A Restart and Reconnection

Every so often the camera which is in your hand and the scene make a connection. The camera comes up and in 1/60 of a second an image is taken. Without stopping you shoot several more shots.  Often with a pause waiting for the action to start again.

A few Saturdays ago I was lucky to make that small connection with my camera and the scene. While walking on a beach, I encountered three young men on surf boards. What was great was the tide was going out, and the surf while small was close in. This put the action well within reach of my X-200 zoom lens.

This is one of my 1st shots of the day. All I did was crop it slightly and change the light setting slightly.

Uncropped

Cropped and a slight color adjustment.

Sometimes one is just lucky to happen across a scene. This day I found these three surfers close in to the shore. The end result was something any amateur photographer should be happy with getting. The shots were done in groups of three and four shots. The delay was the result of my Nikon D60's speed limitation on writing to media. Not my choice and I tried to work around it. I missed some of the shots, but still I got some good action shots. The shots of the surfer in air and at start of an inverted 360. 

Below was the fourth of four shots. The surfer just started the upside down rotation and was completely in the air.

Starting an inverted 360 rotation

A few shots of riding the wave, and even a bailout shot

Surfing close to rocks just to the left

and 

Here are some of the shots I took for art reference of the waves and surf.

I shot about 150 shots in just an few hours. And got maybe 12-14 good to better shots.  A few very productive hours.

  

Most of the shots will need to be cropped and a slight adjustment of color and contrast. A few didn't need much at all for my purpose.

After years of not feeling connected the the camera, it came alive for a little while. The water had that frozen effect and the surfers had the feeling of being on the edge of danger. They were surfing right on the edge of large and sharp rocks. For a few minutes I felt the thrill of a professional photographer making world class images at a surfing event. 

When I got back to the RV and downloaded the images to the laptop, I looked at them with the more critical eye. 

Good enough! I proclaimed.

I feel there is one or two images which might be worthy of printing and entering in amateur competition.

Later that evening I had made plans to try to capture an image of the Sun setting behind the lighthouse in the image below.

Lastly I used a program called The Photographer's Ephemeris to help locate an ideal place to try to catch a sunset behind this lighthouse.
Below is the printout which came from one of my favorite programs.

The legend is fairly self explaining. 

The map shows the bright orange line starting as the drop pin and disappearing in the left hand corner. I need to be someplace along that line at sunset. The bottom gives all the important times you might need.

The results of preplanning can give idea of a position which would work to capture the image you see in your mind's eye. However the weather didn't co-operate. As you can see in the following picture a dense cloud bank started coming in as the sun neared the horizon.

Sunset at Pigeon Point Lighthouse

I also should have moved to the left about 200 feet and would have done so but the sun disappeared into the fog.  

The Photographer's Ephemeris is copyright by Crookneck Consulting, LLC
The TPE can be located here.

The web app is currently free of charge. The IPad and Iphone apps are worth the money in my opinion. I have no connection with TPE or Crookneck Consulting. I just use their tool.

Things That Fly

A few weekends ago, Karen and I loaded up ourselves into the car and had our 1st real weekend adventure of this year. A short 45 minute Sunday morning drive to Fremont and East Bay Regional Park District's Coyote Hills for their Birds and Butterfly event. Coyote Hills is set at the opening of Alameda Creek and the Salt Marsh of San Francisco Bay.

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/coyote_hills

They have a "Butterfly Garden" which is a concentration of the different plants and blooms which are butterfly attractants, (either blooms which are nectar rich or plants which the butteries need to lay their eggs upon, or both).

I discovered capturing images of butterflies was hard to do. They are insects which move constantly and are subject to the lightest of breezes. Over the course of several hours I discovered a technique which seemed to work for me. Trying to follow butterflies from plant to plant didn't seem to be very successful and I found nothing but disappointments. When they landed, they seldom stopped long enough after you arrived on sight to snap any sort of picture.

So I stood back and watched and finally found a plant they would land on more often than not. They do not act totally random, but follow certain well defined behavior patterns. I picked a place where the lighting was optimal, set my camera to shoot one stop underexposed, and waited...




