We spent a long day in the hot sun at the Lakeland Mayfaire Arts Festival yesterday. Most of the photographs were of family, so they are not public. The photographs of the little one, who recently acquired her first set of glasses, reminded me (post production) that there are rules for photographing such things (I had forgotten them all) that will be duefullly re-reviewed.
Below are some photographs from the backyard, Holiday, Florida.
I spent some time in Sims Park, New Port Richey, Florida earlier today and have a few photographs to share. You can see the others by clicking on either of these photographs.
I do not envision this site as being an aggregate of other website (do we really need another website to repeatedly repeat photography news?), but I must pass on the latest photography critique by Zack Arias (click here). His video blogs consist of reviews of photography websites and the target sites in episode 9 are truly inspiring and amazing. If you are interested in photography, you will enjoy both his video and these gifted photographers.
I am sharing some photographs that I took earlier today. The first three were taken in two parks around New Port Richey, FL and the portraits were taken in the backyard. You can see a few more photographs by clicking here.
We spent time at the Lowery Park Zoo yesterday. The challenge was shooting in the bright direct sunlight and minimizing those hard contrasts; but the challenge was fun and a few of the pictures turned out fine. Later friends' dogs provided a bit of practice in shooting pets. I am always reminded of the phrase "herding cats" when ever I think of pet photography and these proved no different. Although there were no formal strategies utilized (such as treats: I know these dogs are quite obedient with treats!), it was fun capturing them. Later, after looking at all of the photographs, I was reminded at how difficult it is to focus on a moving object, one that does not follow your verbal commands (such as "can you tilt your chin up a bit, please") and being cognizant of composition and background. You can check out a few more of yesterday's photographs here.
We had the honor of taking photographs of Marlo and Lee's wedding this past Friday evening. There is something magical about weddings and ones at ocean's edge and a setting sun are even more so. Both Marlo and Lee and their close family and friends truly had an evening to remember. You can find more of the photographs by clicking the photograph of Marlo below.
As good as it is to get away (and oh, my goodness, how good it is!) it is alway good to get back home. I trust that home for all of you is good, indeed.
Patches, April 5, 2009. f/4.5, 1/100, flash above right
I created a fun little brochure for the entertainment at Rabbit Moon Cottage. Click here to download it.
We'll be leaving Rabbit Moon Cottage tomorrow morning. This little bit of heaven is a highly recommended vacation spot; this is the third time we've spent time here and every time is memorable. You can find out more about this cabin here.
The vacation has provided many opportunities for great photograph. Back to the real world tomorrow.
nathan
In between the rain yesterday, we were able to visit the River Bend Farm at Biltmore. The animals were entertaining, especially the chickens and all were photogenic in their own unique manner. Up the hill the old barn serves as an example of farm life at the turn of the last century. In residence was Doc W. Cobb, Jr., who is an expert craftsman in historical ironwork restoration (he commented there is no shortage of work for those of his skill). He gave an entertaining, informative demonstration and fully engaged old and young alike. For photography, the barn where he worked was dark and had little light except for a few incandescence and door and window light. So I had to bump up the ISO to capture any pictures. You can see both the animals and the blacksmith in my Asheville gallery here.
I spent some time today on the grounds of Biltmore. Truly a photographer's heaven. The lighting today was the direct opposite of yesterday: the cloudy day provided us with one big sky light. Most of my posted photographs are of the flower and foliage, as the Estate is (over) protective of any images of the house. You will find these pictures in my Asheville Gallery.
I have posted some pictures taken at the Grovewood Gallery, an enchanting set of buildings that are located within the Grove Park Inn property in Asheville. This was not a good day to photograph: the sun was direct and bright like a small halogen lamp in the sky. So the challenge was to find the shadows or anywhere the sun was hidden. I did experiment a bit with the pop up flash and a couple of fun window pictures. You may check them out here.
"Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly."
This might seem an odd statement in a photography blog: we do want to take better pictures, to get the light just right, to know the camera and "play" it like the musician plays the instrument. Practice makes perfect.
All of this is important, of course. Who doesn't want to take better pictures?
Much of the joy of photography has to do with the subject. While the subject could be a race car, a sunset, or endless pictures of the dog (because he doesn't complain about it), what we really want to photograph well are those we love.
You remember when all we had were paper photographs; photographs that were never associated with computers because we had no computers. The box of pictures in the closet was the answer to the question, "what would you grab on your way out of a burning house?" Today, we take thousands of photographs. We are able to experiment with techniques without any concern for cost or wait of development. In fact, we have so many pictures we loose them among the bits and bites of our hard drives. Ah, the days when all the photographs were in a box in the closet!
So as you get better, don't forget to photograph those you love, even if you do a poor job of it. Too soon will the young grow up; too soon will the strong become weak; too soon will the old leave us. Then we will not care if the photograph had good bokeh or that the light was just right: we will just look and remember.
Remember the days of your old point-and-shoot? See something of beauty: point and shoot. In general, everything was in focus and clear and beautiful. Then we spend a lot of money and get a "real" camera along with our visions of graduer of great pictures.
I didn't take great pictures, right away; in fact, as I look back on them, the pictures were often blurry. It wasn't until I read, Bryan Peterson's book on Understanding Exposure, that things began to "click" for me (sorry, though cliche, it does fit). For me it was January 18, 2009. From that point my pictures are rarely blurred, although other technical complication abound. At least I wasn't so frustrated with my new purchases.
The pros say you have to practice. I agree. I hope that I can encourage you to do the same: no practice, no gain in technique. Take this advise from Scott Borne, internet/mac/photography celebrity. Here is answer a question for one of us newbies:
My usual shooting time is during travel. Any tips for subjects around the house so I can practice more?
That’s easy. Shoot ANYTHING and EVERYTHING around the house. One of the things I constantly run into relates to people going on workshops with me only to find that they are completely unfamiliar with their gear. They only break out the camera when they take a trip. To avoid getting into that rut, make a pact with yourself to handle your gear every single day. Even if it’s just to take a picture of a beer can on the porch, handling the camera regularly leads to more success when it counts. So set up all your gear, practice with your tripod and changing lenses. Read your manual and know what you’re doing BEFORE you get out into the field.
Also, check out this video by Marc Sibler
So, my friend, get out those manuals, surf the web for technique tips (some are here); remember, we are playing in digital media (I am old enough to remember the cost of film development!), so play, play, play.
I heard someone say you should always carry your camera with you. I'm glad I did this day. I was in Trinity, Florida and saw these beautiful Sandhill Cranes and took several shots as they slowly walked across a parking lot. I later realized I had left the ISO up high from some shots I had made the night before and forgot to check it prior to snapping these. The result of the high ISO, however, made for an interesting look as their wings caught the morning sun.
Welcome.
