Dennis Haberkern Photography

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

2009-10-03T07:38:00.002-05:00

To keep things as simple as possible I've relocated my blog to my web site. You should be redirected momentarily. If not...

CLICK HERE

Web Site Redo: SquareSpace

2009-10-02T07:00:00.005-05:00

Not being a web designer, and not being able to pay for a good web designer, I'm forced to take things into my own hands. As I've mentioned before, the old web site was pretty boring and I needed to create something where I didn't need to write a lot of code.

SquareSpace was the answer. They have several templates to choose from and you can alter them in a number of ways. You can create pages, links, picture galleries, etc and you don't have to write a bit of code. This made it almost too easy.

And NO FLASH! Flash may have been cool a few years ago, but now it just gets on my nerves. Many, many photographers use flash on their web sites, but personally I think all that pizazz is unnecessary. If your content is good, then it's good. I just want a simple, easy to navigate site....see my work and how to contact me. I'm surprised so many people still use flash in the age of mobile media. For now, you can't view flash on an iPhone.

You also won't find any music playing. Again, maybe it was a cool feature several years ago, but nothing irritates me more than being forced to listen to music someone else has deemed "appropriate" for the content. If I can't find the "off" button in 3 seconds or less, I'm outta there.

The other cool thing about the new web site is I'll be able to move this blog over there. It will be great to have everything in one place. But for now, I'm not 100% happy with how the "new" blog is looking so I'll temporarily be blogging in both locations.

Admittedly, my updated site could use a little more something, but I'm no designer and will most likely be tweaking things as I learn how. But for now, it's done and it's definitely an improvement over what I had before.

here it is

Mudfest

2009-09-30T07:00:00.002-05:00

As I said previously, we had just finished 10 straight days of rain, so the trails at In Sync Exotics were pretty muddy. It was hard to avoid at times, and I felt really bad for the girl wearing her pretty new sneakers who was trying so hard not to get mud on them.

Everyone headed back to the visitor center at the end of the tour.

Girl Scout Outing

2009-09-28T07:00:00.003-05:00

More from the outing with my daughter's Junior Girl Scout troop. These were both taken near the end of the tour. The girls were tired, hot, and somewhat muddy (we had just finished 10 straight days of rain).

There were some very shady areas and it probably would have helped to use a flash when taking pics of the girls, but I didn't want to take it out in the mud and I was afraid that a flash that big might spook some of the cats. One tiger named Apollo gave me a big roar when I approached his cage holding the camera.

The pic below is my daughter, the same person on the right in the pic above. It seemed like when one kid crossed their arms, they all did.

In-Sync Exotics

2009-09-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Recently I got to accompany my daughters Girl Scout troop to In-Sync Exotics, an exotic wildlife rehabilitation facility. Mostly big cats, the animals are kept in cages until rehabilitated and adopted by qualified owners (zoo's, etc. ) Many of the animals came from private owners and were abused, so the facility has some very strict policies regarding how the animals are viewed and treated.

Our tour guide took one look at my camera and requested that I sign a waiver stating I wouldn't try to sell any pictures I took of the animals. I hadn't planned on it, but most of the animals were behind two chain link fences which made getting a good shot next to impossible. I had to do a lot of manual focusing to get anything.

Kayla Sets Sail

2009-09-21T07:00:00.002-05:00

Kayla has been modeling for me since she was 15. Whenever I needed to practice or needed to update my portfolio, she always volunteered to help me out. She also helped me out on jobs when I needed an extra person. AND she was my kids babysitter.

Well, Kayla is all grown up now and leaves for her new life with the Navy starting today. She signed up for 5 years which is why I took her out on a marathon photo shoot a few weeks ago. I told her I needed at least 5 years worth of pictures. I think I got it, too.

We all wish her luck!

Web Site Redo: PhotoFrame

2009-09-19T07:00:00.006-05:00

I am fully aware that my web site ain't so hot.

It looks the way it does because at the time I couldn't afford to hire someone to build it for me, so I built it myself. The only program I'm familiar with for web site building is Microsoft FrontPage. I built it completely using that program and used the Lightroom web function for the picture galleries.

It was boring and dated when I first put it up 2 years ago, but now it REALLY looks boring and dated. This week I've implemented a plan to redo, refurbish and rebuild.

Step one is choosing the appropriate pictures. I'll use several that I already have up plus a whole bunch of new ones. One thing I've been experimenting with is software called PhotoFrame that adds artistic frames to your images. Above is one example.

Still learning the software...the frame in the above pic was from a PhotoFrame preset.

SuperDUPER Shallow Depth

2009-09-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

You can REALLY see the depth of field on this one. Her face is in focus while parts of her hair and everything behind her is completely out.

Same location as the last pic. I asked her to swing around on that pole, but then quickly realized that's not an appropriate request to make of a respectable young lady. Oops...

Super Shallow Depth

2009-09-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

Still at the Heard, I used a 50mm f1.4 for this one. Not my lens, I'm still mostly working with my 24-200mm f4.0.

Got some great depth of field on this one. I used a little bit of flash just for some fill-in since this was a covered area. It was also about 85 degrees. Kayla was becoming uncomfortable wearing that sweater.

Argyle & Pigtails

2009-09-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

The week before last I did a marathon photo shoot with Kayla, who has worked with/for me for a few years now. I also did her senior pics last year. She's getting ready to to move on to some big endeavors so she agreed to squeeze in one more shoot while she's still in town. More on that later.

Our first stop was the Heard Museum where we spent over two hours taking pictures. This was one of the first ones we did. I thought the ripped up jeans and pigtails against the wood screamed for some sepia. The argyle sweater doesn't exactly fit, but we weren't going for any type of theme and I didn't tell Kayla what to wear or what to do with her hair.

More Tunnel Light

2009-09-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

If this pic looks very similar to this one of my daughter, there's a reason.

Alex and his Mom described a picture they wanted me to make and showed me an example of one they had done previously; Alex looking down with the light coming in from the left, background out of focus. I tried photographing Julia in the tunnel to see how it would look before I suggested this to Alex.

I had Alex meet me at 7:00pm at Adriatica to do the shot. I noticed it was starting to get cloudy and could see a storm moving in in the distance. Alex arrived just as the rain started so I figured we might as well see what we can do anyway. The big problem was light. The dark clouds from the storm cut the light to almost 50% of what I was expecting to get.

This is where the 5D Mark II really came in handy. I borrowed a friends 50mm f1.4 and pushed the ISO up to 1600. This was the result. Not bad considering the light was very limited. In the raw image I could see just a little bit of grain when I zoomed in on the picture, but I was able to get rid of most of it using Lightroom, as well as converting the image to black & white.

I'm sure it's legit...

2009-09-04T07:00:00.001-05:00

Spotted this sign while walking down 6th Street in Austin last month. I wonder how many times this place has been raided by the police...when you give your business a name like this you're just asking for trouble.

..and NO...I didn't go in.

Prison Courtyard

2009-09-02T07:00:00.003-05:00

Still at the old Collin County Prison, this area was at one time the prison courtyard. I've heard stories of prisoners yelling and whistling at women if they happened to walk down the alley where the prison courtyard is located. It's hard to believe you could get that close to inmates less than 40 years ago.

For this shot, I asked Alex to pretend he was getting slightly agitated that his girlfriend was not on time yet again. His expression was just what I was after. This is one of my favorite shots from our entire session.

Senior Pics in McKinney

2009-08-31T07:00:00.002-05:00

This is Alex, the subject of my most recent senior shoot. I suggested we try some pictures at a few spots in downtown Mckinney. One place I can never resist shooting at is outside the old Collin County Jail.

These steel doors are located at the side entrance, and from the looks of it they've been there since the jail was built in 1880. The facility was in use up until the 1970's, and the last legal execution in McKinney took place there in 1922. Among the famous alumni to have a few sleepovers was Frank James (Jesse's older brother). Charles "Tex" Watson, one of Manson's merry followers, also spent some time here awaiting extradition to California.

Anyway, back to Alex. He was super-easy to work with, very open to my strange suggestions ("lets take pictures at a jail!"), and is a smart, bright guy. We got a lot of great shots and plan to get a few more.

Tunnel Light

2009-08-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is a recent shot of my daughter taken at Adriatica. I had her stand at one of the tunnels that go under Virginia Parkway trying to get the effect of directional light.

Marvin @Koriente

2009-08-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

This is my good friend Marvin whom I met up with while visiting Austin, TX. We were eating at a restaurant called Koriente and I took a few shots of him since the light looked pretty good where we were sitting.

This is a good example of how good the 5D Mark II is in low light. I didn't use a flash and was able to keep the ISO down at 100. If I had tried this with my old D80 the image would have been quite grainy. This one came out great. 70mm, 1/100 sec f4

Compressing the picture down to a jpeg to include it on this blog caused some loss of detail, but it looked fantastic on my monitor. The details I was able to capture in Marvin's face really surprised me. I LOVE my new camera..

Jewell & Willie

2009-08-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here's another that makes you wonder...

Jewell & Willie were buried in the same place and share a headstone. What is not known is if they were brother and sister or a married couple. The shape of the stone suggests they were children. I've seen several other graves belonging to young people with a similar design.