Then, finally an opportunity came flying in front of me.



Bingo!




After an adjustment of one of a stop, I had an image in which the colors are bright, the light yellow area is detailed and my image of a Tiger Swallow Tail Butterfly is something I can be happy with, for now.

A larger version is available on My Flickr Site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jestrbob/4701763103/



I got several more good shots in a row. I started feeling good about the day, after so many failed attempts. My level of respect for other people which have made many magnificent images in the past went up intensely.

I stood Carefully wondering if more chances would be available, where I was standing.






I didn't have long to wait and soon a monarch buttery arrived. The butterfly landed and sat with the light coming through both sets of wings.





I shot several images in a quick series.

It was a matter of hoping for the best with no time to check the images between shots.





Was it a case of Mother Nature was being good to me, or was it just my patience and perseverance being rewarded?








I walked around the small informal butterfly garden a while longer and discovered in a sunny corner a milkweed plant.






Soon I discovered it was a favorite of the monarch butterflies.


In about 20 minutes or so I saw at least 10 more monarch butterflies visiting the milkweed plant.


I shot nearly 100 images some good and some not so good, while standing in one spot.


It is said: "When you are having fun, time flies".

I discovered several hours had passed. Karen and I took our picnic lunch in the shade of a one of dozens of wonderful trees. Nice heavy wooden tables and a cooling breeze, neatly cut crass and view a dozens of families which had came out to the park to enjoy the day.

After our lunch we decided to walk down over the wooden walkways into the Alameda Creek Estuary.


We walked slowly once we left the parking lot area. After a bit, I spotted several Damsel Flies flitting about and noticed they seems to all wanted to land on a small reed poking up out of the water. I wondered would the same technique work with them. After a few long seconds of standing still, the reward came to me.




Onward, we walked. Taking our time to look across the marsh and through the thick reeds whenever we could.

There were lots of different birds and waterfowl: ducks, geese, pelicans, egrets, and sparrows, and swallows.


One of the most interesting was an egret, which we saw across the bit of open slow moving water. I got a few shots, but nothing I really felt was impressive.


The surprise came on the way back when we came to open area where we had seen the female egret. We heard a loud series of squawks, and and flutter of wings.






It was smaller bachelor male had intruded on what I surmised was someone other male and its mate's nesting territory.














The display from the male was impressive and the intruding bachelor swiftly retreated onto the path in front of us, before leaving the area on wing.




The last significant shot came while we were sitting, cooling down from our walk. The air on the estuary was warm, but not unpleasant. There was a slight breeze but amongst the reeds, little air was moving. We finally found a nice small pier out over the water were the breeze was cooling and refreshing. We could see flights of gulls and pelicans coming inbound, on the low glides over the water. Between us and edge of the reeds, swimming and diving was a very interesting duck. It had a bright blue bill. We both sat for 30 minutes and talking in soft mummers, enjoying the show and the company of each other.


Finally the blue billed duck came close enough to get a good image. I was again pleased with one of the images, after many attempts to get a good shot. Later, at home, the birds in question were identified as a pair of Ruddy Ducks.




That ended our day on a perfect note. We made our way to the parking area packed our gear and made our way home in the early evening.

I Dream of...

Recently I had the honor of going to a quilt show with my wife.

I actually enjoy these events. I get to see art in a medium which is a real challenge for the artist. It is amazing to see what these Artists can do with simple pieces of colored and patterned fabric.

Quilts shows are ideal places to take pictures. They are mostly indoors and often have great lighting and high ceilings.

There are great people to watch at the show. Being a good photographer is a skill in watching people and capturing them at their best.

There there are the surprises. This yearly show, which I have attended several times over the the span of 20 years, also has a group of doll makers displaying their art.

These are amazing dolls. Works of art. the challenge is to make images which display them properly. It is not always as easy as it sounds.

DSC_3369, originally uploaded by jestrbob.

I am always looking for items to capture in photos photos. These dolls caught my eye. This one is about 8-10 inches tall. She is displayed with her companions looking on as if they are her audience. I have posted a few more to my Photostream on Flickr.

It was fun to take pictures of these dolls. The presentation of display and the artistry of doll maker made this quest easy.

