52 weeks: Week 34 wrapup

© 2010 Simon Hucko

The theme this week was "lines." True to form, I didn't exactly stick to the theme, but there are definitely some implied/less-obvious lines in my composition this week. When I look at the photo I find myself starting at the top with the bridge, which leads me to the stone wall. The wall leads me down to the water, which flows down toward the bottom left of the frame. These lines give the image a natural progression, which helps the viewer connect with the different details of the photo. The 25 second exposure is probably way overkill, but you can't argue with the smoothness of the water. I got up before dawn that day and hiked down into the gorge by flashlight. I was hoping that sunrise would find its way onto this scene so I could get some golden morning light, but despite facing east the gorge blocked out the sun. The lighting is a touch flat, I tried to punch it up a little in post, but there's a lot of detail in the trees and under the bridge that would get lost in more direct light. Later that day we hiked back down and the gorge was packed with people splashing through the stream and harsh overhead sunlight. If you're into shooting landscapes and naturey stuff like this, you're going to have to learn to love your pre-dawn alarm clock.

My pick this week is "Slug Trails 2" by djhucko:


© Dan Hucko

Talk about lines! Much like last week's sunflower photo, this image gives some wonderful insight into a world I had never even really thought about. I've seen slugs oozing across a deck or sidewalk, but I never realized how lackadaisical they are in their wanderings. The paw prints add another layer of interest, and the fact that the two slugs are in the frame gives the photo a nice concrete subject to return to after roaming around the squiggles. Very nice.

Since this weekend is Labor Day, I'll be extending the deadline to Monday 9/6 at midnight. This week's theme will be "square." Square crop or square subject (or both), I leave that up to you. With the holiday this weekend, you should all have no trouble taking one photo to post, so I hope to see a lot of submissions this week!

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

Shoot the Moonlight

© 2010 Simon Hucko

After the sun goes down, you're probably not thinking about going out to photograph landscapes. However, the moon puts off a surprising amount of light, especially when it's close to full. You're still looking at several minute exposures, but you can get some interesting lighting (and some surprisingly blue skies) if you have a tripod and the patience to explore.

Another nice side effect of shooting at night is that it's much easier to add your own light to a scene. Something as simple as a flashlight can help you define important parts of your landscape. This technique is known as light painting. The idea is to use light selectively on portions of the image during a long exposure.

The photo above was just shy of 2 minutes at f/8, ISO 800. I used a LED flashlight to paint in the waterfall, ensuring that it would show in the photo with the relatively brighter moonlit rocks in the foreground. The high ISO and long exposure led to a bunch of noise (including some magenta fringing in one corner of the sensor). Some creative cropping, noise reduction and some selective desaturation resulted in a very usable image. If I did it again I would have opened the aperture up a stop or two and used a shorter exposure. This would have made my little flashlight effectively brighter (more on that some other time), helping the waterfall pop.

If you don't have one, I really recommend a little LED flashlight for your bag. They're cheap, bright, more or less daylight balanced (generally a little cooler), and can be used for many different things (light painting, finding your way/gear in the dark, focusing in low light when using flash, etc.)

Light painting was fun. It's probably not a technique I'll use often, but it was interesting to experiment with. What new techniques have you tried lately?

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

52 weeks: Week 33 wrapup

© 2010 Simon Hucko

So apparently I haven't been very good about sticking to the theme lately. I have ideas when I choose them, and often they just don't work out. I figured green would be easy with all the summer greenness, and then it rained all week. Fortunately I had a few other photographic opportunities this past week. My photo was taken at a local minor league game. If you're looking to brush up on your baseball shooting skills, this is definitely the way to go - there was maybe one official photographer there, and they didn't even look twice at my camera bag when I walked in with it. I bet if you asked nicely it'd be easy to get yourself a "press pass" to something like this, and while you may not be able to use the images for anything other than posting on Flickr, it would be great practice. Thanks to my wife for letting me borrow her 55-200.

