Don't try this at home

DAY 45: I managed to get this shot today without burning my corneas. Bean harvest is underway and as any farmer knows you can count on breakdowns at the worst time. With it being Sunday and the parts department closed my Dad had to make a temporary weld so that my brother could get back out in the field. More bean harvest photos later this week.

The truck again

DAY 44: Using my "Speedlite on a Stick" I got more of the look I was going for. I'm trying to cut the cords to go truly off camera flash. Stay tuned.

Not quite full moon

DAY 43: I wanted to get a picture of the full harvest moon this month after I read a short article on photographing a full moon. The clouds didn't cooperate until tonight when the moon wasn't quite full. I've tried moon photographs before but couldn't get the exposure right against the dark sky. Then I read that its daylight on the moon and thus you set your shutter and f/stop for daylight as one would on Earth. Well, duhhhhhh. That did the trick.

Sunset on deck

Day 42:A generic stock shot from a cruise ship deck

More product photography

DAY 41: Want a cup?

Kitchen table photography

DAY 40: Wow, that sounds like a long time. Today I experimented shooting through an umbrella and using a white foam board as a reflector. I'm satisfied with these early results. The butter churn belonged to my great grandmother. The apples seem a little flat.

Back to the truck

DAY 39: Another shot of the pickup truck featured in an earlier post. This would be a good subject for strobist stye.

Safe at second base

DAY 38: I haven't had a chance to shoot a game lately so I was glad to be able to get out on Saturday to shot a middle school game. I got a lot of good shots but this is one of my favorites.

Making progress

DAY 37: It isn't even noon and I am posting the picture of the day. I was back on location in the backyard with my model, stepdog. This is more of the result I've been looking for and now I'm going to see if I can find a bipedal model to help me out. The dog just won't sit still and doesn't pay attention to SIT, STAY, etc.

A dog and a birthday cake

DAY 36: It's a good thing I don't blog about the media, or else I'd burn up a lot of pixels here railing against Dan Rather and his excuses benind a $70 million lawsuit against his former employer. Don't get me started. Instead I will comment on today's tripple post. Today I had the opportunity to make a very quick shot of an office birthday cake. The room was well lit but by playing with exposure and flash intensity I was able to isolate the cake. Sure, it could've been repositioned and the camera angle could've been better, but it is an interesting study.

As for the other two shots of stepdog I figured out that getting down on dog's perspective helped immensely. This time I put my Speedlite 430EX on the end of my monopod and connected it to the camera with a hotshoe cord, or whatever you cal it. By varying the intensity and position of the bare flash I was able to get good results from these early experiments. More to come, I'm sure.

Eperimenting with off camera flash

DAY 35: I was up all night reading the Stobist again and decided I'd take the plunge--set the camera on manual and take the flash off camera and get creative. I headed out to the backyard with my stepdog and studio flash head. I would've done alright, I think, if stepdog would've cooperated and I had gotten outside before sunset. Nonetheless I was able to experiment with a few shots and began to think that this method is going to be fun and interesting to learn.

Pickles revisited

DAY 34: Some people might think they need to pay upwards of $100 for a light tent to shoot product photography. Though I have some lighting kinks to work on, I built a light tent using a cardboard box, an old lamp and some big sheets of paper. I shamelessly stole this idea from another photo blogger, but I hope he doesn't mind. The strobist has many usefull tips on innovative and thrifty ways to improve your off-camera strobes. There's some great stuff there.

A snoozer

DAY 33: Okay, I know, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel. And believe me, the barrel is almost empty. But have no fear. Earlier this evening I read about a photographic device that out of the factory can cost upwards of a hundred dollars. The article explained how using $10 worth of new materials, some duct tape and items you might find in your kitchen drawers, a person could build one of these devices themselves. Hopefully I will have a pictures shot utilizing this device for tomorrow's picture of the day.

