Portrait Workflow

While editing several sets of images lately I thought it may be interesting to describe my workflow from camera import to Lightroom export.  While the process does vary a little from portrait to portrait, there is a basic order that I use to process images.

First is importing into Lightroom 4.  As soon as I get home from a shoot the images are uploaded onto my desktop and an external drive as backup.  If they are for hire they get organized inside my business folder by type and name. 

After importing the total number of images are narrowed down.  If there are multiples of the same pose/group I look at the 100% image for expression, eyes, and pose.  Any pose that just doesn't look right gets deleted.  The main point is to narrow the session to the best examples and not overwhelm the viewer with choices. 

The next step is basic white balance correction, minor exposure adjustments, and straightening.  Most of the time I shoot on the Auto White Balance setting because the images are shot in RAW format.  RAW gives me the flexibility to adjust white balance in post instead of in camera.  Sometimes the exposure, highlights, or shadows need minor adjustments before I bring the image into Photoshop for more intensive editing.  Finally for this step is straightening the image if the camera wasn't lined up the way I wanted it.

From Lightroom the image then goes into Photoshop for the majority of the edits.  First step here is to duplicate the original layer so if there are major issues I always have that base layer to start again.  The duplicate layer is used to fix any skin blemishes or other minor items.  Then if it would help the image the healed layer is duplicated and taken into one or more Topaz Labs plugins.  Adjust 5 is great for color and detail and Clean 3 is great for skin softening.  After all edits in Photoshop are complete the image is sharpened and imported back into Lightroom.

Final tweaks are done in Lightroom before either export or upload to Smugmug.  Of course my workflow differs from portraits to landscapes but the same basic steps are there.  Later I will do a post on skin softening and what has really worked for me.  For now here is a before and after from Ben and Karissa's wedding.

The original image was a little flat for my taste so I used one of Topaz Adjust 5's presets to add a little color and increase detail.  Minor skin smoothing and hot spot removal. Flattened the back of Ben's vest that was bulging out.  Sharpened for final output.

 Final output.  This is the first time I've posted a before and after so you will have to let me know if this kind of post is helpful or not.

Recent Portrait Work

One of the things I am going to add to my blog is recent sittings.  I often post personal projects because they are fun.  While those posts allow me to talk about a variety of topics they often don't showcase work that is done for clients.  The first post about a recent sitting was about a local musician beginning his doctoral studies (full post available here). 

Today's post includes a picture from my niece's second birthday shoot.  She is such a cute little girl and a joy to photograph.  She follows directions well and loves the camera.  I'm very fortunate to be in a position to capture these moments in time for members of my family.

For this image she was sitting on a little rocking chair in front of the small waterfall at my mom's house.  We were playing peek-a-boo and she was pretending to be a little shy.  I love the innocent look on her face and the direct contact of her eyes and the camera.  It was hard to change positions or want to move on because she was having fun and giving lots of different smiles.

Some technical info on this shot.  My SB-800 was aimed into a Photek Soflighter 2 with diffusion cloth above and to the left of Natalie's position.  I paired my 70-200mm with the D700 with a large aperture to make sure the background was out of focus.

Natalie has a great little smile.  Quite often now she sticks her tongue out the side and I think it makes it even cuter. 

For the majority of the shoot I was laying on my stomach to get closer to her level.  It is an easy way to make your photographs of children that much better.  For more tips check out my previous blog post, Taking Better Pictures of Children.

Camera Modes Explained

After a recent Facebook poll I decided to post about the different modes you may see on your camera and what your camera does when you select each mode.  Not all cameras have the same modes so if there is one I don't cover that you would like more information on please comment below and I will see what I can do to help you out.

Automatic

As the name implies the camera does all the thinking for you and determines the shutter speed, aperture, flash,  and sometimes ISO for you.  Some cameras allow you to turn off or adjust the automatic ISO feature.  The camera doesn't know what you are trying to achieve so it does what it thinks is necessary to get a proper exposure.  My belief is that you should always be thinking when you are taking a picture and as such you should probably stay away from the automatic mode. 

Program

This is similar to Automatic and is a good mode for beginners.  Unlike Automatic, once the camera determine what settings should be used, you may then make adjustments to what you think they should be.

Aperture Priority

With this mode you are starting to make your way towards total control over the image.  You select the aperture (which controls depth of field) and the camera will determine a shutter speed for a correct exposure.  For example if you are taking a portrait and want the background out of focus you would select a wider aperture (lower number).

Shutter Priority

This is the reverse of Aperture Priority.  Here you select the shutter speed and the camera will adjust the aperture to give you a proper exposure.  This is useful when you aren't picky about the aperture but you don't want the shutter speed to change.

Manual

Once you have learned the basics it is time to move into Manual Mode.  This gives you full control over ISO, aperture, shutter, and white balance. With complete control over all settings you can create whatever look you are envisioning.  After some practice you will discover times when certain situations can fool your camera's computer brain.  Using Manual will allow you to make adjustments to overcome those obstacles.

This image was shot in Aperture Priority and manual focus. I set the aperture at f/10 so the stem and buds would be in focus while the background would be out of focus.  Knowing that an aperture of f/10 would yield a shutter speed that would be difficult to hand hold I bumped the ISO up to 500 which gave me a shutter speed of 1/60 sec. 

