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The Woosh of the Wind!

January 5, 2011 Jason4 Comments

Journal Entry #1 – 2011 – Snowmobiling in Copper Mountain

Date: January 1st, 2011

Location: Copper Mountain Colorado

Temp: -20 Fahrenheit

Wind: 10-20mph

Wind Chill: -41 to -45 F!

What is this a great day for? You guessed it – a snowmobile ride! Seriously, I went on just such an excursion the morning of the 1st! I layered up in my best winter gear:

Layer 1 – Thermals (long underwear)
Layer 2 – Lounge pants
Layer 3 – Blue Jeans
Layer 4 – Snow suit

It worked quite well as I never really got all that cold! I took off from the house in Keystone CO where we gathered for the holidays with family, and drove the 45 minutes from 9900 feet to the 11,000 foot mark. Nearly two miles above sea level now where the air is downright thin!

It was a nice tour, led by the well-regarded folks of Summit Concierge and their services across the Colorado Rockies. The tour guides were friendly, we got some handling time in a track loop to familiarize ourselves with the equipment, then they split us into two groups of six for some pretty exciting scenic views. One group was a family or two, then the other was mostly adults (myself included, although I felt like a kid – adrenaline surging as we whipped around at about 30-45mph on our Polaris snowmobiles!).

As we crossed the mountains, with snow-covered pines, and gorgeous mountain-scapes. Of course once we rode above the timber line, the scenery was just the white snow against the slightly paler misty sky. It wasn’t snowing as at that temp, it’s just too cold. Instead tiny bits of ice dusted the sky with hints of bluer skies behind the flakes of snow and ice.

I did imagine that we would get a bit cold in our extremities, as we whipped along. After all, with a -20 gauge on the thermometer, 20mph winds and us tooling around with another 30mph of wind, it was likely very nearly around 50 below zero! But the handles of the Polaris were heated! As you moved, the heat increased to snuff out the effects of the wind. When we stopped I even took my gloves off to pull out the camera for some photography! No gloves! in 40 below temps!

The camera though, did not have the pleasure of heat, so it didn’t last too long, even inside my external snowsuit to shield it from the bitter cold. I got perhaps 45 minutes of shoot time from the two batteries I packed. The point and shoot fared better as it was inside my own snow jacket pocket, closer to the warmth of my own core heat. But it even capitulated to the cold after being taken out for a mere 20 minutes! I found this out at one of the rally points…

Regardless, it was a great ride, with half pipes, remarkable scenery and even a stop for hot chocolate halfway through (the tour guide started the heaters as we began the trek)! For the adventurous – this is definitely one to consider when you go to book your next adrenaline tour! It was a great way to usher in the New Year! How did you celebrate the start of 2011? Share your thoughts, shots, and feedback in the comments below or via email. Don’t forget to share socially too!

And finally, for those that read all the way through the journal article, here’s a short video I took from my Flip HD Video (Christmas Present):

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Making Resolutions…

January 3, 2011 Jason6 Comments

Do you like New Year’s Resolutions? I don’t. We always make vague references to “become better with portrait work” or to “improve my flash techniques”. There are countless others of course, but you likely get the idea – resolutions are often too vague. Even when it comes to the classic ones of “lose weight” and “eat better”. The problem lies in the inherent nature of such resolve.

While the effort and idea are splendid – they are vague by definition and thus, difficult to define success in achievement. How would you define “better” or “improve”? There is also no accountability when these statements are made. So, when making resolutions from a photographers point of view, it helps to define your resolutions clearly, and to share those resolves with others, so as to make yourself accountable.

