Monday Photo Roundup - March 11

Spring is in the air.  Along with pollen and other allergens :)  If you think catching a good  photo of birds in flight is a fun challenge, try bees.  Even with dozens of them in the lovely wife's jasmine, I didn't catch any facing the camera.

Is photoshop ruining landscape photography?

For what it's worth, I have no problem with digital artists using photos.  Unfortunately, that also means that truly great photography falls under suspicion while something cobbled together from pictures found on the internet is seen as great photography.  With a photojournalism background, I prefer the less-is-more approach to post processing.

For you portrait people, here is a nice cropping guide.  Don't crop on the red lines.

There aren't many color photos from WWII .. Here are some nice ones.

More history in photographs... the 70's.

I love this list of Pixar "Rules for Storytelling."  If you can work that type of thought into your photography projects, you will have truly memorable images.

Pop some corn... and settle in for location portraiture education.

Have a great week!

Monday Photo Roundup - Feb. 4

A lot of Dallas press showed up for a U.S. Honor Flag ceremony honoring Kaufman County Assistant D.A. Mark Hasse, which presents a whole set of other photos to take, of local officials being interviewed.  I am glad to see that the story has received a lot of attention.  I also wonder how much of that comes from the current gun law debate.

Overheard ... "They can catch these guys and string them up right there on the flag pole."
Overheard dumb question from a reporter to the district attorney ... "Are you still actively looking for suspects in the case?"

Here are some tips on getting the most from older images (digital, film or print).

Do you have any subjects that you want to document for decades to come?  How about more than 30 years covering prisoner work details?

If you are trying to grow a photography business, this would be the contest to win.

Plot your spot to shoot the next full moon... it will be hard to top this.  Oh, and you will need some serious lens.


Also good... some tips for making your landscape images better...

Favorite SuperBowl commercial?  Mine was the Dodge Ram Paul Harvey 'Farmers' spot for a few reasons.  I am a sucker for sentimental sappy patriotic stuff anyway, but I was also a Paul Harvey fan.  The man simply knew how to tell a story, and he was an authentic and overwhelmingly decent guy.  Throw that together with some very nice still photos and it is golden.  Of course we find out that the concept was taken from a Farms.com YouTube video (obviously with a lower budget) post by ... I hope that the person who put together the first one is getting proper credit for it.  Here is the rest of the story about the ad.

And a few more from today...  I shot the event for the Kaufman Herald and assume they will put up a slide show of images at some point.

Translation - No one attacks me without being punished.




Have a great week.

Monday Photo Roundup - Dec. 3

Oh my, December already.  If you are wondering, I only want one thing for Christmas – good-natured, adventurous photo subjects.  And B&H gift cards.

And to start it off, another image from the Dallas Christmas parade.. another snap by the lovely wife.


Last week I mentioned "motion fine art"...  I think these slow-motion videos fall in that description.  Be sure to read the details... these were created from single still images, not as stop-motion.

These luminous plastic light fixtures are interesting...  if they can be shaped and molded in any shape, there could be huge possibilities for constant-source photo and video light there. (via @halfpress)

Always a good reminder - we rely on our eyes, but treat them poorly.  Keep 'em in good shape...

Which reminds me ... there are blind photographers out there making great images.  What would it mean to you if you could never appreciate the art you created.  Would you keep doing it? More to check out here.  here. and here.   And the flickr group.

Stock photography rarely gets to be artsy.  And it can be, of course, pretty bad. (via @jdblundell)

I have several friends in law enforcement, and they know all to well how easy it is to make them look bad with a camera.  So, for them, it is good to see this image of an NYPD officer go viral.
*** Update ... And to show that the problems of homelessness and poverty require a much larger solution than simple provisions, the homeless man is shoeless again.  Would it have made a difference to buy $20 shoes instead of nice boots?  Hard to say.

Have a great week, everybody!

Monday Photo Roundup Oct. 8

The annual "National Night Out" activities in Kaufman could use a little boost and involvement from more folks.  Thankfully, the KHS Jazz Ensemble sets up and provides some entertainment and good music.  Also thankfully, they bring lights.

Reminiscing about low light shooting ... back in high school, I was amazed to find Kodak T-max 3200 speed B&W film at Ritz Camera in the mall.  That meant I could occasionally get decent photos at football games.  The film has now been discontinued.

Colby Brown has a nice post showing the effects of retouching a landscape image in LightRoom with a nifty before/after slider...

How about riding across the northern USA with eight iPhones rigged as a giant panoramic camera?  Even more curious, the footage is for a "live stage show."

Understandable...

I wouldn't call it a facelift, but if you have expensive Leica lenses, I guess why not?

Going beyond capturing images...


And a few more NNO photos..

5D and 50mm f1.4 makes for nice short-depth-of-field fun.


Lights, lights everywhere..

Monday Photo Roundup - Sept. 10

I had fun with the folks at the Kaufman Jamfest get-together Saturday.  Brick walls may be cliché, but in "the Corridor" in downtown Kaufman, it is all brick walls.  As the name iplies, the space is basically a long, narrow hallway.  Setup was an Elinchrom strobe in a 2x2 softbox key light directly against the wall to camera right, another 3x4 softbox fill camera left and another light down the hall with a grid for a little rim light.  It also reflected off of the painted brick a little more than I would have liked, but there wasn't much time to mess with it.  Overall, I liked the look.

Shooting at more of an angle to the wall, the main light was more directional for this look..


And with the back light in the frame...



With the ease of photo manipulation these days, ever wonder how photo contests deal with it?  Here is National Geographic's take.

In the summer edition of Kaufman County Life, we were asked to obscure a photo of an inmate to protect his identity.  As a journalist, that is a touchy subject.  In some situations though, it can really be a life-threatening situation to have your photo in the news.

Do you like to take pictures of buildings?  Here is a nice article with some tips for good architecture photos.

Here is some more insight on mistakes to avoid if you are out shooting sports this fall.

And some more for tennis in particular.

I like to keep a ladder available for a higher viewpoint.  So how about a tripod that is also a ladder.  (And very expensive)

Lucky maybe, but Not smart.

Light, macro, science and color.  

Barbie and Ken finally tied the knot ... here are the photos.

Men and women see the world differently.  (of course)

Have a great week everyone.