Most of the information engraved on this stone is illegible. Jewell's date of death is now partially buried.

Mary Facing East

2009-08-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

I noticed this statue of Mary while taking pictures at Pecan Grove. It wasn't near any graves so I'm not sure if was placed as a marker or purposely placed to face in the direction where someone is buried (which happened to be east). In any case, I thought it was interesting because it looked so old.

A Bad Week for the Davidsons

2009-08-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

Mr. and Mrs. Lou Davidson's infant son unfortunately died at birth on October 9th, 1873.

Then on October 15, Mr. Davidson himself passed away at age 23.

There's a story here...wish I knew what it was.

Below you can see the infant's stone (on the left) and Lou Davidson's stone not far away. Again I have to wonder about the wording. "Sacred to the memory of.." almost sounds like the stone was put there as a memorial, not necessarily as a grave marker.

Bench Shadow

2009-08-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I originally meant to post this on the Pic A Theme blog when the theme was "shadows and reflections," but I forgot.

This was taken early in the morning in downtown McKinney last Spring with my D80.

And speaking of my D80, I recently sold it and all of my Nikon gear to help pay for my 5D Mark II. Not all to one person...my lenses and filters were bought by people around the country and the D80 was purchased by a guy in Sweden.

Abby #2

2009-08-03T07:00:00.002-05:00

Another from the same session. Mom ordered 11X14's of this picture and the previous one.

Abby

2009-07-30T07:00:00.003-05:00

I figured I'd take a break from the graveyard stuff and post some pics from a recent shoot.

This is Abby and she didn't know she was getting her picture taken this day. Mom didn't know either...they were visiting and knew I was going to do some pictures soon, but we hadn't "officially" set a date. Surprise! They walk in and I have the studio set up. Abby had some stains on her clothes from breakfast but I took care of that in Photoshop.

I definitely like the expression and I have to give credit for this pose to Abby. She came up with this position mostly on her own...I only suggested moving her head slightly. Mom was a little annoyed about her peeling nail polish but I think it adds spontaneity to the portrait.

Galen McKinney

2009-07-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

All we can tell about Galen McKinney is that he departed this life on September 5th. The headstone was split right over the year so we don't know when. I also couldn't locate the bottom of the headstone which is probably still in the ground somewhere near the tree this part was propped up against.

I thought it was also interesting that the headstone reads "in memory of..." Maybe they didn't have a body to bury?

Infant Son

2009-07-24T07:00:00.009-05:00

Another child...this one was a boy who only lived 20 days and was never given a proper name. Son of J.P. and Mattie M. Nenny, 1871.

Obviously after the headstone broke, someone propped it up on the piece that was still in the ground.

Although no one is posting comments, I've been getting an earful about the toppled headstones...

"..very sad."
"...that's terrible"
"..eerie"
"....why would you take pictures of that??"

To me, walking through a cemetery is like walking through an art museum. Once you get past the whole "final resting place" idea, you can spot art everywhere you look. To some, the headstones that have fallen over seem to conjure up images of the forgotten. But just because a headstone over 100 years old has fallen over doesn't mean that person is forgotten or nobody cares. Nothing lasts forever...not even grave markers.

So, is it not art because they mark where dead people are buried? It's not the actual dead person, after all. It's just a slab of cement that marks where they are buried. Some were created to be works of art to be looked at. Let enough time pass and eventually the Earth reclaims them.

Willie E. Bailey

2009-07-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

This one is from Pecan Grove Cemetary, also in McKinney. This is also another young child who died about 2 weeks before his 8th birthday.

It appears that the stone wasn't mounted to the base that well and eventually became detached.

James H. Huey

2009-07-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

I started a new project recently photographing toppled or broken headstones. Originally I intended to photograph grave plots decorated with the American flag on the 4th of July, but I didn't see that many. I did see many old, toppled headstones and thought they were more interesting.

By "toppled" I really mean they've fallen over or have broken due to age. Several were forced up by the roots of a nearby tree and eventually fell over. All of them are old, and you have to wonder about the history of these plots and the people buried there.

This one is from Williams Cemetery in McKinney. This grave belongs to a young boy who died less than a week before his 5th birthday, probably due to disease or an illness which was usually the case in 1887.

Canon 5D Mark II (finally!)

2009-07-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

About two weeks ago I collected all of my pennies, sold some prized possessions and donated a kidney, but finally managed to buy my Canon 5D Mark II. Since I've always been a Nikon user, I had to buy the lens, memory cards, UV filter etc. So this was not a small purchase. I bought the lens it came bundled with, which was a 24-105mm f4. Good enough for most situations and fine for doing portrait work. I haven't even bought a flash yet.

The main reason I bought this camera was it's ability to photograph in low light with little or no noise. My Nikon D80 couldn't be pushed much over an ISO of 400. My experiments with the 5D Mark II so far have been very good with an ISO up to 2000. I've tried some some shots over 3000 but the noise was fairly easy to see, but nothing like the D80. So far I'm pleased with the results.

At 21 MP it's almost a megapixel overkill. 15 MP would have been plenty and the 5D Mark II allows you to dial it down to 9.9 MP or 5.2 MP while still shooting in RAW. I haven't experimented with comparing the image quality to the 21 MP yet.

This camera is also one of the first to have the ability to shoot HD video. However, this is NOT a reason to buy the camera. It's a nice feature and the videos are beautiful, but it's not so easy to use. There's no autofocus for one thing, and the internal microphone pics up a lot of noise coming from inside the camera. I'll definitely need an external mic if I'm going to use it. It DOES give you the ability to shoot with a blurred background as long as your subject isn't moving around to much. That's something your average camcorder can't do.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the camera although I've barely scratched the surface of all this camera can do. Next purchase will definitely be a flash, probably the 580 EX II, and eventually my dream lens, the 50mm f1.2.

A Living Piece of Poly-Pop History

2009-07-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

You can almost tell just by looking at the Mai Kai sign what you're in for when you walk through the front door.

Talk about escapism....why is it that most restaurants (including my local Trader Vic's) are too busy trying to be all things to all people rather than being what they are? There's no TV's blaring sports in the Mai Kai. The music you hear is appropriate to the venue....classic Hawaiian and Exotica. Would you walk into a place like this and expect to find beer swizzling sports fans yelling at the TV? Certainly not here. You can get that just about anywhere so why spoil the experience?

Hear that Dallas Trader Vic's??

Tiki in the Mai Kai Garden

2009-07-06T07:00:00.002-05:00

Another from the Mai Kai garden. Also a 3 second exposure. I wrapped my gorilla pod around the bridge railing to make the shot.

No info on this carving, but it's definitely old.

Exotica

2009-07-03T07:00:00.002-05:00

This beautiful woman is Julie, my good friend, fellow tiki enthusiast and also a photographer.. This was taken when it was still light out in the Mai Kai garden and we wanted to get a shot with the PNG tiki in the background.

This shot sort of reminds me of an old Exotica album cover.

Mai Kai Garden

2009-06-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

I was in Ft. Lauderdale recently attending The Hukilau and had the chance to visit the amazing Mai Kai. Behind the restaurant there is a beautiful exotic garden you can wonder through with new surprises at every turn. If you're interested in Polynesian Pop era of the 20th century, the Mai Kai is a living time capsule of Polynesian dining at it's best. The garden is filled with carved tikis produced over 50 years ago. I love walking through the garden after a couple of Rum Juleps.

Getting a good picture is easy is you have a tripod and can make exposures that are a few seconds long, but all I had was my gorilla pod. For the picture above I strapped it onto the railing where I was sitting and pointed it toward the waterfall near the entrance to the garden. This was a 3 second exposure at f5.6, ISO 250

Bath Toys

2009-06-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

This is the last one from Watters Creek.

I saw these little duckies and couldn't resist trying to get a few shots while they were squawking away. I guess I got too close because Duck Mom came swooping in out of nowhere.

View From The Bridge

2009-06-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

Not the view from the bridge of the Enterprise, I'm afraid. This is another from Watters Creek. I was on one of the bridges looking straight down into the water while bracing the camera on the railing of the bridge. Exposure time was 1/2 second.

Water at Watters Creek

2009-06-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

My friend Dan over at McKinney Daily Photo blogged about this area before and posted some interesting pics. I had some time early one morning and went there to see if I could grab some decent pictures.

Watters Creek is a small development in Allen, TX with shopping, office space, restaurants and apartment lofts, which together give it the feel of a condensed "downtown". There's a centrally located park area that has a stream running through the center of it with lot's of mini waterfalls that are always fun to photograph. A couple of bridges and rocks surrounding the stream make for some picturesque areas.

I thought I'd try to get some long exposure pics of some of the waterfalls, but I forgot my tripod. I used the surrounding rocks to brace the camera for the longer exposures when photographing the waterfalls and also used a polarizer to cut down on the glare in the water.

The rest of Watters Creek is interesting, however I think it's much more photogenic at night when it's lit up. You can see some nighttime photography on their web site. I might try it sometime.

Band Banquet...I need Glasses!

2009-06-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity recently to do portraits at a banquet for the McKinney High School band. The theme of the banquet was Casino Royale...makes for some interesting possibilities when choosing a background. Unfortunately I had only three days to prepare, so I was unable to procure any props or special backgrounds.

