All thumbs

I rented a macro lens for the weekend in the hopes of just changing things up a bit Photography wise. It's a nice Micro Nikkor 105mm F2.8 Lens, a bit heavy but I'll be using a tripod all weekend. I'm just hoping I'm not all thumbs like I was yesterday. I've got to return this lens Monday in the same condition that I rented it in....

Strobist DVDs Are In...

DVDs Are In... originally uploaded by strobist.

This is exciting and useful. If you want to really get into lighting, this is sure to be a valuable resource.

So, check out the post: Strobist Lighting Seminar DVDs now available.

Spread the word.

Where the streets have no name

Some see angels in the architecture and for others the place just stirs up ghosts. It sits and taunts us, decades empty and barren.

Shadows play games with passers by. A lone cat wanders by and vanishes. A mirage from the world of the unforgiven.

Great lighting idea...

I found this to be very interesting and helpful (what a great idea) and wanted to share it.

Here's the link:

Chroma-Logic: Lights will guide you

Understanding Exposure

Okay, a couple of people have asked me what's the ONE photography book that I would recommend. It's this one: Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson

Summer Breeze

About a third of the sailing season has passed and I haven't made any images this year. I guess the main reason is "been there, done that".

It's not that I don't want to shoot the boats, it's just that the area that I want to approach this from is underwater except during negative tides and that hasn't happened during the races yet.

Soon I hope.

Big Yellow Taxi

Abstract, but with just enough elements to convey what the picture is. I suppose it could be done without the red break lights or without the name of the cab company, but any less and you're left with a yellowish nothing.

Photography is a form of communication, even if what's being said is as simple as giving context and meaning to a two dimensional representation of an object.

So, I guess the question is: Can you say more with less?

Reflected

Water, Reflections, Abstracts. These are three subjects I like to make images of, and yet I've not been doing much of that lately. Back to working on the balancing of making images and chasing numbers.

Golden Dunes

So, I got a little bored and just wanted to see what things would look like under different skies. The key really is direction of light and here it doesn't match, but it was a quick and simple exercise. Yes, it can all be easily done, out on highway 61...

Tangled Up in Blue

Despite some rain in the morning, there was some chalk graffiti that was quite nice. The crowds were small and the light wasn't bad. I really like how this drawing of Bob Dylan turned out.

Sleeping Pavement

Well, it's the weekend of the I Madonnari and though the weather calls for rain, I may drive up and see what is being created. The images are great, just not much use for stock photography.

Geocaching

I was surfing some geotagging sites and ran into the geobuddy site. This software sounds interesting, and something I'm going to have to spend a bit more time looking into.

If you have any experience with this software feel free to post a comment here.

Thanks.

Triumph

A good man has left us all. He challenged us all to accept and embrace our differences with open hearts. The love of the community that he touched and cared for is a profound triumph he can take with him on his new journey.

Heaven has a special place for you.

God Bless and Rest in Peace Father Virgil.

Sonic Orange

You just don't see the bold designs of the past in the current crop of automobiles.

The bright colors, the curves and lines, the flashy chrome, and the tail fins... those were something that made statements and had personality

Which is probably why I love to go to these car shows when they come around and take abstract images of the cars.

It's as if the cars are just saying "I'm ready for my close up Mr. Nikon" (or Canon, etc.)

Blue Ride

Well, it might not seem like much, but I managed to cross a minor milestone. I've cleared the 800 image mark on Shutterstock and 700 Image mark on Istockphoto this week.

I'm slowly building up my online portfolio on those two sites (in addition to a couple of other sites). Now all I've got to do it get my download average to increase.

Time to concentrate on improving my key wording abilities.

Early Riser

Up before dawn and out the door, Jimmy had to clear up some business about the mysterious 56th and Wabasha.

Golden Skies

Golden Skies, originally uploaded by Damian Gadal.

All right. When you blog from flickr you have to use one of their templates or build your own. So, I'm going to try this one and see if I like it.

About the photo: Sunrise silhouette. One of my favorite subjects (silhouettes).

toodles

Back: Looks like this template will work for now.

ciao

Up on the roof

Just trying two things. A new spin on a mundane roof, and testing the link between my flickr account and my blog.

testing, testing, one, two, testing...

(ok... I can see there are going to be some formatting issues)

Going Chrome

Time to step back and see where we're headed, to look at that distance in your eyes...

