I haven't decided yet what the theme for January is going to be, I have a few themes in mind and none of them really jump out at me as the one to choose. I will make a decision and before noon tomorrow you will see a post with the challenge theme. This first post will also have some general rules and judging criteria so it will be a bit of reading. Gotta get the rules out of the way though. Anyway look tomorrow and you will see what your challenge is.
Gary
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
5 days until the first challenge starts!
Only 5 more days and I will post the 1st photography challenge, so get out and shoot. Get your creative juices flowing I don't want to hear any complaints when I kick your butts in this competition next month! Don't forget to look here on January 1st for the theme and any rules that I will post to go with the theme.
Photoman
Photoman
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Air Force Museum Revisited
I love the U.S. Air Force Museum! Growing up, my Dad would take my brothers and me there every Saturday; so it was natural that my love for photography took me there to test my skills, and learn new ones.
So, when Gary asked me to make a test post for his blog, it was easy to decide what topic to post about. :-)
HISTORY
I first began shooting at the Air Force Museum with my Mom's 2.1 mega pixel Fujifilm digital 
camera. That thing sure tested my patience, since it would focus on the bright lights, instead of the aircraft I wanted. The auto focus and shutter reaction time was also super slow. To get around that, I would frame my shot, hold down the shutter button half-way until the camera focused, and then quickly press the shutter and move my hand so that I wouldn't shake the camera. After much trial and error, I was able to get pictures like this:
For this picture, I had my tripod down as low as it could, and I was sitting on the floor in order to look through the viewfinder. I could barely see what I was shooting, since this point-and-shoot camera could not handle low light very well. Still, it played a vital role in my learning experiences.
AIR FORCE MUSEUM REVISITED
I call this posting "Air Force Museum Revisited" because I have been back several times with my Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film camera. Each experience taught me something new. Plus, my beloved AE-1 was very patient with me, yet was not afraid to "tell" me up front when I messed up! ;-)
After wasting many rolls of film, I finally learned how to shoot with this camera; and so, back to the museum I went! In the beginning of my adventures with my AE-1, I learned quickly to not waste money on junk film, or on mediocre processing. I do all of my processing at Click Camera, and on this shoot, I used the Kodak 400 Professional Ultra Color film. I have many shots that I like, but this one has to be my favorite.
ON TO DIGITAL!
Members of my family blessed me greatly with a Canon EOS 50D for my birthday/Thanksgiving/Christmas gift! They saw that, although I love my AE-1, how it was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain film. The only place I can purchase the film I use is online at BHPhoto, but even their supply is dwindling.
Of course you know what my first thought was once I opened that box and beheld my dream camera... Air Force Museum!!!
Why am I so intent on shooting at this place? Well, I love it for one, plus the lighting is such a challenge! Another reason, is that there was one picture that always eluded me! On your way to the Cold War hanger, there is a tunnel. And in that tunnel, a light shines words on the floor that read: "City Held Berlin Hostage". Because of that light, and the glossy floor, and the people traffic, I wasted 12 frames of film trying to capture that shot! I was determined to get that shot... and I did!
THE "AH-HA" MOMENT!
Digital cameras are wonderful! They allow you to test different settings, and see your results in real time! That saves a great deal of headache, and can be a wonderful learning tool too! Such was the case in this Air Force Museum Revisit.
In the past, I had read about and seen examples of how aperture and shutter speed settings
affected the outcome of a picture. Unfortunately, I never had the money to waste on film experimenting with this. Of course, with the 50D, that was no longer an issue! My good friend Earl was with me on this shoot, and he helped clear up my confusion about how your f-stop setting affects your shot. As he was setting up his camera (this was after lunch), I decided to give this a try. I set my camera to the "M" position, set my f-stop to 22, and adjusted my shutter speed accordingly (based on the meter below the viewfinder). After a 10 second exposure at an ISO of 200, this was the result:
At last! It all made sense! Unfortunately, this low quality JPG can't do this shot justice. I am shooting this uniform through a glass display box. On the RAW image, you can zoom in and clearly see the weave of the fabric, and the surface detail of the medal. COOL!! I was so excited!
Hmmm... I can see by the scroll bar on the right that this post might be approaching too long. ;-)
I have many more Air Force Museum pictures! If you ever want to see them, I can send you the link to my photo gallery.
