Opening Day

Opening Day

The Detroit Tiger's Opening day was today. Every year I look forward to the start of baseball and the start of a new season. Will the tigers go all the way this year? Will their off season trades make a difference? The game was a loss, but the Detroit fans are winning with the start of a great season. Go Tigers! I have some great photos of the game, but none of them captured the essence of the game like this billboard.

Everyday Sticks

Everyday Sticks

I asked the shop keeper if I could take a photo of these hockey sticks, and his first reaction was to say "yes." He then asked the next obvious question to him which was "why." I said that I liked the way that they line up and thought it would make a great shot. He thought it was boring because he sees them every day, but I saw them as a photo opportunity. One man's everyday object is another man's photo op. I borrowed a friend's Canon EOS Digital Rebel to take this shot. It seems in my Nikon's absence all I have been using is Canon.
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 1600
Aperture: F 2.5
Shutter: 1/200 sec

Take a Bow

Take a Bow

Taken at Bolles Harbor, this place is special to me in many ways. I found this boat waiting for it's turn to go back in the water for the summer season. Taking pictures of boats out of water is especially fascinating for me, because you get to see aspects of the ship that are rarely seen.

Lego Room for Copy

Lego Room For Copy

Lego Mini Figs are a great subject for macro photography. I altered this photo to make it black and white with the exception of the head. I think the yellow head is quite a trademark for these figurines.

Billiards Storage

Billiards Storage

The world as I see it includes objects from everyday life. This well warn chalk post and queue rack sits near a window allowing some natural light to illuminate the subject in just the right way. Canon Powershot SD750 in automatic mode with ISO 400 (causes a bit of grain in the shot, but the framing was nice.)

Running From Camera

Running From Camera

This is my submission for the Running From Camera Photo Challenge. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Compare with and comment on Kevin's submission as well. I had a lot of fun making this shot. A recap of the rules for this shot were to set the timer on the camera for 2 seconds and run away from the lens as fast as you can. I like the way this turned out and the lines of the tracks as they lead the eyes from bottom to the subject of the image (me.)

I was going to change this to black and white, but then I noticed the oil on the tiles that was left from the trains. I thought it helped tell the story of this location a bit more. Yes this was an active train track.

Sky Blue

Sky, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

I love photos of the sky for my desktop background. It gives me a sense of freedom and escape from the closed cubicle world that I sit beneath during the work day. I took a great photo of myself today running from camera. Stay tuned for that post on Thursday.

Backstage

Backstage

I'm digging into my archives with this one since my camera's in the shop. Taken back in December 2007, I saw this image in my head when I passed by these red levers. It was one of those double-take moments where I passed by the doorway and had to double back to look at it again. I had the wrong lens on at the time, but I had to get the shot anyway. I hope to get back to this theater and take this shot with the proper lens. In order to get the shot I had to bump the ISO up to 1000 causing some major grain. Putting that thought aside, I really love the depth of field and the way the lines lead you away from the point of origin.

ISO 1000
Shutter: 1/20s
Aperture: F/4
Focal Length: 70mm

Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Carrying an SLR into a grocery store is not always an inconspicuous thing to do, so that's where carrying such a small point and shoot camera has it's advantages. I had in mind to take an easter photo today, and I was searching for pastel color combinations or easter bunnies. When I came upon the eggs I thought that this was one of the things that represents easter to me, because I feel like coloring eggs is one of the best family activities. This picture is in black and white, because the eggs have what I call color potential. Maybe later today these eggs will find themselves dipped into a bowl full of vinegar, water, and color dye. Or maybe they will be vibrantly displayed in an omelet. Happy easter everyone!

Grosse Ile Sunset

Grosse Ile Sunset, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Here's another opportunity that showed itself to me, and I was glad to have a camera on me. The sunset here was so amazing that I could not pass up this shot. Taken in automatic mode on a Canon Powershot SD750. Happy Easter everyone.

Joe's

Joe's

Photography for me is a reflection of how I see the world, and being limited by my camera's capabilities has allowed me to focus on just the framing and seeing of the shot. When I drove by this sign I saw this very image in my mind and needed to capture it. I had to wait a bit for the clouds to break, because I really wanted the rich blue sky to be present. I like how it turned out.

