Joel Hanger Photography

Panoramics Revealed

2009-06-04T17:00:00.001-07:00

San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff

I used to do all my panoramic stitching's manually. I've watched many programs come and never found one that can do quite as good as a manual stitching would produce. I found one that was absolutely amazing but took almost as much time to tweak the images as it would to do manual stitching (unless it was a really insanely large number of photos).

Walnut Canyon, Flagstaff

Recently I was introduced to Microsoft ICE. I'm skeptical, of course, because if you know me, not so much of a Microsoft fan..... Much to my surprise I reluctantly have to give Microsoft 2 thumbs up... I know I know, a year ago, 2 years ago, 10 years ago, you all know I would rather break my thumbs off than give any kudos to Microsoft, however, Giving credit where credit is due...

Wupatki Indian Ruin, Flagstaff

Microsoft ICE, I believe, is the most efficient and ACCURATE panoramic stitching software I've used. I'd love to start revisiting many of my favorite photo's that I've been saving up to stitch together, ones that were too difficult to do otherwise and I didn't feel like taking time to do. The images you're seeing are some of the first posts of my New Photo's, taken from our vacation to flagstaff with my wife's side of family...

San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff

As soon as I get my data recovered from my crashed hard drives (all my work is on those drives), I will be reworking some of my previous panoramic images and see how well the stack up!

Sunset Point, Arizona

Stock Photography

2009-04-26T11:12:00.002-07:00

So you want to get into stock photography? It can be a great way to earn money. I went on an adventure a year ago and discovered the stock photography business. I haven't "gotten rich" off it, and it's not a get rich quick scheme. However, I can say that I've earned a bit of income from it and I haven't even put forth much effort. So I'm going to review my experiences and hopefully we can help some of you adventurous photographers find your niche in the stock photography market!

My experiences have been diverse. Some stock photography companies are much more difficult to break into than others. So I'm going to go with the ones that have earned me the most, down to the ones that have flat out rejected my work, which I primarily believe is because the quality of my glass was not "L" quality.

Unfortunately my hard drive crashed a while ago and all my images are on that drive, because my backup drive is also trashed... Note, don't buy Western Digital hard drives again. I'm working with them however to get the data recovered, it's unclear if it's going to cost me yet or not.

So on to the reviews :) By FAR the best return in the little amount of time I've invested has been DreamsTime.com Stock Photography. My most popular image is definitely my Panoramic of Horseshoe Canyon in the Grand Canyon. I Highly recommend signing up with this company as you will see a return quickest with them as well as get better approval ratio's.

The second one I highly suggest is BigStockPhoto.com They have a decent approval rating and will also give you a quick return on your time.

There are other Stock Photography websites, which I will be reviewing later. Some include iStockPhoto.com, Stock Exchange, stockphoto.net, stockphoto.com, fotosearch.com, everystockphoto.com, corbis.com.

I highly recommend checking out the first two first, and then go to the rest!

Happy Stock Photographing :)

New Life!

2009-03-20T07:51:00.013-07:00

So as many know we had been anticipating our new baby being born, and that time has come, it's been over a month now and quite some time since I last blogged. I had a nice blog setup and is still in drafts to be published, it will be good one on panoramic stitching, however I wanted to share my announcement with everyone first! :)

Introducting Elsie Jayne Hanger
Born 2/15/09 @ 3:03am (Mountain Standard Time)
6lbs Even, 20in Long
These first 2 Pics are on her birthday just hours after her birth.

This is the little foot stamp the hospital did!

These next 2 are about 1 month old - nearly 2 lbs heavier now!

Isn't she the cutest little girl you've ever seen!?!?!?!

She is Such a Gift From our Creator, is we named her Elsie - Her Great Grandmothers name was Elsie and it is a Hebrew name Meaning God's Promise!

