Dress Rehearsal - Without the Camera

You may have come across one of my older posts about this topic. However, what if you don't have your camera with you, for various reasons?

I spent the weekend in Ocean City, Maryland with friends. You may have seen some of my pictures of the area in past posts:





This trip was different, though, in that instead of traveling with my sister, I was with my friends. One big implication was that I knew I would not have time to focus on my photography. The other is that with the high heat index, I would not have wanted to take my camera, in any case.

So why am I terming this a dress rehearsal? I am planning a trip to various Southern California beaches next month. I'm heading to three different locations with different personalities and settings. Spending the weekend in Ocean City helped me a lot. I was able to walk around and consider certain points, such as:

1) Generic water shots have only one purpose - test shots for my camera (settings, focus, etc.). Otherwise, I don't need literal shots.

2) I need to look for the small details - birds, other animals, and patterns.

3) I need to consider my themes. Ocean City is a party town. However, the places I'm visiting are not, at least not in that sense. Do I have any stock photography options?

4) How to incorporate my sister into some shots (because it's easy to get a model release from her) - what can I learn from doing that? Shooting people has never been my strength, but last fall's family shoot in NYC has encouraged me to practice, if only for the purpose of capturing our memories.

5) Speaking of people, how can I take hotel shots, something else I've considered, without the people in them? I need to make sure to scout the properties when I arrive. Then, I can wake up early the next day and take the pictures. In theory, anyway. I'm not the earliest riser while on vacation. :) But, at least I know to be aware of the people and to make sure to not take pictures with them in them.

I can't wait until my trip next month! Next time - a review and critique of my last few photo shoots. I haven't done that in a while!

A Fisheye Lens for Me!

I never went on the photo shoot that I thought I would go to - it was at 6:30 in the morning, and my allergies were acting up. So, it's been a quiet week, honestly.

I came across a new article in Popular Photography. A few months ago, I wrote that fisheye lenses wouldn't work on my camera body. I would have therefore to use Photoshop to create effects such as these:



A fisheye lens could do so much more than this, but this is the best I could do. By the way, all you have to do here is Filter->Distort->Spherize in Photoshop Elements.

Anyway, the latest issue of Popular Photography saved the day. A new Canon lens (the 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM) will work on full-frame cameras AND on my body! Unfortunately, at $1,400 (street price), it's not something I can just go out and buy. However, I will try to rent it in the coming months. And don't worry about me - there are plenty of other things I can see and do in the meantime!

Next time - some research for my upcoming trip.

"Not Happening" Revisited

I haven't been able to post more pictures since my mosque one was accepted (yay!), but I did research an item I was wondering about for a long time - how to create an App Store application.

Why would I want to do such a thing? Well, I thought (and remember, thinking doesn't mean knowing) that if I created a Wallpaper app, I could bundle my images and sell them. I'd include different themes - maybe a flowers theme, a butterflies theme, a travel theme. I figured, who wouldn't want a picture like this?



Terrible, terrible idea (but a interesting research project). Here are the reasons:

1) Developing an iPad app seems to require an act of God. I haven't written code in years and years. Reading through the documentation to see what this would take was a scary experience.

2) I'd actually have to pay to access the development kit. Honestly, I'd never break even at that rate.

3) The wallpaper apps I'd seen were for free. Not much of an ROI for me.

Looks like I'll stick to the stock photography sites. And that's just fine.

Next time - my first accepted picture, and some findings.

Plan B

I'm taking a few days off later this month. These will be the first since my new job started in January. I've mentioned previously that my overall summer plans are in flux. So, where does that leave me?

Maybe a reshoot of some parts of California:





Or a trip to the beach:





Or more butterfly practice:



I can't wait for summer!!!

Later this week - something my Mom said.

Backup and Recovery

I've come across several posts on LinkedIn asking for recommendations on storing images. I went back through my posts, and realized I'd never outlined MY backup and recovery strategy.

I admit, I'm obsessive about this. I never forgave myself after a trip to Hawaii in 2005. It was a free trip that I'd won through work, and I was thrilled to go out there. I took what I thought were gorgeous pictures. I had my laptop with me, and instead of transferring the pictures to my laptop while I was out there, I waited. And my camera was stolen. Bye bye pictures.

These days, going several hours without backing up my work would be enough to give me a stroke, I think! If I lost pictures like these:





Well, I wouldn't know what to do. You see, I love looking at my pictures. I love sharing them with people. Yes, I have them up on Flickr, but they're lower resolution. I have two sets of the originals:

One set is on my hard drive - all originals are stored within Aperture, and I export to various directories on my hard drive. I then export the exports to Flickr. Some pictures end up on my Facebook page, but all are on a backup hard drive. I use Time Machine to perform regular backups.

What happens when I have too many pictures on my hard drive? Simple - I back those up on a different (portable) hard drive. I do this with only my oldest work. I'm at the point where I will need a bigger laptop drive soon, but for now, I'm okay. As long as my pictures are in at least two different locations, I'm okay.

Occasionally, I take inventory. I realized I had not backed up several folders that were on my primary backup, but not my secondary backup. I'm changing that as I type this. :) Also, my blog posts are in three different locations - online, on my hard drive, and on my portable hard drive. It's for peace of mind. And yes, maybe it's a symptom of OCD - but I don't mind. :)

Tomorrow - time to discuss contests. I've been procrastinating, but I'll explain why.

