Category Archives: Photography - Page 10

P365 Progress and Getting ready for travel.

Posted by on January 7, 2013 No comments

I told you I probably wouldn’t be posting the P365 pics here as I take them, but to catch everyone up I wanted to post what I have so far.

BUT FIRST.

A few notes about my trip.  I leave on Tuesday the 8th….yeah, tomorrow.  Flight leaves at 9:50pm and is a 12 hour jog over the Atlantic to land in Kuwait City at 5:50pm.  Kuwait is 8 hours ahead of EST so no one call me in the middle of my night!  Actually, you can’t call me since my phone number will be voice mail only.  You can call and leave me a voice mail, it will get sent to my e-mail and I will get it.  I will be available on IM, Skype, and through e-mail.  I should still have access to Facebook and Twitter, so for most folks it will appear as if I never left!

The Project 365 is going pretty well.  I haven’t hit any sort of wall about what to shoot.  I am approaching it with the idea of shooting what I am doing/working on for the day, that way it documents my year as well as practices the art.  Here is the catch up:

A Long Time Ago? let's test that! (P365-6-2)

A Long Time Ago? let’s test that! (P365-6-2)
Bonus Pic!
Since I caved and used Auto on the group shot earlier, I felt I should do another one. This may lead into a series of pics with these two guys as they take the Tardis to different locations. I wanted to grab this shot as a bonus pic since I am leaving the country soon and wasn’t sure if I would have the chance, and I already have the next two shots planned out.

 

RetroNick Radio (P365-6)

RetroNick Radio (P365-6)
Just a fun picture of the RetroNick Radio crew. I cheaped out and went auto for this shot because I just wanted a quick shot of the guys.

 

Days gone by (P365-5)

Days gone by (P365-5)
Today we went to a convention called Magfest. It’s mostly about games and gaming, kind of a “Pax-lite”. Still fun and they had a lot to see and do there. I wanted something that represented the time we spent there. Classic consoles are always a favorite.
No flash this time, all natural (well, indoor con based) light.

 

It was a Dark and Stormy Adventure (P365-4)

It was a Dark and Stormy Adventure (P365-4)
Friday is our game night. This was our first run together playing D&D, normally we stick to card/Board games.
The drink is called a Dark and Stormy, rum and ginger ale.
Simple shot, with an on camera speed light.

 

That time of year (P365-3)

That time of year (P365-3)
Yup, it’s time to toss the tree and tear down Christmas!
For this shot, since it was late in the evening, I used both of my strobe lights. One positioned down and to my left, the other I held at arms length above and to the right of my POV. Both were remotely triggered.
This was also post processed on the iPad using Snapseed. I like the iPad for some quick touch ups and adjustments.

 

Light Orb (P365-2)

Light Orb (P365-2)
Always wanted to try this trick with long exposure. A friend gave me a small blue LED light so I tied it to a string and went out for a twirl.
Nikon D5100, 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 103 second exposure.

 

Project 365, Day 1

Posted by on January 1, 2013 No comments

I actually took this shot last night shortly after midnight.  Sarah and I were up for NYE and she was making Marshmallows from scratch.

Tower Of Marshmallows (P365-1)

 

Shot with my [amazon_link id=”B004V4IWKG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Nikon D5100[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”B001S2PPT0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]35mm f/1.8[/amazon_link], ISO 200, [amazon_link id=”B0002EMY9Y” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]SB600[/amazon_link] Speed light pointed at the ceiling to bounce the flash.  Minor touch ups in Lightroom.

The new year, and new things. (P365)

Posted by on December 31, 2012 No comments

Mirror BallWelp, here we are at the end of the year!  Looking back at the roller coaster that was 2012 and I just don’t even know.  Some many ups and downs.  One thing that’s for sure, it would appear that 2013 is going to be quite the adventure.

I hinted at it before but I can say with about 90% certainty that the biggest adventure is that Sarah and I will be doing a lot of traveling.  My work is sending me off to Kuwait for a contract and it’s for an extended period.  We thought, the best way to not get lonely, would be to take Sarah with me!  My company needed a tech writer and she is more than qualified so they hired her up and we head out in the beginning of the year.  A good friend will be moving into our house and taking care of the cats while we are gone so it works out great for him too!  This means that for almost ALL of 2013, Sarah and I will be world travelers!

