Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Photos on Vacation!

So my son and I will be spending a week in Washington DC in April. I am excited for this for many reasons. He has never been there so it will be a great trip for him as everything will be new. It will be his first time on an airplane as well so that should be an interesting experience.

I have been planning the trip out, and viewing the spots where we will go. I have already come up with ideas of the kinds of shots I want to get in Arlington Cemetery, the White House, the reflecting pool with the Washington Monument behind it...the thought of all of the photos I am going to come back with is super exciting.

But here is my question...

Where do you draw the line between taking amazing photos and putting down the camera and enjoying vacation?

I have photo-brain. I am ALWAYS thinking of what shots I can get, no matter where I am. I could be in Walmart and see something to take a photo of. I am sad I know, but thus is the life of a photographer. I sometimes have trouble turning my photo-brain off and just enjoying the moment. I automatically think, if I don't get this picture I won't remember it, or I really need this shot so I can show everyone what I am up to.

The good thing is that Cody has his own camera and absolutely loves taking pictures as well, so maybe I can balance between having a fun vacation and making it a learning experience for my budding photographer. :)

When we went to NYC I managed to do a pretty good job of not taking too many photos (We were there for two full days and I only took around 150 photos, which for me is usually what I take per hour). DC is so much prettier than NYC though!! I am hoping the cherry blossoms will still be out when we are down there.




Saturday, February 23, 2013

Water Droplet Tutorial!!

Hi all! I have spent the past few days playing with water droplet photos and think I have finally got it down, so I would like to share how to do it!

Things you need:

Container almost full of water (preferably something clear or black)
White paper for background or tie dye background
Camera (duh)
Flash
Tripod
Remote
Paper bathroom cup or medicine dropper
Desk lamp (only needed if you are doing a tie dye background)

So you are going to take your container with water in it and put it in front of either your white background (great if you want black and white droplet photos), or your tie dye photos (great if you want some color. See examples below). Take the desk lamp, point it at the background to light it up if you are using a colored background.

White background:
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Tie Dye background:
http://i571.photobucket.com/albums/ss153/KAikensPhotography/DSC_0256.jpg

Set your camera about a foot from the container, and about 6 inches above so your lens in angled down to the container. This will give you a better angle to work with and will reduce the chance of getting the front lip of the container in the photo.

Set your camera to remote mode so that you can fire away but not have to be attached to the camera. This is important because you need a free hand to make the droplets.

If you are using a paper bathroom cup, poke a small hole in the bottom using a pen. Adjust the size to increase droplet frequency as you go. If you are using the dropper, put water in it and test it out by squeezing to a rhythm to see how much pressure you need for drops.

Settings for the camera:
ISO 100
Shutter 1/250
Fstop 9-11 (anywhere in this range usually works well)
Flash should be on low power 1/32 or 1/64 to catch the droplets in action

Now, stick a pen above the water where you intend for the drops to land. Put your camera on manual focus, look through the viewfinder, and focus on the pen above the water. Place the tip of the pen no more than half an inch above the surface.

Now you are ready to start snapping away! You can either pick a rhythm for the droplets, (press the button on the remote just as the drop falls from the dropper or cup to get the splash), or you can hold the button so the camera fires a few frames off if you are having trouble with the other method.

For a bigger splash and better shots, hold the dropper/cup about a foot above the water. This will make it a little harder to make the drop land where you want it to, but after a few tries, you will get it.

Have fun!

Don't be discouraged if you don't get a lot of shots in focus. I took over 200 the other day and got six that were good. It's a tough thing to do, but once you get used to it and makes tweaks as necessary, it will become easier.

Here are a few of the shots I got over the last few days:

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Lochness monster!

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If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment here or on my Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/EpixStudios


Friday, February 15, 2013

Are You a Photo Junkie?

How many cameras do you own? How many do you have on you at all times? Are you ever without a camera?

For me, I own 3 cameras. One on my iPhone, a Panasonic Lumix for concerts and other opportunities where I cannot bring my DSLR in, and my Nikon D7000. I ALWAYS have at least one of these on me at all times. During warmer weather the Lumix remains locked in my glove compartment in case I run into an interesting situation on the street while out and about. This happened once last year.

