten back from starbucks with friends)
I would've liked f/22 because, of course, sunstars. F/11 doesn't make nearly good enough sunstars, but it's what I got. Although, what I like most about this image is that it was painted.
Painted? In a sense. since he had his laptop, I had him turn the brightness up to light his face. But, he was just a floating head. So I grabbed my trusty Maglite and started making exposures with me spreading light on him. In the end, this was actually just me holding the flashlight on the flash ridge of the camera (big no no). A hint/artifact of the painting part is where I missed the laptop corner.
Anywho, there you have it. I'd say I'm happy with the image. Next up for this tree, BOKEH.
Fun Fact Time! : This tree/bush thing was actually FILLED with fireflies all summer long.
Shorpy Historic Photo Archives is, well, just that. An archive of old photos, mostly B&W.
As soon as I checked out the site, it was in my Google Reader. After just two weeks of posts (About 3 a day), I've seen so many amazing pictures.
Let's talk about this photograph. I've always loved New York City, and dreamed of living, or even just visiting in one of the coolest cities in the world. This building in particular is a love of mine. The engineering, the look, all of it. But, my favorite part of the picture?
The blurred Trolly in the corner. That just did it for me. I love it. I don't know why, maybe a sense of movement? It's just cool.
The brand new (at the time) Metropolitan Life Building, New York. I'm not exactly sure why I like this so much, but I do. The bit of fade once you get to the building, the other building, more faded. It's just an amazing image.
So, that's just a drop in the ocean from Shorpy, and I strongly suggest you check the site out. Makes me want to go film.
This morning I checked KenRockwell.com as I usually do, and I saw he has a review of the
Lexar 32GB 600x Compact flash card. I read it, and he mentioned many times that he couldn't fill it. He tried and tried and couldn't fill it or kill it. How can you not fill 32Gb in 2 months?!
I run 4Gb of photos most days of shooting! (Let it be clear that I don't just click away, but I do take a lot of Dups.)
Then I realized why. HE SHOOTS JPEG!
I am a diligent follower of pro Photographer Jared Polin, and recently he did a week long series of YouTube videos on RAW Vs. Jpeg. Not only did it open my eyes to how much I can do with RAW, but it reassured my disagreements with Ken.
I'll make some huge rant post about this sometime soon, but for now I just want to state facts.
What photographers here shoot what? Raise hands in comments. Please do.
I've never met a Real photographer that shoots Jpeg. that being said, Ken Rockwell isn't a photographer. He's an Engineer. I don't like Ken Rockwell's pictures. They look like snapshots. Almost all of them look over sharpened and miscolored. Why? he lets his camera do everything. His photos are big ol' snapshots. Really Snazzy, $5000 dollar camera snapshots.
He talks about how he loves his D40 as much as his D3.
Sure, you can make amazing, professional quality images with it, but if I have a D3 at my disposal, you bet your toupee that I'm gonna use the D3. It's not that I can't do it on a D40, but I can do it easier, more refined, & more enjoyably on a better camera. I don't give a poo about size and weight, I'm youthful and have man hands.
His images are far from art, but plenty good enough for your Aunt's facebook page.
Earlier this morning I was watching the news, and I saw a Press Photographer with what seemed to be a Canon 5D MK II.
Although it's a simply magnificent camera, I see more press with 1D's.
they're both amazing cameras, although I've come to a crossroad. If I'm gonna be holding my camera up as high as I can trying to get a picture of something or somebody important, I'm gonna want to use the biggest, toughest camera I can. Cause I don't want to drop my little plastic camera and be out who knows how much, and possibly losing my million dollar image.
The Canon 1D series is by far the best Press camera in the world. It's fast, tough as nails, and captures stunning images. The 5D MK II is an amazing camera, but to me it's just not for hardcore press.
The only person I know of who'd rather use a small, plastic camera than a big, beefy, durable camera is Ken Rockwell. More on him later. If I'm gonna shoot anything other than little kids, I'm gonna use the best camera I can. I'm also gonna use the biggest camera I can. My dad's always complaining about how I could want a big heavy camera. He shot an FM, a really small camera. I'm youthful, and my hands just don't work well with a camera as small as a D60. I need a new camera ASAP. My dream camera is of course a Nikon D3s, or any Nikon or Canon full pro camera. Why? IT JUST FEELS GOOD. I shot with the 40D/bat. grip again (Images to come) and I loved it. It fit my big ol' man hands right.
So what would you prefer for certain shooting situations? A big 1D, or a small 5D. You pick.
Not to mention, the bigger the camera, the more people fear you. When you're the photographer and people don't give a crap about you, you're screwed.
Wednesday night, I couldn't sleep so I threw in my Good Evening New York DVD to listen/watch. It gave me the strongest craving for a Plaid Hoodie (of which I cannot link due to the discontinuation)and a WISH Starbucks cup.
