PBPhoto

Well I haven't posted many pics of this little one. I've been trying to get ideas on posing a little baby. I like this one. I have a 285HV in an umbrella high above with a silver autoshade reflecting into her face from the floor in front of her. I also have a bare 540EZ to camera left giving a bit more definition to that side.

I did a bit of post-processing on this one to remove some dried food etc. I use the gimp. It is a photoshop-like tool that is free. I like that. It is not a complete replacement, but for most people I think it is more than enough of an editor. I look forward to the gimp including adjustment layers. So first I used the healing tool to clear up her skin. Next I duplicated that layer and added gaussian blur. I applied a layer mask and revealed the sharp eyes beneath the blurred layer.

Please give a critique if you have time.

Here are a few shots that I made in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. This was my first time seeing DC. I remember having a huge photobook of the museum when I was a kid. I would stare at those aircraft and spaceships for hours and think how cool it would be to be there. So thankfully I had a chance. We only had about half a day and that is not nearly enough to take it in but just looking around was great. We also caught a little of the Art Museum as well as the Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Castle.

I only have two lenses: the kit-lens is a 28-135IS and a 50 1.8. I chose to leave the 50 on the whole time since we were mostly inside. I was able to get really sharp results @ ISO 800, f1.8. The light level is typically very low in the museums.

Color balance is also a challenge because there is a mix of natural light through windows and various combinations of incandescent, fluorescent, and led's. I found myself switching between incandescent and cloudy all day with good results.

Please give a critique if you have time.

I am very happy with these. Have tried this before without the success because I didn't balance the ambient very well. The snooted source is very harsh if you are working very far above the ambient. So you need to use the ambient to fill in the shadows. I found 2 stops to be too much so these were like 1 1/3 or 1 2/3 stops down for the ambient.

I had made a cardboard snoot covered in gaffers tape. What I don't like about that one is that you are not able to change the size of the opening. These are done with the foam snoot. Nice because it is inexpensive and infinitely configurable. So I used an opening about half the size of the 285 flash head.

I also really like how the grain of the wood pops out with the flash.

So go out and try some flash photography!

Livin' life. Tried this idea with a few backgrounds. Kept moving around trying to find something with some color. Tried the fence, not too exciting. Too much sky, nothing going on there either. I just like the green background.

Ah yes. The elusive Eli. It is rare to capture this one in his natural habitat. This one of the few photographs in the world of this particular species, boyus insanicus maximus.

While my older son has this whole photography thing down, this one runs like the wind when Daddy breaks out the camera. "No! Not take my pictur!" is the typical response. So this capture is a treat. I set up the lighting and do a few test shots before I bring in the "talent". Then I put something on the floor like a piece of paper and ask them to stand on it so that they are in the right spot.

So here I have my usual setup: 1 285HV into silver umbrella @ 1/4 power camera left. Silver Wal-Mart autoshade camera right. Sunpak 411 @ 1/2 power for background. Again with the dark green comforter for the backdrop.

Please critique if you have time.

Went to the beach last night to capture a moonrise. Those pics aren't posted because well, they stunk up the joint. But the trip was worth it to hang out with my little buddy. The colors of the sunset are really amazing. You read about waiting for these magic moments when the light is just right. They do happen. Amazing to think how often we miss them because of the business of living.

Please critique if you have time.

My wife came to get me last night as she woke our daughter up for eats. She had this really cute pose. It is obviously very tough being a little girl as evidenced by the stress and anxiety displayed in this photo.

Lighting here is a cruddy compact flourescent bulb in a floor lamp. It does provide some nice soft light bounced from the ceiling. I was able to get 1/50 @ 1.8 ISO800 with my 50mm 1.8. I like the softness. No post-processing on this one. Even the monochrome was done in-camera.

Please critique if you have time.