Flat - The End

I think it's obvious we've fallen flat. What once started (almost a year ago) as a way to challenge ourselves, and each other, has become a burden. Something we "have to get done". That's just not what this place should be.

It's understandable though. Our collective lives have chanced dramatically. Our kids are another year older and need more of our attention. I've lost my husband and my friends lost their friend. You wouldn't think that a years time for a group of mid-thirties people would be so profound. This should be the part of life where the days just sail by. That's simply not true for any member of the 3C1D family. We've all got our own fights right now that simply cannot need more of us.

I thought after losing Scott that I would need this place to regain some of myself. That I would bury myself in my photography and I would once again find solace with my camera. While all of that is true on some level, I find myself with less time, more stress, more distractions. All leading to less creativity.



My photography has grown so much in the last year. I have this blog and my wonderful partners in crime to thank for that. I know there is still more to learn, more to do and more love for photography and I'm certainly going to keep doing all of that. I'll just be doing it when life allows and with less stress.

Thank you to everyone that has ever visited our little place on the web. We've made some great friends along the way.

To my comrades, I love you all. You were my best friends before this and that isn't going to change with it's ending.

Nothing but love.

xoxo,
Brandi

Morning Hike

This morning the boys and I set out to one of my favorite destination, Veterans Acres. It's been seen on these pages before, most specifically when I photographed graffiti rock. Speaking of which, graffiti rock has changed once again. Now it says "I poop" complete with evidence. Yeah, not so cool. But such is the nature of graffiti rock.

We walked all over, checking out the pine forest, walking around the pond and checking out lily pads, and picking every dandelion we found. It was so nice to slow down and move at their pace. Sometimes I can't help but try to move them along a little quicker. After all, my oldest son doesn't do anything fast. But this time, I moved like they chose. And it was awesome.

I took many pictures, but I thought this one might be the best. Once again, I wish I had a polarizing filter. I need to stop whining and just pony up. I have several shots of the boys bent over the water. However, the reflections just aren't doing it. A polarizer would have changed the entire photo. Oh well. Here's what you get instead.

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L at 24.0mm
Shutter 1/250
Aperture f/2.8
ISO 100
Natural Light

I love shooting elevated like this. You almost always immediately de-clutter the background. And when you combine it with a wide aperture, you get a nice fade to blur and a sharp focus on the eyes, assuming your focus is good. Mine is actually a little off on this shot. It may not read that way on the screen but trust me it's off.

Mine connection is pretty obvious. Brandi (and J and Sere) all have shots of their kids. So do I.

***

Moving on, I feel compelled to share my two cents on Melissa's question. I agree with everything Brandi said. I would only add two things. When you are buying a DSLR, it's important to realize that you are buying a commitment. If photography becomes a passion, you will want more lenses, flash heads, and eventually a better body (wait, who doesn't want a better body?!?! :)). So your decision to buy Canon, Nikon, or Sony could have long lasting effects.

Secondly, the latest craze is hi-def video recording. Is this important to you? Will you ever use it? Here is the way I look at it.

Canon is my choice and the reason is simple. For years and years, Canon made the best lenses. And if there is one thing that will impact your photos more than anything else, it's the glass with which you choose to shoot. Were I starting today, I would have to admit that lenses for Nikon have closed the gap. I would even go as far as saying Nikon makes some lenses that are better than the Canon equivalent. The same is also true in reverse. There are still lenses that Canon makes that are better than Nikon. As for Sony, I just don't know enough to speak on the quality of glass they offer. What it boils down to is that at this point, I don't think lenses should be a determinant in buying a system. Whereas handling is something that should absolutely factor into your decision. Get your hands on several models and find a comfortable fit. Brandi's recommended models are great. The Canon equivalent is probably the Rebel T3. For a bit more money you could get the T3i, giving you 50% more pixels (not overly important but nice if you're going to crop) and other upgrades. For crazy in depth reviews check dpreview. They go WAY in depth on most models.

