Snowy Places

The winter cold and snow have certainly slowed me down a bit.  Outdoor photography, though very beautiful, can be challenging.  I’d like to drive back down to Livingston County and shoot the farms again.  It would be a nice add to my collection of rural images.  I just hesitate to drive that far on snow and ice covered roads.  The odds are when I get there I’ll find the gravel farm roads have not been plowed.  My little car might not be a sufficient vehicle for such an excursion.

So, I’ve opted for places a little closer to home.  A few weeks ago I spent a couple hours walking around on a local golf course with another photographer.  It was my first attempt at shooting in the snow.  Most of my shots came out under exposed.  Of course, that is a typical beginner mistake, which I learned a week later.  I was purposely under exposing because the snow was so bright.  I should have over exposed.  So, another trip is needed. 

 

We walked around for about three hours.  I was so focused on what I was doing that  I didn’t feel cold until I was well beyond freezing.  I opted not to bring my tripod thinking there was plenty of light.  My shutter speed would be fast enough.  My second mistake of the day.  I did in fact need the tripod.  I was so cold that I was shaking and causing some camera blur.  Though, I couldn’t see it in the little display on the back of my camera…unless I held my breath to prevent it from fogging up. 

While we had plenty of light, we did not have many shadows.  That was a little disappointing.  The other photographer with me fell in love with one particular tree.  She thought it looked like a skull.  I didn’t see it so I took a few shots just for the heck of it and moved on.  Later that evening I reviewed my pictures and realized the tree was fantastic!   The round shape between two pine trees, the red color between the deep green, and the snowy branches made it absolutely perfect.  I nailed the composition without even trying…but the exposure was just too dark.  I had to over process it just to bring it to life.  I’m not happy with it, but it gives me an incentive to go back…out in the snow…and the cold….and try again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Karie

Street People

Just a few weeks ago I took a trip downtown with the photography club to the Chicago Water Tower.  The task of the day was street photography.  Basically, this entailed finding a spot where lots of people happened by and watching for something interesting.  It was mid November and relatively cold outside.  I did not bring my tripod because I figured there would be enough natural light so early in the day.  Plus, I needed the freedom to move quickly with my subjects.  It wasnt as bright and sunny as I had anticipated, so my first 10 shots or so were under exposed.  I'm still a beginner so I'm a little slow to adjust to situations. 

I didnt realize just how badly I was shivering, until later that night, when I looked at my shots on my computer screen.  I was so disappointed with the amount of blur.  Despite my failure to adapt properly under adverse conditions, I did end up with a few interesting shots.

There were quite a few of us hanging out on the street corner.  Every time the walk sign changed, a group of us would aim our cameras at the crowd and click away.  Some people noticed, and loudly wondered what was going on.  Most people were completely oblivious.  They were engaged in conversation, or busy trying to keep warm. 

I managed to survive the cold for nearly three hours, at which point we decided to hit the Borders across the street for a warm coffee.  They had a lovely cafe upstairs that yeilded a few nice shots as well.  These, of course, turned out well because my shivering had ceased.  It was nice to spend some time chatting with the other photographers. 

Each time I go on one of these outings with the club, I try to learn something. Usually, I've had some sort of photographic failure.  I try to figure out why, and how to prevent it in the future.

What I learned:  Its ok to increase your ISO to compensate for low light.  Something I regularly forget to do.  I dont know why. 

K

The Short Version

Once again, I am behind on my blog updates.  I've written at least 10 drafts, partially, then never finished and posted them.  I am determined to finish this one.

Bringing you up to date:

In the past month I've gone to a WWII re-enactment, drove 6 hours down to Louisville for a trade show, went down to the Illinois Canal in La Salle to Lock 14 and hiked 12 miles, shot my first pro gig as a photographer, drove 6 hours to Cadillac Michigan on business, and stopped at Notre Dame on the way back ALL with my camera in hand.

Whew!

