Practice Makes Perfect

Week 4

Practice makes Perfect
January 25, 2010

Week 4's image is from a shoot I did for my friend, your friend... and you're kid's favorite place to shoot hoops... Bald Eagle Camps. Well, my friend actually started and runs the camp, but if I were 12, BEC would be my friend too:).

Shooting this Monday night clinic was a welcome challenge. Low light, all indoor, and lots of movement. Fortunately I still had a zoom lens on loan from Borrowlenses.com that made the job a bit easier. With a big aperature of 2.8, this 70mm-200mm lens let in a lot of light, and still let me keep the shutter speed fast enough to catch most of the action. I had to shoot at a high ISO, so some of the shots came out a bit grainy, but all in all, the pics turned out alright. My buddy was happy, and got the shots he needed for his camp, so I'm happy.

As I was shooting the clinic, I thought about how much these kids loved what they were doing. They wanted to learn, they were eager to get better, and were willing to work for it. Of course it was fun too, and that didn't hurt on the motivation side of things, but it was great to see these kids try again and again, knowing they wouldn't make that basket every time, knowing there was always going to be someone else on the court better than they were, knowing that inevitably they were going to embarrass themselves somehow. Yet still they kept dribbling, kept shooting, kept running up and down the court, and trying to apply the things that Coach told them would make them better. If only we'd all apply that way of thinking in our jobs, in our relationships, in our schools and communities.... perhaps we'd be a little better at what we do, be more respectful of others' efforts and contributions, and worry a little less about the challenges in our lives.

Ok, so you may notice that I just finished talking about how there was a ton of movement, but the picture I just posted is as still as you can get. Well, even though most of the images were action shots, I got this one at a moment when the kids were standing and listening to Coach give direction and instruction. I like the perspective, and decided to further separate the ball-player from the background with some grayscaling. I'm not usually a huge fan of a lot of manipulation, but what can I say... I felt like it.

Hope you like the pic, see you next week!

dg

What's Up?

Week 3

What's Up?
January 23, 2010

This week's pic is from a shoot today with a buddy of mine's son. A Junior this year, Sam was willing to be a good sport and let me shoot him for pics I can use in the "Student" section of my website (coming soon...). The kid's a rock-star, and a ton a fun to shoot with (as you can see)!

One of my favorites from the session, in this photo Sam showed his considerable "ups" when I asked him to jump in the air. I didn't think he'd go out of frame... kinda looks like he's levitating! I didn't do much to this photo, a little contrast enhancement, and some local exposure adjustment did the trick.

Hope you like it, folks!

dg

Old School

Week 2

Old School
January 15, 2010

So as I was thinking about this week's installment to the 52Photos project, I debated using some cool portraits I took this week. I thought about going out for some landscape shots. I even thought of shooting some everyday objects and trying to get creative with them. No doubt you'll see all of these in the next 50 weeks, but when my eyes fell on this can of developer sitting on my desk, I was inspired. You see, I will never use this developer. I have no idea how old it is, but my bet is that it's my elder by at least a decade. I got it along with a bunch of other supplies with some darkroom equipment given to me by an old-timer looking to part with his darkroom set and wanting to give it to a student. (I was taking a photography class at the local community college at the time, so naturally, was happy to be the beneficiary of such a generous offer!)

So looking at this can now being used as a bookend, I began to think about how far photography has come since this dusty guy was born off of an assembly line in Rochester, NY. (At least that's where the can is stamped it's from. He's not much for conversation to tell me differently, so I'm going with Rochester). Yes, of course film processing has remained relatively unchanged since then, but I'm talking about the field as a whole. I mean, it's crazy how technology has forged ahead, allowing virtual darkrooms on laptops around the world to process images in minutes that would have taken hours just 20 years ago.... Photographers are a dime a dozen now, from the vacation-amateur to the full on professional, mainly because of how easy it is pick up a point and shoot, and with just a few fundamentals in your tool-belt, take some great pictures to show your friends what a great eye you have. Not that I'm complaining... that's essentially how I got started, so I say more power to anyone willing to try! In fact, why don't you grab that point-and-shoot in your desk drawer at home and go out this week for some photography fun:).

Have a great week, everyone, and happy shooting!

dg

Bernal View

Week 1
San Francisco Skyline as seen from Bernal Heights
January 3, 2010

Taken from the top of Bernal Hill in Bernal Heights, San Francisco, this was a series of 3 shots stitched together to get the panorama effect. I consider it a "Happy Accident". I'd not intended to shoot from the hill, but was staying in BH with my brother with the plan of shooting the city in the morning. I wandered up top while waiting for him to arrive home and couldn't resist setting up the tripod. I dig how it turned out... hope you do too:). You can see more of my photography on my website, www.danielgainescreative.com. Blessings on the New Year everyone!