Strobist

So, in my wanderings around the net looking for photography classes, I miraculously came across a discussion on blogspot. Baltimore Sun photog, David Hobby, has begun to post on tips, tricks, advice, reviews, deals, and anything else you could possibly ask for regarding off-camera lighting.

I'm hooked. I'm not very good at it yet and I'm still gathering gear as on-the-cheap as my impulse-buying self can... but I'm hooked.

You can check his blog out on the side bar. Hopefully his ideas, with a lot of practice on my part, will lead to better Ka-clicks on my part. Maybe Cartier-Bresson was off by a few thousand shots :)

WORD OF CAUTION: You may feel like an undedicated wimp if you only use available light after reading his blog. I did.

Macro Season

All of the cherry trees are beginning to blossom. That means spring. And that means a veritable treasure chest of flowers, bugs, birds, sunrise/sets, and a big bright moon.

For photographers in DC, this is like the Olympics for lugers or gymnasts. A few people might tune in to watch you during the other three years of the cycle, but basically nobody cares. When the Olympics come, everybody... even the most crusty of old geezers... turn their heads towards you and their eyes tear up with pride as you show off your ultra-specialized skill.

Enter the macro photographer. His skill is speciallized, he is accustomed to focuing on things that are only 1mm deep, and making them turn out beautiful on the emulsion. During winter, a life-size shot of a watch or some silverware that he took while he was holed up in the house hiding from the friggin blizzard outside might catch someone's fancy, but most people just walk on by. But spring arrives in DC, and it is his time to shine.

I hope to put up a few of my "Olympic Moments" from this spring sometime soon. As soon as I can get out there an ka-click ka-click a bit, I will.

Some things take a little convincing...

The camera is bigger than my usual birthday presents, but we had a scheduling hangup that forced Eliz to be a little creative with her gift giving. To kill two birds with one nice camera, she gave me my Christmas present and my birthday present all in one plastic enclosure, and just in time for a little trip to Mexico.
Here are a few pics from the trip:

This stairway leading away from a great Italian restaurante (Il Mare) in Zihuatanejo is flanked by jungle plants filled with lizards. They must be attracted to the 80s-esque turquoise color. Don't ask me why the nicest restaurants in town are all Italian... I think they might be family-owned.

Sunset over the Pacific. We went on a sunset cruise up the coast and I took this shot handheld from the head (that's bathroom to you landlubbers) after about an hour of sailing and 4 cervezas. The porthole in the head is only about 2 feet off the water... thus the dolphin-like perspective.

Votives in the prayer-room at La Iglesia "Cristo Jesus de Petatlan". The inside of this prayer-room was completely covered in soot.

Boats at the mercado de pescadores (fisherman's market). The local fishermen went out at dawn and would come in with their fresh fish by breakfast time. After we went to church on Sunday, we followed the crowd back toward the beach and were amazed at all the little senoras buying fish for their Sunday meals.

This is the view over Zihuatanejo Bay. The cloud at the top actually looked like that... it's not an optical effect. Right after I snapped this shot, Eliz and I saw a huge fireball that separated into two meteorites as it fell. Eliz has always said she never gets to see shooting stars, but that one was the biggest either of us had ever seen. This night was just full of strangeness in the sky.

To shoot, or not to shoot?

This is the eternal question of the film photographer on a budget. But that question can be easily answered with only three simple syllables: di gi tal. Shoot, shoot, shoot until your heart is content. It all costs the same.

I convinced Elizabeth to buy me a digital SLR and I hope to show some of my results. Please feel free to comment on anything you see here.