As to my second point, HD video is becoming increasingly popular. I myself haven't play much with it because my dslr just doesn't do it. If that's something you think is really important, I would suggest you check out the Sony line. They have a new technology that allows for light to pass through the reflector in front of the camera's sensor and this allows for continuous focus and live view. It's cutting edge stuff and easily ahead of Nikon or Canon when it comes to usability. Sony is a relative new comer to the dslr world but they are huge and product support has proven the point. I wouldn't be afraid to go the Sony route if indeed it feels right for you.

Okay, I've said enough. Good luck with your shopping and come back again if you have any other questions.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Scott

Happiness

If you're a parent you know there is nothing better than seeing your child enjoying life. Seeing the sheer excitement on their faces just seems to take away all the naughty things they do. If only it could take away the gray hairs too.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 F/2.8 VSII @ 55mm
ISO 200
Shutter Speed 1/2000sec
Aperture f/2.8

This picture was taken around 1pm. The heat of the day being eased by the cool, pool waters. As a photographer I just wished there was a better way to ease the sun's powerful rays. Taking photos at that time of day is awful. What isn't shadowed is blown from the super bright sun.
But happiness can't wait for the sun to settle and I'm not going to miss an opportunity to capture a moment that really matters.


****
Melissa, one of our fantastic followers asked us for a recommendation to an entry level DSLR camera. Melissa being the proud mommy of a 8month old and a 17year old is finding her standard point and shoot just isn't giving her what she needs.

Here's my personal response to Melissa's request for help.
Nikon, Cannon and Sony have great entry level DSLR cameras. Any DSLR will give you the option to continue to grow in photography. Allowing you to change lenses, shoot (and edit) in RAW format, turn the camera on manual and make decisions for yourself, allowing you to decide what type of "mood" your photo should have instead of the camera deciding how to take the best photo.
DSLR cameras also shoot better in low light conditions, have better shutter speeds, memory storage and pixalization. All that said, in the entry level DSLR family I don't think there is too much difference between the larger, name brands that are on the mass market today. Every company has it's strength and weakness. It becomes more about personal preference than anything.
When I moved from a point and shoot to a DSLR, I went with the Nikon D40 (no longer in production). I chose the Nikon over Sony and Cannon for a few reasons. At the time I got a great deal on the D40. We all know finances matter. Another factor in my decision is the way the camera felt in my hands. I had experience with Nikon film cameras and was more adjusted to the grip. Additionally, the menu driven functions just made more sense to me on the Nikon. It seemed like I just knew where everything was.
My advice, go out and play. Hit up the local Best Buy, Costco, Wolf Camera or anywhere else that has display models and try them out. Get them in your hands and see what feels the best to you.
If I were just venturing into the market right now I would most likely get the Nikon D90 or the Nikon D3000. There are lots (LOTS) of great resources on the web for comparisons that are far more intelligent than mine. Do a little research and by all means, if you find yourself struggling between a few, drop us a line. Maybe one of us has used that camera before, or maybe we've heard or read reviews that might sway your decision. We're happy to help.
My comrades might add their own two cents. Listen to them, they're wicked smart.


xoxo,
Brandi

Fried Friday

Nikon D40

1/320

f 9.0

55mm

Natural light

ISO 200

Need that zoom! This was cropped from a much wider shot and it has lost any clarity & crispness.

Darn it, they won't let me stand on the baseline to shoot my shots.

Going along with kids sports I give you Maddie again! She's just off the ground like in Sere's shot and very focus as well.

I know it's late but I made it by the hair on my chinny chin chin. pheeww!

Jay'me

Talkless Thursday with Sere

Ooops!! My BIG, HUGE, mistake of totally missing my day yesterday. Time ran away from me and well, no excuses, it just is. I apologize to all! I am putting this picture up for our guests to guess on the connection to Scott's picture, for a chance to have a guest appearance on 3C1D. The connection can be just about anything, let your imaginations run!

If my fellow photographers want to do something else today or put their own picture up, I'm totally okay with that. Don't let my mess up, mess up your day. I just wanted to have something up, just in case.

Make your guesses and have some fun!!

Ready! Set! Go!


