The Bouquet

Perhaps I am becoming superfluous in my posts about the wedding, but so much happened on that day that I can’t but help it. After all, it was the greatest photography highlight of the month. I chose this picture because of how different it was than all my other pictures. And perhaps it is different because of how awkward it was to take.

As the assistant photographer, I was there to meet the immediate needs of the main photographer; and, well, the immediate need of the moment was for someone to hold the bride’s flower bouquet. “I guess I don’t mind holding it for you. . . . But wait! That prohibits me from taking pictures. Or does it? If I hold the bouquet just right, I can still get both hands on the camera. But now the petals get in the way. . . .” And that’s when it struck me that perhaps I could creatively include the petals.

Now my problem was getting the “petals” far enough away from the lens of the camera so I could focus on them. After a second or two, I found the fix. Holding the bouquet out as far as I could reach with my left hand (my arm underneath the lens to support the camera while my hand held the bouquet in such a way that positioned the flowers on the right for the best composition), I managed to achieve what I had envisioned. And that, just in time.

This entire process took a matter of seconds. But that’s only as long as ou need for creativity to turn hindrances into blessings.

You can view this album for more pictures of the wedding.

Appalachian Sunset

Have you ever become frustrated with imperfect equipment during an otherwise perfectly wonderful photoshoot?

During my recent trip through the Blue Ridge mountains I experienced these feelings as I attempted to shoot the beautiful scenery along the charming route. Early on in the day, it wasn’t a problem to spend a little extra time to switch a lens . . . again, or set up a tripod . . . for the tenth time, or switch to Automatic Exposure Bracketing . . . and back again.

But as the day progressed, and as I began to realize that my time was growing short, these extras became less and less ordinary and more and more annoying. Instead of enjoying the particulars of the trade, I had let my focus deviate toward satisfying my desire for having a beautiful picture more than enjoying the process of taking it. 

Photography is not about having a collection of images. Photography is about glorifying the Creator both in using pictures and creating pictures. He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit, exalts folly. Plan plenty of time for your photoshoots, but don’t let acquisitiveness spoil the true reason why you are behind the lens!

Spring Overlook

Having spent this entire month in South Korea taking photography sorties on a regular basis, it was not easy to choose a pick from the sizeable archive. But I narrowed it down to this one because of the steps that led up to it’s creation.

It was late in the afternoon, and I was on my way up to the top of what I call Hill #1. It is the first of 5 big hills (or small mountains, whichever you would like to call them) that are just a 10 minute bike ride from the apartment. It had taken me a while to find the trail and park the bike, so I now only had a few minutes before I needed to head back home.

The hill was steep, but as soon as I reached the top, I was simply awed by the peaceful view that met my sight. Purple wildflowers in full bloom grew thickly beneath oriental pine trees, constituting a colorful foreground to sprawled city and distant mountain ranges. I took in the view for a few moments before pulling the camera out for some pictures.

I soon found that it was impossible to capture what I could see with my eyes. The sun was still too high in the sky to be shot directly into, but that was really the only way to shoot. As I contemplated the situation, an idea came to mind from something I had read the other day: to reduce glare when shooting into the sun, partially cover it up. So I tried it out. To be in a position where the pine tree would partially cover the sun required me to get off the overlook platform and stand on my tippy toes. But it worked! Instead of having the picturesque foreground silhouetted against the sky or ruined by lens flare, I was able to reduce the intensity of the sun just enough to achieve a more correctly exposed picture. And, I must add, I think it is a brilliant effect too.

New River Gorgeousness

Owing to much planning, traveling, and work, there was not much time for photography this past month. But having a camera handy at all times does pay off.

We had been on the road for over six hours, and there was a good three hours left to go. It just so happened that it was nearing sunset when we crossed the iconic New River Gorge Bridge near Beckley, West Virginia. Would it be worth it to try and get some pictures?

