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!