This leads me into my New Years Resolution.  I am making the pledge to do Project 365 for 2013.  Project 365 is  where you take one picture for each day of the year.  It can be anything, but should focus on technique and using your camera well.  I am teaming up with Louis from over on Gamut of Geek and we are both going t try and stick with it through the year.  Of course, the challenge level for me being that some of the countries I am visiting have stricter photography laws, but at the same time, they are new and interesting.

The rules we have set down for each other are simple.  Use our DSLR for as much of it as possible, but if we see something great and only have our cell phones, we take the shot.  Also, no repeats.  (I am sure no one wants 300 pictures of our pets)  Uploads are not always important for every day since there may be days when we can’t get to the internet, but a picture must be taken and the EXIF will show the date.  Uploaded when possible.

I’ll set up a Flickr set specifically for my P365 as well as a folder in my gallery.  I may not post every picture on my blog, but I will try and update with what pictures have been taken.

Sunset on the Dunes
2013 is going to be a fun year.  Stay tuned!

Resisting the urge to hibernate

Posted by on October 24, 2012 No comments

FALL!

It’s Fall!  As we inch closer to winter I am feeling that bearish urge to close myself indoors and be super lazy while I eat all the things and put on my winter weight.

MUST RESIST!!!!

 

I am looking for the motivation to get out and take pictures.  Fall is one of the best times of the year to take photos.  The colors are amazing, especially around this area.  There are a few upcoming events that should prove fruitful.

The Passport MINI Halloween contest!  For the past few years the dealership out in Alexandria has hosted a “Dress up your MINI” contest.  This year the POD will be going as……..Yeah, I’ll post pictures after, don’t want to spoil it.  Should be fun though!  After that it’s off to Fredericksburg for the annual Halloween party!

In the meantime, on the gadget front. I gots me a new phone!  The old Thunderbolt was starting to get very old.  Early on I had flashed the ROM and the Radio on it so it could be updated and it would appear all of the updates for it have stopped.  No one seems to be supporting it any more.  It’s sad because for a while it really was a great phone.  The major downside to it was the battery.  I had even bought the extended battery for it, and that might get me through a full day.

With that I upgraded to the brand new [amazon_link id=”B009P5WWPC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Razr MAXX HD[/amazon_link].  Sarah has been using the original MAXX and it’s amazing!  The battery can last 2-3 days with average use.  The new HD version did not disappoint.  I have been using it for about 4 days now and I need to remind myself that I don’t have to plug it in.  Ok, I am going to stop here because I may try and do a full review of the phone later this week.

In the meantime, here are some apples. (hopefully Apple won’t sue me)

The Un-intentional Photographer

Posted by on October 11, 2012 No comments

This last weekend was very exciting for us.  Sarah’s step-sister was getting married down in Richmond VA, so she got to spend the whole weekend down there doing very girly bridesmaid type things.  Meanwhile, I got to stay home with the pets and catch up on Fringe (I am in season 4 now, no spoilers!).  That is, until Sunday.  The plan was that Sunday morning, I would drop off the dog at the doggie-sitters house (Thanks Stacy!) and then pick up Sarah’s Grandma and head down for the wedding.  We would sit for the wedding and then go home and enjoy the extra day off on Monday.

Oh plans.

Remember kids, no battle plan survives first contact!  Most of the morning went fine, well, sort of. I had forgot the umbrellas, and to feed the rats, and a few other things, so I had an extra trip back to the house.  Now, I had heard a rumor that someone was expecting me down at the wedding early to snap some photos before the ceremony, but it was all rumor. No one actually said anything to me about it.  There was also a rumor that they were able to hire a photographer at the last minute.

When I arrived at the venue, I headed up to were the wedding party was preparing and noticed a lack of anyone taking pictures.  I had attending various weddings before and knew there there are some pictures that are on “The List”.  You know, those shots that are kind of important.  When I asked where the photographer was, they said she was downstairs.  I rambled my way down and found someone, standing at the doorway, with a “camera” around her neck.  She was just standing there.  Not shooting, not testing light levels, not scoping locations.  Just standing there.

