So I have begun revamping my approach to managing and sharing my photos. Some of the changes include (but are not limited to):
Culling photos: Do I really want to see 7 or 8 year old photos from homework assignments of photo classes I have taken in the past? How many unintentionally out of focus macro shots of a flower do I need? Do I really need to see 5 or 6 shots of someone throwing the ball as their arm position changes? Or what about duplicates? I was able to thin things out and get down to about 6500 photos.
Keywording: Having a collection of several thousand photos may be nice, but how do I find the one(s) I want? Arranging by date helps but what if I want to find a particular photo of my wife? How in the heck do I determine which year it MIGHT have been taken? Assigning a keyword lets me filter my photos and at least get down to a manageable number. While the first pass is complete, I am now going through and assigning multiple keywords to photos. For example - I can give a photo a keyword of "Family". But who is IN that photo?
Collections: OK - now I have a number of photos from some place or time. How do I easily get the ones I like best and want to share with others? While Lightroom lets me rank my photos, that is still a bit of work. Especially when trying to remember what keyword I used at the time! I also found myself taking a number of shots and then sharing only a select number. The Wake County Senior Games were a great example. I am not going to submit several hundred to the board to decide which ones they want. So I pared them down to a representative number. The rest I want to keep and post in the event someone actually wants to drop 99¢ to get a photo of themselves!
Website: This is where I try to show off a bit. I have invested a few dollars (well perhaps more than a few! LOL!) and a LOT of time trying to take photographs that both I and my audience of friends, family and participants would enjoy. How best to do that? Listening to the website critiques provided some good information and examples some of which I COULD adapt.
Who took that shot?: I have wavered on this a bit. If you come to my website you pretty much can figure out on your own who took the shot! So do you really need to see my name and a copyright symbol in the corner? I have it embedded within the metadata plus from what I learned unless you have actually gone through the steps to formally copyright your work, you don't have much of a leg to stand on. So with those things in mind, I have quit adding that information. Old shots - well as time allows I will remove the information.
Do you like it enough to want a copy?: I have also decided to expand downloading permissions for a number of my shots to make it easier for friends and family to download a copy without having to ask me for one. Print requests are something different though!
Enough about the journey! Now take a few moments and check out the updates!
-Rick
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I've been in NY for nearly two months, and still in "vacation mode"! Before you ask, "No I can't tell you what I am vacationing from!" I seem to be running around a bit more, fishing less, playing pickleball and a bit of photography.
The fourth of July and subsequent Ring of Fire Night provides me with a great opportunity for fun shots. This year with the 5th falling on a Saturday there were some folks who shot their fireworks then. When talking with my Dad, he planted a seed about what he thought would make a good photo opportunity. He mentioned a spot off a local county road which has a nice view of the two lakes.
Pat and I went to the spot and got quite a nice view of the lakes, sunset and fireworks. Using a long exposure I was able to capture multiple shots going off over the lakes, along with all of the flares residents lit for the Ring of Fire. I set up interval shooting on my camera, let it do its thing and watched the show! While admittedly I got a number of near duplicates, I also got some interesting shots (see above). I really enjoy these types of shots and it really only takes a couple test shots to get things set.
We also went to a Dragon Boat Race Festival in Ithaca. These are pretty amazing boats, seating about 20 people. 18 crew members, a drummer in the bow to keep cadence and one person in the stern to steer. The crews were comprised of individuals of all ages and really worked hard. Very colorful jerseys / equipment. Tents providing shade for the participants were scattered on the grounds and it was quite interesting seeing some of the Ivy League logos! They also had some Japanese drummers on hand to give a performance. Really interesting and these kids went at it hard! One of the ways in which they position themselves reminds one of "stomach crunches"! Sitting down on the ground, straddling the large drums. I have uploaded a short video of one of the numbers for your enjoyment!
After having been introduced to the local rodeo, I went back again this year for some more shots. As in the past I had a good time, and even managed to sell a few shots. I don't price them very high and sales essentially covered my gas to the event. I would have had to sell a few more to cover the cost of soda!
Here are links to photos of the various events:
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For those of you who are not already aware. I have found a new hobby! Yup - just what I need something to take care of all of that "free time" retirees seem to have! Around the end of March 2014, Pat and I were watching the nightly news when a story came up about "Pickleball: The Fastest Growing Sport in America". To say the least it intrigued me. I used to play very competitive racquetball. A little bit of tennis and in ping pong served as fodder for my high school buddy Martin and my wife, Pat.
