Official Photography Thread

[RobinFinderson]

Those are really cool, Sister Tick's Wife.

[Tick's wife]

thank you much.....I love taking pictures of nature....so much beauty and the imperfections never seem to show up

[The_Tick]

One of your many talents.

Wait until I get you up in the Canyon when I am doing some fishing during a fly hatch. Absolutely great photography.

Love ya!

[Drunk Tank]

Of the hatch, not you, right?

[falafel]

This past weekend I ran into an old friend that used to be a professional photographer in college before giving up the gig to work at Microsoft. I was picking his brain about this and that and he gave me a tip about setting up family portraits. In a nutshell, he said something to the effect:

"Have your family face north, just inside a shadow. Then set up your camera in the sun. If you have a portable outdoor collapsible reflector, set it up to bounce some lighting onto the subject's faces. If you don't have a reflector, then use a diffused flash."

Tried it out this afternoon with the fam and our new Easter outfits. Worked out great (see below)... passing along the tip, hopefully someone will find it as useful as I did.



(picture taken in our backyard with a Canon 30D, Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens, Canon 430EX Speedlite flash, Sto-Fen flash diffuser, f/4.0, 1/250, ISO 100, self-timer)

cheers.

That's a great tip, SG. Thanks. I'll be using that in the future.

Now I've got a tip for you: have some links taken out of your watch band.

cheers.

[scandell]

That's a great tip, SG. Thanks. I'll be using that in the future.

Now I've got a tip for you: have some links taken out of your watch band.

cheers.

Oh NO he didn't!

[Tick's wife]

This past weekend I ran into an old friend that used to be a professional photographer in college before giving up the gig to work at Microsoft. I was picking his brain about this and that and he gave me a tip about setting up family portraits. In a nutshell, he said something to the effect:

"Have your family face north, just inside a shadow. Then set up your camera in the sun. If you have a portable outdoor collapsible reflector, set it up to bounce some lighting onto the subject's faces. If you don't have a reflector, then use a diffused flash."

Tried it out this afternoon with the fam and our new Easter outfits. Worked out great (see below)... passing along the tip, hopefully someone will find it as useful as I did.



(picture taken in our backyard with a Canon 30D, Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens, Canon 430EX Speedlite flash, Sto-Fen flash diffuser, f/4.0, 1/250, ISO 100, self-timer)

cheers.

everyone looks so happy, except you

[RobinFinderson]

everyone looks so happy, except you

It is the weight of that dagger beard dragging down his chin and messing up the smile. I can assure you, he is happy as a clam.

I actually think that it is SG's funny expression that makes this photo so charming. The rest of the family is traditionally gorgeous, but Space Ghost is off some place else... maybe saving the universe from Zorak.

[RobinFinderson]

I'm off to shoot me some some Nazis.

[Katy Lied]

Dang, Huskey Free's goat shot was amazing. And Tick's wife's photos. And the Space Ghost Family portrait is commercial quality. Sheesh, everyone's work is looking fabulous.

I'm practicing sports photography, which is hit or miss for me. Today I took 125 photos of the game, and I only liked one. I still think it's the luck of the draw.

The one photo I liked. Tyler Whittingham. I did airbrush out a shadow on the bottom right of the photo. It's of a player who is standing off camera to the right. I liked the cleaner photo without the shadow. Plus, I feel that it makes the RB look like he's stretching for a victorious TD, and a shadow blocking his goal lessens the impact.
I might photoshop in a blackberry phone on the ground to the bottom right. :::snicker:::


Near Miss, aka Stupid Cameraman.
So this photo was ruined, but I really like the effect of the red uniform on the red end zone turf. I'm going to try to get take photo again sometime. This is one picture where I think you get a better shot sitting in the cheap seats rather than on the field. I left the red expanse in (instead of cropping) because I like the effect and I think it would make a nice background for white text or graphics to the left.


Au naturel, because this photo has not been cropped, adjusted, photoshopped or manipulated. A tad out of focus, but I like the way the light falls on her. It's really hard to get a photo of a cheerleader by herself. There's always football players or other cheerleaders in the background.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

KL did you ever enter the water fountain photo contest?

[RobinFinderson]

So, there was a crazy neo-Nazi rally in Los Angeles today. I went paparazzi style on my motorcycle, hoping to shoot me some Nazis. Didn't get many Nazis, but got lots of po-po and anarchists. Here are some of the photographs:



I arrived late, and this family was already leaving. When I asked if I could take a picture, they obliged with this great pose.



When I got to Town Hall, the Nazis were getting ready to leave, so the anarchists made a rush to the parking lot to try and cut them off.



I stayed back and shot around city hall.



This is when I got my first look at some of the Nazis. The police were keeping everyone far off, but I had my 200mm to close the gap.



I followed the Nazis trying to get a few better shots.



One of the Nazis stepped out and gave the crowd a sweet heil sign.



Here is a tighter crop. How awesome is it that Nazis look and dress like Sgt. Shultz?



The locals waved back.



I photographed a lot of police today. I've never been so close to police who were so ready to kick some ass.



I can't decide if these guys look intimidating.

[RobinFinderson]

I eventually caught up with the younger group of protesters.



There were a lot of different groups present. One thing I realized is that a lot of groups use the protests to recruit, thus all of the phone numbers on protest signs.



Cool kid.



Everyone was videotaping everyone. The protesters were videotaping the police, to catch them doing something abusive. The police were videotaping the protesters, for police reasons.



I was very close to the front of the protest. At one point the police started to move the line farther back, as the Nazis were approaching. I watched two police push into the crowd, throwing elbow in a way that will definitely make these anarchists feel hardcore in the morning.



A lot of people cover their faces. The police cover their faces too.



There were a number of women on the line.



Things were very tense, with the crowds taunting the police and reminding them that the 'people own the streets.'

[RobinFinderson]

This guys is wearing enough tear gas to evacuate all of downtown. I doubt they would ever use more than a couple of cans, but they wanted everyone to see that it was present. They also had a cop armed with a beanbag gun, which I noticed when it was pointed directly at me.



Then the Nazis arrived. Seriously, they are lake caricatures of American History X! Look at the beard on the old Nazi.



I climbed a small wall to get a better view of the Nazis, but they were too far away. I had a good view down onto the police and anarchists.



As soon as the Nazis arrived, people started to throw rocks and bottles. I was pretty sure we were about to get the tear gas, but the police line simply pushed the line back farther away.

[RobinFinderson]

I stepped back from the line for a bit to shoot and listen. Folks heard that the Nazis were all staying at a particular hotel, and some people were making plans to go over there.



I asked the fellow on the left if he was a Black Panther. He didn't respond, so I asked him if he was being very serious and was unable to talk, and he pointed down the line to where a different person was talking. I found out that these folks are not Black Panthers, but are some new militant group modeled after the old Black Panthers. Good for them!



There were also Jews, of this style...



... and this style.



I walked back over to the crowd, where the police stare-down continued. By this time, the Nazis were almost gone.



As soon as the Nazis had left the area, the police lined up in formation, and marched off. I ran into the space where they stood, and shot the crowd advancing toward the parking lot where the Nazis had just left.



The crowd advanced. Check out wuss-boy on left! LOL! His sign should read, "Don't tase me bro!"



The young folks seemed really happy with their protest. I mean how often do you get to protest something as bad as genuine Nazis? Not often!



I headed back to city hall, where the cops were now lounging and debriefing.