Photos for… Monday?

9 11 2009

 

Man, why does it have to be Monday already?

 

If you’re anything like me, and I’m sure you are, then the weekend can never last long enough. Since that’s the case I figured I’d be nice and share the rest of the photos from last weekend.

I can’t believe how nice the weather has been here these past two weekends. Too bad it won’t last much longer, though.

Anyway, enjoy the photos. Hopefully they’ll help break up the monotony of your day.

 

Gallery: DOWN BY THE RIVER PT. 2





Photos for Friday: Fall is Here

6 11 2009

It’s that time of the year. The leaves are beginning to change and it couldn’t have been a better time for a trip to the river.

My friend and I decided it would be a good idea to get together to hang out and it ended up being a really great shoot. She even brought her old school Polaroid with her. Who knew they even made film for those any more. Talk about bringing back memories.

Here is the first Batch of photos from last weekend. I’ll be sure to put the second batch up as soon as I can.

Until then, enjoy your Friday.

Gallery: DOWN BY THE RIVER





(Visual) Proof of the Benefits of Moving the Light

4 11 2009

On Monday I began to scratch the surface on the topic of indirect lighting. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t anywhere near the best writing I’ve ever done thanks to the time change and getting over a cold. Don’t worry, though, I’ll make it up to you today. That’s right, good ol’ eye candy.

The first photo (ABOVE) is one from a hike I went on last year…

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Move the Light

2 11 2009

Off Camera Flash

Light. It’s how we see and it’s what illuminates the sensors (or film) in our cameras.

However, as many of you have most likely found out, creating light for your photos can be a bit tricky. Unless, of course, you’re going for that washed out, skin the color of the moon, deer in the headlights look from your on camera flash.

Using your flash can be a pain, especially when it’s stuck to your camera…

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Photos for Friday: Museums and the Mall

30 10 2009

 

Hey guys and gals, I hope your week has been going well so far.

As usual, (Or at least for the past couple of weeks) here are some more photos to help you get through that last final day.

Since I weeded out so many photos from two of my albums I have decided to post them both. Click the links below to check them out.

Enjoy!

Memorial Day Parade

A day at the Museum





Add Some Depth to Your Photos

28 10 2009

Who here likes boring photos? Really? No one? Oh wait… nevermind, I thought I heard someone speak up.

Well, if you’re like me, you like finding new ways to make your photos more interesting. One thing I’ve learned, that’s extremely simple to do in order to make your photos more interesting, is to add depth to them.

Technically, this might seem like a bit of an oxymoron since photos are two dimensional (Unless you happen to know how to creat those eye mazes from the mid-90’s with your camera). However, it’s actually pretty straight forward.

Basically, all it takes is for you to create a foreground, mid-ground and background. The fun part comes from mixing it up and deciding where the subject should be put in the midst of everything.

Here are some examples:

Footy Clash

The focus in this shot is on the player in the background, but all the action is out of focus in the foreground

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Glean Like It Was Your Job

26 10 2009

dps rainOne thing that I’ve learned over the years is that  you can’t improve at anything if you stop learning, especially photography.

That can either come from spending time with someone who has more experience than you, reading a photography magazine, or looking at other peoples’ work.

This weekend in Northern VA had some weather that was a little bit less than great. To say the least. Since that was the case I used it as an excuse to stay inside and not take any photos.

With that said, I came across a post from the for RSS  Digital Photography School about photos is rainy weather (“13 Fabulous Photos of a Rainy Day“)

Man, just when you think you can be lazy and take a day off you find a reason telling you exactly why you shouldn’t have. But like I said, you can always learn, not to mention be inspired, by looking at other people’s work. So we’ll use that as the productive thing I did this weekend…

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Photos for Friday: Chad and Alicia’s Wedding

23 10 2009

I’ll leave this post short. Here are some photos from a few weeks ago when I helped shoot a wedding for some friends of the family. Good times were had by all.

Click on the link below to see the photos.

Chad & Alicia Wedding Photo Gallery





Create a Game Plan

21 10 2009

Man are those words hitting me hard tonight. It’s not that I feel that I don’t have any sense of direction in life, (because I do, at least in the broad scheme of things), it’s that I was having the hardest time thinking of something to write about.

It’s kind of funny when something you’re having trouble with ends up becoming the solution.

That’s when this topic came to mind. I’ve noticed that it’s always easier to do a photo shoot, write a post, or do just about anything, when there’s a game plan involved.

When you plan ahead you’re able to come up with an idea of what you want to do. This can be a rough idea brought about simply by writing down notes on a piece of paper. Or it can be a very organized idea though planning out a detailed list of every single thing of what you want to accomplish.

That way, when the time comes, you won’t be grasping at straws, but will actually have something to go off of. If you do this consistently, not only will it allow you to refine your process, but it will allow for a more polished end product.

Now I’m not trying to say that spontaneity is a bad thing, because it’s not. Lot’s of great things come out of being spontaneous. However, to do that consistently you would still need a game plan.

Even if that game plan is to only take photos spontaneously. Because, then, you would end up with a wonderful gallery of random photos. You would be able to develop a distinct style, and even possible a large following.

All because you decided beforehand to do something, stuck to it, and worked hard.





All Good Relationships Take Time

19 10 2009

You know it’s true. Your closest friends are the ones that you spend the most time with. The car that runs the best is the one that’s taken care of the most. The house with the least dust is the one that is cleaned the most.

And it’s the same way with your camera.

I can’t begin to tell you all the new things I’ve learned about my cameras over the years simply from toying around with them. I’ve also learned even more from going out and taking photos with them as often as I can.

Also, just like trying to learn more about the other person in a relationship will get you plenty of brownie points, reading through the manual will absolutely result in a better understanding of  your camera.

And when you understand your camera and other equipment better, you will be able to take better photos.

And who doesn’t like better photos?

So take some time this week and play with your camera. Take it with you to work so you can shoot some photos during lunch. Make sure to try the different settings when you do. (Try even reading the manual for once)

That way you can build your relationship.