Southern Composition

Georgia on my mind.... 

"Croquet, Anyone" by Atlanta History Center http://www.flickr.com/photos/atlantahistorycenter/4721084238/

"Midtown From Piedmont Park" by Adam Preble http://www.flickr.com/photos/preble/59079707/

"Hotlanta" by James Duckworth -- taken on the Jackson St. Bridge http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124573@N00/2092105665/

Maybe this is just because I'm a chick but has anyone else noticed that the camera/laptop bags out there don't leave alot to the imagination... Mostly all are black, backpack or sling, and everyone screams "STEAL ME OFF THIS ITTY BITTY GALS ARM- WHAT'S SHE GONNA DO ABOUT IT"

After searching online I got an idea (I didn't say it was original) & decided to make my own. Sort of.

I found a large purse at Kohls with dividers inside that felt durable and tough- the one I chose also happened to already have a laptop sleeve which made my project even easier. I even had durable upholstery fabric in the house leftover from my re-upholstering project a while back. So all I needed was some foam to pad and protect my gear and stitch witch to make assembly easier.

I probably tried 2 or three other designs including a cardboard box i was going to pad with foam but this one worked this best!

I had a hard time finding foam I was happy with- so much of it is low density foam... So I used the next best thing- craft foam (that stuff is super dense). I layered 3 pieces on top of one another, taped them together with gorilla tape, and slid them into my stitch witched pocket of fabric.

Then I folded it all in half and began sewing the ends and compartments together for my lenses and camera.

In the end I realized that the insert sort of looks like a shootsac, is nice and flexible, and is super padded. I am thinking about adding a top to this piece but that would make retrieval a bit harder.

It fit perfectly inside my purse (b/c I measured it like 10 times), is easily removable to any other bag I want, and I now have a bitchin, unique, totally me camera & laptop bag!!

**Sorry about the pic quality- these were taken with my cell phone**

We did it again & it was bigger & better than ever! Arts Arcata @ the DTA store that is...

First off, let me say that I was nervous for probably two days before the event. By the time everything got started I was so jacked up on adrenaline and serotonin from my anxious-ness that I was a hot mess all night!

We started the night off with DJ Psy-Fi (Miles) doin some dub step with Ethan scratching on the tables in the breaks, followed by a live & awesome performance from Never Die (Kyser-J & HiWay). Going on simultaneously was the Live Art Duel between Shiek and Wong- the theme the second time round seemed to be DTA/cartoons. We had a great turnout- even had ppl gathering outside on the sidewalk b/c we didn't have any room inside- and even sold quite a bit.

Of course, I am the 'official' picture taker for the store so I have been working on product placement in alot of my event pictures. Mostly just staying conscious of the items in the frame and background and trying to get a different perspective that might highlight the store, brand, or what have you. I think I'm getting good!

Location: DTA store (1063 H St. Arcata, CA)
Date/Time: Friday, 9/10/10 from 6-9pm
Subject(s): art, people, crowd, music act, product placement
Notes: post processed in Iphoto

The past week in Eureka has been gorgeous! We got a short taste of some summer heat and sun for a few lovely days but now the fog is rolling back in & with a thickness! Of course, this gorgeous weather has had me out and about with my camera on the ready almost every day. In the interest of time (because there is not even close to enough hours in the day anymore) I am combining all my Eureka images from the past week into one blog post with subtitles. Hope you enjoy!!

ST. BERNARD CHURCH'S FLOWER GARDEN
All controversy aside (the priest is being investigated for molestation), the St. Bernard's church has a beautiful (yet small) flower garden around the backside of the building (7th & I). This is such a tiny garden that I normally walk right past it in search of bigger and better gardens but that day I looked over from across the st. and saw so many colors I had to take a peek....
I noticed as I was going back through alot of these images that I am 100% guilty of leaving the camera on auto the whole time...  I was in a hurry b/c I had to get back to work, but NO EXCUSES- I need to stop doing the whole auto thing...

Location: Sequoia Park Zoo (3414 W St. Eureka, CA)
Date/Time: Sunday 9/5/10 at 11am
Subject(s): Animals, exhibits
Notes: polarizing filter used on all images, post processed in picasa
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SEQUOIA PARK FLOWER GARDEN
I have been wanting to visit the small flower garden next to the zoo ever since I first drove by it. Combine that with the fact that I keep seeing awesome images from the garden on flickr from a guy named D. Swensen- he must live nearby & go early b/c he always has gorgeous dew shots and posts a new image almost daily. I finally got my man to take the pooch over to the garden and stand around bored while I take pictures (he's not really the flower garden type!)...

Since the store has been open we keep hearing about this place behind Bayshore Mall called (dum dum dum) "THE DEVILS PLAYGROUND". Apparently this is where quite a few things happen:

1) where alot of the houseless people have set up their own group 'house'
2) where the good graf artists in this county put up their handiwork
3) where alot of the houseless people dump any and all trash (mattresses, food, needles, you name it, Devils Playground has it!)

So we HAD to go check it out. I couldn't believe that someplace like this was right down the street from me- I could walk there if I wanted to! Packed up the dog and the camera and less than 5 min later we are driving around the parking lot behind the mall looking for a trail.... POOF there it was!  A little hobo trail through the bushes to some forbidden location.... We walked through some bushes and trees and came out to quite a view:

It was lots of fun to explore this new place & I will definetly be going back for some RS/DTA photo shoot when we get some girls stuff in... Of course, with a man, a dog, a 4Runner, and some mace! =)



Location: Eureka, CA - behind bayshore mall
Date/Time: 8/15/10 @ 11am
Subject(s): urban decay, architecture, graffiti, trash
Notes: most of the images were taken with my polarizing filter on the lens as it was early morning and pretty bright out.

