Happy New Year - Good Riddance 2010

Hi everybody! Thanks for stopping by the blog today. So we're coming to the end of 2010. Boy, what a year it's been. Even the weather has been weird. It's after midnight, and it's still almost 60°.

I hope the Christmas Holiday has been good to you. As I write this it's New Year's Eve morning. Of course, it's always in the morning when I'm writing this blog. I hope that you have safe plans for this evening but I hope those plans are fun as well. With the coming of the New Year, I hope that you have a better, more prosperous year. 2010 seems to be a year that most of us would rather forget. While there were many things to be happy for during the year, there were still many others that was not good at all. The economy has taken a downturn, the tourism industry has taken a hit in the nose, and our government to some degree seems to be out of control. Unemployment is still at all-time high, a lot of businesses have gone out of business, and a lot of people, both business owners and employees, are worried about future. And now with the coming of the New Year, there are still people that are claiming gloom and doom statements, both on TV and radio. But with the coming of the New Year, we need to keep hope and faith alive. We must continue to look to our God for guidance and strength. Sometimes that's not an easy thing to do especially with things that are going on in the news and on the world stage. Maybe a good New Year's resolution would be to find time to pray on a regular basis every day. For now, my prayer is that God will bless you and your family throughout the upcoming year.

Pro Pix Tips: For the last Pro Pix Tips of the year. I thought we would continue our discussion on composition. This should be especially fun as I am using a new computer program that is a voice-activated dictation system. The instructions say that this system and I need to learn each other and learn how we talk to each other. For the most part we seem to be speaking the same language, even though we have had some problems over this section of the blog we’ve been typing. So in the interest of keeping the party going, especially on New Year's Eve, let's get to it.

Part of composition is the use of shadows to the advantage of the picture to show 3-D definition in the subject of which we are taking a picture. Without the light shining shadows onto our subject, our pictures can take a two-dimensional or flattened appearance. As we spoke about in earlier blogs, shadows can also be used to create a certain emotion or feeling in the picture. But sometimes we're using shadows in order for us to have a more natural appearance for our photograph. An example of this is when we take a picture of a subject who is outside. With the sun obviously shining in the background, having no shadows projected on the subject face doesn't show a natural effect. Our picture will look obviously staged, and it will look flat as well. The lighting on our subject's face would not be very flattering to our subject. Don't get me wrong. That doesn't suggest that we never use a fill light, schrim, or reflector. It's just that when you choose to use any one of these tools you need to make sure that the light that you're introducing into your picture matches the ambient light that's around your subject. Sometimes it can be quite a trick, especially on a bright sunny day. Therefore, you have to use all three of photography's dirtiest little secrets. You remember them, right? If you don't, I'll list them here. The first one is never allow the lack of equipment or the type of equipment keep you from getting the shot that you need or want. Don't ever go around saying if only I had this or if only I had that. Sometimes photographers need to turn into MacGyver's and use whatever's around them to make things work. You might be surprised of all of the things just laying within arms reach that you can use to make a difference in your shot. From experience I can tell you that you can use a number of things around you that you wouldn't normally find in a normal photography bag. The second dirty secret is making sure that you balance all of your artificial light with the ambient light. In other words, your pictures should look like there is no artificial light being introduced into the picture. This dirty little secret requires some practice. Adjusting the power on your light, or putting the light closer or further away from your subject, introducing a schrim, or using a reflector board all require experience in learning how to use them properly. And just for something I'll throw in for free, when using a reflector you have to remember what type a reflector you want to use, whether it be a whiteboard, silver sided board, or gold sided board. All take experience to learn which kind gives you the feeling you want in your picture. That leads us to the third dirty secret, which is to take a lot of pictures. So many young photographers stop at taking just one picture of the subject. This is probably one of the most common mistakes that any new photographer makes. This is the digital age! You can take and delete as many pictures as you want off your memory card. I hope that doesn't come as a shock to many of you. The second part of that dirty secret is to only show the good pictures. And for you who need a little extra help, you always delete the bad ones. The only possible drawback to this is if you're paying your model by the hour. There are ways to get around this as well. As an amateur photographer just starting out you want to find people who will get their pictures taken and not charge you anything for doing it. But let's get real, professional photographers don't just have the subject walked into the set and take one picture and have it automatically turn out great. They have to adjust their lighting and the positions for their subjects to stand in just like anybody else does. But because they have the experience and they know how to set things up as well as how their lights are going to react to certain situations, they can do it fast and not waste money by taking a lot of time to adjust those lights when they're paying their models $100 per hour. And that's just for the cheap models. Trial and error as well as indecisions are very expensive during times like this.

So with all of that said, shadows are our friends. One of the pro photographers that I've studied under, David Ziser, has made some bumper stickers and given out to people who attend his class. The bumper sticker says, "Save the Shadows". You'll want to keep this thing in mind the next time you want to use an onboard flash. They don't call these types of flashes "ugly lights" for nothing. Shadows are an extremely important part of composition. I know that we have talked about them in this blog several times in the past, but they are what gives character and feelings to our pictures. So if you ever see the bumper sticker "Save the Shadows" you know two things. One is that this person is a photographer and, two, this person knows David Ziser. But it should also serve as a reminder to you to remember that when you take pictures, the shadows are important. Not paying attention to the shadows when it pertains to composition is much like not paying attention to breathing to your health. Breathe in, breathe out.

Well, you may not be able to notice it but this new voice-activated dictation system does work pretty well. I can't tell you how much fun it is to speak into a microphone and see your words pop up on the computer screen. It's kind of like talking in a cave and saying "echo, echo", and having it echo back at you. It kind of reminds me of the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey. I want to say "I'm an idiot!", but I'm afraid that instead of the computer calling it’s self an idiot what I will see on the screen is "You're an idiot!" I will say that the instructions are correct. It will take some time to get use to it. But I can tell you that it's a whole lot easier than typing all of this. And in time with a little practice I'm sure that I'll even get faster at it. I will say it saves me a lot of time not having to look up words in the dictionary to know how to spell them. But at least I can say for now, my fingers don't hurt as bad.

An old New Years Toast: "Here's to the New Year. May she be a damn sight better than the last one, and may we all be home before she's over." Henry Potter, M.A.S.H. 4077

Well I guess it's time to give this thing a rest. Happy New Year and have a great day everybody!

Richard

HO HO HO!? Put the Ho Ho Ho in the shed shed shed!

