Uninspiring Fall and the Monastery

Some time ago (okay, a long time ago - work has really taken its toll on my time and energy), I mentioned that I had high hopes for fall and fun experiments. Well, I don't know if it was my schedule, or the fact that fall was absolutely blah in this area, but I really didn't take anything at all.

So what is up with me? I haven't taken any pictures since my monastery adventures, and I barely blogged about that.

Is it the weather, or is it me? I think it's both. Fall really was inconsistent. Aside from I-95, I didn't see much in the area that was pretty or different at all. But it's also me - I feel as though the job I took at the beginning of the year drained me of anything creative, and made me feel as though creativity were something frivolous. But, I look at the last set of pictures I took ...







... and realize that I just need to let it happen. I love taking pictures, but I haven't let myself "space out" and really get inspired. I've been so busy trying to work, work out, and do who knows what else that I've lost sight of what inspires me. I need to continue to try new things, even if they don't work, and figure out how to deal with my environment.

That said, I did enjoy taking these pictures. It was a rainy and cold day, so I spent most of the time shielding my macro lens and camera from the elements. That said, cloudy days work here - the colors popped, I didn't need to do much with settings (f-stop in the 4.0 range, ISO of 400), and was able to work on my framing and my details. The last shot is the exception here - I played a bit with my wide-angle lens.

So what's next for me? I don't really know. Thanksgiving is coming up, and while I'd like to think that I'll go out and take lots of pictures, I'm not sure that I will. I think I will relax and see what happens.

California Trip - Macro Work

On a day like today where the weather is terrible, it's nice to think about color again, even if for only a bit. The last topic I covered while in California was macro work. Admittedly, this is my favorite subject, but I really felt it had been overplayed in the DC area. I felt as though I were shooting the same things all the time. California was a great breath of fresh air - not an orchid in sight. Here are some of my favorite shots:





A few notes:

I went earlier in the day to take advantage of the misty weather. Harsh sun plus macro shots = not so terrific results (to me, anyway). The mist plays out best in the second and fifth pictures.

You'll see there's a lot of purple. I took these shots for my younger sister's benefit - she loved the blue and purple flowers.

Another advantage of shooting early is the possibility of playing with raindrops on flowers - like the first picture.

Other flowers can be just as pretty as orchids. Maybe they aren't as delicate and unique, but there are colors, shapes, etc to play with, too.

I had to get down fairly low and close to shoot most of these. Of course, I tried many different angles.

Settings:

ISO 400, f-stop of 5.6 (in general), white balance "cloudy", post-processing tweaks - minimal. Of course, I used my macro lens.

Next time: How I did compared to my goals that were set during my dress rehearsal in July.

Tripods (Sigh)

I may have mentioned once (or twice or three times) that I detest using tripods. After all, I took shots like these without them:







But ... I'm starting to rethink this strategy.

I want to take pictures like the first one, without having to be dependent upon finding a flat space for my camera during the long exposures. To take that picture, I had to set down my camera on a boundary/ledge "thing". In fact, you can see it in the picture (I liked the perspective it created, so I incorporated into the shot). I won't have that luxury with other fountains I may come across.

I want to take good fireworks pictures like the third one. So far, all of my subsequent fireworks experiments with DSLR have been a total bust. That's because a tripod is a must. I love fireworks.

I like the second picture as is, and I'm comfortable shooting macro shots that are more artistic and "painting-like" rather than precise. But what if I want to shoot other subjects? I'd probably need a tripod.

So, what am I going to do about all of this? More on that tomorrow!

Hillwood Mansion - Greenhouse

It's no secret that macro photography and flowers are my life. Okay, not my life, but a great source of pleasure, for sure. Last weekend was no exception at all. I was afraid that I would take the same pictures over and over again, but I didn't. I feel as though my work keeps improving in quality and composition. That said, here are my favorites from my first batch of uploads:







A key tip that made a HUGE difference here - go on a cloudy day. NONE of my pictures had issues with harsh lighting, odd shadows, or other problems. Plus, honestly, how nice is it to go to a warm greenhouse on a cold, cloudy winter day? For me, it was awesome. For you, it means one less variable to worry about.