Nikon D90
ISO-200
Aperture F/6
Shutter Speed 1/2500 sec.
Lens Tamron 18-200mm @112mm
Natural Lighting, Shutter Priority Mode, RAW

Enjoy!
Sere

Thumbs Up Dude!

My connection is pretty week. Sometimes, it's just going to be. And I'm officially over it! Because of Brandi's black and white conversion, I had a tailor made excuse should I need a bailout connection. So here you go, Ethan playing soccer converted to black and white.

Canon 30D
Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Aperture f/5.0
Shutter 1/800
ISO 100
Natural Light

I also chose this shot because I sometimes fall into the trap of trying to get the perfect shot when a shot that is "good enough" is actually more important. I say more important because the corollary for feeling pressured to do it perfect is a tendency to not take the shot at all! Case in point, today was Ethan's last day of soccer for the season and I had yet to shoot a single picture. That's just plain stupid.

I titled this "Thumbs Up Dude" because this is something I do with both of my boys. In this case, Ethan had just kicked the ball and turned to give me the thumbs up. It's just precious and I was lucky enough to capture it on film (uh...I mean digital). Thank God I wasn't fussing around with my camera too much. It's not a perfect technical shot, and yet it's perfect for me.

Never let perfection get in your way!

Scott

Memorial Day

It's a day to honor the men and women that have serve this country. Regardless of rank, classification, job title or other boring detail, every man or woman that now serves or has served in the armed forces should be honored today.
I do find that there is a distinction between Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Armed Forces Day. To me, in my heart, the distinction lies with making this day, Memorial Day, a day to honor those that have lost their lives serving this nation.
Maybe I'm right with my thoughts or maybe I'm wrong, but the point is, today is not just about hot dogs, cold beer, lemonade and marking the opening of the pool. So as you're enjoying those things think of the people before us that have given their lives so that we can splash, gossip, and hit home runs today with our family and friends.

Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @34mm
ISO 200
cloudy, foggy overcast
aperture f/2.8


I'm not going to lie, I over exposed this shot. I went out in search of a flag, preferably one that was buried in the fog that blanketed this area yesterday morning. I found a few but nothing was quite what I was going for. Making one last stop, I found a flag in a quiet downtown park surrounded by trees and greenery. I thought "Yes! This will work." Getting out of the car, walking through the park and up to the flag, I found it surrounded by these monument markers. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and then the Gulf War(s) monument.
I was struck. All the other monuments had numerous names, 10 or 20 on them. But, here there were just two names. Two names of two loved ones that had not been forgotten. These tulips were the only flowers placed on any of the monuments.
Gone but certainly not forgotten.

I was so distracted and moved that I really didn't take the best photo. I guess I don't read my histogram really well through tears. Thankfully, shooting in RAW allowed me to recover most of what was lost. I'm still not happy with the composition. Maybe I'll go there again today and make it right.
Whatever you do with this day, take a moment to remember those that have lost their lives. May they all rest in peace.

xoxox,
Brandi

Repeat, Repeat.... Late.

Nikon D40

1/500

f 11

50.mm

Natural light

ISO 200

So, yes, you have seen the sister shot to this "Fuzzy Buzzy Bee". And, Yes, I'm the official blog dumb ass! I've officially disproved any blond theories as I'm a brunette! Thank you blondies. I do have two busy children and too much on my plate, but hell, I'm no more stressed then anyone else in our 3C1D family. We went camping this weekend and someone forgot her camera. ARRRG! I had the opportunity to photograph two wild fawns, hours old while they lay there perfectly still, just inches away with there huge eyes wide open. NOPE NO CAMERA - DUMB ASS!

This shot does follow up very well as it allows us to study those normally blurry beautiful wings.

Today is Memorial Day and I'm sure there's a meaningful shot that will follow shortly. I don't want to hold up my fellow bloggers so please don't hesitate to post when you're ready today.

PLEASE enjoy your day and make it a great one!

Jay'me

Buzzzzy Bee!

We here on 3C1D have had our share of bees on flowers so this is not new subject matter. I enjoy seeing the different viewpoints and angles that each of us does with our shots. So here we go...