Meet Tyler

Meet Tyler, an energetic 2 year old with no fear of the camera. He was one of my first clients for portrait work, and was a natural in front of the camera. Here are my favorites from the photo shoot. His shirt was just perfect for a 2 year old.

I love the black and white on this one.

Warning, I make a mess

Thanks again for allowing me to capture Tyler's emotion and personality.

The Running From Camera Challenge Is On!

A good challenge helps to inspire creativity and keeps you striving for a goal to become better. My friend and fellow blogger Kevin from Kevin's Photography and I have agreed to a photography challenge this week. This week's challenge is called "Running From Camera" inspired from the blog with the same name.

The rules for this challenge match those of the Running From Camera blog:
"I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can."

So next Thursday March 27th, Kevin and I will post the result of this weeks challenge on our blogs, so stay tuned and see how creative we can become. Maybe we can get people to vote for their favorite :)

Lego Depth

Lego Depth

Lego toys have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. They inspired my creativity and fueled my desire to build and create. I took this shot with my Canon Powershot SD750. Am I violating any natural laws of photography by using both a Nikon and a Canon product? I used a white piece of poster board as the background and curved it behind the objects to make the background seamless. In order to diffuse the light I put the whole thing inside of a clear plastic storage container and used a couple of incandescent lights as a key light and an overhead light. This technique worked quite well.

Camera In the Shop

I feel like a part of me is missing because my camera is in the shop. My relatively new (4 months old) Nikon D80 needs a sensor replacement. In the mean time, my backup camera is a Canon Powershot SD750.

I will be focusing on framing technique for the next few weeks since the capabilities of this camera are limited. Stay tuned for Fun with Point-and-shoot!

Frosty Needs a Diaper Change

Frosty Needs a Diaper Change, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Lifestyle portrait photography tells a story in images, and this photo is just the beginning of the story. I love the expression on the baby's face because it makes me think of pure bliss with no worries or cares. Backing up from this point of view was a terrific shot of the entire scene and would have told so much more of the story. The baby was gleefully kick his legs behind the snowman board while mom held him up for all of the relatives to take the candid photo. It was quite a priceless moment. Let me know what you think.

Disk Music Box

Disk Music Box, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Frankenmuth Michigan is a German town with lots of character. This disk music box was located in Bronners Christmas Store in Frankenmuth Michigan. I know spring time is not the time to think about Christmas, but this store is open year round and we were in the area. I saw many things to talk photos of, but this disk player caught my eye and was easily the best photo I took that tday. I loved the richness of the copper color and how shiny the disk was.

Lens: Nikkor 50mm
ISO: 200
Aperture: F/1.8
Shutter: 1/50s

Is Cheerleading a sport?

Is Cheerleading a sport?

Is cheer leading a sport? This competitive version can definitely be categorized as a sport. Here's a picture of my wife from her competition today, and she still has the moves.

Ski Season Ending

Ski Season Ending, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

The ski boots are put away for the season, the snow is melting, and the birds are chirping. Spring is coming!

Lens: 50mm
Focal Length: F1.8
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/60s

Dead Pixel

Dead Pixel

While my friend Kevin is taking awesome pictures of the sunset in California, I am at home attempting to see things around the house in a different way. The sunset here in Michigan was equally stunning, and had I not been doing my day job I could have captured it's brilliance. Instead, this clock was the choice for today's post.

I have a dead pixel on my D80 camera that is almost in the center of the frame and it's really starting to annoy me.

Once the file is converted to jpg the pixel deformation is not as noticeable, but I still know it's there. Is a dead pixel on a brand new Nikon D80 camera a normal thing? Should I have it repaired or will that make it worse?

Save This Sport

Save This Sport

One of the greatest sports around, gymnastics requires stamina, strength, repetition, body positioning, and a whole lot of guts. Unfortunately this sport is slowly dying. The number of colleges that still have gymnastics as a sport has really diminished. In 1969, there were 230 mens collegiate gymnastics teams in the US. Today there are 20 NCAA teams and about 15 collegiate club teams. If you get a chance, visit a gymnastics center, you would be amazed at the talent out there.

Construction Beard

Construction Beard, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

This guy made my life miserable today by pounding the concrete outside of my office all day. I repeat ALL DAY! I took my time taking this shot (actually several shots like this one.) This was the best of the bunch, but unfortunately it was taken in JPG format and not RAW. I failed to switch the format on the camera back from this past weekend's gymnastics meet. When shooting sporting events, I like to take them in JPG format because of space limitations and speed of writing the files. The trick is to switch the camera back to RAW format when I'm done.