A Celebration of Color, Day 4 - Blue

This was another interesting color. After looking at my portfolio, I realized that with a few exceptions, most of my pictures were of the sky and of the water. I'm already inspired to think about ways by which I can change that. I'm really looking forward to implementing my findings and adding to my work. In the meantime, though, here are some examples:











This first picture was my first foray into abstract photography. I decided I was in love that day. Believe it or not, I took this picture from a store window. I had to think and work fast, but I was happy it turned out well. The key is to turn off the flash and make sure the reflections that are generated are what you actually want. Other than that, this was straightforward - stand near the window and try different angles.

The second picture - Cabo! Composition is my focus in this picture. Another tip - wake up early. This was before anyone had a chance to lie out, so I had the entire pool to myself. Other tips here: Play with the reflections, work with only a moderate amount of sun, and get low - the last point is critical.

This third picture was taken with my macro lens. It reminds me of the fact that I need to work harder where taking pictures of gems is concerned. I don't do so well with literal pictures such as these. Rather, I am far better with the abstract work I do. This was a good exercise, but I think I need more practice here.

Ocean City! I took my sister to the beach for a few days a few years ago, and I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. This picture was also taken relatively early in the day. Here, I wanted to take advantage of the sun and the warmth it created, but as you can see, I didn't take this in direct sunlight. It's an important point, because this involves planning and determining what time of day is best, depending on the sun. I also liked the pattern created with the chairs and thought that was a nice touch. You should also "get low" here, too.

The last picture is from my early macro photography days. You'll notice it isn't as crisp as it could be, and there isn't enough sun. It's great to see how far I've come since I took this years ago.

Unfortunately, I'm cooped up in meetings from 8 am to 10 pm tomorrow so I won't be able to post tomorrow. :( Till Friday!

White Balance

All week, I've reviewed key technical terms and how they apply to your cameras and day-to-day pictures. The last major term is called white balance. Fortunately, it's quite easy to apply in practice - and extremely important if you aren't shooting in RAW.

A technical definition is "a setting that compensates for the differences in color temperature of the surrounding light". (these technical definitions have made me laugh all week)

In English, it's a feature that defines what the color white looks like in specific lighting conditions, which impacts the appearance of all other colors. The wrong white balance setting can have an amusing impact on your pictures. Have your pictures ever been:

1) Too blue? (raising my own hand)

2) Too brown/beige? (raising my own hand)

3) Too gold/yellow? (raising both hands)

The first happens when it's a normal day, and you accidentally have your white balance setting to Tungsten or Fluorescent. The second happens when it's a normal day, and your setting is Cloudy or Shade. The third scenario, the most common, is when you are indoors and you have the setting on AWB, the default. There are many other combinations of mishaps, but these seem fairly common. The rule of thumb is, if your picture is too "warm" or too "cool", you need to fix your white balance settings.

You may ask, so AWB isn't good enough? Isn't the camera smart enough? The answer is, only if it's a nice and reasonably sunny day.

Otherwise, I recommend you take the time to modify the settings according to your surroundings. They're self-explanatory, fortunately, except for Tungsten, which basically means indoors with the lights on. Shade is shade, Daylight is daylight, etc. As for Custom, I've never used it, but it involves using a white piece of paper to customize the setting. The camera knows what to do with the other colors. I've never used it.

What about RAW files? If you're shooting in RAW, sure, it's easy to correct, but for everyone else, it's a hassle to fix. At the same time, I'm a fan of getting it right the first time, like I did here (white balance setting - Daylight):



The results are worth the effort, trust me!

Till tomorrow!

Ugly/Pretty

Okay, I admit - I'm a huge fan of America's Next Top Model. Without going into too much detail about my obsession, I'll say that there is one theme that resonates really well with me. It's about “ugly/pretty”. What does that mean? Well, essentially, it means that even things with a less than a sunny/shiny/pretty context can still be pretty.

Confusing, huh? Well, I'll illustrate. Here is “pretty/pretty”:



Or this:



In both pictures the weather is great, the sun is shining, and life is good. The colors are nice, and they're just happy pictures.

Now, here is a classic example of “ugly/pretty”:



This was the night before one of DC's infamous snowstorms last year. I was in a terrible mood. I stood on my balcony and took dozens of pictures. I was surprised to see how well received this picture was, though. And, now that I think about it, I still focused on composition and telling a story - but it isn't the same happy story I like to tell. And that's a REALLY important message.

Compare it with this picture, which was also of the snow:



I think it's obvious (to me, anyway) from this picture that I don't like the snow. If I did, I think it would have come through, so to speak. Instead, this is just a generic picture of the snow with two people and a dog. Not bad, but others (as in people) have done much better.

I have to keep all of this in mind, as we head towards winter. I hate this weather. So, I normally don't take many pictures. However, I can't go six months (or however long it will be before the weather is actually civilized again) without taking pictures, so I have to balance between my emotions and reality.

In other words, if you don't think you like a subject, take a picture anyway. You may surprise yourself! Just stay true to your emotions, be realistic, don't forget your composition, and tell a good story.

Till tomorrow!