Hi everyone! Well it finally happened. I've dawned my Santa hat. Normally this would have been done weeks ago but well the mode just hadn't moved me. This year seem a little different for some reason, why, I don't know. My grandson is off seeing the other grandparents, one of my daughters is over 17 hours away and can't get here. The other daughters, well one of them may not get here due to the weather and the other daughter well, let's just say that the usual is in play this year. And while this is a time for families to come together and exchange gifts this year has just not got in gear for me yet. That would be fine if Christmas was TOMORROW, aaauugh! I guess I'm more Charlie Brown this year than usual. Maybe I ought to make an appointment with Lucy, I might have Pantophobia but I'm scared to find out. Irregardless, ready or not Santa's coming tonight and my lack of enthusiasm isn't going to stop him. Even the Grinch found out you can't stop Christmas from Coming and he was pretty resourceful. Well maybe I can try to regain a little enthusiasm just as Charlie Brown did when he asked if anyone could tell him what Christmas was all about. Linus gave him the answer by quoting the below listed passage of the Bible.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000. The Gospel according to St. Luke 2 The Birth of Jesus The Shepherds and the Angels 8 ¶ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Have you ever wondered why those angels went to shepherds to make this history changing announcement? If you stop to take a look at were the shepherds ranked in the social rankings most individuals agree they would be above or below skunk level depending on who you ask and what direction the wind was blowing. It was because the point that this was a gift to ALL people was being emphasized by giving the news to the lowest of the lows first. I'm personally aware of several people who feel lower than a snakes belly in a wagon rut. They feel they have all the value of a crushed ping-pong ball. But when you read this story and realize how lowly the shepherds were only to have been thought enough of that they were chosen to receive the greatest birth announcement ever made, it would suggest that the lack of value is of our own doing. In the Charlie Brown classic Christmas story there is a part were Lucy was handing out the parts of the play they were going to put on. Sherman is given the part of a shepherd to which he replies "Every Christmas it the same! I always end up playing a shepherd." There is no other account of God making that announcement to anyone else! Sounds like honor to me, how about you?

There was a Grinch involved with the very first Christmas. Who? Herod the King tried to ruin Christmas. But like our modern day Grinch, he didn't stop Christmas from coming but he did cause a lot of hurt and pain. The difference was that Herod didn't learn anything and change his ways like our modern day Grinch. That's the whole point of the Grinch, a Charlie Brown Christmas, and a Christmas Carol (Scrooge) is learning the true meaning of Christmas being changed in the process. So, I need to shake off this lack of enthusiasm and get with the program or I just might be visited by those three spirits. No matter how bad things are in our lives we need to remember that we got the greatest gift ever given long before we arrived on this planet. Try to tell God you have not value! As the child said in church once, "God don't make no junk!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Richard

We've Been Eclipsed!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog. I have a few things to pass on so I will get right to it.

2C Photography is the official online distributor for the "History of Branson" documentary but to order it for right now you will need to go to Bearcreekproductions.com. We intend to have an order page on our website soon so watch for it, but if you can't wait (and I hope you can't) go to the Bear Creek Productions website and if you can't use the History of Branson button use the About us button and use the Order button there. Both of our websites are in the process of updating and that takes a little time especially when your in the middle of the Christmas season.

Hey, did you catch the lunar eclipse Tuesday morning. If you did't, check this out cause I was fortunate to have a clear enough sky to get these and many other pictures.

It was a great show but a little cool for my taste. From start to finish it took almost three hours. I got set up about 12:30 am which was about 30 minutes before it started and stopped about 2:45 am just about the time that the moon had reached about half eclipse state. Temperature was around 40 degrees throughout but it sure seemed like it was getting colder. And while I'm on the subject of photos in the cold let me give a quick Pro Pix Tips. If you take photos in cool or cold weather don't just walk back inside a warm area with your cold camera in hand. The condensation that will likely occur will not be a good thing. In stead, take your camera bag with you and allow it to cool with the out door temp and place your camera inside the bag and close it up before you go back inside. Set the bag down and leave it for about 45 minutes to an hour so the the bag with the camera warms up gradually. Then you should be able to get your camera out and start up shooting again without any trouble. So what if you need to start shooting right away after you get back inside? Well, that's when a backup camera proves valuable.

Taking pictures at night can be challenging. If you haven't tried it, why not? I've talked about it before but for you who don't remember I told you that you might be surprised at the settings you end up using. And just for a freebie piece of advise, using a flash to take a photo of the moon won't work unless it's a really, really powerful one (if you try this please don't let anyone see you!). As the eclipse unfolded, I was continually having to work my settings (and no I wasn't using a flash....I turned on the porch light instead cause it's a spot light bulb........not!) in order to compensate for the reduced reflection of light. It was a real fun time despite the annoying chattering of teeth. I got well over 200 photos from start to near finish and considering the haze and fog in the area I'm pretty pleased with them. I always find that when I take these kind of shots I always start using the "wish" word.......I wish I had this or that. However, it's always good to try new challenges because that's when you discover if you're making any improvements in your skill levels. So just don't stand around watching dust collect on your equipment. Get out there and shot something.....with your camera of course. Push the envelope of your skills because if you don't you'll be missing a lot of great shots in the future! Choosing to stay in your comfort zone today will only make you uncomfortable and disappointed tomorrow (or next week, month, year, you know what I mean). If you do choose to push yourself I think you'll find as I have that the more you learn the less you know and that's not a bad thing at all. Opportunity to improve will only knock on your door for so long a time and it can't come in while you're trying to guess who or what it is. So do what people tell me to do, "Open the door, Richard!" ( if you know your old time music and a Yosemite Sam fan you'll find that really funny, if not, google it...some of the versions are better than others).

Well I guess that I will stop here cause I have to get ready for Wednesday activities. It's almost Christmas you know. There are places to go and important people to meet.....all I need now is a bus. There's another hidden song reference for ya!

Have a great day everybody!

Big, Big Week Up Here At The Lodge! (Again!)

Hello everyone! The last week or so has been so hectic around here. When we get to the end of the season it just seems that the work just has no end. So I have to apologize for skipping out on the blog but frankly over the past few weeks I forgot where I put me and couldn't find me for days at a time. It got so bad that while I was driving from place to place I often passed myself going the other way and I know I saw me but I didn't wave hello. When I finally catch up to me I'm going to give me a piece of my mind I'll tell you! That's just plain rude (the doctor says I'm getting much better)!

It's almost Christmas and I'm just now getting into the swing of Labor Day. I really don't know if I'm going to get into the Christmas mode before the end of winter. We had our year end/Christmas party/bash Wednesday and it was one for the books. Despite all the distractions that were going on we took a look at what our company is able to do and our plans for the upcoming year. We didn't cover a third of what we needed to and still I'm exhausted. So just in case any of the staff have logged into the blog I'm going to give a much better list of all the services that 2C Photography is getting ready to push in the upcoming months.

