Autofocus is accurate and fast
Given proper technique superb images are possible even with the 2x extender attached.
The lens has enough resolving power to bring out the details in every image. ... Now on to football:
When I left the house this morning, I determined that I would leave the 100-400 in the bag, but did carry a 70-200 with me "just in case." TO PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE, I ended up taking a total of four photos with the 70-200. Everything else was with the 300. Until today, The 100-400 has been my "go to" lens for football. It gives me enough reach to get across the field, and was "good enough," but I was never really thrilled with the results. However, I always had the advantage of the zoom. That all changed today.
First, here is a shot from last year's scrimmage using the 100-400:
Not a bad image. But, as you read the remainder of this post, keep coming back to this shot for comparisons. Now, here is one from this year using the 300
No longer am I "aperture limited." At 400 mm, I used to be at f5.6, and unless I happened to be at optimum distance, the backgrounds tended to be enough in focus as to be at least a little distracting. The smaller aperture also meant that shutter speeds were slower, sometimes introducing motion blur. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, f5.6 also meant that the autofocus system of my cameras had less light available and therefore to not grab focus as quickly as with my other 2.8 aperture glass. Each of those detractors are now eliminated, and I am excited - thrilled - maybe even amazed by the significant jump in performance that I realized today.
In the above photo, notice the detail in the eyes behind the shield ... or the detail in the mesh of the jerseys. Resolving this much detail is far beyond the capabilities of lesser glass. Image quality is enhanced by the ability to use a lower ISO and faster shutter speed to capture the same image that I might have attempted previously. Do I miss the ability to zoom? of course, but that advantage is dramatically overshadowed by the other aspects of this fantastic lens. Yes, the superlatives keep flowing!
NOW ... today's scrimmage was a daylight event, starting at 10:00 a.m. on a mostly sunny morning; next week, I will take it for a test drive in evening / Friday Night Lights conditions where I anticipate that the results will be even more pronounced than they were today.
It is no accident that professional sports shooters use the highest quality, fastest lenses that are available. They simply resolve far more detail and allow the fastest possible shutter speed which in turn makes for higher quality images.
]]>I bought the lens used, and took it out for a test drive to basketball practice the evening that I received it. It was mounted to a 7DII since I find the 5diii AF inadequate for basketball. What did I learn?
In short, this lens looks like it is going to be a dream to use. Everything that I have heard about it is true! I can't wait to put it to "real world" use!
The ON/OFF switch and mode control dial is the same style as the 5DIII, though I think it is stiffer. Turning on the camera, you are presented a simple time setting menu, which now allows for Daylight Savings time and time zone support. Maybe now I can keep proper time on my camera! Mine came preset to the “P” mode, making it simple for just about anyone to open the box and take a decent exposure.
Naturally, I started to think about how I shoot, which is normally not in the “P” mode, but most often either AV or MANUAL exposure. So, I switched the mode dial, looked through the viewfinder, and began experimenting … what I saw next is perhaps the most mundane yet most welcome addition. Any of the changes made with the top buttons now appear in the viewfinder as well as on the top screen. Formerly, only ISO and Exposure Bias appeared. When changing the AF mode and type (One Shot, multi, or rapid), White Balance, or metering method, these appear as red icons on the screen. ISO and Exposure Bias remain on the bottom where they formerly were located. Already, each detail of the camera feels more and more professional!
By now, it is dark, and my office is lit only by a single 40 watt bulb. Peaking out the window, I see the street light is on, and I focus across the street on the awning of my neighbor’s shop. The FLICKER warning appears, and I wonder how badly this is going to slow down my picture taking. I must confess, if it did slow me down, that time was imperceptible. At the same time, I notice the new AF symbol and Exposure meter on the right side of the viewfinder, ala Nikon, as I am in MANUAL mode. I despised my brother’s Nikon, and this new way of seeing the actual exposure is going to take some getting used to. The size of the bottom display where the exposure setting information is displayed is about the same size as the previous camera, and the right side exposure information is a bit smaller. The advantage of having both displays is that you can see where you are set AND where the exposure will land … not always the same, so this is a nice addition, but will take some adjusting to use.
The whole back of the camera looks exactly the same as the 5DIII with the lone exception being the additional AF toggle switch added to the joystick. This is a new feature which should add some ease of access to the functionality of the AF system.
Finally, I am ready to dive into the camera’s menu system, and I immediately feel familiar with the layout. Even though some items have been added, the menu system is essentially the same as on the 5D Mark III. Quickly running through the additions that stand out to me:
The advanced AF system in the 5D Mark III necessitated that every owner read the manual to figure out the capabilities of the AF system. That system has been expanded on the 7D Mark II. This is a professional level camera with very sophisticated controls. It can easily be the best point and shoot camera you can currently find, but once you dig in, the treats will make even a pro sports or wildlife photographer very happy.
With no additional tweaking, I pressed the shutter button in my dimly lit office, and the autofocus was quick to respond. At ISO 3200, the on-screen display of the shot looks like ISO 800 of old. That is VERY impressive! The color depth and line resolution at ISO 5000 are very usable, and even ISO 6400 is able to be pushed two stops without too much image degradation. On the down side, I will probably have to upgrade Lightroom in order to process RAW files.
If you are looking for a crop factor camera that has excellent low-light performance, strong auto focus system, and more features than you will likely use, this gem will serve you well. At $1799, it is not for beginners, though it will be a strong performer for them too. This camera is a tool designed for sports and wildlife shooters, with benefits for anyone who does not demand full frame. I cannot wait for my next game!
11-19-2014 EDIT: The BG-E16 grip arrived today. It is visibly better weather sealed, and matches the contour of the camera body better than previous grips, and the battery trays appear to be better designed. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that Canon got a new "hand model" for the grip. It is bigger and heftier than its cousins, and the result is that my finger goes to the MFn button automatically rather than to the shutter release button. It will take some getting used to. While the grip adds all of the necessary functions, it is the first one that I have had that feels like an "add on" rather than an intentional piece to the camera.
FIELD USE: the auto focus system in this camera is killer! I have never used a 1DX, so cannot make a valid comparison, but it took very little time to adjust to this system from previously using both a 5D Mark III and a 7D. So far, I have only used the JPG files from the camera at the default setting, since DPP is a royal pain to use and Adobe has not yet released their support for the camera. That being said, I found ISO 3200 ideal for night football -- see photo below. (with flash. I wish the OCC 2 supported in camera control or the 600RT)
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My point here is that there are two components to being able to "properly" develop a photograph, no matter the technology you are using. First is the artistic vision to know what you intend the outcome to be. Whether it is palatable to others is a completely different discussion, albeit an important one. But the fact of the matter is that you have to have an understanding of what you would like to have your photograph look like when you are finished manipulating it; some would say you should know this when you press the shutter button. What "general" fixes you want to make, as well as specific details like lightening only a face or bringing out details in a distant mountain help to make your pictures stand out. Those artistic decisions will, in turn, determine the tools you need to do the job. I have been using Lightroom for about 95% of my work for the past five years, though Photoshop, NIK software, Paint, ProShow, Noise Ninja, Pano Tools, Photomatix, Helicon Focus, DPP, and more occasionally make it into my workflow. Each tool has a specific task to help achieve my vision.
The other part of the formula is the technical mastery of the tools you are using. Back in the darkroom days, we had to know chemicals, papers, timings, etc. If you are still working with film, that technical knowledge is still required. If you have migrated to the digital age, the tools to accomplish the job have changed, and you need to know your way around the "digital darkroom." Just as technical knowledge is required at the time of image capture to determine shutter speed, f-stop, and ISO to make proper exposure, so it will be required when you finish working out the details in post-processing. It is not enough to know what contrast, tonality, and coloring you desire others to see, you now have to know how to make that happen.
Both of these skills take time to develop (pun intended!). That means we need to practice developing photographs just as we need to practice capturing the image! Just as most photographers will tell you that great photos do not depend on the brand of camera used to make them, so too your choice in software for post-processing. Choices have consequences in your capabilities, but there are many products that are available these days. Aperture, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements are going to be the basics recommended by most people. Choose one and learn it the same way you learned your camera. Once you have mastered one, try something new ... the skills you learned will transfer even if the details are a little different.
If you want to see what is possible using only Lightroom, take a look at Matt's website http://lightroomkillertips.com/ and scroll through the "Lightroom Only Month."
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With Canaan Valley State Park, Blackwater Falls State Park, Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, the Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge, and the Little Canaan Wildlife Management Area so easily accessible, it would seem there is little need to look outside of these great photographic destinations.
And while there are, no doubt, many opportunities to set up your tripod in these areas, there is still more to see! Let's not forget that nearly all of Tucker County is in the Monongahela National Forest, and almost any drive is going to be scenic. A simple venture out of the park on Freeland Road brings you quick access to the Wildlife Refuge. A trip down Cortland Road crosses through scenic pastorals.
Simply getting out of the car and walking around a little bit will introduce you to breathtaking places. When I explored this area, I found the "living room" to a popular campsite overlooking the Blackwater River:
Or you might choose to get up close and personal with the flora and fauna of the region. A little stand of cotton grass and Rust Ferns absolutely fascinated me, and I spent about an hour in the bog enjoying them and the reindeer moss.