Nikon D90
ISO-400
Aperture F/4.5
Shutter 1/500 sec. +1 exposure
18-70mm Nikon @70mm
Natural Lighting/RAW

The challenge with this shot was that I saw this guy buzzing around and wanted to quickly catch him, but I had already set my ISO for a shadowy kind of setting and well I completely forgot to change my ISO for the brighter sunlight. I also should have upped my shutter speed but I didn't think that my lens would give me a wide enough aperture if I had done that. I am so wanting a F/2.8 lens.

I shot in RAW because those of us that don't have macro lenses have to improvise and zoom in as much as possible, plus editing is sooo much easier with RAW as we have commented on before. I also had the way wrong lens for what I was trying to shoot here. I should have had my telephoto lens, but I had brought my other lens for a different purpose so I had to make do.

I think my friend thought I was a little crazy because I'm chasing after this bee muttering to myself and at the bee trying to make it do what I want. Because that works so well haha. It was a good afternoon though of fun. We climbed trees, got muddy, and I got this shot. All in all a good day.

Ohhhh I totally didn't see that there is a aperture connection between Scott's picture and my picture of all having an aperture of F/4.5. Totally not planned on my part, but how cool is that?

Enjoy!
Sere

Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana?

So Brandi unwittingly led me to my happy place - macro photography! Of course if you've check more than one of my posts, you already know that. I'm so happy for B and her new equipment. And her new lens kicks ass.

For my shot, I just drove over to the Fox River to see what I could see. I had designs on shooting more of a landspace with flowing water blurred in the foreground. Alas, the blessed sun was in full force and there I was without a nuetral density or polarizing filter. Turns out I really needed the polarizer for this shot too. Guess who's shopping tomorrow?

Canon 30D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture f/4.5
Shutter 1/320
ISO 100
Sunlight

The lens I used is Canon's version of the exact same lens Brandi used. They are both just kick ass, hardly take off your camera glass. Ordinarily I would have used my dedicated macro but for the sake of a connection I chose to leave this one in place. Plus, Brandi is absolutely right. You can pretty much do macro with these lenses.

Alright, time for an early bedtime. Get out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Scott

WooHooo!!

I had a photo I wanted to use to follow up Sere's picture but with Jay'me going in between us I wasn't sure I would get to. Lucky for me Jay'me gave me something to work with.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8

ISO 200 natural light and a bunch of other settings that I can't extract at the moment.

This is a weed. It was the coolest weed I've ever seen. Instead of being rough, pointy and hurting, it was soft like velvet. While my daughter and I were enjoying some time on a friends 30 acre property I noticed this fuzzy little guy and a few of his friends. I was drawn to him from the beginning but then it rained.
And WooHoo!
The water drops caught in the soft hairs on the surface of plant creating a wonderful texture. I've been so impressed with this lens and it's almost macro capabilities. This picture is straight out of the camera (SOOC). I've done nothing but sharpening it for the web so that when Blogger tanks the quality of the photo it still looks like it does in real life.
Love it!!

xoxo,
Brandi

Everywhere But Right Here...

Nikon D40

1/40

F5.7

52.mm

Natural light

ISO400

We have had our fare share of wet and rain. However; just as soon as the lighting goes away, we get our wellies on, and head out to play in it, it stops. Major disappointment! But it made a cute moment and it ties in with water. This picture actually looks better B&W. The umbrella is teal and when cast on Maddies face, she turned that dreadful ashen grey. You know how pink and green paint don't make a pretty color when mixed? So I was pleased to see B&W I could follow along with!

I hope you're all safe and sound tonight and out of the storms.

Jay'me

Water, Water, Everywhere....

My current photography obsession is water and water droplets. I was having fun with our sprinkler system and a fast shutter speed the other day, experimenting a little. Here is one result of that.

Nikon D2X
ISO-200
Aperture F/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/2500 sec.
Nikon 18-70mm at 45mm
Natural Lighting, Manual

I, unfortunately, do not have any city pictures from Chicago or really any kind of a city. That is kind of sad. I just hardly ever visit a city. I am probably one of the few people from Chicagoland that does not have a picture from "The Bean." I don't even know where it is located in the city. Sorry Scott I am a deprived person. So my only connection to Scott's picture is the black and white part.

