Category Archives: Blog

iphone 5, creative lighting

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Trying a little “studio” lighting with the iPhone 5. The flash on the iPhone is fairly ridiculous, unless you’re going to use it in the daytime and then only as fill light. So I turn it off completely until I need it.

For this shot I used a flashlight with some tissue over the head and my old iPhone 3Gs (I brought up the “Reminders” app which has a mostly white background so it’s like a tiny softbox.). I laid the 3Gs flat in front of the tiki idol and then shined the flashlight on the back wall from underneath the stool the tiki was sitting on. Got some groovy shadows going and ended up with the photo below.

Of course, this is all for giggles. I don’t see doing this for actual paying gigs. But for the purpose of exercising that little creative corner of my brain, why the hell not?

 

Tiki idol cup. Lit with flashlight, shot with iPhone 5.

iPhone 5, iPhone 3Gs, Surfire flashlight, tissue paper, Tiki idol cup.

Friday Photo Tip: Fill Flash

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Eastern bluebird.  ♂

Don’t be afraid to fish out the flash from your camera bag when shooting in nature. Too often a strobe is used only for lighting up people in dark situations.

Nature should look natural, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enhance it a bit. And that’s what fill flash does. If you want to get those natural colors to really pop and if you want to see a little catch light in the creature’s eye, just throw a little light in there. Makes a world of difference.

I like to expose for the scene and then dial down the flash about a stop and a half. Maybe two stops. Experiment.

Dialing down the flash keeps it from blowing out the scene; keeps it more natural looking.

A male eastern bluebird at the C & O Canal in Maryland.

A male eastern bluebird at the C & O Canal in Maryland.

 

 

 

Disengage

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Generation i

I once used my earbuds while on the train into the city. After making it halfway through the song I pulled them out and put the phone away. I couldn’t stand not hearing the world around me. The screech of the steel wheels on the rails. The goofy Metro voice warning the doors were closing. The giggling of high-school girls. The general hum of everyday life. I haven’t used them in public since.

The smartphone generation. Phone calls, texting, gaming, listening to music, surfing the web. Social engagement on perpetual hold.

Interesting phenomenon.

 

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Washington DC with iPhone 5

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Back on the streets again. From Capitol Hill to Georgetown. Looking for the soul of the city. What is Washington DC all about? Is there a defining characteristic?

I can’t say I know the answer yet… Even after all these years. I just keep looking.

washington dc capitol building

Capitol Building

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

National Gallery of Art

Admiring, National Gallery of Art

In the Dutch and Flemish hall.

Window shopping in Dupont Circle, Washington DC

Window shopping, Dupont Circle

Walking past Kramer Books in Dupont Circle, Washington DC

Walking past Kramer Books in Dupont Circle

A seagull takes flight in Georgetown, Washington DC

Taking flight in Georgetown

Overlooking the Potomac River in Georgetown, Washington DC

Sun setting over the Potomac River

 

Friday Photo Tip: “Just take the Picture.”

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Todays Friday Photo Tip is something from my friend and mentor David Alan Harvey.

“When the perfect picture situation happens, you may not have time to worry about perfect exposure and f-stop. Just take the picture. Don’t be afraid to experiment — especially in dark locations where you cannot use a tripod or flash. Brace your elbows on a table, lean against a telephone pole, or rest the camera on a fence post or a Coke bottle.”

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Jessica in very low light.

Friday Photo Tip: Composition

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Separation. Balance. A sense of ease.

I never set out to find it, but every now and then it reveals itself. I’ll walk around for hours, just watching; being an observer. Shooting a little here and there. Feeling things out.

If I find an interesting scene I’ll stop and take a look through the view finder. I don’t start shooting right away, either. Patience, I tell myself. Let the scene sink in. Try to grasp what’s there; what belongs, what doesn’t. If I shift myself or the camera a few inches an OK composition can morph into a good composition.

And you don’t so much see it as you do feel it. When everything falls into place there is a great sense of relief. Even exhilaration. That’s when you shoot.

Be patient. Look at the scene. Really  look at it. There’s a good composition in there somewhere.

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Will your images last 300 million Years?

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The debate over which storage medium will keep your data the longest seems on its way to being moot. CDs? DVDs? Hard drives? Magnetic tape? Nope.

How about a two millimeter thick piece of quartz glass? Calling it “semi-perpetual” Hitachi claims that your data would survive for nearly 300 million years.

Far out, eh?

(Check out the article at Scientific American.)

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Old-School Storage?

Goodbye to Instagram.

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After considering Instagram’s reconsideration I’ve decided to move on. I have downloaded my images from their server and deleted my account. All done. Good luck to them (like they need it) and to all who are sticking with them.

And truthfully, I just can’t shake the obnoxious notion that someone at Instagram proposed the idea that they start using other people’s images as if they were their own. “Hey, we’ve been providing this ‘free’ service to these moochers, they owe us!” “Sure, tell the simpletons they still own their images, but we can use them how and when we want!” — how does this kind of thinking become policy? How is that person not laughed out of the room?

I also can’t figure the “oh well — it’s not that big a deal” type of thinking prevalent among too many photographers. “What did you expect?” “It’s a free service, you’re the product.” “What’s the likelihood they’ll use your image, anyway?” — mocking those who are appalled by these attempts at a rights grab rather than the grabbers/thieves themselves is disturbing, to say the least.

And lastly, I’ve been feeling a little thinly spread these days. So this might be a good time to rethink my web presence. Do I need to be EVERYWHERE? Not really. One less place to check or to update might do the psyche good. Maybe two less places. Facebook certainly has its issues, (and they do, after all, own Instagram). Maybe the new year will bring changes in that arena as well. We’ll see.

Cheers.

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My photos. Back home where they belong.

Cheers.

Friday Photo Tip: Inclement Weather

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The forecast calls for rain? Very good. Now go out there and shoot.

An atmosphere of gloom. A sense of sullenness… but in a good way! This is what comes with lousy weather. No matter if it’s sleet, rain, snow or fog. There are shots to be made, moods to capture.

Yes, keep your camera as clean and dry as you can — that shower cap from the hotel’s bathroom makes an excellent rain coat for the camera… or maybe shoot from under an awning or from the car window — but do get out there and make some photographs. They’re everywhere.

A foggy morning on Mount Tamalpais.

A foggy morning on Mount Tamalpais in northern California.

Stinson Beach in The Rain

A couple takes a walk on the beach in the rain. Stinson Beach, California.