Slides to Digital : Half Dome, Lower Yellowstone Falls, and Honest Abe

I used to only take slide film. The pictures just flat turned out better. Back when I took pictures with film, I was very picky. I would walk around all day long and maybe take 3 or 4 pictures. It just cost way too much money not to be selective. Now of course with my digital, I am at times quite quick on the trigger. That is a another story for another time though. I recently discovered that my school's scanner has a feature that allows you to scan slides into the computer. So I spent a little time taking some of my favorite shots and transferring them from slide film to digital. The results are quite nice I must say. I am quite certain there are ways to make a better transition, but I will stick with what I have. The picture above of Half-Dome in Yosemite was a color picture that I turned black and white in Photoshop. Not bad. The Abraham Lincoln picture below has a story behind it that I will share at a later date, so check back for that, because it is a good story.

Random Pictures

I recently read an article in a photography magazine called "Turning Over a New Leaf." It talked about setting goals for yourself (in photography). Trying out a certain technique for a whole month, shooting with just one lens setting for a while, or simply taking a single picture everyday for a 365 days. Whatever it is, it will help you get better and break out of some habits you might have acquired along the way. You could extrapolate this kind of exercise to anything. Guitar playing (I have to stop playing that darn pentatonic scale all the time), exercise habits, Starbucks beverages, whatever......

The point is to expand your horizons. So, I have decided to begin taking pictures of things that at first glance don't look worthy of a picture. We all want the picture of the powerfully-huge waterfall, the majestic mountain range, the rushing river, the flower in bloom, the awe-inspiring sunset, or the grandiose monument. But a stop sign?????? Yeah, A stop sign can be a cool shot. So I am going to explore the random this summer. The mundane and everyday. Those things that aren't worth a picture, I am going to forever memorialize them of film (well, digital film anyway.)

More random pictures to come.

To Crop or Not to Crop???

To crop or not to crop? That is the Question!! Photography is all about taking a lot of information and focusing it. The world that people photo is filled with information. Photography is all about deciding what your subject is. What is it you wish to highlight in your picture and how do you organize the photo to focus the viewer's eye on your chosen subject. Last summer in Homer, Alaska I stood on the shore of the Homer Spit looking out over Kachemak Bay at the Kenai Mountain Range and a boat came into my view. Homer being a "small drinking town with a fishing problem" a boat traveling across the water is not a rare sight. I knew I had an interesting picture, but it wasn't as "focused" as I wanted it to be. I took a couple of pictures none the less to capture the moment. When I got home, I threw the picture above (along with a few others) into Photoshop with the purpose in mind of cropping them in a letterbox style picture. The purpose being to get rid of the needless information and keep only that which would help to highlight my subject. The Mountains, The Water, and of course The Boat speeding across the water. I think we all agree the 2nd picture speaks more profoundly than the one above. So picture what you "want" to see in your head. Take the picture, and when you get home finish the process of creating the picture you imagined. It's O.K.

Picture of the Day : Miss Devyn

For a long time, I resisted taking pictures of people. I thought "No, not very interesting." But then I realized my problem. It wasn't with pictures of people in general. It was the way I saw others take pictures of people. "O.K. everyone, get together. Now say cheese!!" You see most people take pictures of people by trying to turn them into statues and then taking their picture. Well people aren't statues. They are ALIVE!!! So I began to take pictures of them like they were alive. Being who they are. Letting their personality come out. It changed my perception about people pictures, and I think since that point I have captured some great people moments. Here is one I took of my daughter the first day I had my new Cannon Digital Rebel. Of course having the ability to take 3 frames a second doesn't hurt. SO.....next time you want a great picture of a person, don't turn them into a statue first. Just let them be........ALIVE!!!

Living in the Alaskan Wilderness

Last July (2007) I went with my dad and uncle to visit my cousin and her family in Soldotna, Alaska. It was an amazing trip. Well, her son (my 15 year old cousin) Cody is a great kid, and I had a great deal of fun spending time with him while we were there. He comes up to me one day while we were there and says "Hey, I know where we can go see this old, broken down cabin. Wanna go see it???" Uummm, YEAH!!! So we travel across a field and into the woods. I mean "THE WOODS!!!" No trails. No that is fun. We come across this cabin, and the out house (I am assuming) you see here. I love to think about what the story of an old place like this is. Who lived there?? How long?? What was life like?? It was a fun trip. We even heard rustling in the woods while we were there. Who knows what that was. We weren't eaten by a bear...so that is a positive. I didn't have to out run a bear. I mean, I'm fast.........just not that fast.

It was a great trip.

Bird o' Orange

I love taking pictures of animals. Whether out in nature, at the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, it's all the same to me. Animals are a fun subject. There are those who think that photographing animals at a zoo or ones that are "tame" is not "true" animal photography. Well, I disagree. Perhaps it is less of a challenge, but still no less satisfying, especially when most of us can't afford the time or the money to visit Africa or Antarctica. I took this particular shot at the Wild Animal Park in Escondido. I love the contrast of the bright orange feathers against the dark green leaves. Also, while this rule is not hard and fast, when shooting animals I try to "get their eye." Meaning, many times I wait for them to look at me. The eyes, just like in people, is a type of window to the soul. Crazy I know. I just am always trying to "capture the eye."

Jumbo Rocks : Joshua Tree National Park

Last summer I decided to visit a place I had never been. Joshua Tree National Park. Only an hour and a half from my home I can't believe I hadn't taken the opportunity to visit sooner. I love the desert and it was a beautiful day. With my U2 CD in the player, I drove around the park. So many sights. So much beauty. I took some time to walk amongst some of the rocks that at times dominate the landscape of this place. It is here at Jumbo Rocks that I took this picture. Originally a color photo, I threw it into Photoshop and turned it black and white. I will share the original color pic as well.

Which one do you prefer????