Return to Old Car City

My son and I braved the cold to visit Old Car City yesterday.  The temperatures started at 24 F and moved up to 41 F over the course of the day.  The owner greeted us and said, he could not understand anyone coming up to shoot on such a cold day!  We started the day with great winter light, and then had clouds come in to add one more challenge to the self-assignment.  Despite these challenges, the two of us had a great day together talking and walking several miles through the 4100 cars on the 600 acre lot.  Having my son along was part of his education, and the only way I can show him how I work with others...my day job just does not allow that.  It was my first return visit since last March when I toured the grounds with Bill Fortney and the His Light Crew.

This scene shows you the entrance to Old Car City.  The owner and his crew made a number of changes to the front part of the City, and it was nice to see the growth of the yard to keep it fresh.  I like this photo a lot better than the bicycle shot I captured last year.  I think it has a little more charm, and tells a better story of the environment of Old Car City.

For this adventure I went in only with my Fujifilm X-E1, my shoulder bag, and my heavy tripod.  I also made the test decision to take everything in jpeg, since I was going to make HDR photos with my captures.  The data in an HDR is massive just because of how they get processed, and I think it ended up working for me.

Over the next few days I hope to show you some of the work I did...and yes I already have them ready to order and grace your walls!

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with the 18-55 Kit lens...the only shot in the series from the kit lens.  I switched over to primes for all but one other series for the rest of the day.

Capturing a sunbeam

Yesterday afternoon I had a couple fun experiences with my girls.  First I got a hours of time with my big girl, we went out to lunch.  We talked, and talked and talked.  It was fun, and a good time to be a Dad.  After we arrived home, Mom had to depart for WalMart leaving me in charge of the house.  After a mere thirty minutes my little one found herself startled out of a good deep sleep.  When this happens you have two choices, let her go with a minimal nap and watch her feel ugly all night...or hold her as she tries to sleep.  Well this Dad scooped her up, and held her close.  She did what we all do when we want comfort, put her head down and listened for my heart to calm herself down.  After getting her calmed down and almost asleep, I put her in the big bed and she fell asleep on my arm.  This resulted in forcing me to get a good nap too!

Ok the point of this is that after we awoke, the sun was shining in the way only a winter afternoon sun can into out living room.  We both had energy now, and could really enjoy playing with the sunbeams.

Thankfully with my camera at hand, I was able to capture a sunbeam in the eyes of a happy little girl.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm Macro at F4.5, 1/150, ISO 800, -.5 EV.  Minor edits in Aperture using the RAW file.

An Accidental Lesson

Today I made an accidental study in under exposure.  See I was shooting away, in what I thought was aperture priority mode.  Well I accidentally also moved the shutter speed from Auto to 4000/sec.  As a result, the vast majority of the shot became way under exposed.   The most highly exposed parts of the photo, did expose properly and created some beautiful colors.  Obviously the contrast between dark and light came out fantastic, with a bit of a magical air to it.

The mistake I made reminded me of a basic need...to make sure I sometimes learn what creative possibilities exist by working around the metered perfect.  It can teach me why "right" is "right," and what happens when you push the boundaries to sometimes make some magical air.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm obviously underexposed!

The camera you have with you

The old saying is that the best camera you have is the one you have with you.  Here is an example in point.

During mass on New Years Eve Kellie was not being bad, just demonstrating she had more energy than the two parents sitting with her in the pew.  She also had more curiosity in everything around her than the next fifteen people you could find in the adjacent pews.  So of course I had to take her out to the narthex for most of mass.  While we were there, she of course found the nativity scene fascinating.  Not having time to get good angles, or my good camera sitting in the pew...I grabbed my iPhone and snapped two frames.  Then like a hawk I switched into protect the church property mode, and became the hover parent.  Meanwhile one of the deacons from the parish sat behind me, laughing with his whole family.  He just looked up and said, I've been there three times myself!

So I would not have an image to share with you of her sweet doting on the nativity set without the small little camera I had with me.  If you want an image you have to have something to capture it.  You have to know the tools you have with you as well...so it should behoove me to learn a little more about the darn thing as well.  I guess I should give it some of the attention I normally reserve for my "good" cameras! It just might pay off when I capture the moment I would otherwise lose to unrecorded history.

