Life Through My Lens

Mis vacaciones

2012-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

I am required to write a weekly blog for my Spanish composition class, but the professor has made the blog available only to our class. Anyway, here is my first entry, the prompt was "¿Qué hiciste durante las Navidades? Cuéntanos lo que hiciste y añade unas fotos o videos si puedes. No te olvides de dejar por lo menos un comentario."

Any feedback can only help improve my Spanish composition!

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Tengo un trabajo del comercio minorista así yo trabaje mucho durante invierno. Yo ofrecí una pequeña cena por mis amigos antes de navidad. Toda mi familia está en Minnesota, pero no pude ir para las Navidades porque necesité trabajar después de navidad. En el día de Navidad, fue a casa de mi amigo para ¡una gran cena!

Mis amigos y yo (uno amigo detrás de cámera) - durante mi cena

Despues de Navidad y antes de Nochevieja, yo fue a Minnesota. ¡Veía toda mi familia! Mi abuela (madre de mi padre) cocinó un cena tradicional de Suecia – es muy delicioso.

Las Comidas de Suecia - mi abuela cocinó

Papa Noel visitó en el Nochevieja y llenó nuestras medias. ¡Papa Noel es muy generoso en su vacación porque llenó nuestras medias con muchas botellas de bebidas alcohólicos!

Mi hermana y su promitido con sus bebidas de Papa Noel

Tenía un buen tiempo con mi familia y estuve muy triste cuando necesité salir.

Is HDR Photography?

2011-07-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, finished my presentation. If anyone would like to discuss the FARC in Colombia with me, feel free to email me because as of right now I am sitting on 3 books and 10 journal articles that were read in a weekend. When I returned to school 3 years ago, the idea of reading a (non-fiction) book in a weekend was insane to me. I'm actually kind of blown away (and exhausted) from the study-sprint I accomplished.

So, in lighter topics, I wanted to talk about the HDR controversy. I may be a little late into the arena, considering I've only just recently processed my first HDR, but I have been watching this issue pop-up in this field for sometime now.

I'd like to say my delay in getting into the HDR game was for pure reasons, such as, staunch objections to the concept of HDR as actually being photography. But, actually, they stemmed mostly from laziness. I have been saying for sometime I'd like to try HDR, but taking HDR photos tends to involve a level of planning that generally is absent from my photography. As I am often crunched for time, I take my camera out when I have a moment and prefer to capture "candid" moments. Or so I like to tell myself.

To me, HDR always felt like a distant cousin in the photography world. You know, that one you don't see often, but when you do, you can't figure out why you don't see them more because they are SO COOL! But since I've been participating in the contest sphere recently, I have begun to think about it differently.

Is HDR photography or graphic art?

It seems like a silly thing to get so hot over, but I know plenty of photographers who turn five shades of red if you bring this subject up with them. Photographers like This guy, and this guy, and not only does the debate get into the "what is art" and the "new-fangled-thingy" arena, but it also begins to touch on ethics issues as well.

I tend to lean more toward the idea of HDR as graphic art. This does not mean it is illegitimate it as an art form, but I do not feel it has a place in the traditional realm of what is considered to be "photography". This comes from the pure fact that the look for a *quality* HDR can not be achieved "in the field". Many new cameras are coming with an HDR mode that attempts to process HDRs in camera via 3 consecutive shots. This 3 picture approach to HDR rarely produces quality results (in many cases you get that "plastic" look to your HDR). HDR requires you to digitally manipulate your pictures in post-production. Therefore, it is not a natural process of the camera and therefore cannot be called photography.

Why is this important? Well, if you think about things like photography competitions for instance, you run into the problem of what category to place HDR in. A well composed, properly exposed natural photograph, struggles to compete against a quality HDR. Like for instance, in the BBC Nature Photography Contests It marginalizes an entire segment of talented photographers who just don't want to deal with the post-processing required of HDR. Working within the limits and capabilities of the camera requires just as much skill as planning a quality HDR, shooting the pictures, and effectively tone-mapping the result.

Then, there is the question of ethics. If HDR is considered an acceptable form of photography, then can it be used in photojournalism? This is a field which authenticity is highly valued, and there have been many cases over the years where a photojournalist is held to the fire because of editing (the Kent State Massacre Photo Edit controversy comes to mind). But, if true HDR can not be achieved in the field (and therefore is often planned and staged) is this legitimate to use in photojournalism? Because, say it can distort perspectives on natural disasters? Read more Toronto Sun discusses and eats some crow.

All in all, I'm gonna keep tinkering around with my camera, seeing what I can do, using whatever means I feel I can to express myself, de-stress myself (after writing papers, or taking insane tests like the *GRE*). I'll continue to allow the professionals to duke this out. I'll just sit back and enjoy seeing photographers push the limits of their cameras, and the limits of their software.

We live in a beautiful world. A quality HDR sparks the imagination and creates a sense of awe in its viewers. But it is not the end all be all to photography, and one cannot sacrifice photography basics in the name of achieving the color and detail spectrum that HDR provides. And please, if your picture looks like plastic don't HDR! When should I HDR?

My first HDR, upcoming contest

2011-07-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

While I'd love to write a post about the debate as to what category HDR photography should be placed (is it manipulated or not? short answer: its manipulated), I have a 20 minute presentation on Colombia's FARC for my World Terrorism class on Thursday. So right now, this is procrastination.

I actually shot these pictures back in 2008 to use as an HDR, but only recently got around to getting a program for processing HDR. Definitely need to try my hand again at this for a little more of a compelling subject, and one that offers a DYNAMIC RANGE (ya know- for the HIGH dynamic range look?) instead of a black sky. But, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I wanted to avoid that overly-plastic look that some HDR gets but I don't think I succeeded very well.

In other news, I have an upcoming contest I entered. The gallery opens on Friday. You can see my entries HERE wish me luck!

National Model United Nations: Cuban Delegation

2011-04-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

I got the opportunity to participate in the National Model United Nations in New York City this past week. I didn't get to take a lot of pictures because it was so busy during the actual conference, but I did take some at the closing ceremony and after. New York is still one of my favorite cities. It was April and it rained nearly everyday.

Our graduate advisor

Times Square

Delegates' Delegate

Our faculty advisors looking at our awards

The Delegation for Cuba

Silent Night

2010-12-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite traditions growing up was going to the Christmas Eve church service with the Shoultzes. At the end of the service the preacher would light a candle from the Christ candle and then the light would get passed around the room. The lights would turn off and we'd all sing "Silent Night".

