Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Resurrection

Part of the reason I started this blog is to ensure that I am continually trying to improve and expand my photographic horizons. I needed something to kick my ass into gear so that I don't slack off, much like I did for a few months prior to this blog.

It's easy to get lazy during the winter months here. Massachusetts doesn't offer anything particularly special to photograph in the cold. I find myself having to set up shots more and more often than simply going out and looking for something to photograph. Don't get me wrong, setting up shots is a huge part of photography, I know....sometimes I might be lazy though...Maybe.

Anyhow, I hadn't done much macro work lately so I figured I'd blow off the dust on the ol' 100mm and go to town. I found some dried up flowers I gave to my wife back when we were in college and composed them on top of a mirror. I'm pretty darn happy with the results:


I think that macro photography makes me calm down and focus more. I need to really pay attention to composition to even get what I want in the frame. Slowing down like that also helps with things like lighting etc. Like I said in my first post, if I can avoid rushing when I'm amped about something, I think I'll get better results.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010



A little trouble focusing today. Hence my caffeinated friend over there.

However, I would like to note that this coke can sitting on my desk next to me was taken with the iphone that I'm "trying out" for a week. That's a different story, but the important thing is, I'm fairly certain that the camera in the iphone is *considerably* better than the first digital camera I ever bought (2MP for about $200 if I remember correctly).
How far the technology has come in so little time. I wonder what I'll be photographing with ten years from now. My 40D may seem like stone-age material then.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Learning night photography...Slowly

There's always so much to think of when it comes to pictures taken at night.

You want to expose for just the right time. You want to avoid lens flares. You want to correct for any color over-saturation. You want it to be in focus, composed well.......But do I remember all of these things? No. Not usually.

I tend to get a little excited about the prospect of what I'm shooting, and not think about the details of what I need to do. I think relaxing while shooting is something I need to learn. I shouldn't put pressure on myself to "have" to get it perfect. (which I usually won't anyhow)

I guess when it's freezing cold and dark out it doesn't help me concentrate on that as well as I could I suppose.

Anyhow, I'm determined to get some nice Nighttime landscapes done in the near future. Here is a starting point I'll refer back to later. A cliche' HDR of the Boston Skyline that came out "ok" at best.