Come Over to the New Blog!

I've moved my photography blog . . . Please join me for 2012!

The new location is: photography.billandjodi.com

Week 51 (December 17th - December 23rd) | Pictures 53 & 54

I got out of the house this past weekend (and spent my first night away from my toddler), to do some shooting with my friends Amy and Melanie. We went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond to see their Gardenfest of Lights. The display itself was nice. Although I have to say if we hadn't been taking pictures, it wouldn't have been nearly as fun. Lights, trees, COLD.

We were those annoying people with tripods, but it was a ton of fun being out with women who share the same hobby. (If my husband had been with me, he would have been bored 15 minutes into our 3 hour stay.)

I got a lot of awesome pictures with my tripod, like this one:



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 28-75mm f/2.8 (@28mm)
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 15 seconds
ISO: 400
Flash: Flash: none
Exposure: manual

But my favorite one happened to be one that I shot handheld, before we broke out the tripods:



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 28-75mm f/2.8 (@28mm)
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/60
ISO: 3200
Flash: Flash: none
Exposure: manual

I really wish that had been a more thought out shot, or I had gone back to revisit it with the tripod, because I've been wanting to play with HDR all year, and thought that would make an excellent HDR image. I went ahead and used that one image to generate two files of differing exposure to do an HDR composite that was not planned ahead, and despite the noise, I think it's pretty cool. Not my normal style at all, but cool.

Week 50 (December 10th - December 16th) | Picture 52

Merry Christmas to me! I got a new lens. A true dream lens. I was back and forth between two lenses on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, but ultimately decided to go with the 70-200mm.

There is interesting debate I see a lot about whether or not hobbyists *need* lenses like this. And the unequivocal answer is no. But people don't *need* boats or motorcycles or season tickets to the NFL either. I'm not exactly sure why the assumption is that anyone with a lot of nice gear needs to be a pro photographer to justify their purchases . . . but that is a much more controversial topic than I care to explore here.

Anyway, it's a super clear night here, and I still have my old camera, so I thought it would be fun to go out and shoot the moon with a crop sensor, effectively turning my razor sharp 200mm lens into a 300mm lens. Pretty sweet!



Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: 70-200mm f/2.8 (@200mm)
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/1600
ISO: 200
Flash: Flash: none
Exposure: manual

And woohoo! I actually blogged 52 pictures this year!!! I didn't meet my once a week goal, but for the year I've had, I'm happy with just making it to 52. :)

Week 48 (November 26th - December 2nd) | Picture 51

I know this has turned into a barely once a month blog, but I'm not giving up on it. I will get to 52 pictures this year. I will, I will, I will. I dropped the ball way back in August and to say it's been a crazy 5 months around here is an understatement. Photography has taken a back seat to life, and I'm hoping to get to turned that around in the near future.

Anyway, there is a picture I took back in early November for my small OCF group that I never got a chance to blog.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 28-75mm f/2.8 (@75mm)
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/30
ISO: 200
Flash: Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/64th power
Exposure: manual

It's not even close to technically perfect, and I'll spare you the details of how I was pressing the shutter button AND dropping the blueberries myself. (Would have been much easier with help.) I would love to do more with liquid and splashes - so maybe if I get ambitious there will be something like that coming up.

Week 42 (October 15th - October 21st) | Picture 50

My poor neglected project 52 blog. I did so well there for so long. At this point if I get 52 pictures this year it will be a success. Oh well, I definitely took a lot more fun pictures this year than I would have without this blog.

I'm on a small private photography forum and I was asked to lead sort of a beginners OCF group. With the photography rut I've been in, I hope I do better at leading the group than I do with keeping up with this blog.

The first week's assignment was really easy. Just take your flash off your camera. Everything else was open to interpretation. My contribution for the assignment:



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 28-75mm f/2.8 (@75mm)
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 200
Flash: Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/128th power
Exposure: manual

Very simple and basic setup here.

The subject is the dirt from our Earth ceremony at our wedding in my favorite crystal vase (that needs some serious dusting).

