An Instant Out Of Time

After the fire....

2011-04-20T00:07:00.002-04:00

I took this shot from the fire pit after the boys started some twigs for a fire and then found the logs were soaked from all the rain. I thought the pinkish grey ash and the burnt out circle just looked cool.

After the fire the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns
After the fire the fire still burns

~Roger Daltrey

Lost Shopping Cart

2011-04-03T09:29:00.000-04:00

This cart caught my attention two weeks ago and it has been begging for me to take it's picture ever since then. It is out in this huge grass field and it makes me so curious as to how it got there. It's probably 100 feet out in the field and it couldn't have rolled here. Someone had to carry it out there.

Dock

2011-02-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

I hope my ship comes in before my dock rots.

Alternative title: "Otis Redding was here and his personal injury lawyer would like to have a word with you."

New Moon on Monday

2011-02-14T21:30:00.002-05:00

Do you have any of those "things" that you never grew out of? When I was a kid I was fascinated by the sight of the moon in the middle of the day. Staring up at that bright white satellite up in the sky captured my imagination.

But even as an adult, a daytime moon is magical to me. I have to stop and look at it. I contemplate the perfect balance of gravity keeping the huge rock from hurling off into space yet keeping it from crashing onto the earth. I wonder why I can't see the whole thing, I should at least be able to see the shadow of the dark side. Speaking of "the dark side", I think about how it looks like the partially rebuilt Death Star of The Empire Strikes Back [geek alert].

Yes, I know this is NOT a "new moon" but the title post sounded good and it IS Monday. Just for calling me out on the technical aspects of this post, I inflict...errr..."share" with you this brilliant gem of the golden years of music videos.

Knoxville at night

2011-02-13T15:00:00.003-05:00

1.29.2011

2011-01-29T11:12:00.001-05:00

In case of fire, pull pin and uh...umm.....nevermind, run!

I have had the flu the past several days but just HAD to get out this morning. Mother Nature is teasing us with an almost early Spring like weekend. The skies are blue, critters are scurrying about, and people are out enjoying the break between snowy, icky weather patterns. I went down the banks of the lake and the first shot I got was of that fire extinguisher buried in the floatsam that is exposed each winter when the TVA draws down the water of the lake systems.

Self portrait - dayum I'm a tall feller.

Noisy little bird, a kingfisher I think.

Rocky shoreline exposed.

1.21.11

2011-01-26T12:54:00.002-05:00

Well I blew the everyday thing but I'm going to post as much as I can. This looks wet but it is complete ice. The ridges that formed in it caught my eye so I ran and grabbed my camera.

1.16.11

2011-01-16T22:10:00.003-05:00

It has been a week since the snow storm hit yet the snow abides.

This is rare for Knoxville, at least since we've been here. Normally when the snow hits, you have about 12 hours to sled, make snow people, and have snowball fights.

1.14.11

2011-01-14T23:37:00.000-05:00

This is our company car. Several of us use it for visits to our other offices and for trips to Nashville.

It has not been moved since Sunday night when the "Great Atlanta Blizzard of 2011" hit Knoxville, TN.

I am visiting one of our other Tennessee offices next week so I drove it home today and it was hilarious. Driving on the interstate, I was like a comet! A big ball of ice with a long dust trail of snow and ice behind me.

1.13.11

2011-01-13T21:27:00.002-05:00

Still freezing....

But we are supposed to have a high temp above freezing tomorrow. I took several other shots this afternoon but I just liked the shadow in this one.

1.12.11

2011-01-12T21:59:00.002-05:00

It has been unmentionably cold here the past few days. See? Here are my unmentionables.

1.11.11

2011-01-11T23:20:00.001-05:00

Filed under "totally not what you think"

1.10.11

2011-01-10T23:48:00.003-05:00

I snapped this shot when I was getting ready to grill tonight. While I like the composition of the angular lines and the white snow, my favorite part is the lack of white balance.

The white snow makes it obvious I had a daylight CFL to the left and incandescent lighting to the right.

Guess what? That had no effect on how good my grilled chicken tasted:)

1.9.11

2011-01-09T23:51:00.002-05:00

1.8.11

2011-01-08T23:01:00.003-05:00

How the hell someone ever decided to make coats out of chinchillas escapes me.

Well, they do have 50 hairs to each follicle whereas humans have one, making their fur so soft. And they DO stay up all night disturbing their owners' sleep. And I do have two of them.

We have two already, maybe if I get two more, I could make them into a pair of socks! But not a coat....that would be wrong.

(Don't worry, I'm just kidding. For now. Although, I might be tempted at 3am.)

1.7.11

2011-01-07T22:50:00.002-05:00

Things I found in my house because I'm too lazy and it is too cold to go outside to shoot...

1.6.2011

2011-01-06T23:58:00.003-05:00

0.1 % of all bacteria and viruses like this post....

They thought the other 99.9% of bacteria and viruses were just d-bags anyway.

(Hey, if I can't get artistic tonight, I'm going with attempts at humor.)

1.5.2011

2011-01-05T23:16:00.003-05:00

What 20% chance of precipitation looked like this afternoon.....

My pictures aren't coming around just yet. I'll find that mojo.

1.4.2011

2011-01-04T23:37:00.000-05:00

1.3.2011

2011-01-03T21:46:00.003-05:00

This will be the poorest quality picture I will post this year (taken with my Blackberry) but I could not resist....

Invisible Fire Hose

Made from the same incombustible
fabric as the Emperor's New Clothes

1.2.2011

2011-01-02T20:36:00.003-05:00

That is the flag this morning at the historic Tellico Blockhouse near Vonore, TN.

We literally stumbled across it this morning while on a country drive and I found myself getting an education, not only about local, but national history. This was a fortress that was central in early relations with the Cherokee Nation. Now it is just a layout of stone foundations where it used to be.

We were the only ones there as we strolled the chilly grounds on the banks of the Little Tennessee River. It was quiet and easy to imagine what it must have been like. It was also somber when you realized that four treaties with the Cherokee were signed here, setting in motion the forced ceding of land and relocation via the "Trail of Tears".

That's what I find fascinating about traveling the back roads. I never know what I'm going to find.

1.1.2011

2011-01-01T15:45:00.003-05:00

Happy New Years!

These pictures sum up the day. Rain.

Our maple tree reflected in a puddle in our driveway.

Drip drip drip

"Almost Mended"

This morning when the predawn thunderstorms rolled across the valley, I wrote:

The heavy rains this morning are washing away the remnants of 2010 just like the debris of fireworks in the streets. A fresh start.

But after looking at this "formerly broken" spoon holder I realized that isn't totally the case in all situations. Sure it's 2011 and we all want a clean slate. We should strive for that new start but we don't get to skip away from the consequences of our past. Somethings we can't just un-do. You can't just un-break a heart, un-tell a lie, or un-punch your boss in the nards.

Sometimes we just have to do our best to fix the damage in our wake and live with the imperfections that we are left with when things are "almost mended". Except for that boss thing....you'd better look for another job.

[For the record, I'm not being mopey or pessimistic. I'm just bored and was thinking that my "cleansing rain" metaphor this morning was overly simplified. It's just a piece of clay dammit.]

