camera

Back behind the lens: Time to start snapping away again

July 17, 2014

It’s time to start getting back into photography with more than a phone.

It’s time to get back into photography.

And, no, I’m not talking about taking more photos with my iPhone. I mean get back into it for real — with my DSLR camera and multiple lenses and trips with the idea of taking photos.

For most of my life, I’ve been into photography. I started with a newspaper when I was in middle school and I’ve always enjoyed taking photos. I went in the direction of journalism as it allowed me to mix and match writing and photography.

But in the past year or so, I’ve let it go. Take, for example, the photo blogging challenge I run. For the bulk of the past several months, I have used photos taken with my phone. Though I am totally addicted to things like Instagram, I totally have ignored my camera, outside of if I needed it for something like work etc.

Finding different things to shoot makes it easier to keep with it.

Part of the problem is ease of use, without a doubt. The phone is always with me. It’s easy to grab it and snap a shot. Carrying a regular camera can be cumbersome at times and get to the point where it’s annoying to have. But… if I am using it more often, maybe it won’t be as cumbersome.

I have a pretty good messenger-style back for my camera, but at times, I just don’t want to carry it around. I have ideas to see if I can do other things with it, so we’ll see.

One good thing is recently getting a new lens (a 28-75 2.8, so a nice walk around lens) and having something different to use. This will allow me to do more without having to change lenses so often, or so I hope.

Still, I need to come up with some sort of a plan – for carrying the camera around, for where to go and for what to do. I’ve recently been thinking about this while my camera was at Canon getting repaired.

My plan:

To find a new, comfortable backpack bag where I can carry my equipment as well as other needed things (health etc.) for day trips. I’ve found one that has two side pouches for water bottles, which is outstanding.
Plan in two or three days per month where my goal is to go out and take some photos.
Rent a different lens or two (such as a Lensbaby) to try and get into different things.
Use some different things (lenses, attachments etc.) I’ve gotten over the year to see if that helps.
Get back into Flickr, post photos, interact and, hopefully, get inspired.

I know a lot of people put transfer their photos and put them on Instagram. I’ve done that once or twice in the past, but I think I’d rather keep my images there as ones taken with the phone. That might change from time to time, but for now it’s good as is.

Sometimes, one needs a personal challenge to think outside the box for cool photos.

Unfortunately, I don’t live in an area where photographers are rampant. Therefore, it’s rare to find people interested in, say, a photo walk. Depending on the weekend of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk, I may actually try and run one in my area to see if there are some locals who enjoy shooting. I have loved attending other walks, but I always travel for them … so we shall see how that works out.

It also helps if I am going places where photography will be something I can concentrate on. Let’s be honest, I’m pretty worn out with my area for photos. I’ve taken things over and over. And though I can always find something new when out and about, it’s tough to plan a photo day, per say. So I have a few places I want to try and go this summer/fall, as time and cash flow allow.

Possible weekend/long weekend trips include:

Maine (specifically Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park)
Montreal
The beach (as I try and do each year)
New York City (which I try and do at least once a year)

If I can pull these places off, maybe I can get back into it.

One thing I am hoping to really get me going is to start thinking deeper about the one challenge I am in, and maybe even look at one of the older challenges I was involved in. But I did notice that challenges are hard for me because I sometimes rush them and don’t think about them until the last minute. I need to actually think more about each of these and see what happens.

Long exposure/night shots are something that could help me get back into it, too.

Finally, I think I’d like to try and learn some techniques or ideas. These may come from books or photo blogs or whatever else. But I need to start thinking outside the box some to make sure I am not doing the same things over and over. One example of this is to learn lighting a bit more and maybe learn about off-camera flash and things like that. This will likely require the purchase of a new flash, but I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, anyway.

So it’s time to start snapping away. I always love seeing what I can do with a camera and beyond and I’ve taken too much time away from it. I’m not saying I’ll shy away from the iPhone camera – far from it as I like apps such as Instragram etc., rather I’m saying I want to add something back into my life in hopes I can have the same enjoyment with it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

30 Minus 2 Days of Writing: Cheesy (1/28)

February 1, 2013

I refuse to write about cheese.

Last year, the first day of this challenge, the theme was cheese. Straight up cheese. Not that there’s anything bad about cheese, but let’s be honest — this isn’t a cheese blog.

I like cheese, don’t get me wrong.

But there’s something, well, odd blogging about an obsession with cheese.