The WWII re-enactment was held at Midway Village in Rockford, IL.  It is the largest WWII re-enactment in the country with over 3500 actors.  It was absolutely incredible!  Everyone in the village was in period dress and Main Street was French.  They had a major encampment in the wood depicting life in the military around the world, and they had a live battle field with a rather loud show.

My trip to Louisville wasn't very productive for my photography.  The bartender at the hotel suggested I visit The Falls of the Ohio because it was the most scenic place around.  I didn't find it very scenic, and she gave me some rather bad directions too.  She meant well.  I spent some time downtown Louisville on 4th street where they had shut down the street and had a live band at one end.  Lots of bars and restaurants and music.  I think I'll go back next time I'm down there.

 I went with the photography club down to the Illinois Canal.  I didn't even know there was such a thing but the history of it was rather interesting.  Prior to the trip on of the club members recommended we wear good shoes and bring snacks.  I under estimated the importance of these suggestions.  I wore my regular walking shoes and drank a cup of coffee on the way down.  Yeah, I wont make that mistake again.  I was so wrapped up in the photography aspect of the walk that I failed to realize that I had walked 6 miles AWAY from my car.  One of the other photogs shared her snacks with me.  And I nearly didn't make the last 2 miles.  My feet were screaming in pain.

I had my first pro gig as a photographer.  A local band hired me to shoot their 1st public debut.  I must admit that was the first time I spent an hour an a half in a bar drinking water.  The band was great.  They played retro 80's music though honestly I didn't spend much time listening.  No, I was hard at work trying to catch the good shots.  I listened to the music only to gage what the band members might be doing during the song.  The band wanted good crowd shots to show how much fun everyone had at the show.  I wanted to make them look like rockstars.  I think I did just that.

 And lastly the Cadillac Michigan trip.  Ok, I've written enough so I'll just share the pictures.

Tomorrow morning I'm going with the photography club down to Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.  A fitting place for a shoot on Halloween.  I did a little research so I have a plan.  Its going to be a little cold but I'm looking forward to it!

Until next time....

K

ISO Epiphany

I mentioned in my last post that I've decided to focus on being a photographer through the month of September.  Not that I wasn't already doing that before September...or that I'll stop after, but I meant truly putting forth effort to develop my skills.  I've been "pushing the limit" so to speak with the amount of time I've put in to it, as well as doing things I haven't already done.



Singularity



Just Saturday night I had an epiphany of sorts.  I was shooting people indoors under low light conditions which I've avoided doing simply because I haven't spent a lot of time learning about lighting.  I've only had my DSLR since June, and though not much of my work is posted here yet, I'm quite pleased with what I have accomplished so far. 

Saturday night I was failing.  Every shot I took was under or over exposed.  If I angled the speedlight down to create more light, I'd blow out the faces.  If I angled it up the shots were too dark.  I messed with the shutter speed and aperture over and over and became rather frustrated.  Then it hit me...my ISO wasn't right.  How could I not know that?



I was out on a shoot with the photography club the very first time I used my camera in June .  One of the experienced photographers told me to set my ISO on 100 for the shoot.  The ISO setting is in the menu and not one of the outer adjustments, like the shutter speed or F-Stops.  Out of sight - Out of mind.  My ISO has been set on 100 for the past 3 months and I never gave it a thought.



Sunday evening I went downtown Chicago to Montrose Beach at dusk to experiment with my newly found ISO setting.  The whole purpose of the shoot was to test different settings.  I spent very little time trying to compose a picture.  My confidence in my ability to compose an interesting shot is no longer in question.  I always see it.  I just don't always know how to capture what I see so I can share it



Most of my photography doesn't happen by accident any more.  My experiments are more purposeful with anticipated outcomes.  First I follow the rules, then I break them.  Sometimes doing it "wrong" has a better outcome than doing it "right". 



Montrose Beach at Sunset



The two photographs posted here are examples of doing it "wrong" and liking the outcome.  Both shots were taken with the aperture wide open and ISO 800.  What I mean by "wrong" is that I normally would have closed down the aperture a step or two.  My personally preference is better clarity which I didn't get with either of these shots.  But...I like the outcome.