-ehw

P.S.  iPhone in Program mode using the standard camera program.  Post processed in Perfect Picture Suite 8 and Nik Define to reduce some noise.

Wishing for My Someone

Last night I ran out with friends to grab a bite to eat and I was longing for my lovely wife to be with me. I knew she might enjoy the sights, sounds and a little treat...

Oh well just under 42 hours or so and I'll be with her and the four little people I love so much! Time does make the heart grow fonder...but that happens to me after 8 hours at work! I hope when I retire from my second career I can merge family and work a little better.

-ehw

PS X-20 with post in Snapseed. Fun composition. I did open up the shutter on purpose to get the movement of the cars. Snapsee continues to amaze me with fun tools and output.

Hat man's delight!

I you ever met me you know I enjoy a good hat. When I was 16 I became the only guy to ask for a fedora for Christmas, probably in the history of the planet...but I did. That hat served me for ten years, only to be crushed when my household goods came home from Germany.

Well this store has my name written all over it. I so want to go in and get me a good hat...but unlike Seattle I'd definitely need a winter hat and summer hat in Atlanta!

Oh the choices only get harder don't they!

Ok story for the shot is that I had a few minutes and did a recon of the local area around the hotel. This store came up, and if tried to get a good shot with X-E1 in with the few minutes I had left before my shift started. I edited it this evening after shift completed in Nik's Snapseed on the iPad.

So now I am going to crash and sleep well after a hard day's work and a moment of relaxation dreaming about being a pro businessman making photos for a living.

-ehw

Travelling Lighter

Going on a business trip, so I packed up my camera as I usually do...only to recognize some pretty big changes in my load plan. Now this is a business trip, and if I get to shoot and enjoy myself it will be a small miracle. I just feel unprepared without a good camera on hand...and being a geek I wanted my toy set with me. On my last big trip I toted my Pentax K-5 DSLR along. Great camera, outstanding quality from its 16mp sensor. I took the little bag you see below. Inside was the K-5 with a 16-50 F2.8 and either the 50-135 F2.8 or a trio of primes (usually DA 15 F4, DA35 F2.8 (or the FA43/FA77) and DFA100 F2.8 Macro). I could take either one flash, or store my batteries and charger in the top compartment. This was a great set of toys.

Over the last six months I traded out a lot of Pentax gear to pick up a Fujifilm rangefinder style kit. So this time I put the following in the bag: Fujifilm X-E1, 18-55 F2.8-F4, 55-200 F3.5-4.8, 14mm F2.8, 35mm F1.4 and 60mm F2.4 close focusing lens with a small XF-20 flash, XF-42 Flash, off camera flash cord and the battery charger. This is way more than I need...probably too much. The way I shoot though is opportunity driven, as such the better a set of tools I have on hand the better I can handle any situation.

What did I gain and what did I lose? Well the X-E1 displays much sharper image due to its lack of an AA filter, and in dim situations and almost no noise up to IO3200. Now I also want to point out that I have an early generation 16MP sensor in the K-5, and a later generation 16MP sensor in the X-E1 both probably made by Sony. Sony does continuous improvement on the sensors, and users of current 16MP K-5II and K-5IIS do have a better sensor. On the plus side I also had more room to carry some fill flash without exceeding my previous carry weight in the Fuji package. I used that a lot over Thanksgiving, and it could become useful here.

The style of the X-E1 is definitely a retro design with aperture rings and a shutter speed dial. It is simple and direct. For more complicated functions I can dive into the Q menu and handle the need quickly. It does force me to slow down in some situations to get everything set up the way I want it in terms of focusing point just because of button positioning and how my brain works. The AF is definitely slower compared to a DSLR, but it is very precise. I also can compose just as easily on the large LCD as the small Electronic Viewfinder (EVF). I am still working to use it as fluidly as I did the K-5.

I made the jump because quite frankly Pentax had not grown very far since I had purchased it. Now they made advances in the last year I would like to take home with me....but I was not sold on where the company was going and what their intentions were. Heck the company could not tell anyone what they their strategy was. My prize lenses were the FA43, FA77 and DFA100. They were dreamy...but out of place on crop sensors most of the time. I had hoped to use the crop sized zooms for sports, and the primes for deliberate work on a 35mm size sensor one day. With no Pentax FF on the horizon to waltz into at some point, I really had to make a decision about their usefullness. Fujifilm on the other hand had a coherent strategy of getting great APS-C quality with compact glass that was very portable (and when on sale relatively uber affordable). So for now when focus speed and weather sealing is of most importance, Mr. Pentax comes out to play. Other than that....it is getting aback seat right now. The Pentax primes are gone except for the macro....all to fund the new Fujifilm kit.

