My Personal Photo Project and Resolution for 2010

It's hard to believe that 2009 is just about over, but I'm glad it is, it has not been a good year.  The national economic conditions that have left their mark from Wall St. to Main St. have also deeply affected my street.  Both in a sense of my personal situation mainly my quest for a full time job working in college student affairs, but the street I live on has also been affected.  My neighbors on one side abandoned their house about 5 months ago, the neighbors across the street started moving out yesterday.  I know they had been under foreclosure.  There are several other houses up the street from me that have also been foreclosed and one that is up for auction.  As far as my job hunt, which started before I graduated from Grad School in May 2008,  I spent 2009 applying to jobs only to have almost all either be "withdrawn with out filling" or I was told "we are really impressed with your background and credentials" but then I was not selected as a candidate.  It has really taken affect on me, my self confidence with my own ability to interview for jobs has been shot to hell at this point.

One good thing to happen in 2009 was getting a part time position as a graduation photographer for a company called Event Photography Group which is the corporate parent company of Bob Knight Photo, Chappell Studio, and a hand full of smaller companies.  I started shooting graduations in April and have been doing well with it, it good because whenever I do actually find full-time employment I can probably keep shooting graduations.  My regional manager has asked me if I wanted to move up and start working as a team captain this spring, so I'm looking forward to that.

The other thing that has been going well, though I hope it picks up a bit with the economy looking like it's getting better is my own photo business that I started and have really grown quite a bit in 2009.  If you don't know about Emanon Photography yet, check out my webpage http://www.emanonphotography.com.  I have mainly been shooting on-location family portraits, but have also shot some events and I am working on upgrading some of my equipment to be able to start shooting some wedding photography.

As for my Big Personal Photo Project of 2010, I'm going to complete a 365 project.  Basically for those who have not heard of a photo 365 project before it's where I will take a photograph and post it online every day.  A lot of other people will try a 365 project by taking a self portrait every day or a photo of the same subject.  That is not how I am planning to do.  My 365 project is a way for me to actively improve my photography skills.  I have come up with a list of about 80 themes/subjects that I want to shoot in 2010.  I will pick 7 subjects from my list each week and shoot one each day.  I will be posting the photos to my flickr page and will link those photos to my blog here.  I will try to post each day, though I realize that may not happen if I happen to travel, at the very least my plan is to post once a week.  One thing I would like to include in my 365 project is either challenges or suggestions from my friends and followers from my various social media outlets (Twitter, FB, Blog, FlickR, etc.) so stay tuned for those when I post them.  Tomorrow is the big day for the first shoot for my 365 project, my 7 themes for the week are going to be: B/W, Night Photography, Shot with my LensBaby lens, Shadows, Sand Dunes, Close up, and Numbers.  

3 Generations

I had fun with this photo shoot. Here is a quick 30 sec. preview.

Shot a night launch, and also a How-To video

This is how I shot the Atlas 5- Intelsat 14 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:55am 23 Nov. 2009. This was the second launch attempt for this rocket and the fifth time I have tried to get this shot composition at this location (all the other launches got scrubbed, and one I had camera issues. You can see the final image from my how to video on my flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emanonphotography/4129282718/

Yes, I still call him my little brother even though he is taller then Me.

I did a photoshoot last week for my little brother and his girlfriend and her son.  It was a family portrait session with posed shots but I also followed them to the playground and got some great candid shots.  Here are 6 of my favorite shots.  I was also playing around with some effects in OnOne's PhotoTools 2.0.   It was a good photoshoot, and my brother seems to like the photos.

No Launch

No Launch
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

For anyone who read my blog post and went out to see the launch tonight, I hope you figured out it was scrubbed. Don't feel so bad, I went out and was all set up too, but I still got a cool shot. Did you think about shooting even without a launch? Maybe you will next time.

From Flickr: So, if you have looked at my photostream, you might have figured out I like to take photos of night time launches of Rockets and Space shuttles from the Kennedy Space Center, and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Tonight an Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Intelsat 14 communications satellite was supposed to launch, I was all set up, ready to go, and there was a technical problem with the rocket, the launch was scrubbed, but I still made the best of it and got this cool photo of me.
Camera was my Canon Rebel XT(350D), tripod mounted, and triggered remotely with my RC-1 IR Trigger. Exposure details are in the exif data.

3 Brothers before and After

3 Brothers before and After
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

So I had a family portrait shoot Wednesday actually had 2 family shoots, which is great, except that one was my family and I had to be in the photos (Ok, the other one was also my family, well, my little brother and his girlfriend and her son). Out comes the Canon RC-1 remote and my RebelXT. You can see the remote in my hand if you look real close. I ran into a couple problems though. The main problem was that I couldn't see the lens flare which the sensor did see. I played around in photoshop for a while to clean up the image, which is a nice image, and one of the few pics out there of me and both my brothers together. I still have a little bit of cleanup work before the final image is ready. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks out there to clean up lens flare? (other then to watch where you aim the camera in the first place). I'll post a couple pics from the other shoot later this week once I think of something to write about them and once I have them edited.

My View of the Blue Ridge

My View of the Blue Ridge
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

I spent this past weekend traveling up to North Carolina for my grad school's homecoming and meeting for an Alumni committee I was asked to serve on. While I was there I knew the trees were starting to change into their fall colors, and I would have some opportunities for some great pictures. I was not disappointed. My only wish is that I could have spent more time up there. Because I was traveling around Boone, and the surrounding area with friends, I only used my Canon SD1000 point and shoot camera. I had my 40D with me, but it ended up staying in my bag. Make sure you take a look at the other pictures in my Flickr photostream to see some great shots of the Fall in the NC mountains. This photo was my view looking South from Beacon Heights.

