A Thousand Words A Kodak blog about photography

A Blog Entry with Some Serious Buzz

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (StacieHibino) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

It was early evening last month and as I was looking out the kitchen window into the backyard, I noticed a LOT of bugs flying around. I thought to myself - am I paranoid, or does it sort of look like the locusts are coming?! It turns out that they were bees - and a lot of them! My husband and I watched them as they hovered in one area of backyard and then another and then back again. Then, they started forming huge clusters on an area of our eave. They would cling onto one another until the bottom bees could not hang on any longer and a clump of bees would fall to the ground. After awhile, they were able to hang on, and it looked like our bee swarm was trying to make a new home on the eave of our house.

At this point, what started out as somewhat fascinating to watch, quickly turned into mild panic as we realized that they probably weren't going to go away on their own! Some quick internet searching and a phone call led us to the local Bee Guild and soon a beekeeper was on his way.

It turns out that one only needs a five-gallon bucket and a brush for bee swarm relocation. Well, actually, a bee suit and an experienced beekeeper don't hurt, either! The beekeeper climbed a ladder, held a five gallon bucket underneath the bees and carefully swept them into the bucket.

Once most of the bees were in the bucket, he put the lid on, which had a small hole cut into the top of it. Since the queen bee was already in the bucket, the remaining bees were drawn inside of the bucket to follow her.

Once the temporary bee condo was full, the beekeeper was on his way, taking the bees off to their new home!

Advanced fireworks photos

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JoelRosen) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Yes, this would have been more helpful BEFORE the 4th of July, but there are fireworks being shot off all the time so you'll have lots of opportunities to hone your technique.

Back in the film days, shooting fireworks was really guesswork. You'd shoot some film, make some notes about exposure settings, get the film processed, finally see the pictures (usually the next day) and then, in conjunction with the scribbled notes, make some conclusions and try to remember what you learned for the next time.

When digital cameras arrived, the exposure controls weren't really up to the job. No f-stop settings and no 'bulb' setting to hold the shutter open. Now with a dSLR, (digital Single Lens Reflex) things are much easier: fast and easy adjustments to the lens angle (zoom), exposure settings (f-stop), and a remote shutter release to open and close the shutter, and of course, the preview to make adjustments on the spot.

Many years ago, I had the good fortune to watch a pro taking pictures of the fireworks on the National Mall in Washington DC. He was using a 4x5 view camera. (I said many years ago...) but his basic process made sense and was easily adapted to the SLR.

Try to frame up your shot BEFORE it gets dark. If you're in a new location, ask someone who has been for fireworks before about where they set them off, where they will burst, how high, how wide, etc. and then be prepared to make adjustments to your camera angle and/or location after the first shots.

Set your lens wider than you think you'll need. You can always zoom in and/or crop later. I like to include some treeline and foreground elements in my shots, too. I use a 28-70mm zoom, set pretty wide.

You MUST use a tripod. You don't need anything fancy, but the steadier the better. I don't even extend the tripods legs, I sit on the ground and see through the viewfinder and I don't obstruct the view for people around me.

Put the camera on Manual mode.

Set your aperture (f-stop) to f16, as a starting point and then make adjustments as you shoot.

Higher f- stop number = smaller opening = less light = sharper lines.

F-stop set too high = too small of an opening = not enough light = little skinny lines.

Too low = too big of an opening = too much light = over exposed fat white lines.

Set the shutter speed to 'B' or 'bulb'. This setting lets you to open the shutter for as long as you want. I have a remote control that opens and closes the shutter without touching the camera. If a remote is available for your camera, get it. I use it all the time.

If your camera doesn't have a 'bulb' setting, put it at a long setting, like 15 seconds.

When the fireworks start, watch the first shots through the viewfinder to see if you've got them in the frame.

Then before the next shell goes up, open the shutter. A moment or so after the shell bursts, put a dark card (or your hand) in front of the lens (try not to touch the camera) and wait for the next shell. After a shell bursts, the lights start to trail down and drift in the breeze. If you don't block the lens, you'll get those wiggly lines in your shot.