I put “camera” in quotes because she held a Sony cybershot camera.  You know one of those crossover type cameras that aren’t quite a point and shoot, but not a DSLR.  Now I am not in a place to start calling out on equipment.  My Nikon D5100 is not a high end professional level camera.  It’s a crop DSLR meant for the level I use it at.  The weddings I have been to always had a photographer with high end gear.  Usually two people, with two camera’s each and lenses staged everywhere!  But even more important, THEY WERE TAKING PICTURES, not standing around.

Disgusted, I went and grabbed my gear (never leave home without it) and headed back upstairs.  The rest of the wedding, I took pictures.  After the ceremony, I quickly scoped locations in the area, arranged poses, and made sure that “The List” got fulfilled.  During the reception, I relaxed some and tried to let the “hired” photographers do their job. Oh yea, turns out that the girls husband also had a small camera and was shooting as well.  He, at least, made some effort to walk around and take some pictures.  She sat on her butt.

The last few days I spent sorting and processing and, while I am not the best wedding photographer in the world, I think I got some pretty great shots.  I took a total of 941 pictures and sorted out to process 135 of them.

[zenphotopress album=107 sort=random number=5]

https://www.wizzersworld.com/zen/Special%20Events/Emily%27s%20Wedding/

Disclaimer: I really hate to bitch about someone else trying out photography. Normally I would give all kind of kudos to someone branching out and trying something as daunting as wedding photography.  It’s stressful   as all hell, which is why I really try to NOT go about doing it.  BUT, if you are being PAID to take pictures at an event, TAKE PICTURES.

The Ladies of Ragnarok!

Posted by on October 2, 2012 No comments

Last Friday Sarah and I got the opportunity to attend a superb crazy excellent super cool concert of awesomeness! The Ladies of Ragnarok tour (a Dammit Liz Production) was sponsored by Thinkgeek.  Sarah and I trekked out to Jammin Java in Vienna VA to take in this amazing spectacle.  (there, I think I used enough adjectives to describe the concert)

The key players in the concert were The Doubleclicks, Molly Lewis, and Marian Call.  I, of course, brought along the camera to further practice my Concert Photography.  Equipped with my[amazon_link id=”B004V4IWKG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]D5100[/amazon_link], I swapped between my [amazon_link id=”B004Y1AYAC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]50mm 1.8[/amazon_link] prime and my [amazon_link id=”B004FN1W2I” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]18-270mm[/amazon_link] zoom.  Thanks to some great friends we had seats maybe 30 ft from the stage and dead center.  Due to it being a very crowded venue, I didn’t get the chance to move around a lot so most of these are shot from my seat.  The downside to that being that there’s a lot of microphone eating in the shots.

All my photos are Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons.  Please let me know if you would like to use them.

The Anti-Razzi

Posted by on September 28, 2012 No comments

An interesting conversation sparked up with a friend and I over lunch today.  I was talking about a recent post by the Internet’s Wil Wheaton (I have decided that should really be his title), where he was harassed by a paparazzi while out on vacation with his wife. This guy essentially camped out at a beach to take pictures for HOURS, behaved like a true douchbag (wait, paparazzi), and then was defeated by Wil since Wil posted pictures of himself online.

The interesting conversation was really about how to thwart the paparazzi, and I think Wil nailed it.  Sure, there are tools like the “Anti-paparazzi sunglasses” but the best way is to defeat their purpose in the first place. The whole goal of the paparazzi is to catch a photo of some celebrity doing something embarrassing, or in an incriminating pose.  These photos are then sold off to the various tabloids or “news” sites, usually for a sad amount of money too.

The Anti-Razzi

So here is my proposition, as a photographer, ANY celebrity can hire me, for ANY amount of money (yes, ANY.  Give me a dollar, buy me a Chai Latte, don’t care) and I will follow you around and take pictures of stuff you do.  Be embarrassing, pick your nose, fart in public!  You and I will review the pictures together and decide* which pictures to use, then I will post them online under the Creative Commons licence FOR FREE.  The goal being to beat the paparazzi at their own game.  if there are already pictures of you out there on the internet, they can’t sell theirs.