I brought along my black muslin background because that was the most formal looking background I have. I was given some plastic party hangers that had dollar signs and playing cards and I hung these on the background. The problem was they were too reflective, and in every practice picture I took they looked like giant glowing white balls. We also tried using some giant dice as a prop. But the problem was they had GLITTER on them which is not good for the camera. It sticks to your hands and there's always a possibility that some could get on your lens or worse yet on the sensor. So we ended up going with....NOTHING. Just the plain black background. The results, although very plain, are not too bad.

When I do these types of portraits I always tell everyone to remain where they are while I double check the image to make sure the composition is acceptable and no one has their eyes closed. Well, I guess I need to start wearing my reading glasses because one person DID in fact shut their eyes (NOT the picture above). I didn't notice it until I was home editing the pictures. Not a good thing to find after the event is over. I printed the picture anyway and attached a note apologizing for my mistake, refunded their money and offered to do a reshoot. Reading glasses are now on my shopping list before I take anymore pictures.

In all the event photography I've done, this is the first time I let something as simple as someone with their eyes closed slip by. I'd post the pic but if the girl with her eyes closed sees it she probably wouldn't be too happy.

More Courtney

2009-06-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

From the same session. This time I used Photoshop to keep only her face in focus.

Courtney

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

One from the portfolio. I photographed Courtney with one 48" softbox.

Abandoned Barn

2009-06-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

This old abandoned barn or shed is located on the newly completed stretch of Hardin Rd. in McKinney. It's the same place where I found this chair. Some post production gave it the look of a photo taken with an old camera.

Brick Ledge

2009-05-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

This is from the same session as the last post.

I also fixed my Twitter link. Thanks Michelle!

"Fix your hair, please."

2009-05-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

I'm fortunate to have an attractive daughter that when her father says "let's go take some pictures," she's always agreeable.

This was taken in Adriatica last summer.

Chocolate Chips @ Crystal Palace

2009-05-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here's one from last year I recently rediscovered. Julia eating a cookie at the Crystal Palace in Disney World. I don't think she finished the cookie. She never does.

A "Real" Tiki Bar

2009-05-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

This is where I spend most of my time...

This is a wide angle shot of the lounge area next to the bar. I've been to so many bars & restaurants that call themselves a "tiki bar" when they're actually the farthest thing from it. Just because you have some bamboo and serve tropical drinks (probably bad ones) does not make you a tiki bar. It's about atmosphere and escapism. Trader Vic's is the ONLY place in the state of Texas where you'll find it.

Craved Panels

2009-05-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

These carved panels are some of my favorite pieces of artwork inside Trader Vic's. No two are exactly the same and they can be found throughout the restaurant. These are near the hostess stand at the entrance.

Tiki Heaven

2009-05-16T07:00:00.004-05:00

Last weekend I worked at Trader Vic's taking Mother's Day portraits for families that were there to celebrate Mother's Day. Sunday afternoon was slow for a couple of hours, so I used that time to get a few interior shots.

The decor inside Dallas Trader Vic's is amazing. If you're interested in the history of this restaurant, I blogged about it here.

No shortage of interesting perspectives to photograph. I always manage to find something new. These tiki poles were carved by Oceanic Arts in the mid-60's and have been in place since the restaurant originally opened in 1967. The carpeting is not the original, but was reproduced to match the original when the restaurant reopened in 2007.

Natural Light

2009-05-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is from last summer.

I noticed right around 7PM our family room was getting some good light from the setting sun. I set up a black background, had my daughter put on a black top and sat her with the windows to her right. I also shot at a really wide angle (18mm) and at f3.5 which is as fast as that lens can go. ISO 200, 1/60 sec. No flash.

I really liked the lighting I was able to get and I found that natural light is a lot easier to work with than artificial light when you're converting an image to black and white.

"Second" First Marriage

2009-05-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Another from Eric & Norico's "second" wedding.

Both were very kind and considerate even though we were constantly in their faces with our cameras. Photographing weddings is really hard work. I found it difficult to be at certain places at certain times trying to catch key moments...like when they were cutting the cake and the batteries in my flash died. Luckily, they photographer I was assisting was able to catch the moment in time. There are no "second takes" when doing wedding photography. When the moment happens, that's it.

Wedding Reception At Nasher

2009-05-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is from a wedding I assisted on. Taken at the Nasher Sculpture Center in downtown Dallas.

Eric and Norico were actually already married. They'd had a traditional Japanese wedding in Japan where they both live and then had a traditional American wedding for Eric's relatives in the U.S.

Cut-Offs

2009-05-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

I don't usually like brick backgrounds, but on this particular day the light was good and I had about 20 seconds to get the shot.

My daughter was about to leave for school and came out wearing these cut-off shorts. They looked like ones that you buy in the store that are made to look like you cut them yourself, with loose threads hanging off, etc. But these actually were home made cut-offs. I asked my daughter to come stand under our front archway and I took 3 fast shots. I chose this one because she moved her hand up closer to her face.

Senior Pictures, part 8

2009-04-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, just one more post about the senior shoot...

A few more of Kayla's outdoor shots. As I said earlier, she's modeled for me before so these came easily and she's very comfortable in front of the camera.

I suppose the senior market is a field of photography where I could market myself more, but it seems like people have certain expectations of how these kind of pictures should look. As I look around at other photographers web sites, most of them look the same. I can't tell one photographer from another. But this is what pays, so I can either jump on the boat or go somewhere else on a life raft.

Money vs. artistic freedom...I faced similar choices back in my musician days and we always chose to be artists rather than join the bandwagon. It didn't make us money, though, and I sure would like to get my hands on a 5D Mark II.

Senior Pictures, part 7

2009-04-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

To finish off the session with Kayla, we went to a park in Plano to do some outdoor shots. This was in early November so the trees were still mostly green.

The picture above is one of the last shots I took. I was able to catch the sky's reflection in the pond that made an "s" curve right down to where she was sitting.

Something else I tried doing was using a fill flash in almost every shot. There were some very scenic but shady areas, and the fill flash helped balance everything out.

Senior Pictures, part 6

2009-04-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

While Kayla was in the green dress we tried a white background. It gave the photo more of a high key look.

Senior Pictures, part 5

2009-04-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Working with Kayla was a little different. She had more time so we were able to do more shooting. I've also worked with Kayla several times so she's very used to my shooting style and comfortable with the camera.

After we did her cap and gown series, she changed clothes a couple of times and I tried a couple of different backgrounds. The lighting stayed basically the same through most of the shoot.

Senior Pictures, part 4

2009-04-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

THIS was the picture I was after. I knew as soon as I took it I caught the expression and attitude I wanted from Haleigh.

Again, trying to highlight her new class ring, I had her move her hand up to her face with her head turned slightly. I suggested afterwards that we try it in black and white, while keeping the ring in color.

To end the session, we went to Towne Lake in McKinney to try to get a few shots before the sun went down. Unfortunately for me, my best shots came when I was starting to lose the light. There was enough light to do pictures, but my Nikon D80 doesn't do well in low light. For the picture below I used my SD-600 flash. The results aren't bad...I think the catch light from the flash help bring her eyes out.

Senior Pictures, part 3

2009-04-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Haleigh is a cheerleader, so we obviously had to get some appropriate shots. The one above is one of my favorites. The problem we had was that it was taken in the fall and the grass had already started changing color. Unfortunately due to Haleigh's schedule and time contraints, this was the only time we had to do the photos. This is the greenest I could get the grass to look without making it look fake ...even after pushing up the green channels in Lightroom and Photoshop.

The picture below was taken a few weeks later in the studio (my garage). Haleigh's Mom wanted to try some indoor cheerleader shots.

Senior Pictures, part 2

2009-04-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

My second senior, Kayla, with the same cap and gown and background. Out of the backgrounds that I do have, this one seemed to work the best color-wise. The girls did have other choices but both agreed this one was their favorite.

I didn't photograph the lighting setup I used for both shoots, but I had my 48" softbox behind me and to the right, and my 24" softbox behind the subject on the left. I pointed it toward the ceiling to get a bounce just to fill in.

Senior Pictures, part 1

2009-04-14T07:00:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year....actually if a senior is just starting NOW to think about senior pictures, they're running a little late.

I don't market myself as specializing in senior photography, but if they like my work and want that style I'm happy to do it. Last August I was approached by two families interested in hiring me to do senior shots for the daughters, both seniors at McKinney High School.

For the cap & gown shots, I figured I'd just rent the cap & gown, but that proved easier said then done. Wanting to get the school colors correct, I approached the school and I approached the company handling the class rings, yearbooks etc. who I was told rented out school accessories for photo shoots. What I was told is that they only work with "certain photographers." In other words, if you wanted a cap and gown shot you had to have it done by whatever photographer they had some kind of arrangement with. Not cool in my book, so I bought my own. I found a company on line that had the color combination I needed so I bought from them. I'm not sure I got the right information about how to rent caps and gowns since I don't normally rent them. But simply buying one for $40.00 seemed like the best way to go...plus I can use it again.

Here we have Haleigh in a few slightly formal poses in the cap & gown. She also had just gotten her class ring which I tried to highlight.

