Abraham Lincoln

In honor of President’s Day, here are my top five Abraham Lincoln quotes:

1. If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
2. Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
3. I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
4. In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
5. Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.

Me, Wendy (oldest) and Suzi (youngest)...growing up with sisters was tough!

Today is Valentines Day, which for most of you means taking your sweetheart out for a nice evening or buying some roses. And for the curmudgeons of the bunch, it’s about blaming Hallmark for making you feel like crap just one more day of the year. But for me, Valentine’s Day has always been about celebrating one more year under the ever tightening belt. Yep, that’s right, it’s my birthday. So today’s post has very little to do with photography. If you need a photography fix then sorry, but please go elsewhere today. But if you want a little lesson in humility then read on.

Here are a few random thoughts, observations and pearls of wisdom that I’ve been reflecting on these past few days….

1. Like many, I spent most of my younger years trying to grow up quick and take on responsibility. Ironically, now into my 40’s all I want is less responsibility – but damned if I can find anyone to take some off my hands.

2. You’ll never be in better physical shape then during a mid-life “crisis” (29 years of age for this cat) but mentally you’ll be challenged like never before. But for most, it ends up being a time of tremendous personal growth.

3. Mom’s brutal truth and words of encouragement, “It’s a good thing you’re cute, because you can’t spell cat.” She was something. And I miss her. Spellcheck has never had a dull moment under my tutelage

4. A good friend once said, “Don’t trip over dollars to pick up pennies and always buy wash and wear pants.” Best advice ever….

5. Dad’s words of wisdom, “a prime lens is a young mans game….get a zoom and let the action come to you.”

6. Why I think I might be getting old: I seem to be watching more of The Weather Channel and the other day I caught myself steering clear of a floor that had one of those yellow signs that said “slippery” and for a fleeting moment my mind went to how practical and safe a world of no slips socks would be….yikes.

7. Parenting…. I was a cocky young father and at Anna’s birth, I remember vowing that “having a child wouldn’t change me.” Stop laughing. Yes, 12 years later, I’m happy to report I was straight up wrong. She changed my life. I became less of a selfish ass, got my priorities straight, rediscovered photography and the best part…..we just get one another…

8. Grandpa’s words of wisdom….I sat there with my 99 year old Grandpa in a Hospice home two years ago, and as he finished talking to Anna on the phone he turned to me, and said in his raspy, tired voice “Getting old ain’t for sissy’s.” “You got one shot, make it good one.” Days later he passed. He was a brilliant, but simple- hearted guy. The best.

9. Slow down and enjoy….In my 20’s I was running, in my 30’s I was climbing, and now in my 40’s I finally realized it’s a marathon and there’s a lot of trail ahead. It’s time to sit back and enjoy it, because the very best is yet to come. As this final scene and theme song from the movie Moneyball shows, life can be a riddle. Just enjoy the show.

While I recognize this is a slightly different post for me, hey it’s my blog and I’m allowed one introspective post a year… So here are my parting thoughts: Good things come from positive energy and support. Fifteen years ago I was a much different guy than I am today. I owe a great deal of it to the wonderful group of people that surround me. I love you guys and thanks for being there for me….John

Death Valley Raceracks

February’s 2012 desktop wallpaper comes to us via one of my favorite national parks-Death Valley. For the those of you who like to know…the image was photographed using a 16-35mm lens and later processed with Color Efex Pro 4…I hope you enjoy.

Download it:
2560X1600 size | 1280×800 size | For iPad

Oh and before I forget, in honor of my birthday month, I’ll be donating $0.50 for every new Like on my Facebook Page*, so if you’re not already a fan then stop by my page and spread the love.

*$500.00 maximum to be split between The Humane Society and American Heart Association

Pastor Corey Brooks standing where he hopes to build a new youth center

Last week I visited the South Side of Chicago to meet with Pastor Corey Brooks and document a few hours in his life. Pastor Brooks has received national attention over the past few months for pitching a tent on the roof of an old hotel that was frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes. His goal is to raise $450,000 to tear down the hotel and build a community center in its place. You can follow Pastor Brooks on Facebook, Twitter, and learn more about his efforts by checking out Project Hood.

The Hotel that was frequented by prostitutes and drug addicts before being shut down

Hotel room ransacked and filled with garbage

Lamps, chairs and mattresses littered the parking lot outside of the hotel

A young couple visits with Pastor Brooks to deliver a donation

Pastor Brooks' temporary tent-home for the past few months

Pastor Brooks waives to supporters

The Pastor Brooks giving a thumbs-up to passing cars honking their horns during a WGN interview

WGN conducts an interview while Pastor Corey Brooks gets his physician-ordered exercise on a stationary bike

Pastor Corey Brooks spends time responding to email and Tweeting updates

My hope was that I would get hooked on the challenge of finding a new image daily and in the process build a healthy new habit. The project definitely motivated me to get back in shape, which I desperately needed after herniating two of the discs in my lower back last year while chopping wood. (I know…I’m getting old and slowly turning into a city slicker.) More importantly, it reminded me that it’s not about having fancy photography equipment but instead learning to see things differently. I’ve made this same trek to the gym hundreds of times before, but giving it purpose helped me to actually use my vision. I think the real irony is what started out as a challenge to myself to get in shape turned into a personal challenge that gave my creative vision a workout as well.