As it is, I am not able to go home during the holidays, so this has been one tradition I have missed out on the last few years. One of my customers, who also happened to be a co-worker of my father, as well as the pastor of Fairview Presbyterian Church in North Augusta, SC, invited me to their Christmas Eve service. They mentioned that they have the same tradition.

I was a bit homesick this year, so I decided to attend the service. It was a lovely service. The pastor was generous enough to allow me to go up the balcony and shoot the scene. It was lovely.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope everyone got to enjoy it with their family. I'll be heading home on Friday to lots of snow. I am going to try to make my way to Minnehaha Falls at some point to take photos of the frozen waterfalls.

Shashin

2010-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Instead of actually doing what I was supposed to be doing, I decided to take some pictures of my baby - for my Christmas cards.

Meet Shashin. Don't be fooled by her innocent look.

My dad has an old (old...old...old) desk lamp that clamps nicely to things - I decided to use it to try for a bit of side light. I'm thinking I'll get a photoflood bulb for it next time so my white balance doesn't need quite as much editing. But it worked nicely. Shot these with my 50 f/1.8 which is probably still one of my favorite lenses.

I made some updates around the blog: There is a link to my twitter and a my Facebook page, finally have a new photography toy of the moment, and I updated my gear bag and added a link under "Links of Note" to a new website I discovered that I absolutely adore: Photojojo.

More photos after the jump

New York City

2010-09-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in New York City with my sister and my best friend. We went out to celebrate my birthday. My friend had never been there before.

I don't think I've seen so much of New York in such a short period of time. We definitely got a lot done in the 24-ish hours that we were on the island.

I love New York. It's an incredible city. Though, I don't know if I'd want to live there. Mostly because, I enjoy travelling - and I'd never be able to afford to live in New York as well afford to travel and do other things that I enjoy doing.

So, until I am a self-made millionaire, I'll just enjoy visiting New York.

My sister modeled for me again ;D

Need to clone out the 2nd building

Very excited to get to go backstage of
a Broadway Musical!

Photokina

2010-09-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have been shooting, but I haven't even processed half of what I've shot, much less blogged about it. But there is something happening that I feel I just NEED to talk about!

PHOTOKINA 2010!

I'm an industry fan. Photokina is like Christmas to me! Unlike PMAs, this tends to be when all the really exciting stuff gets announced. You know, the stuff that I'll sell but can't afford to buy!

Anyway, as of now, here is what I've seen that has caught my attention:

Canon:
So far, to me, Canon is a putting on a disappointing showing at Photokina for me. Nothing has been released that has really caught my attention. They are replacing the 50D with the 60D. Being that I have a 40D, so I am in that line, I was a bit disappointed to find out that they took away the metal body. Apparently, this line is now aimed as a step up from the Rebel but the weight of the Rebel? I don't like it. Why have the baby step? Why not just go from the Rebel to the 7D? Seriously, pick a camp - entry level or prosumer. I don't like this additional step. It was so much simpler when the 7D wasn't arround!

In lens news from Canon though - they introduced an 8-15mm "L" fisheye lens. At first I didn't quite see the point. My instant reaction was - I want a fisheye for my APS-C sensor. I'm a big fan of the APS-C/H sensor - but I would enjoy a fisheye. After doing a bit more research - I realized the zoom is to allow the lens to work on ANY of the 3 sensors! GENIUS! I'll have to save my pennies though. $1400 is a bit much for a college student. In addition they've upgraded a couple other lenses.

A decent showing from Canon but I am a bit disappointed at the lack of a mirror-less SLR system. The new G12 is just not impressing me anymore, not with the APS-C sized sensor mini-SLRs on the market now. It's still a few days til Photokina actually kicks off so who knows!

Nikon
I SUPPOSE I should mention Nikon. But they've got a descent showing so far! First off, the D3100 which was announced a few weeks ago. I'm still trying to figure out if this is meant to replace the 5000 or the 3000? On one hand it looks like it will replace the 3000 - being that it is 3100 - on the other hand, the specs and the price point suggest a replacement of the 5000? I still have yet to figure out how Nikon divides up their line. I just know that this is an entry level camera. I don't know if that means I'll be selling 3100s and 5000s or 3100s and 3000s (or all 3?) this Christmas. Only time will tell. One way or another - it's going to be an entry level SLR Christmas. I expect that this will be the big seller this Christmas. HD video at 1080p, 14MP (though why people are still SO OBSESSED with pixels just blows me away, I still sell pleanty-o-camera on that little fact alone), and an updated sensor to take advantage of the mind-blowing lowlight capability that the D5000 and the D90 boasted! (Yes, I am insanely jealous of this noise reduction system)

And the big announcement YESTERDAY - *drumroll* the Nikon D7000! First thought, oh a D5000 replacement too? That's unexpected! No, this is a D90 replacement and someone who gets paid a lot more than I do gets to come up with the numbers. I tend to name cameras, this one seems like a Robert.

Pretty impressive, Nikon is taking from Canon's book and packing as many pixels on that bitty-sensor as they can (16.2MP). The spec that caught my eye? 100% viewfinder. Yes, 100% on a prosumer level camera?! Sometimes I really hate Nikon. What can we expect from this camera? Well, personally I didn't see a need to replace the D90. I'm still selling the D90 like crazy, it's still in demand and it's a bloody brilliant little camera (don't tell my Canon I said that). So, if it's anything like the D90, here's to hoping that it's just as responsive, easy to use, and freaking amazing in low light as it's predecessor.

Other Nikon announcements - a couple of lenses; an updated 85mm with the AF-S motor so that the entry level cameras can take advantage of it, a couple of lenses that are useful if you have a FX sensor, and a 55-300 - a lens I'm sure will be in hot demand with the entry level shoppers this Christmas. Included as part of a 2 lens kit? Who knows, I don't get to make those decisions...I just carry them out.

And the (UH DUH) Nikon annoucement of Photokina: the SB-600 replacement flash - SB-700. I don't know why people are surprised at all by this. I've been selling the SB-600 for 5 years. It's probably been out since before I got hired. It's time for an upgrade. EVERYTHING has to get upgraded at some point. It was time.

Also, disappointed that I've yet to see an official Nikon announcement for a mirror-less SLR.

