Happy Birthday Rain

Rain turns two today.

Sometimes she doesn't listen and eats things she isn't supposed to.

But this dog has helped me more than you'll ever know.

Taken the day my camera stopped working.

Pinhole Camera Assembly

My D7000 is off to the repair shop for the next 3-6 weeks.  The D3100 is being lent to a friend for his photography class.  I guess its just a good a time as any to test out my new cameras.

Putting together the pinhole camera (pics taken by my webcam):

$17.68 on Amazon.

Reminds me of the days I used to put together Gundam models.  Yep, still a geek.

Everything is  made up of really stiff cardstock-like paper, tape, and a few plastic parts.  It's crazy to think that this thing actually might take a picture.

It took a little over an hour to assemble.  First roll of film in place.  Not sure if I did it right...just have to wait and see.

Holga and pinhole camera.

Putting in a roll of film for the first time was kind of exhilarating (in a very subdued sort of way).  Now I know why I was never  allowed to touch the rolls as a child.

All that's left is to go out and take some shots.  Here's hoping for good conditions, good lighting, and a whole lot of dumb luck.

Running Rain

Today I took this picture:

I believe this was about 1/2000 of a second at f2.0 or 2.2.  As you can tell, the sun is behind me and to the right.  I find that many times for Rain it works pretty well to have the sun shining at an angle on her, especially for shots like these.  It normally doesn't work for people, but people don't normally have dark coats of fur.  The light is able to bring out the definition and contrast of her black coat.  If she were between me and the sun, I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the luminosity of her coat.  RAW file imported into Photoshop.  Black and white applied in post. Contrast and fill light adjusted in post.

 I started off by having Rain sit.  I walked about 15-20 paces away from her and placed her tennis ball on the ground.  Then I went back to where Rain was, walked about 10-15 paces away from her at a 90° angle and focused the camera on her.  Then I walked about 5-10 paces toward the ball but stayed parallel to the path between Rain and the ball so that the camera would be focused on Rain's path of travel.  I got low to the ground because I wanted the viewpoint to be on the same level she was.  I said "go" and fired away.  Here is a diagram:

I repeated this about 8-9 times before my camera stopped working on me.  I decided on the picture above because it had the most sense of action.  I like how Rain's tail is touching the tip of the frame and how her legs are bunched up ready to explode.  The one major improvement I would like to make is the focus plane.  I think I missed it by half a foot or so.  I either needed to be more exact in where I positioned myself, or I could have closed down the aperture to make the focus plane a little wider and give me more room for error.  The hardest part was trying to nail the focus.  And getting Rain to stay while I prepped for each shot.

Here are some of the "missed" shots:

The Silver Lining

My camera stopped working while I was taking pictures of Rain this afternoon.  My heart sunk.  

But just for a moment.  Life is pretty good if this is the biggest thing I'm worried about

I'm sure there is some sort of silver lining to this cloud.
  
That's how it is with photography sometimes.  You'll get ready for a sunset shot, but the sun is nowhere to be seen.  Then before you know it, the clouds start glowing red, purple, or orange.  The best sunsets, real and figurative, happen when the sun has to fight through the clouds.

September 2012. It was one of those evenings.  Clouds everywhere. Then a combination of the sinking sun and smoke from summer wildfires turned the clouds pink and purple.  The colors were boosted a little in post, but only to the extent that I remembered the actual colors being.  It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen.

Even if it is a dull, gray sunset there is always next time.

First Exposure

The mail arrived today.

I don't have the slightest clue on how to use film.  As a child, it was forbidden to touch the roll of film.

Gonna touch the rolls. 

Philography (Philosophy + Photography)

Nikon D3100 18-55mm.  July 2011.

Ansel Adams is credited to have said "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it".  The words are easy enough to understand but believing it is a different matter.  I've thought to myself "If only I had a better camera or a faster lens..." more times than I care to count.  I still do.  Like right now, I'm wishing I had a better camera...and a faster lens.  I could easily compile a wishlist of camera gear that would take me a good part of my life to pay off.

