Don’t Shoot Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes: Tips to Taking Better Sports Pictures
June 27, 2008 | Filed Under SPORTS, photography tips | 3 Comments
Go to any 
high school or recreational league where sports are being played, and you’ll find parents, grandparents, and friends with cameras.
From my observations, I see many folks whip out their pocket camera or digital SLR and just snap away when “Little Johnny” hits the field, most likely capturing many pictures of his back, or becoming unrecognizable because he is so far away and just shows up as a blip on the picture.
With some planning and keeping in mind some of my tips below, you can transform yourself from a sideline snapshooter into a quality sportsshooter, and create photographs worth looking at over and over again. Creating better images will not only make you proud of yourself, you will have cherished images to complement your memories.
Strobist is Expanding (Del Boca Vista, Phase II)
June 25, 2008 | Filed Under off-camera flash, studio strobes | 1 Comment
To those that are regular readers of David Hobby’s Strobist website are intimately familiar with the motto, LESS GEAR, MORE BRAIN, BETTER LIGHT, however, that tagline has been recently replaced with LEARN TO LIGHT. The enormous popularity of David’s website over the past two years has caused hundreds of thousands of photographers to take their on-camera flashes, off-camera and create awesome images using relatively inexpensive equipment.
With the knowledge he has given to the photographic community with regards to small flashes, David is now expanding his Strobist site to discuss the use of other lighting equipment — mainly studio strobes.
As David wrote in his post Birthdays, Heresies and Watt-Seconds:
I don’t care if they are using speedlights, Profotos or magnesium powder. Light is light. And we may as well be learning from the folks who are working at the highest levels.
Year three of Strobist should be filled with more interesting reading and learning.
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That Summertime Feeling
June 21, 2008 | Filed Under everyday life, family | 1 Comment
Ah, summer. You remember those days as a kid don’t you? Being out of school and running out of the house in the morning, feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, wondering what that day of fun would bring.
Unfortunately, I’m not a kid anymore and those days of three months of vacation are only a memory. However, I can relive those moments watching my kids experience it as I once did.
No matter what type of camera you own, keep it handy, and take photographs of your family. You, your family, and future family members will appreciate it in the future.
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Wrestling Team Poster: Part 1 - Chroma Key Cutouts
June 16, 2008 | Filed Under photoshop tips, wrestling | 9 Comments
I am working on a project for Keith Watson, aka “Watty”, head coach of the John Carroll Wrestling team (a private high school in Bel Air). Watty, who is sometimes referred to the P.T. Barnum of Harford County wrestling – he is always thinking of ways to market and promote his school and the sport — contacted me a couple months ago with an idea of wanting to create a poster that displays their 2008-2009 wrestling schedule along with a picture of the team on it. His first thought was to assemble the team on someone’s front porch and have some slogan referring to porch, big dogs, etc.
To Fill or Not to Fill
June 14, 2008 | Filed Under ambient light, on-camera flash | 2 Comments
Most people when they think of using flash, think of indoors in low-light. Well, outside in bright sunshine, flash can be your friend as well.
How many times have you been outside taking pictures only to find all your subjects faces dark and the background beautifully exposed? Sure, you could adjust your exposure to expose the faces better, but now you’ll have a background that is blown out. A better solution is fill-flash.
Wash Me
June 13, 2008 | Filed Under everyday life | 1 Comment
I admit it, I am not an auto detail freak. I have neighbors and friends that wash their cars all the time, keeping them looking their best. I probably wash my car on average 8 times a year — and rarely between December and March.
Today was my Honda Element’s lucky day (Friday the 13th no less), for the old gal was getting a spring cleaning. I usually let Mother Nature do my dirty work, but with the windshield covered with bug guts and dust forming on my dashboard, I thought it was time to spruce her up a bit.
I’ve had this Element for just under 2 1/2 years, and I hit 50,000 miles on her last month. I really like this car and probably will buy another when this one is ready for retirement (around 150,000 miles). Many think it is ugly looking, but for hauling around photo equipment, it’s awesome. The fact that it does not have carpet is perfect for a non-auto detail person like myself. Just vacuum and wipe down with a wet towel. Good as new.
Photo Information: ISO 200; 1/125; f/4
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New Blog
June 7, 2008 | Filed Under business news | Leave a Comment
If you visit often, you will notice that I have changed the look of my blog.
I have switched from using Blogger to now using WordPress. I was able to import my content from blogger, but apparently not the comments, so any comments that were written are now gone. I’m still in the process of going through each post and categorizing them and correcting some issues with images not being displayed properly, but it’s in a state that’s good enough to put out to the masses.
I hope you like the new look as much as I do.
Kindergarten Graduate
June 7, 2008 | Filed Under family | Leave a Comment
Last night my youngest daughter Keely, graduated from Kindergarten. When I was growing up in Illinois, there was never such a ceremony. Boy, let me tell you, what an emotional experience — for the parents. I’ve been to high school and college graduations in the past, but I have never seen so many mom’s reaching for the tissues as I saw last night. Even I got a little choked up, myself.
The ceremony started with a slideshow showing pictures throughout the year, of course to music that really moved you, as the kids walked in and up on to the stage. That was just the teaser to get the tear machine warmed up, for a bit later, up came another slideshow with music titled, “Let Them Be Little”, and showed pictures of each individual graduate, then a baby picture, followed with pictures of child and mom, plus child and dad. During this time, each child, one-by-one, met mom at the center of the the room, presenting her with a yellow rose. Boy, this was when the waterworks really was flowing.
Keely did a bit of a Michael Jordan impersonation, by sticking out her tongue when receiving her diploma. Making sure to shake with the right hand and accept the diploma with your left takes a lot of concentration, especially for a 6-year old.
Following the ceremony, refreshments were given and good-byes were spoken.
Keely made many good friends this past school year. With her best friend Kayla going onto her new school for first grade and Keely starting homeschool next year, they unfortunately will see much less of each other in the future.
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