Week 37 (September 10th - September 16th) | Picture 49

Darn it! So much for my 52 week blog. To those of you who are still around and reading, sorry about the abrupt absence. We had a very sudden death in our family and were out of town for a while. And if I'm being honest, I haven't picked my camera up much since then.

I'm going to try to get back into this. But I'm not feeling nearly as motivated as I should be . . .

Let's talk about Ryan Brenizer. I have a photography crush on him. Aside from the fact that he shoots Nikon AND takes some of the most beautiful wedding pictures I've ever seen, he also developed a method for achieving extraordinarily shallow DOF with a much wider field of view than you could ever get from a wide angle lens. Photography 101 (or cheat with a DOF calculator): longer focal lengths equal shallower DOF.

I happen to love wide angles for the perspective, but also love longer focal lengths for their beautiful compression - and Ryan Brenizer just happens to combine the 2 with the Brenizer Method that he talks about here.

Cool, huh?

Well I don't have any gorgeous couples to photograph, and God only knows my child won't cooperate, but I wanted to play.

We found this little nest on the ground after Hurricane Irene, and I wanted to get an up close shot of all the details, but also some background in the shot for more interesting composition, so I thought the Brenizer Method would be the perfect thing to try.

One shot.

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 400
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

Combined shots (9 images total - then cropped down significantly):


There is also a calculator that tells you what lens you would need to take the resulting shot. My final image could have been produced with 60mm lens shot at f/2.2. Considering I have the 50mm f/1.4 - it means that I could have produced this shot with that lens fairly easily (with a bit less compression), but it was a cool experiment to play with anyway.

Definitely check out Ryan's website. He does 40+ image composites resulting in amazing combinations of focal length and aperture!

Week 33 (August 13th - August 19th) | No Picture

My 2011 photography blog is on a bit of a hiatus. I hope to return in a week or two.

Week 32 (August 6th - August 12th) | Picture 48

It's so fascinating to me how one small light changes EVERYthing about an image. My previous post today shows how using only ambient natural light and exposing for the flower made the white background really stand out.

So tonight I decided to take almost the exact same setup and blast the flower with light.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 200
Flash: Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/32th power
Exposure: manual

Keeping my shutter speed at the maximum sync speed didn't allow any ambient light to expose the rest of the room and the result is a black background instead of white. (Both shots from today are composed against the exact same white background.)

Week 32 (August 6th - August 12th) | Picture 47

Wegmans had some beautiful sunflowers in their flower market and I thought they would be a nice addition to our kitchen and might give me something to take a picture of this week. I want to play with some different lighting possibilities, but I also want to share this non-flash picture - in case my grand OCF plans slip away from me this week.

Totally simple execution - shoot up at the flower, composing it against the white ceiling. Expose for the flower and shoot. Well, easier said than done. Our house gets almost no natural light, so exposing for the flower pushed my settings.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/30 (handheld!)
ISO: 1600
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

In hindsight, it would have been smarter to hike that ISO to at least 3200 because trying to handhold this lens at that shutter speed is waaayyyyy less than optimal - but I wasn't having a problem with focus or shake, so I didn't bother. (I was also sitting on the floor - so I was stabilized a bit.)

Completely unrelated to photography - I should buy flowers more often. They really perk up the place and improve my mood in our otherwise dreary kitchen!

Week 31 (July 30th - August 5th) | Picture 46

Another week has passed and I seriously question whether or not I will make my 52 week goal. I'm sure there are plenty of things to photograph. But once I get the toddler in bed, I am just lacking any drive to start a photography project. Part of this is because he is now going to bed later than ever. And part of it is because my job has been more stressful than normal over the last couple weeks. I hope I can keep it up through the end of the year, but I really have my doubts.

I saw a tutorial online for doing a floor-lit setup. Where you put your flash in the bottom of a cardboard box, lay a sheet of glass on top, and have the flash light your subject from the bottom. I played with it long enough tonight to realize that in this case I need at least 1 more and maybe even 2 more lights to properly light the object from above as well. Oh well. Fun experiment and a strong drink.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/64th power
Exposure: manual

Week 30 (July 23rd - July 29th) | Picture 45

I am officially in a photography rut. I don't think about taking pictures for days at a time, and when I do, it's just to try to capture my son doing something cute. (Which inevitably stops happening as soon as he sees the camera.)