But, back to the pictures:

I loved the simplicity and colors of my first picture. All I did was take a picture of the top half of an orchid. I'll show you the bottom half tomorrow.

The second picture's appeal to me is in the framing. I took numerous variations of the flower itself - the first picture here is an example.

The third picture is an example of one that should not require a macro lens, which is why I included it here. I wanted those of you with point-and-shoot cameras to have some options. I love this one because it's pink. I also like the way the flowers hang, as well as the overall look.

The settings for all of these are attainable - relatively low f-stop settings, ISO of 400, and nothing special with the white balance - Automatic worked here. The next time you go out to a garden, give pictures like these, especially the third one, a try. Just make sure you have a steady hand, a macro setting (whether the lens or the point-and-shoot setting), and willingness to experiment and have fun.

Till tomorrow!

Macro Photography and Backgrounds

For me, it's important to read as much about photography as possible. The more perspectives I have, the more ideas I can try. I'm constantly trying to improve, so this is good for me.

I came across a post on LinkedIn today about the subject of macro photography and backgrounds, The author had mentioned effects that one can achieve by using a pure white background. I thought to myself, that's nice in theory, but I can't really apply that when I'm traveling (such as in my Key West shoot).

Of course, there are image editing techniques that can be used. They don't require Photoshop to work - Elements is more than enough. For me, though, that's like hard labor. I'm not sure if I'm willing to commit.

But does the author have a point? Yes, I think so. Consider these pictures, which are my favorites:





and compare them with:





Do you see the difference? To me, the flowers in the first set pop out - because the background contains no distractions whatsoever. This isn't to say that I don't like the second set of pictures - I do - but they're not as "simple" and "clean" as the first set. And that makes a difference to me.

So, where does that leave you? A few suggestions if you'd like to achieve the same effects, which apply even if you have a point-and-shoot:

1) Avoid harsh sunlight if you're in a garden. Change your angle.

2) Try to zero in very closely on the subject - this reduces the number of distractions in a natural way.

3) Look for a monochromatic background and shoot against it - the Botanical Gardens in DC had plenty of options - but I had to look closely, shoot low, and try different angles. It takes a bit more work and planning, but it's worth it.

Till tomorrow!

Day 1 - Orchids!

After I got my camera back, the first thing I wanted to do was head to a garden and take pictures. I didn't want to do anything else. While taking my pictures, I came up with my 12 days of photography idea. This is therefore Day 1.

Anyway, I headed to the Botanical Gardens in DC with all of my camera gear in tow, including my backup camera. I was not going to take any chances. I had a brand new 4 GB memory card installed, and was ready to go.

I took pictures of not only orchids, but cacti, various plants, and leaves. I'll cover those in the next few days. I wanted to start with the orchids because my mom LOVES them, and I love my mom. I wanted to post everything for her as soon as possible.

I have to say, it was HARD! Several reasons:

1) The area where the orchids were was very hot, even for me. (I think 75 degrees is frigid)

2) People were everywhere, and were constantly bumping into me.

3) I made the mistake of working out hard earlier today, and I was convinced my arms were going to fall off.

Admittedly, only 2) really had an impact on my pictures. When using a macro lens, the slightest movement can make a picture blurry. The crowds were therefore an added challenge for me.

I did well, though - I think. I'm always second-guessing myself. In fact, I deleted several pictures after I'd posted them! Here are my favorites:







These are my favorites for many reasons, but mainly because they seem "artistic" to me. The first and second pictures look like watercolors - the first bright, the second muted. The third picture looks like it has little hands, and I feel like the picture pops (click on it to see the larger version). The fourth has great colors, and the last one reminds me of Hawaii. I'm not sure why.

