Choose the Right Tool

As I go through my journey to better photographs I find my thirst for knowledge increases as I get further along. I have a fear of turning into a “gear chaser”. I believe it makes the most sense to wring every bit of ability from my current gear before moving on to upgraded equipment.

I love to research. Starting that research so early gives me enough time to make an informed decision when it is finally time to upgrade.

One of the first questions I answered is “how do I shoot?” What kind of photography do I like. Action? Portraiture? Macro? While I might like to do any number of those genres at any time what is my main interest including if it was an even interest across all types.

The second question I needed to answer was what features will best support what I am trying to capture. Not all tools (a camera is a tool) are created equal so finding the best tool for the job is my goal. In this case I narrowed down my final two choices by budget, shutter speed, ISO and noise, quality of photo and finally budget again.

For me, without budget the D4 would have been my choice hands down just because I hate noise and love speed. For my photography though I just don’t need this quality of camera and the ensuing price tag. I shoot for personal enjoyment only. This has led to one of two cameras that have the features most important to me. They do not have all features such as the D600 having a top SS of 4000 and the D7100 having a top SS of 8000. This high SS is important when you are trying to freeze frame hummingbird wings in flight.

My first step in research is to rent both camera bodies and take similar pictures under similar conditions. Having seen so many discussions with a very large majority of people stating “go full frame” due to the higher quality of picture straight out of the camera.

I’ve always said “perception is not always the truth. Show me facts” so in my search for facts I am sharing the results of my tests. These particular shots are focused on the amount of noise only in the picture since this is most important to me.

Shaking Winter Off

I love spring time. Everything is fresh and a new chance to grow. A promise of what might come. It is a busy time preparing for the year but a time that seems to find moments to just stop and relax.

Busy Last Week

I’ve had a super hectic schedule so have not had a chance to write up any blog posts. I might need a “daisy intervention” if the pictures shared today are any indication. Just sharing some of my latest pictures.

Making Pictures

As I was finishing setting up an area to try to capture birds in a natural setting a comment my first photography teacher said so many years ago came to mind. He was there to teach us to “make pictures”.  I had not thought about it in years. He helped it to become second nature to his students.

So with that in mind here is one of my “making a picture” attempts.

From this:

 To This: 

I’m pleased.

One of Those Days

Ever had one of “those days”? I had one this week. I normally associate one of “those days” with a negative mindset. My day had started out with several unexpected calls and needs from my work which quickly turned manic as everyone needed their issue right then. It had turned into a “squishy” day basically squishing everything into a short time frame of needs.

By late afternoon it had finally calmed down enough to take a quick break. I work from home so my breaks are normally outback this time of year cleaning up signs of winter. Just wanting to relax I’m not even sure what prompted me to grab the camera on the way out the door. The rough day made these captures all the sweeter. Enjoy.

Only Allowed One Adobe Product?

What would you choose.

Following on the heels of yesterday’s blog I thought I would continue with processing thoughts. As I was able to start devoting more time to photography and learning the digital side of things I struggled to find a manageable way to crop and adjust white balance or any other needs with a photograph. I started with Adobe Photoshop Elements as I was under the same general mindset of the public that Photoshop was a manipulation of photographs and I didn’t need to be a designer. I just wanted to make good photographs. Getting to do some specialty photos was a plus but my main use was cropping, adjust tones and adding a watermark. That was it.

One day I was reading a work flow and Lightroom was brought up as critical to this specific photographer’s work. I downloaded a trial copy and my photography world changed. I still remember the excitement as I tried each tool out. I remember the feeling as if I had just walked into a darkroom again. It was a digital darkroom. The only thing missing were the chemicals and a darkbag. Add the ability to help organize and manage your images, export to a number of file types and ability to print packages you have a product that is versatile.

Curious Discussion

A discussion popped up one day with one of my coworkers over photography. He commented he believed in “pure” photography for his shots and explained he did not believe in any type of manipulation other than cropping. I have found a number of others who either state the same thing or their work shows them to believe the same thoughts.

I’ve wondered why this mindset and no one has been able to provide me with an answer as to why, just the statement that anything else is manipulation and not true photography.