But not all of your photographs are going to be found where every other photographer has trod and planted their tripod legs. Knowing that I was short on time and needed to start towards home, I decided to take the long way, exploring WV Rt 72 to Parsons. I highly recommend this trip and the many potential side trips that lie within.
Here you will encounter the locals and find some great fishing and hunting camps. These are the real people from the area who can fill you in on the details, like why the maples are turning so early this year. The old timer that I spoke with had lived on the same farm for 86 years.
If you dare to venture off the beaten path, you might be lucky enough to encounter some of the beauty that is West Virginia!
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First is Germany Valley. I took that photo because I had recently learned that this was the place in West Virginia that my ancestors had first settled. I went looking for this place and this photo to say welcome home. When printed on the back side of photo paper, the ink puddles and it comes out in a modernist painted kind of look. Some prefer it just the way you see it though.
Then there was the Monochrome Beauty. I learned a very important lesson with this one: display matters. A 90 degree turn would have moved it to first place.
Sometimes serendipity rewards you. Ernie Page had led me to these Pink Ladies Slippers in the Smokey Mountains on my birthday. After shooting them for about a half hour, I had to get up and stretch. When I turned around, there was a butterfly taking advantage of the pollen of this beautiful little orchid. In itself, this tells the story of the Delicate Balance in nature that literally is the hinge of life. Thanks be to God for camera remotes!
One of the best ways to find pictures is simply to ask. Last summer, I decided to head east and explore the area around Richmond, Virginia. I really did not know what was there, let alone what would be photogenic. I stopped at a little diner that had a great reputation and asked my waitress. Of all the possible places to go, she recommended a cemetery. I thought it was a little weird, but when I got there, I quickly understood why she recommended the Hollywood Cemetery. I would also commend this place to your photographic adventures. You can see the blog post that I did back in December on Remembering.
Almost every great photographer I know, have heard about or read will remind you that "luck favors the prepared." That quaint saying has born itself out in my pictures as well. When I have taken the time to do a little research, it sometimes pays off. Such was the case when I was asked to photograph this little church in Williamsburg, WV. What could have been just another boring picture of an old building ended up being a dramatic statement about the effectiveness of the institution and one of my personal favorites.
Other times, it pays to just stop and look around. Over Thanksgiving, I had taken my nephew out shooting around the Blackwater Falls area. It was a cold, wet morning, and his first visit to the area. While he was busy with the big water coming over the canyon wall, I looked at the intimate details.
Other times, you might be rewarded with more dramatic lighting effects in nature. This tree in the Tygart River Valley is lit by the late afternoon sun as the mountain behind it falls to darkness. Some want to see more of the detail behind the tree, but the natural lighting highlighting the tree itself is what made the scene stand out in my mind. Sometimes, mother nature provides the best lighting to separate subject from background!
Finally, All of the elements come together to make the picture of the year. Being there to press the shutter made this photo worthwhile even if it never came out of the camera. But how much more joy comes from being able to share it with you!
Now begins the journey to the next level!
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There are some challenges inherent in this type of shooting. When you get that tight on your subject, every movement is magnified. A slight breeze looks like a gale force wind tossing your flower in and out of the frame. Photographing this single Rhododendron blossom took about an hour by the time I waited for the wind to settle enough to make the picture. All of the images on this page were taken using only natural light -- only because my flash was not working that day. You may wish to use some form of lighting to augment Mother Nature or to shoot in a studio where you can completely control the lighting and how much wind gets to affect your subject.
But this shot was not really a true macro, it was more of a "close-up." I used a 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm with 50 mm of extension tubes at f 14 for 1.3seconds. The extension tubes allow you to get in closer using your long lens. It helps bring the subject in, but if you know how big a Rhododendron blossom is, you know that I did not achieve a 1:1 ratio in this image. I did, however, fill the frame with it, which was my goal. I was able to use the hillside of the forest floor behind it to simplify the background since my polarizer would not neutralize all of the wet leaves that day.
Getting in this tight allows you to see details that you might miss on an ordinary day. Notice how shallow the depth of field appears in this shot. Even though I am at f11, the range of apparent sharp focus is very shallow. At 145mm with 50 mm of extension tubes on a full frame camera body, depth of field is measured in millimeters. Only a very narrow band will be in the area of apparent focus, allowing everything else to fade into non-subject.
The same rules of composition apply as in any other type of photography. You need an interesting subject placed in the frame in such a way as to hold the viewer's attention. Contrasting colors was a compositional technique that I played with to make the fly's eyes be the subject of this photo. At f 3.5 on a 100 mm macro lens, you can easily see the very narrow depth of field. Only the eyes and a narrow strip o the leaf are in focus. Yes ... this is a fly in the wild!
and this is a grapevine snail that I found on the trail. Be careful when laying down on a trail to take a picture of a snail though. My position evoked admiration from a fellow photographer, but the concern of another citizen who thought I might be in dire need of help! This little critter kept moving, so my shutter speed of .8 seconds at f 8 was a little long for many of the frames I clicked. Fortunately, there were a few that were still crisp and did not show movement. But even at f 8, notice how shallow the depth of field remains. Of course, the lens is only about an inch away from the snail!
All four of these images were made at an area that I visit regularly looking for larger landscape images. But capturing the intimate details forced me to stop and look around in a different kind of way. I had to turn off the auto-pilot and keep my eyes open for interesting things around me. The possibilities are endless!
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I had the good fortune of spending a few days at Snowshoe resort in Pocahontas County WV this week, and got out to make a couple photos while I was here. All I had to do was lookout my window Tuesday morning to see the valleys below filled with fog
Later that evening, we were treated to a wonderful sunset as the clouds started moving in
Wednesday is the tradition train ride day, and several of us took the Cass excursion to Bald Knob on the open air steam locomotive powered train.
I also managed to get away and find a little bit of nature in the mountains
I know several of my photographer friends are getting away to Canaan Valley this weekend, just in time for Nature Photography Day. I hope you too are able to get out and enjoy some of what our beautiful natural world has to offer this weekend! Then don't forget to enter your pictures on the Nature Photography Day page on Facebook!
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BUT FIRST ... WHAT IS HDR? For the uninitiated, HDR is the technique of compositing several individual photographs into one in order to record the broad range of tonalities that your eye can see, but your camera is not able to natively record. In plain English: We can see about 10 - 13 stops in the range of the visible light spectrum, but our camera's sensors can only record about five of those stops. In order to record the full range of light, we can take several bracketed photos of the same subject and meld them together, compressing the tones that we have recorded into the range of tones able to be printed on paper. There are tons of resources out there available to teach you how to "do" HDR, and several very excellent software programs like Photomatix and Nik's HDR Pro that can help you put your project together.
Recently, camera manufacturers have been including an HDR function in the camera body that automates the process either partially or in its entirety. This feature has made it into both point and shoot and high end cameras. That really does help to take the guess work out of doing it yourself, though many allow you to still do any stage or the whole process manually, as well as in camera. One annoying limitation that I am stuck with (EOS 5D Mark III) is that I "only" get three shots auto bracketed. If I want to use more - seven for example - I have to do that manually. Check your camera instructions to learn more about how your camera does this trick.
Some use HDR to produce over-saturated contrasty images. other strive for more natural appearance when blending. The "normal" approach is to mount the camera on a tripod and shoot your bracket, whether manual or auto so that every recorded detail is crisp.
The fun variation that I was playing with today is to hand-hold the camera, holding it steady for the first two shots, then moving it for the third. I think this would probably work better with a camera like the D800 that allows up to seven shots. Here is one I played with today:
Everything you see was done in camera. The only post-processing applied in Lightroom was the crop to square. There is still some work to be done to finish this off, but it is a cool new trick with the soft edges giving a 70's painterly effect. It almost reminds of mom's old wallpaper! Some things that I didn't particularly care for include the -grayed out- areas, but that would easily be fixable. Soon, I will have to try the built-in multi-image function!
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Mark your calendars! June 15th is Nature Photography day, an event promoted by the North American Nature Photographers Association that is open to everyone. The following is copied from their website:
The eighth annual Nature Photography Day will be observed nationally on Saturday, June 15. This day was designated by NANPA to promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images have been used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes locally and worldwide.
In 2006, NANPA celebrated the first Nature Photography Day and placed it in McGraw-Hill's reference work, Chases's Calendar of Events. Many media and websites took notice. Since then, people throughout the North American continent--from overseas, too--have discovered numerous ways to observe and enjoy the day.
NANPA encourages people everywhere to enjoy the weekend by using a camera to explore the natural world. A backyard, park, or other place close by can be just right. Walking, hiking, and riding a bike to take photos are activities that don't lead to a carbon footprint. And fresh air can do wonders for the spirit!
NANPA will be supporting Nature Photography Day by hosting a Facebook event page for your nature photos taken on June 15. Just get out there and take some photos, and then upload your best shot to the Nature Photography Day page. One photo per person, please.
You will need to have a Facebook account and you must "Attend" the Nature Photography Day Event. Facebook will accept photos up to 2048 pixels (on the long side), but these photos are downsized to 720 pixels for presentation with a link to the high-resolution version. So, unless you intend to make your high-resolution image available for public download, NANPA recommends you size your photo to 720 pixels on the long side before uploading.