Take care, and happy shooting!
camera. That thing sure tested my patience, since it would focus on the bright lights, instead of the aircraft I wanted. The auto focus and shutter reaction time was also super slow. To get around that, I would frame my shot, hold down the shutter button half-way until the camera focused, and then quickly press the shutter and move my hand so that I wouldn't shake the camera. After much trial and error, I was able to get pictures like this:For this picture, I had my tripod down as low as it could, and I was sitting on the floor in order to look through the viewfinder. I could barely see what I was shooting, since this point-and-shoot camera could not handle low light very well. Still, it played a vital role in my learning experiences.
AIR FORCE MUSEUM REVISITED
I call this posting "Air Force Museum Revisited" because I have been back several times with my Canon AE-1 Program 35mm film camera. Each experience taught me something new. Plus, my beloved AE-1 was very patient with me, yet was not afraid to "tell" me up front when I messed up! ;-)After wasting many rolls of film, I finally learned how to shoot with this camera; and so, back to the museum I went! In the beginning of my adventures with my AE-1, I learned quickly to not waste money on junk film, or on mediocre processing. I do all of my processing at Click Camera, and on this shoot, I used the Kodak 400 Professional Ultra Color film. I have many shots that I like, but this one has to be my favorite.
ON TO DIGITAL!
Members of my family blessed me greatly with a Canon EOS 50D for my birthday/Thanksgiving/Christmas gift! They saw that, although I love my AE-1, how it was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain film. The only place I can purchase the film I use is online at BHPhoto, but even their supply is dwindling.
Of course you know what my first thought was once I opened that box and beheld my dream camera... Air Force Museum!!!
Why am I so intent on shooting at this place? Well, I love it for one, plus the lighting is such a challenge! Another reason, is that there was one picture that always eluded me! On your way to the Cold War hanger, there is a tunnel. And in that tunnel, a light shines words on the floor that read: "City Held Berlin Hostage". Because of that light, and the glossy floor, and the people traffic, I wasted 12 frames of film trying to capture that shot! I was determined to get that shot... and I did!
THE "AH-HA" MOMENT!
Digital cameras are wonderful! They allow you to test different settings, and see your results in real time! That saves a great deal of headache, and can be a wonderful learning tool too! Such was the case in this Air Force Museum Revisit.
In the past, I had read about and seen examples of how aperture and shutter speed settings
affected the outcome of a picture. Unfortunately, I never had the money to waste on film experimenting with this. Of course, with the 50D, that was no longer an issue! My good friend Earl was with me on this shoot, and he helped clear up my confusion about how your f-stop setting affects your shot. As he was setting up his camera (this was after lunch), I decided to give this a try. I set my camera to the "M" position, set my f-stop to 22, and adjusted my shutter speed accordingly (based on the meter below the viewfinder). After a 10 second exposure at an ISO of 200, this was the result:At last! It all made sense! Unfortunately, this low quality JPG can't do this shot justice. I am shooting this uniform through a glass display box. On the RAW image, you can zoom in and clearly see the weave of the fabric, and the surface detail of the medal. COOL!! I was so excited!
Hmmm... I can see by the scroll bar on the right that this post might be approaching too long. ;-)
I have many more Air Force Museum pictures! If you ever want to see them, I can send you the link to my photo gallery.
Take care, and happy shooting!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Ice Abstractions Brings a New Story
FIghting Spring: The Chronicles of King White Winter is the tentative title for my new series on ice abstractions. I only have one shot so far, but I'm so enthralled with it, I can't stop thinking of it! Here it is...
I made a loose story line for this image too. It's pretty cool, at least to me! It's too long to tell over a blog, but if you'd like to hear it, give me a shout.
Peace,
jeff
I made a loose story line for this image too. It's pretty cool, at least to me! It's too long to tell over a blog, but if you'd like to hear it, give me a shout.
Peace,
jeff
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
First challenge starts January 1st.
O.K. guys I have sent you each an email telling you to check out this blog. I had hoped that one of you would give me some feedback but I guess you are all a bunch of slackers, as I haven't heard a word from any of you. So next month on the 1st I will post a blog with a theme for January's competition. If any of you have any ideas for a theme please let me know, I have several to get us started but I want this challenge to be a collaborative effort. I will contact each of you and get you set up as contributors so that you can post your images each month. On the 1st of each month I will post a challenge and if there are any rules or guidelines I will state them at the same time.
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