Something possessed me to bake this weekend. And I learned the hard way that doubling the Nestle Toll House recipe makes a bunch of cookies and also makes it hard on your mixer. Baking provided me with a lot of photo ops though, and I’ll talk more about those in coming days. Hope your holiday week is a good one.
On 11.21.08, In Photo of the Week, By Chester
This is one of my all time favorite images, as it conveys how peaceful it was on the snow that day. Skiing, for me, is the ultimate way to make peace with the world. When I am out there, it is just me and the mountain, and I can push myself as hard as I like, or take it as easy as I want to. If I want, I can just lay down on the hill and stare at the sky for a while. Almost like meditation.
And this feeling doesn’t just come when I am skiing by myself. I ski with people of varying abilities all the time. If I am out with a beginner or intermediate, they always worry that they are keeping me from enjoying the mountain. That fear could not be any further from the truth. I am just happy to be there, and happy to share the mountain with my friends and family. With this photo, I hope to share some of that peace with you too. This photo is also available as one of the options for my Colorado-style notecard / holiday greeting card offering for 2008. Order your print today. For a digital download, or for commercial licensing, please contact me directly.
On 11.20.08, In Commentary, Photos, By Chester
The other day I lamented about how my little girl goes crazy once the camera comes out. I have figured out the secret. Put her in an environment where she is distracted, and you can get the really candid pics. Yesterday she and I went to City Park and Washington Park in Denver. Out in Lakewood, the parks just don’t have the massive, modern play structures you find at the better Denver parks. We had a great time, and she played hard as she always does. Since Washington Park is about a 15 minute drive from City Park, she had time to wind down a little bit.
Upon arriving at Washington Park (or Wash Park as the locals know it), she saw the ducks and geese in the lake. We went over to take a look, which was when I was able to snap this shot. I actually got a few good, candid portraits yesterday. She was in her own element, having a grand time. That is the secret.
I have the rest of the images from yesterday available if you want to see them.
On 11.19.08, In Photos, By Chester
I was experimenting with different lighting and backdrops for a product photo (I am selling this train set on CraigsList). I used white foam core for the base and background. Lighting was off camera flash bounced up off the ceiling. Nothing special, just experimenting. Everyone should experiment once in a while. In the digital world, it’s only a write to the memory card.
On 11.18.08, In Commentary, By Chester
I love my little girl. Once in a while I am able to get a good candid of her. But by and large, whenever I take the camera out, she becomes silly and “unmanageable”. Saturday was one of those days. She went to a friend’s birthday party, had her hair and nails done (yes, she is 3), and came home looking cute as a button. Unfortunately, she was really wound up. So I ask you, how (if you can) do you get a child to sit down and do a few good shots? I’m sure if it wasn’t me, she probably would have been fine. I guess next time I’ll just wait it out until she settles down.
On 11.14.08, In Photo of the Week, By Chester
Since the holiday season is coming up, I am trying to address the needs of enthusiasts. Last week was for railfans, this week is for golf fans. Give them something to look at when they are stuck in the office, or when it is raining or snowing out. Order today.
If you are interested in a download for personal printing, or a commercial rights license, please contact me directly.
On 11.13.08, In Photos, By Chester
This yellow jacket was flying around in my office the other day, and not doing a good job of it. I decided he would be a good subject for a macro, so I put a coffee cup over him. Not sure how long that cup had been sitting in my office, but it must have been awhile. If you look close, you can see all the dust on this thing. But I was happy to have a chance to do a macro of one – I don’t like messing with them when they are alive.
It also gave me a chance to try off camera flash on a macro, using my Cactus Wireless triggers. Always like to get some practice in.
On 11.12.08, In Gear, Uncategorized, By Chester
Within the photography world, as with the rest of the world, there are people driving Ferrari’s and people driving Geo Metro’s. With respect to off camera flash equipment, the Ferrari’s would be Pocket Wizards and the Geo Metro would be the Cactus Radio Triggers – also known as eBay triggers. In fact, there seem to be some different versions of the eBay triggers that all work together. For the purposes of this review, I’ll just deal with the Cactus V2s.
I purchased these in July in anticipation of doing Real Estate Photography here in Lakewood and also for whatever portrait work I might start.
My best test for these was when I was shooting the Ferringway condo we stayed in recently in Durango. The layout of the unit was such that there was an open loft over the main living room. I wanted everything there to be lit well, so I got out the Cactus remote and attached my flash. I put the whole contraption on the included stand and took it upstairs. I bounced the light off the ceiling, so it diffused a little, but you can still see that shadows were cast in the final product.
For the one transmitter and one receiver, I paid roughly $40. I should have gone ahead and ordered a second receiver at the time, and have since acquired another. I have yet to test the full range, but I am suitable impressed with what I have seen so far. If you have been thinking about getting a pair, go for it. At this price point, you can use them for a few years to get comfortable before you invest in the Pocket Wizards.
On 11.11.08, In Book Reviews, By Chester
Exposure Photo Workshop: Develop your digital photography talent, by Jeff Wignall, is part of a new series of books by Wiley. Suitable grouped as Photo Workshop, these books add a modern twist on the classic photography topics we all hold dear. Topics like exposure, composition, lighting, portraits, macro and more, this series will be applicable for years to come.
The reason they will remain applicable is that they have been written specifically for the digital age. In this book, Exposure, the author goes to great lengths not to identify his equipment (at least the body), telling the reader that it doesn’t matter what your gear is, the concepts are the same. One thing I particularly liked about the book (and the whole series follows this pattern) was that, at the end of each chapter, the reader is given a “homework” assignment based on what they just learned. Following this, they are encouraged to upload the photo to a central site where all readers of the series can post and critique photos. For someone too intimidated by places like the dpreview forums, this can be an invaluable experience.
This book covers all the usual aspects you would expect, from light controls, aperture versus shutter speed, depth of field, low light, flash, etc. It even went so far as to talk briefly about off camera flash. There was a lengthy discussion about taking photos of neon at night, which I might use to start a photo book project.
All in all this book is well worth the $29.99 cover price ($19.79 at Amazon) and I look forward to reading more from this series.
Happy Holidays
Photo by Joanne
I am taking the rest of the week off from the blog. Happy Holidays.