Photo Tips and Hints

This should really get you motivated for March's photo challenge.

1. Find a boat, preferably an old steamer.

2. Find an old 8x10 view camera.

3. Mount it on the front of the boat.

4. Find a nice swamp.

5. Start looking for gators and dead bodies.

6. Be sure to tip the steam captain.

February Challenge Photos

Thanks to everyone who sent their pictures for last month's super-dooper challenge: Doors and Windows.

Some of us traveled to the hinterlands for these shots, while others found their subjects close to home. Actually, you can find doors and windows wherever people have left their mark, it seems. In fact, you seldom leave home without them (if you're in a car or truck!). Their history is as old as civilization and they are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Jesus even calls himself "The Door" in a figurative way in John 10, showing He is the door of forgiveness and everlasting life.










Thanks to Bruce for scouting out some old buildings and churches up in his neck of the Portland area woods. Many of these old buildings are on historical lists, dating back over 100 years is my guess. This might be a good future challenge idea.












Stained glass is an intriguing art form, developed centuries ago. It is still being used in modern buildings and homes.

You can see the rest of Bruce's wonderful old historical remnants here: Tomlin Anderson Photography











Linda's first entry is titled "Dementia Wars."

".... my mother in law was convinced that someone was coming in the back door and hiding in the basement. The only way we could keep her from trying to go outside (cement steps) or in the basement (NARROW cement steps hard for an able-bodied person) was to tie them closed. :(

Dementia is not a fair enemy.












I think old scruffy windows like this one that Linda captured add imagination and story-telling to whatever they're reflecting, even if it's a backyard with a few trees and a shed. A certain amount of reality is lost as the colors fade and mix with whatever is on the other side of the window. Almost like a triptych, but you're getting three pictures in one instead of separately.

Linda rightly labeled it, 'Full of Character.'













Ginnie says, "These shots were taken on the D40 while we were visiting the old copper mining town of Jerome, AZ. Reminded us of Virginia City, NV, but built on the side of a very steep mountain. Gravity has caused a lot of damage to the buildings. Was quite cold, but the reward was an uncrowded very pleasant day."



















I'm still trying to figure this one out!


















This was Don's second photo scouting trip to Harmony, the little 'town' just north of Cayucos on the coast. He sent me 5 pictures, one of which was 'deceptive' in some way. So I was expecting to see a reflection shot that had been 'rotated' horizontally and any writing would be 'right reading.' Guess this isn't it.

















Don has an affinity for things old and rusty, like me. The colors, textures, contrasts and rarity of such items are amazing. You can almost hear them say, "Come over here, and I'll pose for your camera!" You're presented with a myriad of choices for composition, as well.














Barb and I drove to the Gold Country and hit a few towns on Hwy 49, including Plymouth. This stand alone old building is a few blocks west of downtown on the same street. There was a school right next door with kids playing outside during recess. What a contrast. I'd like to go back and get out of the car next time.










Our last stop for the day was in Jackson, late afternoon, so the east side of the main drag was bright and colorful in the sunlight. I couldn't pass shooting this black enameled door with the sky and buildings reflected in it. My first exposure was way overexposed. The meter was reading all the black and adjusted to it by either opening the aperture or lengthening the shutter speed. I was in Program (P) mode. So I switched to Manual (M) mode and got a more realistic shot with true blacks in it.

Doors Galore

In the history of all things symbolic, doors are on my top ten list. How many times have we opened a door, closed a door, walked through a door, locked a door, caught a finger in a door or walked INTO a door? We're probably up in the hundreds of thousands over a lifetime.

Doors keep the weather out, keep the kids out, keep the dog out, and keep intruders out (hopefully).

Doors open for friends, open for kids and grandkids, open for strangers selling security systems, open for some fresh air and open to let out all the smoke from a botched chicken bake.

Our photo assignment for this month is 'Doors and Windows,' so it was a good excuse to head to the foothills and do some scouting. Shooting doors and windows is not as easy as it looks. If you're using a wide-angle lens, you have distortion problems to worry about. A lot of these pictures have had their perspective corrected in Photoshop. You simply click on Image, then Transform, then Distort and drag the corner points until everything lines up the way you want. It's a bit of a contrived look, but for me, the get-every-line-as-straight-as-possible guy, it was necessary.

So write your elected officials and demand that February is declared "Doors and Windows Month." Can you imagine a world without them?

Winter Challenge

Well, everyone had two full months to think about, plan and work on their December/January photos with the 'winter' theme. So much of our outdoor landscape turns to a dismally dull display of dead leaves, naked branches and yellow-brown grasses, that we might miss those opportunities to capture the unique shapes, colors and weather that are part of winter's beauty.




Linda didn't have to brave the outdoors weather to find something to remind us of winter. Her 'candle and tree' photo emphasizes the warmth of home and the celebration of Christmas using a powerful minimalist style of photography.








Girl, I hope you live close to the nearest fire station!







Old Davy's backyard sunset shot is nothing nothing to brag about compositionally. But the cloud color was amazing (in real life - hard to translate it perfectly to the screen). Wish I had been out on Woodbridge Road taking sandhill crane silhouette at the time, but that wasn't going to happen. I used manual exposure and underexposed so the sky colors weren't blown out.


These spent cattails are still standing after 7 months after their prime at the Cosumnes River Wildlife Preserve, just north of us. Most of the others I saw had fallen over. I was shooting for a balanced composition here, using the oak reflection as added interest. I strengthened the contrast and blacks in post-processing and bumped up the red and yellow to give it an old Kodachrome look and feel.





Don's morning light photos highlighted dripping ice on a few plants. I'm pretty sure Don used his 60mm Nikkor macro lens that does a superb job when getting really close up and personal. The star-like patterns of the reflected sunlight are caused when the aperture is very small.














