I got a camera. Now what?

Foolin' Around

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:15:24 -0800

Well, it's been a long time since I've written on this blog and, truth be told, this may be a trend. It's hard to find time to sit and sift through and edit photos. But, I've been foolin' around and so far this is what I did ended up with tonight.

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Gran's Bogies

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:07:01 -0800

My grandmother, affectionately known to the family as Gran, loves her bougainvillea plants. She affectionately calls them her "bogies". (Not to be confused with boogers!) This year, she was fortunate to have a great bloom. Each time that someone would walk in the door, she would ask them, "Did you see my bogies?" Then the story of her new fertilizer is shared along with stories of her previous blooms and it always ends with a walk outside to look at and admire them. To highlight her bogies, I decided to photograph a few of them so that she could admire them even more.

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For Future Generations

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:43:00 -0800

This past weekend, I was able to visit my grandparents while on a trip for work. It was a wonderful overnight visit complete with my grandmother's signature boneless fried chicken with brown gravy. But this trip was a little different than previous ones. This time I had a camera. I snapped pictures of my grandparents everywhere. And to my surprise, they were very cool about it. After a while, my grandfather would ask me how many pictures I had taken and my simple response was "not enough." My grandfather is 83 years old and my grandmother is - well, you know how that goes. Anyways, I anticipate them being around for a long time more, but the opportunities I have to photograph them is few and far between, so I snapped like photography was going out of style. I can't say that I got the best pics I've ever captured (in fact, technically, I think some of these photos are very poor), but I I managed to snap a few of them doing things that make them who they are. My grandmother is always waiting on my grandfather and talking with her sister or daughter over coffee. My grandfather plays solitaire EVERYDAY while watching some home improvement show. I love that my photography now has a lot more meaning to me than just trying to capture a nice photo.

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What do you mean it's not fog!?!

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:17:38 -0800

In the past couple of months, I have inundated myself with photography books, blogs and podcasts. So many of them that I can't remember where I read a certain tip or technique, much less the person who said it. Yesterday, I listened to a podcast from Martin Bailey about his 10 favorite images of 2009. One of them included a Shinto gate overlooking the ocean. The ocean appeared to be covered in fog. But it wasn't. It was actually the movement of the water captured with a long exposure. I was floored. I always thought it was fog. I knew I'd have to try it someday. Then, when I opened my google reader this morning, I was greeted with a blog on Petapixel about a photographer named David Baker of milouvision. He's taken some stunning images of coastal areas using long exposures to create a silky effect on the surface of the ocean. I decided to try it out this evening. Considering it was my first time attempting such photography, I was somewhat pleased with the results. However, there were a lot a learning experiences along the way:

1) Long exposure photography should not be seriously attempted while supervising your child playing on the beach.

2) Even at f/22, unless it's really dark, not even ISO 100 will keep your sky from washing out the image.

3) ND grad filters would probably be recommended in this setting.

4) Oceans need looooooong exposure times to completely blur the surface. Even 30 seconds may not be enough. (But anything longer than 30 seconds caused an issue in my child supervision abilities...see #1.)

5) I need to get a remote/cable release. Soon.

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Does Size Matter?

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:50:05 -0800

Recently, I stopped at a scenic lookout on the side of the road to snap a few photos. As I parked the car, I noticed the guy getting out of the car next to me holding what appeared to be a Canon 5D Mark II with what appeared to be a Canon 24-70 f/2.8L lens (thank you Canon for making that little red ring a symbol of status). I sat in my car unsure of whether I wanted to stand near him at the lookout with my teeny-weenie Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D) with my bargain priced 75-300 f/4.5-5.6 III lens. The whole, "Does size matter?" question came to my mind. And of course, having the smaller tool (pun totally intended), I had to tell myself, more like justify that "It's not the size that counts, it's how you use it." So the question stands: DOES SIZE MATTER? Should I feel intimidated shooting on my little Rebel XT while the guy next to me whips out his big 5D Mark II?

And in case you're wondering, I made a phone call and by the time I got off the call, Mr. 5D was getting back into his car and leaving. Timing is everything.