Leftover from Monday's leftover Sunday commentary

In yesterday's post I directed the reader to an ad I found on Craigslist in which a bride-to-be is looking for a student/beginner to photograph her wedding. Flags went off fast talker wanting Ansel Adams quality work for free, or $15 an hour. In this particular case I sent an email to the poster and told her I was curious whether anyone answered her ad, and I directed her to yesterday's post. I expected two things from this: She wouldn't answer, or I would get a response telling me to mind my own business, or worse.

To my pleasant surprise bride-to-be sent a very rational reply setting me straight, explaining her photographic needs and why she decided to advertise for a photographer on craigslist. This poster may be the exception to the majority of photo jobs posted on craigslist. Her response follows:

Ed
I read your blogspot, and obviously you are not exactly sure what you are talking about. I am willing to pay a fair price for what I get. I feel that most of the professional photographers I have come across in the St. Louis area are not as good as they like to think they are. Their images are grainy, not very clear and just not as good as I would hope. They seem to be not using a very good camera.

I am willing to pay someone what they are worth, just not so happy with my options at this current time. Trying to find someone who is independent and more artistic. Who can make a picture look like art and not just take a picture like my grandmother could, but take a picture like an actual photographer. I am not just about going cheap, I am
trying to find someone different and with unique traits that I have not been
able to find with my so-called professional options. Sure, I have found some
great photographers too, but I cannot afford them. I am looking for a middle
ground. I cannot afford the best quality pictures, just not possible, so I am
looking for someone who can do pretty good pictures at a little less then what
the great photographers charge. I have yet to find a middle ground until I
turned to craigslist. I either found exceptional photographers that I would
love, but cannot afford. Or terrible photographers that still charge too much for their terrible quality.

So far, I have had a nice response. I found a student photographer who takes wonderful pictures at a fair price, not cheap by any means. I am looking into the rest of my options as of now and came across at least one other that I would be comfortable using. I
haven't been able to check out all of them yet, I recieved far too many replies.
All of which have been reasonable in price.

I have recieved many replies, I would say in the 15-20 range and most of them have been better then I would have thought. Some are not, but that is the chance I take when putting an ad on craigslist. Thr prices are fair, unlike some photographers who claim to be professionals charge.

So just because I do not want to pay $1500 for someone who uses a camera that outputs pictures very similar to what I could take with my Kodak Easy Share, does not mean I am not willing to pay a fair price for their work.
Sincerely.....

Well said! (And congratulations on your upcoming big day)

Sunday commentary leftovers

I know its Monday but its my blog and I can add to my Sunday commentary. The topic was about not giving it away. Mark Loundy is quickly becoming one of my favorite photographers and I haven't seen anything he's shot. I've been reading a lot of Loundy's stuff here and here. This guy knows what he's talking about when to comes to the need for independent photographers to be good business people as well as good shooters. He's a good writer, too, and tells it like it is, and how it ought to be.
And then there's this gem from the St. Louis version of craigslist. The bride is looking for a wedding shooter -- a newbie or student okay -- to shoot all day at three location and in return turn over a CD of the images and all rights for a "price to be determined." I emailed this bride and ask her how many photographers jumped at this opportunity. Even if I never hear back from her I fear this uninformed bride will find an uninformed photographer who will actually be dumb enough to take on this job on her terms. Again, if you're good enough to shoot the kind of shots she specifically describes in her ad then you're good enough to charge a fair price for them. And she should be willing to pay for quality work.

The tractor cruise

Day 32: Before I comment on today's post I'd like to mention that Day 31's offering will be featured on the front cover of the Monroe County Independent Sept. 22 issue. On Saturday I caught up with the Gateway Two Cylinder Club whose members were on their annual tractor cruise to Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Never mind I was shooting into the sun and that particular stretch of road was not good for getting a lot of tractors into the shoot.

The Sunday paper

DAY 31: I took a Sunday drive to the farm today. Though it was overcased I had hoped to get some farm action shots but there were none to find. Corn harvest is just about wrapped up and soybean harvest is a week or two away in most places. I brought along a copy of the Saturday New York Times (I get the Saturday and Sunday Times delivered at home but I don't read the editorials) featuring an article about a musical about the flood of 1993 and Valmeyer, Ill. The musical is currently being presented by our local community theater group and many of the cast members and audiences are flood survivors. I lived it and have no desire to see the play but I I showed the article to Dad and he sat down to read it on the back bumper of an old truck he's getting ready to take to the shredding mill. There was my picture of the day! It would've been better if I'd had my wide angle lens ready and if you could see his face, but I think its a good picture anyway. Your thoughts are always welcome.