A few technical notes:

1) I took at least six or seven versions of these pictures. I needed to account for plant motion (which causes blur), setting changes (mainly ISO speeds and f-stops), and different angles. This was really useful, as I had many choices.

2) I climbed on quite a few benches to take these pictures. Fortunately, no one stopped me. A lot of the orchids were either high up or far.

3) Post-processing was necessary for each and every one of these. For some, I just cropped. For others, I had to change the exposure, as they were too dark or too light. With others, I changed the brightness, decreased the highlights, changed the brightness, increased the saturation, and increased the vibrancy. In other words, this was a very very VERY resource-intensive process.

What if you have an SLR, or if you don't have a macro lens? You can still take pretty pictures, but you'll lose the ability to take very close closeups, if that makes sense. I saw many people who didn't have the same capability, and a few of them asked me about my lens. If you are serious about macro photography, there's no way around it. However, if you want to take pretty pictures from a bit farther away (I was inches from these flowers), then keep my technical notes in mind - they still apply to you.

Till tomorrow!

Macro Lite

Most of you know that I love macro photography. Here are some of my classic shots that I've always loved:



And my favorite of all time (at least for this week):



But what if you don't have a macro lens, or even an SLR? After all, this equipment is really expensive. Can you take nice pictures with just a point-and-shoot?

The answer is yes. I started taking pictures of flowers and plants back in 2004. All I had was a 3 MP Canon camera. Here are some examples:





These aren't as nice as my more recent examples, but that's not because of the camera - it's because of the relative lack of experience. What do I mean? Well ...

Picture 1 has too many reflections. I could have taken this picture from a different angle.

Picture 2 is cute, but the subject of the picture isn't clear. Is it the leaves or the buds? Had I zeroed in on one or the other, this picture would have had more meaning.

Picture 3 has WAY too much going on. It's interesting and pretty, but not much more than that.

All three of these could have improved upon with the same simple camera, had I thought about it at the time. Also, there is one clear benefit of using a camera like this - the chance of blurry pictures is almost zero. When you focus (tightly) on a subject, the camera becomes very sensitive to camera movements, which produces fuzzy/blurry pictures. Here, it's not as common.

Some other tips for you:

1) As always, take multiple pictures from different angles

2) Make sure to know what you are shooting before you shoot it. Do you want to focus on colors? Texture? Patterns? Angles? Curves? Knowing this in advance helps you set up a good shot.

3) You won't be able to post-process much since you aren't shooting in RAW, so avoid harsh sunlight and other environmental factors that you won't be able to fix.

4) Most newer point-and-shoots are 7 MP and higher. You'll be able to crop liberally, if needed. Cropping can help you change the focus of your picture.

Till tomorrow!

A Fresh Look

Yesterday, I was in Aperture, looking for other potential contest submissions. What you might not know is that only 10% of the pictures I take are posted on Flickr. I don't delete the others - I believe in using my work as a learning experience, too - so they stay in Aperture.

I found myself questioning why several of my pictures "didn't make the cut". I then found myself browsing most of my projects to see if I'd missed anything else. Sure enough, there were several pictures I decided I should post. Here they are, and here is my reasoning:



This is a really nice, simple picture of DC that I took on the 4th of July. It's nothing special, yet I'm always drawn to it. I like the clouds, and the simplicity of the lines. I was too concerned with what others would think of this picture, and I let that get in the way.



Yup - yet another picture of a flower. However, I have always liked both the simplicity as well as the colors of this picture. What's also unique is where I took it - Damascus, Syria.



Another butterfly shot, but I love the symmetry. I've always tried to take the "imperfect" shot, but sometimes, there's beauty in obvious.



This one admittedly has nothing in common with the other shots in this post. This is in Damascus, Syria, and I also always liked looking at it. I think it's because it represents East meets West. This mosque has always welcomed people of all religions and cultures, but like some places of worship in Italy, it has a dress code. They even provide the garment, if you aren't prepared. This man at the entrance is wearing one of those garments. Of course, the image in the background also appears to me. It's a window in the past Anyway, I really like it.