Musician Portraits

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of working with one of my favorite wedding couples for the second time.  Ben and Stephanie are so much fun to work with and be around.  Ben is currently beginning his doctoral studies at the U of M.  He contacted me about taking some head shots and detail shots of him and his instruments for his website.

I was thrilled to help him out and we had a lot of fun on the first half of our shoot.  We spent a couple hours shooting details and some shots of Ben with his instruments.  A special thanks to Stephanie for agreeing to be my stand-in assistant through the shoot.

Both his tenor and alto saxophones are incredibly interesting subjects.  I really hadn't realized how intricate they are until we were working and trying to decide what parts we wanted to highlight.  We could have easily spent several more hours focusing on all the little details.  Below are a few of the detail shots and one of my favorites of Ben with both of his instruments.

Night at the Cathedral

My original plan yesterday was to shoot a sunset from the high bridge.  The clouds didn't cooperate so I decided to head over to St. Paul's Cathedral and try some night shots.  While there weren't any clouds left I figured that the architecture would be enough to add interest to the shot.  As it turned out the Cathedral was much like my shot from Duluth.  The lack of clouds didn't bother me.  Clouds would have added drama but the occasional clean sky works.

All said I spent about an hour walking around the cathedral trying different angles and elevations.  A couple of locations required a couple different shots to fit the whole building in.  The picture that I posted on Facebook was a good example of that.  I wanted to have the stairs in the shot with the railings leading up to the building.  I also wanted to have some space above the top of the church so, if printed, the top wouldn't be cut off.

For my recent shoots I've been using my new Promote Control.  After my previous remote release started to fall apart I wanted to replace it with something that had a little more functionality.  A couple of the benefits of the Promote Control is it bypasses the built in 30 second limit and expands the maximum number of shots in a bracketed series.

The first image is the one I posted to in Facebook.  It is a combination of two HDR's.  With the 24-70mm lens I wanted to show how large this building is.  Shot from a low angle helps to accentuate the size of the building.

The second is a popular angle.  I love the gentle rise of the grass in the foreground and the cars parked just in front of the church.  They help to establish how large the building is.

Photographer or Equipment

Anyone who invests money in quality photographic equipment has heard the following, "That's a great camera, it must take great pictures."  Most photographers will smile and agree while screaming in their head, "I create the image! The camera is just the tool I use to capture it!".  Some may even give you a lengthy lesson in how the photographer's individual skill is more important than the equipment they use.  Anyone with a lot of disposable income can buy an expensive camera.  This doesn't necessarily make them any good at taking pictures.

While browsing some of my favorite photography websites I came across the perfect article on this issue.  Over at PetaPixel there is a fabulous article on the subject.  Sohail Mamdani explains in his article, Gear Doesn't Matter - Except When It Does, that to a certain extent the photographer must have the skill and knowledge to properly capture a picture.  However, there comes a point where gear does matter.  Any time you start to specialize the right gear makes a huge difference.

The best example I can give of this is my last trip to Walt Disney World.  One of my main goals was to capture images of the dark rides.  This is a great example of when the gear you have makes a difference.  For the dark rides I had my Nikon D700 with a Nikon 50mm 1.4 attached.  The full frame D700 has great low light capability and the 50mm 1.4 has a very wide maximum aperture.  The combination of these two pieces of equipment allowed me to shoot scenes that would have been difficult (if not impossible) with lesser gear.

Sure you could use flash to illuminate the subject but on any of the dark rides a flash would be distracting to other guests as well as ruin the atmosphere of the ride.  Dark rides at WDW are tricky due to low light, unstable ride vehicles, and scenes that confuse your camera's exposure meter.

I highly recommend reading the full article on PetaPixel (linked above).  That article plus many others are very useful.  Below are a few examples of pictures that were made possible by using more specialized equipment.

Pirates of the Caribbean - ISO 2500 1/30sec at f/1.4 (an ISO that my first camera couldn't achieve and would have been so noisy that it would have been completely unusable.)

POTC - ISO 2500 1/40sec at f/1.4

Rockin' Roller Coaster - ISO 1250 1/15sec at f/2.8 (used the 24-70mm lens for this one)

Macro Details

I've always been facinated by macro photography.  Looking at every day objects up close gives me a whole new perspective on the things I see every day.  Flowers are a great example.  We see them every day but rarely stop to appreciated how intricate they are.

This first example is little groups of flowers found along my mom's driveway.  I have no idea what they are but from a distance they look like boring little pink flowers.  Get up close and it is a whole different story.  Changing my perspective (lying down on my stomach) and utilizing my 105mm macro lens revealed these delicate curled stamen.  To really appreciate these structures go to my site and view the image at original size (O in the size choices).

This image was a little difficult to capture as I was unable to use my tripod.  Instead I had to use the same breathing techniques I do when at the rifle range.  To complicate things a little further there was the slightest breeze which really moves around these miniature flowers.  Thankfully my mom is very supportive of these little endeavors and used one of my pop-up reflectors to create a wind break.  After a few attempts I got one that I liked.  The only post processing done on this shot was a white balance adjustment and minor sharpening.