What's that in the sky? A bird? a plane?

Or just a bit of whimsy.

Nothing much here, Just a blogger with nothing to much say!

Well, people that's the truth. This week has been a mishmash of trying to go through the images of the last photo crawl and playing catch-up with neglected chores. I've also been busy reading other people's blogs, my backlog of mail, trying to pick out an image or three for our incoming county fair and work. I ran across one blog which I have been following for a while, which I find worth taking the time to read. Face it, there are blogs like mine, which are just exercises in mind. There there are people which capture followers, and have important things which to impart to the world.

This Blog:
http://www.diyphotography.net

Is worth taking the time to reading. It is very well written and interesting and informative articles.

In his recent blog cited above he displays a small version of this image by Ben Matthews

We Come In...
Used Under Creative Commons license some rights reserved

This is something I saw like something I saw done in the 70's with a pinhole camera, and colored lights at night. This photographers use of color and shading creates an interesting picture.


The Image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benny4bs/3376801621/sizes/o/in/photostream/
is worth taking looking at, it your are interesting in light painting. The same use of light and color to create a mood seem to be well executed in his images.

Congratulations go out to Ben for this winning image.

So people Where does this type of technique take you. How many are interested in doing something like this?

I am! What about you.

I had to reedit this enter some of the links changed as did the licsencing for the photo from Ben Matthews

Bits 'n' Pieces and Awful Parodies

Pieces

In a recent discussion e-mail list which I participate from time to time, had an involved exchange on what different people should carry when you are off trekking with your camera. I, like most shutterbugs and photo enthusiast usually carry my Camera around my neck. That works for short trips, when I can dash back to the car in a few minutes to grab something I need. What about if you are going out on a longer (2-6 hours) hike?

Bits

* Water and snack foods, or a lunch. note I said water, not soda. If it is very hot, lots of water, I did see one very authoritative brochure from a government monument, [US park Service] suggested one liter of water per hour. I think a hydration backpack might be the thing to have.

Safety items
*1st Aid Kit That depends on where you are going and how many people are travel with you. While I was involved with 4H Camp. The Groups were generally 10-15 children and teens, and about 3-5 adults. I would often end up toting a full pack of 1st aid supplies, as well as camera gear and my own water. Now traveling just one other person, I would suggest a smaller pocket sized 1st aid kit. Most good outdoor stores have several options from which to pick.


What about camera gear? [It is what I really want to talk about right now, isn't it?]

Well you might pack and carry a photo-bag.

But then you ask how big and what type of bag?

Bags are personal choices and most people I know have several different type of bags and use them for different places. The bags come in all different sized and shaped. Backpacks, Hip Packs, Shoulder and Messenger bags are just few of the commons types.

So what should I put in the bag style of my choice?

*One small notebook, pocket size, one pencil, a penknife to sharpen the pencil. A penknife is a small knife, usually with a single folding blade. 100+ years they were used to sharpen quill pens.

*Your other lens. I tend to use my telephoto more than my 'wide' angle lens. So the 'wide' goes into the bag.

*Spare memory cards, in my pocket sized Pelican chip holder. It holds SD 10 memory cards. and On long trips I used most all of them.

*Camera Battery At least one fully charged 'Spare Battery' for you camera.

* Lens cleaning gear. Face it, everyone has managed to end up with dust on their lens, and no one wants to have a perfect shot ruined by 'dust on the lens', and no suitable way to clean it.

Parody
The awful random thought that escaped my normal, everyday self censorship:

All the prefect shots ruined by a dirty lens in a room and singing "All we are is dust on the lens." A parody of a song by Kansas.

I open my shutter, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my photos, pass before my eyes, a sad ending
Dust on our Lens, all they are is dust on our lens
Same perfect shot, just a mote of dirt in an endless sea
All those pictures, thrown to the bin, though we refuse to see.

Dust on our Lens, All our images end up ruined by dust on our lens.

Apologies to Kansas and Kerry Livgren

[I now return you to our normal mundane blog. I sure my wife will someday explain my insanity to you]

More Bits

* Close-up lens. I would suggest carrying a set of closer up filter lenses. +1,+2 +4 diopters. I like to get down and close to the plants and flowers. The most 'Plain Jane' will look completely different when seen through a close up.