WANTED! part 2

2009-04-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

BOOT SCOOTIN' JAMBOREE was the name of the event. The folks at one of the elementary school in town, including the PTO, teachers, staff and volunteers, did an unbelievable job. I was hired to take the pictures to be placed in the WANTED frames that I talked about here.

My setup was the usual 2 softboxes. The background was already provided, and it was more than I could have hoped for (and better than anything I could have thrown together). An old shed with a wooden fence, haystacks, a saddle, etc. All the kids really wanted to sit on the saddle but it was not steady on the fence, so I limited it to kids who were under school age.

It was a pretty steady crowd for the 2 hours I was scheduled, but was still half expecting to sell more portraits than I did considering 500 tickets were sold. I've been working these types of events for a couple of years and I've definitely seen a decrease in the number of pictures people seem to be buying since the economy got into trouble. I'm still appreciative for the business I did get and will definitely do more of them. Hopefully it will lead to a few extra clients.

Sculpting The Promise

2009-04-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

"The Promise" is a sculpture "in the making" that is located in front of the Bell Tower at Adriatica. When it is completed it will depict the dove that brought the olive leaf to Noah surrounded by a fountain and will be dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita.

I can't help thinking that it's a bit inappropriate to have a sculpture dedicated to hurricane victims resting in the middle of a fountain, even though the fountain is meant to represent God's promise that he would never allow the world to be destroyed by water again.

Also strange and a bit humorous is the disclaimer on the sign with a rendering of the finished sculpture that says, "Artists rendering may not accurately depict finished development. The information heron is subject to change at any time without notice." With all due respect to the artist(s), who are not mentioned on the sign, I'm guessing it means that if they mess it up they reserve the right to turn it into a birdbath. Based on the progress made so far, I think it will look just like the picture. Is there a law that says they have to include a disclaimer that says it may not look exactly like the artists rendering? It is a rendering, after all.

Bell Tower Of Adriatica

2009-04-04T07:00:00.001-05:00

The nearly complete Bell Tower is the centerpiece of a development here in McKinney known as Adriatica. It's modeled after an actual bell tower in Croatia and stands 128 feet tall. It will house office space and possibly a museum on the top floor.

Here's another view after the sun was a little higher in the sky.

Unhappy Jpegs

2009-04-02T17:44:00.011-05:00

I've been increasingly unhappy with the appearance of my images after I load them to the blog. They lose a lot of resolution when I covert them to a jpeg on my computer, but then when I upload them they seem to be losing even more. It's especially apparent on my black and whites.

I've started hosting my files on Photobucket and it seems to make a difference. Not only in the size of the file I'm able to post, but in the resolution. It's also easier to to cut and paste an html code when you're using a Mac than it is to try to move the images around once you've uploaded them to the blog.

I've noticed lots of bloggers host their pictures at different locations, so I'm guessing this is common knowledge and maybe I'm just a little late in realizing it. I've only been blogging about 3 months.

I've also begun posting pictures on two other blogs; The World In Black & White and Pic A Theme. Pic A Theme just started and I've been enjoying The World In Black & White for some time. Very happy to be able to contribute. It also gets me thinking even more about shooting photos which is why I started blogging in the first place.

The picture above is a b&w version of a portrait I made of my daughter last fall. Her school pictures were developed so poorly that I couldn't stand not doing a better one.

2000 Pictures, part 5

2009-04-02T06:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't included an entry about this exercise in over a month, so here's a quick review.

Last year I took a class about thinking creatively in photography. Our first assignment was to take 2000 pictures in one week. Sounds easy, but it wasn't.

I decided to follow our dog around one afternoon in an effort to get some more shots since I wasn't even halfway to 2000.

Our dog's name is Pepper and he's a Carolina dog (also known as the "American Dingo"). We found him at the local SPCA in 2003. He's great with the kids and is afraid of house flies if they're actually in the house. If they're outside he usually eats them.

For this series I followed Pepper around the backyard. I just took random shots of him doing whatever he happened to be doing. It made me just sort of observe his behavior. An interesting life this dog leads, as I imagine all dogs do. One thing I've noticed about trying to take pictures of an animal...they don't like to pose and never smile. Every shot is a candid shot when you're taking pictures of a dog. They don't even mind if you take a picture of them while they're fertilizing the lawn. At least Pepper didn't mind. He seemed to enjoy my company and never seemed to mind me taking pictures.

I managed to grab a couple of interesting shots while he was shaking himself off after running around (is there a word for that?). I was able to catch his head in these strange contorted positions that the human eye can't really isolate when it's happening.

What a hard life a dog leads. All the free lunch you can eat and you can sleep whenever or wherever you want.

Frontiers of Flight IV

2009-03-31T07:00:00.003-05:00

A few more to finish off the pics I took during our visit last week to this museum.

Near the end of our visit, Joey was getting tired so he took a seat and even buckled in.

took the time to check out a lighted map. I didn't notice what the map actually was, but it spun around and she enjoyed spinning around with it...like it was the only "fun" thing to do there. As I mentioned earlier, they weren't too enthused with the museum. Probably because they've been to sooo many others that are big on the wow factor. I hope they at least learned something.

Not a clue what the story on this was. There were several art projects on display and I picked one to photograph to test my camera settings. Just then I was called away by one of the kids and never read the notes about what this was or who made it.

Frontiers Of Flight III

2009-03-27T14:20:00.001-05:00

Here's a few mixed pictures I thought were interesting.

The one above is actually the outside of a jet engine. I re-cropped it, rotated it about 80 degrees and made it black and white. I like it because unless you really know the workings of a jet engine, you'd probably never guess what it was.

I noticed my daughter staring at what looked like a tire off of Jim-Bob's 4X4 (sorry Jim-Bob). The plaque underneath it reads:

STS-89 MAIN LANDING GEAR TIRE This main landing gear tire was on the space shuttle orbiter Endeavor for the STS-89 mission, January 22-31, 1998. Shuttle main landing gear tires are a one-time use item and are replaced after one landing (nosewheel tires are used for two landings). Flying on his first space flight as Mission Specialist aboard Endeavor on STS-89 was Dallas Lake Highlands High School graduate Dr. James F. Reilly, II...."

On the bottom of the plaque it says the wheel is "on loan" from NASA. I guess they may need it again after all. The wheel is signed: "To the Frontiers Of Flight from your STS-89 crew, Jim Reilly. "

Also along the space theme is the command module from Apollo 7. I tried explaining to the kids that Apollo 7 was important because it was the first "manned" Apollo mission that ultimately led to landing on the moon. You couldn't crawl inside of it so I guess it wasn't too exciting to them.

Frontiers Of Flight II - Braniff

2009-03-25T17:15:00.000-05:00

I don't know much about Braniff Airways other than they operated a major hub out of Love Field in Dallas.

While visiting the Frontiers of Flight Museum right next door to Love Field, I couldn't help but notice a big display on the 2nd floor dedicated to Braniff. I enjoyed the progression of flight attendants clothes from mid century on up. My favorites were these lovely numbers. Why don't flight attendants dress like this anymore?

In a display case nearby there were some model planes and other artifacts from Braniff. I couldn't help but notice a Braniff tiki mug, since collecting tiki is one of my hobbies. I've seen this one before in an antique store but they wanted $40 for it which I think was overpriced.

This mug was given to passengers during their Hawaii route but I'm not sure when. My guess is late 60's to early 70's. This mugs design is known in the collectors world as "Leilani" and was manufactured by a company called Orchids Of Hawaii.

Frontiers of Flight

2009-03-23T08:53:00.000-05:00

The Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas is an assembly of artifacts celebrating the history of flight. My son and I were there once 3 or 4 years ago for someones birthday party but we never made it back with the family.

There are some interesting artifacts, several restored aircraft, some replicas..etc. Worth the admission price ($8.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids). My kids have been to some fantastic museums in the past, not to mention both the Kennedy Space Center in FL and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, so they've seen it all. Not sure what they were expecting, but I think this one left them a little disappointed. Still, plenty of interesting things to see.

The lighting actually wasn't bad for pictures, but like I've mentioned before, the Nikon D80 has severe limitations when it comes to low light. I used my 50mm f1.8 while we were indoors and got a few interesting shots, but the low light shots are far too grainy. I didn't push my ISO past 300.

The museum is located right next to Love Field so the kids enjoyed watching planes come and go from the parking lot. There's a wire mesh fence dividing the museum parking lot from the airport.

At first this pic looks like she's jumping, but she's actually trying to balance herself on one of parking space dividers while carrying a toy plane she bought inside.

WANTED!

2009-03-20T07:33:00.000-05:00

Next week I'm doing a shoot at an elementary school dance. It's going to be a "western" theme and they wanted the pictures to look like "wanted" posters. Since I only offer 4X6's at these events it was a challenge figuring out exactly how to pull this off. I managed to locate some frames on line that already said "wanted" on them. The only additional thing I would need to do is give the pictures an antique look.

I wanted to try one picture before the event so I have something to show potential customers. The sun was a concern, but this was only supposed to be a throwaway that I could use to see how the pictures would look in the frame.