This is not a contest, and no fee is charged for submission. Photos must be taken on June 15, 2013, within walking (or biking) distance of wherever you are. The time frame for uploads is June 15 through June 21.
Start making your plans for this year's Nature Photography Day! Here are some ideas:
That, of course is the difference between the parent and the pro. I have already posted "How To" tips for shooting baseball, basketball, and football; that is not what this article is about. This article focuses on what to do with those photos once you have them. Sometimes a special moment will stand out, like this first collegiate touchdown.
For the past couple years, I have provided a custom poster to each senior on the baseball team.
It is a memento like none other they will receive. Each poster is unique to the player, yet it has common elements. My only directive from the coach was that it had to fit in an 8x10 frame. Knowing your limitations and intent is the real key to putting together a successful poster. Just like taking a picture, a sharp image of a fuzzy concept is not going to be successful.
First, select the photos you want to use. For the this one, I chose a picture from each of his four years in High School. Each of the photos must be able to stand on its own if your poster is going to be successful -- in sports images, that usually means that action, eyes, and the ball are in the shot. In creating these posters, sometimes I have had to limit the drama or tension in original so that focus is retained on the individual. One of the downfalls I have seen -- and been a victim of, is to clutter the page with too many pictures.
Placement of the pictures gets you into design territory. “The basic elements of design include color, line, shape, scale, space, texture and value and these are the fundamental pieces that make up any piece of work.” Graphic Artists go to school and specialize in things like this, but there are a few simple rules that can help anyone design like a pro:
You probably also notice that there is a background, not just a plain color that the photos sit on. I will take pictures of abstractions of the sport throughout the season to build a library of possible backgrounds to use on poster like this. Sometimes, the background provides enough information that more text is not necessary! In this example, the WVSSAC logo on the baseball fills in the blanks. Likewise, the blue is close enough to the team colors to be meaningful, but different enough to allow the jersey to stand out.
Other considerations you will get into include font style and size if you are going to place text on the page. Kent University has a good, easy to understand page for getting started with design, including typography. Of course, you will need the software to assemble all of these elements! Although others also allow you the flexibility and freedom to make these posters, the standard that is used by graphic artists around the world is Photoshop. you want to learn Photoshop? That is an endeavor that will take much longer than a blog post!
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One of the bridges in my neighborhood just happens to be a very significant tourist attraction. I guess that happens when you are surrounded by natural beauty. The New River Gorge Bridge, near Fayetteville, WV forever changed the face of the local economy and made travel through southern West Virginia much easier -- some would even say possible. Today, thousands of vehicles cross that bridge everyday, and most of their drivers think nothing of it even though it is the longest single span arch bridge in the western hemisphere.
There are a few people who will venture into the gorge below now-a-days that the journey is not required. Most travel by tourist bus to and from their rafting site, though some who cannot or will not take the plunge purposefully experience the 40 minute drive that used to be the norm in order to cross the river. Either way, those adventurous souls get to see the bridge from a different angle.
Now that I am not able to take the whitewater adventure trip, I really wish I had my camera with me way back in 1980 when I first experienced the view from the river. It was the most perfect optical illusion I have ever seen. For the above photo, I am standing on the old bridge about a half mile upstream from the Gorge bridge. The first time I saw this sight, I was finishing up my first whitewater adventure, and the illusion that the smaller bridge was directly underneath the large bridge persisted until we were literally underneath of it. That was perhaps the beginning of my learning to see.
If we choose to, we can view common everyday objects from a different vantage point. Take the next photo for example. It is an interstate bridge that I have traveled quite frequently. It is functional; it gets me across the river without getting wet, and many might be content to see and experience it in that way. But if you look for beauty, even in the functional things around us, it is likely that you might just find it!
But living in southern West Virginia means that there are streams that must be crossed all over the place. Not all of the bridges that we have are meant for vehicle traffic!
Though I had been in the neighborhood several times, I recently discovered this beauty in the middle of the forest thanks to a tip from a friend and fellow photographer. Ironically, one part of learning to see is learning to listen! She told me how to get there, and so I ventured further than I had previously gone and was greatly rewarded.
On that same day, I continued playing with my newfound fascination with bridges. And on the way home stopped at an old familiar site. Railroads were central to the economic development of the area in the 1800's through the modern day, as that is the best / easiest / most cost effective way to transport the coal out of the region.
But, as I said previously, there is beauty hidden within, if we only open our eyes to see. Here, I used a fisheye lens to present this standard subject in an exciting way. It tells an especially important tale of how long the history is with these bridges, how difficult a task it could be to traverse the rivers underneath, and the challenge of moving through the mountainous terrain. Yes, bridges are a crowning necessity in southern West Virginia! They have carried us forward for many years.
The old train depot at Gauley Bridge is a fine example of the past leading into the present. As we see the grass growing through the little used section of tracks, we begin to visually understand how a once thriving industry and economy has all but abandoned the present.
As the steel rusts, and the grass grows taller, we are reminded of the strength of the people who have gone before us, and the robust mining economy that once existed in these parts. If we have eyes to see it, we also can experience the vision of a bright future, one that lies just beyond the bend of the old tracks that have brought us this far.
But I speak of pictures of course!
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I don't know about you, but its not every day that I get to work alongside a world class photographer. Even though I didn't have a camera, I reasoned I could just tag along and watch him work. After all, just to see what he does, how his mind composes a photograph would be an inspiration. That it was. A Q&A with him and looking at the LCD on his camera was very revealing. I might add that it also was very re-assuring! Given the same common location and situation, he and I composed the frame very similarly.
When I asked this much-published nature photographer what he did when confronted with common scenes such as the state capital building, he said "I just try something most people wouldn't do. I used a 17mm Tilt-Shift lens" to get both the dome and the bell on the same plane of focus. While framed nearly the same as most people who visit the capital, his shot was certainly distinct.
At the reception, I must have looked dejected when I told a fellow club member that I had left my camera on the kitchen table. "No problem!" she replied, "you can use one of mine." My day was brightening up! Then she listed off what she had available, and one particular camera piqued my interest. "I'll take the converted 20 D" I told her. I had been wanting to try IR photography for several years, and this was my shot! I shot the evening with an IR camera and a kit lens. I had forgotten how difficult a 20 D could be. The screen is small and AF slow, but it was a joy to use. The best camera to use is the one in your hands!
I have wanted to try Infrared Photography for some time. The way it renders black and whites is distinctive, and the leaves and spring flowers on the trees at the capital would really set things off.
Except the flowers had not yet bloomed, and the trees were not covered in leaves. That turned out to be a good thing for this shot! Learning to see the world in IR was what this night had become for me. One of the things I learned was that you really don't need a speedlight, a flashlight works wonders! and if you can paint with it, even better
Later, on the UC side of the river, he and I saw the same thing at literally the same moment .... the only difference was that he had the lens to capture that moment with him.
My initial experiments with IR photography have really sparked an interest. I think I am going to have to save up for one of these!
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How could this collection of paint on a piece of canvas hold my attention for so long? How could it communicate as much about the artist as it did his subjects? The longer I stood, the deeper the connection grew and the more questions I had. But these are not the kinds of questions you would ask, or get answers to, in art class. These are the kinds of questions that arise the further you engage art -- whether it is your own creation or that of someone else.
In this encounter, much as those I have had with other Masters, I got to meet a man who died nearly a century before I saw his painting. Visiting museums and traveling to different places, I have met many of these famous artists, and whether their work is a display of the glory of God or of the terror of living, I have been educated in each of these encounters. Their art has the ability to draw me deeper into the subject they portray and deeper into myself. I recall the first Michelangelo statue that I saw, The Pieta (Mary holding the dying Jesus). Even though I was separated from it by 10 feet, I felt the intimate connection to the story he was telling as well as his own personal devotion and faith. A little later, I saw a statue of St Paul carrying his cross, and it held my interest in the same way. Michelangelo knew how to connect with the viewer's emotion as well as his intellect.
The contrast that I want to note is that there was another statue, very well done, across the sanctuary from Michelangelo's. It did not have the same kind of compelling quality that the Michelangelo did. It was very well done, but it just didn't have that intangible connection. The same thing happened with the paintings in the room next to Monet and van Gogh. I could easily walk away from a lesser artist. But each of the Masters hold my attention. They have something to say. (Whether I want to listen is an altogether different question!)
As I reflect on these encounters, I am beginning to understand my craft of photography a little more deeply as well. By having the opportunity to engage world class art first hand, we get an education in what the good stuff is really like. I am able to see first hand that real art is indeed a form of communication involving not just mastery of technique and showing the subject matter, but also the artist and the viewer, and all three points of contact are essential.
As I was standing in front of that van Gogh, I had to wonder whether the artist meant for himself to be so prevalent in his painting. And as I ask that question, I am forced to consider how I have inserted myself into my photographs. Just as van Gogh's thick paint, bright colors, and squiggly lines made himself present in the ladies' quiet walk on a peaceful street, a trained eye can also find traces of the artist in the photographs he takes.