If enough celebrities start contracting out their own Anti-Razzi, it would kill off the scumbag market!

Oh, it would also help that, if you are a celebrity, don’t do anything stupid, like drugs, or hookers, or hookers on drugs. (But hey, if you want me to take pictures of that, I….umm…maybe not)

Anyways, just saying you should think about it.  My services are available!

*Bound by contract, no leaked pictures.

When it rains.

Posted by on September 28, 2012 No comments

Yesterday was Sarah’s birthday.  She hates when people point it out, especially me, which is probably why I do it so often.  She still lords over me that I am older so I feel justified.  The day started off well enough.  I crawled out of bed as quietly as I could so she could sleep in, and I headed to work.  Around lunchtime I met up with a friend and as I was getting out of the MINI, disaster struck.

You know that cool post I did earlier about how I use my iPad for so many things.… yeah well, it dropped.  It slid off my lap and fell to the pavement.  Honestly, I didn’t think anything of it at the time, since it had fallen before.  It’s in a leather case that tends to protect it fairly well, and it only fell from about 1 foot high. Well, it landed in just the wrong way that this happened:

Ouch!

Yup, the corner shattered and spider-webbed across the whole screen.  I too, was shattered.  My mind rapidly went through all of the various solutions, from using it as it was (since it still worked fine), to buying a new V.3 iPad ($800!!!!!).  Then it dawned on me that a friend had this same thing happen to his and he was able to get it repaired.  It’s just the front glass that shattered so the repair really isn’t that bad.  I found a place near home to work on it and it was done in 2 1/2 hours.  Total repair: $120. (the place was http://apluscprepair.com/ and they did an great job!)

YAY!

Using that extra few hours I swung by the store and bought Sarah some flowers and Oatmeal Creme Pies. (her favorite).  After the repair was done we headed out to grab dinner at a place in Front Royal, about an hour’s drive.  What we didn’t expect was the Armageddon level rain storm that hit us!  Driving back home was a nightmare as the storm was doing it’s impression of a DubStep Rave, with thrumming waves of the water and the strobe effects of the lightning.  I could barely see the road.  Crazy.

We did make it home safely.  Oh, and of course, when we checked the mail, I got a lovely letter from the District of Columbia informing me that they were super nice and took a picture of my car and me the other day when I was driving home from the ren faire (and was dog sick).  They felt I should have a copy of the photo and it was only going to cost me $125.

Oh, yeah, it was raining too.

You take the good, you take the bad…

Mobile Photography

Posted by on September 25, 2012 1 comment

The Apps

I have been traveling around quite a bit lately.  The thing that always goes with me is my photography bag.  (It’s contents are listed in the sidebar)  What doesn’t always go with me is my laptop.  You see, I have a behemoth of a laptop.  It’s an older ASUS gaming laptop that, while great for gaming, and processing photos, and everything else, is just HUGE!  I love it to death, but it’s just not a feasible option for simple travel.  Sure, if I am going to be someplace for an extended time, or have a lot of luggage I can take, it would make more sense.  So in most cases, I just use my iPad.

When I bought the iPad I have now, I knew I would be using it for photog stuff, so the 64gb size made sense.  I shoot primarily in RAW and that takes up a lot of space.  Of course, storage isn’t the only concern though.  I needed a few good quality applications to round out it’s usage.  I thought that I would post about what I am using and the process in which I use them.

The apps that I tend to use the most (for photography) are:

So, there’s all the tools, but how do you incorporate them into a shoot?  Easy!  Here is a play by play on how I would go about using all of these tools out in the field to Shoot, display, organize, process, and publish.

Release Forms

I have an upcoming project I am working on for a photo essay on Portraits. (subject to be explained at a later date)  I will be on location for the duration of the project and won’t have access to my PC until much later.  So I would go about the shoot, like usual.  Meet with the subject and discuss the plans for the project and their involvement.  If they agree to the project they would then fill out the release form in Easy Release and sign.  Then I would have them fill out the form I created in Numbers that asks them for information specific to the project. (Simple questionnaire)  It’s important to have questions in the survey that would identify them in the pictures.