It's better then slide shows

I just tried making a video on animoto.com... It is so easy, and I think it's going to be a great resource for anyone who needs to make slide shows or quick video presentations... I made an advertisement for my business, check out my video:



It took all of maybe 10 minutes to make this 30sec. clip, and that's only because I am on a slow connection.

-Pete

Photo of the Day 08-31-09: Ponce Inlet Beach Patrol in HDR

Ponce Inlet Beach Patrol HDR
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

I was checking out some locations for photo shoots today and decided to play with getting some HDR exposures. This is the composite of 5 exposures, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 EV. Shot them in Av at f.13 with a 70-300mm Tamron at 70mm, on a tripod mounted Canon 40D.

This is the first HDR photo I have really tried, and I first tried using photoshop CS4 and the automated action to convert it to HDR, but that had less then stellar results. so I downloaded the trial version of HDR Photomatix for Aperture 2. and, I could instantly see why everyone who shoots HDR images seems to swear by the photomatix software.

I think the printed photo looks even better, like an old time postcard. Looks like I'll have to invest in the photomatix software to get a license to get the watermarks removed.

Photo of the Day: Fireworks before the launch

Fireworks before the launch
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

I got this shot last night while waiting for the STS-128 Discovery Launch, I thought we might get another weather scrub tonight, since I shot this lightning minutes before the launch. Incidentally, I had boosted my ISO up to 800 to get the lightning, and forgot to knock it back down to 100 for the shuttle launch, so the launch photo almost got blown out, chalk it up to a lesson learned. It was a great night of natural and man-made fireworks. I tweaked the color a little in Apperture 2 to make the lightning really pop, and I reduced the noise in Photoshop CS4.

How to Photograph a night Space Shuttle Launch

How to Photograph a night Space Shuttle Launch
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

Ok, as I said in the photo description on Flickr this is not a space shuttle launch in this photo, it was an atlas 5 rocket, but the same principles apply. I'm writing this because there are not a lot of photographers that I have seen try shooting real long exposures of launches.

Lets first talk equipment, an SLR or D-SLR camera with 'bulb' exposure mode and a cable or remote release, and a Tripod. A wide angle lens will allow for a longer streak of light from the shuttle. You need to use bulb mode because the 30 sec. exposure which is usually the longest without bulb mode is not long enough.

Locaiton, location, location... I like shooting near the water. The relfection really adds to the photo and gives a sense of place and scale. This photo was taken just at the water line I was basicly standing in the ocean in front of the Flagler Ave. beach ramp in new Smyrna Beach, FL. I have also taken pictures along the river. Find a location that works for you, and know where the launch pad is in relation to where you are. you will have to set up your composition before the launch.

Compose the shot how you think it will look good. Remember the shuttles will arch east out to the ocean. once your shot is composed. Set the focus on the farthest object you see, and switch your lens into manual focus mode. I like to tape my lens so it will not move.

Set your camera to ISO 100, f22. Enable 'Mirror Lock-up' and use a 2 second timer with the remote or cable. Also enable any noise reduction if your camera has that feature, and remove any and all filters you have on the lens (you will see reflections if you don't)

Now, look through your lens and get an idea of where the shuttle would be in the sky when it is going out of frame on your camera. With an SLR or D-SLR you will not be able to look through your viewfinder during the exposure, so just make a note of where the shuttle will be when you need to close the shutter.

Now get ready, Nasa and the Air Force are notorious for not launching exactly at the scheduled time. Wait until you see the first hint of orange on the horizon from the rocket engines, and click your shutter. Leave it open until the Space shuttle has made it to the point in the sky where you think it will go out of frame, count to 5, then close your shutter. Then just let the camera process the photo, it will take some time.

Go home, and post the photo on Flickr to show off your work.

-Pete
Photographer
Emanon Photography
www.emanonphotography.com

Photography Tip of the Day 8-24

So you want to be a better photographer? Or you at least want other people to think you are a better photographer. Here's the easiest thing you can do... It's so simple you might wonder why you haven't thought about it.

TIP: Don't post and show off every picture you take!

Basically, here's the deal, let's try a little experiment, go onto one of your online Photo Galleries (Facebook, Flickr, Picasa) what ever it doesn't matter. Look through your last album and count how many photos are out of focus, over or under exposed, or just don't have a good subject... If you counted any thing higher then 1, go back in the album and delete the ones you just counted as not good.

One of the reasons professional and even advanced amateur photogs look so good is because they edit and cut out their mistakes. You may only see up to 10% of the photos they actually shoot, maybe even less.

(Bonus Tip: While you are going through counting your images, use your gallery's rotate commands to make sure your photos are right side up)


Have a great day,

-Pete

Photographer
Emanon Photography

http://www.emanonphotogrpahy.com

Photo of the Day 9-23

Beach Family Portraits
Originally uploaded by Emanon Photography

This is one of the photos I shot for this family as part of their beach portrait photo session on Saturday. The two little kids had great personality but proved the saying that children are one of the toughest photography subjects. I was having trouble getting them to both look at the camera at the same time, it was almost as it they were communicating with each other, when one would turn, the other would look away. See more of my work at http://www.emanonphotography.com