Sunday, April 25, 2010

Film Noir

The theme for my photography project this week is "film noir."  Honestly, my culture-less brain had never heard of film noir, so I Googled it.  I now understand it's a B&W film technique from the 40's.

http://www.markholmesphoto.com/news/103-film-noir-photography.html

I took my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens to my son's basketball game today.  I figured the dim gym light would be perfect for film noir photography.  I set the camera on B&W and aperture priority @ f/1.8...and fired away.  It was a lot of fun and I took some pictures that were very different than my usual style.  One of these days, I want to go into the city and do some street photography in B&W.

Here are a few shots.  Check out my Flickr page for more photos (and a few of my son playing basketball too).

Thursday, April 22, 2010

10 Minutes from Home


The theme for my 365 photography project this week is "Black and White - Ten minutes from Home."  We're supposed to walk, run, bike, drive, fly, etc. for ten minutes and take a B&W picture of whatever we see at the ten minute mark.  At first, I was a bit leery, but I'm actually enjoying the experience.  For one thing, walking around and looking for a photo opp has made me more aware of things in our neighborhood.  Folks have beautiful flowers and interesting gardens, and on some days the clouds are heavenly.

Here's a picture of a beautiful cloud formation over St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.  I would never have captured it if I hadn't walked around the neighborhood looking for it.

I came across this little guy while walking around in the rain yesterday.  There are streaks on the lens from the rain.  I had to wipe the rain off the lens with my t-shirt and apparently didn't do a great job at it....obviously hurrying to snap the picture so I could get home before I got soaked.

I didn't have a chance to walk around today because my son had a track meet after school, but I was able to take a quick snap from the truck after picking up my daughter from school (the wife was driving).  I'm not a big fan of windshield photography...but I was actually pleasantly surprised at the result.

So, whether you're into photography or not, take some time to walk around your neighborhood and smell the roses.  You'll be surprised at the beauty all around us, within ten minutes of your home.

Monday, April 12, 2010

120 Days

My blogging has taken a back seat to my photography lately.  I may need to change the name of my blog to "120 Days."  Ironically, my original vision for the blog was to post one picture a day for a year, but I decided it was too much work to take a quality photo per day.  However, that was before I discovered Flickr.  My experience with the Flickr group has been extraordinary.  Since joining the Flickr group, I think my photography has improved dramatically in only a few short weeks.  Like anything else, practice makes perfect and shooting every day has been very beneficial.  I feel like I'm getting better at seeing light, contrast, and composition.

Interestingly enough, my brother just bought a Nikon D90.  Even more surprising is he actually listened to my discussion on shutter speeds, f-stops, lighting, composition, etc....and even asked a few questions.  I looked outside the window half expecting to see a pig flying.  He's going on a multi-week trip across Asia and decided the awesome photo-opps warranted a higher quality camera, something better than a compact, point and shoot.  I look forward to seeing his photos upon his return.

Anyway, TTFN.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Man-Date


I  learned something new recently.  My son asked if he could go to the movies with his friend Martin and some other friends.  It was spring break, so my wife told him it was okay.  He and Martin tried calling a few other guys, but apparently nobody else could go.  They finally decided not to see the movie.  My wife asked why he and Martin didn't go to the movie.  My son replied, "Mom, that would be a man-date."  My wife frowned and asked, "What's a man-date?"  He explained that two guys aren't allowed to see a movie together….there has to be three or more, otherwise it would be considered a man-date.

Wow…and you thought the urinal etiquette rules were complicated?

Thursday, April 1, 2010

New Job

I quit my job today...issued my two week notice a few minutes ago.  An agency contacted me via flickr and offered me a position as a nature/outdoor photographer, with a part-time position as the "second camera" at weddings.  I'm looking forward to a new and rewarding career doing something I really enjoy.  The only drawback is the work will conflict with the kids' basketball, softball, Boy Scouts, etc. on the weekends.