Hometown photo spot-Fall color in the cemetery

With the oaks, maples and crape myrtles (and trees with names I don't know) turning all sorts of fall colors, it is hard not to want to get some pictures.

A normal place to check out would be the local park, which is great, but you may also want to check the oldest cemeteries in your area. They are usually peaceful and quiet, well-kept, and a photo with a headstone is generally more interesting than one without (even a poorly composed photo as below).

Some things to think about...

Look for contrast. Find a spot where you can photograph some brightly lit leaves against a dark, shady background. This will make the colors pop and keep the viewer's eye on the pretty parts...




Also, contrasting colors work great. Find a spot where the color of one tree contrasts the one in the background...


Go on a blue-sky day and the background takes care of itself...


Finally... these photos are from a five-minute drive through the Oakland Memorial Park in Terrell. It would be much better to park the car and walk around. You will no doubt find some great detail shots of leaves on memorial markers, interesting tomb stones or color combinations that you would miss from the road.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Don J.

Quick Pic - Perspective

In life, as in photography, sometimes it works wonders to take a step back and change your perspective a little bit.

Don J.

KCHC Christmas Card Fundraiser

These are the card choices for Sunday's Kaufman Christian Help Center Christmas Card Fundraiser...

If you are available from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 7), come get some cards made.. the sitting fee is only $15, all of which is going to KCHC.

Call the Help Center for a time slot... (972)932-8866 or stop by and we will make it happen.

Yes, I reused some photos from the FBC directory to make the demos, thanks friends.

FBC Fall Festival Quick Pics

It is Halloween again, and once again it was time to play with some lighting tricks in the photo booth. Events like this, where hundreds of people are filing through, provide great opportunities to try new things with real pressure. ( last year's results)

For 2010 I decided to get a ringlight, which I had not used before. Dallas Camera's Alien Bees AB800 was out of commission so I got upgraded a Profoto Acute 1200 ringlight setup. Very cool, although I really need to spend more time with a ring to play with ratios and such.

First things first.... as you might expect, in a poorly lit room (big pupils) the ringlight is a red-eye monster. I should have expected that. Other than that (and needing more experience with it) it was a lot of fun.

The rim/separation light is two gridded Elinchrom bxri500 monolights.

Here are some pics

One of my favorites... a very sad clown


Buzz and Woody


There were lots of witches, but this one had a great expression and eyes for the costume.


The Profoto ringlight is light and nimble enough to pull it off of the tripod from time to time.. like when kids are crawling around on the ground... fun stuff.


There is no place like home...




There were lots of Star Wars folks, but this guy is intense. And he has cool light sabers.

Have a good week out there,

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