At first I took about 15 pictures of my daughter wearing a cowboy hat and then sent her on her way. Then I realized there was no memory card in the camera (OOPS). I called her back to do it again and she was a bit irritated with me. I quickly took 6 more shots (WITH the memory card this time) and managed to get this pose from her. I told her to look like a mean criminal and I think it was easy since she was already mad at me.

I edited the picture and put it inside one of the frames I'll be using at the event. Below is the result.

More B&W Please

2009-03-19T05:37:00.003-05:00

It occurred to me while I was reviewing my past blog entries that although I market myself primarily as a "black & white" photographer, I haven't been posting nearly enough black & white pictures to this blog. My website is all black & white and it's a niche I like sticking to. I do plenty of color also and most of my clients get a mixture of both color and black & white. Still, if I want people to see the work I enjoy doing the most, I should probably start posting THAT work with an occasional color picture.

Anyway, the pic above was taken during spring break last year at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is my son, then age 12. He was in a playground area sitting in a jeep that was converted into a piece of playground equipment. He wasn't expecting me to take a picture which is how I was able to catch this expression.

Here's another taken moments later...his expression now says it all...

Spring Break

2009-03-17T16:03:00.001-05:00

Spring break crept up on us this year. Usually we plan one of our two annual family vacations during spring break while the kids are out of school. I didn't even start thinking about it until two weeks ago or so. I can't take all of the blame though...my wife also knew this time off was coming. Due to the uncertain economy and my wife's employer being unwilling to commit to letting her have off for specific days, we made no plans.

Last year this time we went on a big week-long trip to Disney World and visited my family who live in the Orlando area. That was quite an excursion and I have the pictures to prove it. Maybe a later blog entry...

Anyway, Monday the 16th was the first "official" day of no school for the kids. My wife, always the one to keep the kids as busy as possible, made them each a "to do" list so they didn't get too bored too quickly. By 12:30 there was only one thing left on both of their lists..."walk the dog." So the three of us took the dog down to a nearby park. I brought along the camera and grabbed a few pictures. Totally wrong time of day to be trying to take good pictures due to the strong mid-day sun, but who cares..it's spring break!

Lampost Relection

2009-03-16T20:10:00.001-05:00

The last of my more interesting shots from last weeks downtown excursion. Reflections are fun.

I remember the wind was blowing so hard I took this shot three times because I couldn't hold my arms still enough. This was the best pic and the "real" lamp post is still a little out of focus. I'll have to try this one again sometime.

A.D. Hope & Sons

2009-03-13T09:02:00.001-05:00

I know...everyone who has ever walked around downtown with a camera has taken a picture of this old sign on the side of the building that is now The Pantry. I don't want to feel left out so here you go. 55mm 1/100 sec f5.6.

Wow...hardware and gifts? I wonder if anyone got one of those well pumps as a gift.

I also need to try that chocolate chip pie sometime.

WOW

2009-03-11T09:32:00.002-05:00

Don't know the story on this. It's on the side of a building I noticed as I was walking down an alley.
55mm 1/100 sec f7.1

Same town, different lens

2009-03-08T11:03:00.000-05:00

I had some free time one morning recently so I went to downtown McKinney to try to get some pictures. It was overcast and windy and was sometimes hard to hold the camera straight. I decided to take all the pictures with a lens I rarely use...my 55-200 f4.0.

A basketball goal and a pallet are two things you don't often see together. This was in the parking lot on the side of a restaurant. I forget what street. 95mm 1/100 sec f5.6. The ISO on all shots was 100.

These power lines and uneven poles always interested me. I'm sure there was some reason for this set up in the past but I have no idea. This picture would have looked much better with a blue sky, but as I said it was overcast. 90mm 1/100 sec f7.1.

My biggest fan

2009-03-06T10:00:00.000-06:00

She got this from me.

When the kids were little I could never resist talking into a fan to alter my voice. They would always laugh and want to try it too. Now they're older and I need to be more creative to get a laugh out of my kids, but that doesn't stop them from taking my old habits to the extreme.

Shot with my 50mm at f1.8, 1/50 sec ISO 100.

Dallas Trader Vic's

2009-03-03T18:32:00.000-06:00

My favorite place in Dallas...I'll spare you the company history. Suffice to say that Trader Vic's was a staple in the era of mid 20th century tiki/Polynesian pop culture. Tiki heaven for sure.

The Dallas location of Trader Vic's originally opened in 1967 at the Dallas Hilton. Polynesian style restaurants were just at the height of their popularity...as well as the strong rum concoctions served in crazy looking mugs. At this time these places were a common sight in every major US city. Dallas was also home to Ports O' Call on the 37th floor of the Dallas Sheraton and Dobbs House Luau at Love Field.

The 70's brought a period of tiki-devolution, and these once frequented establishments were now considered tacky and out of date. Business slowed, service suffered, and people just forgot about them. Dobbs House Luau closed in 1974 and Ports O' Call closed in 1978. Trader Vic's however, lingered on for quite a number of years. Finally, in 1989, the Dallas Hilton was sold...to the Maharishi! They had plans to turn the Hilton into a transcendental meditation center and had absolutely no interest in running a bar/restaurant. So, Trader Vic's was essentially mothballed and the space was occasionally rented out for private parties. The amazing thing was the interior, complete with tiki decor from the classic tiki period, remained intact. Beautiful carved poles by Oceanic Arts still brought the sense of escapism to a long gone era, not to mention the moai carved by famed carver Barney West that still stood guard out front for many years after the restaurant officially closed down.

Flash forward to 2005. The hotel, now called the Sante Fe, was sold to a couple of investors who had plans to rebuild, reshape and revitalize that old building into something new and trendy. They must have been amazed when they pried opened the doors to Trader Vic's and found a treasure trove of tiki artifacts that could be a centerpiece of a tiki museum (if there was such a thing). Plans soon began to breathe new life into the old space.

While the hotel was being remodeled into what is now the Palomar, Trader Vic's went through some renovations. First, anything that was still usable and up to current building codes was kept in place...right down to the lamps on the ceiling that had a few holes but otherwise were still usable. The sunken dining room area was brought back up to ground level, and the old carpeting was reproduced with the exact pattern that it had before. The bar was extended, the windows hidden, and paradise was reborn.

I was fortunate enough to attend a "mock service" at the restaurant before they officially opened and was in awe...here was a living time capsule of a slice of American pop culture from the 50's-60's. Never before had a classic tiki establishment reopened in the same location with the same decor. It was simply amazing. The old Barney West moai that stood out front had eroded to the point of unusablity, but I was led down to a secret room (in the parking garage) where he was temporarily housed so I could see him one last time.

Dallas Trader Vic's officially RE-opened on March 1st, 2007. It remains the ONLY real tiki establishment in the state. You're likely to get an experience there you won't get anywhere else. The food is exceptional, the drinks are fun and well made...no free pouring and always a top notch presentation. But, the MAIN reason I go to Trader Vics is the atmosphere. It's all about escapism, and Trader Vic's is the ultimate escape. Trader Vic's is located at the Hotel Palomar at Central Expressway and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.

No Flash in the Author's Chair

2009-02-27T17:09:00.000-06:00

I LOVE it when I don't have to use a flash!

Flash's are usually too harsh and very hard to control. In low light situations you'd be better off shooting with a wide aperture if you can. When outdoors I sometimes use a very subtle fill flash just to fill in some shadows or to make a key light visible in the subjects eye, but in a situation where I have little control (like in my daughters school) I hate using it.

Of course, using a higher ISO setting will increase the cameras sensitivity to light which also helps in low light situations. But with a Nikon D80, you can't really go higher than ISO 400 without getting a grainy image. I don't care what the manual or the "experts" say, that's the limit of the D80. I usually try to stay at either 100 (the lowest setting) or 200.

Anywho, yesterday my daughter's 4th grade class was doing something called "Author's Chair" where each student sits in a rocking chair in the school library and reads a story they wrote to parents, staff and other students. I noticed that the florescent lights were pretty bright in the library so I figured I'd try my 50mm f1.8 without the flash and see how it looked. I had the ISO set at 200.

Since my 50mm lens is a prime lens and not a zoom, I was constantly moving around trying to get a better shot. Some of the kids were distracted and my wife had warned me to try to stay in one seat, so I alternated between two different positions and then cropped the pictures after I got them home. I thought the results were not too bad for going flash-less.

The new Canon 5D Mark II reportedly can get up to ISO 6400 without being noisy. The camera is $2700 just for the body. I don't have any Canon lenses so I'd have to invest in that too. Altogether I'd be looking at.......well, I'd probably have to sell my car. For now, I'm saving my pennies and cutting my Starbucks visits.

Uninspired at the Heard

2009-02-25T11:05:00.000-06:00

So last Saturday I decided to go out shooting and I took the kids with me. I was hoping to get some outdoor shots at the Heard Museum that I might be able to use in my portfolio. As it turned out, it was a cold, cloudy, extremely windy morning. The kids were not happy about having to go out first thing on a Saturday morning and it definitely shows in the pictures I did manage to get.

The wind at times was blowing pretty strong and the sun was in and out. I was constantly fiddling with the camera controls while I made the kids stand there freezing and waiting for me to get it right. It was an uncomfortable situation for all of us and I wasn't feeling very inspired. Needless to say, I didn't get this pictures I really wanted to get, but did manage to get a few decent ones.

