It's Done

My book is now posted at the official SoFoBoMo site.

Twas the end of SoFoBoMo and all through the blogosphere, not many photographers were stirring—not uttering a peep.

Maybe a lot of us are tired. Or maybe it's the heat. Or, maybe I am just projecting. At any rate, a number of people seem quieter than usual. I think it was quiet last summer about this time, as well.

Now I have some time to enjoy all the other posted books. What a treat.

Problem at SoFoBoMo site

Has anyone else had trouble logging in at the SoFoBoMo.org site? When I attempt to log in, I get a page that is very long and filled with code. It's strange because I logged in yesterday. I wanted to be certain that I could get in and I wanted to review the instructions for upload. On that occasion, the log in was straightforward. However, for the last couple of hours, I have had no luck logging in. I haven't seen any mention of anyone else having difficulty. Maybe it's something going on with my system. Still, I have visited several other sites, logged into accounts at three of them, and had no other problems. Maybe someone can shed some light on this.

Just Under the Wire

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I feel old and tired today—both in mind and spirit. After about four days of focusing almost exclusively on my SoFoBoMo book, I finished yesterday. Completing the book left me relieved, let down, lost, confused, discouraged, dissatisfied, inspired, proud—I need not go on. Yes, overall the enjoyment of the process overrides the negatives. Yet, this was once again an intense exercise during which I learned a great number of lessons. Clearly, some of those lessons will invigorate and inform my photography in the future and I am grateful for them. Nevertheless, I was regularly reminded of my weaknesses and limitations (spiritual, physical, and mental).

I will confess that near the end, I was tempted to ditch the project. As I became increasingly aware of how little progress I have made as a photographer in the past year, the entire exercise seemed more futile. Ultimately, I knew that I was in no mental state to judge merit and had no business making a decision that I would likely regret. So, I persisted.

I suspect that if the book project were the only thing on my mind today, I would be experiencing mostly relief. Certainly, I would also feel pride in just finishing and a new burning desire to be a better artist by this time next year. After all, there is nothing quite like the pressure of collecting and presenting thirty-five photographs to the world to motivate one to dig in. If an exercise like this one doesn’t push you to improve your craft, I don’t know what would.

My general sense of relief, however, is moderated by other events. Yes, regardless of how single-minded I was, life did go on outside that narrow space in our office where I lived for those last few days. My sister’s recovery is going well, and that is welcome news. Still, her life will dramatically change. As a recent widow, she now lives alone and she is feeling a new kind of vulnerability. Along with her children, she will be facing life-changing decisions. She is my little sister, and I am concerned about her.

All that would have been more than enough for me, today. However, The Husband got home late yesterday, found me still chained to my computer in the final stretch, and discovered that our cockatiel had died at some point during the afternoon. Certainly, the bond I had with Lady Bird was not as intense as those I have had with more than one dog and with my horse. Still, she had been with us for about eight years, and I will sorely miss her singing—even her fussing when she saw a hawk and was certain that she was certain to be eaten. Her loss leaves me with one more bruise on my heart, and I have noticed that as I grow older these bruises leave me feeling increasingly fragile.

All in all, I am a bit of a mess. Nothing serious—no one is more aware of that than I. All I need to do is return to counting my blessings to remind myself that I am rich beyond compare in all the things that matter in life. My policy at times such as this is to simply proceed one thing at a time—take care of business, don’t fight the feelings, but don’t give in to paralysis. Therefore, after a couple more reviews of my project to see what gremlins may have crept in overnight, I will post my book at the SoFoBoMo site. I have come in just under the wire. Today is the 31st day.

Freshman Syndrome

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Last week, I found myself thinking that it would be nice to take a day off from photography. I looked at my file folders for the month of June and thought I might like to give the whole thing rest for a couple of days running. But, a funny thing happen on the way to the weekend. My schedule filled up and I find myself filling CF cards, processing, and reviewing as though there were nothing else in the world to do. Each day,there was something that got me out and motivated me to come straight home and review the “day’s catch”.

