Kids and an off-camera Flash

Most of my photography has been focusing on landscape subjects and natural light portraits to this point. The whole "off-camera flash" thing seemed complicated and expensive to get into, so I procrastinated, and focused my time and money on landscapes (which I love).

I put together a little off camera flash set-up after getting into a new flash Photography Blog called Strobist. The setup includes a Sunpak 5000 Strob, light stand, 40" umbrella and PC cord to the camera.



After setting up the flash in the living room I got the kids to pose for a couple of minutes (Tommy was in and out, it is hard to keep him still). I then put on a homemade cardboard snoot (Thanks to the Strobist again) and took the shots below with the kids looking into the flash. Nice effect!




I plan to continue to play with my new found toys and add more off-camera flash quickly (I have already purchased a Nikon SB-24 on e-bay...)

Tom Even
www.thomaseven.com
www.pbase.com/tomeven

Shooting Star

Click image for larger view

This shot was taken well before sunrise looking west toward Lafayette from Lake Martin. It was a 30 sec exposure and captured a Shooting Star while being exposed. I was looking at the camera during the exposure and did not even see the meteor until I was reviewing the pictures on the computer! Much to my delight the star was in a nice spot for the composition. I know your first impression is to attribute this to luck....well maybe, but you have to be there to get lucky!

UPDATE (10-9-06):
Alain Briot has published my essay describing the image and thoughts on "luck" on his web site, www.Beauliful-Landscape.com.

Alain is one of the most successful landscape photographers in the US, I was fortunate to be able to attend his Navajo Lands Workshop Last October.

Please check out the essay here on Alan's Site.

Tom Even
www.thomaseven.com
www.pbase.com/tomeven

Photography group outing

I have been leading a photography group that meets at our Church twice a month. We have been discussing aesthetics in photography and composition lately and just completed our first group location shoot. We met after work this past week and caravanned over to Lake Martin for a sunset shoot. I was a little concerned that the clouds would obscure the sunset, but the sky cleared, allowing a beautifully colorful end to the day.

A familliar View

Over the past few years of visiting Lake Martin I have taken several shots of this view. I have takes shots in the fog, at sunrise, before dawn with the lights of Lafayette illuminating the sky, at sunset and now with a foreground of flowers. Hydrilla has moved in to cover this portion of the lake and while they are beautiful when flowering, they will take over the area if not checked.

This just serves as another reminder of how a familiar location is never quite the same.

Light in the Darkness

 

Find a place you like and go back

I have found over the past couple of years that the more often I visit a place the more creative I become. When you first visit a location there are scenes and images that initially grab your attention, they are probably the same scenes that grab most visitors attention.



On a recent trip to Arizona I walked to the edge of Canyon de Chelly and my breath left my lungs. I was overwhelmed by the grand landscape and felt a rush of emotion looking into the canyon floor. I hear people explain this experience all the time when describing visits to the Grand Canyon. But they are not able to capture compelling images that convey the emotions they felt.


I decided to pick a location near home that I enjoyed and had many photographic opportunities and visit frequently. Over the past three years I have visited Lake martin over 50 times. Each time I return I find new compositions and stretch myself creatively to create new and compelling images. In the process I have noticed that when I visit locations for the first time that creative process has become more fluid and natural. I find my eye is able to see beyond the obvious image.

New Perspectives

On a trip to El Salvador last year I was out photographing sunrise on a rocky shoreline. One large wave crashed onto the cliff wall and covered me and my gear in saltwater. I ended up saving my Canon 10D with a trip to the factory, but my wide lens never recovered. So for a few months I was without a wide lens and shot mostly with my 70-200mm.

Fast forward to this past summer, I finally replaced my lens with a 17-40mm. Ivonne (my lovely wife) and I took a trip to San Antonio,Tx for some much needed R&R. I found the wide perspective allowed me to experiment with compositions and create some dynamic images. The image in this blog was taken while we walked from our hotel to the river.