This simple mustard with just a +1 close-up lens looks worlds different. By removing the background and looking closer, our Plain Jane turns in to a Delicate Wonder.

*Circular polarizing filter. Everyone should carry, and learn to use this wonderful tool it allows a person to control the reflected and refracted light in the image. With a Circular Polarizing Filter, the photographer can limit the light reflecting off a window in a landscape, or off a glass in still life. One can also increase the blue color in the sky by limiting the refracted light. The trade off is about one f-stop. which isn't bad.

*A set of Neutral Density filters. How often have you had a great shot but couldn't stop open the lens up enough to control your Depth of Field? These handy gadgets drop the amount of light which hits your lens. The real experts have supplied well written examples of how to use them correctly. Why should I reinvent the wheel. Good well writen articles abound on the web and in some blogs on the Web. Google is our friend as they. Wiki is often a good place to start.

Wikipedia's article on Neutral_Density_Filters

and in this instance the article is linked to this great blog.

What are Neutral Density Filters (and when and how to use them)


[this Blogger's latest entry is worth reading for the Links alone]

So what else do you need or want to carry?

*A hand full of pipe cleaners in greens and brown colors. Use them to make great stabilizers and stiffen up droopy blooms and branches).

*A few note (3x5) cards taped together that fold up (Light reflector or wind screen,. The unfolded size should be about 20 x 18. They can be taped together with hinging tape).

*A mini tripod, All round useful item. Really not that expensive, and can be used many ways.

* A couple of sets of stiff wires about (12 gauge) with alligator clips. ( they can hold the cards for you or be used to brace a branch or flower stem. With these items you can stabilize most flowers and get the light were you want it.

A few other small items you may want to carry is a

* A small beanbag to rest your camera on.

* Foam kneeling pads You can get them at the local garden store. They protect the knees and your clothing.

All of these items, except the kneeing pad and tripod can be carried in safari type vest or photobag.

*A small LED light. Either Head (miners style) light or a hand held flashlight. I like the head lamp because it leaves your hands free and will always shine the direction you are facing. (Make sure you have a set of spare AAA batteries.)

Rather than try to stuff all these items in a giant sized camera bag, consider the following

*A safari vest. These are the neatest of things. They are either 9 or 21 pocket vests. Most of them have a mesh type back that allows you not over heat. You have room for lots of carry gear, close up lenses, and a bottle or two of water. Your spare lens and tripod can go in smaller bags, rather than a single giant bag.

Two last items (really three but the last one is really important.)

* A monopod. This doubles as a walking stick. There is even one with retractable legs. Mine has a ball head mount.

* Insect repellent. No one wants to be buzzed by the gnats and mosquitoes, or have an encounter with the meat bees.

*Sun Protection [two sub items here]
* Sun Screen, applied to your face, hands ears and neck. Read the directions on the bottle. Apply as directed and reapply as directed also. Those little sunburns will detract from your overall experience outdoors and in the end hurt you.

* A Good Hat, to shade your face, ears and the back of your neck. I don't like baseball styled caps (billed hats) for this protection. While they may shade your eyes and face, they offer no protection for your ears and the back of your neck.

So, JestrBob. What do you think makes a good hat?

A wide, 3 inch brim. Maybe with tie to hold it down in the wind. One with a ventilated crown is great for summer outings. The wide brim will protect your face, ears and neck. I found a great hat in a local store that sells work clothing for the outdoors.

Now that you are all outfitted for your outing why are you still sitting at the computer?

A Horse of Different Color or They're and Swiming Off

Yesterday was the scheduled opening of the new Secret World of Seahorses.

This peek through the door shot was taken. I asked to take a walk though for pictures for my blog, they said no. Or Well. So I was just happy to see the Aquarium was still going strong after these years. A weekend trip to the California Coast is always an adventure for our family. So everyone, Get up off the couch, go somewhere with your family or spouse and take a walk.