I must admit the jury is still out on whether I made a good choice. Both are good systems, and a little off the beaten track. I almost picked up a Micro 4/3 Olympus OM-D5. Iit has incredible glass, better AF, and a good sound design except it was a little too small for my hands. The Fujifilm fits me well...and the system is growing by leps and bounds. So time will tell if I did the right thing...until then I just need to learn my craft until I get blue in the face! The gear today is very, very good...and the limiter is not the gear but rather me!

So if you are looking for something to lighten your load take a look at the growing number of mirriorless options. They are good cameras, and by design could save you quite a few pounds on your next all day excursion.

-ehw

Signs of Fall

A few signs of fall appearing around the town of Roswell, Georgia the last few weeks...and I finally got to enjoy a photo walk win town to capture a few of them. I particularly enjoyed how the leaves gave a sense of closure to the season as we zoom quickly to the dawn of winter. This bench was very interesting to me. I enjoyed the rich textures, contrasty color, and detail. So I tried to capture it faithfully.

If you've followed the blog for any length of time you know I enjoy shooting in the fall. The afternoon light is so warm and enticing. Funny thing is this photo does not get that full treatment due to placement of the bench! Oh well a few more days of this light before a business trip will take me for a spin way out west!

I've become increasingly self critical of my work. I think it comes with the higher expectations I have for myself. That is good because it drives me to improve my game, it is bad because it gives me greater pause before I shoot and share. I'm still learning the needed balance between shooting for fun, sharing and living. What a wonderful journey life is...who knows where it will take me or teach me in the days and years to come.

-ehw

Joy in Keeing the Faith

On Veteran's Day I took my family down to the Georgia Aquarium to enjoy some of the lovely things our country can do.  After participating in two incredible Veteran's Ceremonies the previous two days, this was the reward.

At the end of the day my wife asked me what was my favorite part of the aquarium.  I told my wife the joy in the eyes of the children.  I don't think she understood what I meant.  How could she?  These photos still were locked up in my memory card!  Me?  Well I knew what was there since I had seen it through the lens!

-ehw

P.S.  Fujifilm X-E1.  Polarizer brush in Aperture on the glass.  The JPEG was pretty much straight out of the camera other than that.

To color or not to color

During my work around in Alpharetta I began to work with my camera settings internally.  In this case I shot the jpeg with Artisa Film mode on high color and contrast.  It as nice, but I also wanted to see what the B&W would look like.  So I simply reprocessed in RAW using the B&W setting with increased contrast and detail.  The more I get comfortable with adjusting settings in camera, I think I may be able to reduce my time at he computer after the shoot.

I also wanted to experiment with the B&W because out of camera, many much more experienced and savvy photographers, say this machine is a B&W dream machine.  I think it did pretty well, but I'm not an expert yet.

In either case, it makes a good study of how removal of color can change up a photograph and focus your eyes and experience on different parts of a photo.  While the white frame and dress draw you in while it is in color...the shapes and patterns box you in for the B&W version.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1

Heart Struck!

One last one from Art in the Park here...

This is from my friend Wendy Dickerson's booth called How Charming.  She makes charms of every type you can imagine.  This one struck me as sentimental since it reminded me of my nurse wife.

I'm finding in my artistic journey that it is not the technical aspects of a photo that sells it to most of us.  It is the sentimental that makes us want to attach a photo to our walls or story books.

That said, the any good of a photo is almost equal parts technical and art that can tell a story.

So I guess our job as an artist trying to create a story from our minds and then to capture it in our particular product.  If we do our jobs right with technical and artistic competence, we will have that story connect with some cord in others in a way that allows them to relate to the piece as well.

Not as easy as it sounds or looks...or to understand late at night after a good long day with four kids, yard work and a photo session!

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1with 60mm Macro.  Contact Wendy at Howcharming22@gmail.com if you'd like to see her work!

Dancing Water

Last week at Art in the Park us photographers were having fun with the park fountain.  The objective was to both capture and display motion in one shot.

