Snapping Daily: 10/01/2009

Bundle Up

10/28/09 Nighttime Tree

10/28/09 Green Light

10/28/09 Red Light

It was fffffreeezing out, but I had a lot of fun experimenting with some night photography. I think the damp streets from the snowfall today had a nice effect.

Here's what I did. I hooked my camera up to the tripod and I set my Canon to "manual". I set the aperture at F29 (the lowest setting on my camera, curtains almost closed [see below]), and the shutter speed to "Bulb." The longest I held the shutter open was for 10 seconds and the shortest was about 4 or 5 seconds. I basically looked at the first frame I shot and adjusted accordingly.

Aperture: basically the curtains of the camera. This setting dictates how much light will be let in. F4.5 means the curtains are wide open. F29 means the curtains are shut to a sliver. The small number means lots of light, the big number means not much light. That is confusing to me so I always think of the number representing the curtains themselves. F4.5 means only 4.5 square feet of curtain is showing and accordingly, F29, 29 square feet of curtains showing.

Shutter speed: This setting dictates how long the curtains remain open. "Bulb" means the aperture is open as long as I have my finger pushing down on the shutter. Some common shutter speeds include 1/125, 1/1000, 1/10. These are fractions of a second. 1/10 is a slower shutter speed, 1/1000 is a faster shutter speed. More logical.

This was so fun, I'm excited about exploring night photography further. I only wish I decided to do so in the summer!

Catty-corner

Sorry about the lack-luster and less-than-daily posts lately. I've been distracted by school and feeling a bit un-motivated and un-inspired on the photography front. Its all part of the learning process. With a little more thought and planning, I think I'll be back in business. With the sun setting earlier each night, I definitely want to investigate nighttime photography further. Take out the Canon and tripod, find some interesting light situations and snap away. I also want to take advantage of the lighting studio on campus and do some interesting still life shots.

10/27/09 State & Main

In the mean time, a quick snap from my point-and-shoot. Catty-corner from my apartment, Narrow Gauge News Stand.

Links:
Not Caddy-Corner
Night Photography Tips

Squirrel Away

10/26/09 Tree House Squirrel

I go to campus at least twice a day for class and/or work. My goal has been to walk, instead of drive, for one of these trips. I figure, I only live 1 mile away and if this was Manhattan I would definitely be walking it every time. I actually don't mind the daily walk. I like a little fresh air and sunshine, even if its chilly out. By the end of the week I've walked 10 miles without a second thought and I might stumble across a photo opportunity or two.

This little guy was hiding in what looks to have been a tree house in better days. Its not the artsiest or most interesting shot, and some photographers might cringe at the thought of a photograph being described as "cute." I'm not one of those photographers. I can appreciate a good 'ol cute squirrel picture as much as a high art print.

(unrelated) Links:
Suzy Poling
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Takeoff II

10/25/09 Cruising Altitude

Another aviation-related post today. I love traveling and flying has always been something I've enjoyed. My first time flying I was 13, by myself and on my way to Seattle to visit family. That was back in the day when your whole family could escort you to the gate and they served food during the flight. I remember thinking it was so cool to be looking down at the clouds. I have done a great deal of flying in the last two years. I've flown to Europe, back and forth from Rhode Island several times, from Omaha and to Vegas. I don't just enjoy the flying but also the process, and all the interesting characters encountered on the way.

Links:
Jeffrey Milstein
Window Seat

Takeoff

Summer 2008 Omaha, NE

After a 6 am shift at the Rex, a 5 hour nap (if you can even call 5 hours a nap), an art lecture and opening reception, and working on two big projects due next week, I totally forgot to snap something new. So here are a couple from the archives. I took these two photographs in the Omaha airport while I waited for my flight back to Colorado after visiting Eric & Rachael. They were taken with my Panasonic point and shoot.

Links:
Layover
Shoot the Terminal

First Snow

10/21/09 Snowy Picnic

A nice ethereal dusting of snow seems to always produce good photos. It enhances shape, texture and contrast, but only when its light enough. Huge blankets and large drifts of snow just bury it all.

Links:
50 Winter Photographs
Hermes Sarapuu

Gaaaatorade...

