Little Sister’s 40th Celebration…

It has happened, my little sister turned 40.  Notice the word little, I suppose reality does not set in until the one always playing catch up in age hits a milestone, ouch!  We spent a great evening at her favorite restaurant, Timpano in the Hyde Park district of Tampa.  As usual the food was amazing, the atmosphere fun, and the company exceptional.

Amy and I have a storied growing up.  Both of us being born in Brockton, Ma. a suburb South of Boston (not to be confused with South Boston, we are Swedes not Irish), moving to Florida at a very young age, and having two of the greatest parents anyone could ever ask for.  Most of our lives we had many of the same interests (none of which to be disclosed here) and shared so many common bonds.  As time passed our interests slowly differed yet there has always been some sort of commonality (a feeling more than anything) that we would always be in “synch”. 

Last night was a confirmation of a few things, not the least of which, the connection is still there.  Happy Birthday Amy, and by the way, congratulations on the official engagement.  Take a look at the photos from the evening here. 

I Love you- your big Brother

       

Studies….

My particular interests with photography have been primarily photos of people, more specifically portraiture. We can always improve in everything we do so I have sought photographic methods to expand my understanding of the process. Exposure and composition are two areas I am particularly driven to understand more of. With composition there is so much more to the center of the frame and I find myself distrustful that the Rule of Thirds is end all to be all with regards to composing a photograph. Knowing this is a “rule” it certainly is made to be broken.

As I read books and posts regarding the Masters (both current and past) of the photographic arts a common thread is apparent, all have a specific genre they are associated with yet each is varied in style and content. Examples to be found here Magnum Photos.

Not to be confused with the photos in the link above follow this link to My Studies.

More Later!

I have finally Flickred...

Never thought I would do it but I finally have. After much contemplation I have decided to join the seemingly meniacal world of Flickr. I am not too certain as of yet what the hype is about, seems kind of "clunky" to me and not really well laid out but it seems to be very popular.

As I understand it Flickr is intended to bring photographers (budding and seasoned) together to display there work in a community atmosphere. Posting comments on photos is highly encouraged and it appears to help some really improve and hone their skills.

One thing I am really keen on is criticism of my work, both positive and negative. If this outlet affords me the opportunity to receive much needed discussion then so be it. By the way, why the heck deosn't Google own Flickr too? Sure seems like something they would love to do.

Anyway, take a peek here and see what you think.

This video post is amazing...

Having an insatiable appetite for all things photographic, and being a daft amateur in comparison to those whom I study, there is no choice but to spend some time daily prowling the Blogs of those I admire.

On a typical day I tend to find a glut of new information with a few golden nuggets hidden within. You know, something that really sticks with you. Well today was a great trolling day, I would say I have hit the proverbial, "Video Daily Double", with a post on Scott Kelby's Blog.

Every Wednesday Scott has a guest blogger (typically a photographer) who is asked to write about a specific topic, I regularly look forward to these and have read some very good writings to date. To my (initial) dismay this past Wednesday was a video post, not something I am typically a fan of. Wow was I surprised.

The post by Zack Arias was PROFOUND! I have lost count of how many times I have watched this, but it has meaning, a lot of meaning. Please don't discount the beginning of the video, it really is great. Click here to check it out!

Grumpy

Just Elliot and I goofing off. This is with the E3, no flash, natural light source is the glass door to his right. Processed in Lightroom 2. Link to the gallery is here.

Dinner at Timpano!

For those who have not been GO! What a nice evening, great food, nice atmosphere, and wonderful company! Here is the link to the rest of the photos http://www.1point4photo.com/p572877880

Project Love....

As always, if there is an opportunity to challenge and improve my photographic prowess, I am at the ready. I have the opportunity to compete against some very formidable opponents in a monthly photo challenge at my place of employment.

For the month of February the subject is love. With very loose restrictions on content, vague rules on post-processing, and creative freedom, this topic can run the gamut. I chose my subject to be what I know as the ultimate definition of love, my family. I spent a few hours downtown with the kids, here is what came of the trip. Click here.

That's all for now-
Ciao

The newest member of our family...

we got the puppy bug and it would not go away. We have a three year old Miniature Schnauzer named Libby, the most loving dog anyone could ever meet. I suppose we can blame it on the need for Libby to have a playmate but it boils down to one thing, these dogs are just too wonderful to resist.

We found Sophie last night, and what a find. She is the exact Schnauzer we have looked for, the perfect compliment to our existing salt and pepper, Sophie is jet black with the tiniest white chin hair and white stripe on her chest. At eight weeks old she is a ball of energy. Next step is a trip to the Vet for some ear cropping. Here are the photos of our new girl.

That's all for now-
Ciao

Details from the Florida State Fair

I had the opportunity to spend the day with my family at the State Fair. The Florida State Fair is dichotomy of sorts in that you have such varied interactions with a wide variety of people from vastly different societal scales. We spent most of the first two hours in "Cracker Country", a period built life-size diorama of turn of the 20th century Florida life.

As well, our day spilled out to the "normal" fair area. The air wafting with the smell of the all famous fair food, I could not resist, it was a $9.00 corn dog at least 2 feet long. Handing over the money all I could think about was John Travolta's line in Pulp Fiction when Uma Thurman orders a "Five Dollar Shake". Anyway, Clydesdale horses in the equestrian ring, petting zoo with giraffes, and the FFA show ring later, we entered the midway. Two things were very obvious, one historical, and the other a current affair. The barkers, ride operators, and freak show hucksters never change (I think descriptives go without saying) and the midway was a desolate strip of land lined by glittery, motionless, metal vomit comets.