Here is another flower that looked very unassuming from my 6'3" vantage point.  Originally I was drawn to this flower because of the vibrant color and the darker veins that ran from the center out.  After my first shot I saw the sharp, crown-like structure in the center.  Not sure if this is stamen or not but since it is interesting I don't really care.   This was another shot that was hard to get because of the movement of the flower.  Post on this consisted of minor sharpening and removal of a few dust spots.

The last one is one of my favorite flowers that can be found at my mom's house.  They are pretty large flowers so I wanted to focus on one element instead of the flower as a whole.  In an ideal world the stamen in this flower would all be in a nice row so they are all in focus but nature doesn't like doing that.  I didn't want to increase the depth of field since that would draw attention away from my primary subject.  When out of focus the flower provides a wonderful background as it transitions from deep red to vibrant yellow.  Post on this image was a white balance adjustment and minor sharpening.

Be sure to check them out at their original sizes at my site.  As always they are available for purchase in a wide variety of forms.

Simplicity

Most of the time I prefer to have clouds in my landscapes.  There are times when that rule flies out the window.  My wife and I spend Sunday and Monday in Duluth's Canal Park area for our anniversary.  Our day was filled with walking around this busy area, enjoying each other's company and taking pictures.  I was hoping for a spectacular sunset over the lift bridge but, like most times, the clouds blew away prior to sunset.  What we were left with is a perfectly clear sky.  Inwardly I was thinking that now the images would be boring and I would have to find another way to add interest to the images.

Much to my delight the simple sky worked with this scene.  It may be because the lower third of the image is filled with all the lights and details of the city.  I'm not really sure.  All I know is that the final output makes me happy.

Composing this image took a bit of thinking.  I wanted the bridge to dominate the image but I didn't want it to be the only thing you see.  Rach and I walked to the end of the pier and up by one of the two lighthouses.  This elevated the scene enough so the pier lights weren't bothering me.  Thankfully Rach is very patient with my picture adventures as we spent the better part of 45 minutes taking pictures of various parts of the downtown area.

It was a wonderful evening spent with the woman I love and I hope to spend many more like it.

For more images from this trip go to my SmugMug page and check out the Landscape and Macro Flower galleries.

B&W Conversion

What makes a great black and white image?  To me it is a combination of several different things. First you need a clearly defined subject.  In the photograph below the subject is isolated by a blurred, simple background.  If you have a situation where you have a busy scene, use a long lens and a larger aperture to create the separation of subject and background.  Second you need contrast.  The transition of highlight to shadow on Alex draws your attention to his face.  The last part ties in with the first.  The subject should be limited.  Too many subjects in a single image can be distracting.  I'm not saying that a large family portrait on a plain background doesn't work.  I'm talking about having so many elements in the image that the main focus isn't clearly defined.

I never shoot an image in black and white even if I intend the final output to be B&W.  Why would I do that when many cameras have a setting for black and white?  The easy answer is if you shoot in B&W or a selective color you are stuck with that.  There is no way to recover the color information that your camera didn't save.  When I convert my images to B&W I use the B&W layer adjustment (most of the time, sometimes I use plugins).  Here is where having the color information available is key.  When you apply the B&W adjustment layer you have lighten/darken sliders for all the different colors.  Many times if I want to lighten skin to give it that nice light look I'll lighten reds and yellows.  You can also use the color sliders to help isolate your subject.

Playing with the sliders can greatly change the overall look of the final image.  Even though it takes a little more time to convert an image I think the final output is well worth the time.  You have that little bit of extra control to make the image look just how you want it to.

Below is my son Alex engrossed in some activity.  I love candid pictures of children.  They convey so much emotion without even being aware of it.  It is these times that people don't normally think of having their camera out.  Some of my favorite images of my son were taken at times when he was unaware that his picture was being taken.

Light Speed Train

While down on Harriet Island recently I stopped on the train tracks to take a few pictures.  From behind I heard the sounds of the train approaching so after finishing the current shot I set up to catch the train as it went by.  I'm fairly surprised that the image didn't blur from motion even though it was on a tripod.  I could feel the ground move as the train rolled by.  While it looks like the train went flying by it actually was going pretty slowly. 

I left the shutter open for about 30 seconds.  It is amazing how much of the image behind the train was captured.  The breaks between cars was pretty short but the long exposure allowed more than a dozen cars to pass. 

Overall I like the image.  It has motion, an interesting sky and those nice little star lights that are created with a small aperture.

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day.  I can't help but think of my Dad and the things that I would give anything to share with him. 

I'm Back

It has been far too long since my last post.  Tonight's image comes from the walkways down along the Mississippi River on Harriet Island.  I've been to Harriet Island several times before but never ventured down as far as I did this time.  This area has some wonderful views of downtown St. Paul.  It is easy to lose track of time while walking the pathways around this area.  My main goal was to shoot some bridges from underneath but I couldn't resist a few quick panoramas.

This shot is two, five exposure HDR's (from -2 EV to +2 EV).  The output from Photomatix was pretty good.  The final output required some minor dust removal, sharpening, and a little contrast adjustment.  One unexpected bonus was with the long exposure the quickly moving river turned into a pretty nice mirror.  Adding to the overall appeal are the interesting clouds. 

