Sunday, February 17, 2013

Senses, Emotions and Treasures



My wife and I went to Severance Hall in Cleveland recently to hear the Cleveland Orchestra.  It was a really good time being out with her and listening to great music by very talented musicians.  There is no doubt these men and women spent years and years and countless hours perfecting their trade by which we are the beneficiaries through our sense of hearing.  And just as the rest of our senses are able to do, hearing brings about an emotional response on our part whether a beautiful piece of music, a baby crying, or the horn of a train as it passes in the distance.  These emotional responses can be positive or not and different from one individual to another. Then there are the actors, or musicians in this case, who experienced a great emotional satisfaction for themselves in the beginning that put them on the path where they are today.   Their emotional satisfaction has grown to include their listeners for whom they are able to bring a little joy and a sense of wonder with their music and their chosen instrument they so love themselves.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Playing Around the House



It occurred to me that I tend to load quite a few images into a file in either Aperture or LR that I've named, "Playing Around the House".  I work from home, so tend to be here most of the time.  During lunch or breaks in the action from work it's not uncommon for me to pick up the camera and start snapping away.  I'm not trying to compose a masterpiece during these times but, rather, stay familiar with the camera, its settings and experiment with various things whether with the camera or post-processing.

I think it all helps when I do shoot with a more serious intent.  Take this stairwell for example.  I was totally goofing around when this shot occurred to me.  And even though I was goofing around, I took time to compose (hand held) this before triggering the shutter.  One thing I learned when looking at it on the monitor is, I like it but wish the back of chair wasn't right under the end of the banister.  Some separation or space between the two would have made it even better I think.  I'll have to redo it one of these days to verify that.  But the lesson was to be observant of even the smallest details in the viewfinder before releasing the shutter and make the necessary corrections when you can - then fire away.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Lightpainting


A couple weeks ago as I was surfing the Internet for photography sites I came across one that described a technique called lightpainting by Dave Black, at daveblackphotography.com.  I had not heard of this before but his photos were very nice and I was intrigued.  I confess that I had to read his article on the basics several times before understanding it to a point of trying it.  Not that it wasn't explained well, rather I was just slow grasping the concept.

Thursday, February 7, 2013



Early Dec before our first snow.  These two pines were not leaning one week earlier when I was here.

One of things I like to do a lot is frequent state parks and nature areas.  I usually find interesting things to shoot and it's a good way to be active as I enjoy the hiking quite a bit.  Depending on time constraints I can be out as little as 1 hr or as much as 6 hrs at a time.  Sometimes I shoot a lot and other times not so much.  But I came to a realization last month that just having the camera with me makes a big difference in whether I want to be out and about or not.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013


I'll start this off with some of what I'm doing lately - a little food photography for one thing.  My wife has a couple blogs, one of which she writes of various things and posts pictures.  You can find a link to her blog, The Howell Blessings,  in the right-hand column.  Most of those pictures are of tablescapes and food.  Well, mostly tablescapes but food is starting to make an inroad.  I've taken probably 90-95% of the pictures on her blog up to this time beginning in early 2012.  Funny how things work out sometimes - I provide her with a camera and I end up taking the pictures.

Monday, February 4, 2013

BEGINNINGS




In Dec 2010 I first picked up a DSLR and I'm still very surprised how it happened.  I was researching camera's as a Christmas gift for my wife.  I knew absolutely nothing about them but wanted to surprise her with a nice one.  She had taken a photography class some years earlier and really enjoyed it.  I remember her coming home talking about SLR's (she had a point & shoot - though I didn't know that's what it was at the time).  Not knowing what an SLR was I did a very brief online search and immediately dismissed the thought of her ever having one of those.  The body cost thousands and didn't even include the lens.  Are you kidding me?

Well, now several years later I wanted to surprise her with one so the search began and that's when it happened - I caught the photo bug and it hit me out of nowhere.  Heck, I hadn't even seen one of these camera's in real life yet as all my research had only taken place online at this point.  Well, I settled on a camera and a couple lenses for her and couldn't wait for them to arrive and when they did I unboxed them, charged the battery, mounted a lens and snapped away every chance I had (without her knowing) until I finally had to wrap them Christmas eve.  But I was hooked and there was no denying it.

After Christmas I was still grabbing the camera every chance I had so after about 3 weeks my wife said, "Why don't you just get your own?"  So I did.  The exact same kind but a different lens and I still am shooting, reading, and learning about all things photography.  I hope by sharing and interacting with others we will all benefit and have a good time doing so.

So you know what to expect, I hope to post at least once a week.  I have a full-time job that has been known to keep me away for 24+ hours at a time so a daily posting would be unrealistic at this time.  I'll try to post something once a week for now, even if it's just a picture.  If you take the time to leave a comment, I will do my best to take the time to respond.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back.