Photo directories (church, clubs/civic groups, etc.)

individual and family/group portraits

senior and student photos/packages

I-stock photos

retail outlet locations selling photos and photo creative items

real estate photography/video promotional services

360 degree photography services

e-bay and other sale venue item promotional photos

modeling program

wedding chapel services

wedding photographer services

movie/documentary productions

official online distributor of the new "History of Branson" documentary movie

And that still isn't the full list of services. Are you tired out yet? This is a very exciting time with our company and we are taking action to see to it that we are ready to provide professional service in each and every one of these programs. But to do that we are going to have to make some changes in our souvenir program. At our party we announced that some of our staff were going to have some new duties in the upcoming year. One of those changes involve Chris our graphics guy who will be the companies general business manager. While most of his duties will revolve around the above listed programs he will also serve as an overseer of the restaurant souvenir operations. We anticipate our lead restaurant photographer will be handling the overseeing of the general day to day operation in the restaurants. So now along with Jackie and Chris the name Kelvin will most likely find it's way into this blog from time to time. As for Jackie her work load will stay mostly the same with some vital additions as this off season planning continues.

The changes don't stop with our staff. At least one of our operations are making changes that should greatly benefit our business, to include a complete makeover of the restaurant. We are updating our equipment and will be changing our sale operation in several of our venues in a way that we believe has not been done in this area but proven very successful on the east coast. And we have a few other tricks up our sleeves as well.

And the excitement is just only beginning. Mike from Bear Creek Productions contacted me just in the past few days. His new project is starting to gear up and is in the early stages of planning. From what he has told me up to this point this project is going to be even better but also much more challenging. But with five Crystal Award under his belt and a great team of excited and committed staff in support I have every confidence that this movie will be outstanding. Shooting could start as early as February and I am told that there will be a need for a number of extras. So if you have ever had the wish of being in a movie and can round up some clothing that would match the 1850s t0 1870s era then this could be your chance for a dream come true. We will keep you posted as the plans become known.

Well I guess that's enough to have your head spinning for a day or so. No Pro Pix Tips this time but be ready cause they're on the way. Have a great day everybody!

Richard

Deja Vu!

Hello, everyone. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. It's my hope that you all had reason to be thankful this year. I know I have a lot to be thankful for but like most of you there is hurt and pain that is going on in a lot of peoples lives today. I know people who have just lost someone very close to them, people who are having deep financial problems, family and marital problems. But even with all that they all have things that they are deeply thankful for. It is my hope that this Holiday Season brings joy, happiness, love, and peace to you and yours.

There are a few traditions that I follow every year and this one is no exception. Before Thanksgiving day comes to a close I always get out my VSH tape of "A Christmas Carol" staring George C. Scott and watch it all the way through. I know most of the movies dialog and find myself speaking the lines right alone with the characters of the story. I also took the time to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas", I know all the lines from that one. And this won't be the last time this year that I watch these shows. Christmas Eve into Christmas Morning you'll find me in front of the TV enjoying these classics again. You have a standing invitation to pull up a chair and enjoy them with me.

These are some more photos taken on the movie set of the "History of Branson". Have you picked up your copy yet? Many have and the reviews and replies that have been receive have been most positive. Mike Johnson talked to me and gave me an update to his new project preparations and the pieces are all starting to come together. I am so looking forward to this new project because unlike the the "History of Branson" project, I am getting the opportunity to work with it from the beginning instead of picking it up in the middle. Man what an honor to be included into the Bear Creek Production Team. These are a great bunch of guys and gals who love their work and are committed to the production of a great product.

Well with a little good fortune we are going to be able to set up a retail selling outlet within the next few weeks. We are zeroing in to a location and hope to finalize the are plans soon. Then you will have the opportunity to pickup some of our work without having to go through the ordering process and shipping time. And if all goes as I hope our prices for our pictures will be very reasonable in deed. And there will be more than just our pictures for sale, but you will have to wait for that added announcement.

This installment of Pro Pix Tips is going to continue with our discussion of composition but is just a bit off the trail. We are going to take a quick look at the use of flashes for our lighting needs. We have had some discussion about lighting in past post but I want to touch on something that came up in one of our venues were we are using multiple flashes for our photos.

Cameras with flash capability have what is called a "sync speed" which simply means that there is a maximum speed that the shutter can be set so that the flash will fully be able to light your subject so that is captured by the sensor properly exposed. If that speed is exceeded the lighting will appear to light your subject only partly. This will appear as a very distinct line where above it the photo will be properly lit while below the line the photo will be very much under exposed. This is due to the fact that the shutter is opening and closing so quick that the flash will not fire fast enough to expose the entire photo. On the other hand if a shutter is set to a speed less than the sync speed there will be very little difference in the lighting of your subject. This is because that for the most part the light from the flash does exactly what the name implies, it flashes at a high rate of speed. So if I am only counting on the flash as my light source it will make very little difference whether I use a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second or 1/10th of a second. The exposure of the photo will not be that much different. The ambient light being produced by any other light source will be different. Why? Because unlike the light from the flash, the other light source will be continually on throughout the exposure time. Therefore, the longer the shutter is open the brighter the ambient light will be in the photo, and visa versa. So how can you control the exposure of the photo with only a flash as the light source? With your ISO and aperture settings. ISO (International Organization of Standardization, so why isn't IOS) denotes the sensitivity of the digital sensor of the camera. The higher the ISO setting the more sensitive the sensor resulting in higher exposure, and visa versa. The aperture refers to how open or closed the lens is. The more open the lens setting the more light gets to the sensor and the brighter the exposure and visa versa. Only when combining the flash with ambient light will you be using different shutter speeds to control the light. The technique of how to do that will be discussed in a future PPTs.

I started writing this post on Friday and choose to finish it Saturday. While that seemed like a great idea at the time, sometimes life has a funny way of tossing in a monkey wrench or two into things. Today has been no exception. Personal notes are getting to be a habit for me. This one is most painful. I learned late Saturday evening that I have lost a very close and personal friend. The lose, though not that unexpected, has brought great pain and grief for me. I have known them for the majority of my life and having to continue without them will be very life changing for me. Life can be very cruel. It seems to get a kick out of dealing out cards in your life and watch you try to do something with them. None of us are immune from life's cruel acts. No matter what life gains from its' escapades, the one thing you can be assured of is the presents of shatters hopes, dreams, and lives that are left lying in its' wake. Because of my lose many of those aforementioned items have suffered that fate. No matter how many bowls of rusty nails you eat for breakfast, losses like this, no matter how they come, are always devastating. A part of me has been crushed by this lose, I fear to a point of no recovery. For those who truly know me, they know I don't take losing well. But as I stated at the beginning of this post there are still those things for which I am grateful, the times I shared with this friend among them. But it's the time in the future that life has stolen that generates the hurt and pain for which there is no relief. No matter how good the memories, how kind the thoughts conveyed, it's virtually impossible to be thankful when your heart is no longer in one piece. My friend is gone but my love for them will remain unchanged forever.

Richard

Get Your DVD Right Here!!!!!!!

Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving week to ya! It's my hope that in spite of all the negativity that may and probably is going on in your life that you are able to find several things that remain for which you are truly thankful for. Gobble Gobble!