The initial plan was to get a sunset but I didn't plan ahead enough to make it there.  So between shooting bridges I grabbed a couple of these.  I'm sure there will be upcoming blog posts with some of the other shots from the night. 

I'm going to get back to a regular posting schedule now that my personal schedule has relaxed a bit.

The Newest Gerber Baby

This last Thursday I had the pleasure of photographing my new nephew for my brother and his wife.  It is wonderful to be able to provide this service for them.  I've been taking family pictures for them since their daughter was born almost two years ago now.  Before we get to the good stuff (the pictures) I'll explain a little about my strategy going into a sitting like this.

Whenever I'm contacted about photographing a family I try to get as much information about who is involved and what they are looking for.  Besides showing an interest in the family it provides me with vital information on how I plan the session.  Generally speaking we start with whatever the most important grouping is.  In this case it was the whole family together.  From there we start doing breakdowns with the shortest attention span first.

Since my niece is under two she has the shortest attention span for this type of event.  After taking the full family shot we moved on to some shots of my niece and her new baby brother.  This way if she needs a break or just doesn't want to take pictures anymore you will have something in the bag already.  Sammy was only a week old at the time of the sitting so I wasn't that concerned with his attention span.  Generally speaking if you keep infants fed and warm they can do really well even in a longer sitting.

When my niece didn't want to do any more pictures we sent her off to play and take a break.  This way you can hopefully bring her back in at some point and continue to capture images.  In all my family shoots I ask if they have something particular in mind.  Involving the family in the creative process is a great way to help them feel like they are getting what they envisioned.  I always come with a game plan of images that I would like to get as well as an open mind to situations that present themselves. 

Now on to the good stuff.

Back to My Side Project

A few posts earlier I shared about my Star Wars Lego fun side project.  While waiting for the storms to start rolling through the area I decided to add to that project.  This time I used Lightroom 4's tethered shooting mode.  On the plus side it was really nice to view images on my laptop immediately after shooting.  This makes checking focus much easier than the 3" LCD screen on the back of the camera.  On the down side I wasn't able to use the live view mode that I use when manually focusing macro shots.  There may be a way to do this but I haven't had the time to investigate that yet.

I always loved the speeder bikes in Star Wars.  The Lego kits do a pretty good job recreating these speeders.  Despite what some may think of this as a nerdy project, it does have real world application for photographers.  It gives me an opportunity to work on lighting.  Finding ways to creatively light objects like this is very helpful for when I want to do product photography.  The surfaces of Legos are surprisingly reflective.  Hit a surface with direct flash and boom, all of the detail is gone.  On the previous post of the Storm Trooper I moved the flash around then masked in the parts that I liked to create the final image.  In this example I had a diffuser on my flash and only shot from one position.  This gave the final image a little more contrast and harsher shadows.

I may play around with this a little more to accentuate a few areas but for now I like how it looks.  Almost forgot one of the practical applications.  Ever taken a picture of someone with glasses only to have a giant flash spot covering their eyes?  To eliminate the flash spot move the flash.  If you can't do that try slightly tipping the glasses or turning the face away from the flash slightly.

New Beginnings

It has been a few days since I posted and a lot has happened since then.  My brother and his wife welcomed their new baby Samuel into the world a week early.  Sammy insisting on being born a week before the scheduled C-section reminds us that despite all our careful planning, children often have a mind of their own. 

The whole family is doing well and will be at home for the first time tonight.  Big sister Natalie reacted well to her new brother at the hospital.  Thankfully I could be there to help document her first interactions with her little brother.  The picture below is one I took while he was still laying in the hospital bassinet.  If you get in close you can eliminate the distracting elements (such as the plastic bassinet).  Make sure that you aren't shooting from an angle that is too low because then you get an unattractive up-nose shot.

I will work on getting back to regular content now.  Until then enjoy little Sammy.

Something Fun

Sorry I missed yesterday's post.  It ended up being day with lots going on.  Thought I would post something totally different today.  Every since I was young I had a love for all things space.  One of those things is Star Wars.  The original three (IV, V, and VI) captured me and provided hours of entertainment.  It probably didn't hurt that it had probably my favorite actor, Harrison Ford.

Elsewhere on the internet I've seen some awesome examples of photographs taken of Star Wars Lego characters.  This seemed like the perfect little personal project that I could revisit from time to time.  Some of the examples out there have very elaborate settings while others are very simple.  Since my Star Wars Lego collection is pretty limited I decided to go with the latter. 

Using a black piece of 3/16th inch foam board I set up my Storm Trooper in a position that looked good to me.  I knew that I also wanted the background to be black so I used a faster shutter to lower the amount of ambient light.  The next step took a couple different experiments with moving the flash around until I got a couple shots that looked how I envisioned.  Since I only have one speedlight, I took a couple different exposures with the light in different places for each.  This allowed me to simulate a more complicated lighting setup with only one light.

The last step was to composite them in Photoshop.  This was actually pretty easy since the subject and camera hadn't moved, just the light source.  I simply masked in the areas that I wanted from each photo then merged the layers before sharpening.  I look forward to posting more of these little projects as time goes on.