I'm going to try to find something fun to photograph this upcoming week.

In the meantime, I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy. I have two parenting books to read, and lots of crocheting to do. And since it takes me forever to finish my crochet projects, I figure that if I start working on a blanket for my son now when it's 105 degrees outside, that it might be done in time for Winter. We shall see.

But I also have this skein of beautiful merino wool I bought a few months ago. I loved it and it was a slightly impulsive purchase. I want to make something for myself, but I don't know what. I have a million hats. I don't know that one skein is enough for a scarf (although for the right pattern, I'm not opposed to buying a few more skeins). I just can't figure out what to do with it . . .



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/100
ISO: 1600 (because I am an idiot and forgot to lower it)
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/8th power
Exposure: manual

Week 29 (July 15th - July 22nd) | Picture 44

I'm having a hard time finding a photography groove in the last couple weeks - so I'm just going to post this week's image and settings. I need to get out of the funk . . .



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/64th power
Exposure: manual

Week 28 (July 9th - July 15th) | Picture 43

Oops! I missed a week. I'm actually surprised it took me over a half a year. The good news is that I didn't skip out on taking pictures, just posting them. Last weekend I had a chance to go to the Air and Space Museum. Really cool place and fun to take pictures. Interestingly, my favorite isn't of any of the aircraft.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 10-20mm f/4-5.6 (@ 10mm)
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
ISO: 200
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

Week 27 (July 2nd - July 8th) | Picture 42

I felt like going out tonight after one of our storms to try to get some raindrop pictures. Nothing special and kinda reminds me of this ice macro from back in January.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/3.8
Shutter Speed: 1/125
ISO: 200
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

I hope the weather around here clears up - I want to try some night photography and the clouds and storms are annoying.

Week 27 (June 2nd - July 8th) | Picture 41

This picture pretty much speaks for itself. Cool stuff! I reserve the right to come back later this summer and post more of these - because I am really fascinated with storms!



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 10-20mm f/4-5.6 (@ 10mm)
Aperture: f/22.0
Shutter Speed: 30 seconds
ISO: 100
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

Week 26 (June 24th - July 1st) | Picture 40

Did you know that Costco sells fireworks? Just what everyone needs - explosives in bulk quantity. I couldn't resist, and for $8 I bought some sparklers. 240 sparklers to be exact. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them all . . .

Taking a picture of a sparkler isn't anything too difficult or dramatic, which is good because I need to get back on track with taking my pictures earlier in the week. That gives me the rest of the week to come up with ideas for the following week, then a couple days to actually find the time to do it. This Friday night business has got me all messed up and rushed.

So here it is. Just a sparkler and a 50mm lens.



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 50mm f/1.4
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/20
ISO: 1600
Flash: none
Exposure: manual

I probably should have saved this project for next week, but no harm in celebrating early! I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Week 25 (June 18th - June 24th) | Picture 39

There is no way I could follow up last week with anything that I was so excited about, and if you look at the timestamp on this post you'll notice that I almost missed this week entirely. (It was a busy, tiring week.)

I started out pretty unhappy with my project tonight, but it was either this or nothing, so when I was in LR I decided to crop it to something I was happy with. And I'm kinda liking the result:



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/64th power
Exposure: manual

The part of the image I didn't like was the glass at the bottom (so this is a pretty substantial crop). The wine was splattering and just looking messy.

No setup image this week, but the speedlight was sitting directly next to the wine glass pointed back at the white background. I could get away with such low flash power because the speedlight, subject, and background were all so close together. Pretty simple.

And now, I'm going to enjoy this sloppily poured glass of red wine and head to bed. :)

Week 24 (June 11th - June 17th) | Picture 38

I've been uninspired for several weeks now, so it was time for a good picture. The type of picture that makes all the money that I put into this expensive hobby worth every bit of it, and then some. There are weeks that I want to skip out. But when I took that stupid lens cap picture the first week of January, I knew this would be a challenge. I am so glad I am sticking with it.