Nasty Teeth

2010-12-29T23:34:00.002-05:00

These bite if you aren't careful...

12.27.2010

2010-12-27T23:48:00.003-05:00

I blame this post on a horrible movie I saw yesterday, The Fourth Kind.

It was kind of like Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity had a baby with an alien. So when I realized about an hour ago that I hadn't photographed anything today, I got creative (i.e. said "Oh crap! I didn't take any pictures and have nothing to shoot this late at night).

That is nothing that a trip to an 11 year old boy's room can't fix. There you can find things like string, a glow stick and an alien mask. I tied the glow stick to the ceiling fan, swung it and then took 5-8 second exposures trying to get it right.

The funny thing is that bright spot on the "alien's" left chin.....yeah, that's my shirt collar. Aliens wear dress shirts and sweaters, didn't you know?

12.26.2010

2010-12-26T21:08:00.002-05:00

The snow that was supposed to give Knoxville a white Christmas hit the surrounding areas but finally showed up in Knoxville today.

I am having a difficult time trying to find artistic or interesting photos right now. But I'm going to keep clicking until I get back in the groove.

12.25.10

2010-12-25T13:10:00.003-05:00

It's Christmas Day so of course my photos were all inside shots of the family. But I thought this one was pretty cool only because of the frozen motion of the helicopter in mid-air. Even the blades are rather still.

Which is impressive to me because in real life it looks like this:

12.24.10

2010-12-24T17:34:00.002-05:00

The thought just occurred to me that "axe body spray" meant something entirely different to Lizzie Borden than it does today......

12.23.2010

2010-12-23T07:11:00.004-05:00

Neon Bottle

Pretty cool trick, eh? How did I set it up? Black lights and mirrors? No. All I did was notice.

Two nights ago when I turned out the light to go to bed, I had left my computer speakers powered up and the blue light from one of them faintly illuminated the bottle of alcohol. I noticed it and immediately decided to get the picture the next night. Here's the actual set up on my messy desk.

The point is simply this. The other day I was complaining about not finding anything worth shooting with my camera. But the problem is not the scenery, it's the photographer. There are photo opportunities every where, you just have to notice and let yourself see them.

But I can appreciate that extends beyond simple photography. There are infinite special moments, treasures, and times in our lives, the question is whether or not we will notice them as they happen.

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice."
-R. D. Laing, British psychiatrist

Sure it would be easy to just think of that as a platitude like, "Life isn't measured by the breathes we take, but by the moments that take our breath away". I don't want to think about it in a "touchy/feely" way. Instead, I have been thinking about it this morning more from a practical application.

Failure to notice will not evade principles and laws of nature. If I don't notice getting older, I am still going to age. If I don't notice the law of gravity, I will still fall if I don't notice the edge of the Grand Canyon. That means there is no escaping consequences in the misguided comfort of "ignorance is bliss".

In looking at Laing's statement in a literal way, it is definitely true. "Fail to notice" meets the definition of ignorance. And the less you know, the more limited your range of thinking will be. It's as simple as that.

But "noticing" is not a magic bullet. Noticing won't make everything turn into "It's a wonderful life". It is just a start. You are the Captain of a ship. In the distance you notice a big iceberg. Yay, you saved the day, right? Wrong, because noticing the iceberg did nothing to change the course of the ship. Noticing has to be paired with action to be effective.

Where am I going with all of that? I don't know. It's early and the Red Bull hasn't kicked in yet.

But today I am going to make a concentrated effort to notice one thing that I would have normally overlooked and then appreciate (a form of action) it for what it is. I'll start with that.

In that vein, I noticed there was some leftover ham in the fridge. I think I'll go appreciate some ham and eggs for breakfast.

12.22.2010

2010-12-22T17:27:00.001-05:00

We are off for the next two days and it was DEAD in the office so I broke out my camera to keep myself amused.

Chairman of the Bored

Actually, this is a training room, not our Board Room. Here are the 4 stages of any meeting.

Broken Down On the Information Superhighway

Feeling Boxed In At Work

12.21.2010

2010-12-21T19:16:00.003-05:00

I realize the next Project 365 doesn't start until 1-1-2011 but I thought I'd just start early to get into the habit. Or maybe I am starting 355 days late for 2010. I guess it's how you look at it.

It's a rather lame picture. Doesn't really offer anything in the way of composition. But it's "Christmasy".

I didn't have a lot of options today, the weather outside was oppressively cold and wet. It's one of those days when the weather has just sucked the color and vibrancy out of every living thing.

Anyone in this place?

2010-12-20T23:56:00.005-05:00

Dec 20 11:32 am

Chris: Had to run downtown so took my camera and gear. Not one single click :( Just didn't see anything that caught my eye.

Dec 20 11:34 am

Brandi: :( so sad cause I am so shocked! We've got to get you back in the habit. Chris a year ago would have seen a delicious shot somewhere :p

Ever since she got her first DSLR recently, our friend Brandi has been busting my chops about the fact that I haven't photographed much of ANYTHING but food for the last year (not that there's anything wrong with that).

And she's right. A year ago, I found photo ops in EVERYTHING. What happened?

I was taking my photography instructor, Tom Geisler's advice - Find Your Niche.

And find my niche I did.

I spent my time in 2010 specializing in food photography. Which required a hell of a lot of cooking and dabbling in food styling. It was a slippery slope because it necessitates so much extra work OTHER than photography. You just don't show up and click. In the above picture, I created the recipe (over two weeks of testing), did the food styling, and literally, even GREW THE DAMN PEPPER MYSELF!

Other than that, the only pictures I've really taken were of Trevor's football games (he's #50). It combines his love with one of mine, so I had fun with the 600+ pictures I took of kids football.

Food is one of my passions and that isn't going to change one iota. But I definitely want to get back into taking general pictures. I want to rediscover that fire of finding that perfect image. And the only way to do that is to start carrying my camera around with me and shooting my daily life.

And what better way to do that than to commit to Project 365 for 2011?

So this is the last food picture you will see here.

And I call Brandi out and challenge her to commit to Project 365 for her brand new photo blog.

Things That Caught My Eye

2010-03-20T10:54:00.003-04:00

Alexis and I went for a stroll in Maryville this morning. I didn't really get any great shots but I saw some interesting things.

Like, okay, like I wasn't going to anyway. You're all like bossy and stuff.

Note found outside of the courthouse. Things like this fascinate me. I wonder who Fernandez is, why they were at the courthouse, etc.

NOT an exit.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fightin! Not only is in kung fu, it is STREET kung fu...

I'm really lichen this picture.

Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?
Peasant 1: Bread.
Peasant 2: Apples.
Peasant 3: Very small rocks.
Peasant 1: Cider.
Peasant 2: Gravy.
Peasant 3: Cherries.
Peasant 1: Mud.
Peasant 2: Churches.
Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck.
Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically...
Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
Sir Bedevere: And therefore...
Peasant 2: ...A witch!