Hooray for my first ever visit to the Ferndale Cemetery! Kinda morbid & creepy I know, but I just couldn't pass up seeing such an old cemetery- some graves date back to the early 1800's! We had to go to the fairgrounds to pickup my entries and arrived a little early so I thought the cemetery would be cool to stroll through (of course with my camera in tow!).

The entrance was pretty non-descript just a simple wrought iron archway behind a newer looking church.

Location: Ferndale, CA Cemetery
Date/Time: 8/22/10 5-7pm
Subject(s): Flowers, landscapes, graves, statues
Notes: I took most of the images with my polarizing filter on the lens because even though it was 6ish in the afternoon it was still pretty darn bright out.

I was very surprised by the Judges picks this year. Last year I was able to locate tons of information on the Judges themselves which helped me tailor my entries to something more their 'style'. This year I couldn't even find out who the Judges were! Alot of the first and second place photos looked like snapshots to me, and there were quite a few photos that didn't place that I thought were better than the first place winner.

After my disappointment we went to check out the livestock and bird exhibits since we skipped those last year. I was really surprised at how large this part of the fair was & have decided that next year we will have to go for the judging....


Location: Ferndale, CA Fairgrounds
Date/Time: 8/22/10 2-4pm
Subject(s): Fair, Carnivals, Racing, Exhibits, Animals
Notes:

Yay for working toward my yearly goals! My first DPS Assignment for Aug. was a ton of fun- & VERY last minute! The assignment was "Water in Motion" and the idea was to capture water moving either through motion blur or through freezing the motion, although from my interpretation it seemed there was more emphasis on the motion blur aspect.

This assignment was perfectly in line with my yearly goals also of using and becoming familiar/comfy with long exposure images. In order to be able to get a long exposure without over-exposing I needed to get a filter that  darkened everything so I could take pics during the day (I'm busy as hell & need to be able to take the pics when I have time, not in that 2 hour golden window!). So I went out to Swanlund's Camera & picked up my first Neutral Density (or ND if your'e cool enough to know what that means) filter.

I did some research before I picked up the filter & found out all kinds of interesting things about these filters. First off, there are multiple purposes for a ND filter such as: smoothing out water, darkening a scene, smoothing out clouds, darkening skies, & general darkening so that longer exposures can be used. & there are a few different types of ND filters:
1) Graduated ND Filters (also called Cokin filters): these are rectangular glass filters that are clear on the bottom & gradually get darker & darker starting in the middle. These filters are attached to a round filter attachment which has multiple square slots for the filters & fits onto any size lens. The Graduated ND Cokin type filter system actually allows you to adjust the position of the filter, so you can create your own horizon line....
2) Screw-On ND Filters (Tiffen, or in my case Promaster): these are like normal filters, they are circular & screw onto your lens. The screw on ND filters come in two varieties, graduated (works similar to a circular polarizer so you can adjust your top/bottom but not your horizon line), and full (what I purchased, all one even gray tone).

Surprisingly I couldn't find any info. on my Promaster filter except that it may be an off-brand of Tiffen. Unfortunatley for me the local camera store only carries promaster!!

So I got the filter & set out for a waterfall to both use my new toy & get an image to enter in the weekly assignment. First thing I realized is that my 2x filter is not even close to what I need to take pics around the middle of the day. It works great in the forest around late afternoon & I got up to 6sec. exposures before my images became too bright (that's stacking my ND2x with my Polarizer, both of which block the same amount of light). But in full sun & even overcast conditions I would need to stack with another stronger ND filter. Oh, well, Live & Learn!!!

I had a great time shooting this waterfall & have been wanting some decent pics of it for quite a while....

First, my ENTRY for the DPS Weekly Assignment:

My fair exhibits are due tomorrow & I feel uber-prepared! I got my prints made at Costco again- the only place in town to get prints made (EVERYONE else send them off). Last year I paid Michael's to custom mat my images & it was super pricey and they didn't even give me backings to the mats. So this time round I decided to do it myself & was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. 

Ok, I know my timing is waaay off on this one but I had priorities in Jan. and bigger fish to fry than improving my photography. I was reminded by DPS that we are now halfway through the year, and I have STILL not set any photography goals for myself!
SEE Blog Post: How are you doing with your goals?
So I decided to take a min. to set some goals for myself, keeping in mind how busy I can be sometimes with the store and work....

One goal was set a few months back, and it was a small one but still a step in the right direction:

1) Participate in DPS weekly Assignments at least twice a month!!
          <<How am I doing? Well, I entered quite a few (Still Life & Fences in May; Dutch Angle & Low Angle in June; and MidDay Portraits so far in July), haven't won any yet but have noticed that my thought process is improving with each session. How to setup, things to try, lighting, subjects, and overall my level of comfort & confidence.>>

So I need to set a few more that I can meet by the end of the year:

2) Challenge myself with Flash Lighting (& purchase an exterior flash)
        <>

3) Learn about Long Exposure & Challenge it's usages
        <>

4) Plan a monthly calendar for next year & Give away monthly desktop calendar's
      <>

5) Follow a top Pro Photographers Blog
     <Scott Kelby's Blog but it is more geared toward post-processing with Photoshop, but I don't even have Photoshop so most of it isn't too helpful. I have also been following a semi-local pro landscape photographers blog, Jeff Sullivan. His blog is more what I am looking for however I would love to find someone with portraits, macro's, and landscapes which is what interests me the most.>>

I have been meeting my goal of participating in at least 2 DPS weekly Assignments- WOOT!! It can be kinda hard to find time with the craziness of now being a business owner and still working full-time at the law firm. As much as I wanted to participate in this week's assignment- LOW ANGLE- it is a technique I use alot and feel that I challenge myself on almost every photo session I do- Simply put I LOVE the low angle perspective.