Blog

November 26, 2011

First off, let me apologize that it has taken me a month to
get this newest entry made.  I have been
busy with photography and the Christmas planning.

During the summer I went to the Anacortes Arts Festival
which was held August 5 – 7, 2011.  While
there I had the opportunity to introduce myself to David Templeton.  I had heard his music previously and while at
the festival, I had a brief conversation with him regarding a possible
collaboration with him using my photography to his music.  We agreed that I would contact him and
discuss it further.  While at the
festival, I purchased his album, The
Crossing.  It is a great album with
his music being considered New Age.
There is a good mix of piano and guitar on the album.

As a proof of concept, I used his song Snow on St. James to show how the music and photography could be
blended into one working piece of artistry.
I took this to a meeting with him at his home in Burien.  We had a great meeting and are working at
establishing a working collaboration.
Expect to hear more about this endeavor.

I also went on a short trip over the mountains to Walla
Walla to a great bed and breakfast, Vines and Roses.  I did another proof of concept and will be
working with them to showcase their B&B.
It is a great place to stay with wonderful antiques in all of the
rooms.  The colors are beautiful
throughout the establishment.

They are also involved with their own winery, Sinclaire
Estates Vineyard.  I will be working with
them to do some product imagery.  I also
had the opportunity to taste their white wine which was very good.  It can be ordered here.  Be sure to order some for the holidays!

For those that know me, we have an open house each year the
first weekend of December.  So the work
on decorating the trees (10 this year) and all of the associated tasks with
preparing for an open house have kept me pretty busy, along with doing a photo
shoot for a dental office.  We did a
Christmas photo for their holiday card as well as some shots for their new web
site.

I am working with several vendors to be able to review
products still which has taken some additional time.  I expect to have some more news in this area
very soon.

Be sure to sign up as a friend to my Facebook site by
clicking on the links above as well as follow me on Twitter.  So far I have been very quiet on Twitter, but
that should be changing soon.  It does
let you know when I have made new posts to the galleries which will be a little
more frequent once we get past our Open House.

Thanks for all of your support!

David

October 28, 2011

Thank you for coming back and checking out my blog.  I am still getting used to writing these  updates and telling you about some of what I have learned over time and sharing
some product information with you as well as how to process your images.  But, we are now actually looking at my bag and what is
inside of it.

I am currently using a Lowepro  Pro  Trekker 400.  Follow the link and you  will see all of the information about the bag.   I got this just before I went to Santa Fe, NW for a week long workshop  with Seth Resnick.  One of the reasons  that I selected this bag was that I would be able to get all of my gear into it  along with all of the extras one seems to gather over time.

I have found the bag to actually be very good for travelling  and would recommend it for anyone who has a couple of camera bodies, assorted  lenses and just a lot of extra gear!  It  has been a great addition to my gear.  I  can take it through as one of my online pieces and since it is a backpack, it  works well to carry it through an airport, or to just throw it in the back of  the car for a weekend or day of shooting.

As to my camera gear, here is what I have:

• Canon 7D
• Canon 40D
• Lenses (all Canon below)
  • 18-200 IS
  • 100 – 400 IS L
  • 100 Macro
  • 85 MM
  • 50 MM
  • Lensbaby
    • Composer Pro
    • Double Glass Optic
    • Sweet 35
    • Plastic Optic
    • Pinhole/Zone Plate
    • Soft Focus
    • Cokin Filter System
    • Canon Speedlite 580
    • Stuff

The Canon 7D with the 18 – 200 MM lens is my go to lens and  is what I use for walking around as well.   It has everything I need for most of what I do.  For me, that lens has been one of the best  investments that I have made to date.   It has the Canon Image Stabilization system and when you are climbing  over and under things then finding yourself in a not so stable of a stance then  you could not ask for anything better!

While I have not really used it to date, it can also take  high definition video.  We will be  talking about video in a future posting and I will tell you about the trials  and tribulations of shooting video with this camera.  I have attended several different workshops  where the guest speakers have demonstrated what it takes to do video with the  Canon bodies from the 7D up to the Mark IV.   The introduction to Saturday Night Live has all been done with the Canon  5D Mark II!

The 40D is what I upgraded from the Canon Rebel.  It is a great camera and I still frequently  use it.  When I know the situation of  what I am going to be shooting, I will frequently have a secondary lens on the  camera and be ready to shoot in any situation.   There are times, such as some location shooting where you will not want  to change lenses due to sandy or inclement conditions, so the second body will  come in very handy to prevent damage to any of you equipment.

