A Few Images

Where have I been!

A lot of my contacts over on Flickr have been asking about my lack of activity lately. Well..not a lot but enough to warrant a blog post. As some of you may know, I'm in the Air Force. Been in about 8 years now and hold the rank of SSgt. To promote to the next grade, I have to take what's called a WAPS test, which stands for Weighted Airman Promotion System. Its a point based system which derives points from how long you've been in the service, how long you've worn the current rank, the scores of your annual performance reports, and medals you have, as well as finally, a test based on Air Force and Career Field knowledge. The whole process is intended to pick the most worthy candidates to promote to the next grade. Last year, of all the eligible SSgts in the Air Force, 18% or about 7,000 out of about 40,000 was actually promoted. I, wasn't one of them.

This year was my third year testing for the rank of TSgt, and I was determined to make the cut this year. So for the last few months, and especially in the recent weeks, I had hit the books especially hard to study for the knowledge portion of the test. The agony of the whole system is that it takes a long time to test everyone in the Air Force, to include the guys and gals serving overseas and Iraq, Afghanistan and other locales. Though I tested in February, it won't be till June before I even know what I scored, and whether or not I was selected. Adding to that, everyone isn't promoted at once. Those who are selected are given what's called a line number based on seniority. In the upcoming months from July until the end of the year and early next, they promote so many of those every month. The average promotee has about 12 years of service under his belt. I have 8. So if I was to promote, it wouldn't be till the end of the year.

Is it a perfect system? No, but no system is, and this one is the best we have for now. Anyway, come June I'll have my fingers, toes and eyes crossed. If not...well there is always next year.

Waiting For the Snow to Recede

The snow is really slowing me down these days. I mean, you can only take so many photos of dirty snow. Up here in eastern Washington, it is covering EVERYTHING. SO with that, I start looking around the house for things of interest. You'd be surprised what you can you find, especially when you try to approach it with a fresh pair of eyes. Part of the fun with macro photography is that it can turn ordinary things into items of interest, simply because of the fresh perspective that is put on it. Here are some things I found around my house while waiting for the snow to recede:

I've been...not as busy

Actually, I lost my Internet service for a week (painful!). Finally back up and running and trying to play catch up with all of my contacts and news that I've missed. Like Nikon's new entry level camera release, the D60, and the bevy of new lenses to come including a new 60mm AF-S micro lens.

Speaking of lenses, I recently purchased one as well; the 105mm VR 2.8. This lens is incredibly sharp; more so than my from the looks of it. While the DoF is extremely shallow at close ranges, the amount of detail it picks up has meant so far that there is little need for sharpening in post, though you very well could if you wanted to. The images also come out well saturated with plenty of contrast as well. I'm impressed with it thus far. Looking forward to the spring to get out and start taking some outdoor macro shots. In the meanwhile I'll just have to look around the house for things to capture

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.

In the palm of her hand

In the palm of her hand

The inspiration for this image, and many to come in the future came from the manipulations of Christophe Huet, a managing director of Asile Retouching Studio. It is said that the greatest form of flattery is imitation. But to me, it goes beyond that. Though we may imitate, we can never quite recreate the original. Though strongly influenced by the work of another, something new is created, and over time an artist discovers their own personal style. Now keep in mind, I am not advocating blatantly stealing the work of another, but using it to foster novel thought. Accreditation should be given to any aspect of your creation that was garnered from the work of another.

For the budding photographer, Digital-Photography-School has a list of 99 Remarkable Photographer's Portfolios that you can peruse, and in viewing the works of others, you just might discover yourself.

Memories of Childhood

Memories of Childhood
Originally uploaded by Daily Mik

We've gotten quite a bit of snow out here in Spokane. I imagine it has afforded many great photo opportunities. I say I imagine because I've for the most part stayed indoors. I did head downtown once with my girls to let them get out and play for a bit. Other than that, looks like it is going to be a slow start to the New Year.

Replacement to D40/X as early as Spring?

File this one under rumor mill and wild speculation. According to a wildfire post on Dpreview, the D40X is apparently at the end of its shelf life and there is a possible replacement for the camera coming soon. While change is good, this flurry of camera releases by Nikon for its entry level cameras is not following the 18 month to 2 year product cycle normally employed. Nikon certainly shocked (and disappointed) the community when it released the D40X; a camera that seemed to play more into the marketing hype of the mega-pixel myth than an actual camera upgrade. Consumers who purchased the D40X appeared to basically be paying $50 for each additional megapixel and a very minor list of additional features, as well as the downgrade of the max shutter sync speed (non FP) from.

Also in the rumor department is the talk of a new Nikon lens, the 16-85 VR, which is interesting since Nikon just recently upgraded its 18-55mm kit lens to VR status as well. To be honest, VR isn't really needed in that range, and the consumers who purchase it are the type that are confused about what VR does anyway. All in all, I think PMA 2008 is going to have a lot of surprises for us when it comes around in late January.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to you all!

World's Most Expensive Camera

No it's not a Hasselblad; not even close. This honor goes to a camera called "Daguerreotype", which is also an early form of photography in which the image is imposed upon mirror-polished silver surface. This early system didn't create negatives, so copies of images was not possible in the traditional sense.

Created in 1839, it's considered the first commercially manufactured camera in the world and is expected to fetch a cool million Euro, or $1,329,000 against our fast fading dollar. All this and no live view or image stabilization. How did they do it back then?

Photography: The Rules Of Composition Video

Here is a quick and dirty 4 minute video from Video Jug that quickly goes over four basic, but important rules of photography. Keeping it simple, rule of thirds, balance, framing, and placement are all covered, though some are explained a bit differently than expected. Their explanation of framing left me raising an eyebrow. Nonetheless, still a good view for the budding photographer.

Now granted, rules are made to be broken, but as the video so eloquently points out, you have to know the rules, to know when to break them.