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Super Bowl Prep

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:41:00 -0800

Each year holidays are assigned to specific families. Thanksgiving at that house, Christmas at this house, New Year at such and such, etc. My family's holiday? The Super Bowl. That's right, the Super Bowl. Family members even fly in from outer islands to attend. A tradition of the Super Bowl weekend is the laulau. Laulau is a steamed pork dish made by wrapping seasoned pork in luau leaves (young taro leaves), and then wrapping them in ti leaves. Our style is a little different (simply for efficiency reasons). We wad up the leaves and set them next to the meat on the ti leaf. Then we roll up the leaf and wrap it tightly in tin foil. The final step is steaming. This time varies, but a long cooking time will ensure that you cook the pork completely (In our case, this meant cooking all 63 laulau for about 8 hours) After the laulau is cooked, it is cooled and frozen until super bowl at which time, they will be reheated by steam again. I can't wait!

Below are some photos of the laulau in its various stages of preparation. I'm still learning how to take photos of food, so leave me some comments if you have ways to improve angles, lighting, etc.

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Two Images I Love

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:22:00 -0800

This morning, my son had a tee ball game. Too keep the kids organized we line up all their gear on name cards according to the batting lineup. When I saw all the helmets lined up neatly, I knew I wanted to get a picture of it. So I ran to my car to get my camera, only to return to complete chaos. The game had started and our team was up to bat first. They were all wearing their helmets! Once they finished batting and headed out to the field, I went back into the dugout, lined up all the helmets again, and captured my image. I know it's kind of boring, but I like it because for me, it captures, the anticipation before the game. Everything in it's place just waiting for the kids to get their game on!

When we got home, my son decided he wanted to play with his little pool and slip 'n slide. I knew this would be a perfect opportunity for me to practice using fast shutter speeds and splashing water. Little did I know I would capture this photo. This is, by far, my favorite image I've captured since purchasing my DSLR. (Click to enlarge this one. It's worth it.)

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Driving myself crazy!

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:25:00 -0800

Ever since I picked up this camera (remember, second owner), I knew my sensor was dirty. I had the same black spot in the same place on every photo. I would read online looking for ways to clean my sensor. The reviews seemed to be split down the middle. Half believed that a do it yourself kit at home was the way to go. The other half swore that touching your sensor was a bad idea and that it should be sent back to Canon for them to clean it. This decision weighed heavily on my mind because I knew that if I screwed up, I could kiss my camera (and the money it cost me) goodbye. Not convinced that Canon was my only option (especially the 3-week kidnapping of my camera) I continued to read user reviews. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and just try it. I found the Digital Survival Kit on Amazon for $23.49 (including shipping) from Cooper Hill Images. The anticipation was killer. But to my enormous surprise, Cooper Hill mailed it via Priority Mail on Tuesday and it arrived to me here in Hawaii on Thursday...awesome Cooper Hill. Awesome. Anyways, I took my camera, swab and Eclipse Cleaning solution to the bathroom - as recommended by a user online - and cleaned my sensor. I must say that I was a little worried by the directions. "Insert swab into the sensor chamber, press firmly until the swab handle bends..." I wasn't sure what to do. I can see all the online reviews saying "be gentle" and "don't scratch the sensor" while the product itself is telling me to press firmly. Aaaaaahhh! Well, I decided to err on the side of the swab manufacturer and went for it. Prepare to be amazed.

Here's the before pic:

And here's the after pic:

Now I wish the story ended there, but it doesn't. I was in full panic mode after noticing on my computer that the before and after images did not look much different. Well after a long investigation, and a super screen cleaning, I realized that the sensor was fine (well, mostly). It was my computer screen that was dirty. There's actually dust behind the glossy cover of my display. I can't even begin to think how to get that cleaned and taken cared of, but that'll just have to wait for another day - or another computer - as my funds probably won't allow me to take care of this problem in the near future.

**I know the after photo isn't pristine, so I'll probably try a second treatment tomorrow. We'll see.

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The brightest rainy day ever

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:33:21 -0800

As I continue to delve into the world of photography, several books have crossed my way each talking about outdoor photography and the best times for good lighting. They all say that overcast or rainy weather make for great (more saturated) colors. It sounded a little funny to me that a gloomy day would produce bright colors, but today, as the gray skies sprinkled rain continually throughout the day, my eyes were opened to the wonderful colors around me. It was an epiphany of sorts. As I drove around the island, my eyes darted back and forth looking at any flower, leaf, or even mountain I could find. Everything just seemed to be popping with color. It was awesome! I wanted to stop and photograph everything, but work and other obligations seemed to get in the way. Finally, about 2 minutes from my house, I couldn't stand it any longer and took a detour to a local garden just to have the opportunity to capture some of the exciting colors around me. In the end, my procrastination led to less than vibrant colors due to the lack of ambient light (it was about 10 minutes before sundown and gloomy), but I am still grateful for the eye candy the Garden Island treated me with today.