Great photos, right? These are some taken on the set of "The History of Branson". You might see one or more of these in the movie. If you would like a copy of the new documentary movie "The History of Branson" you can order it right here. We will soon have a link to the online ordering page right here on our website but until then you can drop us a note and we will get in touch with you with all the details. The DVD sells for $19.95 plus tax and shipping if required. They will make great Christmas gifts because they are sure to bring hours of enjoyment and information to those who receive it. And let me let you in on a little secret. The video has done so well just in the past week or so that the makers of the documentary have started planning for their next project in what could be a series of releases. Go ahead and ask me how I know about this.

I know my staff reads this blog and they do because they like to find out what I'm thinking up now. I'm sure that when I post a new entry their heart go up into their throats. That has to be especially true now since we are so close to the end of the season. Well I have been working on a lot of projects that I have been talking about in this blog but due to the time limitations the work on those projects tend to be slow going. However, if you have gone into the gallery lately you will have noted that there are a few new photos that I have up loaded and there is more where those have come from.

This is a photo I got in the last day or so. With the slowing of the season I am looking forward to get more photos taken and proceeding with those projects I have been promising. So to my staff what I have been thing up is just ways to get those projects we've already discussed up online. So stop sweating bullets and get ready to finish up those things already in the pipeline so I can think up new stuff.

Don't forget about the new DVD and letting us know if you want one. Have a great day everybody!

Richard

Moooooooooo!

Hello everyone! Welcome back. This time of the year is always hectic around here. Our souvenir division is busy keeping up with bus season and of course we do have our venue with a Santa Claus setting in front of a tree. Out of respect for our Santa, I will not post any photos.

Have you caught the commercial where it shows this guy standing in front of a photo on display that he had apparently taken. He is shown taking questions from what appears to be pro photographers and one of them ask if he would disclose what aperture setting he used for taking the photo. While holding his hands in front of him indicating a distance or size he replied, "A really big one." The announcer then says that this camera make taking great pictures easy. In others word, all you need to rival the pros is this camera. WOW! I didn't catch the manufacture and I'm praying it isn't Nikon because I really don't want to switch cameras but I might seriously consider it if it was them. The things that are done to make a buck with little consideration to the potential consequences.

To shift gears a bit, I have a friend that I have the opportunity to talk to quite frequently. He's been involved with a lady for quite awhile and have plans for the future. We have talked about those plans and this lady friend of his on numerous occasions and with full disclosure these plans involve many major changes in both their lives. He's always seemed up beat and happy about the relationship until the last time or two that we've spoken. He told me that he has met another lady who has been trying to steal him away and in his words "she's doing a pretty good job of it." He told me that in just the few weeks that he's known this lady, she has made him happier than he has been over the past two years with the other lady friend. While the stress and tension that comes with the plans they are discussing explains part of the bickering going on between them, it doesn't explain the difference in the levels of happiness he's feeling. No I'm not trying to turn this blog into a soap opera and I probably would have even bothered to bring it up if I hadn't ran across a different but similar situation. There's another gentleman I know who owns a business. Now while he has made some changes in his business operation there are certain aspects of his business which he tends to hold on to like a sacred cow. The fear of losing those things or at least the fear of lessening their importance to his operation grips onto him like a leech sucking the life from this guy. His friends have tried to talk to him and he does recognize the challenges that these thing present but even though he agrees with their arguments he still holds onto the belief that continuing to worship the sacred moo moo is the lesser of the evils. That is until the past few days. It seems that a knock has come to his proverbial door of opportunity. When he checked to see what was doing the knocking he found it to be an opportunity that he had not even seen coming let alone pursued. Now while his opportunity is in it's infancy it's still has provided enough encouragement to him to allow him to question just how truly sacred those moo moos really are after all. He said something that maybe we should all hear. Fear paralyzes us so much that we become blind to other options. Because of that blinding we allow things to control us to the extent we loose our own identity and self worth. As a result we feed the fear and the vicious cycle continues. It's an observation that I think has some merit. We tend to want to stay in our comfort zones no matter how uncomfortable it is. Why? Because while it may be uncomfortable it still is familiar and we don't like the unknown. Therefore, even though it may not be in our own best interest, we pour all of our efforts into maintaining those moo moos with our blinders on and our knees knocking. The problem is that while we pursue this course of action life is slipping away and opportunities are being missed. Not just in business but in our personnel lives as well. In a way we are making investments in our future. The problem is what kind of investments are we making? Are they those which lead us to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction or regret and remorse? These are not easy situations and many times the situations seem either so crystal clear or so trivial that we fail to see how truly important and the lone lasting effects they potentially have on our lives not only now but for years to come. Since they are not easy and the majority of the populous love easy, people will generally allow what is easiest to govern their response and many times that turns out to be a huge mistake. Generally by the time we discover how big of a mistake it truly is, we cannot do much if anything to fix it. In some cases a higher power intervenes in spite of our fears and give light so we can more clearly see our moo moos as well as other courses that offers an even better life. But we can't always count on having things dropped into our laps (unless you are our Santa Claus. That's a private joke.). Most of the time opportunities are pretty stealthy and to see them you can't have your eyes on the moo moos. Don't miss out on the lobster because you're to busy putting pickles on the burger.

Pro Pix Tips. Well we are going to quickly finish up this part of our GOBO discussion. We will continue to talk about GOBOs throughout our look at composition but for right now it is important that we introduce the more common ones and briefly describe each one. We've already talked a bit about cookie GOBOs and you can go back and read that post.

FLAG GOBOs are used to block light from spilling over into areas you don't want them ie. the background area or back onto you camera producing lens flares or light reflections on the lens. They are generally black in color and can be made of any material as long as it does not let light shine through it. Most arencommonly made of cloth, poster board, and foam core.

REFLECTOR GOBOs are used to redirect the light coming from a light source to an area of the subject which needs additional lighting but you don't want to add an additional light source. An example would be where a reflector would be used while taking a photo outside one a sunny day where the reflector would reflect some of the sunlight back onto the subject to reduce the dark shadow areas on your subjects face such as the area around the eyes to better illuminate them. Cloth, poster board, and foam core are the most common materials used to make reflectors. The colors can vary but the most common are white, which tends to give off a cool white or flash color light, silver, which tends to give off a cool white or flash color but with greater intensity, and gold, which tends to give off a warmer yellowish color. Which one you use depends of the the feeling or purpose of the photo. The difference in intensity between the light coming from the source to the subject and that coming from the reflector varies based upon the distance between the light source, reflector, and subject but a good rule of thumb is 1 to 2 f-stops.