The soft feel and dreaminess of the Diana lens makes it a great addition to my digital setup.

I digress.

So I needed something else. And being today is Friday and I sometimes have my Foto Friday on this day, I figured I’d talk a little about photography. It stems from something I saw on Twitter the other day — somebody saying how there was no point in taking a pinhole photo with a pinhole lens on a digital camera.

I see the point. I can see where somebody might question it or think it’s a bit cheesy. I’m the opposite.

Before I go further, allow me to note that I grew up in the non-digital age. I remember using typewriters. I remember when film cameras were still the norm. And different films, at that. My first video game system was an Atari 2600. I used a typewriter. I handed in reports that were handwritten.

My first newspaper job was at a local weekly. When I first started, they had a typist whose job was to type up things people sent in that were handwritten or done on a typewriter.

Imagine that?

I remember when AOL was cool. Seriously. Dial-up was lightning fast. The sound of the modem was really sweet. Busy signals stunk!

So I’ve had a chance to watch technology grow. And during that time, I’ve embraced it. Especially digital photography. Living in a digital age, I’ve become accustomed to instant gratification with my photography. I can mess around or play with settings. I think of photos I’ve taken now and know there’s no way I’d be able to do what I do with a film camera.

The vignetting with my new Holga lens makes me think I took it with an actual Holga. Just without the developing and film costs.

That being said, I still love film. I don’t mind using my Holga. If any of you follow me on Instagram, you know I recently posted a photo of a film camera setup a friend sent me. It’s a body and many lenses. Funny enough, soon after that, my brother gave me some unused film that he and his girlfriend recently came across — two rolls of black and white and two color. So I have some film to shoot.

But here’s reality — it’s not cheap to develop film. I don’t develop my own film anymore and, in fact, I haven’t done it in probably more than 10 or more years. And honestly, I’d rather not get back into it. I have enough hobbies already and I don’t want to add film developing to it. Though, I will admit, I used to love it and I’m sure it would be fun to do it again.

Back to cheesy.

Over the past few years, I’ve purchased or received as gifts, three “lenses” for my digital camera. One is a Diana lens, one is a pinhole lens and the other, added most recently, a Holga lens.

The pinhole lens gave me the opportunity to take a shot like this, which I truly love.

And I love them all. Beyond that, I honestly don’t care if it’s cheesy.

I understand why people would question the pinhole. After all, the idea of many pinholes is the light creating the photo on the actual film. But this gives me the same result. Right away. On my screen. Awesome.

The Holga lens is freakin’ excellent.

And the Diana lens is soft and dreamy, just like it’s supposed to be.

Call it cheap. Call it cheesy. Call it non-traditional. I call it kick ass.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Foto Friday: Hipstamatic can give wrestling a funky look

July 6, 2012

Using Hipstamatic at a recent wrestling show gave some really wild images.

A few weeks ago, a couple of us attended a professional wrestling event inBinghamton. The company – Squared Circle Wrestling (2CW) — we went to see is one we’ve seen many times and it’s great action.

This time, however, we decided to get front-row seats for the first time.

With that comes some good things and some bad things.

The good?

The sharpness isn’t always there, but Hipstamatic gives you some cool looks.

You are up close and personal with the action. Several times, wrestlers ended up on the floor near us and some brawling ensued. Brawling at a professional wrestling event – shocking, eh?

The bad?

Sometimes, you are too close. That comes more from the photography type of things for me. I don’t mind sitting back when I am taking photos because I can utilize my zoom lens. When too close, even my “walk-around” lens (a 17-40) is a little too short. But the zoom – a 70-200 is too long.

That makes it frustrating when trying to take photos.

Now, if I had something in between (maybe my 50, but I didn’t bring it with me), it might not be so bad.

I still got a few photos I liked out of that event, but one thing I decided to do was to utilize my iPhone a little. More specifically, I decided I’d see what Hipstamatic could do.

For those who don’t know, Hipstamatic is a really cool photo app. What it does it gives you many different “films” and “lenses” to be able to get different looks and textures. It’s basically the attempt at giving you some cool “old-school” looking images, as if they were taken with film.

I love this app. Especially because you can shake your iPhone and Hipstamatic will give you random pairings of the film and lenses (and, if you are using it, flashes).

Now, I realize that the app wasn’t going to capture action well. It’s not an app for that. But, I thought if the right amount of random combinations occurred, there would be some interesting results.