Saturday Morning Shooting

2010-02-20T08:58:00.004-05:00

It has been forever since I went out JUST to take pictures. I left the house at 6:15 this morning with my gear bag and found out a few things:

28 degrees Fahrenheit might be warmer than most Saturdays have been recently but it's still damn cold.
My shooting is way out of practice
I really need to practice shooting with my zoom lenses again.
In general, I really have to watch my shutter speed and focal length and use my tripod more. Using the 50mm at home under lights has gotten me too confident in handheld shots when I got back outside using a zoom lens.
I still love photography and need to get back to it outside of the kitchen.

Water Hazard
Yellow golf ball frozen in the shore of Lake Loudon. I like the shot but should have used the 50mm/1.8f lens.

Martian Landscape
Actually is the exposed and frozen clay shoreline.

I loved the color in this shot, the sun was just peaking over my shoulder. I HATE the focus. I had been shooting manual focus before this shot and wonder if I thought I had switched back to auto. I don't know but this could have been a great shot.

High and Dry
I like the stratified layers of color in this shot, but it's a bit washed out in the lightest layer.

Lost Summer

This stump of a post embedded in concrete caught my eye because of how the water erosion has etched the natural rings of the wood out. I should have used the tripod more to get cleaner shots.

Dang, I have long legs at 7 in the morning!

The ONLY shot I took all morning that I really liked. At least it's the only one that didn't make me think I should have done something differently.
As disappointed as I was in the pictures, I feel like I learned a lot, or more to the point, "re-learned" a great deal.

Tinted Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

2010-01-24T00:58:00.005-05:00

While picking up a few things at Lowe's Home Improvement stores today, I found these cool colored CFL's from Sylvannia priced at $4.97 each. I couldn't resist.

I posted this black and white candle holder a few weeks back and it has become my favorite model because it looks cool and gives a great reference point since it is white and black. I've got to come up with a name for him. I was thinking "Face" or "Floating Head", but haven't decided yet. So the face is white and the back drop is yellow card board in all of these shots.

Anyway, here's one with just black light.

One back lit in red.

Back lit in red, front lit with green.

Another one back lit in red.
Again, back lit in red, front lit with green.

I had fun trying these out. I know I won't use them often, but they do give me an interesting option.

A Journey Of A Different Sort

2010-01-18T22:20:00.005-05:00

My brother gave me a years worth of memories as a Christmas present, a set of journals, one for each month of 2010.

It's very motivational. This set of empty memories to be filled has spurred me to live a bit more, notice the little things, and write it down.

Hot Shadows

2010-01-10T10:57:00.004-05:00

The scotch bonnet pepper packs serious heat, 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville units. By comparison a jalapeno is only 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville units. Even it's shadow is spicy!

Stay warm out there.

Fun With Tequila

2010-01-03T14:56:00.003-05:00

I should just drink the stuff but where would be the fun in that?

I was getting ready to make a tequila marinade for steaks when the light of the late afternoon sun caught my eye and I had to play around a bit. There were no special effects or lighting. Just the tequila, a window, and the sun.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2010-01-02T12:41:00.003-05:00

Walking through my room I saw a strong beam of sunlight and immediately thought of this cool candle holder a coworker gave me for Christmas. I ran downstairs to fetch it and set it up so the sun would back light it.

The Afterglow

2009-12-06T22:59:00.003-05:00

I have been feeling so unimaginative lately. But there is one scene that has caught my eye, night after night. I kept thinking, I should try to take a shot of that one day.

The scene? Just one of those ordinary everyday kind of things, the afterglow of the compact fluorescent light bulbs when I turn off the bathroom lights each night.

I played around with the settings and ending up catching it best with about a 20" shutter speed. I'm sure the neighbors where wondering what in the hell I was doing, turning the lights off and on for about 15 minutes straight. Then again, what the hell where THEY doing looking at/in my bathroom window? Perverts, I should call the cops on them.

After that, I was having so much fun, I took a shot of this glow too.....

A space heater in the basement.

Sometimes I look for inspiration outwardly in so many other places, people, and things when all I have to do is look around me.

Stay warm.

Upside Down From There

2009-11-21T08:42:00.003-05:00

Make a hole with a gun perpendicular

To the name of this town in a desk-top globe
Exit wound in a foreign nation
Showing the home of the one this was written for
My apartment looks upside down from there
Water spirals the wrong way out the sink
And her voice is a backwards record
It's like a whirlpool and it never ends

"Ana Ng"
by They Might Be Giants

Being Pretty, Pretty Much Sucks (if you're a leaf)

2009-11-07T21:35:00.003-05:00

I noticed today that the prettiest Autumn leaves are some of the first ones to fall....

Damn I'm glad that I'm not pretty!

Wiping Off The Dust In Here

2009-11-02T22:14:00.007-05:00

It's been over a month since I've posted here? Sheesh.

I just haven't been shooting much lately except practicing my food photography for my food blog, Nibble Me This.

Football season finally ended for my 10 y/o son's team tonight when they lost in the playoffs. That means no more 2 hour practices 3 nights a week plus games. I'm going to have more time to get back to doing things I want to do, like working out and photography.

I did shoot this interesting hunk of wood in my driveway. The mood matched my mood for the day. Kind of a "crap, summer is over winter is coming, and dang the days are growing very short" kind of a mood.

Shadow Shot Sunday (Saturday in North America)

2009-09-26T13:59:00.010-04:00

Flash flood warnings abound so the only shadows to be had are inside. I played with my homemade light box today.

I learned some subtlety with shadows today. Instead of the shadow being the subject of the picture, here I used shadow to compliment the subject.

I have seen several do your own light boxes but not one like mine. Others are cheaper but I like mine. I used 4 2' x 2' pieces of light diffusers like your standard fluorescent lights in an office. You can buy them at Lowes Home Improvement store (called Metalux troffer replacement lens). I drilled 1/8" holes in them as follows.

Then I just used zip ties to loosely connect them together at the red holes. I can fold it up flat into one 2' x 2' piece for storage. When I'm ready to use it, I just zip tie the yellow holes and it holds a cube shape.

Throw in a few pieces of colored poster board and a daylight CFL lamp or two and you're in business.

Trevor the Kid

2009-09-16T21:56:00.003-04:00

Man, I really have to get back to playing around with studio lighting and portraiture.

Saturday Sunrise

2009-09-05T08:27:00.008-04:00

After thoroughly enjoying a migraine and staying in bed most of the day yesterday, I woke up wide awake at 5am this morning. So I decided to get out and take some photographs.

Taken from Rocky Pointe before dawn. I took about 25 shots just like this, all full of color just dripping out of the sky.
I saw so many things looking at this tree. An alligator's mouth, maybe a sideways capital A, and many more images came to mind.
Taken from the public boat ramp near Concorde.
Little Orphan Annie was right....the sun DID come out tomorrow.
While the sun rose on one side, this was the view behind me, a full moon still hung with care in the sky.
It's been a great day so far and it's only 8am.

Under The Lights

2009-09-02T22:27:00.002-04:00

I took maybe 100 action shots of Trevor's football game this weekend. Running, blocking, passing, and tackling shots. It was amazing how they looked like little MEN to me. But my favorite picture was this one.

I was shooting the next game when I looked up to the West in the late afternoon and saw Trevor and his friends at the top of the stadium looking over the railing. I loved how this perspective made them look like BOYS again:)

Zack Arias' challenge to you and me.....