Olympus
I like Olympus. I tend to be the type of person that roots for the underdog too. But I REALLY like the PEN system. I have become a BIG fan of the mirror-less cameras (or as Canon and Nikon camps are calling them EVIL cameras - Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens). Olympus released 2 new lenses for the micro 4/3rds mount. The 1st is a 75-300 f4.8-6.7. Brilliant! With the 2x mag you get effectively a 600mm itty-bitty lens. With a $900 price tag? Right. For the PEN system? Really Olympus, can I have some of what your R&D people are on?

The other lens is the 40-150 lens. Basically it's the regular 40-150 lens for the micro 4/3rds mount. It's $300. OR you could buy the regular one and get the adapter, spend about the same (maybe a bit more) and have a lens that works on either mount. So, if you're like me, and see the mirror-less system as my pocket-have-at-all-times-in-my-purse camera - you've got something that works with both! (GET ON THIS CANON! I want my mirror-less SLR!). It's gonna be an interesting sell to the people who are stepping up from a Point-and-Shoot to the ILC system. But, I think - no I KNOW I can make that sell. The $900 lens...riiiggghhhtttt.

And Olympus also announced a replacement of their flagship E-3 camera, with the E-5. After a few years. The E-3 had definitely become an out of date camera. I don't usually get to play with the flagship stuff personally.

Other News I've heard
Sony is overeager and has like 6 new SLRs! REALLY?! Which means, I'll have absolutely no clue about any of them besides maybe ONE. Samsung has joined the mirror-less game (CANON! NIKON! Get on it!). Panasonic has 3D lenses, considering we are apparently going to be offering 3D printing services at work soon (no clue, they've sent nothing beyond "COMING SOON" to us) I think the 3D thing is going to take off...in a few years. Give James Cameron another movie or 2 and it will be a hit. Ohy. I'm skipping the 3D bandwagon and waiting for Holograms. Just sayin'.

It's shaping up to be Nikon's Christmas for me.

Just my 2 cents

Seriously though, where are the Canon and Nikon mirror-less SLRs!

Signing off!

OT: Mi Verano Pasado

2010-08-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm studying for my Spanish test tomorrow. There will be a writing section on it and so to practice I wrote about my summer. I did this on a scratch paper. After words I checked the book (and a bit of Google translate) to see how I did. Pretty proud of my little Spanish story so I feel like posting it :(

El Verano Marvilloso!

Este verano pasado estuve muy ocupado! En el primero del verano fui a Washington DC con el club de ciencias politicas. En DC anduvimos muchos! Visitamos algunas lugares significas. Tambien, visitamos una casa de una estudiente pasado de ASU ciencia politicas. Ella dijo que los posibilidades usar ciencias politicas despues de escuela!

Segundo, yo fue de donde soy, Minnesota. Mi primo se casó en junio y yo sacó los fotos oficial! Estuve muy nerviosa porque los fotos de las bodas son muy importantes

Duespues, necesité estudiar mucho porque no tuve tiempo antes! Hice cinco libros de texto para mi clase de India! Fui a la casa segundo de mi pade (es un casa de la playa en Florida!) Traje mi gato y por cuatro días estudié todo el día!

Finalmente, viajé al India! India es una paise que me fascina! Sacé muchos fotos y vi muchas lugares! Fue una experiencia marvilloso! Pero, duespues de India y nosotros volvimos a Augusta, yo fui triste y un poco enferma!

Tuve una verano muy ocupado pero me divertí mucho!

On a side note - I had my keys stuck on the Spanish key layout after this and couldn't figure out for quite sometime why I kept getting Spanish letters popping up when I was posting to Facebook and writing emails!

India Study Abroad Journal Entry #3

2010-08-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Delhi: A view from a window

Delhi was a whirlwind tour thanks to our lost day. We left Agra early in the AM for the long ride back to Delhi. It’s about 200km to Delhi (about 120 miles), and it just blows me away that it takes 5 hours to get between the two cities. It made me incredibly grateful for the Interstate system in the US. We hit Delhi, and for the first time we got a good look at Delhi. The whole city was under construction! Come to find out that the Commonwealth games are being held in India this fall, and apparently the Indian government has just realized (in JULY) that they need to get ready for it! Needless to say, the traffic was a disaster (as if it needed assistance in getting to be crazy?).

It took us at least an hour to navigate to the restaurant (Indian Chinese) we were going to for lunch once we hit Delhi. Our tour guide for Delhi met up with us at the restaurant and then joined us on the bus. It was a little disappointing that we didn’t get an opportunity to get out of the bus and explore Delhi, but at this point most of us had reached such a level of exhaustion that I don’t know if we actually would have been coherent enough to have been able to navigate through the crowds.

Oh lord, were there crowds! No matter which window you looked out there were people EVERYWHERE! Okay, obviously there are a lot of people in India, but seeing a number on paper and seeing the PEOPLE – it was unbelievable. There were people sleeping on sidewalks, on benches, on walls, under overpasses. There were people selling things at car windows, from stands, and from stores. There were ten people crammed into a 4 passenger car (that was to be my next lesson too; personal space – India style).

We drove by government buildings and historic buildings (none of which I can really remember beyond the Red Fort because it all went by so fast and my sleep deprived brain was not firing on all cylinders). Finally, we stopped at the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. This was the only place we got out of to explore, but stepping out of the bus reminded us of why we were so happy ON the bus! It was hot…still.

We all tried to dress relatively modestly because we knew we were visiting an active mosque. We all wore pants that covered our ankles and no one had anything low cut on for a top (though I really had no choice as to my attire as I only had 2 outfits because of the lack of luggage!). However, despite our best efforts we were still required to put on this nasty…kimono looking…robe…thing. Most of us tried to put out of our minds how many people had had their sweaty selves in it prior to us – and none of us wanted to ask when the last time it was washed was.

I thought the Jama Masjid was very cool. I got more of the awe factor with the Jama than I did the Taj. Maybe the Taj was just overwhelmed by how hot and humid it was – that the “awe factor” never quite had a chance to sink in. It was still very hot in Delhi, but it was nowhere near the smothering humidity that it had been when we visited the Taj. There were a bunch of people there, kids were playing in the fountain and agitating the birds that kept gathering inside, which made for some fun shots. I got really caught up in photography that I turned around to realize that everyone else had high-tailed it for the bus and a relief from the heat. I easily could have spent another hour there.

We drove through the markets, and I was so thankful that we weren’t going to try to navigate the sea of….heads….that I witnessed.

