I am really enjoying my macro ring lite! I did a photo session using an African Violet as the subject.
My objective was to try different settings to see what the results looked like.
I am happy with the results, and am looking forward to refining my technical ability with flash photography. The expanded capabilities made the flash well worth purchasing.
Oh wow! I just had a flash back worth sharing!
I don’t remember exactly how old I was, probably 10 or so. I was out hiking with my mom and one of our family friends in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a beautiful, blue sky day. Our destination was Lake Haiyaha via the Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake trail. We made it a loop trip by heading back down an unimproved trail to the Glacier Gorge trailhead.
We made it to the lake, and the tradition was to spend some time enjoying the destination with some lunch or snacks. I had a point and shoot film camera along with me. I took it out while we were enjoying the scenery and started taking some pictures. There was no rush to head back. I thought it would be nice to take a photo of my mom and our friend.
I should add in, “Haiyaha is said to be an Indian word meaning ‘big rocks.'” (Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park – Ninth Edition by Kent and Donna Dannen) The name says it all! The lake is surrounded by some huge boulders and requires some scrambling over them.
Back to the photo session. I was standing on top of one of these “big rocks” and the other two were standing on top of another with the lake and the mountains behind them. I had the shot framed up perfectly and was just about to snap the photo when a voice called out from behind me – “would you like to be in the photo, also?”
Well, I don’t think we ever did get that photo. I spun around and fell backwards right off that rock! I was dazed for a second or two, and could hear the others scrambling toward me as I lay between the rocks gasping for air. Luckily, I landed on an old log that cushioned my fall only knocking the wind out of me.
The others reached me, and I must have looked terrible. My mom said she was terrified, because all she could see after I fell were my feet sticking straight up in the air. I was a pale ghost with tears pouring out of my eyes. One of the gentlemen from the other group had some training as an EMT, I think. He came over and checked to see if I had a concussion with a negative diagnoses, which I knew was the case. I never did hit my head because of that log.
After a little recovery time and getting my breath back, we started packing up. This takes me back to the camera. Well, I had the strap around my wrist which kept it from flying. It got a little banged up during the fall, too. The battery cover flew off after the camera smashed into one of the rocks or the log, and is probably still up there somewhere between the rocks. I don’t know where the batteries went either. So, the camera went back in the pack not knowing if it was useable ever again.
It lasted quite a few more years with a piece of duct tape and a small piece of metal acting as the battery cover. I’m not sure when that camera was retired, but that memory will stick with me!
This post is dedicated to our family friend. She passed away in June of 2013. I could tell more stories about the hikes we went on. Maybe some will come up in later posts.
As I have implied in previous posts, photography is about capturing moments. I was talking to my dad a week or so ago about copyrights. If the photo is a portrait, does the person in the photo get credit for creating the image? If it is a scene, does it belong to the owner of the property? Who gets credit for the photo?
It would be easy for me to explain that the person behind the camera had the creative and technical ability to create the image. Clearly, they spent the time to setup the equipment and make adjustments to get the perfect photo. They hit the shutter button and the image appeared.
Well, what if there is more to it than that? Genesis one points us to the creator of everything around us. The flower was not my creation. I merely witnessed it blooming. Maybe it blooms one time a year and I have to be there at just the right time to be able to capture the moment. Maybe it blooms twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. For how many years? Eternity?
At the end of the year, we find it fitting to reflect on things past and look forward to things to come. Ecclesiastes three is one of my favorite passages out of one of my favorite books, because it reminds me to give “Credit to the Creator.” There is nothing I am witnessing that has not happened before, and can happen again. (Ecclesiastes 3) I cannot add anything to God’s creation nor take anything away from it. I am merely witnessing the creation, and all I can do is stand in awe of everything the Creator made.
Yes, I place a copyright on my photos. Ideally, I would like to have the credit for the photos I take. However, the equation is not complete without giving credit to God. I cannot take credit for creating the scene before me. The equation cannot be complete without giving Him credit for everything He has done and continues to do.
In closing, I have a simple request. Take some time this year to start looking at the world through the lens of the Creator of all the heavens and earth – everything stretched out in all directions. Our pastor put it plainly, this morning – “What did the wise men do [when they arrived to see the baby]? They dropped to their knees. They truly were wise men.” I may have paraphrased that a little bit. The implication is the same.
The Macro Ring Lite adapter for my Macro Ring Lite just came!
I also have the Speedlite 600EX-RT flash that can be setup off camera for E-TTL. This gives me a little bit more ability to try some creative lighting setups.
I’ll be playing around with the flashes and burning through batteries while I learn. Let the fun of conquering flash photography begin!
When I first started in photography, digital was really in it’s infancy. The cost for digital equipment was sky high, and the quality was a far cry from what there is today. I was using point-and-shoot film cameras that produced better results. Then, I picked up the film SLR and started learning more of the technical aspects of capturing light.
Well, I just chuckle when I think back to some of the hassles of film. A roll of film was in the camera for however many shots it could hold – those 24 exposure rolls! The film speed [ASA # – now ISO] could not be adjusted until the whole roll was changed. Then, there was the process of getting the film developed to even see how the images turned out. Even with a point-and-shoot film camera, there could be photos that did not turn out.