2009-08-30T21:23:00.002-04:00

Back in February, photographer Zack Arias set the photo blogging world abuzz with his inspirational, quit yer belly aching, get out and live your life video. If by some amazing chance you have NOT seen this video, watch it. Watch it now. Yes it is 9 minutes long, so what? You waste that much time in an hour watching commercials on television. (Have tissues ready. I've seen it two dozen times and it still chokes me up.)

But that is not what this is about. As inspirational as that video was, Zack has topped that with a new challenge to all photographers to use our talent to serve others. Here is the gauntlet he has thrown down:

Here is what I want us to do ::

Serve someone with our cameras.

• This week you are going to think about how you can do this. You are going to find a person, a family, a ministry, an organization, a place, a shelter, a movement, a something that needs pictures. These pictures are needed for advocacy or fund raising or simply giving portraits to people who can’t afford even the cheapest of the Wal-Mart packages. Follow what Jeremy Cowart is doing with his Help-Portrait project as an idea.

You are going to do this for zero money so that pressure is off of you. Attaching dollars to photos can be stressful so just take the money part out of the picture. You are also doing this on your own time with whatever skill/talent/gear you have and you aren’t going to get all anal about how good it will be because chances are you will find some people who will love your work because if you don’t photograph for them NOBODY will. Any picture is going to be a good picture at this point.

“But I’m not good enough yet.”

The only person who cares about that statement is you so go ahead and build a bridge so you can get over it. :p

• Week of August 31st - You have now identified a few families, organizations, ministries, etc that you think could use some of your picture taking skills. You start emailing, calling, knocking on doors. You have seven days to get yourself and your camera in the door and pitch your service. Not everyone will need you. Some will reject free stuff! Who cares? Move. On. Dot. Org. with it and knock on the next door.

• Week of September 7th - You have this week to get your schedule figured out and get some sort of service job on the books. I don’t care if you have a day job and 14 million kids. If you are so tied up in stress and anxiety about your passion for this craft AND you aren’t doing anything about it then your job is suffering and your 14 million kids are suffering because while you may be present in person your mind is kept busy thinking about all the photo stuff you aren’t doing.

Just tell the kiddos that “Mommy/Daddy needs to follow her/his heart for at least one day before Mommy/Daddy implodes.” A happy Mommy/Daddy makes for a happy house. If your job sucks a$$ you can make it through the day knowing that you have a project that has purpose and meaning tied to it unlike the TPS reports you are filing. Your kids can say one of two things when they grow up…

“I watched my Mom/Dad be miserable.”

“I watched my Mom/Dad serve people with what they had.”

Pick one.

This isn’t just a self serving “I need to make $50, $100, $200 shooting portraits of middle class families in the park” kind of project. It is something that serves someone or a group of people in need of being served. Keep that in mind… You are going to use your camera to “serve” someone so you can stop staring into your own damn naval because at the end of the day, this project isn’t about you. I mean, it sort of is about you but it isn’t at the same time. You need to get off your butt and do something but the “you” part of this will soon fade when you see what you are doing for others.

• Week of September 14th - September 30th - Get the job done, edited, and delivered. You only get a pass if the project you are now pursuing can only be best served in a timeframe that doesn’t meet this deadline. If you have someone or some group on the line for a project but it has to be shot at X date then you are doing fine. But that’s your only pass.

• October 1st - I’ll blog about what I’ve been doing along this same time table. Many of you will talk about what you have been doing to serve your community with your camera. Some of you will be kicking yourself in your ass because, once again, like always, as per usual, like you do, you got motivated and said “Yes!!! I’m going to do that!!!” and you won’t. Tsk. Tsk. If that is you then you need to hear this…

I spent about four hours with Derrick on Saturday and, as Derrick does, he said all sorts of amazing things. One great thing was this…

“You have to believe that your life has meaning and purpose BEFORE you see that it does. If you believe it then you will be doing the right things, and saying the right things, and putting yourself in the right situations to see that your life has meaning and purpose but if you HAVE to believe it before you SEE it.”

That’s a paraphrase. He said it a lot better.

IF you are standing on a dock and you don’t know how to jump… Don’t quit your job or anything crazy right now. Turn off your television after work and find someone to serve with your camera. You have until October 1st to get it done. No whining or complaining. Just go effing do it. I’m going to be right there with ya doing something too.

Cheers,
Zack

PS - I’ve been having some amazing email volleys with B. The post title of “When I play pretend, I’m an ambitious person…” came from one of his emails. He’s a funny dude who has more talent than he thinks he has. He’s had a back log of stuff he has promised people he would do so he can be free to work on his own projects. He’s getting that done now. You may need to do that as well. You have 72 hours to get it done. Might need to make some coffee tonight.

PPS - Derrick can’t even begin to thank everyone. More to come on that.

PPPS - Don’t come around here asking how to approach someone for this project because you aren’t going to get any help beyond this point. Many of you reading this blog want to turn this passion for photography into a career option if you haven’t already. The community at large is here to help but there are some things you just have to figure out on your own. Like identifying markets, clients, needs and then figuring out how you are going to connect with those markets, clients, and needs. You can’t have your hand held through the entire process.

Consider yourself pushed. It’s up to you for the next 30 days. Go change some lives… including your own.

So are you up to it?

Shadow Shot Sunday Self Portrait

2009-08-29T06:18:00.006-04:00

The first hints of the end of summer reveal themselves in the long afternoon shadows. Sunset comes minutes earlier each evening. Flowers are just a slightly less brilliant shade of color than the day before. The butterflies are gone and the other insects seem a step slower. Summer may be slipping away, but I still have this day to enjoy.

See other shadow shots at
On edit: Margaret inquired whether this was a self timed shot. Nope. I set this up in the hallway outside of my son's bathroom where the octagonal window is. Here is the uncropped shot. I just aimed the camera at the mirror in the bathroom and lined the shot up.

"Cherry"

2009-08-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Photos of my neighbor's '32 Ford.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-08-22T15:18:00.007-04:00

It is Shadow Shot Sunday (Saturday in the states).
I actually managed to take some shadow shots today. I was on the deck smoking a bone in turkey breast when this shadow on my Big Green Egg (worlds best smoker/grill IMHO) attracted my attention.
Then this one caught my eye. It is the shadow of a grill grate I had placed on top of a chimnea.
But I have to give credit for this idea to Trevor. He wanted to shoot from INSIDE the chimnea looking up. As you can see from this shot, it would not be an easy shot, since you can't see through the viewfinder.It took me 11 attempts to get the shot centered. I love it because if you don't look real close, it looks like you are looking at Earth from space. When if fact, I'm on Earth looking up at space.
Awesome concept Trevor, awesome.

On Assignment

2009-08-16T13:44:00.002-04:00

Sorry that I haven't been posting much lately. I've been playing sports photographer for my son's 10 y/o football team, so I haven't had time for photo hunting.

Garlic and Vermicelli

2009-08-06T22:29:00.000-04:00

I was shooting some photos for my food blog when I the pattern of the pasta I had place in a glass caught my eye. I tried a ripe roma tomato at first, but it threw of the symmetry of the pattern, so I went with a nice bulb of garlic. I thought this would make a nice avatar.