There was also something interesting that I noticed happening more frequently. We saw it a bit in Agra, but in Delhi it was definitely more prominent. We attracted stares everywhere we went. People waved to our bus from the side of the road, men blew kisses, children ran alongside our bus waving…it almost as if we were a group of celebrities and the entire country wanted us to wave back at them. It was sort of cute at first, and we waved back – and I definitely enjoyed having people WANTING me to take their picture (by the end of the trip there was a point where I wished I wasn’t white just for a moment so I could…blend...).

After the quick tour – which really felt like a “blink and you’ll miss it” experience, we got to go to another captured-audience sales pitch, where I left with a carpet (to put my nightstand on?). Then, FINALLY, we headed back to the hotel for a night’s sleep. My LUGGAGE AWAITED ME! As was the other 3 people who were sans-bags. We all said goodbye to Anurag who had been with us all weekend. He was a wonderful guide throughout the first few days and we were all very sad to say goodbye to him (some were even plotting kidnap and taking him to Hyderabad with us!). The next morning…another plane was awaiting us.

Oh. Yippie.
Photos (in random order because I have no clue what blogger is doing to me right now!)

India Trip - Video

2010-08-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

I just bought ProShow Gold finally. A number of people at the Columbia Camera Club have it and enjoy it. I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. This is my first attempt at making a ProShow slideshow, so I know there are a few things I could have done differently. But here is my slideshow of photos of my trip to India.

View it larger HERE

India Study Abroad Journal Entry #2

2010-08-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Agra

We got a wakeup call at Oh-God-Thirty in the morning to get ready to go down to breakfast. My roommate, Jennifer, and I headed downstairs about 6:30 and met up with Dr. Ratan. The breakfast was very Westernized but there was a southern Indian dish that was absolutely wonderful. It was so hard to not eat the fruit because it was so colorful and looked so good!

We loaded onto the bus to get our first introduction to Indian traffic. I don’t even know why they bother painting lines on the road, everyone kind of does what they want to anyway. There are no stop lights or signs, no

yield signs, and from what I apparently observed – no drivers licenses. It is so amazing how many people can balance on the back of a scooter or cram into one of the little 3 wheeled taxis.

Small cars are weaving in and out of traffic, people will just start walking across the street, with no care about oncoming traffic at all and animals will lie in the road and everyone will just go around them. I can’t imagine brakes last very long as you can never maintain a constant speed. What I was surprised about though, was that the roads seemed relatively well maintained (later to learn that this is in fact an anomaly).

I was totally transfixed on looking out the window. It was amazing to me how people were getting on at the sides of the highways. Women were carrying huge loads on their heads, men were using hand tools to till up the earth, children were playing at the side of the road (though we didn’t see many of them as school was still in session). Coca-Cola and Pepsi sure have advertising down to an art form in India. You can’t go a kilometer without seeing a Coke/Pepsi stand that is completely decked out in red/blue and slogans. The chairs and tables matched the color, the walls were completely covered – top to bottom, side to side – with slogans as well

(though Coke goes more over the top with it than Pepsi) I don’t

know if I can complain about billboards in America any more after seeing this. The other thing I noticed was the schools (colleges/universities) for things ranging from management to dentistry to engineering. The buildings were generally run down and letters were often missing from the signs, it would be condemned and yet there would be people wandering around outside them. I felt rather safe in our little bubble. We’d stop for traffic in towns and locals would hold things up to the bus windows asking for money and it made me grateful for the doors.

We arrived in Agra and checked in at the hotel and received an Indian greeting (placing a Bindi on our forehead) and had about an hour to relax before heading out to the Taj Mahal. Anurag introduced us to the guide for the Taj.

Arriving at the Taj we got our first introduction to the beggars on the street. It seemed as if we had barely put our feet down on terra-firma when we were swarmed by all the people we’d been watching out the bus window on the drive to Agra. They were shoving post cards, keychains, magnets, and other items that I generally refer as dust-collectors (in retrospect I should bought something of this nature as they turned out to be harder to come by in traditional stores that I would have thought, though I don’t think that was a particularly appropriate moment to do that). Our guide picked up our Taj survival kits (a bottle of water and booties) and we went inside.

I have to say, after years of marveling over photos of the Taj and the general build up to seeing the Taj – you forget to put into perspective that it is in fact – a tomb, a very large, elegant tomb, but a tomb none the less. It had rained for a minute earlier in the day and so now all of the marble was wet. And it was hot, so very hot. So, all that water was evaporating and it felt like a giant steam bath. This is not to say that the Taj wasn’t breathtaking. It was, and I can distinctly remember how amazing it looked as it peaked through the walkway when we approached. I really thought for a moment I was walking into a postcard. Our guide talked to us about the architecture and the history of the Taj (which is a beautiful love story if you discount the other wives that the Shah also had…she was his favorite). For all it is, it still is probably the most recognizable symbol of India (I couldn’t very well go to India and not go to Taj Mahal). I was a little disappointed to find out that we would not be coming back in the evening – I very much wanted to see it at night – but apparently it is not lit up at night?

Thanks to jet lag (something I’ve never experienced with domestic travels) the first few days were a bit of a blur. I remember being very tired and very hot. It almost makes me wish that we’d done the Taj at the end of the trip. We went inside the Taj – and oh good lord, if we thought it was hot and humid outside, it was nothing compared to the interior! Put a couple hundred sweaty, hot people, into a room with no air circulation to speak of, in a building made of marble – and you’ve got yourself a recipe for heat stroke. The tour guide insisted on talking – a lot – while we stood there melting. The Taj is wonderfully romantic from the outside – on the inside I was not quite as convinced that he loved her so much as he wanted her to burn in a fiery inferno.

This is where I first began to see signs of the luxuries I’d taken for granted in my years of traveling solo. Since I turned 18, I have been jet-setting around the US on my own, going at my own pace, doing what I want – and generally when I wanted. So, when my camera was demanding more photos of Times Square one evening – I ended up staying out there, because I could. It’s been so long since I’ve traveled with anyone else that I think I might have forgotten what it was like. Despite the fact that I was relatively certain that I was melting in the Indian heat, I really felt like I could have stayed there for a few more – millennia. There is so much photographic potential to the Taj (duh) and I know that I didn’t get near the opportunity to flesh it out as I really wanted to. But, as everyone else in the group wanted to go…it was time to (though my last shot of the Taj peeking around the building as we were leaving was my attempt to portray this feeling of being dragged away from something akin to a photographer’s Mecca).

