We Shall Not Forget …
Why Sharing has to be our Mission!!
After posting a photo of the B-26, I received an email from a reader. It told telling me about his father, a WWII vet and B-26 pilot who really liked the photo I had blogged. I sent the dad two prints of the aircraft, a small gesture of thanks for his service. …this is why we must share our photography!
I wanted to let you know my father received the prints you mailed him. They are absolutely gorgeous and he was so excited and happy to see them. He pours over every detail and keeps telling me what a good airplane that was. I asked him what he liked best about flying. He got very still and quite for a long minute, then smiled and said “cloud hopping, the sense of speed”. For a moment he was back in 1942, young and strong and confident, a 21 year old Citadel cadet, flying the most advanced aircraft in the world with all of life still ahead of him. He wasn’t just remembering his youth he was reliving it, feeling what he felt over 70 years ago. What is such a moment worth when you are 92, nearing the end and in constant pain from arthritis and cancer? Everything.
Drunk Tank Pink
Do you know why they paint drunk tanks pink? Do you understand what it is about red the can change your life? If you’re a photographer, you must read Drunk Tank Pink NOW and find out these and many other answers that will directly impact your photography!No, Adam does not talk about f/stops of camera brand. What he talks about are some of the most useful tools you can have and use as a photographer and, they are all free! Have your doubts because of the title of the book, listen to this interview on NPR and thank me in the morning!
A New Years Wish!
Strolling in Spokane
When it comes to learning a new location, walking works great. Ya, takes more time and you don’t cover as much ground but personally I tend to see more and think of more potential photographs that way. So when up in Spokane a week ago, it was a brisk morning, perfect for a walk downtown. Now Spokane is all new to me, driving through and stopping only for gas once doesn’t count as a visit. So with my girl by my side and D600 / 24f1.4AFS on my shoulder, off we strolled. I was totally blown away by the first thing we came across, Spokane Falls! This place is cool! We walked completely around its parameter and spent some time on the bridge that crosses the Spokane River. I had no idea this really great falls existed. And the power house, is that a sweet structure or what? The 24f1.4 was the wrong lens, not for the focal length but aperture since it doesn’t close down much. Even shooting in L1 didn’t get me a slow enough shutter speed to do much with the water. I’ll be back to work this falls again!
Just a block away from the falls is the spectacular Review Building built in 1890. I love photographing architecture, wish I could have made money at it as the Review Building really makes me wanna pursue it. The photograph didn’t take much to make happen. I moved laterally to get the sun reflection off the window you see shooting with the lens totally closed down for the sunburst. While working on that, I worked on getting the reflected light on the street in the foreground. Then simply lined up the lines the best I could and went click. The finished photo was a simple Silver Efex Pro conversion. There’s a lot more to discover in Spokane, good thing Brent has a spare room :-)
When Stuck at Home
“My kids just started back to school so my next few weeks and weekends, I’m stuck at home. What do I shoot?” Just received an email with this question and man, is it all too real! I remember that time when my boys started at school and I wanted to stay home the first few weeks to be there for all that new, school stuff. Taking off for a weekend to shoot just wasn’t possible and being the end of August, there just wasn’t a lot out my window to photograph. It’s times like this I go outside my comfort zone, if for just two weeks out of the year with my photography. It’s now I raid my local florist and find a posse to photograph. It’s no secret I hate photographing wildflowers. I just don’t like sticking my ass in the air as I bend over to wait for a flower to stop moving to take its photo (I have the utmost respect for those who do it well). So I buy a flower and bring it home and set up a studio to take it’s portrait. And I light it with a minimum of two flashes, making it a real challenge. The idea is real simple, with total control, make the uncommon out of the common. You could easily sum it up with Jay Maisel’s mantra, Light, Gesture, Color. In the case of this rose, there are 3 flashes being used, 2 SB-R200 & 1 SB-900 (with a 70-180 lens). The SB-R200 have DIY light modifiers and they are the main light on the right and left of the rose and the SB-900 has a snoot for the leaves. No, I didn’t place the rose and go click the first time and get the shot, it took a half an hour to fine tune it but what you see here is the photo right out of the camera. And doing this once a year I can handle so now, I’m good until next August. If you’ve not put yourself through this hell challenge, it might be the time to give it a go!