My goals? Funny you should ask, because I have the same goal I made last year – to shoot at least one project each and every month. And I did it! Here’s the project I did for each month:

January – All About Brighton, Baby!
February – Meetup Group – Downtown Denver
March –Sun, Wind, and Frost
April –CHDK is Cool
May –Beautiful Bokeh
June –Nothin’ But the Tail Lights
July -Launch of “49 Photo Tips – The Sequel“
August –Raquette Lake Rendezvous
September –Colorado isn’t Just for Sunsets
October –Visiting the Pumpkin Patch
November –Sigma 70-200 f2.8 Review
December –Helicopter Shoot

The goal for the year was to shoot more and write less. While I still plodded away at the blog in an effort to provide continued content for the readers here (and I hope you enjoyed 2010)…more effort went into advancing my own photography library in 2010. The stakes are raised for 2011 though. As you may have noticed, some of the “shoots” weren’t as planned or dedicated photo shoots as others. The Pumpkin Patch outing was definitely a multi-functioned event!

So, for 2011 – my goal is to go on an outing with photography as the primary focus! And, here I am happy to report that the month of January for 2011 has already been covered with a snowmobile outing on January 1st!

It was indeed quite the outing, and I learned quite a bit about shooting in extreme cold weather. More to come on that as I put together the assembly for publication later this week. Another shoot might be forthcoming on the same vein, so more is also pending there as well.

Pretty exciting (although my wallet is nervous!) for 2011. Sort of a photo/travel/expedition blog post will be something to look for each month during the upcoming year! If you have any places in the area (i.e. Colorado/Wyoming/etc.) that you would like to see me capture, say the word so I can take it into consideration sooner rather than later. I’ve got some irons in the fire already scheduled for certain points during the year, but nothing affirmative as of yet.

What about everyone else? Have you made any concrete resolutions? Do share them in the comments or via email – an upcoming podcast will likely take some of your thoughts, comments, and feedback into consideration! Happy New Year all and keep on shooting!

Using On-Camera Flash?

December 30, 2010 Jason7 Comments

As much as we like to promote moving your flash off-camera, there are times when using that little pop-up flash can be really fun! One such time can be when it’s snowing outside! A little wind to help kick things up also helps. Here’s a few shots I took earlier today on an outing to Keystone, CO when the weather conditions were just about perfect for these fun effects!

Now granted, these are nothing that would ever been usable for fine art or stock type work, but it’s always fun to experiment, and this is one such case where on-camera flash works particularly well. There’s other times when using on-camera built-in flash can also be useful though, so don’t be afraid to experiment. Where have you had success with on-camera flash? Share your own thoughts, perspectives and shots in the insight

I Resolve To…

December 28, 2010 Jason3 Comments

Happy Tuesday to all! As we wind down the Year of the Tiger (2010 was the Year of the Tiger according to the Chinese Calendar), I find myself, as always, looking at the events of the past 365 days, and wonder to myself what I’ve done. Have I accomplished my goals? Did I challenge myself in new ways? What have I learned? All of these questions are ones we should ask ourselves periodically.

While I answered yes to many of the questions, I did have to admit that I had not devoted as much time to the learning side of things. After spending time on writing blog posts, taking pictures, going on shoots, recording podcasts, talking to vendors, and the whole schmear, I had only attended 1 workshop! While the workshop was a phenomenal one (David Ziser’s Captured By The Light tour), it’s just one aspect of photography.

So, 2011 will hopefully be a year of learning. I know it seems odd that the host of the Learning Digital Photography podcast and author of Canon Blogger is endeavoring to learn more, but that brings up a very good point that bears mentioning – we never stop learning! I had a colleague say something to me recently after we had several discussions about various aspects of the craft. His words went something like “I could learn a lot from you about licensing and copyright.” It reminded me that no matter who we are, or where we think we are in our craft, there is always going to be someone out there that knows more than us about something. Whether it’s licensing, printing, composition, or any other topic – there is always more to learn. And you can learn from anywhere!

With that in mind, one of my priorities in 2011 is to attend more workshops and seminars From my perspective, when you stop learning, you’ve stagnated, and creativity begins to subside. What a great opportunity to move forward with in 2011! And it all came from a little introspection, and looking at my goals for 2010..it gave me motivation, desire, and a resolution for 2011!