Using my Nikon camera and lighting gear (supplemented by the SoftBox app) we would take the photos.  The Eye-Fi card would wirelessly transfer the JPG preview to the iPad, which would be standing nearby, to display the picture I just took (within a second or two).  This allows a larger screen to see framing, lighting, exposure.  I like the LCD on my camera, but sometimes it’s just not big enough to judge if I got the shot I wanted, or was just off. The downside to this is the time it takes to transfer.  If you are shooting at an event where speed is a factor, this is not a good solution.  Of course, if you at an event like that, you probably aren’t checking your LCD every few shots either.

Eye-Fi used as quick Preview

Softbox can show different colors or textures

Once the shots are done I import the RAW into the iPad using the camera connector. (it’s an important step to delete the Eye-Fi imported JPG’s to avoid duplicates).  Then I can use Photosmith to organize the shots into groups, flag the ones I want to keep/discard/etc. Now, I can stop here and wait for my PC to process photos, since when I get to it I can sync Photosmith to Lightroom and go from there, but, if I am going to be out for a while and want to get some work done quickly, I can proceed with processing.

Organizing and tagging like a PRO!

Using Photosmith I can identify the shots that I want to focus on.  If I shot in bracketed mode for HDR use, I would find the two shots I want to combine and open them in Pro HDR.  Adjust the levels, and save then move on to Snapseed.  For a typical shoot, I would just open in Snapseed. This allows me to adjust all my levels, colors, and balance.  I can do some selective adjustment as well.  If I need to use more precise editing, or want a more Lightroom type feel, I can use Filterstorm instead of or in conjunction with Snapseed.

HDR Editing on the fly

Quick Professional edits

Precise edits

Once editing is finished I can use the iPad to post to various social networks, email, and even my own website.  Using FlickStackr I can upload to Flickr directly, add all the info I need, tag it with keywords, location, and people.

Uploading and tagging on Flickr

So there you have it.  The whole process described above can be done, on the scene, in a matter of minutes.  (depending on shoot time)

Now, that’s not to say that this process doesn’t have it’s faults. You certainly aren’t going to get as accurate processing as you would with Lightroom on a PC.  As with all electronics, battery life is an issue too.  The Eye-Fi card adds a draw to the camera battery, and having the iPad up and receiving drains it as well.  Barring that, I love being able to set up, shoot, process, and publish all while on the road.

World Traveler

Posted by on August 28, 2012 No comments

Huge sorry for the lack of content for the last few weeks. Things have been a tad bit hectic as of late. You see, I have been traveling around for work and working very long days, so I haven’t had a lot of time to write. After the London trip I went back out to North Carolina for a week, and then off to Arizona for a month or so. The downside was a serious lack of time, but the plus side is I got to see some cool stuff and even take some great pictures.

I was down in Sierra Vista AZ and the landscape looks amazing. Armed with my trusty camera travel kit (aka, “My Bag” stuff to the right —> ) I set out to capture some great sunsets. Below are the results:

Sunset at Sierra Vista
Looking towards the mountains in Sierra vista lends to a great sunset shot.

Tombstone Cemetary
In Tombstone AZ, just about a 30 min drive from Sierra Vista, there are two cemeteries. The one most people know is Boot Hill, which is where the victims of the OK Corral are buried, and then the main cemetery, where everyone else goes. The real one is MUCH better looking (Boot hill looks like someones Halloween decorations).Cross at Sunset

The graves there date back to the foundation of the town.

For comparison, here are the Boot Hill graves:

Seems Safe
While venturing out (by myself) I ran across this sign and thought it might not be a good idea to be out, at night, so late, alone.

Shot for a shot
Back in Tombstone, at Big Nose Kates Saloon, I had a great shot of this whiskey. When the Barkeep asked if I wanted a picture of the bottle, he whipped out all the props for it!

After one of the trips to Arizona, I took a side trip to Parris Island South Carolina to watch my Son (who, you may remember, went off to the Marines) graduate Basic Training (aka, boot camp (aka, 3 months of hell)). Proud Father is Proud.

And lastly, not that I am back, I am trying to get back to normal. This means attending events like the local DC Metro MINI’s annual picnic! Where we got together and took this great shot:

Click to Super Embiggen

So, yeah. It’s been a bit busy. I will try and keep things updated more now that I am home (for now)