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(EOS 7D, 17-40 @ 24mm, f8, 1/600, ISO 400, 5:36 pm)
There is an old saying …. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. That truism holds for photography as well. In order to make a good finished product, you have to start with a quality image. When we are talking about image sharpness, photographers are specifically talking about the definition of edges. Critical parts of the image will be razor sharp … that is, you can easily tell the difference between this and that.
Image sharpness starts even before you press the button on your camera. As Ansel Adams was fond of saying, “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” The essence of photography is being able to communicate a specific moment to those who are not present, or to interpret it for those who are there. Entire lifetimes can be spent in pursuit of the one perfect image, and many of us have a difficult time translating our vision into a photographic print. But this article is not about photographic vision, it is about making certain that what we do capture is decent enough to display.
Once you have the concept, exposure, and the composition of your image figured out, there still remain the technical aspects of making a sharp image. These begin even before the shutter is released. Here are some things that can help improve image sharpness:
Once you have done everything right and captured a “tack-sharp” image on film (or your memory card these days!), you are well on your way to getting a sharp print. If you have not succeeded in doing that, the rest of this discussion will not really help you a whole lot. There is only so much that can be done to salvage an image that was not properly made. In other words, the best thing that you can do to ensure a sharp image is to brush up on your field techniques!
The remainder of this discussion is about what to do in the digital darkroom (your computer) once you have properly captured an image. There are equivalent techniques used for film, and that is where these tools and techniques were originally developed, but most people are shooting digital these days. Most who are shooting Fine Art images shoot in the RAW format so that they can tweak every last bit of information out of the data their camera has captured, and by its very nature, a RAW image needs to have sharpening applied. It can be argued that it is not needed if you shoot jpg, because the camera has already applied sharpening to your image, but even there, some tweaking is often needed.
What is sharpening and what does it do? In a nutshell, sharpening enhances the edge contrast to make these edges better define the subject of a photograph. It makes the differences between tones slightly more distinct so that the line is better defined and appears more dimensional. Sharpening cannot fix poor focus or camera shake problems, it is limited by the data you present. Good sharpening, properly done, is said to be invisible. It simply counteracts the effects of processing pixels to make the edges as distinct as they are supposed to be. Sound vague? It probably should. Until you have seen properly sharpened images, you are likely to think the soft ones you have printed are just fine. Once you make the adjustment yourself, you very quickly begin to notice the difference.
There are several methods to choose from when sharpening your images, and like most things in photography, the choice is yours. A simple Google search for “image sharpening” returns over 11 million hits. You can choose to use only the most basic sharpening that is applied automatically, or you can tweak every last detail. It is a very simple fact that the larger you print, the greater the need becomes for custom sharpening to be applied. Sharpening is not VooDoo Magic, but it does require some study and practice to perfect.
Bruce Frasier and Jeff Schewe (pixelgenius.com) are the acknowledged experts when it comes to image sharpening, and Frazier’s book, “Real World Image Sharpening” is still the textbook of choice for digital image sharpening. Without going into detail, (you can read Frazier's book) the principles that he uses are the basis for the sharpening algorithms that are found in several software packages, most notably Pixel Genius’ PhotoKit Sharpener, NIK software’s Sharpener Pro, and all of Adobe’s products (Lightroom, Photoshop, and Elements). No matter which package you ultimately decide to use, it will take practice to perfect your post-processing technique. This includes noise reduction and image sharpening. A good website tutorial on sharpening can be found at http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/image-sharpening.htm. (check out their full range of tutorials!)
A sharpening workflow includes:
SOFTWARE TOOLS
There are dozens of software packages available to accomplish these tasks, and even the free ones available online offer at least basic functionality. I am not going to argue about which is best, or even appropriate for you. Use the tools you find most comfortable. I am most familiar with Lightroom, which uses Adobe’s Camera RAW engine. In Lightroom, there are several places you can adjust sharpening that correspond to Frazier’s 3 step sharpening theory (I believe Aperture and most others do similar things):
Although Lightroom and Aperture produce “good” results, finicky users are always going to end up wanting more from their images. Photoshop allows you to use your personally preferred method for both noise reduction and sharpening. You can use one of Photoshop’s built in sharpening methods, write your own action, or buy a plug-in. The built-in methods are adequate, but not excellent. Actions are much faster in the long run, but most still need customized. Plug-ins are specialty tools that have been developed for this function and usually work exceptionally well. I use all of the above, but for everyday use, I find the level of control in Lightroom to be adequate. Only as I print larger Fine Art prints do I need to use the custom tools, layers, and masks that Photoshop provides. Your mileage may vary.
If you are going to spend the money on tools like Photoshop, NIK Software’s Sharpener Pro, PhotoKit Sharpener, Photo Ninja (formerly Noise Ninja), Neat Image, Topaz, etc, know that you are going to have a learning curve and make sure that you are going to get your money’s worth. Work with your tools and try various methods to find out what works best. There is no single tool or method that is exclusively able to produce excellent output, it is the operator who does that! All of the above (and more!) are tools to help you achieve the best possible print from your image.
CAVEATS:
Happy Shooting!
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The "rules" for shooting baseball are the same as for any other sport: combine action, emotion, composition, and light. Rarely do all of these come together in front of your camera though, so try for as many as you can. But the very first consideration is always safety.
SAFETY: Baseballs can be deadly. They hurt and leave bruises on your thighs and give concussions or worse when they hit your head. Bats do break, and pieces go flying. Make sure that you are out of bounds at all times, and be extra careful the closer to home plate that you are. Safety netting will slow the ball down, but will not be of much protection to you or your lens if you are pressed up against it and the ball comes your way. If you get access to the photo wells at Stadiums, be extra careful, as balls do come your way ... usually at 90 mph or faster. One of the best tools for self-protection is to use the dugout as a barrier between me and the ball; I literally hide behind it and use it as a shooting blind! NEVER go inside a dugout without permission. Falsh photography is prohibited, as it can blind the fielders and endanger them. If you are using remotes, they cannot protrude onto the playing area, even if mounted out of bounds.
ACTION: Fortunately, baseball is predictable as to where things are going to happen. Let's look at some of the specifics:
(sorry I cheated ... this one is running to third base on a base-hit!)
EMOTION: shots of players celebrating after a big play are always winners. Shots of emotion after losing can be extremely compelling, but be careful about sharing those. To add drama to ordinary pictures, get up or down. Getting a different angle is a simple trick to add mood. You add the feeling of power and strength by laying on the ground to shoot the slide into third base, for example.
COMPOSITION: All of the rules of composition still apply, and your shots will be more compelling if you are able to add compositional elements.
Here, the opponent's eyes are in the shot, and the runner's eyes are implied. Peak action and the ball make up for not having the runner's eyes. The conflict of the moment is great because the call has not yet been made. If you already know safe or out, the shot is too late!
LIGHT: As photographers, we already know what light can do for an image; the word photography translated literally means "light writing." Yet, most of our pictures fail to consider, let alone capture this essential dimension. But when we do .... the results can be stunning! One of the things to consider with Baseball is how to best take advantage of the light that you are given on the day the game is being played. Is it bright overcast? Is it hard mid-day light? Is it directional light? Can you be where you need to be to take the greatest advantage of that light? You might be treated to a sunset colored sky with stadium lights and a field full of activity or you might be given beautiful Rembrandt portrait lighting or you might get bright overcast. Use what lighting you have to your best advantage, because once the stadium lights come on, you are done unless you are at a major league field.
Finally, especially with younger kids, you might want to look for something other than the planned on field action. They can provide you with much entertainment whether they are playing the game or just being kids!
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According to one pro that I talked to a few years back, that is probably a pretty good average. He said that if he got one excellent photo a year, he was happy. The thing is, my one may not even rate in this guy's portfolio! My eleven photgraphs come from a collection of almost 28,000 images taken over the past eight years. As I reviewed them, any number of reasons kept me from rating images higher than I did. Some were soft, others were not properly exposed or out of focus. Some were just plain boring. I found myself knocking some of the ones I rated a few years ago down a notch or two. I even deleted some that were marked as keepers because I would be embarrassed to have anyone find them in my collection! Truth be told, I should probably delete about 25,000 more. I'd still have plenty of memories remaining, and the albums would be far easier to look through.
One of the things that I realized was that it took me four years of shooting before I was really able to go out and find an image on my own. (This is with no formal training. I suspect that those who go to school for these things might catch on a little quicker!) That's right, in the first four years, I have exactly one image that I rated a 3 or better that was taken on my own. I have three others in that same time span that were taken while out with others. Lesson here: I do better when playing with others! You might too. There is great value in workshops and camera club outings in that they challenge you to stretch your limits. Do that while your passion is still young and burning, and you will have a great head start.
By the way, my favorite image from that time was taken in Kingston, Jamaica on a Mission trip. Technically, not perfect, but it is expressive. We were at a small school on the wrong side of the tracks in third world conditions, and at lunch time, the kids from this poverty stricken area enjoyed playing with the big college guys. Matt just was not sure what to make of all the chaos, but the girls loved him, and getting their pictures taken. (ISO 3200, f5.0, 1/80th)
Lesson two: ALL of the pictures I have ever taken needed me to learn more. Even looking at the ones I like, I am confronted with those nagging thoughts about what I could have or should have done differently. To be at a location at a different time, to use a flash, to move the camera three inches to the left .... the list goes on. Yet rarely was I limited by the gear I carried. Yes, even back when I had a lowly 8 megapixel camera with a mid-level lens, it was not the gear that I posessed, but the knowledge and skill that I lacked that limited me. Same can be said today. .... so it really is not the gear that makes the photographer.