The tour guide started explaining to us how the stones were inlayed into the marble, talked about the special properties of the marble, and then he took us to a building – that had air conditioning, water and – ended up being a death trap for Visa (and MasterCard).

We got a demonstration of marble work, and then a nice sales pitch, followed by a guy laying

on the pressure to buy something. I folded like a cheap suit. I wish I’d seen it as a sign of my upcoming spiral into a complete lack of monetary restraint that I was going to develop on this trip. Miriam had a theory – as I was the only first time International traveler in the group – that she later shared with me. Because everything was so new – things to purchase – I felt the need to buy everything, where as other people who had experienced something similar before – didn’t feel that need. I don’t know if that’s true of if I was just recklessly irresponsible with my money, but it makes me feel better so I’m going to go with

that. So, sometime in September, a marble nightstand should be arriving for me. My friend Jennifer gave me a dope slap when I told her this, I suppose I need it (fat lot of good it did me post-purchase though – where was my keeper when I was sitting there getting sweet talked into this purchase!) This was not the last of our high pressure – captured audience – sales pitches we would see either (and I would fold for every.single.one).

That evening we had dinner on the rooftop of our hotel and I escaped to do some night photography. At one point I hit the button to take a shot, and there was a loud bang, and the power grid went completely out.

Welcome to India.

India Study Abroad Journal Entry #1

2010-08-08T12:20:00.001-07:00

As I had to do a journal for my class, I figured I would post it here, along with pictures, so family/friends could read it...or it could float aimlessly in cyberspace...whatever. First entry is wordy as there were few photos I took during the whole - traveling to India...experience.

India Study Abroad Trip Journal

Day 1+: Travel

I came to discover that I was the only one on this trip that has not traveled outside the United States (my brief trip to Canada does not count as I was only there for a convention and it was an awful experience that I’d almost rather forget). I can’t say I was really all that scared. I thought I would be. I was a little bit apprehensive, but I also know that I tend to be rather flexible when I travel and that I was with a lot of well traveled people – including our professor who is from the country – so I didn’t really have a reason to be scared about the trip. What I really was feeling was that everything was sort of surreal. I don’t know if I actually really believed I was going to be going to India. I worked so hard to save the money for the trip – and it just kept feeling like it would never get here. So, riding on the bus I kept having to tell myself that I was actually going to go to India.

Of course, that was before we arrived at the airport and found out our flight was cancelled. It was almost as if the Gods were just messing around with my head. Perhaps I had imagined the whole thing and wasn’t actually supposed to be going to India. It sure felt like I’d spent a fortune on this trip, and saved spending money (or rather cleared room on my visa), but maybe I’d been mistaken?

Anyway, Dr. Ratan had British Airways arrange a hotel for us to stay in for the night as there were no more flights out the rest of the day. The travel agency rebooked us for the next afternoon. The poor counter agent who was helping us with the hotel said it was his third day on the job (poor guy!). We headed over to the Westin near the airport and went downstairs for dinner and drinks. The airline had given us vouchers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Of course it would have been nice if the amount was enough to COVER dinner! The voucher was $19 the cheapest dish was $20. So, even with the voucher dinner cost me $16.00. Breakfast cost me $3 and luckily I was able to get a lunch that the voucher covered. How cheap.

For the price that the Westin charges people to stay there the service was awful. Dinner took 3 hours, not because we’re talking a lot (which we were) but because we had a very absent waitress. Our checks sat on the table for about 20 minutes, and then she ran off with our credit cards and didn’t come back for about 30 minutes. When she brought the cards back we noticed she hadn’t applied the voucher, so I had to run upstairs and grab my roommate’s card so she could fix her charge as well.

Jennifer and I went downstairs for breakfast and got very similar service. I’m convinced that the only reason I was able to order breakfast was because I shouted it at her before she could walk away. We went down about 9 and back up to our room about 11, we eventually had to walk up to the hostess and hand our check and credit cards because we HAD to get back upstairs. Lunch was a similar situation. It was crazy. I will never stay/eat there again.

We headed to the airport for a Delta flight to Newark (where we’d transfer to London, then Delhi). Dr. Ratan said she’d been told that because we were going internationally we wouldn’t have to pay the baggage fee. She went up to the counter to get that taken care of and mine was the first bag we checked in. The Delta lady just kept interrupting Dr. Ratan as she tried to explain what’s going on. Then she asked ‘what flight are you connecting to’? so Dr. Ratan told her the flight number that we were getting on in London. At no point did she ever ask what our FINAL destination was, or clarify that it was our last destination. We were under the assumption that our bags were getting tagged to Newark and we’d pick them up and recheck them. She never explained that she was tagging it to LONDON. We just thought she needed to know our connecting flight for the computer to remove the luggage fee. It wasn’t until my bag had gone on the conveyor belt and I looked at the bag claim check and noticed it was tagged for London.

The lady was SO RUDE then when we brought it up to her. She told Dr. Ratan “I’m not psychic” (really she said that!) “You need to TELL ME these things! I don’t know your itinerary”. I’m surprised Dr. Ratan kept calm. She looked at me and said “There’s nothing I can do. You’ll have to get your bag in London.” (side note we had an HOUR layover in London…yea right!). I couldn’t believe just how hostile she was, when it was HER that screwed up! How can we be expected to know the protocol? It was her job to verify with us, to LISTEN to Dr. Ratan when she was trying to explain that we were going on to Delhi. Luckily I looked at my bag claim checked or everyone else would have been in the same situation. We found a supervisor and she claimed she fixed it. Then we headed through security.

The flight was horrid as well. We were in the back of the plane and it was ridiculously loud. I had brought ear plugs luckily so I was able to use that, but even with the ear plugs I could still hear the noise. I don’t know how everyone else’s ears weren’t completely damaged. Delta is completely irresponsible for not providing ear plugs for those in the back or something. There is no reason that we should have had to be subjected to that amount of noise! I’ve sat on engines before and never had it THAT loud! The flight was also ridiculously cold. I ended up with my sweater on and was still shivering.