Now, I am facing a deadline for SoFoBoMo that looms all too close. Here it is the 22nd and I have only until Saturday the 28th to complete all my editing, processing, layout, and text. I feel like the college freshmen who has goofed off—perhaps partied—until the night before the exam, or the term paper is due. Only, in my case, I got stuck in the stacks in the library, or lost in the lab—deeply absorbed in other learning projects and forgot to focus on my assignment. I am learning about western style riding events and having an opportunity to photograph them frequently. Just last Friday, a friend called to alert me to a small herd of elk just a couple of miles away, and off The Husband and I scooted to spend at least half an hour admiring the five bulls so close to us. Too many opportunities, and so much to learn.

Of course, I don’t have to complete the book. It is, after all, a self-assignment and neither Paul Butzi, nor anyone else, issues failing grades for anyone who opts out. My problem is that I really want very much to finish this. It’s just that I want to do all these things—my SoFoBoMo project, the equine events in our area, and continue with all my other nature photography. I need fourteen days in my weeks.

What I am left with, is that I will complete my project in some form. It appears certain that it will not come close to my original expectations, but it will be a start; and, because I am very much attached to Oak Canyon Trail now, I will continue my mission in some form or another as time passes.

Tired, but Inspired

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I had a post all ready to go that included chatter about how bone-tired I have been every night from carrying my camera around so much, and how I have been having more fun than most adults expect to have except when on a vacation.

But, last night I got a phone call from my niece telling me that my sister is in the hospital with a broken hip. Needless to say, my mood this morning is a bit more subdued. Nevertheless, this is mostly a blog about my photography and I will attempt to stay on course.

What with working three major photography projects, I have taken several hundred pictures in June. Let’s just say that I have had to learn to be much more rigorous in my editing process, filling the recycle bin several times a day lately. If I were not throwing away a lot of files, I would need at least half a dozen terabyte hard drives to contain all the experimental shots.

The three projects that I am combining are work on my SoFoBoMo project in Oak Canyon, testing my new 50D, and building my action photography skills. The time spent in Oak Canyon is a joy, and the more I photograph in there the more certain I am that I could work the canyon for a year and not exhaust its possibilities. A thirty-one day project seems so superficial now.

As I examine the pictures that I took yesterday evening, I will know more about how far I can push the ISO on this new camera without sacrificing all pretense to quality. I had wondered about the usefulness (to me) of the battery grip, and I am still not 100% certain about that. But, I would say that this is an indication: it hasn’t been off the camera since I tore into that B&H box and attached grip to camera. So far, I have no serious complaints about the camera. My one quibble is why on earth Canon took away one of the custom functions buttons for something called “Creative Auto”. Come on. When I picked up The Husband’s new point and shoot a few years ago, I might have loved with that feature; but, it is nothing more than an annoyance with this camera.

I am having a wonderful time exploring more action photography and I am chomping at the bit to share some of the photos here. I have not photographed barrel racers before. What a kick that was. Over the weekend and again on Tuesday, I spent hours lugging around the camera fitted with the 70-200mmL IS 4.0. I learned an enormous amount. In fact, on Sunday, I added a 1.4 teleconverter for more reach in the large main arena at the Equestrian Center. On Tuesday, I practiced on the team sorting. Talk about unpredictable action. Believe me, those calves don’t follow any prescribed course. Unfortunately, I don’t yet have the names of the riders I have photographed and want to get their permission before posting, but those pictures will eventually work their way into the queue.

My shoulders are a bit achy, but I have had a big smile on my face, and I am getting a crash course in photography.

Golden Poppies for a Cold Summer Day

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Since the poppies came into bloom weeks ago, I have had in mind how I wanted to photograph them. Foolishly, I fell into the old trap of stubbornly clinging to that image in my mind and waiting for the right time to get those photographs. Nature has had an entirely different plan—presenting us with an unseasonably cold June and an unusual amount of early evening clouds. Day after day, new roadblocks. When the light was right, the wind was howling. If the wind was not blowing and the light was nice, the poppies were not quite open or had already closed for the evening.