Here is an example:
If you look closely, you can see that there really is not much detail in the trees and bushes on the far side of the lake. I chalk that up to camera shake (I didn't lock the mirror up for the 1/10 second exposure on my 20D) plus the wind rushing across the mountain top kept the leaves moving. This was three days in to Michael Frye's "Hidden Yosemite" workshop back in July 2005, and I was proud of myself for getting the exposure correct!
To this day, water is one of my favorite things to photograph. It inspires me in all of its forms. Here it is even in this NYC skyline photo.
and again in this intimate photo of violets taken in the Cranberry Glades
To be a nature and landscape photographer requires that you make time to be out in all kinds of weather, sometimes even when people far wiser than us stay home or take shelter. That is when you can capture the best mood and drama. Being able to express that mood, what captured your emotions, the reason for triggering the shutter in the first place is what makes for excellent photographs. The rest is simply the technical expertise that allows us to do so.
Whether we are shooting people, places, or things, three things coming together at the time of making the image is what will transform it from an ordinary snapshot into a photo that evokes a response in others. Those three elements:
Low lying fog would have knocked this image out of the ballpark, but even without it, you get a strong sense of conflict with the ominous storm clouds in strong contrast to the brightly lit church. It is a landscape scene that sets the stage for the battle between the forces of light and dark, aka: good and evil. Any other time and this would have been just another quaint country church.
Now that I have the basics under control, its time to get the creative juices flowing. My prayer is that when I revisit this task in three, five, or ten years, I will have a whole lot more than 11 images that I like from that time frame. My guess is that I will. :)
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ISO 3200, 2.8, 1/400 on a 30 D
That is where sports strobes come in. Those who have watched me develop as a sports photographer over the past few years have seen me use any number of different setups to augment the light at the venues I regularly shoot. Each of these has brought varying degrees of success, and today I use whatever I think is going to produce the best result in the location I am shooting.
The first attempt to provide additional light to the caves called high school basketball courts came in the form of speedlites attached to the camera. Of course that worked. It also gave a very definite look. The suject was bright, sometimes too bright, and there were the occssional weird shadows and persistent problem of red-eyes which meant more time spent after the game at the computer. Not so much a good idea. Besides, flash photography is not permitted on the baselines in the NCAA. Even where it is permitted, I try to avoid it so that players and coaches cannot blame me when they miss their shots.
(This shot is actually more recent, at a D-II game where the lights were almost non-existent. I used on-camera flash away from the baseline, and you can see the ugly effect it leaves. If I can, I now prefer to avoid this light. --- ISO 6400, 2.8, 1/500, 5D III)
They say the devil is in the details. The detail here is that in order for flash photography to be effective in stopping action without ghosting, you need to be 2 1/2 stops above ambient. With on camera flash, your shutter speed cannot be fast enough to stop the action becuase your camera's sync speed is at most 1/250 of a second, and you rely on the fast duration of the flash to stop the action. Unfortunately, that often leaves the background falling into darkness and un-natural sahdows in order to achieve that 2 1/2 - 3 stop difference. The alternative is to use the HSS mode to turn your flash into a fill flash at any shutter speed. That works very nicely, especially in making colors consistent, but you have to use a faster shutter speed (1/640) to stop the action and a flash that will cooperate with you. Notice in this shot how there is still motion blur in the fingers at 1/500 and softness because I am at ISO 3200, but the ugly shadow is gone.
ISO 3200, F4.0, 1/500, fill flash, 7D
So I got the speedlights off camera with a radio trigger. Essentially, that is what I have been doing ever since, with variations in lights used and their placement. Due to limitations of the gym, I used to only be able to hang lights on the side that the spectators were on, and even at that, not always able to get them out of the way where I wanted them. That always resulted in harsh lighting that came from one side. In this shot, I am using two Canon 580's mounted at the same location, one pointed to the top of the key, the other aimed high at the wall to reflect some light. Lots of problems with the image, AF didn't have enough light to work properly, and so it was often slow. At ISO 1250, only the part lit by the flash is really legible. The rest has lots of noise because it was brought up in Lightroom. I just prayed that nobody would really look close to see how poor the shot was!
Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Pronounced shadows were a fact of life, and I was never really satisfied. When I started using sport strobes, I had the power to light the whole gym by bouncing the light off of the ceiling. That helped reduce the harshness, but I was still limited in what and where I could shoot using that light because of mounting locations. For example, I usually was not able to get good cheerleaeder shots because they were on the side with the harsh lighting. When I did shoot them, they were usually nuked.
(ISO 400, 4.5, 1/250, 7D --- The sports strobes allowed me to bounce the light, but only from one side of the gym, leaving ugly shadows)
Next, I found a way to hang lights on opposite corners, and that made a huge difference. I started shooting with two high powered sport strobes on opposite corners of the gym. The lights are pointed at the ceiling at the top of the key, one with an 8 inch reflector, the other with a deep 11 inch reflector. I started using the 11" deep reflector so as to avoid the flare of that light in my lens when shooting towards it. The 8 inch allows me to have some hard light hitting the players while still reflecting light off of both the ceiling and the wall. The end result is light that sculpts out detail without being overly harsh. Having light on the far side means that colors are all vibrant and I no longer have a dark background. It also means I have a backlight to give separation to my subjects. Still have to be careful about shooting into the light, but it can give some unexpected character and added drama.
ISO 200, f4, 1/200, strobes on opposite corners
Finally, I managed to get balanced lights by attaching to the conduit on the wall and bouncing off the ceiling to give good, even light to the near side of the court, and usable light to about 3/4 court. Only downside is that I have to hurry up and move the lights at half time and between games. That does get to be a bit of a pain, but the light is just soooooo sweet!
That is the story of lighting one particular gymnasium. Another gym presents very different requirements. This shot is using the strobes mounted near the ceiling aimed at the top of the key on the opposite end of the court from where it was taken. Daytime window light added the backlight I needed. I upped my ISO from 200 to 500 to shoot down court. (ISO 500, 2.8, 1/250, 7D)
Every gym that I have tried lighting has a unique solution, and I often try different setups. Each has particular strengths and weaknesses photographically just as they do for the players on the courts. Thanks to having another photographer around who knows how to use sports strobes, I no longer take any location for granted, even one that I regularly shoot. My job is to See The Light, where it is, where it is not, where it can be and what it will do. When I am successful in doing that, I am able to capture the action in front of my lens and hopefully make images that are memorable.
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That's right, I got to shoot a game for my alma mater, a Div II school, and the venue was the University of Charleston, another Div II school. Now, I am not going to say it was dark in there, but the referees were using flashlights. I have been in community Rec centers that were better lit than that place! I never thought I would say this, but the lighting in most of the WV single A high schools is better that what I had tonight, and the WVU Tech gym is light years ahead of UC. (I can't wait to shoot at the state basketball tournament again!) The light on the floor was uneven, to the extent that it was usable at one end of the court, but almost non-existent at the other.
I didn't bring my lights tonight, only one speedlight, which I (gasp!) mounted on camera and used about half the time. The gym posed more problems than usual for me, but I still managed to come out with a couple decent shots. Thank God for the newer cameras that have managable noise levels even above ISO 6400. I had to shoot ISO 16,000, 2.8, 1/500 to get a reasonable exposure. The few lights in the gym cycled badly, so that meant touching up white balance on every single shot when I got home .... Oh, and that ISO 16,000 ... that means 30 MB file size for each shot. At least there was enough data to be able to use for developing.
Perhaps the most amazing thing was that the auto focus worked! Yes, even though there was barely enough light to read a book, the AF system on the 5 D Mark III was able to work. I can't say that it kept up, since I ended up deleting at least as many I as were in focus. Yes, it was slower than normal, but it still worked! That thrills me for the possibilities next year when football season rolls around and I am shooting in those kinds off conditions again.
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These are actually important considerations at the very beginning of my workflow. In the digital age, it is possible to keep every photo you have taken. The price of hard drives is now relatively cheap, so the cost of storage is not going to hold you back. The last few days, I have been without a voice, so I took advantage of the time to clean out my archives and get everything properly organized. Looking back, I even learned a few things about my photo habits. Since its all fresh in my mind, I thought I'd share with you.
First off, I have to admit that I have not always used my current organizational system. I had read the wisdom of others long ago, and through time have gradually accpeted many of thier recommendations. Digital Asset Management is not a new topic, and really should be an automatic part of the workflow for any photographer, and it all begins as you import your photos onto your computer. Hpw you name them and where you store them matters. Keep in mind here that I am not talking about photo sharing or display, but rather the way to keep track of those pictures that you really want to be able to find when you forgot where you put them.
There are two parts to my archival workflow: the physical placement of files and the cataloguing of those files. Each supporrts the other. One trick that I have adopted is to use the date in my nested folder structure. Some photographers use this date code on each picture. A personal caveat: I maintain a completely separate physical directory structure for sports images, but it follows the same principles. Here is how it works, regardless of image type:
[YEAR]
- [MMDD-place or Event] --- image ####.
