I've been busy...

Tickled Pink

Being military, I was absolutely tickled pink by this.

I thought I knew all the basics of photography and even some of the more advanced some. However, it appears I know jack about Depth-of-Field. Here we have an aperture of 5.6 and the DoF is incredibly shallow. Now most individuals know the smaller the aperture you use, the shallower the DoF. More often than not, this is what most photographers want to separate their subject from its background. But what if you want everything in clear focus? How high can you push the aperture before the shutter speeds require tripods or diffraction becomes an issue?

There are online DoF calculators available, and they are actually quite useful for not just macro work, but portraits as well, especially when you want the whole subject in focus. It also keeps you from having to do all the horrible math associated with it. This also shows why so many studio portrait photographers use f/8 and landscape photographers use f/16 and sometimes higher. This in addition to the fact that most lenses are sharpest between 8 and 11 gives good reason to use those apertures when wanting everything in clear focus.

Happy Medium

I've come to realize there is a big difference between what I like, and what is popular. So a choice has to be made as to whether you sacrifice your ideals to reach masses, or stick to a niche and garner a smaller following. Perhaps you can even be lucky and maintain a happy medium. However, while straddling that line, at some point you may still have to pick one or the other.

Kittens and cute smiling kids, or my love of shadow play to create shape and form. Someone once said to do what pays the bills, but to not forget to do something for yourself every now and then as well. To go out and shoot what you enjoy. I guess this keeps you sane.

Here's some of what I enjoy.

More snow!

I took this with the Nikon 70-300mm VR, and incredible lens for a very reasonable price. It is certainly not the acclaimed 70-200mm VR 2.8, and will set you back for a little under $500, but if given the choice, I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Sharp to about 200mm, with 9 curved aperture blades to produce incredibly beautiful bokeh, I've used this lens from sports, to portraits, and even nature shots.

This shot was taken at night. I had the idea in mind for some time for a flower with a long shadow protruding from the snow. Now, while I don't doubt there is fairly hardy grass alive in my backyard, the 4 feet of snow makes it difficult for anything to protrude right now. I was literally up to my knees as I attempted to set up my lighting equipment. I will most likely try this shot again later, perhaps with the setting sun instead of a strobe light for a warmer, more natural looking glow.

Snow Photography

This is my first winter in the Northwest, and while it is not brutal by any stretch, we have had our fair share of snow. The snow provides for some fun, but a serious challenge when taking photos. Due to the massive amounts of snow abound, a cameras sensor will interpret the white as a extremely bright sun, using a higher shutter speed than necessary. This will more than likely leave your photos underexposed as well as being a dull gray. There are a few ways to combat this. For one, you can set your EV compensation to -1, or basically to underexpose the image by a full stop. This should give you subjects that are well exposed, and bright white snow instead of a dull gray. It may leave the snow overexposed in the scene, so if snow detail is what you want, be sure to keep that in mind.

Another way is, and this depends on what kind of camera you are using, is to use spot metering, or where your camera meters only off a very small portion of your target subject. This works well when you are focusing on a specific subject in a snowy scene, like your kids for example. The final option is just good 'ol Photoshop. There are many ways to adjust in Photoshop, from simply adjust the brightness and contrast, to using curves, and levels. Find a method that works for you, as all can give you very similar results. Personally, I prefer curves as in Lightroom you can select an individual area of your image and adjust it that way (same can be done in Photoshop, but it's a two step process instead of one step).

3 Quadrillion Dollars!

I swear, this country is going to hell in a handbasket.

Brand Loyalty

0%How Addicted to Apple Are You?
A friend sent this to me, and for some reason, was shocked by my score. No, I don't think Windows is perfect, and I sure won't be upgrading to Vista anytime soon. Some of the questions on the quiz is comical, in the sense that it goes by how much pride individuals take in not just a line of products, but seeing others share in it. As though they are all shareholders and their stock increases every time they see someone use an iPod or iPhone. But then I think to the many times I smile when I see someone using a Nikon camera, or catch a glimpse of that little red triangle in the movie. So I guess it's forgivable.

New York Times 2007 Year in Pictures

A great collection of photographs from the New York Times newspaper from 2007 encompassing world, national and sports. Fair warning though; some of the images are quite graphic. Despite this, the images are all quite moving and powerful and definitely worth the look.

Read

2007 in Review

How was 2007 for you? For me, even though I've had a long history with cameras, and used an SLR when I was younger, this is the first year of actually owning my own DSLR and actively seeking to understand the concepts of photography. In the span of almost year, I've seen my talents completely transform. I can only imagine where I will be in 2009. It's difficult for me to pick my favorite of 2007. Obviously my newer images are better than my older ones. It's important not to discount the fact that these newer works are based on the knowledge garnered from my older images.

Some favorites from 07.