This thirsty orange-crowned warbler was caught while drinking at Ginnie's fountain. She has the luxury of being able to take pictures like this from inside her house, which is a plus when it's sometimes 18 degrees in Paso Robles!







And here's picture of a recent Paso Robles sunset in all its glory. Wow!








Thanks again to everyone who sent in their winter photos. Remember, I'm only posting two of those you sent, so please forgive me if you don't see your favorite of the bunch. It's hard to choose from all those sent to me.

Next month's theme - that's February - will be "Doors and Windows." Thanks to Ginnie for suggesting it. I don't think anyone will be at a loss for subjects on this one. Again: Your pictures must be taken in February. Black and white or color is okay. Post-processing to the max (artsy) is okay. People and animals in the shot are okay, as long as the theme is apparent. Keep the .jpg file under 400kb if possible.

Have a good time and be creative.

Color Blind

I grew up in a virtually color-blind town in California. Racial slurs weren't part of my vocabulary in school or any other place for that matter. And I didn't hear friends or family using them, either.

One of the black families in our school had six children. Their father was the pastor of the New Light Missionary Baptist Church. All four boys were outstanding students and athletes, each representing their classes as Student Body Presidents.

John Parish, who filled the President's office during our senior year in high school, was elected Governor of Boy's State in Sacramento, then went on to Boy's Nation at the Capitol. This first picture shows a Kiwanis member speaking to the group while in Washington, D.C.. Note the two empty chairs by John. The story goes that John was so discriminated against by two boy members from southern states, they refused to sit by him during one of the meal times. This picture symbolizes that hatret. I still remember John's tears as he related some of the pain he experienced when he got back and addressed one of the classes we were in together. Pretty sad - to go so far away from home as a hero just to be treated like dirt.










I don't have firsthand knowledge of this incident, but it seems plausible after discovering this picture of the two empty chairs. What do you think?

Running From Dog

Our cat Jack has the run of the yards and cul-de-sac and enjoys wandering around his little neighborhood territory. This meandering has its limits, specifically those residential backyards that board their burglar deterrent canines.

But last night's calm ended when the next door neighbor's dog jumped up on the gate door hard enough to open it. He didn't hesitate to target Jack and chased him over our fence with a crashing thud and clawing scramble that sounded like serious business to us in the house.

Barb ran outside, screaming at the poor mutt of a culprit, chasing him to the street and promptly heading next door to inform the folks of the heinous crime. Liz ran to the backyard and found Jack ready to jump the back fence, cowering in fear.

It was a born again experience for the old boy.

Your Best Shot

Seasonal changes marked October with early rainstorms and shades of fall on the hillsides. The photo challenge was the most painless so far, but may not have been the best choice for stretching your creative muscles to the max. November's assignment: A window light portrait. Don't use a flash, just available light. If you want to fill any shadows, you can use a reflector. You can shoot any number of people (or pets), just make sure that your MAIN light is from a window. And this doesn't have to be a formal portrait: any candid will do, whether in private or public. Color or black and white will work, too. Humorous or serious, whatever.



The first in this series was taken by Cooper Guffey in Paso Robles and submitted by his grandmother, Ginnie. He had Addie pose for him and did a great job in the composition department! Bravo, Cooper. Keep shooting.








Bruce in Oregon found some colorful fare at the pumpkin patch. His grandson, Jacoby, had a great time, but Bruce didn't seem too thrilled. Hey, Bruce, at our age, pumpkins are just big orange squashes that are better off left in the field.



















Don also found a pumpkin patch, but he didn't say which one, and didn't say whether he took anyone with him. Probably on Hwy 46 somewhere, just him and his Harley.























Ginnie says this about her Zinfandels entry: "Our little harvest was on the 23rd. We only got about 1/2 of the usual crop due to spring frost and summer rains which made the vines susceptible to mildew. So now fermentation is underway complete with a horde of fruit flies."







Ginnie's art group has been traveling to different places to paint on Fridays: "Last Friday's subject for the Friday paint-out was Atascadero Lake. Lots of honking and quaking there. Brought back old memories of Marty's duck that was released there." Ginnie, it looks like the leaves are just starting to turn there.

I'm trying to remember Marty's duck, but don't even have a foggy recollection. Most of us have other memories of Atascadero Lake -- good and bad -- and very bad!




Megen's entry is unusually weird looking - for a pumpkin. She says, "The cerebral pumpkin...who says Halloween is a brainless holiday???" Thanks, Meg, for shooting outside the box.



Here's another one of Megen's best pictures of October, even though she didn't formally enter it for the challenge. These expressions are priceless! Thanks.










Yours truly also has a couple of shots to share which you most likely seen already on my website. Our vacation to Paso in early October was a wonderful time -- seeing family, friends and favorite spots around the area. I planned to take sunset pictures at Spooner's Cove weeks before coming down, so that's where Barb and I headed the first night of our trip. The sunset was literally shocking to my senses as the sun disappeared below the horizon and the clouds lit up like cotton candy. This photo doesn't tell the emotional story, but is only a taste of awesome power of visual beauty that only reality can relish. I used a tripod and shot on manual exposure.



After leaving Paso, we drove to Yosemite, hoping to get a 'moonshot' at sunset at the Tunnel View. It was just rising while the sun was setting. God had other plans and it was raining when we drove in. But the pictures taken in the rain and mist gave the trees, mountains and rock faces a sense of rarity that I like more than the proverbial postcard Yosemite Valley photos. And sometimes it's just fun to get out in a drenched meadow, trying to keep your camera and lens dry and grabbing something you'll never see again!

Thanks to everyone who participated this month. I'm looking forward to November's portraits. Remember, the same old rules apply each month. Keep shooting. Keep smiling.

Dave