Master Deluxe

The car show made it to town and I made it to the show. That gives me new images to work with. It was nice to get back to shooting.

gleamin' in the golden light of day

Nature's canvas is never short of spectacular. I was hoping for some more sunset shots yesterday, but the tide was too high to get the perspective I was looking for. I knew the tide was going to be high, just not that high. When all else fails try a different beach.

A little off center

The assignment was a building interior. Ok, but what should I shoot? With all the animosity towards photographers these days, this was going to be a challenge.

The train station? Nope. The newly remodeled airport terminal? Nope.

Hum... I needed something with interesting interior lighting. A historic church. Yes, that will do.

Ah, now to plan around the tourists and the Tripod Police. The tourist part was easy, just wait until there are a few moments with no one in your shot (as a long exposure was needed in this case).

The Tripod Police? I didn't even bother taking my tripod out of the car.

What I ended up doing was balancing the camera on a pew as best I could. This is why the photograph is off center. This is fine, as I wanted to be respectful of the church and their traditions.

There's a lesson here. Photographing interiors of public buildings requires planning and permission from the powers that be. Good thing this isn't really the type of photography I'm interested in....

Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection: June 1st Photo Protest in Los Angeles

Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection: June 1st Photo Protest in Los Angeles

Nautical Reflections

It has been a long time, yet our journey has brought us home. We can reflect on all that has transpired in the still waters of a safe harbor...

Balancing Act

There's a time of day when shooting architecture that the ambient light and building lights are in balance. It's a small window of time, but you'll find that it is either early in the morning before sunrise, or for a short period after sunset.

That being said, find a good subject and go out and give it a try. With a little faith and practice you should start getting some interesting results. Remember that the less light, the longer the exposure you're going to need to make.

My next project is going to be to increase my inventory of low light architecture stock photography images. So, now all I have to do is scout out some buildings that seem worthy of the effort.

Let's Borrow Some More

The news? California has a budget problem. Really? Duh.

The solution: Borrow more money using the lottery as collateral and cut spending, etc., etc., etc.

There's going to be more budget drama, so stay tuned.

Any good news? Yes. We are going to keep the State Parks open, only charge more to get in some of them.

Rolling down the road

Jack and Jane left with the money they'd saved.
No one knew the reason why,
some said it was the classical music that played,
as Sweet Jane said lets fly...

Old Timers

Sleek curves and bold colors make it hard to resist photographing classic cars. Just from a design stand point, these babies are something to behold.

In the footsteps of others

Just because we're following in the footsteps of others, doesn't mean that they weren't lost too.

Street Graffiti

I capture a lot of images of Street Graffiti, it's inspiring to see creativity displayed in an urban environment.

It never occurred to me (until now) to put together a lightbox of these images that I have uploaded on Alamy so that people can find them easier, and perhaps purchase some of my stock images.

Turn your lights on

The best way to see where you're going is to turn your lights on. I like car abstracts and hope to have some new shots next week.

At the shore

At the water's edge we made memories that carried us through the years.

Confessions of a Photographer

I found a lot of this info very helpful and wanted to share.

Where the road takes us

We don't always have to keep driving over the same bumps in the road. A small change in direction could make a big difference in where the road takes us.

Surreal Silhouette

It was an odd day and the clouds over the pier were no exception.

On a side note: I was using a computer (not mine) and didn't have access to Photoshop and needed to quickly make a couple of adjustments to the photo above. What to do? I was Jonzing...

Then, I remembered Photoshop Express and thought, "of course, that'll do the trick". Wrong. The main thing I wanted to do was resize the image for the web... Resize isn't an option - YET!

This is something that would really help tons of folks. Even someone like me who uses the full version of Photoshop, at least 99.999999% of the time.

I hope this option gets added soon.

Sunset of your dreams

Vivid and unrelenting, waves of color wash up on the shores of imagination. Such is the sunset of your dreams...

Down by the water

Nature moves with grace in this simple moment. An expression, an eternal freedom...pass the salt.

Say goodnight

A good man passed. His journey was long and the road rugged, yet along the way he helped many others who had lost their way or crossed his path. He's home again. Goodnight . Rest in peace.

Golden Light

Nature dishes up another serving of golden light. A fitting end to a beautiful day.

Faith in color

Faith takes us beyond the boundaries of everyday life...

Judgment Day

Shifting sands of time blow across the empty dunes. Bring your love along with you 'till judgment day...

Walking above the water

Wisps of clouds filled the skies as we walked along the coast waiting for night to fall.

Above the valley of shadows

Jane could scarcely remember why they had headed across the desert. Everything is vague to her now, yet it still seemed to be a good idea at the time.