As always, let’s turn the question out for the reading/listening audience. What were your goals for 2010? Did you reach your goals? Are you happy with what you’ve done? What about 2011? Any photography goals for the year? Share your thoughts, views, visions and dreams in the comments or via email. Don’t forget to keep on shooting! We’ll see you back here again tomorrow for more photography goodness!

The 2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

December 22, 2010February 24, 2017 Jason5 Comments

As you may recall from yesterday’s post, I did not get the entire solstice eclipse from beginning to end due to cloud cover. But, from the halfway point forward, the clouds cleared and I was able to get some adequate coverage. After wrestling both mentally and processor-ily with the amount of images (98) and trying to figure out a good way to present the series, I decided on the spiral approach…

What kinds of shots did you get? How are you presenting them? I debated on a video showing the movement across the sky, but that was very labor intensive, so decided on the above. Thoughts, comments, feedback? Share your shots too!

About Last Night…

December 21, 2010February 24, 2017 Jason5 Comments

The first lunar eclipse to occur on the winter solstice occurred. It’s the first time it’s happened in 600 years…and apparently won’t happen again for another 400 years. I had two strokes of luck with this amazing astronomical event:

#1 – the path of the moon tracked almost directly over my house! Literally! I took maybe ten steps out my front door, and there it was, beautifully tracking across the sky.

#2 – Let me re-phrase that…beautifully tracking across the cloudy sky.

At first it was just a few wisps…I started to capture a few shots at 10. You know, to sort of document the before, during, and after. But, by 10:30 the wisps were sticky patches of cloud cover. By 11, even my naked eye could not discern any detail anymore. It was very disappointing…

So, I put the camera away, began this post and went back out to glance at the sky for a bit before bed. And as the first yawn escaped my tired body, sure enough, the clouds began to peel away. At the halfway point, I finally grumbingly ran inside, bundled up, and grabbed the camera/tripod set which were already in place. I’ve not done much post production on these, but here’s a select few:

I am sure others will get wonderful views, and the folks at NASA, Roswell, SETI, and all the others will document it quite nicely for the rest of us. But…it’s just not the same as viewing it in real time. When all was said and done, I was glad I stayed up to watch it. Not only did I end up getting some nice shots, but I got to see almost the whole thing before heading off to bed.

What about others? Did anyone else stay up to watch it? I’ll bet some pretty cool time lapse productions come out of this! Share your own thoughts and perspectives in the comments. Would love to hear from you! Happy shooting, and I’ll likely have a full set posted tomorrow.

Did You Know…

December 20, 2010 Jason2 Comments

Over the weekend I was down in Tucson, spending some time with the in-laws, and during the getaway, had a chance to catch up on some overdue reading in my monthly magazine stack (it has been growing steadily lately as other stuff has gotten in the way. I emerged from my readings with several “Eureka!’s” and “What a great idea!” so, figured to pass on the new-found or re-kindled knowledge here on the blog. (In the spirit of giving and all that…) So, without further ado, here’s a new feature on the blog:

Did You Know…?

1. Fog is about 1 stop brighter than what cameras detect as 18% gray? To compensate for shots taken in foggy conditions, adjust your exposure settings up by about 1/2 – 1 1/2 stops to compensate, otherwise you’ll get underexposed shots.

2. Cameras are designed for right-handed people…the ergonomics are made to grip and adjust controls with your right hand. Left-handed shooters have it twice as hard as the rest of us so double kudos to you!