I still use the film SLR that I used during my first photography class. I finished a roll of film tonight and tried to rewind it. It got stuck in the camera, and I was unable to do anything about it. I opened the back of the camera, which ruined the entire roll of film.
When I think about the digital era, there are many of the same problems as with the film era. Granted, some things have changed. There is a little bit more adaptability built into the equipment. Sensor output can be boosted on the fly, effectively changing the ISO. Focus is much faster and, a lot of times, automatic. A memory card can hold thousands of photos. Files can be instantly processed in camera or on a computer to be viewed on digital displays or for printing.
However, pictures can still be lost, just like a roll of film getting stuck in the camera. A one time shot may be missed because of incorrect camera settings. There can be errors in processing.
Yes, even with film, a photo could be “photoshopped.” I actually don’t like the term “photoshopped.” A “photoshopped” photo implies that the photo is not a representation of the actual scene. I prefer post-processed.
A post-processed photo implies that the image has been processed from it’s RAW format into a displayable version. This is equivalent to the dark room where film was processed from a [RAW] state shown in the photo below into a displayable image. What was on that roll of film can never be recovered. I have quite a few [RAW] digital files with the same problem of never being able to recover them to a state of being a displayable image.
In a lot of ways, there was more finesse with film. A photographer really did have to know the equipment in order to capture the light properly. The limitations of film made a photographer more aware of trying to get that one perfect shot. Not just that one, but hopefully every single shot. When they took the film out of the camera to process it, there was a fifty percent chance that there was going to be a displayable image.
With digital, people just click through as many photos in a split second as possible and hope they can pick the best one out of the thousands. There is no real sense of making it perfect, it’s just making sure it’s displayable ASAP.
What has changed? When comparing the two eras – not much! The art of capturing, processing and displaying a photo is really the same. The same problems can be encountered.
I decommissioned the Canon Powershot SD 600 the other day. A few of the features were starting to fail – i.e. the zoom no longer worked. I decided to dive into the camera to see if I could fix the problems. It turned into more of a project to find out what the inside of a camera looks like.
Here is an interesting macro shot of the sensor from the Powershot SD 600. I used my Canon 5D III with a bellows and a Super-Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens to get this shot. The spec on the sensor is a grain of salt; it is for size comparison.
I made the “executive decision” to buy a pair of flashes for my Canon 5D mark III. A number of reasons triggered this decision. Light is important for photography! It is what makes a photo possible.
The first flash that I started looking into was the Canon Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX. This flash is designed for macro photography, which I enjoy. The first lens that I bought was the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. The Macro Ring Lite fits onto this lens and will expand my macro photography capabilities. An added bonus is that ring lights can add some neat results for portrait photography. I have seen some tips and tricks about how to use ring lights for portraits. With E-TTL capability, it can also be used as the master to trigger other TTL flashes. This makes it a very versatile flash to add to my equipment list!
The second flash that intrigued my interest was the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT. This is the latest flash in the Canon Speedlite lineup. The nice thing about this flash is that I can use it as an on camera flash, or I can use it in conjunction with the Macro Ring Lite for off camera flash with the E-TTL capability! I can also expand with other flash accessories to greatly improve any lighting situation.
Photography is all about managing light. I am looking forward to expanding my creative and technical capabilities in 2014 with the addition of these two camera accessories!
3 years ago, today, I had the privilege to attend the Gardener’s World “Poinsettia Festival” in Phoenix, Arizona. This event no longer occurs, because Gary the Gardener, who lovingly grew the poinsettias passed away early this year. These photos of the beautiful poinsettias are now a happy memory of a time spent with loved ones and remind me of how a simple plant can hold so much Christmas spirit.
Some of my favorite days are the ones right after a snow storm. The sun starts peeking in and out as the snow tappers off and blue skies return. There is a magical beauty about them – “a winter wonderland” as the “snow is glistening.”
A few links to my winter galleries:
I finally got around to updating my equipment list.
I inherited my dad’s film single lens reflex [SLR] equipment. The cool thing is that I found a lens mount adapter so that I can use the lenses on my Canon EOS 5D III. I am not sure how frequently I will use the older lenses on the new camera body. The old lenses can only be used by manually setting the aperture and manual focus. They do not communicate any information to the camera body, which makes metering a trick without the aperture value. The camera exposure mode has to be set to shutter priority or manual. The light meters may come in handy with the old lenses!
On a similar note, I purchased a few books to gain some tips, tricks and inspiration from. I am planning to spend a couple of weeks or a month writing down some goals and objectives that I can work to accomplish in 2014. The books will help me be realistic about how to accomplish the goals and objectives.
I have a few photo ideas in my mind that I will need to plan ahead for. I have a few astrophotography shots that will require a good night with no moon and no clouds. There are also certain wildlife or wildflowers that will require the right time of year and/or location.
Back to equipment, I do have a few items that I am pondering to add to the list I just updated. This also requires planning, timing and finances.
There is a lot to look forward to in 2014!
JUST PhotographIN' 