14-SEP-2008
Pool
No cool story other than the Patriots were able to win what I perceive as a big game today without Brady. . .
The kids were playing pool today, I figured it was worth attempting a shot in a room that we apparently need better lighting in ;-)
13-SEP-2008
Team
Soccer (Futbol for our 'worldly' viewers) morning today. Nice morning sun (that later turned into a scorcher of a day) to my back.
I took way too many photos (I am still trying to sort through them now).
My son enjoys soccer, he loves running around!
12-SEP-2008
Texture
Rained out today & I was on the [new] bike. I didn't take my camera gear into work not because I was afraid it would get wet, but because I figured I wouldn't be out and about at lunch if it were raining. After work I got to attend our first Marshwood High School Football game to watch my daughter in the Marshwood Marching Hawk band (her first 'official' appearance). It was raining off and on all evening and I didn't want to bring the camera for this fact (this time I was afraid of the rain).
This shot is of the grip on a [red] mini mag flashlight through the eyes of my 100mm Macro. Nothing too elaborate tonight. . .
11-SEP-2008
Hanging out
My wife is doing that P-90X thing. For her birthday, she wanted the P-90X DVD's and some kind of chinup bar. While I was finalizing the P90X purchase, this cool chinup bar offer came up (like they saw me coming, flagged my account and said "he's a sucka"). So now it is in our downstairs bathroom door, since we have an "open concept house" and that is pretty much the only doorway.
So I mention all this because my son believes this is his personal monkey bar setup. He's moved a kitchen chair beneath it and basically hangs from this thing all evening. He can do a few chinups (he's gonna be ripped by the time he's 8). I was taking photos of him from the knees up, trying to keep the chair out of the frame when I realized I could just push it out and slide the camera beneath his feet. This is the first picture from the first set and it worked. I had to hold the camera out & guess where it was pointing (blind shooting) since I couldn't fit under him. This photo is a bit OOF and might have a tad bit of motion blur, but it's one of those photos that goes beyond the "Tack Sharp" realm. I really like this shot of him because it makes him look tall, when he's just a little pee-wee.
10-SEP-2008
VStrom Dash
My new toy (well, the dash of my new toy). Actually, not a toy, but a device used to lower my carbon footprint! ;-)
Commuting on the Harley is getting old, I needed something with space (technically I needed something with a top case that would fit my camera bag, this bike works). I've only put 60 miles on it driving it back this evening, I need to put another 500 - 800 on it to get a feel for it. It seems to ride smoother than my '99 BMW R1100RT did.
Interesting setup for this shot, my tripod (Bogen 055MF3) was able to actually straddle the bike, with the center post in. I was able to line it right up. The bike was on the kick stand, so there was a bit of lean to it, I straightened it out in LR2.
Only the "True Geeks" will notice the problem with this photo. . .
09-SEP-2008
Thru the umbrella
Still on my playing with lighting theme. I'd never actually taken the black backing off my Wescott umbrella before. I figured I'd give it a try before I order a Soft Box. I'm still going to order a softbox, for this kind of shot where the lighting is part of the background, it would be less distracting. I was trying to get the pose a close as to last night's as possible. I am, however, extremely tired and most of my shots had my eyes half closed.
08-SEP-2008
Playing with a softbox
I bought a white sheet this past weekend as a backdrop and then stumbled onto a photo somewhere that used a piece of white nylon in the background but with the strobes behind it, shooting into it. It's basically a huge Softbox. I drape it up between two cabinets and point the 580EX-2 into it (from behind the sheet). I use my Cactus remote trigger to fire it, and play with the exposure. The sheet is wrinkled as all hell, the trick is to either a) Iron the damn thing or b) Overexpose the hell out of the sheet which acts as a digital iron. I opted for the latter.
07-SEP-2008
sk8tr boi
My son has been after us for a while to let him use his new roller blades in the driveway (new as in hand-me-down from a friend). He is actually pretty good.
06-SEP-2008
First Soccer Game
My son's first soccer game today. This was actually before the game during warmups (the part that didn't rain). I got some great shots of the game but had to pack up the gear after about 10 mins due to the rain. I actually tried to cover the 40D which isn't weather protected and left the 70-200 F4L exposed, which is. It's amazing that I was able to watch his game, we were remarking that it is the first sport he's played where I am not his coach (I know nothing of Soccer so I wouldn't be much of a help there).
As I type this, Tropical Storm Hanna is testing out my drainage project, so far I think it is working quite well. So well, in fact, that I thought we hadn't gotten too much rain since there are only minimal puddles forming near our garage. That was, until I saw the back of our garage (which still leaks until I fix our gutter).
05-SEP-2008
SP Subtle
Someone at work either today or yesterday was asking about an SP that flashed across my screen (I use my PaD photos as a screen saver at work). I was telling him about SP Fridays and realized that I hadn't done one in a while. I didn't feel like a traditional SP, so this is a pretty distorted Lensbabies shot. I basically took a bunch of blind shots, looking at the preview as necessary. For this shot, I have the lens tilted to camera right pretty much as far as it would go. I was using my Cactus Triggers for off camera flash and I seem to have picked up a reflection off a curio behind me (that I like).
04-SEP-2008
Stand out in the crowd
I will consider this to be my first actually decent Lensbabies shot. I think it works because there is some front/back separation between the subject in focus and the other items that I wanted to blur.
03-SEP-2008
Rollei 2.8D
I cannot wait to start using this guy. It is NOT a collector's item, it is meant to be used. I got it off eBay, it's been to China, the seller had some beautiful photos he took with this camera while in China.
Over the long weekend, I think I shot through all my Medium Format film so I need some more...
I cropped this square in honor of the 6x6 format.