Bugs

 

 During a recent stroll along the Batiquitos Lagoon in Carlsbad, Ca with the family, I thought I'd try out my new camera's close up/macro ability on the many insects observed along the path.  For me, framing and focusing is difficult in this type of photography since I typically like to get the camera close (~2-5 inches) to the bugs, low to the ground, and sometimes shoot up at the subject.  In this position, I usually cannot see the LCD on the back of the camera or I am down on the ground in some contorted position.  This is where I really wish I had a tilt swivel LCD screen instead of the fixed one on the back of my S90. To get these shots, I rely on constant chimping and expect several out of focus and badly composed shots...but all you need is a couple of keepers to make it all worth while.

 

  Its easy to loose yourself in this bug's world.  By the time I finished taking pictures, I couldn't remember how much time had passed and my wife and son were nowhere in sight.  I headed back to the car and found them there waiting patiently for me to finish up.I guess I do this a lot when I bring a camera along... It's nice that they understand.

Back in the Saddle

After too many months of not posting and lackluster enthusiasm for photography, I decided its time to push aside a small chunk of my busy life to get back in the saddle.  It's not that I have neglected the craft; there are several photos that I've taken over the past few months that I'd love to share. I just need to get back to to the cycle of selecting,  sharing, learning from my current creations, and getting inspired to do more.  In fact, loosing my point-and-shoot on a recent trip gave me the opportunity to research and buy an new camera and has rekindled some enthusiasm for creating photographs.  This new toy is what I'll share first.

For a long time, I was content with my Panasonic Lumix FX-01 with its compact, poketable size and great image quality  (I think it was the Leica lens).  As Chase Jarvis' book title states, The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You and, I'll add, always takes better pictures than big DSLR you left at home.  Because of its size, my Lumix was frequently the best camera for those fleeting moments. You'll probably read this theme over and over again in my previous and future posts. It was also a great video camera for short clips. 

After misplacing it somewhere in Yosemite Valley (perhaps as a subconscious offering to the Ansel Adams altar), I needed a replacement. I considered the top of the line point and shoot offerings from Nikon (P6000), Canon (G11) and Panasonic (LX3), but found them to be too big to be truly pocketable.  I think I came closest to buying the G11 its tilt/swivel LCD and its multiple analog dial controls. Then I started looking at the Canon Powershot S90: Simple in design, definitely pocketable, great reviews in terms of image quality and low light performance, a very fast f/2.0 lens, and the ability to save RAW image files for the most versatility for post-processing. Of course, several months after deciding and buying the S90, all of the cameras mentioned above have been refreshed (P7000, G12, LX5, and S95).  I have no regrets, though.  As I learn more and more about how to handle the S90, I am more and more pleased with my decision. The image quality is quite good and the level of control over the image making variables is humbling. I'm sure it will take me a while to learn how to use this camera to its full potential...fun times!

Coronado Dinghies

Dinghies at Tidelands Park in Coronado, CA.

Taken with a 12-24 mm zoomed out to 12mm mounted on a tripod low to the ground. I used manual exposure mode to dial in enough exposure to maintain the colors in the sky without blowing out too much around the sun.  This ended up to be f/11 1/500sec. At this exposure, the dinghies in the foreground were very dark. To fill the foreground with a bit of light, held my flash off-camera up and to the left, pointed at the dinghies.

Remembering Cabrillo

Cabrillo National Monument and its Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego brings back memories of my photography past. Sometime back in the mid-80s in the 9th grade I had an English teacher that participated in a program that was designed to use photography to help students learn better writing skills. We were all given Polariod cameras with film and taken on field trips to different parts of San Diego to snap photos. We were then instructed to use those photos as inspiration to write essays on our experiences. Since English class and writing, in general, was not my favorite subject in school, I don't really remember what I wrote about or how good the writing was. But I can remember those Polaroids as vividly as if I took them yesterday. I actually still have those Polaroids in a shoebox somewhere and stumble across them every several years.