Bringing the Past Back to Life

While working on a project for church I started to scan some old slide that my Dad had.  First I had to find the adapter for the flatbed scanner then the right settings.  Now I'm hooked on converting all the old slides into a useful format.  Each picture will require some additional work in photoshop but it is a valuable way to transfer these images that otherwise sit in a cupboard and never get viewed. 

Looking at these images are a virtual trip back in time.  I've been using his old Montgomery Ward slide viewer to preview each image and each view is something special.  There are even slides of my brother and I when we were very young.  For now the personal project will have to be sidelined as the deadline for the church project is looming way to near.  It should be a project that keeps me out of trouble for quite some time.  There are thousands of slides in the cupboard over at my Mom's house.  I'm sure I'll post up some more pictures as the project continues.  With those images I will talk about what was done to improve the image quality.  For now I'll leave you with two images.

This is my brother and me Christmas 1984 (I'm on the left and Jon on the right)

This is my Dad when he was in high school in 1967

Sun Rays

I've always been fascinated by the shafts of light coming down from the clouds.  They seem to make any situation more interesting. On a late evening I was out at Mounds Park shooting sunsets when the sun started to peak out from underneath the cloud layer.  For just a few moments these sun rays, some call them God beams, shot out across the sky.  Thankfully I was well prepared and was ready to shoot the scene.

For this scene I was working on my HDR landscapes.  Not really knowing how they would turn out I shot the series and hoped for the best.  Once I got home I processed the image and the shafts of light looked just as they had when the picture was taken.  There are a lot of people that don't like HDR.  I think most of these people don't like it because it is easy to over process the image resulting in a surrealistic unnatural look.  For me HDR is a useful tool for difficult lighting situations. 

Here is why I like HDR.  The combination of the human eye and brain is much better at dealing with contrast range and tonal range than any camera on the market.  You can see this easily by standing indoors and looking out a window into bright sunlight.  With the combination of your eyes and brain you can see the detail in the much darker interior as well as the scene out the window.  Now try to capture that in a single exposure and you'll likely get a properly exposed outside scene and a very underexposed indoor scene.  This is because your camera meters off the very bright exterior and doesn't have the capability to capture the range of light in the scene.  Now you could take an exposure of the exterior and another of the interior and combine them but that is a lot of extra work.  For a scene like this you determine how many exposures you need, fire them off, run them through Photomatix (or similar program) and many times you are left with a reasonably good image.  There will be some cleanup or other adjustments to do in Photoshop to finish the image but overall you can get pretty good results right after minimal processing.  Personally I like to keep my HDR's as realistic as possible. The goal is to reproduce what the scene looked like when you were there.  With practice and learning materials you can get very quick at processing scenes.

Those Unexpected Moments

Sometimes the best photographs are ones that have no planning at all.  The moment comes and you are lucky enough to have your camera ready to catch the shot.  It could be spectacular lighting, a dramatic scene or an exciting event.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to the unexpected.  Depending on the situation you may only have a moment to capture the scene.  For fleeting moments it is important to have a strong understanding of your camera so you aren't sitting there fiddling with it while the scene passes you by.

When my niece was still very young I had one of these brief moments.  She was playing on the floor of my parent's living room while I was sitting to the side taking some pictures.  In an instant she went from excited giggling to a very peaceful calm demeanor.  She turned her head and looked straight at me.  I had just enough time to take the picture before she looked away and started to play again. 

I'm always on the lookout for these situations.  They happen more often that you might realise.  Pretty much any time families get together there are little moments, that if captured, can create lasting memories.  In a lot of cases these moments make for the best shot you will take all day.  When involving people these moments are usually full of emotion.  As a photographer if I can capture the emotion of the moment for my clients they will be all the happier with the final product. 

To improve your chances that you can capture such a picture make sure you have a camera with you.  I know it sounds silly but I bet it wouldn't take long to think of a situation where you thought "If only I had my camera".  I know I've had such experiences.  It doesn't have to be a DSLR, it could be a point and shoot or even your phone.  As mentioned before the other important component of catching these situations is a strong understanding of your camera so you can quickly take the picture.

St. Paul from Harriet Island

In 2010 the Mississippi River flooded Harriet Island.  At that time I had been working on a sunset project and wanted a change of view from where I had been shooting at Mounds Park.  The water level was still high enough that the roads in were closed so I had to park outside and walk in.  There were still small ponds where grass normally.  Areas of the sidewalk were also under water.

The weather that day was stormy which added some interest to the clouds.  I set up in a couple locations and started taking pictures.  The first location's lower sidewalk was flooded but completely still .  This added a nice reflection of the knee wall.  The second image has a railing going directly into the river.  Normally there are a half dozen tall stairs that people sit on to watch the river.

Reflections in the water were pretty nice that night as well.  Usually when you get fast moving water the reflections are this messy blob of colors, but the surface that night was oddly smooth.  It would be interesting to know if this is caused by the high waters or some other factor.

Keeping the Past Alive

I'm fortunate enough to know a group of WWII reenactors.  My Dad was the first to meet them and invite them to use the pine Forest surrounding his house as an area to drill.  Now they affectionately call the property Camp Gerber.  In the time since my Dad's passing I've gotten to know them much better.  Like Dad and myself they have a passion for all things WWII.  They take it a step further by transforming themselves into living history.  They travel around Minnesota and the country educating and participating in many different events.

