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.