Most of the nicer images I took on that short walk to the bridge overlook were taken directly into the sunset. But there was a surreal attractiveness about the gorge winding toward the east. Knowing that the camera didn’t have the ability to correctly capture the effect, I bracketed by 1 and 2/3 stops over and under the correct exposure so I could merge them into one later on. Just a few days ago, I brought the pictures into Photomatix and. . . voilà! it’s exactly how I wanted it to look.

When you’re some place scenic, point the camera in all directions. You never know what direction will be the best.

Under the Sun

Have you ever considered that all your wonderful camera equipment is not much more than this: weeds? Both will eventually break down. One more quickly than the other, of course, but neither of them will last very long.

And why do I say this? To warn you first of expecting from equipment more than you should, and second, to beware of using a tripod in deep snow. Tripods, especially lightweight ones, do not hold up well against the atypical pressure incurred when the legs, fully extended and opened to a leg angle of 25 degree or more, are placed without appropriate caution into snow 20 or more inches deep. While still providing a degree of stability, this depth is enough to make the tripod literally “float” in the snow without actually resting on the ground. It’s the equivalent of a person doing a leg split; it induces incredible stress on the upper portion of the legs, more than a tripod was built to endure. In my case, this resulted in a snapped tripod leg lever after only two weeks of use.

As far as I know, to prohibit this from happening, one must open the legs less than 25 degrees or not fully extend them before placing them into the snow. However careful one may be, there will always be problems and evidences of break down. Give your equipment to God, be as careful as you can, and just expect misfortune along the way!

Full Moon in January

It’s fun to go though pictures of the past month as I sit in my cozy little office looking outside at the blowing snow and thinking about the blizzard warnings here in Chicago. There was snow on the ground for most of January, and it appears as though there will be for the beginning of February, at least.

Can you guess what time of night this picture was taken? Believe it or not, it is 6:02 in the morning. When the moon is full, it travels almost exactly opposite as the sun and sets at about the same time the sun rises. Morning is usually a better time to shoot the moon.

I was walking to work early that morning as I gazed up at the surreal beauty in the heavens. Normally, I do not have all my equipment with me when I walk, but for some reason, this morning I did. “How coincidental” I thought. It hadn’t been clear for the past few days either.

As I was setting everything up, I began to realize how cold it was. They said it would get down to 9 degrees; but never mind, this was a rare opportunity. Just before taking the picture, I set the aperture to f/16 so that I it would create starbursts of each light source. To keep the shutter speed no longer than 30sec. I bumped the ISO up to 800.

As the camera took the picture, I stood off to the side doing jumping jacks to keep warm. When the picture had been taken, I only had time to set up one more composition before my fingers really became painfully cold. Finally I picked up the tripod and trotted to a warmer climate.

When I got inside, I checked the temperature: it was –1, but felt like –23. It sure felt that cold to me!

Christmas Bells

It amazes me how pleasing compositions unexpectedly produce themselves. Of course, it’s hard not to come away with a winner when one is standing on a mountaintop at sunrise with mist rising out of the valleys, or on a beach at sunset directly following a torrential rainstorm. But it’s those everyday, “normal-rich,” “profundity-scarce” situations that always surprise me.

Of all the pictures I took during the Christmas Conference at the beginning of December, this picture was the only one that really made me say “Wow”. However, I wasn’t thinking anything different when I took it. Every time I see a potential subject, every time I compose and focus on it, every time I press the shutter release, I think about what factors will affect the exposure, what elements will build the composition, and what goal, emotion, or purpose I am trying to reach. But not every picture is a “Wow” picture. In fact, very few are.

So this is why I keep taking pictures; not random pictures, or pictures that will be of no use to me later. Don’t take me wrong; I choose my subjects carefully. But when I see something that tells a story, brings back old memories, or stimulates emotion, I will do my best to capture it despite the likelihood of a favorable outcome.

Hangin’ In There

As I was going through the pictures I had taken over the past month, this one clearly stood out as the one with the most suggested activity: that split-second moment between swinging out of the tree and landing safely on the ground. Well, suggested at best; it really wasn’t as perfect timing as the picture implies . . .