Peek-a-boo

2009-08-05T22:24:00.000-04:00

I believe this little fella is some sort of an Anole (lizard). He was following another one up on the deck at the pool but froze when he found my lens peering at him.

Vacation has ended

2009-08-04T03:19:00.000-04:00

Vacation Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-08-01T13:17:00.001-04:00

Title shot

Put a cork in it

2009-07-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

As found on the beach in Perdido Key on a late afternoon.

Simplicity

2009-07-29T20:40:00.003-04:00

Perdido Key at Night

2009-07-28T06:40:00.000-04:00

I took this shot of the water tower from the condo (in-laws, not mine) we are staying at this week. It was at night but the 1/1.3 shutter speed brought out a lot of the available light.The Perdido Sun, where we are staying. Hurricane Bait. This area took a direct hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, causing substantial damage to Perdido Key, Orange Beach, and Gulf Shores. They rebuilt it. It will come again.

On Vacation

2009-07-27T13:01:00.005-04:00

"A life that has no definite plan is likely to become driftwood." - David Sarnoff

Accidental Turns

2009-07-25T11:32:00.006-04:00

On our way back from our weekend jaunt to Louisville last weekend, we got off on a side road that turned out not to be the road I wanted.

My poor GPS system was confused. The route guidance was literally drawing circles on the display. The system's voice guidance, normally full of confidence as she announces directions and commands, was reduced to soft sobs of desperation.

I didn't care. We were heading in the general direction that we needed and seemed to be paralleling the interstate. Along the curvy, winding road, we found these two long forgotten work horses. I felt sad for them. I wonder if they once help build the nearby Interstate back in the 1960's.

Old Louisville Trip

2009-07-20T17:56:00.009-04:00

This past weekend, Alexis and I escaped for a 36 hour mini-vacation. We drove to Louisville, KY with no exact plans, no time lines, and no expectations....you know, the things that tend to ruin vacations.

We found accommodations in the Rocking Horse Manor, a Richardsonian Romanesque style home (i.e. mansion) built in 1888 that is now a bed and breakfast. It was a fascinating building with amazing restoration details. The courtyard is an escape itself. The owners, John and Ricardo were gallant hosts. For the cost of a downtown boring hotel, we enjoyed a pampered experience. We definitely recommend it.We also took a guided tour of the Conrad Caldwell house in Old Louisville. It took 2 fact filled and story sharing hours to complete the tour. We liked it so much that we took a 2+ hour walking tour of the Old Louisville district. I threw some of the pictures together in a quick slide show. Again, we'd recommend both of these. If you ever find yourself in Louisville, go to the Visitors Center and take them up on these opportunities.

Cades Cove

2009-07-12T09:47:00.012-04:00

We spent time with my parents camping at Cades Cove this weekend, in the Great Smoky Mountain Park. I had Trevor and his cousin with us so I was not afforded the luxury of spending time thinking through any of my shots. It was "click - run go catch up with the kids" the whole time. I find that frustrating but I just kept reminding myself this weekend wasn't about photography, it was family.

It's the land of quiet forests, mountain streams, and rhododendron.And home of the North American Tail-less Monkey
The rhododendron were a little past their peak bloom but we still found a few on our hike down Anthony Creek. Of course, we did the obligatory tour through the Cades Cove 11 mile loop.
We didn't see any black bear this weekend although they have been very active this year. My mom got these pics off of Roaring Fork Parkway a few days earlier. These were taken from her van with her point and shoot.

Leftovers

2009-07-04T10:41:00.006-04:00

Some left overs from last Sunday's drive.

Railroad Depot

2009-07-01T17:14:00.002-04:00

Part of our Sunday morning drive took us through the sprawling metropolis of Greenback, TN (pop. 954) where I took this shot of what looked like an old railroad depot.
No color has been added to this at all. I just used selective color by putting a color copy of the picture over a black and white copy. Then I erased the color around the building for the monochrome effect, except on the building.

Anyway, a quick Google check confirmed that indeed this was formerly a railroad depot opened by L & N in 1914. This little town was not much more than a crossroads, I'm drawn to places like this for some reason. And buildings or structures like this fascinate me, because they were obviously once something very special to someone.

LAND SHARK !!!!!!

2009-06-30T16:44:00.002-04:00

This isn't a photographic piece of art but damn it was funny. We found this mailbox when we diverted off of a country road because we saw a public boat ramp sign (water = scenic views) on our Sunday photo safari. If I remember right, this was off of State Road 333 near Friendsville, TN.

Bridge Out Ahead

2009-06-29T17:23:00.002-04:00

Here's a shot from our photo safari on Sunday. This is off of a section of Hwy 129, called The Dragon, which is one of the world's most famous motorcycle ride routes thanks to it's 318 twisting, curving, and banking turns in 11 miles through the Smoky Mountain foothills.

This shot just shows the set up of the old bridge pilings, just to show how beautiful the area is.
But this is the shot I loved because of the composition. I tried it in black and white but you lost a lot that way.

Sunday Morning Drive

2009-06-28T12:55:00.006-04:00

We were childless this morning so Alexis and I left the house at 7am to go on a photo safari. We ended up driving 100+ miles to the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Unfortunately, the 1,000 percent humidity was oppressive and the ozone impenetrable, so mountain shots were out due to the haze. Even with UV or polarizing filters, it is still to hazy to get a clean shot.
But I didn't let the weather conditions ruin my photo safari. I took just over 100 shots of other things as we meandered through country back roads (right at a photo per mile). I got some real "keepers" today and I'll post some of them over the next few days.

Here's one taken at one of the first stops we made. Alexis noticed this old softball sitting at the base of a lake side tree. To me, this instantly began the storytelling in my head.
I couldn't help but notice the ANCIENT pop top tab (what are those, 30 years old now?) next to it, so I thought this would look great as a black and white.
Which version do you prefer?

Update: Alexis read this post and pointed out that she liked THIS one better. Only a slightly different take, but still, which one do you like better, color or b&w?

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-06-27T18:05:00.003-04:00

I haven't taken a lot of shots this week but I quickly snapped this shadow shot while running out the back door as I was cooking on the deck. Hop over to Hey Harriet's to see better examples of shadow shots.

I caught a lecture by retired botanist and award winning photographer, Dr. Alan Heilman, today at the Blooms Day festival at the University of Tennessee Gardens. There is a repeat of it Sunday at 4pm. If you are local, I highly recommend it. It's only $6 to get into the festival and parking is free.

Late Afternoon eukenaisa...echonesia...screw it, late afternoon flower.

2009-06-26T17:52:00.000-04:00

Red-Tailed Hawk

2009-06-21T19:22:00.009-04:00

Early this year, a breeding pair of red-tailed hawks set up house in a tree at the horse farm next door. Since then, they have taunted me. At first I thought it was just coincidence. If I didn't have my camera nearby, they'd fly just yards overhead and stay around. If I got my camera, they'd either fly hundreds of feet high or disappear behind the tree line.

I've enjoyed watching their aerial battles with the neighborhood crows and mocking birds but could never get a clean shot at them. But today, I was lucky enough to have their offspring learning to fly in our neighbor's yard.