I was out at a friend's house and all of a sudden saw black smoke rising in the sky. So me being me, I tracked that sucker down! I found the house that was on fire on Myrtle Street. While the photos I got were not as clear and sharp as I would have liked, it's the journalism and story of it all that counts.






Other times, I will bring my DSLR with me in anticipation of a photo outing. I look at everything as a photo op, but I want to make sure that I have my best camera if I know that I am going somewhere where photos will be plentiful.

I am a photo junkie, plain and simple. Even if I have one of my other cameras on me, I will still take pics with my phone, and then use the real camera. It's an obsession, but it's also a passion. I think it's healthy to have a passion, especially one that you can turn into a career as I am trying to do.

If you see something that you think is a photo op, it probably is, so whip out that camera and get snapping!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Little Steps to a Bigger Goal

I stopped to think today about where my photography business started, and where I am at now. Obviously I would love to have more clients and be a little busier with my photography but then I realized, I am VERY busy with my photography, I just don't make money off of it sometimes. And you know what? That is completely fine!

A lot of the shoots that I have done as of late have been for free, or have been for fun for myself. And as I stop to think about it, no, I am not getting paid, HOWEVER, I am building my portfolio considerably, I am learning each time that I shoot, and I am building a client base and getting my name out there by going out and spreading my photos around.

Just today I was asked for some photos for the Red Cross. I sent them over and now they are being sent to the national level and may even be printed in national Red Cross publications. Boom. Just like that, name in print, national exposure. That alone would be excellent, especially if I ever decide to try and get a photography job with a newspaper or television station.



As I have become more and more involved with these types of shoots, I am realizing my focus is changing. While I enjoy weddings, portraits, and sports photography, I am in love with photo-journalistic shoots. Chasing a story on the police scanner and taking photos at the scene is a rush. I could deal with that every day!

As time goes on my photos will continue to improve, my understanding and knowledge of all kinds of different lighting situations will grow, and my portfolio will contain an immense amount of work, which will lead to more booking clients in the end.

So I guess what I want everyone to take away from this writing is that it takes little steps to reach the top. Don't skip steps. Take it slowly and eventually you will reach your end goal.

I leave you tonight with a photo of a man who was in a band that I have photographed often. He passed away this week, a shock to all. Take away from this that you should always photograph when you get the urge, because you never know, the memories you are capturing could be the last caught on film.


Saturday, February 9, 2013

Is it Ethical?

After photographing that fire the other night, I stopped to think. Is this really ethical? Is my excitement over a news story to photograph bordering on unethical if it is a tragedy?

I talked this over with a good friend the other day and he made a valid point. There are a lot of people who have jobs and get paid to work depending on other people's misfortune such as firefighters, doctor's, and people that do clean up after disasters. While this is true, I do not get paid for the photos that I so hastily run out to take. I do not work for a newspaper or a magazine, I do it to build my portfolio. I do not take pleasure in the fact that someone is losing their home but I do enjoy taking the photos. (And to be clear, I do NOT start fires to get photos, I am just a scanner junkie!)

What do you think? Is it ethical for me to go to the scene of a fire or a standoff just to get photos?

Now on a happier note!

Good things are coming soon. I have a shoot in a few days with my Uncle-in-law's band Max Voltage, another shoot for the Mr and Miss Queen City Icon pageant, a shoot for the Red Cross for the Heroes Breakfast.

I am hoping to book at least two weddings for this year, but it's a hard market to get into. There is a lot of great competition in this area and I don't quite have a client base built up. I am so grateful for all of the clients I have had so far. They have all been amazing, and word of mouth has been my best advertising avenue.

I am always looking for new clients and new gigs, so if you know anyone, send them my way!

I spent a few minutes photographing my son blowing bubbles yesterday. Who knew you could get neat photos from that?

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I hope that you have all been safe this weekend with all of the snow. I was hoping to go out and get some photos, but there was no way I was traveling on the roads. So I took some from my porch instead. :)

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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Chasing a Story

Hey everyone!

This entry was going to be about the busy photographic weekend I had, but the night quickly turned into a dramatic evening. A friend alerted me to a fire close by (my friends let me know when there are fires going on because they know I like photojournalism), so I ran out to catch the action, listening to the scanner the whole way there.