- [MMDD-place or Event] --- image ####.
If you are simply storing JPG images, they are easily visible in the folders, but if you store your RAW filies, you may not be able to easily see the picture just flipping through your drive. Besides, if you have an extensive collection, or have retained multiple versions of a particular picture, looking at a collection of jpgs may not be enough for you to easily find what you are looking for. Especially when you have thousands of images. That is where my use of Lightroom comes in handy.
Sure, Lightroom is a RAW image processor, but it is much more. Lightroom allows you to assign "keywords" to your images, and these are stored right along with the picture. Other programs are able to do the same thing, so program choice is up to you, but Lightroom is both an industry standard and what I am familiar with. (Mac junkie like Aperture) I am able to find pretty much any picture, and narrow it down very quickly with the combination of directory structure and keywording. How does it work?
When ingesting images from the camera to computer, I apply keywords -- any combination of words or numbers that will be both standardized and meaningful. I have some files with upwards of 20 keywords stored with them that will help me search later. For example, the following image
has these keywords: coffee, food, drink, cappuchino, cup, restaurant, cafe, table, Italy, Capri, 2011, travel, heart, vacation, relax. Your keywords have to be meaningful to you, but consider that you might end up wanting to search for an abstract idea, a shape, or emotion sometime later. When importing, I assign keywords common to all images, then add individual keywords later.
With over 38,000 images in my VHS Sports folders alone, it becomes fairly important to have meaningful keywords assigned to images so that I don't need to spend hours looking for photos of Tasha from the last four years. Imagine this project: you want to make a single "Memory Mate" type poster for an athlete that highlights all four years of High School. With my system, I can search for the school, sport, and jersey number within each of the designated years. Since I have also rated the pictures way back when I first processed them, I can also narrow the search down to the best images from each year very quickly. No need to look through thousands of images, with this system, I only need to check out a dozen or so to find what I am looking for. How long does it take you to find a single image?
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In an ideal world, I would like to be able to use EOS Utility to set ALL of the camera functions and menus via my computer, not just the few currently allowed. This would give the distinct advantage of being able to spell out the advantages and differences that each setting makes -- and how they affect other settings -- while you are making them. As the menus grow more and more complex, this really should be on the table for a camera at this price point.
Viola! The camera is ready to use. Well, actually it is pretty much ready to use out of the box. But now, it is set up the way that I think I want it. An hour later, I’m off to a basketball game to test things out. I’ll be shooting with my trusty old 7D and my brand spankin new 5Diii. Original plan was to use the 17-40 on the 5 and the 70-200 on the 7D. That plan quickly changed when I realized just how wide that would render my frame! So I switched things up and put the 70-200 on my full frame 5D and the 17-40 on my 7D, essentially rendering it a 24-70. Having used that for a game, I can see why it was so popular with sports shooters on full frame or 1.3 bodies … it really does hit a sweet spot under the basket, and I may just keep using this setup for a while!
The 70-200 felt comfortable and responsive on the 5D, but it was difficult giving up that little extra reach I have enjoyed with this lens on my 7D. Due to the layout of the gym that I am shooting in, I am extremely close to the base-line, and doubt that I practically gained much on the wide end, but time will tell.
Shooting tonight was not my typical night out. I was testing a new camera and trying a new technique (back button focus) while using a new lighting setup. Lots of variables, and lots of potential for things to go wrong. My first impressions:
As I start looking through my images in Lightroom, I am absolutely stunned. Shell-shocked. Flabbergasted. The list of adjectives could go on. There is simply no comparison of these images to those that came out of any digital camera I have previously owned. I knew to expect better subject/background separation because of the full frame body, but I was not expecting the superior file quality in absolutely every respect to be this dramatic. A love affair is beginning! Let me count the ways:
There is great truth in the saying that you should invest in quality glass rather than chasing camera bodies. The Lens will make or break your image no matter the black box it is attached to. Quality lenses will be a requirement when using a camera of this quality. It will show the weaknesses of inferior lenses, and I am glad I have the “L” glass for this camera simply to keep up with its resolving power. That being said, there does come a point when the camera body itself makes a difference. Going from a crop body to a full frame body makes a huge difference in your lens performance, especially in the out of focus areas that make a picture pop in just the same way as stepping up from a Kodak Instamatic to a 35mm to a 4x5 camera did in the film days. It makes a great deal of difference in pixel density and pitch and all kinds of technical ways that I am not qualified to talk about but influence the quality of the output file. You’ll notice smoother gradations in color changes, better detail bright whites, less noise in the shadows, and faithful color representation throughout. In short, you finally will capture what you saw through the lens. What I can say without reservation is that stepping up this far makes a difference in the pictures that you are able to capture.
Be forewarned that processing the RAW files from this camera will require a fast computer and lots of hard drive space. The provided software will yield optimal results in processing, but Lightroom 4 (ACR 7.3) does a pretty good job at rendering them as well. This camera is for the serious photographer who is willing to invest not just the money to buy it, but also the time to learn to use it properly, and appreciate the results it helps produce even if others cannot see the difference.
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And then the snow comes. My plans for soaking in the hot tub have been interupted. (I still soaked every night after shooting all day) Actually, I was rather ecstatic that I could get a few days of exercise without having to pay my physical therapist! Doing therapy this way is a whole lot more fun than visiting an office, and for those who have been following my recovery, this pushed my limits to the extreme, and gave me confidence that the recovery is doing what it is supposed to. Every muscle in my body got a workout!
But I digress ... I decided to avoid the food and beverage snaps I saw my breakfast buffet companions sharing. The slopes wouldn't open for three more days, so no photos from the slopes or sauna, just simple landscapes. What do you see when it is 20 degrees and snowing with a strong wind trying to blow you over every step of the way? I pretty much tried to stick with patterns and simple compositions, attempting to reduce each scene down to its essential elements. ... There was a cluster of trees I had spotted the night before that could tell the story of winter very well by themselves.
As I said, patterns stick out this time of year
But then came along another view:
I think it's the first image that I have taken that shouts BLIZARD! This was taken at mid-day, with snow flying in the 30 MPH breeze. And you can feel the cold - heck, I just shivered uploading the image! Now, all I had to do was get the car back to the road .... it only took two hours to go 50 feet.
Then as I explored, I was reminded that life goes on, even when the temperatures fall and modern conveniences are most appreciated. I wished that my insulation was as good as the cattle's, but as you can see, most of them are smart enough to stay close to home .... unlike thier photographer of the day!
The National Widelife Refuge is an essential part to Canaan Valley, and while I did see a flock flying overhead, I didn't spot any of the smaller birds while I was here
The trees which will soon bloom and bear fruit again are barren
and down the road, water continues to flow over Blackwater Falls
But make no mistake, the road to get there is not easy to travel
I guess putting it simply, winter photography is no picnic, but well worth the effort!
So get out there and shoot this winter, bring home some pictures you'll be proud to hang on your wall and be able to brag to your friends ... "Yeah, I did that!"
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With the theme "Parts of the Whole" in mind, what do you see?
When the image was presented, some thought perhaps the tombstone was only part of the whole cemetary. That was about as far as the assembled group managed to see the theme. Allow me to explain why I selected this image:
Parts of the Whole echoes through this image both literally and figuratively, and may well be an insight into the collective imagination of our country. The literal display of parts includes the obscured tombstone: you cannot see the entire thing, nor can you see the entire name or even dates of birth and death. Even the flag that blocks the details can only be partially seen because it is curled over upon itself. The back - side light is only partially visible ... notice the prominence of shadows in this image echoing the tombstone's symbolism of death. Of course, it is only a very small part of this cemetary, much as the Private is only a small part of the entire army he was fighting for. All of these literal elements are right in front of your eyes.
But the literal interpretation is only the beginning. The image was taken at Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond, Virginia. On my recent visit there, I was impressed with how dearly the citizens there hold on to thier Civil War memories and heritage. Yes, this to me that it not be made into a moody presentation, that would obscure the vividness of the the conflict that is so real to the people of this region. To them, it is not something that happened in the distant past, but a very present reality that continues to shape who they are.
How is it that this young soldier, killed in battle 150 years ago is still so magnificently cared for? Certainly this young man's life was more than "soldier." The lawn is meticulously mowed, the flag carefully placed, and the marker looks as though it could have been planted this year. We can say what we want about "those southerners who hold on to the idea of the War of Northern aggresssion," but they do honor thier dead. They do remember thier past. "Remembering Our Past" was the title that I assigned to this photograph. Speaking figuratively, this photo convicts each of us of our own prejudices, whether positive or negative. That flag itself is a strong emotional component no matter which side of the idea it represents we might find ourselves. Even the Confederate flag denotes a part of the whole, for though for a time our nation was divided, all who lived under that flag both before and after lived under another standard, the Stars and Stripes. We tend to hold on to and treasure selected parts of our memory, both individually and collectively. Some who have seen this photo were moved to tears when they recalled distant relatives lost in the Civil War long ago or even in recent conflicts around the globe. It brings into consciousness the sacrafice that young men have been willing to make for thier country, which in itself is part of our whole history.