Watch and listen for the next shell going up, and remove the card (or your hand) just before the shell bursts. Do this for a few shells and then close the shutter.

Look at the image preview and make any adjustments before the next shot.

There's still plenty of guesswork about how many 'bursts' to capture in one exposure, so I am always in pursuit of the perfect shot.

The Lightning from Down Under

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JeremyBell) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

It doesn't quite have the same ring to it as "The Thunder from Down Under", but my car can definitely be seen before it is heard. The once black Volkswagen Jetta has changed its acronym from VW to ZX. Thanks to the brilliance of Georgina Wain - Trade Marketing Manager CDG Digital Devices & Inkjet Systems Australia, the Zx1 is attracting the publicity it deserves across Australia as the team drive around in their mobile Zx1 billboards.

My three year old son calls it "Daddy's crazy car" (which I think he got from his Mother). He tells anyone who will listen about it which generally leads into the Zx1 story. Needless to say I always have a brochure in the car to hand out.

Having just finished PMA in Sydney, the Zx1 received loads of attention with several customers saying that it was the product to see at the show.

Keep your eyes on YouTube, as the Zx1 cars are filmed in action using the fantastic High Definition Zx1 pocket video camera.

Kodak Challenge Update & Enter to Win a Disney Vacation for Four!

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (TinaClark) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

The Kodak Challenge saw some great action the past few weeks. Last week saw some leaderboard moves from the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods, where the Kodak Challenge hole was the par 4 18th.

The pin flags at AT&T National were very patriotic for the Fourth of July

The 18th hole at Congressional Country Club provided some excitement both for the tournament and for the Kodak Challenge. The tournament started with Chris DiMarco holding the lead in the Kodak Challenge at -8, but a birdie from Nicholas Thompson gave him a share of the lead. Chris nearly immediately countered with a birdie of his own on the 18th hole, regaining sole possession of the lead for the 5th straight week!

Tied in third at 7-under-par are J.J. Henry, Tim Herron, Dean Wilson, Jason Bohn, Lucas Glover, Charley Hoffman, Justin Leonard, Will MacKenzie, John Merrick, Scott Verplank, Ryuji Imada, Chad Campbell and Zach Johnson.

The beautiful trophy for AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.

So Tiger may have taken home this beautiful trophy, but Chris DiMarco is holding strong on the road to $1 Million dollars as we get closer to the finale at Disney.

HOW TO WIN A TRIP TO DISNEY

And speaking of Disney, did you know you don't have to know the first thing about golf to win a dream vacation for four to Disney World?! The trip includes golf at the beautiful Disney courses each day, along with airfare, hotel, and park entry.

To win, all you have to do is sign up for the Kodak Challenge Fantasy Pick'em Golf game! Just for registering, you are entered in to the grand prize drawing for the Disney vacation. Each week that you pick your team, you earn another entry. Not sure who to pick? Well, besides the time honored method of selecting golfers based on how cool their names sound, you can follow the advice of our celebrity gamers. Each week, a guest gamer will tell us who they've picked and why.

This week, for the John Deere Classic, Zach Johnson is our celebrity gamer. Zack picked Kenny Perry, Kyle Stanley, Davis Love III, and David Toms.

Weekly high scores also win Kodak prizes, so if you do know golf (or think you do), go for it - and see if you can get a higher score than Zach!

USEFUL LINKS
Check out more coverage, follow us on Twitter, become a fan, see photos and more at the following sites:

Happy Birthday George!

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (homepage) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Mr. Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, is heralded as the father of popular photography and inventor of motion-picture film. He was born July 12, 1854 in the Central New York village of Waterville. This year he would have been 155. In honor of his birthday we would like to highlight a few images that tell the stories of the milestones throughout his life.

Self-portrait

Eastman's journey with photography began in 1878 when a colleague suggested he take a camera on a vacation to Santo Domingo. He became fully engrossed in photography and in trying to improve the materials required to take and develop photos. He spent three years experimenting with gelatin emulsions, in his mother's kitchen (oh my!). While he was experimenting he often wrote details directly on the photos - as can be seen in the self-portrait.

George Eastman on board S.S. Gallia - on his way to London to apply for a patent

By 1880, Eastman had invented and patented a dry-plate coating machine. He secured patents in England and America on his coating machine, the returns began to flow in. This brought an increased wealth that he shared making him one of America's leading philanthropists, giving away more than $100 million.

In 1888, George Eastman invented dry, transparent, and flexible, photographic film (or rolled photography film) along with a simple Kodak camera that could use the new film. "You press the button, we do the rest" was the promise in the advertising slogan.

Construction of the Kodak buildings

Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in 1880, this revolutionized photography through simplification. Through a series of innovations the company created small, easy-to-use cameras. Eastman is known as the man who brought the joy of photography to millions around the world.

George Eastman & Thomas Edison

In 1889, Eastman began working with Thomas Edison, inventor of the motion picture camera. Edison's increasingly sophisticated models required a stronger, more flexible transparent film, which Eastman was able to deliver.

George attending to a campfire

After enduring years of long hours at Kodak he retired in 1925. Eastman enjoyed his leisure time, much of it was spent enjoying the outdoors and traveling. He pursued adventures in the American West and the African jungle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In doing research for this week I learned so much about George Eastman that I want to share. I was trying to think of a unique way to do this.

Let's have a little fun with trivia questions - How well do you know George?

Use the comments to provide your answers - - I will post the answers in the comments later in the week!!

How well do you know George Eastman?
1.    Why did George choose the name Kodak?
a.    Randomly picked letters until they made up a word
b.    "K" was his favorite letter
c.    His mother's maiden name was Kilbourn
d.    All of the above

2.    How much did the first "Kodak" camera sell for in 1888 and what did it include?
a.    $2.50 and a camera bag
b.    $10 and a roll of film to take up to 36 pictures
c.    $25 loaded with enough film to take 100 pictures
d.    $25 with a carrying case

3.    What was George's favorite color?
a.    Yellow
b.    Blue
c.    Green
d.    Red

4.    How did Mr. Eastman market the first brownie camera?
a.    He offered brownies with the camera
b.    He used the Brownie character from Palmer Cox
c.    He demonstrated the ease-of-use at key events
d.    None of the above

5.    How much money did George donate to MIT and what name did he use?
a.    $1 million dollars under the name of Mrs. Kilbourn
b.    $10 million dollars under the name of Kodak
c.    $15 million dollars under the name of Mr. Jones
d.    $22 million dollars under the name of Mr. Smith

6.    What inspired Mr. Eastman to invest in Dental Care?
a.    He lost all of his teeth
b.    His mother suffered from dental issues
c.    He wanted everyone to have a perfect smile in pictures
d.    He was interested in becoming a dentist when he was younger

For help answering the questions above and to just find out additional Information:
George Eastman's life, legacy and estate
George Eastman House
History of Kodak

Fourth of July photos and photographing fireworks tips

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JennyCisney) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Since tomorrow is the Fourth of July, I thought I would share some past Picture of the Day winners from July 4th.

July 4, 2003 - Eric Amistani

July 4, 2004 - Nicole de Brabant

July 4, 2005 - Bobbie Davis

July 4, 2006 - William Donnelly

July 4, 2007 - Michelle Lee Jenkins

July 4, 2008 - Tawna Callahan

As you make your Fourth of July plans for tomorrow, here are some tips for taking great fireworks photos.

Surprising inspiration in S. Dakota

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JenniferBlauvelt) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

I was required to travel to South Dakota to oversee a photo shoot at a printer customer facility for Kodak's B2B ad campaign. I mentioned this trip to our CMO, Jeff Hayzlett, who is from S. Dakota, and he insisted that I visit Crazy Horse. I, of course, said "sure", not truly knowing a thing about Crazy Horse. I just know that I want to see Mt. Rushmore.

Our travel commences, and we get out to Rapid City and head straight to our sightseeing mission: Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Mt. Rushmore is quite a sight; we take pictures from the every vantage point and angle.

The monument is described as "a memorial to our four greatest presidents - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt". It is an amazing sculpture indeed.

Then we went to see Crazy Horse. We were blown away!