The one above was shot at 1/160 sec, f5.4, ISO 200 and lens set at 42mm. I added some vignetting in Photoshop and a small crop and I think the results are not bad. However, I can't use this in my portfolio because it's shot as landscape instead of portrait like everything else in my portfolio...multiple streams lack intensity. I haven't even tried making it black and white yet.

1/125 sec, f4.8, 38mm, ISO 200, fill flash

1/200 sec, f3.8, 20mm, ISO 200
Think he's cold?

1/200 sec, f5.3, 46mm, ISO 200, fill flash

1/200 sec, f5.3, 46mm, ISO 200

At this point the sun is becoming an issue. I think I forgot to adjust my ISO back down to 100 since I was using a fill flash when I needed it anyway. It didn't matter as the kids look pretty miserable in every picture. At least I captured their mood!

Valentines Day Photos

2009-02-23T16:13:00.000-06:00

Valentines Day is a great time for doing portraits, particularly at schools.

Many schools use Valentines Day as an opportunity to have a school dance fund raising event. They'll always want a photographer there to catch the moment for kids and their parents. When I work a school fundraiser I generally don't make a lot of money, but it's a great way to gain some new clients.

This year my setup was pretty much the same as what I did last VD at another school. Two soft boxes set up with a neutral gray background. I offered a few props to the kids if they wanted them i.e. heart shaped boxes, roses etc. All shot at 1/125 sec f10, 34mm or higher. I probably could have used my 50mm prime lens like I did last year, but wasn't sure about how much room I'd actually have to work with and wanted to limit my movement as much as possible. Getting the picture taken as quickly as possible is important especially if there's a line of people waiting.

For the post-processing I used Lightroom to adjust the exposure, white balance, then added the vignette in Photoshop. I also had to re-crop almost every picture...another disadvantage of not owning a camera with a full image sensor (Nikon D80). Below are some results:

2000 Pictures, part 4

2009-02-17T12:32:00.012-06:00

Continuing with the exercise, I decided to take a walk around downtown McKinney early one morning before the crowds showed up. McKinney is the county seat for Collin County, and the downtown area has several very old buildings and some interesting architecture. These days, it's mostly antique shops and boutiques, cafes and restaurants, etc. Again, my goal was just to take as many pictures as I could without trying to find a good subject and getting good composition. These are my favorites.

So I literally put the camera around my neck and clicked the shutter every 4 or 5 paces. Many of the pictures were just out of focus shots of random lightposts, trash cans and street signs, but I occasionally got an interesting shot, like this one of birds flying away as I approached:

Smith Drug Co. has been a staple of downtown McKinney for over 100 years. I have other pictures that I have taken over the years, but the store closed for good not long after I got these shots. I've always loved that sign.

There are a lot of glass storefronts downtown and ended up getting several shots of those. Some including my own reflection:

This guy was staring at me from inside a restaurant as I came around a corner so I took his picture:

A few random ones:

This one is probably my favorite, and I'm pretty sure I composed this one and it wasn't randomly taken while I walked down the street. I really like the shallow depth of field.

What's A Podcast?

2009-02-11T16:34:00.011-06:00

You DON'T need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You DO need a computer.

Put simply, a podcast is a radio show broadcast over the interwebs. Sometimes you can listen live through a feed, but mainly it's downloaded using something called a podcast aggregator or a "podcatcher." Lot's of commonly used apps have this ability. The most popular is probably iTunes.

So is it as simple as downloading an audio file? Well, yes and no. What makes it a podcast is the fact that you can subscribe to it (for free) and it comes to YOU. If it's just an audio file that someone posts on their web site, technically it's not a podcast. It works like this....

Let's say you manage your music files using iTunes (like me). iTunes has a section specifically for podcasts and you can subscribe to as many as you want by simply clicking on it. Then, whenever you open iTunes, it automatically checks to see if there are any new episodes of a podcast you're subsrcibed to. If there are, they are automatically downloaded. That's all there is to it.

I have my iPod set to automatically download any new podcasts to it when I plug it into the computer. So all I literally do is plug it in, unplug it when it's done, and listen to it at my own convenience.

No iPod? No problem. You can just as easily listen to the podcast right on your computer using iTunes.

So what's the connection to photography? There are a number of podcasts out there that are well worth your time if you're into photography. From beginner to advanced, history, equipment, news, interviews with the pros...you name it. Here are some of my favorites...

There is a gentleman named Jeff Curto who has two podcasts that in my opinion are better than almost anything else out there.

Camera Position - talks about the creative side of photography

History Of Photography - Jeff Curto is a Professor of Photography at the College of DuPage and records his class sessions. This podcast might save you a bunch of money if you were thinking about taking a course in the history of photography.

The other great thing about Jeff's podcasts is that they are enhanced, meaning there are visuals to go with what he's discussing.

Lightsource is by two photographers who talk about studio lighting and do interviews with working professional photographers.

This Week In Photography is a round table discussion about equipment, software, technique etc. Very informative.

There are many, many other photography podcasts out in cyberland, but those are my favorites.

I'm a little surprised that podcasting hasn't really taken off yet in a really big way. There's a wealth of information out there and it's all free. You can find podcasts that are about almost any subject you can think of. But be warned, it's not all good information, and some podcasts are just plain unlistenable. Anyone with a microphone and a computer can create a podcast, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they should.

2000 Pictures, part 3

2009-02-11T16:16:00.007-06:00

So now we move on to stuff in my backyard. Again, I'm just trying to take 2000 pictures, not picking specific objects and trying to photograph them well.

I'm into tiki stuff, so you'll find a few scattered around:

Bark peeling on one of the Crepe Myrtles:

Edge of a birdbath:

My favorites are the first two. The rest of them don't do anything for me. I even tried setting the timer and throwing the camera up in the air just as the shutter clicked. I didn't bother to increase the shutter speed so they all came out blurry. It wasn't a smart idea anyway. I had read somewhere that it was a way to get some interesting shots. I don't reccommend it, especially with a good camera.

2000 Pictures, part 2

2009-02-07T10:20:00.003-06:00

These are from Day One of the exercise. I had to drop my car off to have some work done, went across the street to Starbucks, then walked home 1.5 miles taking pictures of random things. By the time I got home I had taken 60 pictures...barely scratched the surface.

Again, all done with my 50mm 1.8. I liked these in color rather than b&w.

BOOORING...people are so much more interesting to photograph. I was in Starbucks, but walking up to complete strangers and asking to take their picture is something I still don't feel comfortable doing. Maybe it's the funny looks I get from people...

Cocteau Twins

2009-02-05T16:31:00.001-06:00

Whenever I shoot I have to have to be listening to music.

In the studio, I plug my iPod into my CD player/Radio and when I'm out and about I simply carry my iPod. The choice of music directly influences my mood and the way I see things. Lately I've been finding a lot of inspiration from a Scottish band called the Cocteau Twins.

This was a 3 piece group who were around during the 80's and 90's consiting of Elizabeth Frasier (vocals), Robin Guthrie (guitar), and Simon Raymonde (bass).Trying to describe their sound is no easy task. Although they seem to fit in with the alternative genre, words that come to mind are "angelic," "haunting," "hymn-like," "ethereal..."

Guthrie's guitar work is unlike anything I've ever heard. Heavy on reverb and echo, quite ambient but melodic. Frasier's vocals are at times undecipherable, but the lyrics aren't what's important. She uses a lot of unpredictable word play which draws you in but you can only pick out an occasional word or phrase...her voice is more of an instrument. Her singing is beautiful and sad, optimistic and haunting.

There are so many ways to describe their sound I couldn't possibly list them all...

Aikea-Guinea:

I first discovered them in 1984 when I bought an album because I liked the cover (sometimes you CAN tell a book by it's cover - or in this case an album). What I heard was nothing like I had ever heard before and I was instantly hooked. I was a loyal fan until the early 90's when they started to get a little too "pop" for my taste and I lost interest.

In the last 10 years I've managed to track down most of the music they released on CD (I only had vinyl Cocteau Twins releases) and finally gave a serious listen to their later material. I found that I liked them even more than before. When I feel like being "transported" to someplace else, this is the music that does it for me.

So while I was in the woods taking pictures of trees searching for something suitable on my iPod, I tuned into my Cocteau Twins playlist. It worked...for me anyway. I feel like I get in the right frame of mind to take photos and now whenever I'm out and about with the camera I'm always listening to the Cocteau Twins.

In the studio it can be a much different story. I always ask the client what they'd like to hear to which the most common response seems to be "whatever." Next time I hear "whatever" I'm definitely putting on my Cocteau Twins playlist.

Heaven Or Las Vegas:

2000 Pictures, part 1

2009-02-04T11:32:00.006-06:00

Last summer I took a class on "seeing creatively." The first assignment was to go out and take 2000 pictures in b&w at one focal length and a fixed aperture. The goal of this exercise was to help define your style. I knew what my style was already so I just decided to have some fun with it. I found that there was just no way I could take 2000 pictures of just people, so I took pictures of just about everything else I saw.

