Friday Faces with Scott (and Hank)

TGIF everyone! It's me, Scott, filling in for Sere, our resident traveler. I can honestly say I have no idea where she's headed but I do know that posting today would have been close to impossible so you get me.

Before moving on, I'd like to announce Amanda as the latest "winner" for WW. Congrats Amanda. We love when you join us! Drop us an email at 3chicks1dudephoto@gmail.com. You know the drill.

For my post, I went over to Guitar Center hoping to find someone just like Hank. Hank was playing quietly, enjoying the fine humidity controlled accoustic room when I barged in and said "Hey, I want to take your picture!" He was a good sport and continued to play and ignore me, exactly as I requested. So not only did I get a willing model, but I also got a nice soundtrack while I shot.

Speaking of soundtracks, I'd like to share a recent re-discovery I made. Here's a little bit of "The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet." I lent this CD to a friend years ago and forgot about. Last week he returned it and it fits perfectly with this weeks theme. Hope you enjoy!



Love those guys. So with that as your soundtrack, here's Hank:

Canon 30D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm (kit lens - man I want a good wide angle!)
Aperture f/3.5
Shutter Speed 1/30
ISO 1600 (tons of noise as a result - 5D Mark II anyone?)

The unfortunate part of this shot is that I had to use an ISO speed of 1600. My camera just can't do that well and yet I had no choice. Sometimes as photographers, we are forced to make sacrifices. For this shot, I could have used one of my faster lenses. But I don't have another lens this wide. So I was forced to choose between the composition I wanted and an acceptable ISO speed. Sometimes, it is your equipment that is the limiting factor. I could have used my speedlight but in this case, it would have been rude and completely destroyed the feel.

So you get something close to what I wanted from a compositional standpoint, but something far from what I wanted in terms of noise. I did get to play with Photoshop Elements this time, and I know I'll like it eventually. I have a bunch to learn and I can point out several very troubling spots caused by my editing. But it's all part of the learning process and I can accept that.

My biggest triumph by far is finally taking a picture of a stranger! WooHoo for me! I've joined the ranks of Brandi. The next goal is to take a good picture of a stranger. Baby steps I tell ya, baby steps.

Have a great weekend everyone and tune tomorrow for some Jay'me action!

Scott

Friday Faces with....*drum roll please*

Brandi!!!

Stop your crying! Scott will be here tomorrow. Yes, you really can wait a day to see his work, it won't kill you. I promise.

**stay until the end for a special announcement**


When I told Scott that I took some photos at my daughters school Halloween parade we thought we would switch days so we could show off some cute kids for this edition of Friday Faces.

Nikon d40 18-55
Shutter speed 1/100
Aperture f4.5 @32mm
ISO 800

I took a ton of photos during the parade. Getting 14 2-3 year olds to listen, smile and pose is the single most difficult thing to do. Ever. Factor in my cameras inability to handle low light situations, like being inside a school and you have some yellow cast photos.
I knew when I went through them I was going to have to do something I don't often do. I was going to have to do a little heavy editing. sigh... I much prefer to let the photo speak for itself with a quick brighten, sharpen or a little boost.
I played with a couple different things and ended up giving this what I call a newspaper feel. Not completely black and white but not sepia either.
In the end, I hope the girls smiling faces and bright eyes carry the photo. Two friends, sharing in the excitement of a special day. What could be better than that?

*******
I get to be the lucky person to announce that we are extending this weeks Wordless Wednesday. Go here and enter your name. You don't even have to make a correct guess. You just have to put your name in the hat. It's easy, it's fun and it won't cost a thing. Where else can you find that type of entertainment?
So stop making excuses and go!!!

See ya next time!!

xoxox,
Brandi

Zzzzzoooooooommmm!!!!

Canon 24-70 2.8L
Shutter Speed 15 seconds
f16.0
Focal Length 40mm
ISO 400
Natural Light

This photo comes with a great story. Those of you that have met me (or heck, even seen a picture of me) know that I wear glasses. Those of you that know me a little better know that I stubbornly refuse to switch to contacts. There is just something creepy about sticking my fingers in my eyes. I know, I know, you get used to it after awhile and you don't even feel them. I don't care. I'm not sticking my fingers in my eyes.

Which brings me to this photo. At this point in the evening, I was wearing prescription sunglasses. You might ask why I was wearing sunglasses. It clearly is dark enough for regular glasses. Well, let me tell you. I started the evening on a bike path in Lakewood. It wasn't even my destination but I saw some cool lighting and pulled over. I set-up my tripod with remote trigger and was promptly devoured by the worst swarm of mosquitoes I've seen since I was in the boundary waters. I cannot begin to describe the ferocity of these insects. I'm lucky to have gotten away alive.

So, as I'm trying to hang on long enough to get a few shots I swipe at a mosquito that's munching on my right ear. I think I got him but I also hooked my glasses and promptly flung them directly to my left into the grass/woods. Expletives followed as I crawled around WITHOUT glasses trying to find them as the gathering darkness deepened. They must have landed in the epicenter of Mosquito Nation. There were plumes of mosquitoes wafting directly into my face, and I swear I heard a war cry! It wasn't long and I started laughing. After all, you can't write comedy this good. I couldn't stay long owing to the utter futility of it all and the fact that I was rapidly losing blood. So I ran back to my car, put on my prescription sunglasses and drove on over to Ridgefield. I figured my night couldn't get much worse.

Anyway, this photo is something I've always wanted to try - a time lapse of traffic. So when I saw Brandi's photo it fit too well. Like Sere, I hadn't even seen Brandi's post when I took this! Eerie I know. The hardest part was waiting for a car to show up. Ridgefield isn't exactly a thoroughfare, especially at this time of night. But eventually, several cars came along and this is what I got. There is a bit more chrominance noise than I like typically (that's a Canon thing - Nikon usually does better with chrominance but worse with luminance noise) but in this case I think it sort of adds to the mood. Click here for a great explanation of noise (I love this site by the way). Besides, anytime you have an exposure this long you are bound to get higher levels of noise. I played with some noise reduction tools but decided against it. I did sharpen a bit , crop a touch and tried this technique, but again, stuck with my original edit. I hope you like it. And watch out for those mosquitoes!

Scott