To accomplish this I used my telephoto lens, pushed it out to 175-200mm.  I switched to manual focus (something I am still learning with my new focus peaking feature) and tried to watch my focus zone so I had enough depth of field to have the drops in and out of the focus zone.  I used a series of shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1/600 to capture the drops.

Lots of fun...and you only get better with practice!

-ehw

Over the last few days I've worked with my sons to review the christian concept of hope.  Hope in God and his goodness is what prevents us from falling into despair.

When I looked at these trucks, I realized my boys have had a lot of hope for the last few years.  They dig, and dump, discover and learn day after day in the same spots with the glee a only a boy can get by playing in the dirt.  They are happy with each dig and dive into the dirt of life.

So keep up the hope and drive on to expand your knowledge of faith, hope and charity...it will keep you from deep despair in the groundhog days of crazy politics, and distraction from the prize.

-ehw

-X-E1 in the yard with the 35mm

Urban Jungle

Walking through an office I saw a plant reminding of the phrase urban jungle. Quick shots, catch good light and frame in camera the best I could... Then snapseed and done.

Just a reminder watch for a weekend sale on the store!

-EHW

iOS Travel Photography

I am mad as heck at myself...I ran out of the house to beat the rush and forgot my lovely X-E1 in the house on my desk with two charged batteries. So when I got he photo bug I had to turn here to my iPhone. I know, I know everyone is doing it nowadays. I am just resistant to it. I'll use live view and all the modern conveniences but at the end of the day I just want my real camera.

Well I had the bug to shoot something, and I found myself at a rest area. I got a quick shot with a little morning sun. Problem was the flowers were definitely starting to fade...some flowers were downright depressing for what I wanted to do. So I came back to my room and played with the photo...first in iPhoto and then on Snapseed. Snapseed gave me some fun options I liked and knew how to use from my extensive experience with the product....and iPhoto is on its first run with me in its current regeneration.

The bottom line is that even when you have what you feel is little to work with, in today's world it is a far cry from what we had just ten years ago. I made a pretty interesting piece...or so I hope!

Stay optimistic, and drive on to making some art!

-ehw PS iPhone camera on auto, edited in Snapseed.

Home Stretch

Last two games of the season coming up for the Roswell Astros (11-12 year olds).  During a season you can get a lot of good action shots, but a team portfolio is not complete without some ambiance shots.  During night games here I don't have the full frame and F2.8 lenses needed to capture quality action shots.  So instead I switched up my gear to use my FujiFilm X-E1 and my fastest prime lens...my 35mm F1.4.  Just walking around the dugout you can usually find some interesting if you open up your eyes and switch gears from action to environmental shooting.

This is my son' s hat, glove and batting glove.  It was his inning to sit the bench while the team was in the field.  So they were stacked up while he waited his turn to head back out.  While the available light may be awful for moving subjects, the same situation may be interesting and add nostalgia to an environmental photo.

-ehw

Big kid baseball! (Finally)

Just before the start of my son's game on Saturday I was talking to a parent, who was very happy with my work for the team.  I said thanks, but I really did not feel I've been at the top of my game so far this season.  I had a few keepers, but I knew I could do better...and with that resolve I set out for the field.  Armed with my K-5, 60-250, monopod, and knee pads I got myself to work.

I picked up the standard nice to have shots, but I was hungry for good shooting for the first time in a while.  My head was clear, my fingers dialed in and I was shooting the best I could in bright 2PM daylight.  Yep 2PM harsh shadow pain in the neck daylight.

Since I was hungry I started looking for the good shoot I looked where I had not looked yet this season.  It is a fun season to watch.  My son is 10, but playing with kids over 12.  The difference in capabilities and skills these kids have is pretty fun to watch.  They are now picking up the fun parts of the game.  Distracting the pitcher while base running, getting base runners into pickles, and pitching hard right into the strike zone with some consistency.  It is even more fun when you have a good set of coaches like ours...they know the great range of the kids in capabilities.  They respect that each kid's dream is to play...and they make sure they all play and respect each other.  They do not give up on any of the kids.  I have not seen my son this happy playing ball in years, and that only made my desire to shoot well bigger than me.  I wanted something to give back to those helping my son enjoy the game of baseball.