--
Shalom From Elsie, Robyn and Joel! :)

Star Party

2008-12-20T22:55:00.004-07:00

I was hoping to get to do this sooner, however, life has a way of setting priorities for you. Recently we went to a "star party" Unfortunately the viewing conditions were not the most optimal. With minor overcast and patches of hazy clouds prevented some really outstanding images. However, I did the best with the conditions available and didn't take an abundance of photo's because of the conditions. I was able to use some really nice Canon L series Lenses with a 2.8 f stop.

The star party gathering was roughly 126 Miles northwest of Phoenix. The 2.8 f stop lenses allowed me to be able to get the best light gather I could. Anything faster obviously gets pricey though would have yielded better results with the stars. A lot of the tips I gave in my Lightning Photography Blog also apply here so I will try not to repeat them.

Unfortunately I haven't had the budget to invest in extra gear that will improve my astro-photography, however, I do know how it all works and can recommend some things and give tips. Orion Telescopes has quite a variety of some of the equipment you will want to invest in.

T-Mount Adapters. These are very inexpensive and allow you to turn your telescope into a giant lens! Currently at Orion Telescopes they are selling for $16.95.

Universal Camera Mount. This utility is excellent for a telescope that can't really be adapted using the t-ring system or for a setup that you desire to use filters with certain eye pieces or just different eye pieces in general for different fields of view.

Plungers and Remote Releases. These are a MUST have. If you want star trails, or you want to have any more functionality than a simple 30 second or less exposure, you want one of these. They can be prices, ranging from $25 (for the simple rebel infra red remote) to over $120 for the premium timers with release. Along with the advantage of timing and long exposures you also get the advantage of less vibration that can be caused by pressing the shutter release button physically located on the camera.

Filters! These can make a HUGE difference. The primary key filter I want to address is the H-Alpha, that is, the Hydrogen Alpha filter. This filter does a number of things. It allows your digital imaging sensor to pick up on the light wavelengths that are being filtered out that our visible light sensitive eyes can't see. Orion is one of the most splended constellations you can view. Orion in H-Alpha website gives a good showing of the differences of H-Alpha. There are also places that will actually remove the filter on your digital camera and can be an affordable way to turn your camera to a astro-imaging machine! I have also recently discovered a semi-affordable method. This Astronomik - H-Alpha 6nm CCD Filter - Canon EOS - clip in filter available from www.optcorp.com looks like it could be a viable solution. One location I've found that sells specially altered Canon Camera's is Hutech Astronomical Products. The best thing about H-Alpha is that you can do H-Alpha photography in massive light pollution and not see bad effects! It brings Astro-Photography to a level where you don't have to worry about the light pollution, which as you can tell, even 130 miles or so from a major city still produces a lot of unwanted light in the photographs!

The last thing I want to talk about is an automated tracking system. These are VERY crucial for longer exposures and deep sky photography. They are quite pricey but I can't stress enough how important they are for someone looking to get deeper into the arena of astro-photography. They need to be properly setup and carefully adjusted so that you can take hour long exposures and not get blur or tracking/streaking stars. One solution that looks affordable is available from Orion Telescopes. This *2nd* Teletrack AZ Tracking Mt is available currently for $199.96.

I hope these tips and references to locations can help some of you aspiring Astro Photographers improve in your skills as well as get more gear to make the images jump in quality leaps and bounds :)

Busy Bees!

2008-10-26T22:58:00.015-07:00

Wow... What a busy month... Hard to believe it's been just over a month since my last post... Weddings have been nonstop!! The Photo's have been turning out Excellent. If anyone is looking to really improve in leaps and bounds in their photography, especially weddings, you need to check out this master photographer by the name of Jerry Ghionis.. He's developed an "X-Factor" that is absolutely amazing.

It's amazing what you can find in places after seeing all the inspiring images that Jerry's made from his situations. This is an image of the shack that got these images...

Here's some more... All these were taken with a 5d in Arizona at The Pioneer Living History Museum. If anyone gets a chance to get up there, this is a wonderful place to visit and was a great place to capture this couples wedding! They were photogenic and were a very fun couple!