Images that are strongly composed rarely settle for the literal interpretation that we want to first assign to them. The author wants us to see more, ususally something about ourselves or about an important cause. The next time that you encounter a piece of art that you cannot understand, stop. Try to understand the image in light of the things you do know about it: What is the Title, What is the theme? What is the apparent subject matter? What is the author trying to say? Then step back and let it sink in. Allow the cognitive functioning that God gifted you with to churn about and see where that takes you. You might just be stunned by what the photographer, the painter, or the sculptor is saying. And if you are really lucky, you might learn something about yourself in the process!
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When you actually stop to take a look at the pictures, it is actually pretty easy to see the progress (or lack thereof!) that you have made. The evidence is right in front of you! I had a lot of opportunities to shoot back in 2006, so I got out that year's collection. What amazed me was the amount of images that I had decided back then might one day be worth another look. I ended up deleting almost 1/3 of the pictures that I had kept! Some were poorly focused, others simply lacked focus; some were so far off on exposure that they were not even worth thinking about salvaging. Composition was poor in many, and the list of photographic errors of the bunch was just too long to enumerate! If I was really honest, many of the ones I saved were more memories than photographs.
Here are a few of the ones that I deleted today:
Like I said, I am embarrassed that I even kept these! Even with that, not everything I shot back then was a disaster. There were certainly more than a few shots that I got to see again for the first time and am am glad that I kept:
Why do I admit this publicly? Well, its a lot like the exams our students are taking. We cram in so much stuff that it really does not have time to sink in and make a difference at first. Even though I "knew" what makes a good exposure and composition, I had not mastered the technicalities of making it happen consistently. I really had not developed my own eye or way of seeing. If I was really honest, very few of my images from back then were very compelling. Most were just a guy with a camera exploring. That is not to say that they were snapshots -- far from it! Some succeeded, some were mistakes; some were very horrible mistakes. But it is through this trial and error process that we learn our photographic vision and skill. Just like in the moral life though, I am not advocating that you go out and try to make mistakes -- plenty will come your way!
But you cannot sit around and just wait for photographic skill to pop into your head. You have to try things. Some will fail, some will succeed. And when you undertake these projects, you will not know which is going to be which until you have tried. And if you then take the time to look back and see your journey, you will learn even more.
One of the most helpful things you can do is to hang out with other like minded people. We do it all the time in our clubs and churches and it seems to work well there. So too with photography. Hang out with photographers who can help you learn. Join a camera club. Participate ina workshop. Ask the opinions of people who will give you honest feedback. They will help you to improve far more than browsing some internet sites. And chances are, you'll have a lot more fun!
]]>For the shoot today, we had to take the standard picture that you see in every basketball program you have ever picked up. Not very exciting, but necessary for the upcoming tourneys.
Then we moved on to make some great pictures of these young athletes. I used a processing technique to give them a gritty edge that will be needed for the team poster. All it takes is a few mouse clicks, and Spencer looks 10 years older!
Dante gave me this look on the very first click of the shuttter!
These guys made it so easy, all that was missing was the sweat. I can't wait to see the poster! Check this year's team out at http://seethelightimages.com/p94538862
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If you have a special photo that you need printed to hang in a musem, or are a wedding photographer that does not want to mess with the details of printing, I reccomnend going to PPS (http://www.photoproduction.com/) in South Charleston if you are in the neighborhood. Clayton and his associates will take very good care of you. It is what I do when I need to make a print larger than my printer can handle, and where I used to go for all of my fine art printing needs. There are many other high end printers out there, but I believe in supporting local businesses when I can.
This summer, I got a great deal on an incredible printer (Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Mk II). After the rebates, the price of my wide format printer was free! Now that can be a dangerous thing for a photographer! Why? Well, since getting my printer, I have been experimenting, learning the differences in papers and what the different settings will do. The cost of paper and ink will add up! OK ... I know that I am not most people when it comes to photography; most people will simply use thier home printer to crank out a bunch of small prints and be very happy with the results. Of course, most people would not be spending $500 on a printer either, but like I said, I am not most people, and most who read this blog know that!! Come to think of it, if you have read this far, you aren't like most people either!
At this point, I have to confess that I am still very new to printing photographs, and there is much to learn. But I also believe that the process of getting here is similar to that of most photographers. As you grow in this craft, you learn that the more control you have over each step of the process, the better the end result. First, its a point and shoot where we learn to press the shutter button, then we learn the details of exposure and composition. After that we move on to developing our pictures and posting them for others to see. Finally, we delve into the art of print making, matting, and framing.
It is an art, and I know people who have earned advanced academic degrees in this one discipline. I am not there yet! But, here is a short list of the things that I have learned about printing over the last couple months:
If you are interested in learning more about the art of fine art printing, I suggest the Rocky Nook book "Fine Art Printing for Photographers." It is a couple years old (2008), but presents excellent and detailed information that is timeless. The other book I mentioned is Bruce Frazier and Jeff Schewe's "Real World Image Sharpening." both are excellent resources that will guide you to making the most out of the already excellent photographs you have waiting to be put to paper!
]]>From the first snap of the game
On Offense
or defense
you certainly brought us excitement all season long!
Thanks for the memories guys!
Each game has its own gallery and can be found online at http://seethelightimages.com/f125014417
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To be sure, there are certain limitations to using this beast. It is heavy to lug around and and does not offer any zooming capabilities. That means that you do not move around following the action in the same way as with my usual arsenal. BUT, these design limitations also bring out the strengths that this lens gives the sports or wildlife photographer. My venue was a very darkly lit HS football field (ISO 3200, 2.8, 1/250th in the bright areas, ISO 6400, 2.8 1/320 in the dimmer places for you photo geeks).
There are a couple downsides to using this lens:
What made this lens such a joy to use?
You really only notice these things when you can actually compare the results you get with inferior equipment. I usually use a 100-400 mm lens that is pretty good, but much slower than the EF400 2.8. Now I know what my pictures would look like if I had the better gear .....
I guess its time to win the lottery!
]]>The girls were having the time of thier lives. Everyone on the team got to play about the same amount of time. Some were focused and competitive, others just playing in the mud. It was so refreshing to see the sheer joy on a little girl's face when she scored a goal or did some other amazing feat. It was also a pleasure (at least in the game I was shooting) to see parents that were supportive rather than critical of thier kids and coaches.
As they get older, we see more and more parents living vicariously through thier children and grandchildren, unable to accept defeat, and being very poor sports. Some days, I wonder whether I am at a school event or a longshoremen's gathering. It was downright refreshing to see coaches laughing with the girls rather than yelling at them; teaching rather than ridiculing. It brought back my own memories of Little League when we got to go out for ice cram after the game no matter what the score was. I stand in admiration of those adults who give up thier time to be with a bunch of kids that they may or may not have been familiar with prior to thier current gathering. These adults set a model of service to the children that will not be forgotten, and if they do thier jobs well, will teach them how to win no matter what the scoreboard says.
]]>There are actually technical reasons for needing to "approve" your order. Actually, it is not so much approving the order as it is making sure that I have properly processed the photo you desire. My standard workflow is to hurry up and get images uploaded following a ballgame so that parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors, and you can see the photos as quickly as possible, (even before you can see the game, I have sent pictures to the newspaper!) In order to get them uploaded quickly, I size every photo as a 4x6 print, and make the adjustments accordingly. So, if you order a 4x5 or 4x6 print, everything is already done and I usually can approve the order from my phone!
On the other hand, if you are ordering a larger print, the picture needs to be re-worked, especially with a dimension of processing called sharpening. The term itself comes from back in the film days when a mask was used to accentuate the edges in a picture. In the digital era, your point and shoot camera automatically applies sharpening to your image when you take the picture. BUT Professional photographers like to control every detail of the image making process rather than let the camera or computer make decisions for them, and we have learned that sharpening is best applied to an image based on the output size rather than the picture dimensions at time of image capture. That makes details crisp in the image while also eliminating ugly halos and artifacts.
What practical difference does that make for you? Well, when you get a larger print, I can control where this sharpening (as well as color casts, brightness, tonal contrast, blur, etc) is applied to the image. Very often when I go back to process a photo for a larger print, I discover more things about the picture that I can fix prior to delivery. For example, a chain link fence in the background reflects the flash I used and can be terribly distracting. When processing that file, I can minimize that fence, highlighting the scene you really wanted to see. I'll also double check to make sure the colors are accurate and the exposure is where we really wanted it to be as well as cropping it to the size you want. Although the file I originally uploaded was a 4x6, the actual file from my camera is more like a 20x30 inches. As a matter of fact, I have had pictures used for billboards, so there is a good deal of wiggle room on many of the pictures you see. Whether printing for a billboard or a wallet sized print, the trick to getting it right is to process the file for the print size: how people will view it.
Remember that chain link fence I talked about? If we simply told the printer to use the same file that I uploaded as a 4x6 to make your 8x10, it would dramatically stand out, and the details that you wanted to see in that photo would be "soft," maybe even appear out of focus. We might get "posterization" or "pixelation" because there was not enough information for the printer to use properly. By sending a full sized version of the file to the printer, I can avoid these problems and get the best possible results for you. After all, that is what really matters!