The final trick of the day was in post processing.  Harsh sunlight really makes for ugly photos.  However, my camera was consistently under exposing by over 2/3 a stop.  So I fixed the exposure (yes I shoot RAW just because of that) and then went for a retro film look.  I used the same preset for all the photos for consistency.  It really did the trick, and I think the photos came out pretty well.

It was also nice that while I was processing these...my son and I had the National League Championship Series on in the background.  What a baseball filled day!

-ehw

PS  I told you all my tricks I can share for right now!  I'm going into settings on the camera and will have them fixed up shortly.  I'm sure it is something that I did when fiddling with presets on camera a few weeks ago!

Set for Dinner

I was out on an overnight for work last night...and got the photo bug in my ear. The restaurant crew thought I was crazy, but I wanted to get the table setting. The light was just too interesting coming through the window and on to the table settings. Unfortunately I could not get the glass exactly where I wanted it in the light no matter which table I went to. So this became my next vision...a little contrast study between the light and the dark.

As with most of my travel photos I did the edits on my iPad using Snapseed and for the first time did one retouch with iPhoto for a secular highlight in the wrong spot.

-ehw X-E1 with the 35mm! Great glass when I have the time to use

Surviving Monday Morning

Ok it is Monday...we are all back to work (or I hope we are).

I had to work overnight this weekend, and it went from 9P to 4AM...yep I'm smoked and fading fast here at the desk.  I guess that does not count the chaperoning a middle school party at church Friday, helping the Blue Knights and Knights of Columbus with a Soccer Challenge, and then church and a baseball game for Kalen today.  Yes I go to work to relax a bit.  Just don't tell that to my boss would you please?

So I just wanted to share how I plan to survive my Monday morning...with large amounts of Joe!

Smiles everyone!  Good Luck this week!

-ehw

P.S.  I took this with the Fujifilm X-E1.  I've read a lot lately about this camera not being all it was claimed to be in marketing and the rest...well my advice on any camera is don't read the marketing.  Get a hold of it and shoot.  Every camera has compromises, and if you like the ones the designers chose you're in great luck!  If not find something else.  For me this camera gives some of the best B&W out of camera I've ever seen.  It has the cleanest high ISO shooting for an APS-C camera I've ever seen.  I know because I compare it to a champ of APS-C...my 16MP Sony sensor powered Pentax.  It also gives me a nice analog quality in my prints I enjoy.  I accept that it is not a fast focusing, child chasing tool.  I don't use it for that all the time.  I have Mr Pentax for that in times it matters.  I also accept that fact that the unique output from the camera, the feel of the images is a result of a complex data processing not all image processors do well.  In the long run, a new dame of a camera comes in every week...just like a movie star.  Just enjoy the one you brought, and remember it is a tool not something to worship!  Use the one you need, and enjoy the choices of others as well...if we all did the same thing and made the same choices the world would be pretty damn boring.

Saturday Morning Light

If you are a normal person...living the normal life of 7 to 5 at the job...shuttling kiddos from 6:30 to 9 around the city...taking the call from work once or twice on a crisis...paying bills and hitting the sack at 1045 only to get up at 530 to do all again.... then this photo is for you.

Not all of us really have the talents to do what we want to do and make a living.  Some of us do what we have to do, where the talents we have can pay the bills. I'm one of those type of people.  I do it because when I get the bills paid I can give the best life possible to the five I support with all my heart.

Proverbs clearly tells us this is the rule of life, not the exception.

So my photography hobby, the part time job, is really my respite from all that.  I truly believe this is what real life is for most of us.  It is also why when we see a moment, a moment that we worked so hard to reach, needs savoring and thanksgiving.

This morning with my Saturday morning coffee I saw the light, and knew it was time to act.  The kids were fed, shoes were on, and they could walk out into the yard with me.  So surrounded by happy voices, tricycles and a neighborhood cat I savored the moment with shutter click after shutter click.   Between clicks I thanked God for the moments of golden fall light and a simple subject.  I tried new combinations, I explored my camera...and when I came in I liked two images.  This was one I liked best.  With 30 seconds of post processing I said, done for today...more work to do around the house...church events to attend.

So enjoy your day!  Hopefully this makes it a little brighter!  Remember God sent such moments to remind us that all of life is hard work....but the rewards for the honest hard work are eternal moments like this little golden one.

-ehw

PS Fujifilm X-E1 with 60mm Macro, Raw processed in Aperture.