All in all, a very nice day. I have included the obligatory link to the newly added photo gallery, the photos are from Cracker Country and cover what I enjoy best, The Details. Click her for the Standards and Details gallery.

That's all for now-
Ciao

Took out the big gun yesterday....

My wonderful wife afforded me the time to go out to our local Nature Preserve, the ever so beautiful Circle B Bar Ranch Nature Preserve on Winter Lake Road, about 10 minutes from the house. I figured I would finally give the Olympus 50-200 2.8-3.5 SWD ED a run at some wild life.

It was a beautiful morning yesterday, about 32º and of course the dew point was right there with it (read FOG) so the marshes were inundated, but as a photographer one almost always welcomes it just before the sun rises, it is nature's gigantic light diffuser. As I made my way out to the trails at about 7:00 am I was amazed at how loud the birds were and how you could hear every little sound when there was such silence, calm, and still.

With numb hands (cold) I set out to get the best of the morning. Take a look and see what you think, this is a link to the a series I from the morning. By the way, that is about a 1 pound Large Mouth Bass the Osprey has removed the head from. Click here for the photos


That's all for now-
Ciao

Flash "IS" all it is cracked up to be....

I stumbled across Neil van Niekerk's site kind of by accident, you see as I was trying to understand the importance of being a "purist", (meaning a photographer who only uses natural light) I kept going back to Joe McNally. Joe is probably the preeminent photojournalist working at this time, and most likely the best in the past 30 years.

How does this bring me to Neil's site? There is this really cool Blog named Stobist and they tout all things flash. Found him there. Here is a link to Neil's site Planet Neil. For those of you "purists" out there, have a peek, you may be surprised.

That's all for now-
Ciao

A few more book recommendations...

I have the recent luck to find three books which are very, very, good.  Two of the books were very easy to actually find and the third is one I have been looking for for some time.  

 -An Inner Silence- The Portraits Of Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

-Masters of Photography-

Master's Guide to Wedding Photography

Marcus Bell

Well, today is the day!  Aubrey's baptism day is here and we are very, very excited.  I thought I might share once again the images I will never forget, as they left indelible impressions on my heart.  She is growing so quickly and becoming a young lady right before our eyes.

http://www.1point4photo.com/p673061592

What a beautiful day!  We had the express pleasure of sharing a day with our neices.  With the Florida Winter weather being so beautiful we decided to take a hike on the new Polk County nature preserve trail, the Circle B Bar Ranch.  We spent about three hours hiking the natural areas through marshes, along the shore of Lake Hancock, and through the scrub land.  Hundreds of birds, several alligators (it is Florida after all), and some sweet kids.  For the camera gear I brought the venerable Olympus E3, my Sigma 30 mm 1.4 (my favorite f-stop), and carried it with my Black Rapid R-Strap.  Here are a couple of quick shots of the kids:

Thats all for now...

Ciao'

Another very informative film

I found this on You-Tube as well.  Although fairly brief, I find it to be very informative with regard to photographic history.  Another interesting film from the BBC, I wish the US networks had the same interest in these art documentaies.  Very well done, take a quick look and see what you think. There are 6 parts posted to You Tube.  Here is the link to part 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut00KGEwYL0

An excellent book for photographers....

You know, the Internet certainly does make things easier in many ways.  One of those happens to be the availability of information for both entertainment and education.  It is so simple to acquire information on ANY subject that we sometimes forget one of the prominent traditional methods through which we once gained knowledge, books. 

When browsing through our local Books A Million (a nice locale to burn some time) I once in a while come across a book which begs to be brought home.  One of my recent acquisitions is Joe McNally's "The Moment It Clicks".  I won't go into Joe's story or a review of the book, as I am not a great reviewer, and I typically find reviews to contain more information which does not affect my decision than does. 

That said, this book is amazing.  Joe practices the art of flash photography and has it down to a science.  I have always been fond of the term "available light", most define it as nothing but natural.  However, Joe considers "any" light (flash or otherwise) as available.  If you are truly interested in developing your lighting techniques get this book and read the WHOLE thing cover to cover.

A film I believe tells it all...

"The Impassioned Eye".  A bio-documentary of Henri Cartier-Bresson, arguably one of the best -if not the greatest- photographers of all time. 

In these days of uber-cameras - digital and technological marvels that can take pictures in virtually every situation put in front of them, here was Cartier-Bresson showing a body of work taken over many decades, shot with a small Leica camera and predominantly a single 50mm lens, which wasn't particularly fast in terms of aperture. It was quite a sobering thought. No autofocus, no evaluative metering, no picture modes, no image stabilization. Things that we take for granted these days. He utiilised the simplest and most efficient way of taking pictures. Just a man, his simple camera, and his eye. Compose, focus, press the shutter.

His thoughts on the images were humbling. He saw them as 'memories' from an earlier time, in much the same way as we look at our holiday snaps. Watching him look back at his pictures, you could sense the emotion he was feeling at the time. He handles the paper pictures like a pile of proof prints, and talks quite openly about the stories behind them, often with a tear in his eye. Nothing pretentious, and totally devoid of ego.

If you can get to see the documentary, then don't miss it. It is one of those masterpieces of film making, that will inspire you to take better pictures.

Here is a link to a Blogger who has the film in segments, it is very much worth the time to see.

http://rollfilm.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/the-impassioned-eye-2006-documentary-on-henri-cartier-bresson/