Old machinery

There is something beautiful about old machinery. Everything is so purposeful and strong, but somehow that leads to beautiful lines and classic design elements that are merely decoration anymore.

So I'm looking forward to getting out to the North Texas Antique Tractor and Engine Club's annual show in Terrell this weekend with dad. (Here is last years post)

Along with the classic toys are classic tales from old guys that have been there, done that, lived to tell the tale and maybe even add a few new twists in the retelling.

From the looks of the tractors and machines rolling into the park on Friday, there will be plenty of new old stuff to look at.

Quick Pics - Bass Man

Let's hear it for the bass man. This guy didn't get any solos or glory, but he was really good all night.

As in life, without a solid foundation, all of the stuff on top would fall flat.





Don J.

Cross Country is fun (and exhausting)

I made it over to Samuell Farm in Mesquite for a high school cross country race this morning. While I don't know how this spot rates for runners, it was a lot of fun as a photographer. It was a big meet with lots of schools present, and the weather was perfect.

If anybody wants to know how I approach finding photo spots and the thought process for that, here is a quick run-through of the event.

Initially, I went to the starting line. Cross country starts are boring affairs, and this one had a freeway for a background. A little slow shutter panning made the photos look as jumbled as the real thing... this is 1/25 of a second.

Even with intentionally blurry shots, you need a focal point that is sharp. I was tracking the ladies from Rockwall Heath in the red uniforms.

I was happy to see Marcos Quintana and Andre Leighton shooting the event. They were helpful in showing me around the course a bit, thanks guys.

Closer to the finish, there were a series of loops that went out and came back to the middle of the property, giving opportunities to catch the runners at several spots without too much trouble.

First up, the runners coming into the nice early morning light... but terribly busy background with all of the team tents.


Looking left from there a nice old barn with a Texas flag had possibilities as a nice background, but it put the runners in spotty shade from trees. I like a few of the shots, but the lighting was just too inconsistent.


Shooting from closer to the course, the runners went through a nice bright spot with a shady tree background which I liked too, but it was hit or miss for runners getting into the light and me catching them there...


Just across the course, there was a low area that gave a good visual perspective without laying on the ground. From one angle, it was the runners coming around a corner and into the sunlight


And another angle looked through some trees, again with nice light. Just need to work on timing the runners in a good spot with more sky or something.


The finish was close by, and that is the place to go to get the emotional / drained / exhausted photos. I did not take any of those. Instead, I tried some slow-shutter stuff as the runners sprinted to the end. Next time I may spend time trying to catch the exhaustion in pictures.


The final races had no Terrell runners, so I started to wander around. At the far end of the course was a pond that the runners were going around. Reflections on the pond? Well, not exactly. The runners were on the pond dam about five feet above the water line. I still like the idea, but I could not get it to look like the picture in my head.




Meanwhile, that also placed the runners right above me as they went by (with some strange looks). I wonder if the yellow weed flowers are producing the pollen that is killing my head?


On the way out of there, I saw a red barn that seemed like a good background prop. It probably could have been too, but the runners were facing out of the sun by this point. Also, it was the last race and I was getting tired and hungry, so maybe next time.

OK, so... find good light and nice backgrounds and the photos make themselves (sort of)...

Have a great week everybody,

Don J

Getting the timing back

Shooting sports is a lot of fun for me, but each sport has its own timing and rhythm with a camera. Beyond that, even each level of play has a unique rhythm and speed.

Volleyball can be mind numbing to get a shot you really like, but it is fun anyway.

The timing is starting to come back, but of course, this is the junior varsity. Moving up to higher levels requires faster reaction time and more concentration. Football is very similar.

Good times... sure with that guy wasn't walking in the background at that exact moment.

And then there was autofocus. And it was good. At least when the operator had control. Then it was just as ornery as manual focus.




When the autofocus and your brain are in sync, then the fun begins.


Have a good week, everyone

Don J.

Terrell Photo Walk

Brian led the Terrell part of Scott Kelby's worldwide photo walk project. It was nice to hang out with other photo buffs and look for pictures just for the fun of it. It is also intriguing to see what photos other people see and capture from the same place and time.

I decided to take minimal equipment, and just try to work creatively with whatever I took. To mix it up a little bit, I took a manual focus Canon T90 film camera along as well.

Digital - (I was shooting for the Tribune as well)

Canon 5D, 24-70mm, Lensbaby Composer

Film -

Canon T90

55mm f1.2

20mm f2.8

And the results...


The Lensbaby really is a fun toy and deserves more time on the camera.

There is a group on flickr with photos from several members of the group...

Have a great weekend everyone... take some great pictures!

Don J.

Uh oh.... EastTexasVideo?

There are a lot of good reasons to have a decent point-and-shoot camera, and the EastTexasPhoto household has been due for an upgrade for quite a while.

With the wife's blessing (she needs a camera too, you know) I looked at reviews, stuck with Canon and ordered an SD4000 is. I only had today to play with it before Mrs. EastTexasPhoto takes it out of town for the weekend, but so far I like it a lot.

