I'm back....

Life has been a little slow for me this year.  With my ankle being broken back since the latter part of February, it's been hard to get around and be on my feet for any real length of time.  However, now that I am getting better it's back to doing what I like doing most.  I even added a new lens to my arsenal:  The Nikon 85mm f/1.8G lens.

I'm hoping to be a little more active going forward with posts on my photography, and/or tips I have found on the web or discovered.  I'll also be posting in the next week or so my favorite photography links.

Finally, if you like photography and live in the VA/DC/MD area, look at joining Unexpected Treasures (www.unexpectedtreasures.com).  It's a local photography group where I am a co-organizer.  We have workshops and various photo trips locally and within a few hours drive.  The photography expertise ranges from studio photography to outdoor photography and everything in between.  Come check us out.

Alpha Sigma Alpha Event

Saturday April 2, 2011 at the M&S Grill in Reston Town Center, I had the opportunity to photograph a reunion of ASA (Alpha Sigma Alpha) sorority girls, though I guess now they are women.  However you wouldn't know that by the high pitched squeals of excitement as friends of past saw each other and reunited with their past.  I do have to say, I have not seen so many coach bags, in one place.  Don't ask me how I can spot one LOL.

The women were lovely, friendly and definitely not camera shy.  I wish most of the models I worked with were as easy to work with as the ASA women.

For those who were at the event.  Jen (Summers) Standford will be e-mailing out all of the info on obtaining a CD with all of the images.

Camera Upgrade

Thank goodness for big tax refunds.  I felt it was time to move from the prosumer DX crop D200 to one of the big boy cameras.  I purchased a Nikon D700 and a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G lens to further enhance my photography abilities.  The Nikon D700 has a full frame sensor (unlike the crop sensor in my D200), and does incredibly well in low light situations.  I'll now feel more comfortable in shooting indoor weddings and events without flash.

I hope this year to at least upgrade to a  Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED lens to help both in the studio as well as weddings/events.  Next tax year will hopefully get me the 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II lens.  That of course will all change on how well business goes this year.

My current total setup consists of:

Apple iMac 27" (for post processing)
Apple Mac Book Pro 13" for on-site tethered shooting
Adobe Lightroom 3.0
Adobe Photoshop CS5

Nikon D700
Nikon SB-600 Flash
Nikon 50mm f/1.4G lens
Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX DG lens
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO II lens

Gary Fong lightsphrere cloud diffuser
43" circular reflector kit (silver, black, gold, white, translucent)
Manfrotto 443 carbon fiber tripod
Arcatech Ultimate Ballhead
Black Rabid RS-7 strap
2x8GB 400x Lexar Pro Series CF Card
2x4GB Sandisk Ultra 2 CF Card

Now that I bought my new 27" iMac, I was plagued with trying to decide which route to take on my workflow options.  I could spend $699 for the new Adobe Photoshop CS5 which has lots of nice cool features and a lot of things I will never use.  I could also spend $299 on Adobe Lightroom 3.0 when it comes out.  The beta looked pretty good.  I finally decided to go with Apple's Aperture 3, which I got off of Ebay for $140.  I have spoken with other mac user's and with this new version of Aperture, it is definitely the most bang for your buck.

The key feature that I like about Aperture 3 is it's use for brushing in or brushing out your enhancements.  I also like the organizational features, being able to export and import projects and merge the changes. 

Overall I am very pleased with my purchase.  I have bought a few books to assist in the learning process, but what I have learned to do on my own is just awesome.  The only thing I wish it could do was add text as a watermark for the picture.  It does allow you to add a pre-made watermark but for those of us who don't own photoshop are S.O.L.

Sorry windows people, you need to upgrade to a real computer and buy a mac to use this software :)

Mckee-Besher - July 2009

So myself and a few people from the Loudoun Photo Club decided to get up at a hideous hour in the morning to go to Mckee-Besher WMA (Wildlife Management Area). However despite the early morning departure, we found what we were looking for around 6:45am, the field of sunflowers that were blooming.

The nice thing about the field, is that it was right off the parking area, so walking was minimal. The field is huge so even with the 30 or so photographers, there was still plenty of room without being on top of other photographers.

One of the lessons I learned from this trip...use my tripod more, be more patient, bring a step ladder and use bug spray...OFTEN lol.

Loudoun Photo Club - www.loudounphotoclub.com
Mckee-Besher WMA - dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/central/mb.asp

Cherry Blossoms 2009

I had high hopes this year to get some decent shots of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC. This morning I went down and arrived at the Tidal Basin in DC about 5am. (I now know where a great parking spot is for next year). It was pretty chilly but only a handful of people were out and about. I hung out at the Jefferson Memorial while I waited for a little time to pass since the sunrise was not supposed to be until around 6. This also gave me time to actually view the memorial as I have never been there.

About 5:45am I started making my way around and found a great spot (along with a few other photographers). It was still pretty windy, but was hoping it would get better as the sun started to show it's face. At about 6:10 I started to take some photographs, as the sun was starting to show some light across the basin. By 6:30am it was starting to get crowded of photographers, runner's and just people in general. About 6:45 after taking about 20-25 pictures, and finger's frozen to the bone I left. It was just too windy, too crowded and too cold to catch any real good shots.

While I did not get any shots I would call great, I did get some ok shots. Overall I was disappointed with the outcome, however I will be more prepared for next year. Like the parking, I spotted a few other places that I may try out for next year's attempt.

Welcome to my blog

I've set up this blog to share my thoughts and experiences in the photography world. This will be from reviews on various pieces of equipment to photo locations. I plan on posting something at least once a month, but could be more often, especially during the warmer months. So thanks for stopping by, and enjoy.