Today, I finally let go of the images in my mind and took photographs of the poppies we have: windblown poppies on a June day when the temperature probably never made it to 65 degrees. I experimented with 1/2500 shutter speed to see if I could get anything; and, even though I moved very little, the wind was blowing fast enough that I got several compositions within a few seconds. I ended up with one that was surprisingly sharp; but, in the end, it is the softness of this frame that feels right to me. Not the poppies I was waiting for, but the poppies I was offered.

SoFoBoMo Competition

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Okay, that title is a cheap shot. We all know that SoFoBoMo is not a competition. I confess that sometimes, I simply search for titles and, with a little wiggle room, this one does make a thimbleful of sense.

For a time, I thought I would finish my SoFoBoMo project way ahead of schedule (I started May 30th), but I am not so certain of that anymore. For one thing, I wasted some time foolishly clinging to expectations and slowed my progress. On a couple of occasions, I had been spoiled to especially nice light while I was on Oak Canyon Trail, then for several days now we have had cold, gray weather. That, along with all the other distractions during the past week, meant I have not added much to the stack of pictures worth considering. I woke up this morning cured of my blindness and resolved to embrace whatever nature offers.

Another of the blocks that I have put in my path is competing photography projects. I find at least two other projects equally compelling, and I spend some time repeating to myself, “Focus. Focus.” I have to resist the part of me that wants to bounce about aimlessly from one thing to another, constantly starting something new, yet finishing nothing.

Note: The young fellow above was close enough to call for a 73mm setting on my lens.

Team Sorting and Camera Testing

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Yesterday included another brief period of further exploration with the 50D. The BVS Buckaroos have team sorting events (riders working with calves) at the Equestrian Center on Tuesday afternoons, and we had never yet gotten our schedule arranged to take advantage of the event. We finally pushed everything aside and did it. I figured the action would be an excellent test for new equipment.

Big Bertha was not invited. For the first time, in my brief history of being a camera owner, I had purchased a battery grip and I am trying to adjust to the new weight. Big Bertha would have put me over my limit. Instead I opted to use the 70-200mmL f/4. After all, I reasoned there would be plenty of light at 5:00 PM. Furthermore, with the type of action I would be seeing, I wasn’t much interested in trying to shoot at f/2.8.

Due to the high fence, I was not able to photograph the activities in the pens and you can not poke your head through the corral rails to get a shot since you would become a distraction to the calves and create an unfair hurdle for the team doing the sorting. (Sorting calves is not quite as challenging as herding cats—remember that terrific commercial a while back?—but it is not a sport for wimps, or riders with poorly trained horses.) I was a little disappointed about that, but enjoyed very much watching the teams work. There are some outstanding riders in our tiny community.

Because I was intent on some testing, I focused on riders warming up and schooling their mounts in the large holding corral. Specifically, I got some pictures of a friend’s daughter. This young woman is a top-notch rider and has won numerous championships in youth rodeo events. (I hope I haven’t used any terminology here in that description that is off the mark. I don’t know much about that competition.) I do know she looks as though she were born riding and it was a joy to watch her school this mare.

Technical notes:

(Basic processing and cropping in ACR (CS3)—along with some pesky straigthening, drat).

One of my motivations for buying the 50D was the additional 5 megapixels. While I had never bought into the megapixel race (most of the time I forget how many megapixels my camera has—it's that insignificant to me), a great deal of recent reading has gradually changed some of my thinking. I read more and more action photographers talking about getting the shot and framing later. That switch originally producing a little dissonance in my poor limited brain, but I am discovering the wisdom of the expert advice. I have worked hard for some time now to frame in the camera rather than waiting to do that job in Photoshop. However, that often meant that with things happening very fast, my new awareness of framing produced decent framing or a clean shot one at the expense of the other. When shooting fast action lately, I am getting a much better ratio of keepers (technically speaking), by incorporating advice from action photographers. It doesn't mean I abandon all concern for framing. But, it takes a firm backseat to focus and holding the camera more steady. With AI Servo, my main priority is keeping that focus point on the animal. Framing after the fact means throwing away megapixels and now I have more to spare. A win, after all.

For me, the jury is out on the battery grip. It will take time to adjust to the completely different shape of my camera. I don’t have tiny hands, but at 5’3” they aren’t exactly big.