Three alarm fire. Over 100 firefighters on the scene from different towns. Firefighters had to evacuate the building because the fire became too strong and the structure was far too unsafe. Ash flying everywhere, water from multiple hydrants shooting into the smoldering building, bystanders watching in fascination and horror.

I know fires are terrible events, but there is something so gripping about them, I just can't let the opportunity to photograph one go by if possible.

I managed to get some great photos, unfortunately no flames as they were contained inside the building by the time I got there. I sent them off to the local news station as I have done so many times with fires in the area, and hope they will be published.

My friends make fun of me saying that I am going to be questioned for arson one of these days because I am always at the fires. I can't help it if I like the scanner!

Here is my favorite photo from the night and a photo of a chunk of the firefighters that were there:




So that was my excitement for tonight! I really wish that I could have a job as a photojournalist because the rush of the chase is like no other.

This weekend was quite busy as well. Friday night I had a shoot at Club 313, someone was having a birthday party and so I decided to go photograph for fun. This is one of the shots I liked the most from that night:



Saturday it was on to Wachusett Mountain. Polar Beverages had a special day going on, so I decided to take a nice drive down there and photograph the events. Unfortunately it was not what I thought it was going to be and there weren't as many people doing skiing and snowboarding tricks as I would have liked. I stayed for about and hour and took photos, but then gave up and went home. I tried stopping at different places on the way home but everything was closed.








Finally Saturday night I went to a bar called Duke's and photographed Max Voltage, a band that my ex-husband's uncle is in. I have done photos for them in the past, and they needed new updated shots, so I headed on over to the bar and took shots for a few sets.

Here are a couple of photos from the night. I have an in house shoot with them soon as well so some good photos should come from that.






It was a busy weekend and was capped off by a busy night tonight, and I wouldn't have it any other way! I may not have made any money from these shoots, but the experience gained and portfolio work I have added makes up for it.

For now, live long and photograph.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Quick! A Photo op! Pull over!!!!!

Yup, the title describes me well. I was driving home tonight and noticed the moon looked pretty neat, so I pulled over as soon as I could and took out the camera. (Even though the moon looks the same in almost every shot I have of it)






Leave it to me. Lol.

Today begins a 2 day long photo extravaganza! Tonight I started with a birthday party at the 313. The lighting and angles are extremely tough in the dance room were the show was because there is a bar that runs across the stage that gets in the way no matter where you are. The lighting is tough because the ceilings are black so there is nowhere to bounce the flash from. I did get some good ones though.

Tomorrow I am waking up nice and early to travel down to Wachusett Mountain to shoot the Polar Beverages Orson's Outlandish Olympics. I have a feelings it's going to be a lot of fun and I am going to get some great shots (not to mention some Polar swag!).

After I come back from the mountain I will have a few hours to edit, then it's down to Tyngsboro, Mass to do a concert shoot for my ex-husband's uncle and his band Max Voltage. I have done a few shoots with them but this will be the first at an actual venue. I am excited to get the concert experience.

And on Sunday, it's the Superbowl, so for a few hours, there will be no photo taking, no editing, no nothing. :)

Does anyone have any techniques that they would like tips on or want to know about how to do something in Photoshop? Just let me know and I will add it to the next blog as best as I can!

Scanning for a story

As most of you know, I am a police scanner junkie. I love to listen to it while I am at home just in case something interesting comes up. If I hear of something big going on, I will grab my camera and run. Why you ask? Partly to keep things interesting, and partly because it's good publicity! I have had several photos on the local news from being at a fire or hostage situation because I was listening on the scanner. It's almost like a Pavlovian reaction at this point. I hear sirens, and if the scanner isn't on already, I will turn it on, listening for a story to emerge.

As I do this, I think that photojournalism would be a great job for me. I would love to work for WMUR or the Union Leader, going around and taking photos of human interest stories. It would be interesting and different every day!

Even when I am just driving around, I find things that would make great photos. For example, today I was at the bank, and they are constructing a new building. At the base of the new building, a man was working, the sun was behind him, and a cloud of concrete dust was flying in the air around him, making the perfect silhouette. It would have made an amazing photo, unfortunately there was nowhere to pull over and grab the shot at the time.

So out of this, I guess my tip for the day is that anything can be turned into a great photo, you just have to look for it!