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Check out my new Project365 Blog

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:18:41 -0800

So if you're already checking on my camera-shy blog, why not make a stop over at my ikaikap Project365 2010 blog. The plan is to take one photo per day for 365 days. I'm not exactly sure how long I'll be able to keep up with this or if it'll mean anything to me 365 days from now, but it sounded fun so here I go! Happy 2010 everybody. May it be a photogenic one!

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Blue Moon

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:40:00 -0800

In modern day usage, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. This only happens about once every 2-3 years. What this did for me was give me a second chance at photographing the moon...correctly. Compare the two. Can you tell which one came out better? Now I just gotta figure out how to get the moon to be white without losing the surface detail and I'll be a happy camper.

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Happy New Year...Light Painting Style!

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:28:28 -0800

Well, since getting my DSLR, I've seen a few posts here and there about light painting and figured tonight would be the best night to play with it since fireworks are legal tonight. My sister and I had some fun with this starting with images like christmas trees and flowers, then progressed to words, and finally to some Harry Potter wand action. They're not the best pics, but we had fun making them. My only regret is having too much ambient light -- a street lamp and a full moon -- which made it hard to black my body out of the photos. (Note: None of the photos have been digitally altered...too lazy.)

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What a Wuss!

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:34:00 -0800

This afternoon, I spent an hour at the laundromat washing our guest blankets in the large industrial washing machine. Knowing I'd be there for about an hour, I brought my camera along for the ride. I tried so hard to look for cool compositions, but I couldn't find anything. This is about the extent of my "eye" for cool captures. This is definitely going to be a skill that I struggle with (aside for properly exposing photos). My favorite of the group is the row of dryers. I like the lack of color in the photo. I also love the tattered look of those old mailboxes, but I'm not sure what's the best way to capture them.

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With respect to the title of this post, I am also the wussiest (is that a word?) photographer ever. As I waited for my blankets to finish, I kept walking by these two older Japanese women. The were dressed well and held a lengthy conversation. They looked so out of place and kept shooting me looks each time I walked past them. I so wanted to take a photo of them, but I didn't have the guts to walk up them and ask their permission. So there went a great portrait opportunity...along with my dignity. What a wuss!

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Honey, I'll be right back

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:40:00 -0800

We've been spoiled by perfect warm, breezy, sunny weather for the past couple of weeks, so it was a welcomed change to wake up to the sound of raindrops this morning. We spent the day cleaning our house, when I all of a sudden, I look out my window and notice that there is a dense fog blanketing our town and visibility is about a quarter mile. My first thought was, "Trees! I have to go find me some trees!" And with that, I grabbed my camera and set off to find me some cool foggy forest photos and ran out the door, saying, "Honey, I'll be right back." I felt like such a photographer. I saw the opportunity for great photos and pounced on it. Unfortunately, I'm still not that photographer I hope to be and good intentions were about as far as I got. Sure I snapped some photos, but I wasn't happy with any of them. I was trying to race the fog, as it appeared to be lifting very quickly, and in that race, I made a series of mistakes that cost me my photos. First of all, I overexposed the first photo to account for the huge bright areas caused by foggy sky. Then, I forgot to set my EV back to 0 and screwed up the next few photos. I also should've bracketed my photos, but in the race with the fog, I decided against it. Bad decision. So in the end, I ended up with junk photos that I quickly adjusted using iPhoto so that I would feel comfortable sharing them.

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The last photo is one I took last night of my sons' bedroom Christmas Tree. I saw the cool shadows on the wall and tried to capture it. It's not great, but I'm happy with it.

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A camera-riffic Christmas

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:45:00 -0800

I guess it pays to be vocal about my new hobby. Christmas rolled around this year and it seemed that everyone was aware of my new hobby. First I treated myself (with the permission of my wife) to a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens. I must say that I'm loving my 50mm lens. Granted, like most of the reviews I read, it's slow to auto-focus, the colors it captures are beautiful and the bokeh is awesome. Then my in-laws got me a Lowepro SlingShot 300 AW. Talk about playing with the big boys. This bag has so much room, I almost feel obligated to fill it! But for now, it holds my 18-55mm kit lens, my Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0 III lens, and my Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D) with the 50mm lens. Finally, my sister-in-law got me the book How to Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom Ang. I haven't been able to dive in yet, but it looks like great reading! Now if I could just take pictures as cool as the new gear I got this Christmas...