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Western Landscapes -- Yosemite and Death Valley
International Destinations: Italy
Nature as Art - - some traditional and some less than traditional interpretations
Of course all of the Fine Art purchase options are in place, but I might suggest that you enjoy them by pressing the SLIDESHOW button on the gallery display. Facebook, Google +, and Twitter options are on each page for you to LIKE or SHARE these photos.
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First off, do your research. Know what to expect from the teams you are covering and who is going to do what. Mom's and dads shooting from the grandstands will get thier kid, and they'll be happy. But nine times out of ten, great pitures are not made while shooting from the stands. Besides, that long lens will get in other people's way and you'll be known as a nuisance. Wherever you are shooting from, make sure you are safe and able to get the shots you need. Vey often, the best vantage point is at the level of the playing field, but be sure you have permission before you venture onto the field. Depending on the level of play, you may be restricted to certain areas. If you are on the field, remember that the kids game comes first, your safety, THEN your pictures. Also, be aware of other photographers working the game. You are each there for a purpose, and no, your picture is not more important than the other guy's. In other words, don't step into some else's frame!
If you are limited, it is usually to the press area that is on the goal line side of the 25 yard line. This does give you lots of room to work ... its just that you have to have either a really long lens or wait for the action to get close enough to shoot. On restricted fields, those 50 yards in between belong only to the players and coaches (and they have to stay within those lines!) though you can go behind the team area to get to the other end of teh field. Remember too that the end zones are great places to shoot from. There, the action is coming right at you, and if you have a lens longer than 200mm, you can often get some really cool shots as they approach. When working a goal line situation, I ususally swithch to my 70-200 and shoot from behind the end zone. One little trick that I use is that I always try to be where I can see the facces of the players I am shooting -- between 5 and 35 yards from the line of scrimmage, depending on the picture I am working on.
If you are shooting midget league, you are lucky ... the action is usually slow enough to follow and the games are played during the daylight hours. Early season Middle School is not too difficult because you still have enough light. For those kinds of games, a minimum shutter speed of 1/500 is required to freeze action. Once you get to High School games .... watch out! Even places with good lights are photographic balck holes. You will need a camera capable of high ISO and know how to use your flash as well as fast glass. Auto focus systems are easilty fooled under the lights, white balance is a nightmare and freezing action can be a challenge. Many of us end up using our speed lights to help illuminate the situation and freeze action, but here again, you've gotta be careful. It is very easy to create ugly shadows or to have ghost images if your flash is not properly balanced. Most experts will tell you that you need to ioverpower ambient by 3 stops in order to avoid ghosting. That can be a challenge at 1/250th! Another solution is to use your flash only as a fill light, but this requires a dedicated system flash setr to High Speed Sync.
The best word of advice is to find an experienced sports photographer to mentor you. Share your successes and failures and learn from them. Anyone who has been around the block a few times can point out what is happening in your pictures. Some of us even have come up with solutions to make those errors disappear! In the end though, getting winning pictures takes teh same effort as winning the game ... it simply takes a lot of practice!
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For trhose that are interested, I use ZENFOLIO.com as my web site host and print fulfillment team. THey handle all of the details behind the scenes so that I can keep on shooting and not have to worry about the businesss side. If you want to use ZENFOLIO for your own photo hosting, feel free to use my referral code for a nice discount on your first year's subscription. My code is: Z8X-U4Y-SEZ
]]>But, with good doctors and a wonderful community helping me to recuperate, I expect to be back on the sidelines this fall (albeit with a modified approach!)
]]>Not all of the features on this site have to do with the pictures though ... Some of you have asked if it is possible to purchase photos without a credit card. First off, I have to say that I admire you for taking control of your finances and refusing to pay bank fees! One of the reasons I switched to my current web host is to better serve you. Once you determine the dollar amount that you are going to spend, just let me know! I will issue a gift certificate that you redeem only on this website. It spends just like cash (because you already gave me that!) and allows you the same flexibility and freedom of online ordering that everyone else enjoys.
Of course, gift certificates are always available!
One of the trickier propositions is ordering a CD, poster, book, or any other custom designed product. Usually, those are done in person rather than through the web. They are listed here to give you an idea of the cost involved.
Something that many have asked for is a file to use on Facebook, MySpace, or on your iPhone. Those can now be ordered online and downloaded almost immediately rather than having to wait for a CD. Unfortunately, there will be a short wait period since I approve all orders before they are shipped. In most cases, you will be able to download the file within an hour or two.
NOTES FOR MOBILE USE:
If yoyu are having trouble logging in to any of the password protected galleries, make sure that you have cookies turned on. I went round and round with Customer Service for several days before discovering this simple trick!
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When I looked out the door to my carport, behold! I was treated to a Cardinal. This one had found the mirror on my car door, and fortunately, I had my camera handy!
I know that the shots are not of magazine quality, but I did manage to capture a cardinal looking at himself in my car's mirror. (shot through the glass of my door plus two car windows! I wqas a little llimited as to the angle I could shoot from). These are all un-cropped:
I wonder if birds have the same kind of "self" awareness that humans do?
Judging by this bird's combativeness with his image in the mirror, I doubt it! He is definitely not trying to make friends with his reflection!
Shooting family memories can now be done with ease using your iPhone or pretty much any point and shoot camera. If you are planning on shooting table top still lifes and landscapes, pretty much any SLR camera will do unless you are selling your photos to top end magazines with very expensive requirements. When it comes to sports photography, there are certainly camera body and lens choices that will help you. Let's look at a few of those:
CAMERA BODY (Digital SLR is a given) and Canon and Nikon are easily the leaders in this category. Features that will help you:
LENS CHOICES - while any lens can help you make a picture, there are some qualities of the lens that will help your chances of nailing an action photo:
Yes, you can get a decent sports shot with your camera phone. But you will definitely increase your odds of consistently making great memories by following the above guidelines. Sorry, I cannot tell you what is "the best lens to use for sports." That will depend on your tastes and the task at hand. I use everything from fisheye to 400mm lenses to capture the moment, but here are some good choices:
I have used other lenses as well. But the truth about cameras and lenses is that you will always have to make a compromise. For me, that compromise is based on what I can afford as opposed to what I would like to be using. Unless you work for Sports Illustrated or have Bill Gates income, that will probably be true for you as well. A little research will point you in the right direction, and asking questions of those who have done it will help you figure out the best compromise for your intended usage.
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You can check out the full gallery of the saint flight by clicking on the picture:
Or you can check out the ball game (Oak Hill at Valley) by following this link:
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There really are four different kinds of web site providers when it comes to photographers:
Well, that's it! I hope that clears up a few questions for you. See you on the field!
]]>I will update this post with a link to the gallery once I get everything uploaded. See you at the opener on Moday!
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The players and coaches are not the only ones who have to prepare for the season though. Parents know that they have had to be at the ballfield for practice for several weeks already. There is much to learn, even for the returning players. While the Booster club is out shopping for hot dogs, I figured that I had better start getting my ducks in a row as well.
First off, I am checking my gear to make sure that it is all in operating order. Had to send a lens in for repair, and am now in the process of checking and adjusting the micro-adjust feature on my autofocus. It's important that your lens acually focusses properly if you want to get good photos during the game, and many of the higher end cameras these days allow you to fine tune the auto-focus.
Somewhat related to this, I am ordering a new clip to help me carry my camera. With the back problems I have been experiencing, I want to get as much of the weight as I can off of my shoulder. A friend recently showed me the spider camera holster which allows me to shift the weight of the camera and lens onto my waist rather than my back. I am excited about trying this for baseball, since I usually carry a second camera, and that should be so handy!
The next thing I am doing is to look back through my notes on baseball and softball. Yes, I keep notes on these things so I can learn how to get better shots. I also look at respected photographers to see what they are doing. Every now and then I get a cool picture idea from Sports Illustrated or ESPN. Sometimes they work out, sometimes not. But I really don't like to stay in a rut where everything is predictable. Who knows what I might experiment with this year!
My favorites from last year came from simply knowing where to be at a given moment and having the discipline to get there in time.
As you can see, its not always about fast action, but knowing where to be and when to press the button made this memory.
That being said, I do love the expressions you guys give me, and capturing both the action and the expression is what makes the best photos
I hope to get better this year!
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Yet we usually do not see many of these unique features simply because we don't slow down enough to really see them. This spring, as life returns to these mountains and valleys, take a few minutes to slow down when something of beauty catches your eye. Spend some time getting to know that flower or tree or bird or whatever it may be. If your camera is handy, make some pictures. One of my favorite images to date comes from an afternoon I spent literally dancing with a dogwood tree - getting to know it from every concievable angle. By the time the evening light was hitting it just right, I knew exactly the shot that I wanted from that tree .... and she graciously gave it to me.
I will post updates here so you can know when a new game has been added, I'll probably also post some thoughts on the processes of taking and developing pictures in the digital age, and who knows what else might come into my mind. Join me on my random thoughts!
First up, I shot the Fayette Coounty Middle School semi-finals last night. The website is undeergoing some major maintenance today, so access might be a little slower than usual. I got the boys game (Collins and Fayetteville)
uploaded before the server went into shut-down, and I'll get the girls game (Collins and Valley)
posted as soon as I can. LOTS of Cheerleader shots from those games.
Championship games are tonight, and I'll see you there!
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