PJHSA Model Hunter Division 5-22-16

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Halloween Hike Photos

I was determined to get outside and go for a long walk, so I drove to Merrill Creek to admire the autumn foliage.  Almost as an afterthought, I brought along my camera.  I wasn't sure what sort of lighting I would get, since it was quite cloudy when I left the house.  Many leaves have fallen since the one day of hard rain that we've had in the Northeast this fall.  I was pleasantly surprised by the surplus of gorgeous golden foliage set against a lovely blue sky streaked with wisps of white clouds.  Despite the cloudiness, it was bright, and slanting sunlight poured through the trees.  I had a difficult time reviewing photos on my camera's screen due to the brightness of the light reflecting from the clouds.  

I used a variety of f-stops and shutter speeds, but what seemed to work best were shutter speeds ranging from 1/100-1/250 and apertures from f12 to f18.  The photos required minimal editing, as I was satisfied with the composition quality; I adjusted the exposure and contrast here and there.  I was using my Nikon D300 with a Tamron telescoping lens (28-300mm).  I've only just started using the Tamron (it sat for a number of years in my camera bag), and I regret not trying it sooner.  It's a versatile piece of equipment that takes sharp photos, and is a little lighter than my other telephoto lenses.  As I hate carrying a large amount of weight around my neck, this is a huge plus.  It was a pleasure to be out and about in the beautiful weather this past Halloween afternoon.  I can't wait to get out there and take more photos!

Clear Autumn Days

"Beneath the Surface"
HTC1 camera phone
f/2.0/ISO125/1/600s

It felt genuinely strange to not have any work obligations this past weekend.  For just over a month, I have been in the pattern of morning routine-commute-work-commute-feed pets-sleep, with Sundays being spent with family, preparing meals for the week, and catching up on chores.  This past Friday night, I came home and felt lost.  Now what?  There was no need to be up early for work on Saturday; this was unfamiliar ground.  What is this... free time... and what do you do with it?

Free time is absolutely vital to humans, and to artists in particular.  Constantly running against the clock and a schedule filled with obligations does not allow time for spontaneity or exploration.  It depletes mental energy to the point where a ten minute sketch is exhausting.  I have realized that some "necessities" will have to be put on the back burner if I want to make my art more of a priority.  Free time brings inspiration and the space to do something about it.

While on a drive through the rural countryside near my home last year, I noticed a trailhead that looked promising.  I had no plans on Sunday, and I decided that it would be a good day to go exploring.  The day had begun cloudy but by the time we made it to the trail, it was a breezy crisp day, and the sky was that special October blue.  It wasn't a very well-maintained trail, but after some bushwhacking, we were rewarded by making it to the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River.

We stopped for a while, just sitting on some river rocks, listening to the rapids and the wind gusting through the autumn leaves.  The view was extraordinarily picturesque.  I climbed onto a fallen tree and walked out over the shallows, where I saw a fuzzy white caterpillar, and focused on the cold breeze blowing in my face.  From there I spied a vividly colored leaf, submerged yet close to the surface.  It bobbed in time with the waves cresting through an eddy, lit up with the perfect light in crystalline waters.  I just had to get a picture.  I did some strange yoga pose with my toes touching the water, my body and arms stretched out over the pebbly shallows as I tried to get a good shot without dropping my phone in the water.  It was wonderful to pursue passion in place of necessity, even just for a precious few hours.

My first business card, and a new blog layout

I've been asked to come back and photograph another schooling show at Changewater Stables this Sunday.  My trainer, Maren, informed me that this is going to be a much busier show than the last one, and will be starting at 8AM sharp.  She asked if I was going to have business cards, and I said that that would probably be a good idea.  In what is unfortunately becoming a more usual occurrence, I forgot about it- until this morning.  I checked out a couple of "free" business card websites, where you only pay for shipping.  However, shipping was both pricey and would take too long.  

I then went over to the website for Staples.  These aren't free, but they are convenient, quick (I can pick them up today if I get out of work on time), and they had many more card designs to choose from.  The prices were also reasonable.  I did not order many cards because I am hoping to create a website with my own domain in the near future, and so the website information will be going out of date.  I would like to say that I took the background photo, but I must give credit to the unknown artist.  My next business card will almost certainly be my own image.  The black and white printing was free (the horse is supposed to be a chestnut), and I also happen to prefer the look.  How wonderfully fortuitous.

My photography does seem to be taking baby steps towards professionalism.  I am very excited about this but also cognizant of the changes that are required.  For instance, since I am planning on uploading this Sunday's photos to this blog, I decided a more streamlined and professional makeover was in order.  A black background has the advantage of showcasing any photo; similar to how black velvet nicely shows off diamonds.  

I've got a fair bit of prepping to do for the show- the 77mm telescoping lens will be coming off of my Nikon D100 and onto the D300.  I'm also not sure if I will have the time to upload photos once the D300 is full.  Therefore, the D100 and its memory cards will have to tag along, and I would really like to find the attachment piece for my tripod.  Also, I will make printing through Staples an affordable option, but I would also like to try using a professional lab such as Simply Color Lab.  The professional lab will be of higher quality and have more options- however, it will also be pricier.  The choice will be up to my potential customers.