I also get the memories and good feelings of November 4th, 2009 every time I listen to Maybe I'm Amazed. Is there something wrong with me? Am I the only one that this happens to?
Do any of you people out there get this? It's as if things from said timeframe trigger the feelings.
Short Term Nostalgia is what I call it. It could be because the Fall/Winter season of '09 was pretty much the best time period of my life so far. Cause it was. I don't know why it happens, and I'm not sure I hate it, I'm just wondering if it's just me. It seems like mostly music triggers it, but just last week I drank a Starbucks Mocha for the first time in forever and took me straight back to the night mentioned earlier with the WISH starbucks cups.
Life went way uphill in the latter half of last year. It was just a good time.
The best of times, really.
If you've been with me since the start, you should know that Christmas is my favorite time of year. That's expanded to Fall/Winter, but still that area of time.
As soon as the High temp. of the day is 68, I'm in heaven. That means 38 degree morning walks, waking up to my Maybe I'm Amazed ringtone, and all that stuff.
Hey, that might be why that's a trigger. It's been my alarm tone since September '09, and has all those 6:45 sharp blog posts. Boy I loved those days. 6:30 Coffee's on. 6:45 Coffee's on desk with Blogger open. 7:32 Walk begins, 35-39 degrees.
Heaven. It triggers Owl shaped two-tone cookies, Cranapple cider, and orange leaves.
It triggers Cicero looking at me, and looking forward to my photo class with John Greengo.
That class has tons of great memories for me. Que November 4th.
Fall is a good, inspiring time for me, when I blog best.
Quite possibly cause that's when I started.
All I know is that come October, this Bi-Monthly blog thing will end. More good photo stuff (in my eye) and just a good mindset. Enough rambling, I must go.
Do you ever have short term nostalgia cases? Feel free to leave a response.
Hello! Recently (Last week) I got a late, but in the fashionable way, birthday box from my awesome friends The Sandcarvers.
The Sandcarvers are a Celtic Rock band based in Milwaukee, WI.
Anyways, I was kindly hinted of this package back in April, and was curious (as every 13 YO boy should be) as to what this could be. Sure enough, when I finally received the "stuff", I was ecstatic. What'd I find inside? Not just their newest album (see below), but a shirt (I was hinted of this when they asked what size I was [OMG STALKERZORZ]) AND a hat! Yes, a hat! I love hats. I'll post images of me in the tremendous swag once I work up the courage of taking a picture of myself.
Anywho, back to the band.
They were formed...... I don't really know when they were formed, actually. But their first album was out in 2004, so for the sake of timelines, we'll say 2004. (If anybody knows, please enlighten me)
The first album, titled "This Time Around" was released in '04 (I JUST SAID THAT) and, from the stuff I've heard in it, is Rockin'!
Next up, from '06 is "Dealin' Craic" and Rocks even harder than the first, in my mind. (Of course I want to include more, but I'm not really the review type.)
And finally, their newest album, which I received, is straight out of '09 titled
Stuffed full of power rock music with the prominent Celtic flair. Mucho bueno.
The band consists of
A.J. Laird: Vocals, Percussion, Bodhran(Linked for your knowledgeable pleasure)
Christopher Trotier: Vocals, Basses, Vibraslap(Don't you just love Wikipedia?)
Jeffrey S. Miller: Acoustic guitars, Vocals
Jason Dove: Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
Raven: Recorders, Keyboards, Bassoon.
Tony Keller: Drums, Chalice.
Bonus appearances in the studio
Ian Gould: Mandolin
Bryce Lehman: Electric Guitar
(Note: All band member listings are based off the newest album)
How'd I find out about this band in the first place? Twitter.
With the huge network of photographers out there, I've crossed paths and commonplaces with tons of people, with lots of overlapping ta boot.
Gareth Ash is the man. A fellow photographer and blogger, his mysterious avatar is an instant follow, in my mind. he's a rad person. A Canon shooter he is, I'll live.
Gareth and I started conversing and eventually we got to music, and he introduced me to Raven, who introduced me to her music, which I loved. Some epic people, with some epic wisdom. Philosophical, to say the least.
MUSIC.
Oh noes, I can't seem to find a decent youtube clip! If I find even an image montage with music, I'll post it.
Found one. Please excuse the epicfailness of this MM post, I suppose I wasn't really prepared.
This past Saturday, our local Borders Bookstore had Authors Steven Otis and Collin Roberts for a booksigning of their new book,
A Road More or less Traveled.
I snagged a copy, as I'd heard about it before and was interested, along with getting it signed, or Written in, rather (Otis wrote a nice note), and then went back for my coffee.
Though I just opened it last night, I can already tell that it's a good read.
There's not much I can say about it now, but I might just put a review up when I'm done.
I'm a not so average teenager that likes to get high on God. I use the term Jesus Freak a lot, justifiably. We are God's Army.
Oh, and I'm addicted to coffee and the art and nuances of it.