They have helped my family tremendously by helping to organize and evaluate the items in Dad's collection. The scope of his collection was way beyond our ability to deal with.  They have spent many hours in the basement sorting through box after box giving evaluations on real vs. authentic, valuable vs. common and so on.  Thanks to all their help we have been able to manage the collection and distribute much of its contents to museums and other collectors.  This way Dad's legacy of WWII education and love will continue.  It is wonderful to know that there are items in several museums that were Dad's and are now being enjoyed by as many people as possible.

Next time you are at an airshow or other event where there are reenactors take a moment to stop and say hello.  You'll find that besides being extremely nice people that they have a wealth of knowledge about a wide variety of subjects.  While their reasons for becoming a reenactors are varied they all have a love for history and its continued meaning for us today. 

It is through people like this that I have been fortunate enough to meet veterans that were at some of the most influential points in WWII.  The veterans are fascinating people that lived through incredible events in the nation/world's history.  It is always important to learn about the sacrifices that members of our armed forces have made for the lives that we enjoy.  Next time you see someone in uniform or something else that distinguishes them as military please take a moment to thank them for their service. 

Fireworks

Fireworks have always been fascinating.  They come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors.  Photographing them can be particularly challenging.  First there is little more than a faint trail when they are shot making it hard for an auto focus to prepare prior to the explosion.  Second they are very bright compared to their surroundings. Third you are never really sure where the next one will go off.  Last the exposures are long enough that it is all but impossible to hand hold.

Luckily there are some fantastically talented photographers out there who have taken the time to experiment to come up with techniques to make your firework pictures turn out better.  I'll talk about each of the problems above and offer some suggestions based on what I have learned from others as well as what I have learned by shooting fireworks on my own.

When I first started shooting fireworks I had a simple point and shoot that happened to have a fireworks setting.  I also had a cheap plastic tripod.  Even with a camera that did the brain work for me my results were still very hit or miss (mostly miss).  The misses fell into three categories: out of focus, didn't capture the full burst, camera shake.

My first category of misses is directly related to the first issue I listed at the beginning of the post.  Most camera's auto focus have difficulty in low contrast/dark situations.  To remedy this I try to find something in the foreground where the fireworks are going to be launched, focus on that, then switch my camera into manual focus so it doesn't seek for focus during the shot.  The only thing you have to remember with this is if you zoom in or out or move the camera you will have to re-focus.

The second issue as mentioned above makes it very difficult for the camera to determine proper exposure.  Since fireworks are almost always fired after dark the camera will determine that to properly light the scene you need a slower shutter speed and flash.  There are two issues with that.  Your flash will only effectively work for about 20 feet so all you will illuminate is the backs of the people in front of you.  So turn your flash off.  The shutter speed that your camera determines will be based mainly on the dark scene.  Depending on the frequency of explosions this may lead to over/under/correctly exposed images.  If your camera has a fireworks setting you can try that.  Otherwise manual exposure will be the best.

I'll combine the last two issues into this point.  I always try to determine where the fireworks are going to be fired so I can setup my shot with something interesting in the foreground.  The foreground element helps to set the scene and provides more interest in the final image.  To eliminate camera shake I always use a tripod with a cable release so I never have to touch the camera.

Here are a few things that I've learned that are helping me to improve my fireworks pictures.  If you can set your camera to manual mode.  The aperture should be somewhere around f18 to allow for longer exposures while not blowing out highlights.  As discussed before pre-focus and set your camera on manual focus.  When the firework is launched I open the shutter using the cable release and then wait for the explosion to fade before closing the shutter. This will give you the full arch and the nice looking firework shots.  If you want to really push the envelope invest in a neutral density filter.  This will allow you to hold the shutter open for minutes instead of seconds resulting in some really cool shots.  I hope these help you improve your fireworks shots.  I'm hoping to refine my techniques in our next couple trips to Disney World.  As for now here are some of my better shots from last trip.

Fun with Long Exposures

I'm always looking for new skills and knowledge to improve my photographic skills.  Light painting has been something that has fascinated me.  There are tons of very talented people out there that make some amazing creations by leaving the shutter open and using various light sources to "paint" an image.  One of the best examples is Denis Smith of Denis Smith Photography.  His images as well as story are inspiring.  Be sure to check his work out here.  He is also very open about his technique which is awesome.  So many times you see an image and wish there was a description about how it was captured.

I've gone out a couple of times and waved flashlights around for fun.  It is a great activity for kids and a lot of fun to watch.  For equipment all you need is a tripod, remote trigger, and manual settings on the camera.  Just open the shutter and let whoever has the flashlights dance around then close the shutter when you think you have something interesting. 

Granted if you want to make art like Denis Smith does your actions have to be a bit more planned out.  If you are just looking for something fun to do just find a few different colored flashlights (LEDs work great), put them on some string and start getting creative.

For the images below I had my niece, nephew and sister helping out.  My nephew and niece (2 and 4 at the time) had a blast.