SCRIM GOBOs are used to soften light coming from a light source by effectively changing a small light source like the sun into a much larger light source. I know, the sun is a very big thing but while it is very big and bright it still very far away and actually look more light a spot light in the sky. As a result the light from the sun (a hard light source due to it relatively small size) produces a very distinct and dark shadow. When we place a scrim gobo between the light source (in this case the sun) and the subject of our photo, the scrim actually becomes the light source because the light is passing through the whole surface area of the scrim in affect becoming a much bigger light source (depending on the size of the scrim) producing a more soft light onto our subject with much softer and less distinct shadow areas. Depending on the material the scrim is made of, a rule of thumb you can use to judge how much lower the intensity of the light will be from no scrim vs. scrim is about 2 f-stops. Cloth or silk material are mainly used with white the usual color, but don't be surprised if you see a golden colored one.

GOBOs play a very important role in our shaping of light when we use that light to capture our images. As we continue our exploring of composition we will us GOBOs a lot.

Now on a more personal note. One of my staff members and very close personal friend lost their mother late Monday evening. I have known Monty for well over 40 years. She was a good women even though we had our disagreements from time to time. She was funny, kind, and loved her children more than life its self. She cared about those around her, family or not, and was always quick to help others whenever she could. From what I know of her past, life was not always kind to her but that didn't seem to dampen her happiness and outlook on life. Over the past years she was troubled by some persistent medical issues but despite the pain and difficulties those issues produced, she never allowed them to get her down or stop her from doing what she wanted. If one was to look at all she had had happen to her, a strong case could be make that life just wasn't very fair at all with her. I personally can say I never her Monty complain about any of that. She was always quick to comfort others even when her own issues were affecting her worse. Her children were her life and she was constantly concerned about their lives, especially her grand children. But in recent years life smiled on Monty. Additions to her family came in the form of her beloved cat and a man who I believe she loved with all of her heart. Their relationship brought her the happiness and joy that I feel had been missing for most of her life. I believe in my opinion that happiest times of her life came in these last 5 or so years. It's true that I wasn't that aware of all that was going on in her life but I do know that she seamed genuinely content and happier. Life is really crazy. With all the medical issues she fought with all those years, it was a fall that took her from us. Even though her passing did not come as a surprise and one can easily make the case that she is with God, free of pain and all those issues that for so long assaulted her, our pain and sorrow of being without her presents is real and will remain with us. For us who knew her and profess our faith in Christ, we will see this wonderful women again because she knew Christ as her Saviour. And when you compare the length of eternity, our time separated from her will be short, but that doesn't lessen the sorrow and grief of our time now. I loved Monty and called her mom. My love and prayers are with her family especially for Jackie. Jackie has many of her moms wonderful traits and for that I am truly grateful to Monty. I will miss her.

Richard

"History Of Branson" Is Here!

Hello everyone! We have some news that we want to get to you that we have been waiting to give for a while now. So we are going to bump our planned discussion of GOBOs for this post and do a couple of announcements that I am so happy to make, so let's get to it shall we.

IT'S FINALLY HERE! The "History Of Branson" documentary is out on retail shelves in several different location here in the Branson area. You can go to the Bear Creek Productions website and order one or you can pick one up at one of the following locations, The Mansion Theatre, The Oak Ridge Boys Theatre, The Clay Cooper Theatre, and the White Oaks Station 248 location and the 165 location. These locations were given to me by Mike Johnson the owner of BCP within the last 24 hours of this post and so they might have some delay at putting them out on display but give it some time or visit one of the other locations. Of course you could contact us and we will see to it that you get a copy or many copies as I know they would make great Christmas gifts. Prices may vary but I know they are less than $20 and I know you will find it well worth the money. So get out and pick up your copy ASAP! And be sure to tell your friends and family about it and where to get their very own copy unless you would like to be a warm giving kind of person and pick one up for them.

Let me shift gears for a moment. Do you remember Max Baer Jr? Go ahead, I will give you a minute or two to think. Hum Hum didy Hum Hum didydidy Hum Hum La La La Hum Hum (I'm humming a tune while you're thinking. Don't recognize it? Neither do I). Times up! Can you say Jethro Bodine? Who could forget The Beverly Hillbillies? He was quite the man. Done graduated the six grade making him one of the most educated member of his family. Many of the story plots for those weekly shows centered around Jethro deciding to take up a career as something he had no education in and it was usually left up to poor Mr. Drysdale and Mrs Hathaway to help him be a success in his efforts while trying to discourage him at the same time. One such show Jethro decided to be a brain surgeon. To do this he bought himself some brain surgeon's operating clothes and a stethoscope and, voila, he was a brain surgeon. Now back in the 60's and early 70's when the show aired that was a funny story line because virtually everyone knew that it wasn't that easy and not the way it worked. Nearly 40 years later that show might not seam funny at all because that appears to be the normal mind set for many professions including photography. I wonder if any of these newbees stop to think about the liabilities in the photography business. There was a TV court case that was aired a few years back where one of these "have camera, am professional photographer" wantabees was sued by a bride because the wedding photographs she had receive were bad in her opinion. Guess what? The judge agreed with her and got a sizable judgement. It's really not as easy as it looks but I have seen so many people grab a camera and start charging for their "professional" photos of weddings and other once in a life time events and don't give it a second thought about the degree of importance those photos hold. If those photos are missed or look bad and the judge feels that it was something that a skill photographer should have done better the judgement may cost them far more than what they would make for a long time. Can you say insurance?

With this in mind we have will be introducing a new website before the end of December just for those individuals who are working hard to study their craft (not the witch kind). The definition of photographer and photography in general have become very hazy at best since digital has come onto the seen. Digital photography is still in it's infancy in my opinion and as a results a large number of Jethros have managed to incorrectly assumed that it's the camera that makes the photos good and that somehow the camera is self correcting. It's taken me several hours to correct a lighting problem we have had in several of our venues. Now I'm not a expert in photography but I do have a lot of schooling, training, and experience and with all that I still run across difficult problems that need solved in many case in less than a few second and that takes a little understanding about the profession. This will be a site where people can come to continue their efforts to learn and be better today than the were yesterday, but not as good as they will be tomorrow. We'll let you know when it's ready.

Well that's all for today. Have a great day everybody!

Richard

Cookies Any One

Happy Halloween everyone. While the object of the day is to be sweet for the kids, it wouldn't be sweet if ANY of them get hurt. So please be safe out there with not only your kids but make it a community project to work together in keeping all our little angels(?) safe on this special day for the Dentist of the world.

Pro Pix Tips. I thought it most appropriate to talk about cookies in this PPT post. Not the kind you eat but the kind that we use in photography. They are a part of the GOBO family of light shaping tools. So what's a GOBO? It's technically anything placed between a light source and the area that the light source is illuminating for the purpose of controlling or shaping that light. In other word something that GOes Between (BO) the subject and light source. GOBOs have several different styles to produce several different results. Two of the most common use are scrims and flags. We well look at these in a upcoming post. The cookie is used to project a shape or pattern onto an area of the subject. They can be made of almost anything which will reform the light in color or shape. Size has no issue except as it pertains to the composition placement. It can be any form. I have seen ladders used as well as glasses, plants, stained glass windows, window frames, window blind, you name it, it's probably been used. They can add to the natural sitting of the photo or be use to create feel or emotion, or add a clarifying element in the tell of the story presented in the shot.

