Sunset Through the Thicket

Souvenir Foto School Starting Soon!

{Photo and Design courtesy of Miss B}

So, I don't know if you all remember, but I am an alum of Souvenir Foto thrice over. Once when our project was to photograph the same thing for six weeks (I chose spring blossoms, because I'm a girl), once when we had to photograph food for a while (and I created one of my favorite photos during that session) and then most recently when we photographed the alphabet in 30 days. Man, I won't lie, it was a bit grueling. But I did it, I was proud of that.

And it's all happening again. The alphabet, that is. Starting on February 1st, right around the corner. This time there's a fee to be involved, but it's modest, only $30. And I'm sure it will all be a lot of fun. I enjoy it because it always gets my creative juices flowing. Last time I broke out the Lensbaby and the macro attachments. I experimented with LED lighting as well. Who knows what I'll learn this time?

So basically the DL is this: 26 letters of the alphabet in 29 days of February. That means (if I'm getting my math right) that you have three free days, but every other day you must be taking a photo and uploading it to the Flickr group. Photos must be taken on the same day they are posted, no exceptions!

More info, and a place to pay may be found here. Hope to see you there! And even if I don't, I'm sure you'll be seeing my photos here in February as I work my way through the alphabet.

*Disclaimer: my fee to participate has been waived in exchange for mentioning Souvenir Foto on my blog. But I've mentioned it before when no such arrangement was in place, and I'd likely be doing it anyway because you'll be seeing all of my photos from it soon! Plus I do think it's a fun thing that you should know about.*

Squeaky and Wigi

Some more cuties from the SF ACC. Adopt them while they're hot!

This is Squeaky. Super cute, and what a lover. Came up to me and tried to cuddle immediately.

And this is Wigi. A little more on the timid side, but super sweet. And very focused on getting back to her particular area during the shoot!

Light Painting

f/2.5, ISO 640, 8 seconds. 85mm lens. 

Here it is, Tuesday again. Amazing how time does fly. And I said that I would do something vaguely photography related on Tuesdays, didn't I? Oh, Jessica. You always speak too soon . . .

Well, ok, I actually had this topic lined up. But Tuesday still came faster than expected.

So, light painting? What is it exactly? Truth is, I'm not exactly an expert, This was the first photo I've tried it out on, but I dare say it won't be the last. Basically, you find a subject (that's pretty much always the first step in photography - what do you want to take a picture of? without a subject, you won't get very far) and set up your tripod. Yes, tripods again. And it has to be night time, because otherwise you won't get your lights to show up. Then you set a base exposure, focus manually (at least I have to, because the 5d won't focus after 6:00 - it keeps union hours), and make sure in general that you're good to go. Set up a self-timer, or use a remote trigger, or what not.

Then we come to the gear you need. To successfully do some light painting, you need a camera, a tripod, and a light source. I recommend a flashlight, the more powerful the better. The newer LED flashlights are also pretty great. You can also pop your flash at low settings multiple times within the frame, but that's a bit harder to control and takes more practice and tweaking.

Invariably, it all needs some tweaking. You'll take quite a few exposures. Ok, so once you're all set up, try a test run. Decide what you want to illuminate, set your camera up, take the shot and run your flashlight or other light source over the part of the photo you want to make brighter than the rest. You can get some really cool results, especially if you have a few different colored lights. Keep in mind, though, that the more complicated what you're trying to do is, the longer of an exposure you need, and the larger the number of shots you'll probably have to make before it turns out well. Make sure you check your histogram after the first shot; you may have to change your exposure slightly.

Ok, hope that made sense! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments if something still isn't clear.

Wall of Inspiration

I know there are some photographers who don't look at other people's work (only one comes to mind, but I think I've heard a few say this), but that's definitely not me.

I look at photos all the time. On the web, in books (if I'm lucky), in person (if I'm really lucky), any way I can. I believe that having a varied visual diet is good for me as a photographer. Also as a person, but that's a bit less quantifiable.

One of the ways I make sure I'm seeing photos that are fresh and current and appeal to the public as a whole is by subscribing to magazines. I subscribe to quite a few of them. And when I see an image I love, or where there's something I think I can use - a pose, a lighting angle, a feeling, a concept, whatever, I tear out the page. My favorites I stick up on the wall in my office as inspiration, in the hope that after seeing them over and over I can absorb a bit of their awesomeness.

Now, you might think this looks a bit messy, and maybe it does, but it works for me. I use washi tape, so I can take them down and put them back up as often as I want without worrying about putting holes in the wall or taking the paint off.

So what about you? How do you stay inspired? Do you believe in looking at other people's work?

January Self Portrait

I always knew there were a few reasons I dragged my feet when it came to making self portraits. One, I hate tripods (most of the time). Bulky, awkward, slow . . . no thanks. Getting the focus right is also really really difficult - I don't know how people do it. I really don't. I think it probably took me about 20 minutes of trial and error to get shots that even started to be in focus.

In addition, since it's just you and the tripod, it's very hard to create a photo that feels like it has a connection. Most of the time I just looked blank, or bored. Not to mention the fact that like most people I am squeamish about looking at pictures of myself - do I really look like that???? was often my reaction.

I considered scrapping the resolution, but I decided that was the easy way out, and nobody likes a quitter. So I picked the one I liked the best, and then I edited it a bit (which is kind of odd when it's your own face, but it's also oddly satisfying. I like to imagine that the changes I make are all echoed in real life).

Okay, January self portrait done! Only 11 more months to go.