Arriving in Newark we were more than ready to get off the plane. We made our way down to check in at British Airways and I went ahead and double checked on my bag, only to find out that there were NO NOTES on my bag claim number indicating that it was fixed! He told me that when they received luggage from Delta that they’d pull my bag aside and retag the bag to Delhi and then call me at the gate to give me the new receipt. IF they received it from Delta of course. I waited until the final boarding call to load the plane. The guy who checked me in came up and told me that they had NOT received ANY luggage from Delta. So I boarded and informed the group that as of right now, no one had luggage, but that of course it could change before the flight left. At that point there was nothing left to do. I was very grateful that I had moved a change of clothes into my camera bag so I at least I had one extra set of clothes to wear (we had anticipated some of us being without luggage because of the fast change over in London).

We arrived in London and got in line for security in Heathrow (didn’t realize we’d have to go back through security!). Our flight was at 10:10, last call was at 9:50, we were still in security at 9:30! If you think American TSA is slow – try London and they don’t even make you take your shoes off! Dr. Ratan pulled aside an agent and showed our boarding pass to her and pleaded with her. She took pity and jumped us to the front – and we were apologizing to everyone as we were flying through the security check. We get out and come to realize we had to take a TRAIN to B terminal and it said that “estimated time: 15 minutes”. When I say we RAN across Heathrow – I mean it literally. All 10 of us, carrying our luggage (and my camera bag weighs a good 30 pounds!), were running all across Heathrow. I was blown away by the size of the airport standing in line for security. RUNNING through it affirmed to me how BIG of an airport it is. We came running up to the gate as they announced last call and the first people to get there were telling them that there were 10 of us. Dr. Ratan did a head count on the plane! We were all sweating and panting and begging for water.

We’d gotten upgraded (probably because all 10 of us would not have fit into the STUFFED coach section) to World class+ (its like 2^nd class) so the seats were much bigger on the flight to Delhi which was so nice. But the flight to India was brutal. It was so long and at that point we were all exhausted from all the problems that had arisen in the journey. Most of us passed out on the flight.

We arrived in India about 11:00 at night (local time) which was about 1:30 back home so we were all very awake. We went through customs. I was standing in line and realized I needed to go to the toilet. So I ran over to the bathroom and got into the stall and looked down to find a porcelain hole in the ground. I was really shocked. I had sort of expected to encounter this

situation, but it was still completely different being faced with it. I started laughing and looked to see that at least they were providing toilet paper. So I took position and wondered if there was some sort of picture guide as to how to hold yourself over this…hole? I’d never been camping before so I wasn’t exactly sure on how to stand so that I could avoid getting what I was wearing wet. At least men get to AIM! After a bit of a struggle I was able to figure something out and went and scrubbed my hands!

We got through customs really easily. I was surprised how easy Indian customs were. They asked me “What are you doing?” and “When are you leaving” glanced at my landing card and then stamped my passport. I was so excited when he stamped my passport. I had never really used my passport since I got it when I was sixteen. Hopefully, it will be the first of many stamps in my passport!

We met up with Dr. Ratan at baggage claim to find out that she’d been told that some of our luggage had actually made the trip! Obviously, mine was the exception because of Delta’s screw up. Only 3 bags (other than mine) did not make it with us! I was blown away that ANYONE’s bags made it – especially with that quick change in London! Despite my initial bad feelings about B.A they really saved themselves. The service was wonderful on the flight, and I was so impressed that they were able to get ANYONE’s bags to them. The ones who were without bags were told it would be on the 1^st flight arriving in the morning and delivered to our hotel. It took us about 2 hours to actually get out of the airport because of the mix up with the bags and then a couple of us bought Indian SIM cards. We met up with the representative of the travel company, Anurag, and he took us to the hotel where I finally went to bed about 3/330 in the morning.

Our arrival in Delhi, exhausted from the long...adventurous flight.

India - The first few days

2010-07-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

After a particularly stressful start to the trip - I am now posting from Hyderabad where I will spend the remainder of my time in India.

India is more than I ever imagined and everything I had thought it to be...it's chaos, disaster, and dirt everywhere - and in the midst of it all it's a vibrant place full of exciting, interesting people and a rich culture that is one of the most ancient in the world.

Driving from the airport to the hotel in Delhi

My first glimpse of the Taj

SABR Students in front of the Taj Mahal

An Indian girl wants to pose with the blonde haired American

Craftsmen at work on marble

Augusta Photography Festival

2010-06-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start this by saying that I do not win things very well. I don't exactly know why...but I've never been comfortable with being 'The Best'. I was very happy being 2nd chair in band, coming in 2nd place is a comfortable place for me. For me first place never makes any sense. If I win first place in something all I can think is "but I got lucky on that one..." or something along those lines and then somehow my conscious ends up feeling as though I robbed a talent of their hard earned work.

That being said..."Best in Show". I can't seem to wrap my head around the concept.

There were over 500 entries for the Augusta Photography Festival, a bi-annual event in Augusta, GA. From those 500 entries, 10 from each category were selected to be finalists (60 total).

Best in show means...that of all the 500 pictures...then of the 60 best of those - this was the BEST of every.single.one. in every.single.category.

It doesn't make sense.

Beware of the water in Georgia.

"A Nation's Debt"

Weddings

2010-06-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

My cousin got married this Saturday. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and my cousin looked stunning. It was beautiful - I cried. But I'm a sap too (seriously, never tell an emotional story to me, because I will struggle to keep from tearing up!)

I have worked in photofinishing now for 5 years. I have printed more than my share of weddings. Weddings prove to be an interesting industry for photographers. I would definitely say I have seen all kinds of weddings, and all ranges of talent when it comes to wedding photography.

Now, I do my share of photography, and I very much enjoy the hobby. I have never had any desire to make it a job. If I sell some work, I sell some work. As far as I am concerned, there are professional photographers out there who are far more talented, and I would much rather they make some money doing what they do, than I undersell them and give someone amateur photos (thereby taking some business away from a quality photographer).

I look at my photos now, and I look at the ones I was taking 4 years ago when I really started in photography and I definitely must say I have shown some improvement. I'm not great by any means, but I'm comfortable saying I've progressed beyond the level of a snapshot photographer. I really enjoy candid photography of people - and now that I have a wide angle lens, I have really been liking landscape photography.

My family just could not understand why I did not look forward to the opportunity to shoot my first wedding for my cousin. I tried to explain it to them. I have such strong feelings about this industry and it comes a lot from working on the consumer level. I can't even begin to count the number of weddings I've developed photos for, where the person says "I was THE wedding photographer" and all the rolls are underexposed, photos are out of focus, and the backgrounds overtake the subject. I swear, sometimes the only reason photos looked half way decent is because at my work, we still take the time to do color correction.

