It's okay to get in a rut!

Hmmm. Seems like an odd title doesn't it? I've always thought that it was bad to get in a rut. This week, however, it really paid off.

I'm in the middle of my fifth week in Idaho and I've posted about 250 photos to my website so far. (Click on the link on my main page at www.SaltForkImages.com to check out the fun.) If you were to look through my newest gallery and the other galleries that I've posted in the past from my visits to Idaho and Wyoming, you would notice a lot of the same locations - over and over, again. Some people might think that would get boring. I'm learning to LOVE IT! Every time I visit Grand Teton National Park to shoot the barns on Mormon Row or the reflection at Schwabacher's Landing, I get something different.

The Tetons are an incredible mountain range. Take a shot before 9am and you're almost certain to get something good. The difference between "good" and "spectacular," however, usually depends on the weather. And since the weather changes all the time, it becomes an adventure every time you go back to that same old place.

We have lots of "bluebird" days up here. Some folks even call it "severe clear." Here's Schwabacher's on a day like that:



Then sometimes you get some clouds in the morning:



Mormon row is the same way. Bluebird morning:



Overcast morning:



I shot that last one above in 2005 and I haven't managed to catch a sunrise like that since. However, now that I've failed a few times, I know a little more about what it takes. It takes weather! Nowadays, I check the sky the evening before to see what might be happening the next morning. I even check early in the afternoon to try to anticipate what the sunset will look like. That brings me back to this week.....

This week I decided to mix things up and try some sunset photography in GTNP, expecting the mountains to silhouette against the evening sky. What I got was a great surprise. I watched the afternoon weather in Teton Valley, Idaho, just west of the Tetons and noticed some really interesting clouds headed toward the peaks. I raced across Teton Pass and found myself sitting at Schwabacher's Landing an hour later. Schwabacher's is the perfect "poster shot" with the reflection in the beaver pond and the beautiful trees along the shoreline. I've shot it so many times you might say I've gotten in a rut! But this time the weather cooperated and gave me a gorgeous sky.

I hope you like it. It's one of my new favorites.... all because I went back to the same old place.



Keep shooting the same things over and over and you will begin to discover that it can be different every time. Look up! Check the sky. Let the weather help your landscape photographs.

Happy shooting!

James

Something Different.... for me!

It's been a while since I last posted. I'm sure all of my fans out there - you both know who you are - have missed me..... right?

This spring has been busy. I've done a few portrait sessions and I've done something new: Architectural Photography. I was hired by a friend who builds custom homes to take photos for his new promotional brochure. It's been a unique challenge that has helped to reinforce all those lessons about good photography - remember shutterspeed, aperture, and ISO?  All the tradeoffs come into play just like I taught back in our early lessons together.

Here a few of my favorite shots:









I shot the indoor shots with low ISO to eliminate graininess, small aperture for sharpness and greater depth of field, and long shutterspeed to ensure proper exposure. And of course, with long shutterspeeds I used a tripod to hold the camera steady.

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The other "something different" from the last few weeks is that I did my first Bridal Portrait Shoot. Emily is such a beautiful young lady. Here are a couple of my favorites from her shoot.





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And now for the best news of all...

We're headed back to Teton Valley, Idaho, for a few weeks of cool mountain weather! Watch my galleries at www.SaltForkImages.com for additions to the Travel and Nature section. I'll be getting up close and personal with the very best that our National Parks have to offer. Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and (hopefully) Glacier are all on the agenda for this summer. I'll update the blog a few times and I'll shoot about 10,000 photos while we are out west. Hopefully there will be a few keepers.

As always, feel free to e-mail me if you have any photography questions or just want to keep up with our adventures.

- James (jalbritton@mesh.net)

The Theatre is my Life!

Okay, maybe the title was an exaggeration but I have discovered that it is a lot of fun to photograph theatrical performances.

I told you about the fun I had back in February shooting the winter musical production at Aledo High School. This time I got to shoot a serious one-act play entitled, "The Diary of Anne Frank" and a series of short, one-act comedies that included, "Variations on the Death of Trotsky." These were two very different kinds of plays but the photographic challenges were the same. High ISO, wide open apertures, and a monopod to hold the camera are the only way to have a chance at sharp photos. Even then, about one-third of the shots I took were blurry. That's why I love digital! Just keep shootin' - you're bound to hit SOMETHING!

Here's a shot from, "The Diary of Anne Frank."



And, here's a shot from "Variations on the Death of Trotsky."



I'll be back soon with another lesson so keep checking in.

James

Cool Desert Shots...

In early April I made a trip to Las Vegas for a little business with the Nevada Department of Transportation. Those of you that know me well know that a place like Vegas doesn't really interest me. So what did I do? I took the scenic route! We finished with NDOT early and headed for Hoover Dam and the Nevada desert. The tour at Hoover Dam took us down to the generator facility which was very cool. But the real spectacular stuff was the view from the top.

Here's a shot of the generator room.



And this is the view of the back of the dam and an old crane used for transporting men and materials across the canyon.




On the way back to Las Vegas we spotted some cacti blooming in the desert. The sun was high overhead but I think I managed to salvage some pretty good shots.





Thanks for visiting!

- James

I Took My Own Advice!

In Lesson #7 I said, "Get out there and shoot!" So I did.

On Saturday, March 22nd, Spring Break was winding down for Aaron and Sara. Aaron agreed to go with me for a little evening shoot in Downtown Fort Worth and we had SOME KIND OF FUN! We parked at the base of the bridge on North Main Street just north of downtown and walked up to a vantage point where we could see the Tarrant County Courthouse. Aaron enjoyed this part because he's a big "Walker, Texas Ranger" fan and they often use footage of the courthouse on the show.