I had not used the shutter button to lock focus for a couple of years at least. Now, since the battery grip does not have a dedicated focus button, I shifted that function to the AE button. Although it is a tiny shift to the right on the camera body, yesterday it felt like a mile. My thumb knew exactly where that button was and does a bit of searching now.

I wouldn’t go out on a limb at this early stage, but my first impression is that along with the new sensor the AI Servo function is more reliable. (I am keenly aware that this could be nothing more than a new infatuation blinding me to facts.) Time will tell.

The weight of the 200mm zoom lens along with the battery grip and standing on tiptoe to get over a corral rail for a clear shot wasn’t exactly a joy. Still, I was glad I did it and look forward to another session.

By the way, I know I have a nasty tendency to tilt my frame to one side or another, and the bizarre physical contortions required yesterday amplified that problem. I find myself thinking about a grid. Any thoughts about that, anyone?

Simple Gear Lust?

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(I have added a temporary gallery for some

test shots that I will leave up for a few weeks

while I am posting a few test shots.)

For the last couple of months, I have bounced from one new undertaking to another without any real lulls. Nothing much has changed. To add to the list of commitments, I had found myself thinking more and more, lately about buying a 50D. Since I am doing more action photography (and more often in low light) with my 40D, I couldn’t stop thinking about the advantages of the latest in that line of Canon cameras. I was sorely tempted by the 5D and wish I had money for both, but the frames per second is a big issue for the action stuff, so that settled the issue. Yesterday afternoon, the brand new 50D arrived.

Because I am not a champion pixel peeper (nor do I aspire to be one), I had qualms about posting the test shot and my comments. Phil Askew or Ken Rockwell I am not. I am just an enthusiastic newcomer to photography offering my personal opinion on a piece of equipment. I would love to hear feedback, but please remember that I never claimed to be an expert.

Perhaps I am too easily pleased, but my cursory testing squeezed into the few minutes that I could devote to it so far, left me feeling extremely optimistic about my purchase. It appears that this will be an enormous help in keeping that shutter speed where I need it, even when shooting wildlife mostly seen in the evening. Almost as a bonus, I had been reading that the new LCD monitor is a major improvement, but I wasn’t prepared for just how much better it is.

The photo above was taken in my closet with no overhead light and with only what light filtered in from the bathroom window. My settings were f/4, 1/20 and ISO 2000. I did only a little noise reduction in ACR and basics such as tweaking settings for white and black points, then basic sharpening of mid-tones in Photoshop, but not much more than that. The handling of noise seems to be quite an improvement over the 40D.

Why even take this weird shot? Well, a lady never knows when she might need to take pictures in her closet, right? Actually, I was just a little eager to start testing and was a desperate for subjects in a dark area with unbroken surfaces such as that wall to more fairly test the noise issue. As I said, maybe I am too easily pleased, but I like the difference I see, so far. The nasty noise that is there could be cleaned up quite a bit more and in a large open space it is even less tricky to work on noise. While I am not planning to use ISO 2000 on a regular basis, this gives me hope that 1000 and even 1200 may be usable.

Elk on Deer Trail

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We will see if this finally works. Blogger has been broken all day as far as I can tell. No fun at at. Hiss. Boo.

The weekend was fun, busy, rewarding, and exhausting. Friday night, I was at the gallery with another show, meeting new people and having a wonderful time. Those of you who admired the sample piece included in the May 27 post may be interested to know that she was a favorite. One print sold and I had a few inquiries about the possibility of additional copies. Saturday we attended another, unrelated event, and Sunday I was finally able to devote my full attention to entertaining my sister-in-law who was here for the weekend visiting from Tuscon. I thought she might enjoy seeing the view from one of the ridges and chose Deer Trail Drive for a short exploration. The view was lovely, but the most fun came from not one, but two, sightings of elk. One of the most fascinating things about the experience was the way the animals mostly ignored us as we sat there in the car oohing and ahhing (while I snapped pictures, of course.) They were busy eating and they only periodically took a moment to check on us. I think I will be seeing more of Deer Trail Drive.