The term cookie is kind of a nickname for the word Cuculoris which is found in the movie and theatrical field. Another nickname is the word coo-koo which is not used nearly as much as cookie. If we were to really dive into this subject in depth we would note the cookie is broken down into at least four categories which more or less applies to the material they're made of.

If we were in the studio and wanted to create a natural on location look of a subject looking out a window when there's no window to look out of, we could place a cookie that would cast a window frame shape onto our background surface. With the use of a filter we could make it look as though the sun was shining right in even if we were taking the photo in a cave. Cookies cast shadows that create an illusion which we want to help in the composition of our photograph. They can add to the story or be used to direct attention to the subject.

The truly funny thing about cookies is that they can be found in must general every photograph especially those taken outside the studio. Where theres a shadow being cast there's a cookie casting it. Now there are some who would tell you that in order for it to be a cookie it has to be unnatural or even had to have been place into position. Well what ever floats your boat but the results are the same. I know that there would be a difference but if I want a leafy branch shadow behind my subject whether it comes from a real tree that is living there or from a rubber hose with leaves cut out from construction paper, I don't care. What you decide is up to you but for me, well it's rare for me to find a cookie I don't like.

That's cookies in a nut shell (yes I meant it say it that way). We will talk more about GOBOs and how to use them to compose you photos in our upcoming post. Until then, have a great day everybody!

Richard

Defective Calculators

Hello everyone. Hope all is going well with you. I am glad that the last post didn't keep you from coming back. I really hope that you have been working on your composition skills. It's been windy here but I was able to get some good shots today so don't let a windy day discourage you.

Before we get back on track with our Pro Pix Tips series on composition I would like to toss out this post which is a sort of follow up of the last one. We were discussing opinions and how they really control our lives. After posting that to the blog I was reminded of a story that I had related to some folks I know that took place about 6 years ago. I thought that it truly had some merit to what I was trying to point out in the last post. I hope it helps you get a clearer picture of what I was trying to convey.

Some people I know had a child attending one of the areas elementary schools. Like most parents I know they would check out the child's back pack when they got home from school in order to check for notes from the school teacher and to glance at the work they were doing. As they were looking through some math work sheets they were happy to see the high scores in view of the fact that their child had been having trouble in the past with their understanding of math. Their happiness quickly changed to bewilderment when they began noting that many of the math problems had been incorrectly answer yet were not marked so. Prompted by this they began looking through the rest of the math work sheet not only from that day but from the last week and noted there were numerous such incidents. The parent asked for an received a time to have a meeting with the child's teacher to solve this obvious oversight. Image the surprise of the parent when the teach disagreed with the parent that the answers were incorrect. The parent ask the teach since when had 7 plus 8 equal 12? The parent noted that when they graduated from school those numbers equaled 15. The teacher asked the parent to read the instructions that were on the work sheet. They read something like add the two numbers together to come up with an answer to the problem. The teacher explained to the parent that in the case of 7+8 the child did what the instructions had told them to do. Since 12 was greater than the larger of the two numbers the child had successfully add the two numbers together even though the sum was incorrectly calculated. Therefore the answer was partially correct and therefore not completely wrong. Only if the calculated answer had been 8 or less would the answer been incorrect and mark as such. In short an incorrectly calculated answer could still be correct even if only partly so. When asked how the teacher expected the child to learn what the correct answer was the teacher said that they felt that in time the student would discover what the correct answer was. In the mean time they didn't want to demean the child or give them any cause to feel they were a failure especially when they partially answered the problem correctly. Now I don't know about you but if I had teachers like that when I was in school I would have gotten a scholarship to Harvard. Now I have to tell you that even though I had no reason to doubt their story I still found another family I knew pretty well and asked them about it being that there child attended the same school but in a different grade. They didn't hesitate one second in confirming the story with as similar one of their own. It would seem that the process of formulating an answer is more important the obtaining the correct answer. Would you like your doctor to operate that way. "Well I took his blood pressure and listen to his heart with my stethoscope and thought all he had was a chest cold but the autopsy said he actually had a heart attack. I didn't see that coming!"

I would suggest to the teacher as well as to all of you that when 7+8 is calculated to equal 12 that there is something wrong with the process of formulating an answer. Left unchecked our reluctance to risk demeaning the child could lead to coming up with opinions that can screw a lot of peoples lives up royally. It is due to this kind of reasoning that leads to people calculating that because they can drive to the store, use a microwave oven and put food out on a table, they are chefs.

I can see that kind of reasoning on display today even in my own life. Simply going through the motions of making a decision makes no difference if we elect to come up with a solution we have derived from misunderstandings and pipe dreams that paint a false picture of greener grass that's just a mere decision away. Many times there is no such thing as a do over when we discover the truth.

The Good Book say that the truth will set us free. To do that we have to be able to separate the truth from opinion or false truths as they are know by in some circles. We must be truthful to ourselves first because it we can't be truthful to ourselves well..........I think you got the idea.

Good opinions come from sound reasoning which comes from our desire to research and discover the correct solution to the situation. If it's worth doing than it's worth doing it right. The rats calculated that it was a good idea to run after the pied piper but from all accounts I'v seen they appeared to have miscalculated. The moral to that part of the story is don't be a under informed rat cause you may wind up in a place that there may be no return. That would be bad!

We'll hit the old composition series with the next post. With that in mind I think I smell cookies. What does that have to do with composition? You'll have to check out the next PPTs to find out.

Have a great day everybody!

Richard

An Opinion, In My Opinion!

Hi everyone! I hope that the PPTs are helping you with your composing of your photos. We've only scratched the surface and there is so much more to cover. For some you might be saying that you didn't know there was so much effecting the composition of the photograph. If you did the mirror and flashlight experiment you may have been shocked just how big a difference the positioning of the light makes. Up till now you may have thought that if the picture was in focus and the exposure your pretty good then you picture was perfect. My hope is that you will discover with this series of PPTs that there is just a bit more to a great photo that focus and exposure. Whether that hope is realized or not is out of my control. What is in my control is whether I choose to try to make a difference or not. It's easy to choose to do nothing and not risk failure. There are times when going to war having little chance of winning the day has its' merits do to the principles involved. But there is something to be said about choosing your battles and it's here where I choose to focus this blog posting.