Colored Glass 2008

I haven't taken any new photos in the last 5 days, but here are a few from last year. I needed to take some photos last minute for a project. I was milling around in my kitchen and saw the all the different colors of Gatorade I bought on sale that week. I rigged a backdrop using the white backside of some gray mat board I had lying around and just went to town using all the different colors of Gatorade with different glassware in our kitchen.

Links:
H2O!
Dale Chihuly

Formalism

10/14/09 This Way

I took this one on my walk to campus with my Panasonic point and shoot. I converted it to black and white in Photoshop to draw focus to the line and shape within the composition. The emphasis of compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context or content is called Formalism. Artists such as Piet Mondrian and Edward Weston produced formalist works. I really like working within this art theory because what you see is what you get. There's nothing to read in to. Sometimes its nice to just enjoy a photograph or painting for what it is, not what it means.

Links:
Piet Mondrian
Edward Weston

Cameras Gone Wild

One of my biggest pet peeves in photography is the unnecessary use of flash. I use the flash on my camera maybe 10% of the time and really only in snapshot situations. I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, and decided to snap a couple shots as they were cooling on a tea towel. I decided to try out the "flower" setting on my camera, since I wanted a nice close-up. After the first shot, I remembered why I never use the flower setting, I can't disable the flash. I changed the setting back to its usual "no flash" and got the photograph I wanted.

Flash 10/13/09

No Flash 10/13/09

The first photograph is fine, we can tell its a cookie. But then compare it to the second photograph and you can see how the flash from my camera flattened the image and got rid of the detail. The soft, natural light coming through my kitchen windows enhanced the texture of the cookies and the towel.

Photography is, at its core, capturing light. That is why I think lighting is the number one thing that can make or break your photograph. In beginning photography class, we had an assignment called "light." The task was to take common objects and make them aesthetically pleasing through the use of light and that project produced some of the most beautiful photographs of the semester. Do a little experimenting, pretend you're in a museum or at a play and turn that flash off. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Links:
Strobist
Kodak's New Sensor May Eliminate Flash

Its a toss-up.

So I definitely enjoy shooting on my roof, if you haven't noticed by now.

Today I wanted to take advantage of the weather, my roof and the setting sun. So I took the 'ol Canon out for some fun! I set my shooting mode to Sport, the self-timer to shoot 10 frames in sequence and started tossing. All together I took about 300 frames or 30 sets of 10 exposures, another reason to love digital. I tossed the camera about 3 times with each round. It was so much fun, I could have shot another 300 frames but my battery said, "No."

I then loaded all the photos onto my Mac and went through, deleting a good 80%. I got a little motion sick going through all the frames so quickly during the initial edit. I then edited down even further. I didn't flip or turn any of the pictures. I left the orientation up to the camera.

Here are some of my favorites:

I absolutely LOVE the one with my shadow on the AC unit and the wall. I couldn't have planned that one if I wanted to. This is such a fun exercise. You have no control over the images. You have to let go and throw caution to the wind, literally.

And if you were wondering...no, I didn't drop my camera once!

Link:
JPG Magazine

Breakfast

Sunday Morning 10/11/09

This is a photograph of my breakfast this morning. One of the ideas I had for my thesis involves taking a picture of everything I eat. But that might mean I would have to eat something besides cereal for every meal.

Links:
What Rachel ate today
Lisa Homa, food stylist

State & Main

Alamosa Bedroom 10/10/09

My photography often serves as a reminder. One of my most precious possessions is my memory and I try my best to preserve it. I think back on my childhood and wish that I had more pictures and more journal entries to clear up the foggy images in my head.

Earrings & Bracelets 10/10/09

Photographing my room and its various contents began in Rhode Island. I took pictures of my dorm room for my photography class. My goal was to investigate just how I made that tiny space a "home" for the school year. It wasn't so much about the individual items I chose to bring with me, but how I incorporated my past into my present. I displayed my favorite photographs of my family, but I also put up new pictures of my new friends. I hung my necklaces on the wall as usual, but this time on a hook my Dad rigged for me when he helped me move. And although I bought a new comforter and pillow, my blankie was still the most important part of my bed.

Candles 10/10/09

Photographing my bedroom isn't about documenting the stuff I keep there. Its about capturing a setting. I can look back at the photographs of my bedroom on State & Main (above the coffee shop) and remember my last two years of school. My mind will be jogged with the memory of the ups and downs, the excitement and fear and even that stupid boy I liked.