"Great....I made it down from the tree. Now what?"
"Hey, this reminds me of the next....maybe I should just hang out here?""Well, these things got me down here, maybe they can get me back up.""Kewl! Look ma, I'm on top of the world! Well, on top of the house, at least!"
Once he figured that part out, he flew (well, sort of) back into the trees heading to the horse farm. I guess the two mocking birds that were dive bombing him didn't making him feel too comfortable here.

Friday Night Shoot Out!

2009-06-19T13:28:00.009-04:00

It's the weekly Friday Night Shoot out over at Chef E's TMI blog. The theme this week is "metal". Check out her blog to participate and/or see the other entries.

Hot lead or cold steel? A working replica of an 1851 Colt Navy Revolver.Metal teeth! Front crankset of my road bike.Enter the dragon! The chains from one set of my nunchaku.Swirly. The handle to the ash tool for a Big Green Egg.Did you see what I saw?Happy Friday!

Rainbows

2009-06-14T17:15:00.000-04:00

Ok, I retract my comment about rainbows last week;)If you look real close at this picture, there's a second rainbow above the main one. It's very faint.

Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson Productions

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-06-13T23:24:00.007-04:00

Once again, it is Shadow Shot Sunday over at Hey Harriet's blog and this is my contribution for this week.
I snapped these while cooking a London Broil tonight, using my Big Green Egg.

This is the shadow of my MAPP gas torch that I use to start my lump charcoal.Same torch, shadowing the seasoned top round roast I was cooking today.My glasses on the grill table. I know....awesome, it is the shade of my shades!
My grill spatula turned on it's side.Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Back lit

2009-06-11T21:07:00.002-04:00

The late afternoon sunlight seemed to pick it's battles amongst the deep shadows. It appeared behind this one purple plant (it grows like a weed in our garden....anyone know what it is? It has three leaves like a clover.)

Around the neighborhood

2009-06-08T20:46:00.005-04:00

My wife does an amazing job with our front yard garden every year. In addition to the glorious flowering plants that she actually has timed (spring, early summer, mid summer, late summer) so we have something flowering at any given time, she also keeps me supplied with my favorite herbs.

My 6'4" 20 y/o son Brett doing a front flip over a kids basketball goal and dunking the ball before landing feet first in the pool. I love the contrast between the blue sky and the blue of the pool.

Ordinary life....

2009-06-05T23:51:00.004-04:00

...isn't all sunsets and rainbows.

After the rain...

2009-06-04T21:20:00.000-04:00

Food Porn

2009-06-02T12:39:00.000-04:00

This is a shot that I took this weekend for my food blog (Pan seared scallops with golden shrimp sauce...and a bit of sriracha heat!) but it is soooooo purty that I had to post it here too! Not only was it nicely executed from a culinary standpoint, I was proud of the styling, the composition, and color from a photography standpoint.

I'd have to say it's one of the top 10 food shots I've ever created and taken!

Saturday Morning Drive

2009-05-30T09:17:00.008-04:00

Gone but probably not forgotten... (Mascot, TN)A different burnt out home. (Powell, TN)"A helping word to one in trouble is often like a switch on a railroad track...an inch between wreck and smooth rolling prosperity." Henry Ward Beecher

And thus spake the lord...I mean, it was foggy out.

Friday Night Shoot Out

2009-05-29T18:23:00.007-04:00

I have been promising for two or three weeks to participate in the Friday Night Shoot Out over at Chef E's TMI blog. Every week I've had a good excuse as to why I couldn't. I couldn't bear to leave another "next week" comment so when I found out this weeks subject was "WATER"....

I was rather bummed. I have been chasing sunsets over water for the past three evenings but have gotten clouded out every night, just when I think I was going to get a purple, orange, pink masterpiece.

So instead, I scrolled through my SD chips and found a few suitable ones from earlier this week when I took Trevor to the park.

Not a great shot because of the exposure, but I love the look on Trevor's face as he is having a ball with some new friends he met.
Speaking of exposure, when I framed this shot, I was thinking how romantic of a shot it was with the couple sharing a moment together. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the butt cleavage. Sorry lady.....it's still a nice shot though! Volleyball anyone? Trevor lake side. So see Chef E? I'm not a total lame butt this week:)

Antique

2009-05-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

"How the $*#) do I text, take a picture or bluetooth with this thing?"

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T06:56:00.005-04:00

Take time to remember...

Graffiti Wall

2009-05-24T10:32:00.017-04:00

After visiting the Tennessee Veteran's Cemetery to get some pictures for a Memorial Day post, I headed downtown. It's a veritiable ghost town at 7:30 on a Sunday Morning. It kind of gives you that "I Am Legend" or "Life After People" feel.

I only got to snap a few shots at Market Square before it started raining. Most of them were at the graffiti wall at the Woods & Taylor building under perpetual renovation. I hope you find some of these interesting or at least amusing.

Are you threatening ME, Darwin????

Unofficial Knoxville Visitor's Guide

Apathy or Irony?

Post No Bills just doesn't have the same ring to it.

This one had me chuckling.

Global hot flashes...

Quit staring at me! You're creeping me out lady.

Curiosity

Moaning Lisa and Bloodfartz

Pikachu has fallen on hard times. Time for a "VH-1 Behind The Scenes of Pokeman".

Apples and Oranges

Munch Graffiti

In the key of G

Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Trip The Light Fantastic

2009-05-19T20:41:00.011-04:00

My back deck was bathed in gentle shadows late this afternoon when I found a firehose of light being splashed on one spot.

One of my hobbies other than photography is cooking, but especially BBQ (See the little green guy over there to the right in my side bar? That's my food blog.) For 25 hours straight this rainy weekend I was smoking chicken and pork so the deck was a wreck! I was cleaning it up, taking down my EZ-Up cover when the brilliant beam of sunlight reflected off my neighbor's window like the ending scene from Raiders of The Lost Ark.

I chased it as it moved from my pile of thin sliced hickory.....

To the batch of bok choy Alexis is growing....

Then I went out front and chased Trevor around the maple tree....

He's my favorite model....

But I have a technical question about lighting for all you photographers out there. Here are two action shots I tried to take of Trev the past two afternoons.

Yesterday with an external flash (SB-600) to light up the shadows on the front side of Trevor. I could have started to work on the exposure but since I'm firing a D-60 with a maximum shutter sync speed of 1/200th of a second I won't be able to stop the blur while using a flash.

So today I tried just using no flash and a shutter speed of 1/320th. The blur is better but the lighting is not good. I need a light source from the front.

So what do you think? Is it just an issue of my camera being too slow of a sync speed? Or is there something else I could try?

Shadow Shot Sunday

2009-05-17T10:44:00.010-04:00

Shadow Shot Sunday
This weekend is the 52 edition of Hey Harriett's Shadow Shot Sunday, marking it's first anniversary.

Photo Safari
Normally I like to go on my photo trips alone but this time I'll make an exception. Come on along.