Upside- reasonably simple interface and functionality. It should be easy to master the fun features. It is small, and at 10 megapixels, it is plenty of file size with what is supposed to be quite good low light performance. The lens is f2.0 at 24mm equivalent, and iso goes up to 3200, but I haven't played with it in the dark just yet.

Downside- no total manual control capability. Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority are in there though. I'm pretty sure that if I want to shoot manually, I will just use an SLR.

The other interesting possibility is that this camera shoots HD video. I am way behind the video learning curve, but here is a quick ride through Terrell after work. I'm just checking that iMovie and YouTube, Blogger and my brain are all cooperating. Apparently I seriously killed the video quality in the process, but it is fun anyway...
Music is the Steep Canyon Rangers playing on my truck radio.

When she returns, I will test further...

Don J.

Quick Pics - Terrell July 4 celebration

It was a nice evening at Ben Gill Park in Terrell for the annual July 4 celebration. The North East Texas Symphony played a nice set of patriotic music as well as some big-band and show tunes. Their conductor was an excellent photo subject (I'll do a whole blog post on that later) because he was very animated and expressive. It is fun to watch people who are very involved in their art.



Americana at its finest... so baseball in the park on July 4 seems appropriate. All that time shooting sports pays off.


And of course, there were fireworks...


Happy Monday, everyone

Don J.

Horses and Horsepower

My dad is a real cowboy, and he has a lot of stories from his days growing up on his dad's ranch in the panhandle of Texas. After seeing the buildup for the North Texas Antique Tractor and Engine Club's show in Terrell, I knew it would be a perfect father-and-son outing.


Of course there was also plenty to shoot for the Tribune as well...







Some of the fun was the graphic quality of these old machines. They really don't make them like they used to.




My inner country boy was entertained by the tractor pull competition. These machines are all over 50 years old and still pulling strong.


Most of the guys on the tractors were over 50 years old and pulling strong as well.


On the way home, we made a stop at the Double Nickel Horse Ranch to get some quick shots of a charity roping event for Terrell's Healing Hearts Ministries.

Like a lot of arenas, the Double Nickel has a roof and no sides. That is great for a breeze but it can be a struggle for a photographer.

The light is nice like a giant softbox...


But it can make for a crazy washed out photo when all of that light floods the lens while you try to get a decent exposure on the subjects.


About the only solution in this place was to move to a place to fill the frame with the subject to minimize the background. It helped some...


Of course, you it is harder to keep everything in the frame that way


Have a great weekend, everybody,

Don J.

Graduation

Going into graduation day for Terrell High School I was a little bit worried about the location... Terrell's notoriously dim Memorial Stadium. At least it would not be fast action shooting, right? Sort of.

One great benefit did emerge though. The variety of shots available and access to get around for different vantage points was better than any indoor facility short of Cowboys Stadium. Oh, and there were fireworks! Prints are available (of course) over at www.doncjohnson.zenfolio.com.

Before the ceremony, seniors assembled in the National Guard armory building, which was hot and dim. No worries though, a giant open door provided a nice light from one side...


The principal once called this class "fun loving." That was easy to see on graduation day.


With a camera in almost every mobile electronic device, snapshots were happening all over the place.




A little bit of cloud cover made for nice light in spots outside...


And off they go. I almost always try some shutter tricks.. most did not work so well, but it is good to keep yourself entertained, right?


Lots of happy families..


For about the first 10 graduates, there was a nice backdrop of the end of sunset.. a little fill flash in front, and I was a happy camper...


I can only say thanks to modern technology for being able to shoo iso 1600 and have useful images. I really look forward to my next camera... the 40D is getting a bit aged.


Going in, I had intended to put the 14mm on the 5D and go in really close to the graduates for the cap-toss. I'm still pretty happy with the shot, but still.. woulda coulda shoulda...


And then, Fireworks. The graduates did not stick around long in the center of the field, so I was chasing them around a bit...




Congratulations Graduates... It was fun to be a part of your year.

Happy shooting everyone..
Don J.

Dugout Portraiture

With Terrell in the baseball playoffs, I've had the opportunity to get back out to the field for some sports shots. They may not let me come back next year because they only scored one run in each game that I attended.

Today's game started at noon, and while it was a little bit overcast, the lighting was nice. When the sun came out though, it was typical harsh lighting.

What I noticed is that a dugout is a great example of finding nice light during midday sun. With one large open side and shadow everywhere else, it is like a huge softbox on one side.

See?

Having a nice solid, dark background helps also, of course. Any time you are caught in the sun and trying to make a nice photo, look for shade that has one open side to the light, then look at the light on your subject.

Good posing would help, but even for snapshots of players, you cannot go wrong with good light.





Although there was plenty of light, my action shooting today was not great, so here are a few of my favorites from Thursday.


At 7 p.m. for the start, the light was getting really nice, washing across the field.




After losing the pretty light, it was just dark and funky.


This is a crop of a photo when a runner was avoiding a pickoff at first base.. made me laugh.


Perfect Mothers day gift? A camera of course.

Keep looking for good light,

Don J.