Adding to the collection

Yesterday I found a $20 Aires Viscount ragefinder camera, circa 1959, at a church flea market. This purchase officially makes me a collector of vintage cameras because I have three vintage cameras now. If you have three of any object when one of them would suffice then you are a collector. The other cameras in my collection are a Yashica EZ-matic and a Crown Graphic. All three cameras do work. For this picture of the camera I placed it on the trunk of my car.

Sunday commentary

Don't give it away
After a month this blog is doing for me what I intended. I'm getting out more trying to take purposeful and interesting pictures. It is rather subjective to conclude that I've done that but I think I have.
I've also been reading more about photography, especially the business of photography including magazine, book and newspaper publishing, studio and wedding photography, and stock photography. One question that kept popping up in my mind while doing all that reading is: "What kind of photographer am I."
Well, a pretty good one, if I might say so myself. Last year revenue from my assignment and stock sales paid for five day cruise to Mexico. That may sound impressive until you consider that cruises these days are cheap if you know the right time to book. What I'm trying to say is that I sell -- excuse me-- I LICENSE a picture or two a year and my health or livlihood hardly depend on photo license income. However, I truly believe that if I had to, as in had no other choice, and if I really hustled and worked the phone and took lots of pictures I might be able to eek out a very, very modest living as a photographer.
So, when I license a photo I try to get as much money as buyer is willing to pay. I might not be a well known photographer and I might not be a fulltime photographer but if I have a picture a buyer is willing to pay for I want to get the same amount of money as that buyer would pay to the "more professional" photographer.
The consensus among the professional photographers writing on the subjet is that digital photography and the internet has made it possible for any putz with a camera to get in on the action. Many of these so called putzs post their photos on microstock sites such as istockphoto and sell what is called royalty-free photography for rock bottom prices. I would go so far as to call it the Wal-Martization of stock photography, only worse.
And don't get me started on those folks on craigslist looking for a wedding photographer willing to shoot a wedding and then turn over a CD of images for $250 or $300, if that much. What's worse is the putzes who take these jobs. Some of these discount shooters might be good. If they're that good, they should be getting more for their work. If they end up shooting crappy photos then the bride and bridegroom got what they paid for. Crap.
The system will weed out this new breed of crappy photographers because it simply isn't true that any putz with a digital camera can shoot good pictures. What we really have to worry about is these photographers who do shoot decent photos and give them away. Stop selling yourself short. It depresses prices across the board and if you're a good photographer just starting out it just doesn't help you to give away your services at discout prices. If you shoot like a pro then you should charge like a pro. People will still pay for good photography.

Now that's a yawn

DAY 30: I actually went out on self assignment this morning and got some decent pictures. The gem of the day, however, happened after I got home. I was experimenting with a high ISO in available light and was taking pictures of Pepper doing nothing. I almost missed this shot of her huge yawn but was quick enough on the trigger to get it. I guess that's what she thinks about me doing test shots on her all the time.

DAY 29: Today's offering is a picture of my niece's dog, Buddy MacDermott. Buddy, I am told, is the smartest, most well behaved and precious dog in the world.

My favorite model

Day 28: So far I've resisted the urge to post from the 100s of photos I have of my cat, Pepper. This one is irresistable though, so here it is. She's mugging for the camera from her perch on the back of our sofa.

Lines

DAY 27: I wish a train was in this photo, but that may have changed the effect altogether.

Italian chocolate: I can't even describe this

DAY 26: Okay, I think I'm caught up. Even If I'm not, I say I am. If you are a chocolate lover I cannot even begin to describe the experience of eating this desert, so I won't even try.