After the sun sets, unless you're using a fast lense (f <= 3.5) then you really have to kick up the ISO settings to keep from getting any motion blur...

Natural light can produce some of the best looking photo's. I'm looking forward to the release of the 5d Mark II! With a rating of up to 25,600 ISO settings it will make shooting in the dark requiring a flash a thing of the past!

Now for the best news... It's a girl! we have more ultrasound photo's! She's healthy and likes to kick around a lot so we're pretty sure she'll be a diver (if the Lord doesn't come first!) Shalom! Everyone I hope you all had a wonderful Feast Season!

Time sure Flies!

2008-09-23T17:33:00.004-07:00

It's been some time since I've posted, I don't even know if I have many readers! All you slackers must not be wanting to comment! ;P It's ok I'll share the love back some day! I've been so busy getting my dedicated server setup (through Brinkster!) Yes they are a most excellent web hosting company. If any of you are looking to setup a photography website I highly recommend them, they have highly competitive rate, and their support is Excellent!
So I don't have much to post as far as photo's go, however, I have a photo I want to share with everyone that wasn't taken by me! This is the only photograph i'm going to post at this time and i'm going to keep it short today. My wife and I are expecting! We're so excited!

I have a busy month coming up as I start into a heavy wedding season so I may not be posting tons of blogs but I will keep you all up to date and throw you all some nature teasers and tips soon!

I hope this finds you all well!
Shalom!
-Joel

Lightning Photography!

2008-08-16T14:45:00.012-07:00

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ISO: 400 @ 18mm
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My favorite aspect of photography is definately Lighting Photography. It can at times be some of the most difficult types of photography, yet when it comes together, it's THE Most Rewarding! One of the most rewarding aspects it the fact that everyone thinks you're this mastermind photographer and have reflexes that put cats to shame! I'm going to help all you aspiring lightning photographers in revealing some of the secrets to lightning photography that show that, you could have the reflexes of a dead person and get some of the most rewarding lightning photographs of your lifetime :)

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In Arizona we have very few chances to actually capture lightning storms, so when they do come, there's a few things that fall into play. First you have to be ready and have the free time to photograph the storm. If the storm rolls through the valley and only hits the east side of the valley and you live on the west, is it worth driving to the storm? The other factor is, where can you photograph the storm and be safe? Which is why it's best when the storm comes to you. Since the danger for lightning strikes is once you are within range of hearing the thunder, it's best to photograph the storm from a safe location such as your home.

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There are a couple of methods for actually photographing the lightning. What determines the method is all dependent upon how light it is outside. The above method was taken by capturing 2 second long photographs as fast as the camera could, pointed in the direction of the most active area of the storm. This is basically a point, shoot, and pray method. Due to the overwhelming amount of ambient light, 30 second exposures, let alone 10 second exposures just weren't an option. This brings us to the next method of photographing lightning.

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The "other" method of photographing lightning has very little to do with timing and all to do with where the most active location of the storm is. Again depending on the amount of ambient light you may be going anywhere from 10+ second. With longer exposure times you have many more chances to capture the lightning as well as multiple bolts. Probably the largest key to getting the right exposure is the speed of the lens. You should always have your lens' F-Stop wide open at it's fastest. Because Lightning is extremely fast, it makes it a lot harder to actually capture properly. I've only actually over-exposed lightning once and this was due to the distance and the size of the bolt. The thunder was instantaneous and the impact nearly knocked my camera and myself over.

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Exposure: 12 Seconds
F: 3.5
ISO: 200 @ 28mm
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Now that we've established the method of getting the bolts into the sensor, here are some ideas and tips to improve the quality of the photography.

Multi-Exposure Compositions:

Take many long exposures facing one location. This will enable you to use Photoshop, or your favorite image editing software to "blend" the images together and make it appear that there were more lightning strikes in the time exposed than were actually there. This is not really "cheating" but rather, altering and enhancing to improve the point of view of the scene.