School is almost out for my kiddo, so summer break here we come....

Sere

Sweet Home...

Dan is so good at capturing Chicago and providing real insight to the history and breadth of the Windy City. I can't speak for you all but I really enjoy it every time Dan graces these pages.

Seeing his shot I had no choice but to post my version of The Bean. Everyone (and I mean everyone) has a shot of the The Bean. And perhaps mine isn't all that special. But I like it and so here I post!

One of the things I like most is that you have to search just a little bit to find me. All too often it's the shooter that is the subject. My aim (pun intended) was to really let the reflection of the city be the subject and for the impulse to find me become secondary. Did I pull it off?


Canon 30D
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 24mm
Aperture f/13
Shutter 1/160
ISO 100

One of the biggest challenges when shooting in this type of light is achieving the depth of field. When you have so much light, a large aperture is often out of the question simply because you can't achieve a high enough shutter speed combined with the large aperture. For this shot is wasn't a problem because I wanted a large depth of field. However, I ended up seeing exactly every spot of dust my poor little camera sports. And believe me, there are many. Such is the trade-off with a small aperture. So the editing was a bit intensive.

That's it from this wannabe. Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and thanks so much Dan for joining us.

Scott

We're Back with Dan

Initially developed in the 1950s, ABLA homes was the third largest Chicago Housing Authority project in terms of area and one of the densest in terms of occupancy. It ranked right up there with the infamous Cabrini-Green Projects in terms of crime and crushing poverty. Four separate developments (whose names create the acronym ABLA) stretched across the near southwest side of Chicago from Halsted to Ashland on the east and west and Roosevelt Road to 15th Street on the north and south. Some buildings were high rises, others row houses, but in either case the complex social forces in play led to a drug and gang war within its borders in the late 1990s. Seriously... a war. As the city contemplated the gentrification of the University Village area by UIC on the east, it developed a plan to renovate the row houses and demolish most of the high rises that had proven to be such a disaster. In partnership with a private development company, the entire area was to be redeveloped into mixed income housing, much of which was to be new construction. Then the recession hit.

The Roosevelt Commons project is still on, but much of the development has been put on hold. There are large tracts of vacant land which the city has seeded with grasses. In most cases, the trees were not chopped down so that I can look out of my condo and see various tracts of land defined by straight lines of trees which had grown up on the fence lines. One of those lines of trees became my picture for today.

My tie in with the Jayme's picture is the use of foreground and background. In this case it is not a son and a tree, but a tree and the skyline of Chicago. The city reinvents itself constantly. What was once ghetto, becomes gentrified. Just as Jayme hopes her son becomes his father and more, I hope that the city will rise above gang warfare and become a more just community.


Nikon D3000
f/13
1/60 s
ISO 800
Focal Length 62 mm

A Post on Why I Can't Post

I have a friend that does something similar. A call to tell me they can't call. It always cracks me up but it also let's me know that they care and they were thinking of me.
So, a post on why I can't post.
I've gone away to my happy place. The place that refills my soul, refreshes my energy and refocuses my attentions. It's wonderful but as I'm finding out, I can't post a picture from my phone can't post a picture from here.
So, its our first official post without a picture. Woohoo! Strike up the band. Get the chorus singing.
My lack of picture is not because I don't have something to share. In fact, I have lots of somethings. 254 somethings to be exact. The weather has been terrific. The sun is still the soft spring light and everything around me a vibrant green. It doesn't get much better for a photographer. I'll be sharing plenty soon enough.

BigDan is joining us again tomorrow! Woohoo! I'm sure he'll do better than my nothingness.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.
Xoxo,
Brandi

Like father Like Son

What's with the tongue?

Nikon D40

1/640

f5.6

55.mm

Manual

Morning light

ISO 400

Look who's all cool with music wired straight to his brain... Preteen is super going to kill me. Wow, he was deaf before. Now I need one of those extend-a-arms so I can tap or whack him when I need his attention. Someone got an ipod and is very happy about it. It's not me.