A word about Italian food

DAY 25: Since traveling to Italy I think it'll be a long time before I go back to Starbucks, or the Olive Garden, or order pizza. Lunch on the first day went something like this: Sit down to eat at 2 p.m., order wine, order a pasta dish, drink wine, eat pasta, drink wine, order the main course, drink wine, eat main course. More wine; leave restaurant two hours later. Repeat four hours later for dinner.

Everything is fresh and delicious. What more can I say.

Heading home

DAY 24: Though this is a photo blog I could spend a lot of time giving my observations about international travel and airports. I thought this photo of my seatmate's passport is appropriate to represent the return trip to the good old USA. On the way back in Amsterdam I boarded a connecting flight to Detroit on an Airbus 330. This plane has a 2-4-2 seat configuration and for a transatlantic aircraft it sure is cramped. My seatmate quickly introduced herself and told me she was on the way back from Saudi Arabia where she just concluded a two-week visit with her mother who works for a petroleum company. I found out my seatmate, Mikka, is a 27 year old police officer for a department in Oklahoma. I'll just say that if you met Mikka your first impression would probably not be that she's a law enforcement officer, and she probably uses that to her advantage. She was very charming and it was nice to have a friendly English speaking person next to me for the duration on the eight plus hour flight.

Of the three planes flown on this trip the Fokker 100 between Amsterdam and Bologna was the most comfortable. It is comparable to the D95 flown between St. Louis and Detroit, but with more leg room, better food and a friendlier flight crew.

The Bologna Expreience

DAY 23: My main business in Italy was to attend a trade fair. Most of our two days there was spent in the exhibit hall. But Sunday afternoon another member of our delegation and I took a bus to the downtown area. Unfortunately my associate had his pocket picked along the way. In spite of that we walked and took pictures for a couple of hours and then headed back to the relative safety of our hotel.

Starbucks doesn't know how to make espresso

DAY 22: Be warned when you travel to Italy and order coffee this is what you get. American-style coffee is almost unknown. I happen to like espresso but I found out I'm not making it correctly. The proper drink is capped with a layer of foam. And it cost one Euro.

Hotel Savoy, Bologna, Italy

DAY 21: After who knows how many hours in airplanes and waiting to get in and off airplanes I got to my hotel sometime in the afternoon of September 7.

Greetings From Bologna

I will have many days worth of pictures to post when I get back. Italy is beautiful, even though I have not seen much of it during the daylight hours. The food is incredible. More later.

No updates until September 12

This is a cma statement because I very well might update the blog while I'm in Italy for the next few days. I'd really like to post updates but I'm not sure of the Internet connection situation where I'll be staying. I'll find out when I arrive in Bologna in the wee hours of Friday our time.

Summer's bounty preserved

DAY 20: Today's offering is a quick snapshot of my pickle canning efforts of the last couple of weeks. I used my Gary Fong lighsphere and on-camera flash. I could probably have gotten a more interesting and profesional looking shot had I used an off camera flash and/or a softbox.

DAY 19: I don't usually take flower pictures at the botanical garden because everyone shoots flowers and you have to be a really bad photographer to get a bad flower picture. But this is all I have for today's Picture of the Day.

How real barbeque begins

Day 18: In honor of Labor Day barbeques all over the country I took this snapshot just as my fire got going. Even though I use charcoal most of the time it is not legally barbeque unless the meat is smoked over real hardwood, in this case pecan. And cooking on a gas grill can never be called barbeque, even if you use wood chips in a little box.

Last ride

DAY 17: My Dad is cleaning up on his rental property. The new tennant is getting a couple of mules and this old truck was in the middle of what will be the mule pen, so off to the shredding mill it goes.

Loading a grain barge

DAY 16: I shot pictures today but did not upload and process any of them. I was sidetracked by my sweet pickle project this evening. I processed 10 pints and will be taking fancy photos of the jars. Earlier in the week I made 10 pints of dill pickles. While I like pickles I doubt that I will eat 20 pints this year, even though they're very good. There's nothing like a homemade pickle. Today's picture was taken last May at a grain barge terminal on the Mississippi River near St. Louis on my last day at The Waterways Journal.