You can see the short 2 minute story about the game at this link: NBC Nightly News - Pickleball
This week the North Carolina Senior Games Pickleball event took place. I thought I would go over and get a feel for where I was in my short PB career with those who have been playing for a bit. I also thought I would use the opportunity to add a touch of my photography hobby to boot.
As it would turn out, I knew (or at least recognized) a number of people in the event. At 58, I would have been one of the younger participants AND probably outplayed by a number of players on the court. Like any tournament there were those I knew I could beat, some with whom I would have had very close games and others, well, let's just say I would hope to warm them up for their title match!
The game can be played as a singles event, but all I have witnessed have been doubles. The players I've met have been super friendly, will to help me learn the game and patient as I progress! I am (hopefully) emerging from a phase in which my game has been plagued by "shotgun" servers. Translation - look out! Who knows where they will end up. Some actually stay in bounds! The serve has been my nemesis. It is simply an underhand stroke similar to bowling, slow pitch softball and badminton. So the biggest problem with mine lies smack dab between the ears! My replaced knee is holding up well and the other one while complaining a bit is doing fine, too. They actually serve as "barometers" for my playing. The game is not intended to be a whirlwind, but rather one more focused upon finesse. However, as people migrate from tennis (and racquetball to a lesser degree) the volleys can get quite lively at times. It is very popular with seniors due to its intended low impact movements. I have noticed where I play there are several vicious, female ex tennis players! They almost sneer when they go for an overhead smash! LOL!
All of that having been said you can see some of my shots by following this link: 2014 Sr. Games Pickleball. I am getting a bit better at shooting indoor, quick moving events and I ended up with fewer throw aways this time. My photos are being given to the Senior Games coordinator and our local pickleball ambassador to be used to help promote both the games and the sport. Who know - I might even get one in print!
In closing (and to prove no good deed goes unpunished) I was asked if I would consider shooting not only pickleball but other events in future Senior Games. Perhaps (SHUDDER!) even serving on a committee! I told them I would consider the latter but would enjoy the opportunity to photograph the sporting events. What a great opportunity that would be!
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This weekend I had the opportunity to do my first "portrait" session. I haven't done this in the past, but my niece's family asked if I would take some shots that might be used for her senior picture. I did explain most of my shots are of events and not portraits. However, after assuring them I would do my best, we went out to the JC Arboretum in Raleigh.
Thinking the arboretum would provide some good back drops, we went over in mid afternoon. Bright sun, lots of shadows. Yup - you photographers are correct - pretty poor conditions. But we gave it a shot. My niece, Ashley, was very easy to work with. After finding a couple
of fun shots, the good old "hair flip" being one, we both relaxed and had some fun. She, her mom, dad and sister were also on hand, however for most of the time it was just Ashley, her dad and me walking around the grounds trying to find some interesting scenes with workable light.
While it was quite a fun time, I truly believe it was due to working with friendly family. Not sure I would want to do this for a living, but an occasional outing like this would be fun. Now to see if they select one of MY shots, or go to their fallback position of some professional shots of which they had proofs. No matter either way, as I gained some valuable experience and a bunch of lessons learned!
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On the agenda for the weekend was some "Olde Tyme Base Ball". The town of Fayetteville, NC was rededicating a plaque commemorating Babe Ruth's first professional home run. (As a minor leaguer 100 years ago.) Complete with a "Babe" impersonator"! I took a number of photos which you can see on my website in the 2014 photograph folder.
As part of the celebration they held a doubleheader playing 1860s era rules and players for the most part dressed in period outfits. The games featured the Greensboro Patriots and the Carolina Moonshiners. Quite interesting to watch. The first game was played under 1860 rules and the second 1869.
Some noticeable differences:
- Obviously - no gloves
- Pitching was underhand similar to slow pitch softball
- No walks
- Anything caught on the first bounce was an out
- As long as the ball hit in fair territory it was in play regardless of where it ended up
- No overrunning first base
- Defensive "basemen" played within a step or two of the bags. SS in roughly same position
- No stealing
- No sliding
- Allowed a 1 step lead
The second game was modified to 1869 rules and added:
- Sliding
- Stealing allowed only if the ball bounced had bounced at least twice before the behinder (catcher) caught the ball or if it got by him
- Defensive players could play off the bags
At the event I had the opportunity to chat with one of the player's wives who shared several anecdotal stories. These included:
-As a batted ball is fair as long as it HITS in fair territory first there are opportunities for some strange plays. Some batters would "switch hands", changing from a right handed stance to a left handed one while staying in the original batter's box! They would then drive the ball into the ground in front of home plate sending it off in strange directions, not necessarily out into the field!
