Photography

I’m not a Nikon shooter, but my fast lenses are Canon 135 f/2 and 70-200 f/2.8II, shot wide open (not a whole lot of reach, I shoot weddings so less distance). I also use them to shoot my kids’ sports and crop:



Photography is also being creative, eg, sports:

 

Nice rainy Florida morning.

 

She looks great! Candid moments are the best. People don’t realize wedding photos are staged expressions. Like I would set them up to hold each other a certain way, the veil is in my left hand thrown up, then I might say to the groom “take a deep breath, do you see any ear wax?”. Genuine laughter ensues:

 

Here’s one I took at a waterfall in the DuPont forest area of North Carolina.

 

i've never been a back button focus fan. always preferred to have it be my exposure lock. just fits my brain better.

the only problem with kit zoom lenses is that the aperture is variable. a zoom with a constant aperture makes this a bit easier but also depends on your budget. 2.8 would be best, but a f/4 will be just fine with plenty of light.

if you're shooting soccer, mid-day, full sun, meter off the grass or the back of your hand. that will be your constant. i'd probably give it +1/3 too. shoot for the highlights, print/develop for the shadows.

also, get closer. soccer is difficult because the fields are huge. so, you may be running more than your kiddos. if you grab a constant aperture zoom, i'd pick up a teleconverter as well. just remember that you will lose f-stops. a 2.8 lens with a 1.4 converter becomes f/4. a f/4 becomes a 5.6. a 2x converter is a 2 stop loss.

try to anticipate key points of action. get ahead of it and try to predict when the shot on goal will be made. or the pass. or the block. if you get ahead of it, by the time you click the shutter, you'll be on the moment. get a monopod, try some panning as the kids run down the field. showcase movement, tension. the third and fifth soccer pics got pretty close. do not be afraid of motion blur.

caroline jensen's work is awesome. you can't do wrong studying her.

 

first time i've picked up a camera in awhile. sunflower fields out at the airport doing their thing. got lucky and found a spot without many people last night.



managed to get all 3 of the kiddos to agree to portraits too. no small feat these days.







and... a wild fire sunset

 

Nice ! All this coming from a true professional . . . Good Job!

 

thanks but please don't single me out. i'm not the only pro here. @JoshuaA has a metric shit ton of talent too.

 

Indeed ~ lots of folks here that are quite accomplished . . .

 

Shot on my iPhone XS ...

 

Sliver of the moon here in the Pacific South West.​

 

for a variety of reasons, i haven't been getting out like i usually do. yesterday i had a shoot up in black hawk and made a last minute decision to get up early for the a trek out to grays/torreys. i had planned on doing a doubleheader but this was the first 14er i had climbed this year and i felt it. definitely surprised at the number of people out there on a monday morning.

the trail up to grays.



the trail up torreys as seen from grays.



off the back of grays. down in the valley, in the trees, is the peru creek trail as well as chihuahua gulch. just passed the first ridge on the right side is keystone and passed that, without the smoke, you would be able to see breckenridge.



looking east off the top of grays. so. much. smoke.



back down in the valley shuffling towards the trail head.



textures on the wall to the south of the trail.



last look at the peak before the dropping the last 300' down to the truck.



it was about 7.9 miles, just shy of 3100' of vertical and a little over 4 hours. three peaks checked off the list and quite a few to go.

 

I captured this image yesterday afternoon... all I had was my cell phone so the quality is low.

 

took my oldest out for her senior portraits yesterday. she wanted to do something a bit different. a little edgier then usual wear-a-long-dress-while-spinning-through-a-field-at-sunset. i haven't gotten through everything but based on these two, i'd say we accomplished that.





she's super stoked on the images and i'm just stoked she's still here to have this moment.

 

at the office today...



a bit chilly up here but feels so much better than down in the city. wedding at the basin will get cold once the sun goes down later...

can’t wait for snow.

 

Love to get out and shoot nature. My favorite is Owls but if it gets me outdoors any critter is fair game.

 

I too love shooting owls - and wildlife. Where are those owl images shot?

 

I live in northern Minnesota and these were shot at the Zax Zim Bog. From my house it is a 40 minute drive. A lot of the birds that live in the northern parts of Canada come down and winter in the bog. The Snowy's and Northern Hawk Owls are the 2 we see the most. The Great Grey owls are resident owls for the most part. Here is a few Northern Hawk Owl shots.

 

Thanks. I visited the Bog once when I had a business trip to the Twin Cities. Beautiful spot. I would love to go shoot there again. I did not have great success when I was there (bad time of year). I have shot snowies in Alberta - outside Calgary and it was wonderful seeing them.

 

I find the best time to visit is when you don't really want to be there. That is when its below zero during the daytime. You will find the wildlife on the move more looking for there next meal. If you ever get up this way again shoot me a PM and I will guide you for a day. I have been going to the bog long before it became the spot. I would like to think between me and some of the friends I have from the bog that we made it popular with our pictures of the owls and other winter birds. A few more from the bog.

 

Beautiful shots and a generous offer that I will not forget!

 

Looks like you're using some serious glass. 400 2.8?

 

Fall in the Tetons is spectacular. Lickin' his chops.

 

I wish I had that lens. Mine is the 400mm 5.6. It is a real sharp lens and if I have good light it is plenty fast enough. I had a 100-400 but it was soft and had some dust. I would like to get the newer version of that lens but just don't seem to have any extra money after buying the Tundra

 

Nice looking Bull ! Love the fall colors!

 

happy to share what i know. feel free to ask anything.

best bang for the buck is a 300/2.8. drop a 1.4x and 2x extender in the bag and you've got a 400/4 and 600/5.6. i do miss my 500/2.8 though. probably shouldn't have ever sold that one.

roxy is always asking for more ballet portraits. finally told her she needs to plan it all out. location, clothes, poses. took her all week but she finally made up her mind. this session was halloween themed but she wants to do another this week downtown.



camera geekery for those interested. iso 160, 70-200/2.8 on the long end, 1/250, f/5.6. paul buff einstein camera right with a 47" octobox double diffused. the little bit of backlight is coming from the sun just over her left shoulder.

 

Sunset in the Pacific South West (Silver Strand State Beach) featuring a cruise ship, pelicans and a sailboat.

 

Took this morning with note10+. I go surf fishing every Saturday at 6am, Ventura harbor.

 

Dinner pickup...

 

Sunset in Aruba....( sept of this year)