Eagles in Spring

Need Some Action?

Tired of snow? Check out the IHSAA schedule. The players are skilled and the games exciting. You might just get to see a future star from your home town! Plus, you're supporting your school's economy. A win, win. Hope to see you at some games!

Ice trees

Any Comments? I was hoping it would come up for critique during the meeting but it did not.

Bill Aechliman

RED

Where's the Picture?

Sometimes I struggle with finding the picture in a situation. There are people that I know that are amazing at this. They can walk up to nearly anything and get the most amazing shot of it that makes you just say, "Wow!" And then there's me. I can be at the same place and take the shot. Later when I'm looking at it, I wonder what in the world I was thinking.

So my family was up in farm country visiting grandma. We were outside and having some fun with the kids when I noticed across the street this farmer in his field. It got me to thinking, "Where is the picture here?" Instead of just shooting away and hoping for something good like I usually do, I stopped to consider what I wanted as my end goal. Thinking about this ahead of time shaped the pictures I was taking to help me reach that end goal.

Now, don't get me wrong. I took a lot of pictures. This is the one I wanted to work with. When I first showed it to the wife, she just looked at me, smiled, and said, "That's great, dear!" Ok. She didn't say that. She just looked at me with a quizzical look and left it at that.



But I knew what my end goal was and it never left my mind. After some work in Lightroom 2.0 (no PhotoShop on this one), this is what I came up with. This is the picture I had in my head - a hot, dry day with a farmer working his field, the dust billowing up as he brings his season to an end.



So when you're out and about and you see that something sitting there and you think to yourself, "There's gotta be a picture there somewhere," think about the end. See it hanging on a wall or on a computer screen. Imagine what you want the viewer to think and feel. Then click that!

-Chris

Amorilis?

Photographed this flower today for a friend. Will turn it into wall art.

George

Vacation Lens...

My husband will be returning home from his second year-long deployment this spring. We decided to go to Disney World again (we went in 2005 after his first deployment). Our 3 kids and I were looking thru pictures from our first trip to Disney, and man were those pics bad! lol! I'm excited about going again and taking better pics...but our kids are older (and taller) so we can ALL ride the rides this time. So I am struggling between being the vacation photojournalist and a participant.

Our youngest was 4 the last time we went, and now is 9 so we won't need a stroller and all the junk that comes with taking a young one. So I want to downsize what we lug through the parks. I think I want to take my 5D body and two lenses. I'm thinking about the 70-200 2.8 and the 50mm 1.4 (even though the 70-200 is SO heavy!) lol. I want fast lenses that will cover indoor low light situations, tight shots, and zoom without taking everything I own. So what lenses would you haul around the park?

Thanks! Kim

For Sale

Manfrotto (Bogen) tripod heads:
1. 3055 ball head >> $45.00
2. 410 junior gear head >> $80.00

If interested, contact George by leaving comment.

Thank you

Keep Shooting

It's said that if we don't take photos for awhile, our percentage of keepers will go down until we get the feeling back.

Copyright

Just a reminder that all copyright laws apply to the images posted on this blog.

Ice meets Glass

Ice on the pond

Big Red

Dash IN

Don't forget our exhibit at the Dash In. It is open for breakfast and lunch only. The exhibit ends Feb. 15th.

To Kim

Good luck with your list!!!!
About the light meter.........do not buy one yet, I have several you are more than welcome to try for as long as you want. I will get them to you.
About the tripod........think of it as a tool to improve the quality of your images. To me the head it what makes the difference. I use a gear head for macro work, you have the most control by far. For other shooting try a gimbel head. They may look strange but play with one.

George

Older Posts

Don't forget to click on older posts at the bottom of each page. It's worth going back to see all the great postings.

George

New Year's Resolutions

I've been thinking a lot about how far I've come in photography, and how far I still have to go. I'm going to step outside of my comfort zone each year and try to understand (hopefully master) new skills. This is my list of things to learn and buy for 2009:

1. Studio lighting. ( I've got it. I've used it. I fear it.)
2. Flash. (I am flash challenged).
3. I will purchase and use a light meter.
4. Macro. (I long to do macro shots. I've got my eye on a Canon 180mm).
5. Tripod. (I feel like I am shooting with a ball and chain when using a tripod, but need it for macro).
6. I'm comfortable with photoshop, and need to dig deeper into the software so that I'm not just scraping the surface.
7. I really really want to use textures. They are SO cool for certain shots.
8. I need to become more comfortable doing family shoots.
9. Posing is SO unnatural to me. I've taken workshops, read books, but it is still not second nature. I'm going to get it this year! lol.
10. I'm going to set aside time to take photos for just my personal enjoyment and more photos of my family.

Kim Ross

Watermark

You may want to watermark the images that you upload to this blog. Come to think of it, you should watermark your images anytime they are floating around in cyberspace. I would try to place your watermark into the main part of the photo itself so that is harder to clone out. Unfortunately these are the times that we live in. You can google how to make your own brush in photoshop (just reduce the opacity), or just type on a layer. Now come on....show us those photos!

Winter Wonderland! Those blue skies and ice covered trees were just breathtaking!

Ice Storm Photos

You can see more of my photos by clicking here.
Here are a few of my favorite ice storm photos...anyone else have any? Okay, Okay dumb question!
Schwabby