I wasn’t disappointed.

What is extremely cool about this is the different feel you get with each image. Each lens and film does something different. So, if you have the same film with three different lenses, you’ll get three different images – even if it’s the same exact setp.

The films vary, too. From black and white, to color, to old-school Kodak feel. All the lenses are interesting. They differ from blur to crisp to canvas looking. None are the same, which makes it quite fun.

With Hipstamatic, you get a certain amount of lenses and films free with the initial purchase of the app ($1.99). Then, you have the chance to buy other film/lens combos, usually at a cost of 99 cents each.

This image me think of the old days of wrestling and boxing!

Unfortunately, I don’t have all the combos as I started late with Hipstamatic and some of the ones available for a limited time are no longer able to be purchased. I have 21 films and 23 lenses available to me.

That’s a whole heap of available combinations.

By doing this, it also gave me a different creative outlet. I have done a lot of different things with my photography when it comes to professional wrestling. Yet it will, at times, get old. I find myself looking for the crazy things – chairs, tables, blood etc. I don’t want just the regular old shot.

So, the Hipstamatic feel gave me that chance.

Through this post, there are a few of the shots I took. Below is a handful more of my favorites. I probably took 75 or so shots total, if not a bit more. There were others I liked, but I didn’t just want to have this be a post full of nothing but images.

If you have an iPhone, I would highly encourage you to get this app. Beyond that, there are a bunch of excellent photos apps on the Droid as well. Even if you are as attached to your normal digital camera – as I am – it’s worth a try to put it aside once in a while and see how creative you can get with something else, such as with Hipstamatic.

In the end, you might get some items that make you drop your jaw or smile knowing how cool it worked out.

Here are a bunch more of my favorite shots from that night:

After going through the table!

Using the ref as a shield.

Squaring off

The lighting here makes it kind of cool.

One of my favorite shots from the night.

Arm lock.

Foreshadowing?

Atomic drop!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Foto Friday: What does the camera mean to you?

February 24, 2012

Though this isn't my go-to camera anymore, it's one that really helped me regain my love of photography.

I’ve had this chat with a couple of other photographers recently and thought it would be a good topic for a Foto Friday.

But what does your camera mean to you?

You don’t have to look at this as something with just a digital SLR. It could be your point-and-shoot. It could be an iPhone. Or a Droid. Or some other cell phone camera.

But what is the camera to you?

It it a piece of technology? An extension of who you are? It it something to create art? Or memories for Facebook?

It has to mean something if you use it.

Something.

So spill your beans here. Tell me what it is to you.

Oh, I guess I should share my thoughts about this, too, eh?

Sometimes, looking at a spot a little differently can give a photo a whole different feel.

My camera is an extension of me. No matter if it’s my Canon 7D or my iPhone, I look at it the same. It’s a way for me to create some sort of art. See, I was never good at art.

I can’t draw. (My father was an amazing drawer. I wish I had some of his sketches. Man, they were freakin’ awesome. I remember as a kid sitting next to him as he’d draw me something. Really wild.)

I can’t paint. I can’t sculpt.

But I love art. I own several quilts that my mother has made. Talk about art. Wow. I wouldn’t have the patience or the skill to sit through and do as she does — hand quilting. No way. I own many pieces of art I’ve purchased from street artists or elsewhere.

I can’t do that stuff. Never have been able to.

That being said, I can take a photo. Photography goes back several generations in my family. My grandfather (father’s side) was a big photographer (I own a camera he once had — still works. I need another lens for it though).

I feel I have a good eye for good images. I can frame things well. I like to get a little nutso with the way I do things at times and I’ll take chances. I look at things differently, too. That’s part of the camera.

Pointing it straight ahead and taking photos doesn’t always work for me. It can be boring.

So, I think differently.

Before snapping this shot, I surveyed the situation and set things up to get better than just a normal "pint" shot.

And, as I said, I do that with my normal stuff and with my iPhone. A photo to me is a piece of art. It’s not just a memory — though it is that, too — it’s art. No matter what you do with this piece of art, it’s something you’ve created.

The reason I say all this?

Anyone can snap a photo to create some memory. It takes someone more to create a piece of art that would look amazing in a frame and on a wall.

I take photography serious — to an extent. I like to set shots up. I like to take my time. I like to know what I am shooting. That’s why, usually, I like going out and shooting by myself. I don’t mind others being there or coming along to shoot as well, as long as they realize I’m not on a time limit and I don’t like to rush.