Once you have many images exposed and setup, the best method i've found is to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. The steps are simple, copy and paste into a new layer, each image from the series you've taken. Secondly, start changing the layer blending modes to "Lighten" on each image above the bottom layer. You may find you have to create layer masks and edit what's seen if there are moving bushes or shrubs, but for the most part there is no further modification needed.

Creating Sharper Images:

Block any wind going towards camera with your body
Use a STURDY Tripod - Long Exposures are Prone to vibrations
Use 2 Tripods - if you're using a long lense
Use a Remote Trigger - OR - Use a Timer - Avoids shutter button depress vibrations

Good luck with your Lightning Photography Adventures... If any of you reading this find this helpful and have some improved lightning photographs or want to shar e them don't hesitate to post them!!

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On Camera Fill Flash
Used to light RxR Sign
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Cemex Factory in Buckeye, AZ

Internet Finally & Why Direct TV SUCKS!

2008-07-31T07:35:00.010-07:00

We finally got internet and T.V. at the apartment! Do I have a story for you! After 4 weeks of waiting I've decided to tell you all how much Direct TV SUCKS! Yeah... they're about as worthless of a company as any I have tried to get service from. After 4 weeks of them putting me off and running me through a ton of circus hoops I finally decided to just go with Cox. I called Cox, purchased the services, picked up the gear and 1 day later I had T.V. and cable. How convenient is that. Instead of waiting 30 days and having 3 techs come out and say, we can't mount this H.D. Receiver Dish on a tripod, and then say, well we can it'll cost you $100, then the next one say, we can't do that, then they say, we can for $50, then say they can't, then say they can, and on and on like the energizer bunny. So within the week I'll be reporting what kind of shoddy service Direct TV provides to the BBB. I'm a patient person, and 4 weeks is more than sufficient time to allow a company to quit bumbling over their own issues and provide service. Anyway! I finally have working television and internet, no thanks to DirectSUCK TV!

So I have some more pictures, I've been doing some more experimentation with post processing of So I have some more pictures, i've been doing some more experimentation with post processing of HDR images as well as multi-exposure merges. I think the results are quite unique and very fun. I've found some places around the apartment complex that really have a nice photogenic touch, but ONLY when photographed at night! I've always had a love for night time photography and long exposures. I think it started when I first saw a picture of star trails around the north star! Those are so awesome and fun to take when they turn out :)

There's just something about long exposures at night that really amazes me. There's an atmosphere that you can capture that just is not there with the extreme luminosity of the sun. Maybe it's the harsh shadows caused by the sun, or the soft light from the stars and the ambiance of the overall city lights. Whatever it is, as you can see, the night time provides a whole different look to the photo's, and when done right, HDR can produce some really unique, beautiful photo's!

Along with the improvement to the way I take long exposures at night, I also have watched some dvd's on studio lighting as well as how to improve the use of natural lighting in portraits and weddings. I've applied some of these techniques to taking photo's not just of weddings and portraits but also of objects. I started with the dress that my queen will be wearing when she walks down the isle and I think the results turned out very pleasing!

The last thing I will daunt you with is I finally got a NEW car. Not just "new to me" but a "bran spankin new" car! I know it's not the greatest but it will work for a while so I can save money and trade up. After my truck almost completely ate it on me. My 1997 Ford Expedition seemed at the end of it's road. With a mere 94k miles on it you would think this thing had some life left in it. However I wasn't willing to fork up the thousands of dollars that it needed to keep going. It needed rear air bags (suspension) as well as the individual ignition coils were going out. At $50 a piece no one wants to spend $400+ on 8 ignition coils. So without further ado and slamming of my truck, my new vehicle is a Kia Spectra. It gets 35mpg which is insanely better than the 12mpg I was getting with the Expedition! Anyway, the saved money left room for higher payments and assurance that I won't be having to do any work to a vehicle for a couple years! :) I was told by someone that Honda took over production of Kia's, so that was reassuring, though I haven't confirmed this yet. Either way, got a new car, no worries bout breakdowns for a long while and saving money! Life's journey on this planet is looking good! Can't wait till the return of Yehoshua when the outlook will ALWAYS be good! :)

Shalom!