As I talk about some of the outings that I make I will share  more about each piece of gear that I used to take the image or used on a  particular outing.  By going through it
in this manner you will get a better understanding of the gear that I am using  and I will talk about it in how it compares to what it is that you might want  to consider when purchasing your camera and any associated equipment.

The best thing to remember is when purchasing any gear, is  to think about what it is that you want to do and what feels best in your hand.  Every photographer will tell you
all of the good points about the equipment that they are using or that they  want.  But, it is always the glass that  is important.  Glass means the lens that  you are going to purchase.  The bodies  will come and go, but lenses are a longer term investment.  Get the best that you can get and you will  not go wrong!

Before we actually talk about a shot or going out, there is  one other component to really consider, and that is how are you going to do  your developing, or post production work.
Here is where you will get a review and I will talk about some of the different  options out there that you can use.

Until then, just go out and get some great images of the  fall colors!  Here in the Pacific  Northwest they are really looking good, and I have some shots to share with you  from a couple of my outings!

First off, I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit my web site, Journey’s Image.

This has been a work in progress for some time, but it has now been given a bit of a facelift with new organization and many new images along with a new blog that I hope you take the time to check out on a regular basis.

Become a friend of Journey’s Image and you will be notified of the blog updates as well as on Twitter @JourneyImage.

So, when I thought about a blog, I wondered where I should even start since there are so many photographic blogs out there in cyber space.  I thought about all of the different outings that I have been on, some of the classes I have taken, some of the great photographers that I have met and could even call friends to different degrees.  But, then I thought all of that will come up over time, so then I thought about what it is I would like to share with those that are family and friends as well as new people that learn about my photography.  With all of that in mind, I decided to just start with some basics as to what is in my camera bag, what is some of the software that I use and then just help out with basic photography information.

I also thought about whom I wanted to gear the blog to – it is to the photographers that just want to get out and take some good family shots, or some good ones while you are on vacation, or just of some project that you have completed in the yard.  Also, how do you organize this growing library of photos.  It used to be that they were kept in boxes, and hopefully someone put some info on the back of the photo so that you know who is in it, or at least when it was taken.  Maybe you were dedicated and even put it in a photo album or scrapbook.  But now, with digital, that does not happen and they all go into your “My Pictures” folder if you are a PC user.  I don’t know where they go by default on a Mac since I am a PC kinda guy.  That also brings up the whole discussion about cameras itself.

As to cameras, the main thing is that you get out and just photograph!  Remember the special events and whatever it is that you want to record.  But, with that said, I shoot with Canon.  That is my camera of choice.  So, let me explain that a bit.

When I purchased my first SLR, it was a Canon.  I really liked that camera, it was just the cost of film that was restrictive.  Back in those dark days of film, I would go through lots of film to get a few good shots.  But, that was the way it was for a lot of people.  But, the camera itself, that I liked and really liked the way it felt in my hands.

Then a guy I worked with would buy himself a new camera just about every year and I would get his hand me downs.  Those were Nikons.  Yes, I actually shot with Nikons for several years.  But, when I decided to buy my own DSLR, I bought a Canon.  And, here is my reasoning…

I went to a camera shop and started handling both Nikon and Canon.  Face it, those are the two major brands of cameras and in reality, one will be leading for a bit, then the other will make some technological breakthrough and then the other one will top them.  So, in reality, the technology is not a major issue in my book as they all get that part of it.  But, the important thing is which one feels best in your hand?  Which one feels the most comfortable for you?  Once that decision is made about the body, then talk about the glass, as that is the important part of any camera – or at least a DSLR where you are going to invest in multiple lenses.

The same principal applies to any of the point and shoots.  Which one feels the best?  Like anything else though, decide what your budget will allow you to spend and then just look at cameras in that price range.  The features will be pretty much the same in each price range.  But, that is the other point to consider, what do you want from your camera?  That will impact your price point and perhaps you have to settle for something a little less than desired, or you need to wait to purchase that first camera.

In time, I will be reviewing different cameras, bags, software and anything else that is related to photography.  If you have questions or comments, please just send an email to journeysimage@nwlink.com or comment below the blog entry for people to see.

Next week’s subject:  What is in my bag?