I still can't really put a finger on exactly what motivates me to go out and make photos. But remembering those Polaroids, composing the shot, the way they made me feel when I peeled open film to reveal the photo, and the vivid memories they trigger whenever I come across them in my dusty shoe boxes of prints, gives me a little insight. Perhaps I make photographs to slow this fast paced world, be in the moment (the 1/250th of a second moment), or to preserve those moments for my future self.

Polaroid has come and gone. I'm sure that I'll look back someday at my Nikon D70s with its 6.1 megapixel 2-dimensional image sensor and laugh at how crude of a photographic tool it was, but will smile and feel contentment as I remember these Cabrillo photos as vividly as I do today.

___________________

These photos were taken in January 2010. For the first photo, I had composition that I liked, but the colors were so-so and, overall, it really didn't pop for me. Remembering that I bought the image editor Pixelmator in the after-Thanksgiving sales last year and haven't used it yet, I thought I'd give it a try to see if I can improve the photo. The interface is very similar to Photoshop, but it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that I had in CS2. However, I think it has enough for the majority of my needs. In the first photo, I used the cloning tool to remove a distracting flag pole, added the border to make it look like its double matted, and applied an interesting filter called "gloom" to add that dark, diffuse look.

Happy Hula-days!

One of my most important goals on our trip to Hawai'i this year was to get some images for our annual holiday greeting card. This year's plan was a Hawaiian beach, Hawaiian attire, and a Santa hat. The rest would be up to the spontaneous antics of a three-year-old (plenty of that to go around). Here are the details of the shoot:
Gear
My love of the sharp and shallow depth-of-field results from my 50mm f/1.8 lens has lead me to consider buying a fast zoom lens for more flexibility. The 50mm is sometimes too long for me in some situations. I wasn't quite sure which zoom range to consider: a 17-50mm or 24-70mm f/2.8. So, I rented a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 from BorrowLenses to test out on the trip. This lens was my choice for this series of shots to isolate my subject by blurring background.

I also have been finding many of my portraits get too dark on one side of the face in side lit situations (e.g. Train Engineer). A pop of the flash could fill in the shadows, but so could a low-tech reflector. So, I picked up a 32" 5-in-1 reflector prior to going on the trip. I was very pleased with the ease-of-use and amount of fill that the reflector provided
Setting
The beach was on the eastern shore of Kaua'i. Staying on the eastern side, we saw sunrises rather than sunsets on the beaches here. A morning shoot was in order and provided some benefits: less crowded beach, smooth sand (not too many footprints), and less wind. Of course I had to drag my model and assistant out of bed early in the morning to get some good light.

Wardrobe and Props
Santa hat from home. Hawaiian outfit from a nearby souvenir shop. Lei from a Luau we attended two nights prior. Coconut shells and tropical fruits from a farmers market. Logs and driftwood from the beach.
Assistant
My wife was in charge of wardrobe and the one who held the reflector in place. The nice thing about a reflector as opposed to a flash is that you can see the results as you move it around. This makes it much easier to teach the assistant how to hold and point the reflector.

Holiday cards
After selecting a handful of images, making the cards was easy and fast. We ordered 2 sets: one set from Mpix Press and the other set from Costco as we did in previous years.

Happy Holidays!

Waimea Canyon and Nā Pali Coast

The natural beauty of Waimea Canyon and Nā Pali Coast in Kaua'i can be experienced by car. There are several lookout points that offer impressive panoramic views that I tried to capture in these photos. However, to really experience the full scale and beauty of this island I would recommend a helicopter tour. On our helicopter tour with Sunshine Helicopter Tours, I had to put down my cameras and completely enjoy the towering cliffs, cascading waterfalls and narrow canyons of Kaua'i. Truly amazing.

Kapa'a, Kaua'i

Another activity that was quite memorable on our trip to Kauai was the bike trail on the east side of the island in Kapa'a. This is an approximately 4-mile trail along the coast, that passes great ocean views, sacred Hawaiian burial grounds, and beautiful beaches. We rented a couple of 3-speed cruisers and a trailer for the young one from Coconut Coasters in Kapa'a.

Shots taken with my point-and-shoot (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01) and converted to B&W in Adobe Lightroom.