After a long, hard day of raking leaves, two friends and I decided to head out to “the hill” where another group of staff-members was finishing off the day with a few rounds of speed volleyball. We were in a little predicament, however, because I had a bike and my compatriots did not. Despite my suggestions for a solution, they took off running toward the hill at great speed and it was no easy task to beat them (as certain obstacles are not as easily passed with a bike as they are on foot).

Upon our arriving at the hill, quite out of breath, we slowly realizing that all that energy had been spent in vain as we looked with disappointment over an empty hill–an empty volleyball court–now shrouded in the cold October twilight.

But that didn’t deter out enthusiasm one bit! There was a beautiful sunset behind us! And I had a camera! And when was the last time you had time to be crazily creative with creating silhouettes? It was invigorating! So we went berserk: riding the bicycle, chasing the bicycle, climbing trees and seriously having more fun than we probably ever would have had playing volley ball.

“Hangin’ In There” is my favorite picture from the episode. Because of the trees in the background (being where they were because I, laying flat on the ground, couldn’t get any lower), I called for my friend to keep his legs up in the air, not touching the branch, but almost touching, for as long as he could. And that wasn’t very long, poor guy!

Sometimes, what we see suggests something that is not actually real; this is the case in every disappointing situation.

I’m back! I’m finally back after three busy weeks of traveling, completing the calendar, and volunteering at the National Bible Bee! There is so much to talk about, so I’ll keep posting over the next few days. But for now, I’ve got to make up for missing the October Pic of the Month.

Let Your Light Shine

It was growing dark as we drove up the arid mountainside to the next stop on our itinerary: a gathering of children and families from the surrounding shanty town. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the crepuscular atmosphere which loomed over the favela through which we traveled was in no way reflective of the animated meeting place in which we shortly found ourselves! Beaming children swarmed us when we arrived and enthusiastically responded to the songs and stories we taught about character and attentiveness.

This type of event is impossible to capture with a camera; it is trying to convert emotion to reality. But the key is to do your best! And sometimes, you might emerge with something that may depict a glimpse of what was actually experienced. And that is what I feel about this picture. In a needy place, dim with poverty and sin, there can be hope, light, and vision for a better future. Though surroundings may stay the same for awhile, there will always be improvement where there is Light!

Spinning Stars

There are two kinds of movement you can creatively capture with a camera, each one producing it’s own unique affect. The first is subject movement, the second is camera movement.

Subject movement is easily captured by slowing down your shutter speed. You get cool affects like silk-like water, firework bursts, and lines of light gilding busy highways.

Camera movement, much less common but as equally creative, is also achieved by using a slow shutter speed. This gives action to static objects. It can create beautiful, abstract patterns. It’s the concept behind panning, which sets moving objects in focus against a blurry background.

What kind of movement do you think is used to shoot star trails? Think about it. Are the stars moving? No. The earth is! Believe it or not, star trails are a result of the camera moving with the earth. It amazes me how truly creative this camera movement stuff can get! There are better ways to shoot star trails I’m sure, but here’s the way I took this one:

1. Set up my tripod in a location far away from city lights and well after sunset or before sunrise. (It was seriously pitch black that night!)
2. Set the Exposure Program Dial to M (or Manual).
3. Set my aperture to f/8.0
4. Set my shutter speed to Blub (the next choice after 30sec. on an SLR)
5. Set my ISO to 100 (Because it’s going to be such a long exposure, you need all the quality you can get to cut the grain.)
6. Set White Balance to Custom, around 2500K
7. Turned on Long Exposure Noise Reduction (under my Custom Function settings in the menu.)
8. Manually focused to infinity (with the help of a makeshift flashlight, my handy cell phone).
9. Composed the picture by comparing it to a Star Field shot.
10. Here’s the secret: Used an external shutter-release to open the shutter for 3000 seconds (2966 seconds to be exact, or approximately one hour).

I’ve yet to do more experimenting to make these pictures better and brighter, but this is at least a start!