I head west, trying to out run the breaking dawn so I can get some sunrise shots at the lakes. (I guess this also counts for SSS with the sun reflecting off the review mirror.)It's a quarter before "too damn early" so Red Bull is a must.
The gear bag is packed....well not exactly "packed" but it is in the car!
The trusty GPS is ready just in case I decide to get "lost" on purpose.
And the weather? Crap. No sunrise this morning.
I don't really like shooting with overcast skies because all of the colors seem muted. I shot for about 45 minutes but didn't really get anything that wowed me. The best I got was the "if" shot from yesterday and this one, a submerged stump. I just liked how minimal it was.

So what about you....do you have any special tricks for shooting in overcast conditions? Do you even bother shooting when it's like that?

If

2009-05-16T08:45:00.002-04:00

Shadow Shot Sunday ..... Kid's Edition

2009-05-10T12:17:00.011-04:00

I'm just now getting around to Shadow Shot Sunday because Alexis and I volunteered 22 hours in the past two days at the Blount BBQ Bash charity BBQ contest. (I'll have a post at my food blog sometime in the next day or two, I have to compile the huge # of shots into a low res slide show).

My 9 y/0 son was using my camera and I was actually impressed with some of the shots he had taken. Then he showed me this shot and mentioned the repetition of the shadows, that reminded me, Oh shiat! That's right, Shadow Shot Sunday.

Impressed with his general shots like this one:And this one:
I figured it was time to delegate and told him, "Go shoot shadows, kid!"

Shadow of me with the US flag waving as I stood behind the stage as one of the bands played.Another one of me, actually a reflection not a shadow. After 8 days straight of rain, there were puddles everywhere.Somebody has been watching his dad take shots on water.And on this one, it screamed shadows. Hell the dog could be named shadow. But that little bit of light on his head caught Trevor's eye.My favorite that he took.
I have to say, the did pretty damn good, even if he was shooting in full auto mode.

On edit: I have to clarify that he shot over 300 pictures, so don't think all of them turned out this good:)

Imagery

2009-05-09T04:55:00.000-04:00

I'm volunteering at a charity BBQ cook off this weekend and got these cool shots tonight during a cooking class.

Reign of Rain

2009-05-04T17:23:00.009-04:00

It Was A Dark & Stormy Night....

2009-05-02T07:04:00.017-04:00

A cold front bullied East Tennessee last night with gusting winds and showers. It's the kind of night that makes you want to stay in, but it was Friday night and we were childless for the evening, so we headed to downtown Knoxville.

Being the first Friday of the month, we headed to First Friday at the A1 Art Lab in the Old City. Each month they exhibit works of local artists in various media. This month's theme is The Green Theme. Each piece somehow utilized recycled materials.

I'll be honest, I've never been one who cared much for this kind of thing, I'm not into the "artsy fartsy" crowd (or what I perceived as that group). I went once last year just to support a friend who was an exhibitionist....errr.....a friend who was exhibiting his works. Since then we've gone many times and enjoyed it.

"Greta" by Heather Harrison. "Abundancia" by Anna Maria Gundlach. This was a 5-6 feet tall full body piece that was cleverly put together with mjscellaneous pieces that would normally be thrown in the trash. She also had some great clay works. Her clay was some of Alexis' favorites this exhibit.A part of "Consumer Nation" by Eurichea Subagh. She created this set using receipts for her canvas. It was a cool idea and well executed (not to mention a steal at $60, ironically). Unfortunately, my shots of the main piece didn't come out well. This was one of my favorites."Industrial Dance" by Zophia Kneiss composed of recycled steel and quartz. This is a HORRIBLE shot of an excellent piece. I wish I had this one to do over again because it does not do it justice. But if you click on the picture to enlarge and check out the detail of what she's done, you can't help but be impressed with her work.
Artists name and piece title didn't come out on my photo. If someone knows, please leave the info in the comments section so I can update it.
Also artists name and piece title didn't come out on my photo. If someone knows, please leave the info in the comments section so I can update it.
"Corporate Bee" by Peggy Mann. This was my hands down favorite of the night and it wasn't for sale. From straight on, it looks like your typicle office layout map, with offices and cubes laid out. But the map is made of circuit boards and the people in the cubes are Prozac pills. Brilliant idea and great execution, IMO.
Alexis played my photography intern, holding my digital target for me to get a good white balance and helping me switch out lenses.
On the way home, there was a break in the rain, so we stopped off on top of the 11th Street Garage (can you guess where that is?) so I could take a few night city scapes. Of course, they had to include the obligatory nighttime shot of the Sunsphere.
Finally, on the way home, I had to take a slow exposure as we passed a lit up police car on the side of the road. I know it's a bit silly but I like these moving exposure shots.Lessons learned last night:

Keep playing with the manual focus on the prime lens. Still don't have it dialed in.
BE MORE PATIENT.......NOW. I rushed too many shots. I do that in crowds. Take more time just looking before even starting to compose the shot.
Keep this excitement and love for photography up.

Nicole B is hosting her second scavenger hunt. I did the first one and it was a lot of fun. It challenges you to hunt for photographs of 25 certain items in your area. People from all over the world did the last one, so you got to see interesting results. Some people went literal on the items while others were very interpretative.

Get over there and sign up. It starts today and runs through the end of the month. You don't have to be a serious photographer to really enjoy this one. It's FUN!

You've been goosed!

2009-04-30T18:46:00.008-04:00

One of the things I learned in Fundamentals of Digital Photography Part I was that exposure, composition, and focus all don't matter if you are taking pictures of small furry or feathery critters. Just try not to say "awwwwwwww!"

Ruby Tuesday

2009-04-28T06:57:00.001-04:00

So a bunch of blog-photographers do a photo meme every Tuesday called Ruby Tuesday hosted at Work of the Poet. The goal is to get a ruby red themed picture. Like 127 that I took this weekend:But living here in East Tennessee, I went literal and got the BEST RUBY TUESDAY PICTURE EVER on my weekend photo safari in Maryville, TN this weekend:
Yep, that's the corporate headquarters of the restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday! It's THE RUBY TUESDAY.

By default I have taken the picture of the ultimate Ruby Tuesday. BOO YAH I WIN!!!!

What? There's no "winning"? No cash prize? well damn.........

Snapshot Monday

2009-04-27T17:59:00.009-04:00

I think I need to check my 9 y/o son's room for a copy of Carnegie's book How To Win Friends and Influence People. If nothing he has learned to phrase a question to get the answer you want.

"Daddy?" he asked as he walked into my room late this afternoon, "Do you think you could take me to the pool so you could take some pictures of me?"

You might remember this cool picture I took of a plasma ball about two months ago....I couldn't help but remember it when I took this picture of our neighborhood pool in the late afternoon sun.Other than that, the rest of these are just snap shots. I wasn't worried about composition or anything other than getting decent exposure. I was just having fun goofing off.

Here the master manipulator flies through the air.#1 is true. This pool can never be self-restrained. It's quite embarrassing sometimes.Apparently, throwing mannequins into the pool is not allowed. (Jeeze....I have ONE wild party at the pool and they never let me hear the end of it......why not just add "Blow Up Dolls Are Not An Approved Live Saving Flotation Device"?)Yeah no lifeguard on duty. Based on the pictogram in the upper right corner, it appears he lost his pants and shuffled off covering his private parts with a white paper plate or something.Go ahead, get the hell out of here!