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The best camera is the one you have

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:18:45 -0800

This morning I had to leave for work a little earlier than usual because I had to stop at my office to pick up a few things before heading out for the day. As I came over the hill in Koloa, I saw this glorious ball of fire rising out of the ocean. I threw on the brakes, parked on the wrong side of the road, and grabbed my camera from the backseat to record that majestic sunrise. I'm sure the pictures could be better, but I'm still glad I was able to get a piece of it before it turned into blinding-ly bright daylight.

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My first photo walk

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:46:00 -0800

This morning after dropping my son off at school, I decided to make a quick stop in the tiny little town of Hanapepe to do a very quick photo walk. I was trying to be quick so I will admit ahead of time that most of my pictures came out pretty awful. I'm still in the stage where I'm overthinking everything which in turn either takes me 5 minutes to capture one image or 5 seconds to capture a junk one. But I did have a purpose today. I tried to focus on composition and setting up my shot before i take it. In photos 1 and 2, I'm trying to use the rule of thirds keeping the sky in only the top third of the frame and putting an object (like coconut trees) in one of the intersecting lines. In photos 3, 4, and 5, I tried to take photos with conspicuous leading lines that draw your eyes into the photo. In photos 6 & 7, I was trying to figure out what looks better: the left edge of the house completely vertical or the awning completely horizontal? The rest are just fluff for you to enjoy.

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Thankful moment

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:31:50 -0800

When I got to my office today, I checked my mailbox and noticed a photography magazine in it. I was so excited! My first photography magazine. But I didn't know how it got there. I wondered if I had signed up for something online and this was the result, but after inspecting the magazine, I noticed there was no address label. Now this had my wheels turning. Who would put a photography magazine in my box. I've only been interested in photography for 2 weeks. It's not like I tote my camera around my neck every minute of the day. Who could it be. And then it came to me -- clear as a photograph in perfect sharpness -- Christine. A dear friend of mine that listens to my rants, asks about my family, and is quick to drop a little gift that always makes a HUGE impact on me. My day has definitely been brightened.

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Live and learn...or worse, live and don't learn

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:55:08 -0800

After yesterday's slow-shutter-blurry-photo fiasco, you'd think I'd learn. Nope. Not yet. Today, I took my long lens to the baseball field to catch a few shots of my son playing in his first T-ball scrimmage. But, at 5:45pm, the light was fading fast and catching a nice action shot with a fast shutter just wasn't going to cut it (Photo 2). So, I opened the aperture as wide as possible, cranked the exposure up a full stop and adjusted the shutter until I got decent lighting. This meant a shutter speed between 1/30 and 1/60. B.L.U.R.R.Y. (Photo 3) For a person that doesn't drink any anything caffeinated, I sure shake a lot when holding the camera. I gotta find my tripod! I know I have one. A decent one too, but I can't find it. I've looked all over the house for it and still can't find it. Arrrgh! Any readers got tips for sports photography in the late evening? On a side note, I woke up this morning to beautiful reflections in the water outside our house. Here's a pic that of that too. (Photo 4)

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The cost of NOT knowing what you're doing

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:30:19 -0800

A year ago; a very dear aunt passed away. To commemorate her passing all of her children and many of her grandchildren returned to Kauai to her grave to pay their respects and remember her. Today, the family got together to enjoy each other's company and recount stories of years gone by. I though it would be the perfect place opportunity to snap some photos of the family as they laughed together. However, the lighting in the outside garage was poor and the automatic setting of my camera would pop up the flash and the programmed settting (semi-automatic) kept coming out dark. Because I knew people would hide from the camera if the flash was going of every 2 minutes, I decided to compensate for the poor lighting by slowing down the shutter. For the most part, it worked. My pictures lightened up considerably and you could make out faces instead of just shadows. Well, I had to slow the shutter down so much I ended up with blurry photos instead of clear sharp ones. There was no way for me to see this on my teeny-weeny Rebel XT screen, so I assumed everything was alright. That is until I got home and downloaded the pics. Blurry photos galore! The worst part is was seeing the family portrait with all of my aunty's kids. Blurry! I got so caught up in being incognito throughout the day, that I didn't think to use the flash to lighten the photograph for the portrait. Who knows when they'll all be together again for a photograph. I could kick myself for this. But what's done is done.

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