It absolutely breaks my heart to think that on one of the most special days in a couples' lives, they have only mediocre pictures to show for it. Because, if you think about it, in 10 years...all you have left is the photos. The cake gets eaten, tents get torn down, music stops and flowers die. All you have is the photographs. Sometimes, you need them as something to burn if the marriage becomes part of the statistic.

But I feel so strongly that every bride deserves a few things on her wedding day. 1) That she look her absolute best. There are very few times in a woman's life that she can really feel her most beautiful and most like a princess. Speaking as someone who missed her prom - I just want to wear that freaking dress and have my hair and make up done beautiful! It's the only other chance I really have. Most of us do not get to attend the Oscars and dress up again later in life. 2) That her photographs reflect that fact and express the joy and celebration of the day.

I have read a number blogs recently that criticize the wedding photography industry claiming that they are in a long line of wedding related purchases that have gotten drastically out of control. While, I do agree that the wedding industry is getting blown out of proportion, especially in a country where the divorce rate is close to 60% (seems we should focus more on the MARRIAGE rather than the party), the photography is in a class of its' own, purely for the fact that it is the only thing that is not consumable.

Being that the photography is the only thing that lasts and becomes a part of a family record (much like the family bible), the pressure that is on the shoulders of a wedding photographer is tremendous.

The other thing I look at too, for that $6000, you are not paying for just YOUR wedding photography. You are paying that photographer for the YEARS they have spent LEARNING how to take those photos.

A part of me cringes when I get people coming in to buy a camera and they say to me "I want a good camera because I want to take wedding photos" or "We don't want to hire a photographer, so I'm just going to buy the camera and take them ourselves" and by all means do not waste your money giving your guests disposable cameras - in 5 years I have NEVER printed anything worth ANYTHING from a disposable wedding camera!

Anyway, despite my better judgement I ended up agreeing to shoot my cousin's wedding. I offered to help them find a wedding photographer, I tried to convince them to do otherwise, but in the end...I'm a sucker.

I spent weeks going through photography websites, reading books with guides...getting advice from my fellow camera club members. I thought I was going to throw up as I boarded the plane to head home for the wedding. The sheer pressure I felt from having to capture such an important day, plus the fact that, unlike normal customers, I have to SEE these people again should I completely screw this up. I was so nervous about it, that I spent so much time going through the checklist (heir and spare for all my camera equipment) that I left my pants at home.

I rented myself a 70-200 f2.8 lens (Canon "L" glass!! *drools*) for the ceremony as I did not want to use a flash and distract from the ceremony. And I went to the rehearsal to test out shots and get an idea where I needed to stand.

To shorten this already getting too lengthy blog, this was the result.

This is where I see the difference between myself - an amateur who has never photographed a wedding before, and a professional who has trained and has years of experience. Overall, I enjoy this shot, I like the pose and the wide angle. However, that little alcove in the background draws my eye from the shot and I fixate on the music stands. That is something I should have seen PRIOR to hitting the shutter button and should have moved to get it out of the frame -or- gone and cleaned it up in the background. Several photos had to get rejected because of the open door to the office that I missed until about half way through the photo session.

I think someone with a point and shoot camera could have taken this shot.

Now granted - the posed pictures are merely hack shots. They are shots that you need to have, but most people only print a handful of them. Even still, I do not know the first thing about posing people. I ended up hitting the "x" button [in lightroom] to reject several photos because people were too far apart and I had the guys facing the camera square on.

This is why I feel like people should work alongside an experienced photographer for a number of weddings before trying to branch out on their own. When it came to the posing session I was just winging it and trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing.

I also was not able to get control of all the other people around me with cameras! Flashes were firing off at Jaime throughout the session that many of the shots have a strange shadow going across her chin! *sighs* and some shots I have people looking in multiple directions.

Anyway, I was glad to be done with the posed pictures. I have always preferred candids and the reception was certain to allow for many opportunities.

All in all, I am glad I did the wedding for my cousin. I am touched that she trusted me enough with her photos. I don't mind doing it for family, but I feel I still have a long way to go before I would ever consider doing a stranger's wedding.

But, considering all the time I spent weeding through photos, running around the church - and the sheer stress/pressure of shooting a wedding - I can completely understand why photographers charge what they do.

Lord knows I would be more than willing to pay for a photographer who has the experience and the talent to give me the photos I feel every bride deserves for their wedding.

Oh, and I am probably going to photographing my other cousin's wedding next summer too. *shakes head*.

The Forgotten Coast

2010-05-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

My dad just bought a vacation home on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I took my first trip down to check it out. Decided to play with Black and White in post to get a sort of "Silver Tone" print look - like you'd get processing a negative.

Washington DC

2010-05-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

So, this post is a little delayed because since I got back from DC I've been working, then I went down to my dad's new vacation home in Florida to check it out. There is no cell signal there, or internet, but more on that little adventure later.

As an end of the year "hoo-rah" the Political Science Club, that I'm a member of, and the ROTC at my university took a weekend trip to Washington D.C. This is quite possibly my favorite city in the world. But, since I've yet to go anywhere outside the United States (my trip to Winnipeg is really one I'd rather forget *shudders*), I don't think I'm qualified to say it's the best in the world, but it is at least the best in the U.S.

So, we left at "OH GOD" thirty in the morning. There were about 22 people, including chaperones, 2 of the Political Science professors, and 2 ROTC leaders. And a bunch of crazy kids*.

We hit the ground running, and walked the mall for a tour of the monuments. The Poli Sci club members acted as tour guides. Each of us chose a monument and spoke about it. I chose the Korean War memorial, possibly my favorite. Irina showed us all up at the Vietnam memorial though.

I quickly realized the difference in how I travel, versus travelling in a group. It has been so long since I've traveled with other people, I have forgotten what that is like! For instance, I really wanted to hang around the WWII memorial for awhile. There were several photo opportunities I wanted to work. But the group was ready to go, so that meant...I got left with this photo of a duck.

My good friend, and fellow photographer, Shannan Fraley is also a member of the Poli Sci club and was on this trip as well. Most of the photographs of the two of us have cameras in our faces.

I love reflective sunglasses!

Day 2: The National Archives (no photos allowed), the Capital, and some shots outside the Supreme Court

C'est moi.