When I first took classes it was in high school. It was Black & White photography. We learned not only how to hold the camera, what depth of field was and how it was affected by camera settings and how to develop our film but we learned to print our own pictures using an enlarger. When we printed contact sheets to determine what images we might try printing full size. Printing test prints we cropped by determining what amounts of the picture was allowed to hit the paper. We adjusted exposure by using a piece of paper to limit light hitting your photographic paper. This is all simple manipulation. We used chemicals to watch those photographs come to life in front of our eyes.

The camera is simply not able to capture every detail in a photograph that the human eye can see. You get the best quality you can from your camera settings and you finish enhancing what your memory saw. This is what I learned from 3 years of formal classes. I would love to have the freedom to take formal classes today but do not have the time. I will continue to take the online, seminars and read all that I can. So far I have not found any arguments that would change what I learned early on in my photography.

I will stay on my current learning course, I will appreciate an image that is straight out of the camera and meets what I remembered trying to capture and if it’s not I will adjust settings and crop to achieve the picture.

Making myself uncomfortable

Yes…uncomfortable. That is not a typo. Making myself uncomfortable by moving into areas of photography I have no idea how to do. While I am the type of person who gets bored with the same thing over and over again I am also resist change if it’s thrown at me wholesale. I know from past experience if I just dive in I actually learn quicker as I get my feet back under me.

Thinking I might apply my work life to my photography I find myself attempting shots I have never had a previous interest in capturing. The birding was the first. Watching my improvement has kindled a need to push out of my comfort zone. I have grown to love the birds, and hummingbirds in particular, have taken on a life of their own. We will see where the backlighting takes me. For now it is enough that I am happy with what I see.

Evie Teale and Conagher

Huh? What does Evie Teale from the Louis L'Amour book Conagher have to do with a photography blog? In the book Evie Teale ties notes on to tumbleweeds releasing them on the prairie never having any idea if they are ever read. It was her way of learning to cope with her isolation.

While I’m not on the prairie and not isolated I feel a moment of similarity as I share my photographs on my blog or on Facebook. I have no idea if anyone will like them or even see them. I don’t know if they will evoke the emotions I tried to capture if they are seen.

It doesn’t matter. I’m tying them to my tumbleweeds and releasing them to wherever they might go.

Fierce

 

When I started using the birds in my neighborhood and learning tools for photography I had no idea how unique some were. I never thought of sparrows as anything except little brown/gray drab birds. As I started with capturing them while they sat still I started to notice the contrast and crispness of the colors in their feather patterns. They started to become individual birds.

I put up a bird feeder to encourage more birds to come to the yard giving me more opportunities to capture more birds. I started to notice how the males seemed to stand watch while the little gray females ate at the feeder.

As my technique improved at capturing crisp focus I moved to attempting to capture them in flight. As I culled each session I my impression of sparrows as cute little birds They are actually quite fierce. I think of them as little warriors now.

Enjoy some of the captures.

Signs of Spring

This first day of spring brings a storm to Northern California. It has been a very dry beginning of the year so we welcome the rain and snow. The mild weather has given me a chance to continue trying to learn to capture small, fast moving creatures. This time bees. Enjoy.

Using actions & presets

As I improved in my post processing I began to think how to speed up the steps I followed to allow more time with my photography outside instead of in front of the computer. I work 40-60hrs per week outside of photography. When you have limited time you look for ways to speed everything up.

I came across MCP Actions on Facebook one day and opened another phase to my learning journey. Actions and Presets. They have several freebies you can download and start to see if they fit within your workflow. I like to freshen my Facebook covers on a regular basis. The free timeline covers allow me to quickly change pictures to whatever I am working on that week. A couple of examples here.

 

A Fresh Start

I realized this weekend as I was sharing a photograph on Facebook chronicling my journey to improve my photography I seem to have put my blog aside. Time to dust the keyboard off and bring my blog back to life.

While dog sports are my number one photography focus I embarked on a Learning Journey aimed at improving my skills. I read a comment this week from a photographer I respect which struck a chord. “..owning a camera does not make you a photographer. Education is what makes you a photographer…”.

Figuring trying to capture small, fast moving creatures would help my dog sport photography I started practicing on birds. It has taken on a life of its own. I never had any idea the detailed beauty I have found in some, the personalities of some, the fierceness in some. It has been a grand journey I started which I expect to go on for years.

Enjoy.