He was out this morning yelling, because he can't hear himself talking, "Mom, watch me! "

I knew I needed a face today and this mornings sun was perfect. I did line myself up with a tree as our back ground to tie us in with Sere's post yesterday. Other than that, I just shot, while he did his his thing.

My kid does the same thing his father does while he's concentrating, Peyton sticks out his tongue. I didn't realize how much until I studied these shots. I can't wait to share these with him, he'll get a kick out of this.

Jay'me

Just Breath....

I've got fifty million thoughts flying through my head all at once this evening and too much left on my "To Do" list for the day. I should have taken more time to just breath and "take in the sights" of the day. So that is where I am left, at this moment. My shot today was reminiscent of my day, a little too quick and rushed.

Nikon D2x
ISO-200
Aperture F/4.5
Shutter 1/160 sec.
18-70mm @55mm

I was rushing out to rescue a puppy that had followed momma out of his house, only problem is, he couldn't find his way back into the house because his eyes are still closed. So he was outside yipping away and momma was going a little crazy because she couldn't get him back in the house. She knew that he shouldn't be where he was. I had been wanting to take quick picture of the litter anyway so I had grabbed my camera and figured I would rescue puppy and take a shot.

I was on my way back into the house when something caught my attention in the pine tree. A toy of my sons was flapping in the breeze so I went to investigate. I looked up into the tree and saw my shot. The angle was the same as with Scott's and well his had a tree and mine has part of a tree. So there you have it.

Hope you all are having a calmer, more relaxed evening then me. Remember to "just breath" and make sure you "take in the sights" of the world, instead of rushing around all the time.

Enjoy!
Sere

Wordless Wednesday with Scott...Again!

Real quick, last WW winner was Big Dan. I was shooting a slice of lemon after it spent the night flavoring Sangria. When I took the slice out I had to shoot it. The colors were amazing. Big Dan, you know the drill! Write us and we'll hook you up!

Moving on...

The poster (that's me) will post a picture and its settings. No other verbiage is allowed. The commenter's (that's you) will guess in the comments section below how my picture associates with yesterdays (Tuesday's) picture. It can be a setting. It can be a play on words. It can be a theme. In every photo there are numerous ties, thus creating no right or wrong answer. Just make a comment below and you will be entered into our drawing to be our next guest photographer.

What if I am not good enough to be a guest photographer?
You are good enough. We love all kinds of photographers! That's what makes this so much fun. We believe that everybody has a unique view of this world and we want to see it through the lens of your camera. Any camera goes, camera phone, point and shoot, film camera that has its photos turned into jpgs., high end professional grade cameras, any and all of them! So make a guess and have some fun!
How does this all work?

The contest will go on until my (Scott's) next post. I will use random.org to choose the winner and post the story behind my picture and what the connection is, along with my photo for that day. All you have to do, as our chosen winner, is email us your picture before 10pm on your post day. Usually on a Sunday, but we are flexible. The photo has to be yours, has to tie into the picture from the day before, and 3C1D has to be authorized to use it. Just remember to keep checking back with us to make sure you get the post about who has won.

Only one guess per person. Have fun!

Ready! Set!! Go!!!


Canon 30D
Canon EF 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 with fisheye adapter
Aperture f/7.1
Shutter 1/125
ISO 400
Sunlight

What day is it and what's my name again?

I'm so easily confused these days. Forgive me.

Yesterday Jay'me shared her feelings with us via a photo. Today I'm going to do the same.


Nikon D300s Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @56mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/1600 sec
Aperture f/2.8
natural light

I found this gorgeous rose in the Magic Kingdom. I was instantly drawn to it. The soft, dewy petals, layers upon layers of not quite perfect pieces all held together to form something glorious.
To me it's the imperfections of this rose that make it what it is. If every piece was the same, if there was no "worn" spots this rose just wouldn't have any charm or character.
That's very much how I'm feeling these days. My "worn" spots are what makes me interesting. Like a perfect piece may fall away but it won't leave me ugly.

Dude will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to see what he brings.

Stand in your own beauty.
xoxo,
Brandi