Life in the "green" lane?

2008-07-04T17:57:00.011-07:00

So it's been a while since I posted... woops, life sorta took off on me quickly... a few things to talk about now! Working for Brinkster. They're awesome! Linux guru on his way to the top! For now, I'm sticking with tech support, pay my time and help people out in the mean time, get paid for it... Not a bad deal at all!! :)

Ovation Photography! Also doing weddings for them... Excellent company! Thank you Bob! I photographed my first wedding under Ovation Photography this last weekend, and Me Espocita and I are moving on up to a nice place closer to my work and her work! Things are looking on the Up and Up! Yehoshua (Jesus) is still on His throne ruling the nations with His rod of Iron and we're all still rebelling... Nothing new!

Image linked from:
Honda Worldwide Article
So I'm looking and I see these ads on tv for this new "Hydrogen powered, Zero Emission Honda".... Yah, bout time they finally got a clue, hydrogen carbeuration has been around since carbeurators and only when they think the worlds in a crisis do they decide to pull out that ace they've had up their sleeves.... It's pricy, I looked at it. $600 to lease, though when you think about the benefits, 0 emission, cheap gas, very efficient AND they do all the maintenance for the 3 years you get it, it's not too shabby... I think we'll be seeing more of these cars in the future!

Last but not least... I've been working on a new layout and design for JoelHanger.com I'm moving away from a "photography service" company and more towards providing a Photography Forum as well as Guitar Forum... yes that's right for those of you who don't know, I'm also fairly decent at guitar, I'm not entirely a scales master, but been working on that and also on my Perfect Pitch Ear ;) Which has yet to get anywhere near perfect!!!

Joel Hanger Photography
http://joelhanger.com/
jhanger@gmail.com
623-640-8720

Stock Images...

2008-06-13T13:25:00.008-07:00

Yesterday I was at my wife's work. They were having water day with the kids and I had fun taking photographs. It's amazing once you start looking into stock photography what you can actually find in places you go. There was all sorts of things, all over the playground, out in the field, in the trees... I've always loved doing macro photographs, but some of the things I discovered as subjects I think have been my funnest to date! :) With the sun back lighting a basketball hoop I had to have it!

When I investigated the Palo Verde tree's along a back wall I discovered the pea pods in a very unique shape, could it be the famed golden ratio in which this ball is clustered? Have any of you ever seen a pea pod to a Palo Verde tree curl in such a way before?

Perhaps one of the most intriguing picture, at in my opinion, is the splitter connection on the hoses that fed the water to the slip'n'slides and the large blow up water slides. The kids had so much fun I wish I could post some of the pictures of their faces as they went through the water spraying down on the slides...

Anyway I hope you all have found these pictures curious enough, and maybe even inspiring, hah. Perhaps I'll add more later, but these will have to do for now.

Joel Hanger Photography
http://joelhanger.com/
jhanger@gmail.com
623-640-8720

Summer Time Blues

2008-06-11T13:16:00.004-07:00

Everyone knows that summers can be pretty slow for photography...

However in Arizona the desert really comes alive. It's when all the plants
actually turn green, despite the 110+ temperatures, the lack of rain
and the massive amounts of pollution being dumped into the air from
Phoenicians ;)

So I'm doin this cause I want y'all to buy my photos and I heard that bloggin's pretty cool so I'm giving it a whirl.. those of you that been doin it a while can probably tell i'm a n00b to this, but I'm sure like everything else, it'll get better with time ;) Here's some photo's, if you wanna buy em, give me a call, or e-mail ;)

These ones are from a trip I took with Me Espocita - Robyn, to HorseShoe Bend outside of Page Arizona. I'm an idiot too cause I didn't realize Antelope Canyon was there as well and didn't plan for that in the trip!

Joel Hanger Photography
623-640-8720
jhanger@gmail.com