And weeks like this, kick ass.

I think I've mentioned this before, I do a lot of searching around on Flickr for inspiration. If I duplicate someone else's idea, I will always give credit. I'm trying to learn techniques and test my own ability and understanding of concepts, and sometimes that involves trying to recreate something to see if I can do it. I always try to put my own twist on it, and sometimes that works out better than others.

Before I show you my inspiration image, I will tell you that it is not unique. The one I am going to link here is the one I found. But then I googled and found many many more that looks just like this. So, I'm not really sure who deserves credit, but this is the one that inspired me.

But I wanted to change it up. The raining sugar is from long camera exposure, and while I could do that - I'm really wanting to test my OCF capabilities. And as we all know, flash freezes motion. I couldn't light the strawberry from the front, it would hit my black background. I tried lighting from the side, and it was dull - there wasn't any real pop to the strawberry or the sugar. And then I decided to backlight it. Uh.may.zing!!!! The sugar lit up like crystals. The front of the strawberry was a little too dark, so I popped a white piece of foam core in front for a reflector and did a little happy dance.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/16th power
Exposure: manual

Everything about it makes me happy. (Or maybe it's just the sugar high I'm on from eating one too many berries and sugar.) Setup, per my usual, is very easy to accomplish with what you have at home. Spoon was secured to some file boxes. Sugar was caught by some tupperware (elevated on other pieces of tupperware). Background is black poster board taped to my desk door. Flash resting on the top of my desk aiming down at the strawberry. White foam core up front for a reflector. (Setup image here if you can't picture it.)

This can be the most therapeutic hobby in the world. This picture is what I needed this week. :)

Week 23 (June 4th - June 10th) | Pictures 36 & 37

I wanted to experiment a little bit this week with shutter speed and flash. When using flash, shutter speed does not affect exposure on the object being lit by the flash. (Did your brain just explode? Mine did when I really started learning about lighting.) Take everything you ever learned about your exposure triangle and throw it out the window. Aperture, ISO, and flash power control exposure provided by the flash. Shutter speed controls only one thing: ambient light - that is, the light falling on all objects not directly lit by the flash.

Super awesome Amy has a wonderful blog tutorial about this phenomenon and why "dragging the shutter" when using your speedlight is a wonderful way to have a properly lit subject and background (in the absence of strong ambient light). I promise if this concept is new to you, then her blog post is infinitely more valuable than this one.

Obviously the fundamental concepts will also apply when you are using your flash to light something other than your subject. And this questions arose several days ago on a forum where someone was trying to light their background and get more exposure on their subject with only one speedlight.

Neither of these pictures are mind-blowing OCF. In fact, I've done the same setup before with similar results on my margarita glass experiment. But I do think they are good examples of how the same flash principles apply regardless of their application.

Image 1:


Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/250
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/128th power
Exposure: manual

Image 2:


Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/4.0
Shutter Speed: 1/25
ISO: 200
Flash: SB-800 off camera, manual, 1/128th power
Exposure: manual

You can see clearly that the part of the white background being lit by the flash is identical in both images - despite a shutter speed difference of over 3 stops of light. It is only the areas not affected by the flash (the subject and the further areas of the background) that change when you adjust shutter speed.

Can you tell I'm struggling with creative ideas? I need to find some new lighting projects (or get another light)!

Week 22 (May 28th - June 3rd) | Picture 35

Some weeks I have cool projects to try. Other weeks (like this one), I just take a picture of whatever I happen to have available. Today, I got a crazy craving for Georgetown Cupcakes. But I live in the burbs - way out in the burbs. Driving into DC and standing in line in the heat just wasn't going to happen. So I found a recipe they shared online and thought I'd give it a try.

Um. Awesome. Amazing. Dangerous. Unfortunately there are now 20 in my house that need to be consumed and my husband does not like sweets!?!?!?!

And since tomorrow is the end of the week and I have no fun photography projects to try, I figured I should document my baking success. (It doesn't happen very often for me.)



Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: 105mm f/2.8 macro
Aperture: f/3.2
Shutter Speed: 1/200
ISO: 1400
Flash: none
Exposure: manual