Everyone has a special place. I think mine is Ketchikan, Alaska. I change my mind quite often. Sometimes it’s Kauai, other times New Orleans but for now it’s Ketchikan. I was introduced to the area by my great friend Charley Starr. Charley moved his family and photo business there 10 years ago. It is a small seaside city, population over 13,000 and is dependent on the cruise ship industry to survive and thrive. Charley has generously hosted me on four visits and on the fifth I finally brought Patti, my wife. The geography is unlike anything here in San Diego. We were able to see waterfalls, bears, eagles and the salmon were running. I wish I was a better writer so I could describe the area and community. Wherever we went Charley was greeted and the people were pleasantly friendly to us strangers. I’ve started to remember names and now know places to go. It’s truly a small town environment with a Walmart. I can’t wait to go back. Where is your special place?
………. THE MORE YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH MORE THERE IS TO KNOW
Striving for a high level of success in any profession is a quest of all passionate driven people. As you get better you start to separate yourself from the pack and the growth becomes part of the process. It becomes easier to learn as your experience and education builds. Knowledge becomes gold. The more you have, the richer you are.
BUT…. you eventually realize that even as you get better there is so much more to know. You may be good at what you do but you can get better. Once you accept this premise your growth will continue. No matter how good you are you will always be learning.
I’m pretty good at what I do. I feel I can compete with about 90% of the other architectural shooters out there. I want to be part of that other 10%. It will be hard as they are constantly improvising and improving, growing in their craft to make their work more amazing.
ABOUT THE PHOTOS: taken at an Asmp-SD underwater photography workshop in San Diego. Taught by local master diver and underwater photography expert Al Bruton. All images shot with a Nikon D70 camera in a Nexus underwater housing. Model: Rachel
HDR photography is not always a product of three to seven separate images. Nor does it have to be overdone to loose the effect and value of the hdr. The image above was taken during a visit to my home town in Kansas. Having been there previously I knew there was the likelihood of a potential nice landscape image at sunset, not to mention a high probability of catching a fish or two.
Shortly before this image was captured on a nearby field they started burning some native brush. This gave the perception of a gathering storm and gave texture to the sky. As I was ready to start shooting the big fish struck. My host Glen quickly came over to reel in the fish. With a slight reposition to the right I was able to capture this image as the fishing rod was bent over lined up with the cloud formation from the fire.
In postproduction I brought the files into Lightroom. I made two virtual copies and then adjust them to give three distinct images for the highlights, midtones and the shadow detail. After merging them and adjusting them in Photomatix we had the sunset, fishing shot and a thank you print for my host.