3. Pentax was actually the first camera vendor slated to release a full-frame DSLR camera, not Canon or Nikon!

4. As you move light away from your subject, the output drops off by a factor of almost 2 to 1? (It’s actually technically “double the distance, 3/4ths the output…) Which means if you move your subject away, you need twice as much light at double the distance to equal the same output…

5. To shoot a picture of the moon, use the Moony 11 Rule, just like the Sunny 16, but use f/11 and match the ISO to shutter speed

And since I was in Tucson this past weekend, here’s a couple holiday photos to tickle your funny bone…Christmas Tucson-Style:

Got your own DYK tips or photo nuggets? Share ’em here on the blog. I’ll likely start doing this as a monthly feature and would love to hear the ideas, tips and tricks that others have to share as well. In the meantime, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Shooting is for the birds (eye)!

December 17, 2010 Jason1 Comment

One of the things we always hear about is that changing your perspective is a great way to see a new angle on things. Continue reading “Shooting is for the birds (eye)!” →

6 Tips for Shooting Christmas Lights

December 15, 2010 Jason1 Comment

It’s that time of year again, and many have already covered the tips and tricks that surround shooting Christmas Lights. Here’s just a few tips and sample photos to help you along the way, and give you some ideas for your own creative vision and inspiriation:

Keep your shutter speed around 3-7 seconds. Much longer than 7 seconds and the lights will start getting blown out, losing detail. Much shorter than 3 seconds and your lights won’t have enough detail.
Shoot at twilight (or early morning if the lights are still on). This avoids the problem of needing longer exposures in darker night shots, which can cause #1. Also, the dark blues in twilight can add some real nice depth and appeal that would otherwise be lacking in darker sky photos. If you time it right and get clear enough skies, you can also get stars in your images!
It should go without saying, but use a tripod – these long exposures are impossible without it. To this end though, if you don’t have your tripod wrapped in foam, now is the time to do it. Colder temps can make it downright painful to touch.
Don’t try to capture too much – you have a limited window of twilight, so once that’s gone, just enjoy the rest of the evening – most of your shots after twilight won’t be “keepers”
Try shooting low to get a different angle, or from above looking down – to get a better “aerial” approach.
For the starburst effect without the star filter, drop your aperture down to f16 or smaller – lights will start to exhibit the starburst effect at these smaller apertures.

There’s my 5 tips – but there’s always more where that came from. What about the rest of the audience? What tips, tricks, and advice do you have for shooting the holiday lights? Share ’em in the comments! Here’s my sample (there’s more also up on my Flickr photo stream). Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Editor Note: These were taken at Chatfield, part of the Denver Botanical Gardens, which are decorated every year. A nice change of pace from shooting the downtown Denver area, and tickets go for $9.50 (adults) and $6.50 (kids). With lots of lights and diversions for kids including hot chocolate, hay rides and more, it’s definitely worth the price of admission. Maps, schedules, and additional information are available here.

Cameras for Christmas? Not so fast!

December 14, 2010 Jason1 Comment

It’s no secret that prices for things tend to adjust based on the season. For instance, gas grills are cheaper in the winter, as are fans, air conditioners, and pool chlorine. Conversely, sweaters, warm clothing, and snow shovels can be had for bargain basement prices in the summer. But where do digital cameras and other technology items fit into the picture? My line of thinking is that such items are less susceptible to seasonal trends. But, apparently, there are trends that can be deciphered for pretty much anything – camera gear included.

The most recent issue of Consumer Reports suggests that pricing trends for digital cameras tends to be the best during March and April, then again in September and October. This kind of makes sense after I thought about it because that’s typically when the vendor rebate programs are rolled out, and you can apply discounts to existing models that are probably already marked down as new products are pending release. Vendors have to clear out old inventory sooner or later, and the rebate programs are a way to do that.

So, does that mean the Powershot G11 you just got for your spouse, sibling or parent was a bad buy? Not necessarily…but if you are looking to add gear to your own inventory, you may want to consider holding off until the months Consumer Reports suggests to see the biggest savings. Want to see what the seasonal trends are for other items? I’d highly recommend getting your own subscription to CR, but for those interested in seeing what they suggest for 2010, here’s a summary from my own issue: