Week 25: Looks Like..

Photos of the Week

Week 25 Assignment: Looks Like..

I tried something a little different this week that made me look at things a lot different than I have the last many weeks. Trying to find something in a scene or element of a scene, such as a face or letter or something else completely random is quite different than looking at your composition and lighting and such. It seemed to be a good break from the norm to get me to look and things differently again.

I started off my finding some simple letter shapes to spell the word 'moon'. This has endless possibilities in what you use to find or create letters and the words they can create. From there I found a few different faces, a car, a cactus out of driftwood, and finally a person made out of flower pots. If you ever find yourself with 'photo block', which happens to me often, you can always go out for an assignment like this and have fun.

Coming Next:

Week 26 Assignment: Where's Sue (Waldo)?

Week 24: Sports-Swimming

Photos of the Week

Week 24 Assignment: Sports Photography-Swimming

This was another week of sports, with swimming being the focus this time. I have always wanted to shoot swimming, partly because I enjoy swimming myself, but also because I knew it would be challenging. The challenging part of shooting swimming begins with the lighting, because almost any indoor pool I have been to has the worst lighting. It is a mix of low light, making it difficult to get the fast shutter speeds to freeze action shots, and also different light temperatures, from florescent to tungsten to maybe a little natural light which can make it very difficult to get the colors to come out correct. I did my best to increase the ISO to get a decently high shutter speed without creating too much noise, and also adjusting the color balance to get a natural looking color. Due to the sporadic light being brighter in some areas of the pool and darker in others, I still ended up doing quite a bit of post production adjustments to get the photos to look natural.

It turned out to be the challenge I expected, but I am pretty happy with the shots I was able to capture. I was able to get some shots of each type of swim stroke, from freestyle and backstroke to breast stroke and butterfly. Some were more difficult to get shots of, but the butterfly was probably my favorite. Swimming was a great experience and I hope to do it again.

Coming Next:

Week 25 Assignment: Looks Like..

Week 23: Sports-Cycling

Photos of the Week

Week 23 Assignment: Sports Photography - Cycling

This week I got back to shooting something I really enjoy doing, which is action sports. I decided to do some pro bono work for the Senior NW Games to provide them with some great photos of some of their events. This week it was cycling time trials. The key to getting great sports action shots is location and timing. It is always helpful to scout locations prior to the event so you know when and where to be to get the shots you want. For this event, I wanted to get a few at the start and finish, but the majority of what I was looking for were fast panning shots.

The first couple shots are a cyclist starting and then your average action shot. The next batch of shots are panning shots that show action and motion. It took me a number of shots to dial in the camera and flash settings, but once I did I was able to capture the shots I wanted. The final shot is of the corner I took most of the shots, except from the other side of the cyclist. I also like the panoramic view showing the whole 180 degree turn. All in all, a fun day of shooting.

Coming Next:

Week 24 Assignment: Sports Photography - Swimming

Week 22: Travel Portland

Photos of the Week

Week 22 Assignment: Travel Photography - Portland

This week I hit the road and headed to Portland, OR. I was there for a short time with some good weather and some bad weather, which is the norm for the Pacific Northwest in June. I happened to be there during the Rose Festival, which Portland is known for along with their beautiful Rose Garden.

The first four photos are from the Rose festival; a fun fountain near the riverfront with the city in the background, a ferris wheel from the carnival, an old time bicyclist, and the band performing for the crowd to prepare for the parade. The next couple are from the Rose garden with Heather taking in the sweet scents and a close up of one of the many types of roses to be seen. Following these are a few shots of the modern downtown of Portland with their very stylish bus/train stops and the buses and light rail that can get you just about anywhere you want to go in Portland. Finally, the most important place in the Portland area...Fuddruckers, the best burger place and a must stop if you are there.

Coming Next:

Week 23 Assignment: Sports Photography - Cycling