My sister's attempt at a Christmas tree.  I think it worked well

I think this was a sword fight between my niece and I

I especially liked this one because of the ghosted image of my niece

The Eternal Chess Game

Pirates of the Caribbean in Magic Kingdom has always been a favorite of mine.  Often times it was the first ride that I would beg Mom and Dad to go on.  POTC is one of those rides that no matter how many times I ride it, I never get tired of it.  Like many of the larger attractions the imagineers spent a lot of time transforming the area into the world of a pirate.  If they didn't spend so much time would the ride itself be as fun?  I think so.  By adding in all the other touches it really completes the effect.  From the moment you hear the music when you approach to when you enter and start seeing all the detail that went into the waiting areas; the excitement builds.

One of my favorite details is the eternal chess game played by two long departed prisoners.  I'm not a huge chess player but evidently the game the two prisoners are playing is a stalemate.  The number of people who go on the ride and look at that scene and recognize that the game can't be won is probably small.  The fact that someone took the time to set the game like that is really a statement of how invested the imagineers are in adding depth that most don't even realize is there.

I can still remember asking Dad to lift me up so I could see into the dungeon.  Rach can attest that I still make a point to stop and look down.  I even scratched up my expensive flight sunglasses on our honeymoon trying to catch a glimpse.  Now that I have better camera gear and a lot more knowledge one of my goals was to get a picture of the game playing duo.  I knew going in that I didn't want to use external flash because the integrity of the scene wouldn't be the same.  That meant cranking the ISO up and using the bars on the windows as a kind of makeshift stabilizer.  It took a couple tries to get one that was as sharp as I wanted but in the end I went home with a keeper.

Undoubtedly on our trip next year I will shoot these two again.  Hopefully I can bring a tripod or figure out a way to get a shot using a lower ISO so there isn't as much noise.  A new D4 would be really helpful as the low light capability far exceeds my current camera but somehow I doubt that taking a picture of two skeletonized chess players will be enough to convince Rach to let me spend $6,000.

It's all in the eyes

It is said that the eyes are a window to the soul.  Just by looking at the eyes in a photograph you can almost feel the emotion the subject was feeling.  When I was first starting my journey as a professional photographer I was sitting in my bedroom just testing out my shiny new Nikon D200 and my lab mix Allie rolled over and looked at me.  Thankfully my camera was ready and I captured the moment.  It was one of those times when you don't really have time to think about the shot.  You just crop and shoot. 

While the photo has nice leading lines what really makes the image is her eyes.  If she was looking off instead of straight into the camera I don't think it would be nearly as endearing.  Her soft, almost golden eyes immediately draw attention.  This is also why, in many cases eyes are an essential part of portraiture.  So many times I see images where all the elements are there in the right proportion but the eyes aren't quite looking at the camera.  For me this takes a lot of the value of the picture away.  You no longer have that connection with the image.

This isn't to say that every portrait or image of a person/people has to have everyone looking directly into the camera.  For instance if there is a mother and child in the image and their eyes are locked on each other it is their interaction that is key instead of their interaction with the person viewing the photograph.  More than anything the interaction has to be present. Incidentally this is why I prefer to have brand new babies sleeping in pictures.  I don't mean to say that there should never be an image of a newborn with its eyes open.  I even have some of these types of images on my walls.  Since infants don't really start to engage their surroundings for a few weeks it is hard to capture the emotion and connection in their eyes.

Below is the image I started this post with.  It remains one of my favorite images of Allie in large part to her eyes.  They aren't the excited eyes of the dog that greets me when I come home.  Instead they are the eyes of a companion that always seems to know what I'm feeling.

Food Glorious Food

One of the most difficult things that I encounter when planning a trip to Disney World is deciding where to eat.  There are so many amazing places to eat that it is hard to prioritize where we want to go.  On the last few trips we have purchased the Disney Dining Plan.  There are several varieties of this plan but we have always gone with one of the more basic plans that includes one sit down, one quick service, and one snack a day.  For us this plan has more than enough food and we usually end up going to the general store before we leave to use up the rest of our snacks.

The sit down meals are where we have a problem deciding.  Epcot alone has enough great sit down experiences to fill an entire vacation.  The Living Seas is always a mainstay for our trips.  Kids love it because an entire wall is an aquarium.  The food is a little more upscale but not to the point where you don't have a clue what you are ordering.  Nine Dragons in China is another must for our family.  The food is amazing and the restaurant is usually not all that busy.

On our last trip Via Napoli had just opened.  All the reviews that we had read were very positive and the lure of brick oven pizzas were too much to resist.  We made reservations in advance because we knew that it would be difficult to get in as it was a new highly reviewed restaurant.  The pizzas didn't disappoint.  Mom and I each ordered pizza and Rach ordered an Alfredo dish.  The food combined with Disney's unique ability to completely immerse you in an environment added up to a very positive experience.

Incidentally these were the perfect size for Alex to put on his fingers and eat like the crazy kid he is.

Who else has pizza ovens like this?

Just a few short years ago

While looking through my catalog of pictures on my computer I came across one of my favorites of my son Alex.  At the time the image was taken he was less than one week old.  Now a rambunctious toddler it is hard to remember when he was this small. I miss the days where he was able to fit on my arm.  He was so peaceful and was a welcome distraction during my father's ongoing treatments.  Dad used to say that he was the best therapy there was.  We spent as many days as possible at Mom and Dad's so he could hold his grandson and take his mind off all that was going on. 