Yeah, yeah - another macro shot of a butterfly. I noticed it was nicer than some of the other pictures I'd posted, so I removed one of them, and will include this, instead.



This is also really nice and simple - and it reminds me of the rain. The little buds look like droplets to me.

Do you agree that I should include these? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Till Monday! Have a great weekend!

Lessons from the Art Show

I went to the Bethesda art show on Sunday. It's a juried art show, which means that the artists were required to submit applications and essentially "apply" for inclusion in the event. Only about 6 or 7 exhibits were from photographers, so this was a very select group.
I set the bar very high for myself, so using others' work in a show like this as a benchmark definitely helps me. Here's what I gathered from the exhibits:
1) There were generally one or two areas of specialization per artist. Five of the exhibits focused on one area.
2) The pictures themselves were crowd-pleasers - in other words, visually appealing, but nothing requiring a lot of technical precision. Here's one example of mine that was similar:

3) Crowd-pleasing definitely did not mean generic. Many of these pictures were beautiful, but with a twist. There was always an extra element of interest. Here's an example:

(note the seagull in the middle, and the footprints on the left - that's what I mean by visual interest)
4) NO macro photography. I couldn't believe it! I would die without pictures like these:

I'm therefore taking a cue from my professional life by setting a goal for myself: Twice a month, I will enter one contest of sorts. Magazines have them, as well as online sources. Since we're mid-month, and since I submitted my work earlier this month, that gives me until the 31st to find something else. The law of numbers dictates that good things will happen!
Till tomorrow!

What I'm Packing

I'm going on a trip tomorrow! More on that later, but since I'm driving, I'm taking all of my gear. As promised, here's my list of what I own and use:

MacBook Pro - the 17 inch version, and the best machine in the entire universe. My photography-related software that I've installed is:

Photoshop Elements - I rarely use it these days, but it's useful for image editing, and applying my watermarks (copyright info).

Aperture - I spend all of my time here, post-processing. I use Aperture to store and catalog my photos, as well as apply enhancements (if needed). Example include modifying the hue/saturation, changing the exposure, using the horizon tool (to adjust my picture if it's more tilted than it should be), and making other related adjustments.

Flick Uploadr - to upload my photos to Flickr, my photo-sharing website of choice. I love it, because you can post your photos to different groups, and it's very interactive.

As far as my camera and accessories, I am part of the Canon camp, not Nikon. I have the Digital Rebel XTi. I bought it a few years ago, and it does everything that I need it to do.

I have several lenses, and here are the generic descriptions, so that I don't have to engage in the philosophical discussion of Canon vs. Nikon. I like my Canon, but you don't have to. :)

Macro with lens hood (to block the harsh sun, when desired) - for close-up shots of birds, butterflies, and flowers.

Wide-angle with polarizing filter - for wide shots. Have you ever tried to take a picture, but couldn't get enough of it in your frame? A wide-angle lens can help solve this problem. Here's an example:



Had I only brought a regular lens/camera, I wouldn't have been able to capture this entire building in the frame while standing so close. This was a busy area, so I didn't have the luxury of backing up or moving around.

Telephoto - I rarely use this lens, which is sad, because it's so expensive (around $1,000, but I paid $500). It's great if you're trying to shoot anything that is far off in the distance. Here's a shot:



I was on a mountain, and I can assure you that I was nowhere near the houses in the foreground. Without this lens, I wouldn't have been able to capture any of this detail.

Kit lens - it came with my camera. I don't use it much, but I take it with me just in case I need a basic picture (not common with me).

Tripod - I almost never use it, because I'm not particularly interested in being forced to stay still in order to take a non-blurry picture. I tend to avoid the type of photography that would require a tripod, anyway.

I have two camera bags, but all of this will go in the larger of the two bags.

So, where am I going? I'll give you a clue tomorrow. :)