Like most of you it seems that I need to almost constantly need to be reminded of the things I've learned over the years. Recently I have had to be reminded that opinions are like a certain part of the human anatomy, everybody has one. It seems that nobody views things in the same way. When I was a cop we learned that if you had two people involved in a situation you could always count on have three sides to the story, person number 1s' side, person number 2s' side, and what really happened. I actually watched a demonstration once where a group of people were watching a couple of people talking when unexpectedly a person came out of nowhere, grabbed a purse belonging to one of the folks involved in the conversation and ran off stage with it. Those viewing this event were reassured that the theft was staged but were then asked a series of questions referencing the description of the "thief". No one got the description correct. In fact they were split on what gender they were. Some stated they had glasses when they didn't while others failed to notice they had a coat on but not hat. It was kind of like watching the game were you secretly tell one person a story and tell them to pass it on secretly to the next person and repeat that until everyone has had the story told to them and then see how close the story the last person told heard it compared to what was told to the first person. Most of the time you can hardly tell any similarities at all.

I was also recently remind of the movie "War Games" (at least in my opinion that was the name of it) were a boy hacked into a NORAD computer thinking he had found a site for new computer games and decided to play Thermo Nuclear War. The computer was built to automatically control the US Nuclear response to any threats and it could also calculate all the different options on how to win a Nuclear war. The computer naturally gets out of control and no one realizes it thinking that the things they're seeing the Russians doing were real. And of course the computer is playing as though it's real so now the whole world is headed for nuclear annihilation and no one can stop it. Finally, the star of the show (the kid that started the whole thing) gets the computer to play itself in a game of tic tac toe which it begins to divert all of it attention to trying to find a way to win the game even though by playing itself it is impossible to win which in turn causes it to do the same with the Thermo Nuclear War game driving the computer nuts and disaster is avoided. So after the computer tries every possible combinations in which to find a way to win at Thermo Nuclear War the computer says to guy who created it, "That's a strange game. The only way to win is not to play." It's a great anti nuclear war movie if your in to that kind of thing.

So how are these two things related and what's my point to all of this? I don't know. Only kidding. When you start listening to peoples opinions and react to them, I have found that you've probably just started playing a very dangerous game. Why? Because like most things in life, opinions have mutated over the years. For the most part, opinions are not longer based on truths or facts. They are tainted by how it effects those who are giving the opinion or what they want or is some cases what they don't want. Ego and arrogance as well as fear of being shown up or out done also plays a role. Rarely do they have your sole interest in mind. But that's not all of the problem. Sometimes the issue of getting someones opinion is complicated by the fact that we really don't want their opinion as much as we want them to agree with what we think or what we want to do. That way if it all goes wrong we can blame someone else thereby avoiding any semblance of responsibility for the choice we made.

So now you're asking, "So what?" Well has any ones opinion had an effect on your life. Can you say government? How about relationships or employment status? The movie "It's a wonderful life" comes to mind. Our lives are so entangled with so many others that many times our lives seem so far out of our control. That's not a fun place to be.

Opinions are getting unreliable at best and destructive at worse, in my opinion. The Good Book says we should seek out wise counsel but that's not very easy nowadays. Because the world so entwines our lives, it hard to find someone who doesn't have a dog in the hunt and even then there may be a dog in the hunt that you just don't know about that is effecting the opinioner which in turn effects the opinionee. Being victimized by a tainted opinion is bad, but it's even worse when you are both the opinioner and opinionee.

My reason for this post is because a lot of things in our society seems to be getting diluted or lax in their meanings and purpose. It's easy to slip into that arena. It's dangerous and very crippling and therefor a place that should be actively avoided as much as possible. It's a major problem within the photography community, in my opinion, and left unchecked could ultimately alter the industry permanently. Everything is constantly in a state of change but whether that change is for the better or not is up to us. For that to happen maybe we should revisit what is driving us and rediscover truth and reality. Only then can opinions regain their value and importance in our world and stop confusing and destroying it. It all starts with each of us individually. It won't be easy but nothing worth while is, in my opinion. I pledge to do my best and while I'm sure I will not always succeed, I will still continue to do my part. Will you?

Have a great day everybody!

Richard

Getting Light Into Shape

Hello everyone! I have to laugh because this posting has been in the typing process since they started rescuing the miners in Chile. So I intend to finish this and possibly start another before I call it a day.

We're going to continue easing our way into composition in this installment of Pro Pix Tips. As I have mentioned before, there are some many things that make up composition that it just can't be covered in one post or even a lot of post. So far we have discussed the importance of why we are taking the photo in the first place. Once we do that, we need to determine how we are going to accomplish our purpose. Since our tool of choice is the camera and since camera work by capturing reflected light than it only stands to reason that how we capture that light plays a very important role in composing the picture we what to "paint". How we use light in order to capture the subject of the picture sets the tone for the overall feel that the viewer of the picture gets. An example of this is easy and fun to demonstrate especially around Halloween (pay close attention Chris). Get a flashlight and stand in front of a mirror. With the room dark, stand in front of the mirror and take the flashlight and hold it just under your chin and shine the light up into your face. Spooky, right? Now move the flashlight around so that it shines on your face for several different angles and note the different looks and feeling that each angle creates. Don't forget to shine the light at the back of your head on order to create a silhouette in the mirror. How does the light make your face look different. Light that is shined directly into your face generally fattens out your facial features and usually makes your face look fat or in my case, fatter. Lighting up only half of your face usually gives a feeling of mystery. Continue to play with the flashlight in front of the mirror and really study what the light does but you might want to do that when nobody is around to see you.

So while you're standing in front of the mirror with a flashlight let's take a look at five of the most popular styles of lighting.

1. Butterfly lighting. To demonstrate this lighting pattern take the flashlight and shine it directly into your face from just slightly above you. Note how your face is fully lit while noting the shadow that is formed under your nose. Because of the angle, the shadow will take on the appearance of a butterfly, hence the name. This type of lighting is use primarily in high fashion but doesn't do well for most people as it is not very flattering because it flattens the face. You should note that this light is easily produced by the camera's pop up flash or on board flash. Both flashes have the nickname of "ugly lights" for a reason.

2. Loop lighting. To demonstrate this lighting pattern, move the light slightly to the right or left and raise the angle of the light to about 45 degrees. The object is to produce a shadow created by your nose down toward the corner of your month on the opposite side of the face where the light is shining from. This shadow should resemble a loop shape. You should also note that the light starts to drop off in intensity as move around the opposite side of your face. It's important the the loop shadow under the nose and the shadow caused by the drop off do not touch or meet. There should be a highlighted area on the opposite cheek which should extend to keep these shadows from connecting.

3. Rembrandt Lighting. This lighting pattern gets its' name from the style of lighting used by the painter Rembrandt (go figure) in most if not all his portrait painting in order to create the kind of contrast in the composition that would create the 3-D illusion from a 2-D image. In photography this pattern is created by moving the light slightly further left or right causing the loop shadow to meet with the shadow created by the light fall off which now creates a triangle shaped highlight on the opposite cheek. It's this characteristic triangle highlight that the Rembrandt pattern is known by.