As a whole newborns are one of my favorite ages to photograph.  When they are that young they sleep a lot (which I really like for pictures) and will generally stay in whatever position you put them.  As long as they are fed, warm and clean they can be some of the easiest, and most rewarding, photos to capture.  With patience and practice I've really come to enjoy the unique challenges that young children.

Below is one of my favorite newborn poses.  It can be done with either one or both parents.  I've also used this pose with twins (mom holding one and dad the other).  The pose also works with the child being naked or clothed.  For a naked child you have to make sure the room is warm and that whoever is holding the little accepts the potential messes that are associated with infants.

Hard to believe this is the same kid!

One of my favorite places to stay

It is not secret that my family and I are huge Disney fans.  My wife have gone several times and have taken Alex once.  Growing up we were fortunate enough to make the trip to Disney about every other year.  In the more than a dozen times that I've been to Disney we have stayed at a variety of hotels on and off property.

Now that I have a family of my own I prefer to stay on property.  Staying at a hotel outside of the Disney properties means renting a car and driving everywhere we want to go.  Dad used to say that part of going on vacation for him was not having to drive everywhere and I feel the same.  There is something very calming to know that once I step foot on Disney property I won't have to worry about driving anywhere, finding parking spots, or filling the tank.

I'm not sure when we started to stay in the hotels just outside of Epcot but the area quickly became my favorite.  There are five resorts in that area and three that I have stayed in.  Furthest out are the Swan and Dolphin hotels, then the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk.  Yacht and Beach Club's are closest to Epcot.  On one of our stays at the Beach Club we had a walkout room that was less than a five minute walk to the entrance to Epcot.  The Yacht and Beach Clubs also offer two awesome pools my favorite being Stormalong Bay.

Stormalong Bay features a shipwreck that boasts one of the tallest resort water slides in Disney.  The bottom of the pool is a sand like material that is easy on the feet.  It even has a whirlpool that sends you spinning in circles.  Aside from the pool is one of my favorite little eateries.  Beaches and Cream Soda Shop.  Modeled after an old soda shop it has great burgers and awesome ice cream.

On the other side of the lake is Boardwalk Hotel.  So far this is a personal favorite.  It is modeled after turn-of-the-century Atlantic City.  There are many little shops and places to eat along the boardwalk.  Rach and I honeymooned at Boardwalk and were lucky enough to have a room that faced Epcot.  This allowed us to watch the nightly fireworks from our balcony.  There is a great souvenir/grocery store, sweets shop, art gallery, and other restaurants and entertainment that attract guests from the surrounding hotels. 

Probably the best feature of any of these hotels is their proximity to Disney Hollywood Studios (or MGM as it will always be for me) and Epcot.  Epcot is a five minute walk while MGM is either a 15 minute walk or 10 minute boat ride.  For our last trip with a small child with this was ideal because we wouldn't have to wait for buses when going to two of the four parks.  It also made it easier to take a break from the parks and come back to the hotel when Alex needed a break.

For someone like me that enjoys staying out late to take pictures in the park and of the hotel areas it is an ideal place to stay.  Again I don't have to wait for buses and I can really take my time going where I need/want to go.  I can carry equipment with me and not have to worry about it getting damaged by someone with a huge shopping bag or stroller bumping into me and damaging it.

An added bonus for any of these hotels is the proximity to the Fantasia Gardens mini golf course.  Just a short walk from any of the hotels and you can play on two different incredible mini golf courses.  One is designed like an actual golf course with sand traps and other hazards.  The other is themed after the Fantasia movie and is more of what you would typically think of for a mini golf course.  My wife and I always have competitions when we play there and I'm looking forward to continuing that with my son.

Superior's North Shore

For my son's third birthday my wife planned a trip to the north shore.  She was also hoping that it would be a chance for me to get some landscape pictures and star trail pictures.  Initially I had mixed feelings.  I was excited to go on a mini vacation to celebrate the our son's birthday, but it was too early for any foliage (sticks just aren't that interesting in pictures).  As we drove further and further north I realized that the landscape would be interesting enough without leaves on the trees.  Our resort in Tofte, Mn was mainly surrounded by evergreens which made it even better.

The one benefit to the time of year we went was the rivers and waterfalls were in full force due to the spring melt.  It seems that no matter where you went there were waterfalls.  Even small ones that fall off mini cliffs at roadside.  I don't know that I've ever been in an area where there are as many state parks close by than Tofte.  Within just a few minutes drive we could be at several different parks.  Expanding that drive to about an hour and the number increases even more. 

During the few short days that we were up north we managed to go to Temperance State Park, Tettegouche State Park, and Split Rock Lighthouse (although that short trip was mainly due to Alex being car sick).  On any vacation I try to get a photo of where we stayed.  Most of the time it ends up being a couple interiors that go into a scrapbook.  This trip was unique in that there was a little private bay right in front of our unit. 

I decided to shoot a rather large panoramic to encompass the entire area.  To the left of the frame there is beautiful blue sky with some wispy clouds.  This transforms into this thick fog on the right side of the frame.  I've never seen fog like this.  Our entire trip there was this bank of fog that sat a few hundred yards off shore.  Periodically it would come in and blanket the shore line then it would quickly move back out.  Please check it out at my SmugMug site and look at it in a much larger size.