One of the Things I have noticed is every public aquarium has at least one exhibit with Clown Fish. Disney's feature film Finding Nemo gave an entire generation the interests in these fish.

At least everyone that has visited with a camera has tried to take a picture of these fish. They are very photogenic.

They are good practice at this type of shooting.

The move slow enough you don't have to track them and move enough to be interesting.

Are these fish an ideal model fish, or is that an ideal fish model?

What I want to say, is some fish seem to move so fast they are nearly impossible to track in the low light/flashless conditions. While other fish don't seem to move at all.

No matter what your technique happens to be for taking good images of these creatures, it is a skill worth developing. No tripod, no flash and low light/usually a nice bulb placed above the tank to stimulate the native light conditions.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has these impressive tanks which model the nearly the Monterey Bay from the waterline to about 50 feet below sea level.

Then if you get tired of fish watching. You can always people people watch.

Do you ever wonder what people are thinking when they watch fish?
It is almost as interesting as watching the fish. I asked one of docents about how the fish seemed to interact or react to some people and the colors of clothing they were wearing.

Pinnacles National Monument and Good Cameras

DSC_4115, originally uploaded by jestrbob.

Well everyone, I promised an update from the outing. this is one of the fine wildflowers found this weekend at Pinnacles National Monument 35 miles south of Hollister, California,

This was a great get away, just barely a 90 mile drive from home. the park is located in the coastal range of California.

This image is a case of getting closer. This small flower is about 3/8 of an inch across. Most all the wildflowers were next to the trail and in abundance. This High Peaks trail was good hike. The trail is rated Strenuous and one should be able to at least walk 4-8 miles in inclined territory.

There are several different Trails and all of them have their own sights to see. This time of the year of the year the grass is green and everything is growing. In a few months everything will be dry and the temperatures will soar from a mid-sixties to mid seventies to 100+ degrees. Even with the cooler temperatures the need to carry water on all trails is a requirement.

This is a friendly park with lots to different hikers on the trails.

One of the people we met on the trail, mentioned the nice camera were we using.

I replied, they are great cameras. Great, because they were the ones we were using.

You see, I have the opinion that any camera can be a great camera. The skill in getting a good picture is determined by the skill of the person using the camera, and how hard the person is willing to work to develop the skill to know what will make a great shot. The fact it is it takes the willingness to use the camera which will in time and with hard work allow you to know when you are at the right place to get the good shot. A camera that is sitting in a closet, will never be a good camera because it is not being used.

Even worse the person who owns the unused camera will never have chance to develop the skill to use the camera. Taking pictures is easy. Taking good pictures is a skill which needs to be developed over time.

So folks grab your camera and use them.

Choices? Choices! Photo Opportunities!

The Weekend Cometh! (and Options Abound)

This is when I start to make plans for the weekend. This is often difficult because I work six days a week. I normally only get one day off a week, and after 38 years on the job I have worked my way up to getting that one day off on Sunday.

So What do I do on Sunday? The two choices which are running tied for 1st place is either Pinnacles National Monument [ http://www.nps.gov/pinn/ ] or Yosemite National Park [http://www.nps.gov/yose/]. There is a close second or third choice (if you are counting) in the running and that's Point Lobos State Reserve [http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/].

All three sites are well discussed on several sites and blogs. The real choices may end up fully dependent on the weather conditions the chances of me getting one of those "Personal Days Off" which I receive in lieu of paid holidays.

All three sites are interesting. My own leanings are to go to the Pinnacles, especially if I can get one of those "personal days". The truth is my wife will also get a vote and she will certainly want to go someplace. My real assignment is to make the outing something special. (for both of us.)

The current plan is to leave as early in the afternoon Saturday as I can get away from work. The Plan is to have the car is packed and tank filled. All the camera batteries are charged, tripods loaded.

The ice chest with water should be all set to go, sandwiches and pasta salad will be picked up as we leave, and the snakes foods like apples, string cheese, granola bars and crackers easy to pack. Already I have double checked the 1st aid kit.

This sort of Stuff is easy because we have discovered the easy way to be packed to go is never fully unpack and put away all stuff.

Anyway, my next blog entry should be a report on the outing with pictures.