4. Split Lighting. This lighting pattern gets its' name because the light is positioned at a 90 degree angle to the subject thereby illuminating only half of the subjects face with the split going right down the center of the subjects nose. This pattern for me adds mystery or what other photographers call drama to the shot.

5. Rim or Accent Lighting. This pattern is usually use in conjunction with one of the other lighting patterns to give some separation between the subject and the background. But don't forget the silhouette shots. While these are generally lit with natural lighting from behind the subject it can be done with a studio light.

The important thing to remember here is that the overall feeling of the photograph is very much controlled by how the light is shining on your subject. If you're going for a soft and tranquil feel or mood than you probably don't want to use Split Lighting. Likewise, you probably won't want to use Butterfly Lighting for a dramatic look or feel to your photograph. But remember that with every rule there are exceptions and you're not confined to these set positions. The key is to experiment with the light much as you have while standing in front of the mirror. But keep in mind that is some cases the lighting may generate a variety of emotions or feelings leading to a misinterpretation of the ones you as the photographer intended. The success or failure of the photograph you take depends on how accurately you compose the shot and how you use your light plays a critical role.

Experimenting helps you to grow as a photographer. You can read or hear a bunch of techniques and theories and not have them sink in so you learn from them. Get your hands dirty and continually ask the DZ (David Ziser) question, "What happens if ....?" Don't get upset or discouraged if you look at the camera's LCD screen to view the photo you just took and you instinctively scream out loud "Were the hell did that come from?" That is a phrase that crosses the lips of even the biggest dogs in the photographer pack. It may be an ops but it's an opportunity to run with the big dogs and improve your skills. Stick with the shot till you get the look you're after cause that's when you do your best learning. So when your spouse or kids catch you standing in the dark in front of the mirror shinning a flashlight at your face and they ask you what you're doing you answer, "I'm learning stuff, that's what I'm doing!"

Well, that about it for this PPT's. Have a great day everybody!

Richard

The Trick Is To Get Dumber!

Hi everyone! Hope you are have a great week and ready for the weekend. Thanks for stopping by. I realize that it takes time and that is something I don't what to ever take for granted.

For the past several post, we have been taking a look at the wonderful world of composition. We have discussed the need for first having a reason to take the photo. It's hard to know how to get the shot or know when you've gotten it if you don't have a clue as what your reason for taking the shot and the story you want the shot to tell. And that has led us to the discussion on "how?" to take the shot and with our first glance into the "how" abyss we got just a small glimpse of how many different considerations there were to consider and we only saw the stuff on top. So I'm sure that the suspense is killing you. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a weed whacker. But before we hit the 10 meter diving platform we might want to cover another part of "Why".

Many years ago I heard one of my "friends" say, "The more I learn, the less I know." I really don't remember much about the circumstances surrounding the event with the exception that the statement made me stop and think for a minute to fully grasp it. Once I did, I realized how important this idea was and put it into my "life toolbox" and have tried to live by it as much as I can. Have you caught the meaning of those words yet? I am reminded virtually every day of this phrase but since I came back from Richard's Big Adventure out west where I started on my ponderings I have found a renewed appreciation for it. An ex-wife had a similar saying, "Ignorance is bliss". The Bible states that there's nothing new under the sun. I get a kick out of people who think they have created something or discovered something "new". I don't know how many times I've heard that a new species was discovered and make out like until they found it, well, it didn't exist. We all know that it in fact did exist, we just didn't know it. But if we didn't know it existed the day before it was found, then did it really exist. Ignorance is bliss! The fact is that everything exist, we just haven't discovered it yet. Does that make us stupid or just uninformed. I'm reminded of an incident that happened in a local trade school many years back. Several student were taking an electronics class and were about two weeks into the program. The instructor had just finished discussing how one type of circuit worked and immediately started discussing how another type of circuit worked. Instantly, one of the students became notably frustrated. When the instructor ask why, the student replied that he had signed up for the course to fix radios and was getting impatient to do so. The instructor put down his book, set down on the corner of his desk. He leaned over toward the student and ask these very simple but poignant questions. "How do you know something is broke when you don't know what it does? How do you fix something if you don't know how it works?" I saw a similar situation in the volunteer fire department. Everyone would show up to fight a fire but getting those same people to go to training to learn how to fight a fire was a whole different story.

We live in a microwave society where everyone wants what they want right now without making the effort to learn how to do it. We go to the store and purchase some frozen microwavable foods, throw them into the microwave until they're hot, take them out of the microwave and throw them on the table, and "voila", they're a chef. Gang, just because someone owns a Bible doesn't mean they practice what it teaches. Just because you own a hammer and a saw doesn't make you able to build a house. There is a lot of automatic settings in the world but that doesn't mean that they provide the best results.

As we dive further into photo composition, one of the things I'm sure you will notice sooner or later is that you may have not given any thought to some of the things that go into the composing of a photograph. Many might even question whether it's even important to take these many complicated thing into consideration when all we have to do is set our camera on auto and let it do the work for us. Yes, you will get a photo that is generally in focus and evenly exposed and would probably meet the "good enough" criteria, but is it really. How do you know that's the best photograph you can get if you don't know how to get a better photograph? An example of this happened just today at one of our theatre venues. I had noted the past few visits that I had made to that location that the photo seemed a little dark and grayish looking in some parts of the photo. They looked OK and guest were buying them but still I just wasn't happy with the look. Tonight when I stopped by I had the time and the equipment on board to try to improve the looks of the photos. I used the experience and knowledge I had to choose a setting and location for an additional flash and adjusted the angle and placed a diffuser on it and had my manager take a shot. The result was a vast improvement over what we were getting. The color and lighting was much better. Was it perfect? Are you kidding? It could have used more tweaking but perfection in the photo is not necessary as situation doesn't call for that. But it did call for better results than we were getting. My point is that if my experience and knowledge of photography stopped at the automatic setting, well the photos would still look like they did and who would have noticed cause there was nothing to compare them to.

As my experience and studies continues, I find that the more I learn, the less I know. It seems that as I learn something new it serves to open the door for two or more things I don't know. It's that three steps forward, two steps back thing. It seems in order to be better the trick is to get dumber not because I'm not learning but because as I learn I discover a bigger and more exciting world of photography has been there waiting for me to turn a corner and see it. I believe that as long as we continue to push the envelope there will always be something waiting for us to discover just around the next bend.

When I was take a training class there was a sign that had been hung over one of the blackboards in a class room that read, "When you're through learning, you're through!" We can't serve our clients to the degree they deserve if we remain satisfied with the just good enough thinking and the I just don't want to waist my time learning anything attitude. So as we continue on our quest remember that there really is a good reason to learn all these things. We do it to separate our work from the ho hum and mundane work that seems to be running amuck! So, do we want to get better and smarter at doing our work? If so, let's get dumber!

Well, we will continue looking at composition next post. Until then, have a great day everyone!

Richard