Saturday Morning Shoot

2009-04-25T10:37:00.019-04:00

I hit the road this morning to get reacquainted with my DSLR that I finally got back this week. After two shoots, I am pretty certain they gave me an entirely different camera back and just switched the serial number plate. That or the firmware update made significant changes. Before sending it in, I usually liked to get my light meter about 1/3 to 2/3rd f-stops over neutral. Now, that is overexposed. I'm finding I need to be neutral or 1/3rd under neutral meter.

Anyway, here are some of my shots today.

I played with shadows some and knocked out Shadow Shot Sunday a day early, but that's okay because Harriet, the host of SSS, lives in Australia. They are way ahead of us on the international date/time line so it's probably already Sunday there....in the year 2011 or something.

The shadow of the light post above reminded me of the neck from the Martian ships in the 1953 version of War of The Worlds.
I also toyed around taking reflection shots. The first one my favorite from today. I set this up for about 5 minutes, trying to get the best angle and nailed it on the first shot. I took this using my 50mm prime lens. If you can't tell it's a reflection by the backwards wording, look at the bottom, just left of center and you can see some window cleaner bottles in the window.
I practiced framing shots within the frame. Some were better than others.

I worked on composition as well. I absolutely LOVE 127. As soon as I happened upon this scene, I knew it was going to be worth almost getting hit standing in the middle of the road to take the photograph.
And finally, some just because shots....
DOH! How did I clip off the top of the damn building??????? I was in such a hurry to get the shot while keeping an eye out for the oncoming traffic that I blew the shot. Cute place though.
An accurate depiction of East TN life. In fact, I dance just like the guy in the middle wearing the red shirt.
I adore photos that start a story in my head when I see them. I wonder who had an appointment with Shawanna at the City of Knoxville last week and for what purpose? Did they make the meeting or did losing this note blow it for them? Inquiring minds....
Hope you are having as much fun as I am this weekend.

I couldn't wait

2009-04-23T20:34:00.009-04:00

...to get my camera back in action and Trevor was wanting to go fishing, so we went to the public fishing area off of Northshore and Concord. Unfortunately, he got bored after an hour so we left before sunset started. I don't really care, I was just glad to be shooting again.

These certainly aren't the best shots. I was fumbling with the camera controls like someone who had quit smoking for 37 days and was just now ripping back into their first pack of cigarettes. But damn it was fun.

"Sure, I used to fish on the banks, but it's much easier to just sit here and steal from the fishermen."
"C'mon you two.....get a room!"
Trevor didn't actually fish a whole lot, the banks were more fun for him.
"Dude....I'm so stoned."
Different dock, different heron.
"A Train Runs Through It" ~ I think it's a juxtaposition how you have this great natural setting of the water, trees and stuff with a train track running through the middle of it.
Yet another different heron. This one seemed like he was racing the train or at least following along with it.
I'll get some better stuff this weekend.

Broken record fixed

2009-04-23T16:43:00.004-04:00

FINALLY, my repaired camera made it home today, thirty seven days and $151 later.

My joy last week was a bit premature. My camera seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in the process. I had talked to 4 different people at Nikon and none of them could figure out why the repair had been completed but it hadn't shipped out yet. I was going to call them back yesterday afternoon because they had not gotten in touch with me as promised when suddenly the camera that no one could find for several days now showed that it not only had shipped, it arrived in Knoxville late last night. Apparently it did get temporarily misplaced at first and then in the quest to get it out quickly, someone never changed the status to "Shipped". By the time they figured it out, it had been traveling for 2 days already!

Anyway, had to take one last shot with the little compact, pocket point and shoot camera.....

Now if you'll excuse me, my camera and I need some time alone together;) ha ha

On edit: OMG....I just realized my camera is wearing "protection".

And The Angels Rejoiced!!!!

2009-04-15T17:22:00.002-04:00

Please excuse me while I do my happy dance with Godzilla! Feel free to do so amongst yourselves.

I just got of the phone with Nikon and they are done with the repairs to my severely missed camera. They are processing it for shipment now!!!!!!!!!!

Due to various delays, it has been two days shy of a month since I broke the damn thing. I'm so happy, can ya tell!?!?

Rock on, Godzilla!

Parallax Error

2009-04-11T09:37:00.006-04:00

Do you take pictures of someone and even though you had the shot perfect in the viewfinder, when you snap the shot, the top of their head is chopped off? This might help you. There's a ton I don't know yet about photography but I do like to pass on what I do know.

I took this shot yesterday afternoon with a point and shoot camera. I was just playing with composition. Even though I framed it right, as you can see I chopped off the top of the maple tree buds.
This is often because of something called a "parallax error". This happens when using a camera with two lenses, one is used for taking the picture the other lens is the viewfinder. Usually the viewfinder is located above the camera lens. The two lenses see ALMOST the same thing but not exactly, as I've drawn below. The red lines are what the camera lens "sees" and the blue represents what the viewfinder lens "sees.

In the above picture, the top of the head won't be cut off. But, the closer you get to your subject, the parallax error has more of an effect. So in the shot below, the viewfinder would show you that the picture is framed correctly but when you snap the photo, the camera lens is going to cut our poor model's head off.

DSLR cameras eliminate this problem entirely because there is only one lens (single lens reflex). What you see through the viewfinder IS coming from the camera lens. A lot of point and shoot digital cameras also now use a through the lens (TTL) viewfinder. But cheaper digital cameras and any non-slr film camera will be affected by the parallax error.

How do you fix it? Just be aware and allow for a little extra room up top when framing a picture. Be very careful to adjust for it when taking close ups.

Old Man Waiting At The Window

2009-04-08T22:32:00.005-04:00

I took this shot today of a 78 y/o neighbor looking out of his door window this afternoon waiting for his daughter bringing his wife home from the doctor's office.Ok, I'm kidding. I made this shot of myself tonight using my son's pocket camera, a Fuji Fine Pix Z20. And I wasn't "by a window".

I was walking down the hall this afternoon when I saw that one golden beam of late afternoon sunlight coming from the window in my son's bathroom reflecting on the door jam on my bedroom about 20 feet away. I saw my shadow pass in front of it as I walked to my bedroom and stopped. The word "composition" flashed through my head and I started playing.

I put the little camera on a tripod and then stood about halfway between the window and the door, lining my shadow up on the wall. I then reached down and snapped the shot.

To give you an idea of how small of a sliver of light this is, here is the rest of the light that was caught by a wall by the bathroom. Only the right edge of the octagonal window was hitting the door jamb in the first photo.To be honest, I'm pretty damn proud of the image I created in the first picture using a crappy camera. This is what I like about photography. Sometimes it's not just "recording a happening". Sometimes, it is creating a scene, developing a mood, and telling a story.

I still can't wait to get MY camera back.

If April Showers bring May Flowers

2009-04-07T17:13:00.002-04:00

Then what the heck do April Snow Showers bring?
It was seventy something degrees two days ago and now we have snow on the ground? In April? I had to snap a shot or two this morning before leaving for work. I loved how the leaves of the tulips are all curled up like they are shivering!