My pick this week is "Opening up to the Possibilities" by maryshelby:


© Mary Shelby

When I think "green" I don't usually think about sunflowers, but she nailed this one. The title is perfect, and definitely sets the tone for the photo. A wonderful capture of something that happens every day but most people never see. My only suggestion would be to get up a foot or so higher so that the tree line in the background disappears and you get a nice uniform green/yellow backdrop, but that's just nitpicking on my part.

This week's theme will be lines. Find a way to work lines into your composition to lead your viewer where you want them to go. And go shoot! We keep dwindling down here, I'd really like to see some people rejoin us for the rest of the year. If you've been busy this summer, now's the time to dust off your camera and jump back in. No excuses necessary, we'd love to have you back!

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

Make History with Slide Film

© 2009 Simon Hucko

I read a comment in a forum somewhere in the past week that really got me thinking. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I read it so I can't give it proper credit, but it definitely inspired this post. Thanks, anonymous photographer, for your insight.

For Christmas this past year, my dad was able to grab two rolls of Kodachrome for me. I immediately stuck them in the fridge and began plotting what to do with those 72 precious frames. The Photographer (capital P) in me called out for beautifully lit, color rich photos that will fully take advantage of this legendary film. I've been hoarding the shots, and to date have only taken 9 frames or so that I felt were "worthy" of this mighty emulsion.

Then I read something that has completely changed my perspective on what to do with this film. I'm still saving it for special shots, but my definition of special has been tweaked a little. First, some background:

If you're not aware, Kodachome is slide film. Unlike regular film, which produces a negative when developed, slide film gets processed into a positive image. The beauty of this is that the image is entirely self-contained. Anyone, anywhere, any time can pick up a slide and see what was documented there, no computer or fancy equipment necessary (although a loupe is helpful). Combine that with Kodachrome's long lasting dye process, and you have an archival image that will stand the test of time.

Let me put it this way: in 100 years, someone can pull out a box of slides and see grandma and grandpa standing in front of their first house. No hard drives that can't be plugged in, no ancient image formats to decode, just a pure analog image of something that might otherwise be lost forever.

With that in mind, I've decided to re-purpose my Kodachrome into a photographic time capsule. The remaining 63 frames will be of people, places and things that are important to me. Once I get the mounted slides back from the lab, I'm going to sit and write the important who/what/when/where/why on every slide in archival ink, and store them in an appropriate container with a loupe. If I can find a nice enough container, maybe my wife will even let me keep them out on the coffee table ;) I hope to pass these slides on to my children some day, and for them to become a sort of family history from the year 2010 (a very firm deadline, since the only lab that still processes Kodachrome is shutting down the machine at the end of December). It's a somewhat weighty and ambitious plan, but I think it's a good project and a good historical use for my photography. There will be plenty of other opportunities for "pretty shots."

Unfortunately, Kodachrome is pretty much non-existent these days. You might be able to find some for ridiculous prices on ebay still, but I don't recommend it. If you're interested in a project like this, any slide film will do. Modern emulsions and processes don't have the staying power that Kodachome does, but they should last long enough for a few generations to enjoy. You don't even need a fancy camera for it - since your goal is more documentary in nature you don't have to worry about nailing exposure every time or super shallow depth of field. Find a used 35mm point n shoot if you have to and use that. Subject and composition are king, and if you concentrate on that you can't go wrong. Of course, if you have any interest in film, buying a film SLR that will take the same lenses as your DSLR isn't a bad idea... Ebay and Craigslist are great places to snap up old 35mm gear, or you can hit up a few garage/yard/estate sales for a real steal.

If you're just not into film, you can do a similar project with prints. Make sure you get archival quality prints and find a good way to store and present them that will last for a while. A lot of printers now offer special coatings that are supposed to resist fingerprints and extend the life of the image, which might be worth looking into.

So what do you think? Is this a project you're going to do? Or am I just being sentimental and a bit of a film nut? Your thoughts, questions, comments and concerns are always appreciated.