First of all, the thing is HUGE. Although it is not completed, and will not be completed, likely, for a long, long time, the mountain carving is the world's largest sculpture standing at 563 feet high, 641 long and is three dimensional.

The heads of our four greatest presidents would fit in the hair of Crazy Horse.

Aside from its size, the story of Crazy Horse, and the Ziolkowski family, is amazing and extraordinarily inspirational. Korczak Ziolkowski, a prize winning sculptor, was invited by Lakota Chief Standing Bear, in 1947, to carve a mountain so that "the white man knows that the red man has great heroes, too". Korczak, and eventually his entire family, took on this request and made it their lifework. The sculpture is only the beginning. The Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit education and cultural project created as a tribute to the North American Indians, all tribes. It will include a University, Medical Training Center, Indian Museum and, of course, the amazing sculpture.

In addition to the personal tour we got of the sculpture, we were honored by the company of Ruth (Mrs. Ziolkowski) and two of the daughters, Jadwiga and Monique.

They were the most delightful, selfless, down to earth bunch of people I've ever met. So, thank you Jeff, for insisting I go, I feel like a better human being for it.

For more info on Crazy Horse go to: www.crazyhorse.org

Mysterious Machu Picchu

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (PictureWednesday) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Photographer: Martin Voet
Country: United States

"The photo was taken at Machu Picchu high in the Peruvian mountains in the summer of 2006. The llama, an area local, happened to wander into the frame and was the perfect accent to the awesome scene."

This photo is from today's Kodak Picture of the Day.

Kodak Employee Putting Challenge

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JohnScottParsons) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:00:00 EDT

This post is about recent activities within the OCTO (Office of the Chief Technology Officer) organization of Kodak to recognize and promote the Kodak Challenge. The organization is made up of several hundred employees that work at various locations within Rochester, NY as well other locations around the world. This post focuses on the Rochester employees.

The golf tournament planning team earlier this year decided to align with the Kodak Challenge and add more fun and excitement for employees. The showing of a golf film earlier in the year kicked off the season and announced the golf tournament. A recent Putting Challenge kicked off registration for the golf tournament - more information will be shared about the tournament after the event in August.

An event almost did not occur due to obstacles beyond the team's control. However, the team re-focused and with additional help was able to hold an extremely successful event. Over 95 people participated during a lunch time event in a large room adjacent to the cafeteria. Many of the participants never touched a golf club before. The event generated so much talk within the organization that an additional event is being planned for another location within Rochester.

A three-hole mini golf layout was available for each player participant's enjoyment. Prizes were given out for high and low scores as well as many raffle prizes.

Everything had a Kodak Challenge theme from score cards to a scoring leader board, to rules, posters, and more.

Each participant received a score card like the one shown here.

The following is an example of the scoring leader board used during the event. This leader board kept participant's interest about who was winning and who beat whom.

The following are some of the pictures from the recent Putting Challenge event...

Yes - there were water and sand hazards as well. These added to the challenge and fun. Two members of the organization enjoyed watching the players use the putting holes that they made based on a designs they found in an old issue of Popular Mechanics (June 1950).

Special thanks goes out to the event planning team including the golf hole architects and designers as well as all that is made it possible. Stay tuned for information on our golf tournament which will feature "challenge" holes.

The New Kodak Facebook Fan Page

undisclosed@1000words.kodak.com (JennyCisney) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:00:00 EDT

If you are a fan on the Kodak Facebook Page, you may have noticed some changes the past few days.

It has been transformed into a place that celebrates relationships and provides tips, videos and discussions on how to strengthen and deepen yours.

One of the first things posted is this study on the state of relationships. For instance, did you know although Facebook members report an average of 136 friends, they only count 6 people they trust enough to share their innermost feelings with. You can read more from the study here...

There are also some fun things like photo challenges - this week the challenge is photos of grads. If you have a favorite photo from graduation - new or old - share it on the Kodak Facebook wall and the funniest, most heartwarming and all around best shots will be included in the Kodak Grad Photo Album.

If you aren't a fan yet, take a moment and join in! It's time to smile!