Better equipment will absolutely make a difference.  But in a very real way, how much of a difference is limited to the person using it. A great photographer will make that difference very apparent.  I'd like to be a great photographer.

It is easy to assume that learning everything there is to know about cameras and how they work will make my photography great.  It definitely won't hurt.  But knowing this does not necessarily mean I'll capture the images I hope to.  The more time I spend on photography, the more I realize that photography is a mix of many ingredients.  Framing, focus, balance, light, color, creativity, vision, timing, emotion, me.

I won't be ignoring my wishlist anytime soon. Sooner or later I'll get better gear.  But in the meantime the most cost effective option is to focus on the twelve inches behind my camera.

At the moment I don't have any particular photography course work I plan to follow.  A good portion of what I've learned up to this point has been the result of just getting out and taking pictures.  Most of what I learn and do I'll try to document here.  I hope it will help you in some way.

This week as part of my photography education I put in an order for a Holga, a DIY Pinhole camera, and some film  (I'll be honest, it's mostly just because I thought it would be fun).

For those that are curious, I currently shoot with a Nikon D7000 and mainly with a 35mm f/1.8 lens.  I switched over from the Nikon D3100 at the end of 2011.

Nikon D7000 35mm 1.8.  August 2012.

It All Started With a Dog

Like most journeys, there is a specific moment in time that I can point to and say "Yes, this is where it started".  For me it was when I decided to get a dog.  It doesn't really have a lot to do with photography, but this really is the beginning.

I believe that people tend to gravitate toward a certain course in life regardless of what situation they are placed in.  No, I don't subscribe to destiny.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I like to believe that people are empowered to decide how to shape their lives.

What I am trying to say is that no matter where someone is born or how they are brought up, they tend to make millions of decisions, both big and small, that ultimately take them to where they want to be and what they want to do. 

Sometimes that end-goal is clear from the very start of the journey.  For others it is just a hazy feeling that sways day to day choices one way or the other.  I tend to be the latter.

I had always wanted a dog but our family never bought one.  It was one of those childhood dreams that vanished like dreams often do when you wake up and realize you have to face the day.  And the day I actually decided to get a dog, it couldn't have been further from my mind.  

It was the middle of November.  It was quite cold, as it gets here in Utah, and all I was focused on was getting through another work day.  Every so often I'll check the company classifieds to see if anyone was getting rid of anything that might be of value to me.  That day, someone had posted that a friend had just had a litter of Labrador pups and was looking for homes for them.  By the end of the shift, I had pretty much made up my mind that I was going to get one of these pups.

A couple weeks later, I called Joe, the owner, and asked if I could see the litter.  He lived in a quaint little town about 40 minutes south of where I lived.  When I arrived, he told me that I was one of the first to look at the pups.  As I picked them up one by one, I noticed one little black pup on the far side of the yard away from everyone else.  All the other pups were snuggling up around my feet, but she was by herself stumbling through dirt and weeds just exploring the far reaches of her little world.

She was the one I wanted to bring home with me.

The day that I was to take her home I stopped by a local Best Buy and walked out with my first DSLR--a Christmas present for myself.  It was a Nikon D3100 with a 18-55mm kit lens.  The only reason I bought it was to take pictures of her, this yet to be named dog.  It was either going to be Aspen, Willow, or Rain.  The day was overcast with a few showers here and there.  With help from the light drizzle during my drive to Joe's place, I decided on a name.


December 18th, 2010--I drove home with a beginner DSLR in hand and Rain in a laundry basket.  Photography and that dog have been a part of my life ever since.  I'm not sure where this will end up, whatever it is...but I'm sure this is when it all started.

That there is Joe's hand.

Rain and the Nikon D3100

And Here I Go

For a while now I have wanted to start a blog to document my journey to become some semblance of a  photographer.  There are several reasons why I have put it off.

1) I have a tendency to start things but when things get boring or tough, I rarely have the determination and discipline to finish them.

2) I couldn't decide on who or what to focus the blog on.

3) What if don't make it?  This is probably the main reason...the scariest reason for me.

But even so, this idea has lingered in the back of my mind. And so here it is.  A blog about me, my camera, and a dog.