Apr 29, 2013

Monday Photo Roundup - April 29

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The Terrell High School Tigerettes put on a great show this weekend.  It is always nice to see great students doing good stuff.  Nice job, ladies.

Now this would be a fun gig.. shooting 'official' sportraits for a big college football team.  Great behind-the scenes video of how that works.

On the sports theme.. here is another great look at high quality work.  If any of you crazy motocross guys want to try for some photos like this, let me know. (via @fstoppers)

How about shooting in space?  I'd like to try that too, but... well... you have to be an astronaut.



Or.. maybe you don't really have to be an astronaut.  Chase Jarvis talks about false barriers and a guy flies a camera (almost) to space and back.

Digital darkroom - Figuring out how layer blend modes work can be a life changing experience ... I have only scratched the surface but it really changes how you can use the program.  Here is a great post explaining it. (via @thomasshue)

OK, one more from me.  Like journalism, being a photographer puts you all over the place.  With all kinds of subjects.  From beauty, as at the top, to...  not beauty, below.
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Have a great week.

Apr 22, 2013

Monday Photo Roundup - April 22

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The good news is that I've been busy... of course, that leads to less blogging, but thanks for stopping by to read this :)

The photo above is for the good folks at the Terrell ISD Excellence Foundation.  They do a great job of supplementing the school district in Terrell with grants for equipment, teacher training, and other things that regular school budgets do not cover.

Of course the big news stories of last week were the West, Texas explosion and the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

This slideshow includes some amazing images, including several from east Texas photog ace Mike Stone who went down to West the night of the explosion.

At an $800/day rate (plus expenses, of course) I gotta wonder if anyone is paying for a personal vacation photographer.  On second thought, it could be a pretty fun gig for a single guy or gal who likes to travel.  Come to think of it, for the right price you can hire me to go on vacation with you.  The joys of traveling with a two-year-old will just be a bonus for you :)

If you have some time to burn, the "learning to see" series of posts at Digital Photo School is an interesting read.

Good post on getting better color balance at night.   (and why some light sources look way off ... hint, they are way off.)

Very cool project - lights on wakeboards for long-exposure light trails.

In the market for a new camera strap?

Have a great week everyone ...

Apr 12, 2013

The pictures at a funeral.

If you take photos of people for very long, it is inevitable that someone will eventually ask for photos to use in a funeral slide show.  Whether for your own family member or someone else's, it is a reminder that, in a way, being a keeper of the photos is a sacred trust.

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This is my uncle Everett, who died unexpectedly in 2011.  When I was growing up, he was they guy at family gatherings with a camera.  He encouraged the photo bug in me, including the gift of a nice lens as a high school graduation present.  He also hated having his picture taken.

The fact that photographs outlast us and somehow keep our legacy and image intact after we are gone is part of why we pick up a camera, right?  It isn't something we like to think about, but each and every person in front of our lens is going to be a memory at some point.

I was reminded of this because of the murder of our Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia.  Less than a year before, Mike and Cynthia attended a military veterans appreciation event in Terrell, where we had a photo booth set up.  At the time, it never would have occurred to me that in less than a year, they would be gone.
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So, four points..

First, try to make good pictures that capture something of the personality of subjects.  That will be the  photos that hold value when someone is no longer able to make an impression.

For example, the lighting isn't great for this shot, the background is distracting among other things, but this shot of Mike and Cynthia carries something about them and their relationship that the shot above does not.
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Second point ... catalog and keep your images in a place that you can find what you need on short notice.  It is hard to do, really.  Especially cell phone photos, Instagram posts, Facebook photos etc.  It is worth the time and effort.  Also, make sure someone else knows where your archive is.  The next person to die may be you!

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Family friend and great man Kent, died unexpectedly in 2011.

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Becky L.  Counselor and educator. Tremendous influence on countless lives. Died earlier this year.

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Beth J.  Amazing lady and childrens minister in our church.  Died in 2011 after a battle with cancer.

Third point ... Snapshots are great.  Sure, we talk about lighting, moment, expression, backgrounds, cameras, etc. etc. etc.  But after someone is gone, that matters a lot less.  Even the cheesiest snapshots may turn into treasured memories when you can't make any more.
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This is our dear Grandma Moore, who we miss greatly, died in 2009.

Finally, it is also a good idea to spend some time digitizing old prints and other artwork.
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A painting of my grandmother, who died in 2002

OK, Go forth and take photos.  And keep in the back of your head that we are all temporary.  And, if you want to be remembered, make sure someone gets pictures of you as well.

Apr 8, 2013

Monday Photo Roundup - April 8

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Terrell Tribune Sports/Managing Editor Todd Jorgenson spends his free time as a youth basketball coach.  When his team comes to the Forney Sports Complex for a tournament each year, it is fun to experiment a little and give his kids some unique photos.  These shots were taken in the middle of the day with a single Alien Bees Einstein flash unit at the FSC loading dock.  Just adding a single light and some quick editing in Lightroom can give some fun results.

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Picking a location that adds to the images you want to create is important of course...  Here is an article about location-picking for natural light portraits at Digital Photo School (via @resourcemag)

I am anticipating the day that someone calls me for food photography.  How about fancy ice cream sundaes? (via @fstoppers)

How do you show the population density of Hong Kong in photos?  Like This. (via @bhphotovideo)

Weather is warming up... Here is a bit of back-to-the-basics, but thorough post on photographing spring.

Working on your photoshop skills?  This post is a good place to start - 34 techniques to try.

If we needed any more evidence of the decline of basic family portrait studios, the operator of studios in  Sears and Walmart stores is going out of business. (via @ibarionex).   I would also opine that the print-sales based business model and minimal choices compared to even basic "location" photographers.

In case you missed out on last week's April Fools fun.. here is a compilation of photo-related foolin'

Have a great week.



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