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

52 weeks: Week 32 wrapup

© 2010 Simon Hucko

I tried out a few "circle" concepts this week, but nothing came out well. So instead I give you this shot of some summer flowers. I noticed the bees buzzing around, so I camped out by an attractive group of flowers and waited for one to land. Notice that there are three flowers in the main subject group: people tend to find photos of an odd number of things more pleasing than an even number. Don't know why, but it seems to work. I was planning on this being a square shot when I took it, although I didn't quite leave enough room for all the flowers. This is where having multiple aspect ratio guides in the viewfinder would be really handy, but I guess I'll just have to learn the hard way. I've been on a desaturation kick lately, I guess it gives things more of a "film" look which I've been obsessed with interested in as of late.

My pick this week is "summertime" by irv_b:


© irv_b

I love the story of this photo. Shooting in the rain is a big pain in the butt, but it definitely pays off if you do it right. Great street shot!

This week's theme is "green" - take that how you will. It would be nice to see a few people come back to regular posting, you know who you are. We miss you guys!

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

Perseid Meteor Shower

If you're interested in shooting some stars (or in some shooting stars), my dad left a nice bit of info in the comments from this week's wrapup:

"For all of you "star shooters" out there, tonight is the peak night for the annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the greatest shows in the night sky. As the earth travels through the debris trail of comet 109P Swift/Tuttle, you might see 60 to 75 meteor streaks per hour.

If you want to witness this magnificent spectacle, go out after midnight and find a dark hilltop. Face the north east (use that compass you keep in your photo bag) and watch the show. If you want to find the peak time to watch in your area, check out the Fluximator, an interactive tool that calculates the number of meteors you could expect to see at your location and when the best viewing will be. Check it out here

This year's display will be above average, due to more debris in the sky and the fact that the new moon will set early tonight-leaving the sky dark.

Go out and check out the show and shoot some star and meteor trails. Of course if it's cloudy, then go to bed."

Unfortunately it looks like rain all night here, so I won't be able to partake, but if your forecast is more favorable I suggest checking it out. Thanks again for the tip!

~S

[title of blog] on flickr

52 weeks: Week 31 wrapup

© 2010 Simon Hucko

I have to admit that I pick the weekly theme based on my photography goals/plans for the week. This week I knew that I was headed up to a party at my friend's and that I'd have plenty of chances for people shots. But hey, my blog, I get to make the rules. I'm glad that people aren't feeling constrained by the themes, and from the two responses I got it seems that they're somewhat helpful, so I'll keep throwing them out there every week.

My photo this week was a grab while we were riding around the lake on the boat. I took a ton of shots off the back while people were skiing/wakeboarding/tubing, which was a blast (and a lot harder than I anticipated). I've been on a "shoot wide open" kick lately, so I slapped my polarizer on there to darken the sky, cut some glare off the water, and to knock everything down so I could use the wide aperture. "Wide open" on my zoom is f/4.5, so we're not talking super shallow depth of field, but I like the effect - just enough blur on the background to help your subjects pop while still giving some context to the shot. I may have overdone it a bit with the polarizer and the vignette, but oh well. Black sky is fun sometimes.

My pick this week is "Stars swirl over Beech Hill Pond" by chofler:


© chofler

I've been wanting to take a star trail shot like this for a while and never seem to make it happen. I love the placement of the north star in the frame, I think it's very well balanced. Apparently this was a bit of an accident, which is partially why I picked this photo. First, happy accidents are a big part of photography. There is certainly some luck involved with creating images, and it goes both ways (good and bad). The trick is only sharing the good ;) Second, I left a little tip as a comment on the image, but I thought I'd share it here too: go buy a cheap compass and keep it in your camera bag. Not only can this help you locate things like the north star, it's also useful in figuring out where the sun will rise and set and how it will fall on a scene at different parts of the day/year. If you have one of them smart phones it probably has an electronic compass built in, which can do the same thing. If you're lucky enough to have an Android phone, download "Google Sky Map" (link) for an augmented reality view of where the stars are. (It's also really good for showing off your sweet phone, as it has a certain "holy crap how do they do that" factor). Great shot, and thanks for the teachable moment :)

This week's theme is circles. Show me what you got.

~S

[title of blog] on flickr