I hope you enjoy the video and for those of you who need to know, all the images were taken using an iPhone 4 and processed using Nik Software’s Snapseed.  Enjoy…John

Central Park Self Portrait

Just a quick photo today folks. Sometimes when you have the sun to your back you have to make the best of it! 

Always on point

New York City is a street photographer’s dream come true with photo ops around every corner. I’m all about maximizing my time when traveling, and lucky for me there’s something to be said for the old adage… in a New York minute. Like most of my trips, I generally have a few images in mind that I plan on capturing, and then leave a bit of free time to allow for things unforeseen. The thing about street photography is you need to be quick to move and always be on the lookout for new photo opportunities. High traffic locations like NYC Central Park are great locations to maximize your time and efforts. In the matter of a few hours I had a chance to shoot a landscape, people, portraits, macro, etc.

If only I was this flexible...

Being flexible and always on the lookout can pay dividends. Case in point: I was setting up to shoot the Central Park’s famous walkway known as “The Mall” when I noticed off in the distance a young man posing in what looked like a wrestling singlet. Now typically this wouldn’t strike me is odd (being the big city and all) but since it was a damn chilly 10 degrees, it piqued my curiosity. So I picked up my gear and headed his way. Come to find out this young lad was a dancer (thus, the singlet) and his buddy was taking a few pictures of him for his portfolio. We chatted for a few minutes and asked if I could take a few photos. The whole exchange was 10-15 minutes tops, but this is what I love about street photography — the rush, the challenge and the occasional payoff.

New York City Style

From behind the shadows

So I thought to myself, I have a little background in the study of economics, so why don’t I give this happiness equation thing a stab. Get ready for it, I’m going to blow a few young social economists away. I say quit littering your brain with supply and demand charts and circular dilemmas and focus on an equation that really says it all!  Here’s the Batdorff Photonomics Happiness Equation:

The Batdorff Photonomics Happiness Equation

Share with us your Happiness Equation in the comment section below…

January's Desktop Wallpaper

The January 2012 free desktop wallpaper is ready to be downloaded. Sorry I’m a little late in getting this out, but with the holidays it’s been quite busy. You may remember this image from earlier on the blog when I asked the question, “ When are you most creative?”

I hope you enjoy…
John

Keeping it in balance for 2012

1— Read your manual: Knowing your camera’s capabilities will pay huge dividends in the field. I don’t know many surgeons that are cramming in the last minutes before they’re about to performing operation. Sure, a slightly dramatic example, but you get my point. If you’re going to get the most out of your equipment then you need to know it’s limits. Quick quiz: How do you set your camera on aperture priority? How do you change your AF focus point?  How do you set your exposure compensation? How do you set your camera on shutter speed priority? Where’s the mirror up function? If any of these questions stumped ya, then it’s time to review your manual. If you’re relatively new to photography then consider buying a book to supplement your manual. I’m of course very partial to the Snapshots to Great Shots series

2 — Become a post processing expert: The dirty secret behind many of the images that you step back and say, “Wow, how did they do that?” is simply… there’s been some amount of post processing magic applied. I’m not saying you need to enroll in your community college to become a Photoshop Voodoo doctor.  Instead, dedicate some time this next year to learning more about your favorite post processing application, whether that be Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture or Adobe Elements. Seminars, online training and photography workshops are great ways to learn, but for those of you who enjoy having hard copy, then here are my suggestions:

• The most comprehensive Lightroom book I’ve ever read!
  Martin Evening’s The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
• Great source for Photoshop Elements:
  Jeff Revell’s Photoshop Elements: From Snapshots to Great Shots
• My favorite Adobe Photoshop CS5 resource
  Scott Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers

3 — Step outside your comfort zone: I like to think of myself as a landscape/travel photographer, but at the end of the day I’m nothing more than a photographer who specializes in landscapes and travel. I’ve had very little interest in other forms of photography, but last year I challenged myself to learn more about HDR photograpahy. I’m not a huge fan of HDR, nor am I looking to become the next Trey Ratcliff. With that said, my journey to learn more about HDR uncovered a world of new techniques which I’ve blending in with my own style of photography. It was a helpful reminder that sometimes you need to push yourself outside of your bubble to have one of those a-ha moments.

4 — Add flash to your photography: I’ll be the first to admit that learning how to use a flash correctly can be a bit overwhelming. For many of us, the mantra, “I strictly use natural light” was code for “I don’t know how to use my flash!” Knowing when and how to use your flash can elevate your work to the next level. I realize not everyone is as comfortable with small flash as Joe McNally, but here are a few resources that might make you feel better:

• Sketching Light: An Illustrated Tour of the Possibilities of Flash (Voices That Matter)
• Or another of my favorites for you studio photographers:
  Kevin Kubotas Lighting Notebook: 101 Lighting Styles and Setups for Digital Photographers

5 — Personal Projects: We all need something that motivates us to push our creative vision.  Select a personal project that is near to your heart and elevates your creative energy in the New Year. This year I decided to take on a Chicago Portrait Project to keep my creative vision alive.  You need to make time for your projects because as Jack Torrance would say, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”…