Toward the end of the assignment, I found that the vast majority of my pictures did not have people in them. So, I dragged my daughter down to a development in the Stonebridge area of Mckinney known as Adriatica. I took about 200 pictures of her just walking around, goofing off and having fun, but caught some really interesting poses. I was able to catch these because I was focusing on volume, not posing. I tried to compose the shots quickly since she never stayed in one area too long.

As per the rules of the exercise, all of these were taken with the same focal length and aperture. I chose my 50mm and shot wide open at f1.8.

She sure looks mad in this one. It was just an expression I happened to catch while trying to take as many pictures as I could:

Usually when someone blinks I delete the picture, but in this one she looks like she's deliberately closing her eyes:

Obviously I have many, many more pictures from this exercise which I'll post in the near future.

Limbs, part 3

2009-02-02T17:19:00.006-06:00

NOW, we're getting somewhere.

This time, I went out on a clear day. I found some trees early in the morning that were getting full sun. I shot the same way and made sure there were no clouds. Then in Lightroom, I converted the images to grayscale, tweaked the exposure up just a bit, and then adjusted the blue mix waaaay down. The result was a light tree against a dark sky, giving it an almost infrared look. This is very close to what I was picturing when I first had the idea.

Two things were important. First, the pictures needed to be taken within 10-15 minutes of each other to take advantage of the same light. After I did these I drove to the Heard Museum again but could not get similar results because the light had changed. Second, the sky has to be perfectly blue and clear. That makes it easier to adjust just the blue channel in Lightroom giving it that infrared look. Again, when I tried to take similar pictures at a different location, time had passed, the light had changed and the sky wasn't the same shade of blue anymore.

The only thing that bothers me with these is the the shadows being cast by other branches. Apart from that, I might have the images I need to complete the project.

Mai Kai

2009-01-24T12:08:00.010-06:00

The Mai Kai is a fabulous Polynesian restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. They opened in 1956 and despite changes of ownership and several hurricanes, they're still around.

In the 50's, Polynesian restaurants were all the rage. Places like Trader Vic's, Don the Beachcomber and the Kon Tiki chain were some of the biggest. Most of the old Trader Vic's and all of the Kon Tiki's are now gone, but the Mai Kai remains as a stunning example of Polynesian pop culture from the 50's.

In an age where getting a good drink is as hard as winning the lottery, the Mai Kai bar staff make drinks that pay a lot of attention to detail. They use mostly top shelf liquor, AND they don't skimp on the presentation. A good cocktail should always have a good presentation. Their drink recipes have changed little in the past 53 years.

Then there's the Polynesian floor shows, complete with hula dancers, fire jugglers and a full Hawaiian band. Where else can you find a dinner show like that? The decor is like tiki heaven..carvings from notable tiki carvers like Barney West, not to mention original velvet paintings by Edward Leeteg. Sit anywhere in the Mai Kai and look up...any direction you look is a photo waiting to be taken.

I go to the Mai Kai once per year when I attend The Hukilau. This past year I decided to try to get some really good pictures. The problem was the Mai Kai was beyond packed and I had a little mini-tripod that could barely hold my D80. To get a good picture at the Mai Kai requires a fairly long shutter speed because the restaurant is dimly lit. The gardens behind the restaurant are a great place to see some vinatge tiki carvings, but again the lighting is the main issue. I did mange to get a few really good shots. The one above was taken at 1.3 sec at f5.6, 18mm and the ISO was up to 500. You cant tell from this picture, but theres a lot of grain in the photo. Even at ISO 500, the D80 can't handle these low light situations and this is the biggest reason why I hate this camera (more about that another time). This would have been an absolutely beautiful picture had it not been for the grain. I might have even sold a few of these.

This one was taken inside where its even darker:

6 sec. exposure at F8, ISO at 500 again, same lens set at 31mm. This is what I mean by any direction you look is a photo. This was taken from my table looking up to my left.

Here's another view from my table looking up straight ahead. 6 sec. exposure at F8, ISO 500.

Another outdoor shot, 1.3 sec at f5.6, 55mm focal length this time, ISO 500:

The Hukilau is taking place again this June. I'm considering not bringing my camera this time because it was such a pain to carry around. On the other hand, I would love to get more pics at the Mai Kai. They came very close to closing last year so who knows how much longer they're going to be around.

Limbs, part 2

2009-01-23T19:30:00.003-06:00

Okay, maybe this wasn't such a great idea...or maybe I'm just not good enough at it yet. I'm a portrait photographer, not a landscape photographer.

Two of these were from today and one from last week. Again, the sky is the issue and I'm losing too much detail in the branches. It's still interesting to look at, but it's just not what I'm picturing in my head. I want to try again with a blue sky and then try a few Photoshop tricks. Tomorrow I have to stay home all day and wait for the washer repair guy so this will probably have to wait until next week.

Bur Oak

2009-01-23T15:38:00.003-06:00

It was overcast this morning so I decided to go down to the Heard Museum and try some more limbs pictures. Lots of interesting branch formations but I just couldn't get a shot I was happy with. Then the sun came out and ruined everything. I was walking back when I passed this 250 year old Bur Oak tree. I tried a couple of shots in full sun just to see what I could get. I kind of like this one.

I wanted the sky to be deep blue so I used a polarizer, but then decided I liked it better in black and white anyway. Shot at 18mm 1/20 sec f22. When I imported the image into Lightroom I applied the Antique Grayscale effect, then adjusted the lights and darks a little.

Limbs, part 1

2009-01-20T12:18:00.005-06:00

So I had this idea of taking pictures of bare tree limbs against a light sky and displaying 3 of them together (click on the pic above to see a bigger and more detailed version).

I think they're some sort of oak trees. The missing leaves expose branches that twist and turn into all kinds of shapes. When you stare at them long enough you start to make out shapes of objects. I thought it would be fun to shoot straight up the trunk of the tree so you're looking straight up into these twisted branches.

The first problem I had was trying to see through the viewfinder. Because I wanted to get right on the trunk, I couldn't get underneath it to look through the viewfinder. So I simply placed the camera up against the tree and shot each picture without trying to compose it first. I went completely around each tree trying to catch every angle I could. The results were mixed...some very interesting shots and some didn't show anything of interest.

The second problem was exposure. I was shooting at 1/10 sec and f22...I wanted the pictures to be as sharp as possible. Shooting dark branches against a light, overcast sky is hard to do without losing detail. I did do some shooting on a clear day with a blue sky but I didn't like the shadows.

Landscape photography is not really my expertise and don't have much experience doing it. This will be a fun experiment. I'm waiting for another overcast day so I can go out and try again.

The above picture is 3 I put together that I thought were interesting. There's more from the same session I haven't played with yet.

Who sat here?

2009-01-18T20:28:00.007-06:00

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." - Diane Arbus.

A chair is just a piece of furniture, right? But what if you spot a chair sitting in an old abandoned storage shed out in the woods? The material has all but rotted away right down to the cushioning which has turned orange from exposure to the elements. Some remnants of the original material remain, but it's so discolored it's hard to tell what the color actually was.

One can't help but wonder what the story is here? Who owned this chair and when was it used? It appears to be a recliner, so it more than likely sat in front of someones TV. Somebody used it, so one has to wonder who and for how long? The questions that come to mind are endless, and all that's really here is a rotting old chair. But what do we see?

Photography should have a story, even if you are forced to wonder what the story actually is. People look at a photograph and see different things, but it should make them think. With portrait photography it's no different but it is more challenging. It's easy to have someone strike a pose, but the challenge is to bring out feeling. That's always been my biggest challenge when photographing people.

But this is just a chair, and I have to say it's a bit of a departure from what I usually do. I have no portrait shoots lined up for a few weeks so I went out looking for things that interested me. I used my 18-55mm lens set at 18mm, 1/40 sec. at f11, ISO 100. I really liked the way this one looked in color so I didn't convert it to b&w.

Here's another...

A kid with a tattoo on his face and another kid behind him counting play-money. I know what was really going on when I took this picture last week, but someone else would have to wonder what the story is. It could be a million different things. This was done with my 50mm lens, 1/60 sec f1.8 ISO 200.

Multiple Streams Lack Intensity

2009-01-14T21:06:00.006-06:00

Choosing a style is one of the hardest things a photographer has to do...and that's probably why so few photographers actually do it.

I took a course in the business side of photography once and the first thing we were taught was "multiple streams lack intensity." In photographer terms, you make less of an impact on the viewer if you have several different styles of photography in your portfolio than you do if you only have one. For example, if someone's portfolio includes people, food and architecture, it will make less of an impact than if it were just architecture. And those pictures should really look like they were all taken by the same photographer. Any professional photographer who has been in the business for several years will tell you that in order to be successful you must find a style.

My goal is not only to have one style, but a style I know I can do in a unique way. People ask me all the time why I have no color photographs in my portfolio. I just keep repeating my mantra, multiple streams lack intensity. My style is black and white, with a lot of emphasis on detail in the darks and lights. Not too contrasty, but it has to be real black and white. My current portfolio isn't quite there, but the pictures I've been working on for my updated portfolio are definitely a step closer.

The picture above is a pretty good example. This is Kayla again, obviously taken outdoors. The refection of the sky in the pond is in a sort of backwards S shape and leads the eye down to where she's sitting. The color of the black and white is what I'm going for...nothing too dark or bright where detail is lost. Compressing it down to a jpeg to post here definitely strips away some of the detail, but you get the idea.