Links:
Design*Sponge Sneak Peeks

Rooftop Textures

Alamosa is a far cry from Manhattan but with the right gust of wind from Thai House next door and the ambient noise of sirens screaming outside my window, my downtown apartment has a slight resemblance to the Big Apple. I especially love the rooftop access from our avocado green applianced kitchen. It isn't anything special. No deck with safety railing and definitely no classy patio furniture or fire pit. With all the soft spots, navigating across the roof to drop the trash into the dumpster below is like walking upon a newborn baby's head. Nonetheless, the roof was a major selling-point when I decided to move in. I love plopping down in my folding camp chair with a cigar, a rum-spiked beverage and just watching the traffic below.

10/9/09 Roof Tar

Texture is one of my favorite things to photograph. Smooth, rough, repeating, inconsistent, I love them all.

10/9/09 Dented Texture

Texture is what gives objects character, makes them interesting to look at. I'm not so much interested in the actual object but, instead, its textures.

10/9/09 Rooftop Pipes

I want to make the viewer aware of texture and I want them to think about the textures they see every day but overlook. I have an appreciation for the simple beauty in life and I wish to share it with others through my photographs.

10/9/09 Rooftop

The day I move to New York City is not close at hand. Until then I will just have to close my eyes and imagine that that honking horn is a yellow taxi cab and not a Dodge Stratus.

Links:
Paul Strand
Family Dinner

Show Me What You're Workin With!

I firmly believe that its the photographer, not the camera, that makes a good photograph. I have seen some truly amazing photographs produced from the jankiest disposable camera. I've also seen some incredibly crappy pictures come out of the nicest most expensive cameras. That being said, I am absolutely not a camera snob. Speaking with other photographers is sometimes torture for me. I don't care that you have a Leica S2 Digital SLR, let me see your photographs. Every camera has its place and it is up to the photographer to decide what camera is necessary to produce the desired image.

10/8/09 Canon w/ lenses

For the purposes of this blog, I will mostly be using my Canon Xsi and one of the two lenses that I own for it. This is my newest camera and I have really enjoyed using it. Its great for my purposes which include taking professional portraits, producing fine art prints and even a little snapshot action.

10/8/09 Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3

Then there's my powerful little point and shoot. I love this camera SO much. #1 thing I love about it: 10x optical zoom. Such a dream and hard to find in a small point and shoot. I also love that I can set it to "no replay" which makes it possible to shoot multiple shots without a delay. This camera is a little chunkier than many that are on the market right now but it is perfect for me to keep in my purse because you never know when the perfect photo-op will come along. My advice for anyone in the market for a point and shoot:

don't worry about megapixels: anything above 3 will produce lovely 8x10 prints
digital zoom is a racket: it is basically cropping and enlarging the frame
optical zoom is the way to go: this is actually using the lenses to zoom in
know what is most important to you in a digital point and shoot then do your research

10/8/09 Spartus Full-Vue

This is currently the only film camera I own. I borrowed my Dad's Canon AE-1, 35mm for my first few photography classes. I took it out to Rhode Island with me, packed it in a box to ship home when I left and I'm still waiting for that box to show up. It really saddens me that we don't have that camera anymore. It wasn't very fancy, and you can find one on eBay for around $20 but it definitely had sentimental value. I found this Spartus Full-Vue on eBay for $5 (with shipping) and it came with another similar camera. A fantastic deal since it produces georgous pictures. It takes 120 and 220 film and generates large 6x6cm square negatives. The view-finder is a trip to use since you have to hold it at waist level and look down into it. I have gotten tons of comments when going out on the street to shoot with this camera. It has two shutter settings: automatic and bulb and it leaks some light so I can't leave film in it for long periods of time. But thats all part of its charm.

10/8/09 MacBook & CS4

Finally, my post-production tools. I have a basic 13-inch MacBook that I upgraded to 4GB of RAM so I can run may programs at once without it stalling or freezing. When I purchased a new computer after the last one got vandalized in the mail (USPS and I have some issues), I decided to get a Mac because they are the professional standard within the art world. The switch from PC to Mac was a bit trying but now I see the beauty and I will recommend a Mac to almost everyone. I do all of my photo editing using CS4 Adobe Bridge and Photoshop. My Design Standard version of CS4 also came with InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat.

Links:
Polanoid
Stranger Photos Have Happened
B&H Photo

Snapping Daily