There's always something new to try!

What's one of the coolest things about photography?

There is always something new to try. Between gear, software and this huge world we live in, the possibility are endless.

I like new. New keeps me from getting bored.

If I get bored, I find trouble. Actively search it out. Seriously, I have Trouble's phone number on speed dial. (Just ask my last 5, 6 or 7 employers.)


Today in the microsecond of spring weather we had this morning here in Castle Rock, I borrowed Doug's Infrared filter and slapped it on a lens and shot out in the back yard.

The filter blocks out all of the light spectrum except that at the infrared range (makes sense, right?) It makes it a bit of a challenge to set up a shot because you can't see through the filter. At least I can't, I can't see infrared.

This technique was reserved for black and white film photography originally. It still works best on film. The fancy sensors on the newer cameras tend to block out most IR light. But not all of it. So you shoot with an IR filter on a digital camera and you get something like this:

Hideous?

Stylistic?

You decide.

However... a click of a button (Ok, a few buttons...) in Photoshop (or even in the camera itself!) to change the picture to black and white and it gives us the desired infrared affect we're looking for.

Slap a title on it and this is what comes up:


Much more better. Not quite the true IR effect, but still a nice picture.

Moral of the story? Get out there and play with new stuff! Remember, you don't have to buy new stuff all the time either.

That's what friends and big brothers are for!


By the way: Where the hell is spring? Anyone seen it? If you have send some my way woulda?

Shooting fish in a barrel

Wildlife photography is very difficult.

First, you have to find the wildlife. That ain't as easy as the internet might lead you to believe. There are NEVER a bunch of animals just lined up saying "Oooo! Oooo! Shoot me! Shoot me!" (Just ask hunters. They have the same problem.)

In fact, quite the opposite. So guess what? You have to sneak up on them most of the time. That means BIG lenses. (Translation: Really, really, really expensive lenses)

Or....

You can go to the zoo. There are still challenges, even at the zoo, but for the most part?
It's kinda like shooting fish in a barrel.

Hey, I ain't proud.


Enjoy this shot of a Mexican Wolf at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs

Well...Look what I learned how to do!

Several of my favorite photographers use Photoshop to put a white border around their pictures and add text under them to make them look even more impressive. It's called a Gallery Print.

Guess what?

I learned how to do that today! Wooo-hoo!

Oh yeah, sure, if you're an old hand at Photoshop this ain't nothing new to you, but I'm a noob.

Best of all?

I also learned how to create an "action".

What's that you ask?

I now need but push a button and Photoshop adds the gallery print around the picture.

Click. Done.

Sweet.

(Oh, and if you ever find yourself in Ireland? Check this place out. It's amazing!)

The fruits of my labor...

Doug and I had our first paid gig yesterday.

We shot portraits of the client's lovely children for them.

Thought it was a bit windy, we had a great location.

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

Here's a couple of my favorites...

More spring

Yup, I'll admit it...I'm loving the new yard, almost as much as the dogs are. Though I guess I should learn to express that without making faces at the camera. At any rate, this is what I was working on a day or so ago - the few daffodils in the yard finally started opening and are lovely. I can't wait to see what color the irises are, or if we get any edible fruit off of the cherry or apple tree. What fun!

"I love our new backyard!"

"I love our new backyard!" Emily says to me this evening.

She says that while out in said yard with her camera and her macro lens taking pictures of all of the new spring growth that has been budding up.

I'd say it's pretty clear from the picture she likes it.

Wouldn't you?

"Helpful" canines

You might think that loading a moving truck with three dogs underfoot would be a chore...and while we did have to send one dog to her crate for the day (sorry Sera), the other two were surprisingly good about staying out of the way. Once they figured out the ramp into the back of the truck, they spent the rest of the day following us in and out of the apartment, supervising the move and offering the occasional comment ("Woof!") on furniture placement. Angie rather enjoyed climbing around on the growing mountain of stuff, as seen above.

One thing we learned that day....that the dogs are quite capable of staying out of the way when they feel like it, which means that all those times they seemed to "accidentally" be in our way on the stairs are a bit suspect now....

Moving, and going home

Ugh. My photo-editing skills are weak tonight, but I want to get something posted because it's been forever. The past couple of weeks have been a blur of packing, moving, and a quick trip to Kansas for a funeral. It's unfortunate how it sometimes takes a death to get a family together. I was out there less than 36 hours but got to see cousins that I haven't seen in years, and meet some new members of the next generation of relatives, too. Tonight's pic was taken at my grandparents' farm near Pratt, Kansas. It's just as peaceful as it looks. It's pretty easy to make fun of the plains for being, well...plain, but there's a lot of beauty there if you look for it. While I have never lived out there, on some level going back there always feels a bit like going home.

Spring is here!

Spring is here, finally, and I'm sick as a dog.

And what the hell does that mean anyway? Sick as a dog?

The only time I've ever seen any of my dogs sick is after they've eaten too much tree bark or beer cans or cigarette butts. (Hey, I got weird dogs, what can I say?)

I doubt I'll ever be too sick to lift my camera though. (If I am, you'd better run. You WON'T want to catch whatever I had!)

And certainly not sick enough to go out into our new backyard and shoot this picture of our cherry tree in blossom at sundown.

Enjoy!

My first gig!

Well, Emily and I finally got moved and we are in the process of unpacking.

In the midst of that, I had my first photo gig.

A friend of Emily's from high school does hand made crafts and has a need for decent pictures of her items so that she may sell them on her website.

Here's her site

She makes unique crocheted and knitted items, here's a couple pictures from the shoot that I really liked.