The camera is an extension to me. It means a lot to me. And it’s also something that helps me when times are tough. There’s always something out there to take photos of and that really can help you let your mind go free.

It also can depend on what you like to shoot.

I love shooting sports and when I do, I get into a different zone. I am always looking for angles or the right light or something else.

When I get away from sports, I’m different. As I noted above, I take my time. I set things up. I zoom in on some things or get a wider angle for others. I have a totally different thought process when not shooting sports.

That helps, though.

I’m happy where I am with my photos now. I love having confidence to shoot with my regular camera or the iPhone. I love knowing there is so much to try, test and experiment with.

So the camera, to me, is an extension of who I am. It’s something I love. (Several years ago, I was offered a photo spot at the daily I used to work for. I turned it down in fear that I would lose this love. Though it might mean I was still employed, I don’t regret the decision because I got to meet someone who became a close friend and I still love taking my camera with me wherever I go).

How about you?

Drop a comment below and tell me what the camera means, if anything, to you? A quick snapper? Someone who thinks about every shot? Someone who loves to spend hours with PhotoShop?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!

Foto Friday: Water droplets

February 17, 2012

Water drops take some time, but the end result can be so worth it.

I’ve always been intrigued by water drop photos.

I see them often on Flickr and other photo sites and always wanted to do them, but never really took the time to work on them. Recently, I was coming down with a cold and didn’t want to venture out in icky weather to find a photo for the day, so I decided to take a gamble on water drops.

Now how to do them?

I did a lot of searching on the internet about this technique and there were many different blogs, sites and items showing me how to do it.

The problem was that most were using off-camera flashes and/or extra lighting. I don’t have that luxury. I don’t have the remotes to do an off-camera flash and I don’t have lighting.

So I kept digging.

One thing I found was someone who used the actual pop-up flash on the camera and they seemed to do a pretty solid job of taking the drops. A little more digging gave me a decent look at things. Once I had some ideas in mind, I started digging around.

Making the image black and white gave it a cool look.

I set up a small light box area with a white sheet covering the ground and over the back of a few boxes stacked up. I then had a clear plastic container with water.

With the camera on a tri-pod, I aimed a bit above the drops. The clear shots showed me I was going in the right direction, but it didn’t give me the effect I was searching for.

So, time to figure something out.

Something I hadn’t seen was using food coloring as the drops. So, what the heck?

Here’s one thing I know I need to work on next time I do this. I need to put something together that will do the water drops automatically. Though each spot I looked for info on these drops said to do something where you could guarantee the drop to be, I decided to take the risk and just have them dropping from the top.

Still, I think going with F8 saved me on a couple of these drops.

I set up at ISO 100, F8 and the exposure at 1/250, which is the maximum with a flash connected. I put the flash on manual and made it at 1/16, powering it down a bit.

I then pointed the camera at the water, but angled the flash so it was pointing straight ahead and bouncing off the white background on the back “wall.”

I snapped as fast as I could, trying to time the drop. Sometimes it worked well, sometimes not so much. But I really liked the food coloring into the clear water.

Here are a couple of my favorite of those:

Drop hitting water.

This probably would have been better with lighter colors.

After doing this for a bit, it needed a small change.

Round two went with clear water with red food coloring, and dropping clear water in to see what kind of a feel I could get. It was OK, but not as colorful as using the food coloring.

The food coloring was fully mixed with the water and then clear water dropped in.

This next shot color is a bit different. I might have mixed in another color to try and lighten it. Or it might be how the flash hit. Either way, this is the only shot like this I got all day. It was pretty wild to see this little cave-like drop and everything else seem to be so smooth.

One drop.

Finally, at the end, I wanted to try something else, so a couple drops of green food coloring was next.

Most didn’t come out too well, but one really caught my eye.

Splash down.

This won’t be the last time I do water drops. In fact, I’d be willing to bet I’ll have them on my 366 Project at some point again this year. But I’m going to mess around a little bit more and see where I can fix things. I would like to get some remotes to be able to do off-camera flash, too, to try things that way.

If you are looking for some other awesome water drops, search Flickr. There is some great shots out there.

And if you’ve done this before, let me know in the comments how you’ve done it and what you did. I’d be interested to see how others have done it and such and what kind of success they’ve experienced.