Does it still count as your photo if you come up with the shot, direct the composition of the shot - but you aren't the one who hits the button?

Shannan and I went out to do some night photography. I didn't get much of anything good apart from this shot.

I was just amazed they didn't turn to investigate why a bright light kept flashing on them!

And Ford's Theatre. The last time I was there was with HOBY back in 2004.

Heading home.

A pit stop at South of the Border

And an unexpected stop on the side of the interstate after one of the van's tires blew.

A good, fun weekend spent with my classmates. We had a lot of opportunities to network with Alumni and got a behind the scenes look at a DC think tank. DC has many opportunities for photography, though I didn't really go with this as a photography trip, I'd like to think I had a few good moments

Washington DC - Preview

2010-05-16T08:41:00.001-07:00

In DC with my Political Science club. Here is a sneak peak of some of the pictures I've taken. More to be posted after the trip.

Shannan Fraley in front of the U.S Supreme Court.

A couple enjoying an evening in the lights of the Monuments.

Photo Journalism Contest

2010-05-04T19:28:00.001-07:00

Great news tonight! I won second place in the annual photo journalism contest at the Columbia Camera Club. The goal is to tell a story in 7 pictures or less.

The 1st place entry was an accident between two semi-trucks. It consisted of fireballs, firemen, and helicopters. No one stood a chance, not only was it a great subject (photographically, not so wonderful for the people involved), but the photos were incredibly well done.

I got a score of 12 out of 15, the winner got 13 out of 15.
There were three judges (2 of the 3 of them were photo journalists themselves), scored on a scale of 1-5. It was my 1st time placing in a contest at camera club, and also my 1st time entering the Photo Journalism contest

Many thanks to Shannan Fraley for being my model, Amanda Jones for helping with some props and composition ideas, and Jennifer Logue for some last minute photos and editing help (as I was without a computer).

Here was my entry.

Columbia Zoo Field Trip

2010-04-22T09:42:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love to do, with regards to my job for Ritz/Wolf Camera, is teach the Ritz Camera University Classes. On Sunday, Keith and myself, in a combined effort with the store in Columbia, SC, arranged a photo excursion to the River Banks Zoo. We were there to provide some hands on opportunities for our customers to utilize the things we talk about in class.

The River Banks Zoo is a wonderful zoo photographically. The exhibits are very well done; small enough that you actually can photograph most of the animals, yet they are also designed to mimic the natural environments of the animals, so that you aren't just photographing a wall or a fence behind them. There is also an incredible English garden that is just absolutely gorgeous photographically (though we didn't get there until around 1 or so, so the light kind of bit).

We had attempted a "field trip" once before, last August, with a much smaller group of people. This time we had about 30 people that signed up for the trip. Keith and I arranged for Casey to come along as well. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, he brought with him his 500mm f/4 lens and was gracious enough to allow the Canon shooters to give it a shot. Even the Nikon shooters were impressed (lens envy). We had a great mix of cameras too. Obviously the majority of the people there were Nikon owners, but there were a number of Canon and Sony photographers as well. There was even an Olympus shooter!

There were five of us present as instructors: Keith, Myself, Keta (manager of Columbia), Ken(photo school instructor for Columbia) and Jenn. We all brought our own equipment with for people to try out and use. I even got my first opportunity to use Casey's lens as well as his 10-stop ND filter. I just have to find my 50mm again. I know it got into Keith's car after the zoo, but it's not in my bag right now.

The extra equipment, especially the lenses, was a big hit. We even sold a $1000 lens after the trip! So, I consider it a success. Next time, we are going to try to get our Nikon rep. to bring down some lenses and accessories for the Nikon shooters. I am also going to try to get the information about contacting the Sony and Olympus reps about the same thing.

All in all there seemed to be positive reception to the event. There are a few things that we need to improve to stream line the event for next time. But as this is relatively new for us, it's not surprising we ran into a few hitches.

Some more photos I took. As I said though, I was really there in a teaching capacity and didn't get to do much of my own photography because of that.

This is that flamingo that tried to eat my lens

My perspective on his attack on my lens

The Botanical Gardens. Without ND Filter

The Botantical Gardens. With ND Filter. Poorly composed I know.

There is a beautiful nature trail that you can walk between the zoo and the gardens. I suggest taking the tram on the way up and walking the trail on the way back. It's all down hill the way back.

You go by the old mill when you take the trail. It isn't so much that is photographically interesting, rather more that it is just a nice, peaceful walk.

A 500mm mini case study of my favorite animal.
For strange some reason I couldn't get the whole elephant in the lens*

I am going to go a head and say it for the record.
Elephants are the greatest animals on the planet.
Period.
End of story.

*sarcasm

Don't Shoot With Glass You Can't Afford

2010-04-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

Never shoot with glass you can't afford. This has been my rule since I started buying camera equipment. The reason I came up with it is this; if you do, you'll go back to your "cheap" lenses and never again be happy with the quality (ignorance is bliss). Yet every time I turn around I find myself breaking this rule. Casey owns a Canon 500mm f/4 lens. He brought it with on a zoo excursion that I helped to lead for Ritz Camera University. I have been wanting to get my camera on this lens for three years now (my camera with MY EYE at the viewfinder, as Jenn did use my camera on it when I loaned it to her once).

I have to say, sometimes breaking the rules is so worth it. I am still coming down from the high I got using this lens!

What was great was as I was walking through the zoo with this lens, parents grabbed their children out of my way and crowds just parted. Moses didn't part the Red Sea with a stick, he had this lens.

One picture for now, more later. Though I didn't get much of note as I was there in a teaching capacity.

Photographers I Admire

2010-04-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

I added a section that will be expanded upon as I continue to meet more photographers or discover photographers that I like. I chose people based on one of three standards.

1) People I know personally in my life that I think are brilliant photographers and I learn from

2) People I have never met (or met very briefly) that I think set standards that I can strive to achieve yet, somehow, always fall short on

3) Local photographers I meet that I think produce not only a great product, but a consistent product for their clients and I would happily recommend.

I encourage everyone to take a look at the page and visit the websites that belong to these people.

The Importance of UV Filters

2010-04-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Probably not the greatest first post to a photo blog, since I did not actually take these photographs. I am however in the photos, taking photos.

Here is my PSA for using UV filters.

"Use a UV filter...because you never know when a large pink(ish) bird is going to mistake your $700 lens for a tasty treat."

Photos (c) Casey Szocinski