The first one was taken about an hour before sunset without a tripod.  The second one was taken ten minutes after sunset with a tripod. I only adjusted the shutter speed to control the exposure.

There are couple hundred shots to review yet.  Time to get back to work!

30 Seconds of Fame

My 30 seconds of fame happened last week.
According to my husband, I'm an obsessive person.  Not OCD, just obsessive.  Apparently, when I decide to get involved in something, I become so engrossed and focused on that subject that I go beyond what a normal person would do.  There is a bit of truth to it.

As an example, I am currently obsessing on my photography hobby.  It started about a year ago.  I regularly travel on business around the Midwest and I prefer to drive.  A year ago I chose to drive because I needed the peace and quiet and a break from the stress of the office and my homework.  I started taking pictures along the way, first with my cell phone, then with a little Sony point and shoot digital camera.  Some of those pictures are included in previous posts.  It was a lot of fun to see something interesting along the road and share it when I returned home. 

I joined a local photography group and that's when the obsession started.  I went on all of the groups field trips.  I went to all their meetings.  I spent time with other photographers of all levels and learned everything I could.  I'm decidedly an over-achiever, so it didn't stop there.  I read books, magazines, blogs, and everything I could get my hands on.   I read about all types of photography and then took it a step further into design basics.  I don't just enjoy my hobby.  I immerse myself in it until I become an expert.

Just a few weeks ago I learned about an online photography contest called "Capture My Chicago" sponsored by CBS 2 Chicago.  The contest was open to anyone to submit the best Chicagoland photography to be published in a coffee table book.  Everyone would have a chance to vote on your submissions. 

I posted a handful of pictures though I never expected any of them to be published in the book.  I was mainly interested in the feedback on my work.  It was nice to receive the positive feedback. 

And then I got the email from CBS 2.  They featured one of my pictures on the evening news.  Out of the 40,000+ photos posted, mine was chosen.  That day I was the sole photographer featured to a viewing audience of 4.5 million people.  Talk about shock!

This is the picture I posted of the entryway of Restaurant 16 at Trump Tower.  I had lunch there with a fellow photographer during one of our field trips.  It was my first visit to the restaurant and I was stunned by its beauty and elegance.  I hope you are too!!

Life Happens Fast

Its been quite a while since I updated my blog.  So much has happened and changed since then that I'm not sure where to begin.  It would have been easier had I been posting regularly.  But, life happens fast sometimes. 

To bring you up to date
I finally graduated from College!  I say "finally" as if it took a long time.  Start to finish...it only took 32 months, though it did take me over 20 years to start.  So, thats something.  I graduated in February 2010 with Honors from Devry University with a BSBA and a concentration in Business Information Systems.  My original intent was to take my management background and adjust my career path to the IT field.  That has temporarily been put on hold.  I'll explain that in a moment.

During my fantastic experience on campus at Devry, I was encouraged to explore my writing skills by one of my english professors.  One of my short stories was published in the Devry literary publication.  I then spent many hours (when I should have been sleeping) writing and working on a few novels.  Some of that work can be found here in this blog in previous posts.  The good stuff isnt posted, of course.  I love writing.  I follow as many "writer types" as I can to learn the ropes while I am writing.  Though, my writing was also temporarily put on hold. 

I recently took on an editing job for a popular motivational speaker.  Yep, I edited an actual book that will be published.  Honestly, I dont like the editing part.  Its time consuming and (I'm sorry!)...its boring.  Ok, not totally boring.  I did have some fun trying to figure out how to make something sound better without changing the writer's meaning.  It was definitely a worthwhile learning experience. 

After graduation, I went in a totally different direction.  You may have seen some of my photography in previous posts.  It wasnt very good but I really enjoyed the process.  I became so engrossed in photography that I have spent months shooting and learning.  My skills have improved drastically with the help of the club that I joined.  Now, I cant get enough.  My career and my writing were put on hold while I played with my camera. 

I've decided that for the month of September I am a photographer/writer.  I'll worry about my future in October.  More to come soon!