-Another story was about an incident about catching a "foul ball". Any batted ball is live and the batter at risk of being put out if it is caught before it hits the ground twice. Supposedly in a game, a batter it a foul ball which upon first hitting the ground ended up in a spectator's picnic basket. The behinder (catcher) went over and retrieved the ball from the basket. As soon as he took hold of the ball, the umpire called the batter out! After all, the ball had not hit the GROUND a second time!
One final thought - I wonder how many arguments there would be if today's umpires carried a walking stick with a brass knob on it??
Found myself in Greensboro, NC for the 2014 Battle of Guilford Courthouse Revolutionary War Reenactment. Very nice day considering the weather we have been having recently. Little bit of a breeze but sunny with mostly blue skies. I had read about this event and decided to check it out with Pat. However, she was still recovering from a cold and decided to stay home. By coincidence, several members of the Capital City Camera Club (Raleigh) had decided to go as well. I met up with Jim, Sandra and Jeff and spent the day walking around the grounds with them. The park was beautiful and if you ever get the chance to go, check this event out!
As the weather has improved a bit I have been able to get outside to shoot the last couple of weekends. Much nicer and easier to get decent shots. For this trip I took my Pentax K3 and the following Tamron lenses:
f2.8 70-200mm (the Beast!)
f2.8 25-79mm
f3.5-6.3 18-250MM
I started out with the 25-79 mm as I was fairly close to the folks participating in the ceremony honoring Nathanial Hawthorne. Then as we walked around the various encampments, switched to the Beast. Finally after a short lunch break, we worked our way to the battlefield. There due to the distances from which I was going to shoot and the plentiful sunlight, I switched over to the 18-250mm. Man - what a difference in weight from the 70-200! It felt as if I had just a small point and shoot!
Quite a bit of the event consisted of various encampments through which you could meander, taking pictures, talking with the participants or just gawking. I have been to many Civil War encampments, but this one just seemed more open and interactive. Not sure why, but it was very nice!
We made our way to the actual battle field where the crowd was for the most part probably 10 - 15 rows deep! I found a spot behind a VIP section and staked my claim. A narrator did a fantastic job describing the progress of the battle. He pointed out that while we were in a fairly small area, the actual event covered several miles. As the battle came closer he would point out flashes of light of the gun barrels, subtle movements of men in the woods and troop movements in front of us. Eventually the battle broke into the open field. Cannons roared, muskets fired and casualties fell. All the time the narrator described what was unfolding in front of us.
I am very thankful for the opportunity to combine my photography hobby with such events and look forward to many more this summer. To see more shots from the event, look in the 2014 folder under My Photographs. While this was not an "artsy" event nor one which would produce photos to display or enter in competition, it was a great event to shoot. Plenty to see and feel free to comment.
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At the beginning of each calendar year a number of indoor events take place that challenge both the limits of my cameras, lenses and photographic skill! This includes, but is not limited to dog agility and mounted cowboy shoots. The lighting is horrendous the events fast paced and it is all I can do to get something, well anything worth keeping. I try to take pictures of fast moving medium to small dogs running on brown dirt under a combination of fluorescent lighting and ambient natural light. Then I move on to larger subjects but with their riders shooting "blanks" trying to break balloons. This adds a lot of smoke to the air creating an almost fog like environment. What am I thinking? Why couldn't I fine satisfaction in shooting still life in a controlled environment?
To top it off I recently upgraded my camera. The very same reasons for which I did the upgrade now present their own challenges as I try to become comfortable with the new features! It definitely falls into a two steps back three steps forward scenario. Today I even broke out my old camera to see if there was something wrong with my new one. In a word - "nope"! When I used the same settings on each for the same scene the new camera produced better images. Now I humbly accept the fact I once more have to try and bring my photographic skills closer to the capabilities of the camera!
Now imagine trying to keep the horse and rider in focus as they come galloping at you. You may NOT use flash but you want to get everything sharp, well lit and then catch the moment they fire to capture the sparks coming from the gun!
Why do I do this to myself??? Well - I guess it is like gambling. You win just enough to keep you coming back!
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