This was shot pretty wide at 18mm, 1/60 sec, f3.5 for the shallow depth of field.

Mystery of the Voodoo Grog

2009-01-13T14:09:00.021-06:00

I collect tiki mugs. It's one of my passions.

Primarily, I collect vintage mugs and glassware from restaurants whose heyday has long passed. As with anything vintage, the rarer it is, the more valuable. So, I have my list of "holy grails" that I would practically kill for. Some are so rare that they go for $500-$1000 on Ebay.

One mug in particular is actually a glass known as the Voodoo Grog" tumbler. The name comes from the drink of the same name that used to be a staple on the Trader Vic's drink menu. It's an absolutely be-yoo-tee-ful piece of artwork if you ask me. Average price on Ebay $125-$175 depending on it's condition.

Long story short, I found 12 of these beauties in an antique store for $108.00! The find of a lifetime, I'm sure. I'll probably never do this good again in my mug quest.

That happened about 18 months ago, and I was in desperate need of some photography equipment, so I sold 6 of them. All went within the price range mentioned above.

Then I got to thinking, was the Voodoo Grog drink any good? I asked my friend Lars who was the bar manager at my local Trader Vic's. He wasn't sure what was in it, but he said he'd look it up and make it for me next time I came in. The next week I show up, Voodoo Grog glass in hand, and Lars made me the drink. WOW! This was one of the best and most unusual drinks I've ever had. A strong but complex rum drink. AND to top it off I'm drinking it out of an ACTUAL Voodoo Grog glass. I made sure to order one or two of these every time I visited Trader Vic's. Even some of my tiki aficionado friends who have had the "best of the best" remarked that this drink was exceptional. Below is the Voodoo Grog drink in the Voodoo Grog glass made by my good friend Lars Hildebrant:

One of the key ingredients is St. James Martinique rum. Unfortunately, Lars had a difficult time keeping it in stock. Seems the supplier quit stocking it. I drank my Voodoo Grogs every time I was in Trader Vic's until the St. James was cleaned out. Flash forward about a year. Lars has returned to his homeland (Germany) and I never got the recipe from him. Then I heard from a friend who was going to visit the Chicago Trader Vic's for the first time. He asks, "What was the name of that drink Lars made us?" The good folks in Chicago were able to finagle the drink for him, but apparently was not exactly the one Lars made for us. I start digging through old emails trying to find Lars' email address. I locate one but have no idea if it's even good anymore. I send an email and within hours hear back from Mr. Lars. And he remembers the recipe for the Voodoo Grog:

1 - egg white
1 oz. passion fruit syrup (orig. recipe calls for 1/2 oz.)
2 tsp. honey
2 oz. St James Martinique Royal Amber rum
dash of bitters
juice of one fresh lime
mix well!

Lars was able to froth the egg whites up to cappuccino status. I haven't mastered that with my cheap blender.

One night at Trader Vic's while Lars was admiring my Voodoo Grog glass, he mentioned that Trader Vic's really should reproduce these as it's such a beautiful glass. I agreed wholeheartedly, and that was the end of it. Well, Tiki Farm did just that, except they're porcelain, not glass. I also noticed they don't have nearly the detail of the original. Still not bad though. I'm going to bring these to Trader Vic's this weekend and see if the bartender will make me a Voodoo Grog...we'll have to figure out a substitute for the St. James though.

BTW product photography is NOT one of my strengths.

Getting high

2009-01-10T16:25:00.015-06:00

No, not that kind of high.

I had an interesting shoot a couple of months ago. One of the local elementary schools asked me to do their grade level pictures again for their yearbook. They stencil out the grade number with tape (K thru 5) and then have the kids stand on the tape in the shape of their grade level. The key is to get high enough so that the number looks like a number. In order to get the shot, I had to go up on a lift (or a “cherry picker) and look straight down at the kids and shoot with a wide angle lens. I have no idea how high I was, but I could see over the rooftops of the nearby two story homes.

Last year when we did this it was really cold and it took 3 hours. I had to remain up on the lift the whole time because it takes so long to get into position. This year it wasn’t quite as cold but the blacktop was wet so the tape wouldn’t stick. So they simply measured with a tape measure and placed the kids where they wanted them to be. I felt the results weren’t as good as last year but probably good enough.

For the 4^th Grade picture above, I used my 18-55mm lens set at 19mm, f5.6 1/125 sec. I had to shoot extra wide because the school wanted these cropped to 8X10 and I wanted to leave myself plenty of cropping room.

So this got me thinking about the different perspective one gets from shooting up high. Obviously, I can't go two stories high in the studio (my garage) but I can stand on a stool.. I haven’t done a lot of shooting this way, but I’ve started incorporating this for at least some shots in every session

This one is one of my favorites. This is my sister–in-law shot from up high. This was shot with my 18-55mm lens set at 24mm at f16, 1/160sec ISO 125. I usually shoot in the studio at around f10 IS0 100 1/125 sec and for the life of me can’t remember why I changed it, though the results aren’t bad. The reason why I usually shoot wide in the garage is there’s just not enough room to get further away. I prefer my 50mm for portraits, but you work with what you have.

This is Kayla, my neighbor and sometimes model. Same lens set at 26mm, f10, 1/125 sec ISO 100. Again, I’m up on a stool. I wanted to get the look of a very shallow depth of field so I used Photoshop to throw part of the picture out of focus. I’m not positive I like the results and am still fine tuning this one.

Whether you’re a pro or not, try getting up high to change the look of your photos. If you’re photographing people just be sure your getting their faces and not the tops of their heads.

Shooting kids (with a camera)

2009-01-09T15:01:00.011-06:00

I’ve found that the trick to getting good photos of kids is to just take zillions of pictures of them. Maybe not a zillion, but at least 100 per shoot. Kids won’t do what you ask them 90% of the time, so 90% of your pictures will be unusable. If you take 100 pictures, that’ll give you 10 good ones, and out of those 10 maybe 2 really good ones.

My 18 month old nephew Chase was the perfect example. I chased Chase (ha ha) around the house for a good long time just snapping away. He was not at all interested in having his picture taken or even sitting still for a minute. I took just about 100 pictures and ended up with 5 that I thought were really good. My favorite is the one pictured above. I was using my Nikon D80 with 50mm f1.8 lens and shot wide open with natural light the whole time. This one was done at 1/800 shutter speed and ISO 100.

And that’s another trick…a fast shutter speed to catch the expression. Kids won’t do any one thing for too long and their expressions change every ½ second. You have to keep shooting until you catch the right expression. After I hear the shutter click I immediately refocus and recompose, holding the shutter button down half way, and just wait for the right moment. Of course, once he moves, I have to refocus and recompose.

Some friends asked me to take a picture of their two boys (ages 6 and 4) sitting on the back of their ’63 Thunderbird during the holidays. These two were no different than my nephew, especially the 4 year old. Although they knew and understood why I was there, they still goofed off a lot. This is what kids do and I was expecting it. So I got in position and just started firing away. I took a total of 92 pictures and got two good ones.

The car was parked in their garage and I wanted to eliminate some of the clutter so I used the patch tool and the clone tool in Photoshop to clean it up, added the vignette and then fine tuned it in Lightroom. Below are the before and after results. I again used my 50mm f1.8 at 1/30 sec.

It’s also important to point out that digital photography makes this kind of shooting possible. I could never do this with a film camera (unless I had an endless supply of free film) and of course the touch ups are done digitally also.

Taking the plunge

2009-01-08T15:22:00.001-06:00

While I was sitting at the local Firestone this morning waiting for my car to finish getting inspected, I decided to catch up on some podcasts put out by Chase Jarvis. He's an incredible high end photographer who mostly does sports related work. On this particular podcast, he and two other photographers were discussing the importance of having a web log to supplement their web sites. So I started thinking about why I don't have one, why I would need one, and if I did have one what would be on it?

I decided to take the plunge, give it a spin and see where it goes. My primary goal is not really to increase traffic to my own web site, but to motivate myself to take more pictures (of course I'll welcome any increase in traffic). Lately I've felt like I've been in a rut...my photo jobs seem to come in spurts and in between I'm not taking many pictures. My last big"spurt" was during the holidays and since then I haven't been doing much. Actually I haven't taken a single picture yet this year! Hopefully, trying to maintain a blog will change that somewhat.

My intentions are not to be entirely about my photography, but really about anything and everything and incorporating my work into that. I'm thinking I'll do some posts regarding a recent shoot I just had, or do a post about some of my favorite tiki locations and include some of my photos. Sounds boring? Time will tell.

To start with, the photo above is my daughter Julia taken in 2007. This is the first pic currently on my web site and in my portfolio.

I specialize in black and white photography and that's all you'll find in my portfolio. I do plenty of color photography, but black and white is really my passion. As one of my photography instructors once said, "A color photograph will show you how something looks. A black and white photograph will show you what something is." That sums up my passion for b&w.

Currently I'm redoing my portfolio and I'm not sure if this one will make the cut. It's almost the style I'm going for, but not quite. More about that later.

and I'm off...