ISO 200, Focal Length 210mm, F5.6, Shutter Speed 1/640s.

Beyond a Skylight

Beyond a Skylight, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

The lines available to you in architecture seem to be infinite. This photo reminds me of a sun with it's rays jetting out.

Frap Art

Frap Art

I have been experimenting with portrait photography lately, and I find it quite a challenge to get the framing right and to find a pose that fits naturally. The model in this photo was such a ham that he made this shot quite easy. I learned a lot from this photo. I really like the composition of this shot and the pose of the model, and I could have had the model be a bit more in focus by focusing on his eyes or nose. Also, I think an smaller aperture than F3.5 would have worked better. The shutter speed could have been reduced from 1/125 down to 1/100 to allow a smaller aperture. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this shot.

Pandy

Pandy

The angle of this shot is the best part. Getting the crossed legs and the panda bear really helped the composition. I really should have been further away from the subject in order to get more of a feeling of the bench and the moment. I took this shot with a 50mm lens and available light. I think I'll try this type of shot again but in a park bench setting instead of a heat register.

Cloverfield View

Cloverfield View

Cloverfield was one of the most amazing movie's I've seen this year. I couldn't stand it when I was watching it due to all of the camera motion. However, after the movie was over I thought to myself "wow, that was really an amazing way to tell a story." Creating a movie from the perspective of the victim is nothing new, but the way that just a little bit of information is presented at a time puts all of the pieces to the puzzle at the end. This photo was taken at F1.8 with my Nikkor 50mm lens. ISO 400 at shutter speed of 1/100. I'll be traveling again this weekend and hope to take some great shots of both Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids Michigan.

Orion Cover

Orion Cover, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

I froze taking this photo, but it was well worth it. A picture of this light structure is on the cover of coffee table book, but I like my version better. Shot tripod mounted with Nikkor 18-55mm lens at 1/30 sec - F/11. ISO 200. I'm sure many people have taken pictures of this thing head on with someone standing under it (I know because I have,) but I prefer to take different views of an object to get a different perspective. Remember the movie Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams had all of the kids stand on their desks? Well that's the idea, take a look at things in a different way.

Horse Tie Post

HorseTiePost, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

Yet another photo from my walk through the streets of New Orleans. I know this was taken a bit more than a week ago, but it's worth posting. These horse tie posts are everywhere in the city of New Orleans especially in the French Quarter. Police occasionally go by on horseback, but I'm not sure how often they actually use these posts. This captures the essence of the city in a great way with the old post and the new drawing of Margaritaville in the background.

Proud Parents

Proud Parents

I took this photo tonight during the band concert. These parents were looking down proudly at their child that was performing on stage.

Zig Ziglar and the Golden Tower

NewCenterGoldenTower, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

The New Center Area of Detroit is home to The Fisher building, the Fischer theater, and the formal home of General Motors. I took this shot through the window of my car while waiting at the stop light. Carrying my camera with me at all times is really an advantage when my eye sees such a well framed shot.

Carrying the camera with me everywhere is really helping me to become comfortable behind the lens and to really improve my craft. In order to get better, you need to keep working at it. Tonight I was listening to Zig Ziglar on the Inspiring Words of Encouragement podcast, and he said something that relates to this very topic. "You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great." Thanks Zig for making my evening.

Deer Prints In Snow

Deer Prints In Snow, originally uploaded by edwardjohnphotography.

I can't wait for winter to be over, but in the mean time I continue to find reasons to take pictures of the white stuff. These are deer tracks that I found near dusk. The shadows from the trees on the snow add a lot of depth to the shot.

ISO 100
Exposure: 1/640
Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 50mm

Dear Tracks

Dear Tracks

Working with Raw file formats sure takes up a lot of space. I understand that every time you move a jpg file around it loses some quality. I don't know if that is the truth or not, and it certainly goes against my engineering principles. I'm not willing to take a chance, so I am now taking all photos in Raw format and losing disk space quickly. The tracks in the snow near the girl are actually from dear that passed by recently. I love the angle of this shot with the sun peaking in the background. I really need photoshop lightroom to work with these files though.