There are some spots along the side of the bridge deck that are perfect for photographers: away from the traffic and with a great view. We setup the tripod and camera and dialed in a very small aperture with a very long shutterspeed. We were generally shooting about f/22 with 15 to 30 seconds of exposure time. Check out the results below. The red and white streaks are from the traffic going by on the bridge. Very Cool!!!




It was a little harrowing walking up and down the bridge with traffic whizzing by..... but, you know.... anything for the shot!



We left downtown and headed west for home but along the way we got another surprise: there was a carnival in the parking lot at Ridgmar Mall! I've wanted to do some ferris wheel shots ever since I saw the ones my brother posted on his website at www.MyMochaLady.com.

Here are a couple of my favorites. Two to four seconds at f/22 made for some really cool shots.





I hope you liked them. Now get out there and do some of your own shooting!

Lesson #7 - Get out there and Shoot!

We've covered a lot on how the camera works and what all the different aperture, shutterspeed, and ISO choices are about.

But the TRUTH is that if you don't PRACTICE what you learn then you won't get any better.

In this lesson I'm going to try to motivate you to get out and shoot some photos. I'm going to give you some quick tips and show you some examples. Along the way perhaps I'll hit on a topic that interests you and then you will run out and use all your new technical knowledge to feed your creativity.

So come along with me and let's shoot some photographs!

Children: We love them and we CAN SHOOT THEM!

Get down on their level. Become a part of their world. Capture them being.....themselves. Big goofy smiles are great but having a photo of a little kid engaged in his world can be priceless.









Annoying Teenagers: They NEED to be SHOT!

I often shoot candid shots of teens just hanging out. Their laughter and expressions can be great but when they start mugging for the camera.... well, it's still okay! Here are three to help motivate you:







When I shoot teenagers, I like to use the longest lens I've got. That helps me peek into their world without getting into their space.


Scenic Landscapes: My all-time favorite subject!

My best tip here is to convince you that the best time of day to shoot is at sunrise and sunset. The quality of the light during those times is so much better than during the harsh direct overhead sunshiny part of the day.

Check these out...







More Landscapes:

Use the rule-of-thirds. That means don't place the dominant elements of the photograph in the center. Move them over or up to the one-third points in the frame. Look for diagonal lines that help draw the eye into the frame.











Flowers and Veggies: Spring is coming and the Botanic Garden could become your favorite place!

Don't just shoot down. Get down on their level. Use what you know about aperture to blur the backgrounds and selective focus on one flower. Remember the rule-of-thirds.












Animals: Shoot the family dog - especially if he barks all night. Capture shots of your kids interacting with their pets. Focus on the animal's eyes - that's where we are drawn when we look at the photo. If you like wild animals, do your homework. Learn what times they are most active. Get into their world.... but be careful. Travel to a National Park or State Park; wild animals are a little less wild there.










I hope you've enjoyed these photos as much as I have. Start a collection of personal favorites. It's great to show them off and it's great to look back and see how your creativity and talent have progressed.

Happy Shooting!

- James

Lesson #6 ..... The Last Tradeoff Lesson!

Lesson #4 was about the tradeoffs involved with choosing an ISO.

Lesson #5 was about the tradeoffs involving aperture choices.

This one is about shutterspeed.

If your shutterspeed is too slow, then your photos might be blurry because your camera was shaking or because your subject moved.

Sometimes blurry is very cool. That's why we need to understand how shutterspeed works!

Shutterspeeds on digital SLR cameras may range from 1/8000th of a second up to 30 seconds. Which speed you choose out of that range depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to photograph a 98 mile-per-hour fastball right as it leaves the pitcher's hand, you better use that 1/8000th of a second shutterspeed and you better hope that no one notices that the ball is still a little blurry. That's because in 1/8000th of a second, the ball traveled 0.21 inches. Bummer!

The good news, though is that you don't have to worry about camera shake when you are shooting 1/8000th of a second shutterspeeds because it is unlikely that you are shaking at 98 mph!

Maybe you want to shoot a nice dreamy waterfall and you want to blur the water. How fast is the water going? Maybe 5mph?

If it's going 5 mph, then it travels 7.33 feet in one second. If your shutter speed is set to one-half second, then the water will travel 3.67 feet while your shutter is open. It will definitely be blurry. And, if you don't use a tripod to hold the camera still, the rocks and trees and everything else around the waterfall will be blurry too!

Here are some good guidelines to remember: If you are shooting sports, 1/500th of a second is good but 1/1000th is much better. If you want a milky-looking waterfall, 1/4th of a second is good but 2 seconds is even better. If you want to avoid camera shake, use a shutterspeed that is roughly equal to the focal length of your lens. For example, if you are shooting with a 200 mm lens, try to keep your shutterspeeds faster than 1/200th of a second to avoid blurriness due to camera shake.

Let's look at some examples:



That's a mountain stream in Teton Canyon in Wyoming in May of 2007. I shot with ISO at 100, f/stop at 8, and shutterspeed at 1/4 of a second. As you can see, the water is nicely blurred all around the log and the rock. And to keep the log and the rock sharp, I rested the camera on the window of my truck after turning off the engine. You don't always have to have a tripod, just something really steady on which to brace your camera.



This shot is from Bennington, Vermont, and was taken during the summer of 2006. I used ISO 200, f/stop 7.1, and a shutterspeed of 1/400th of a second. The fast shutterspeed stopped most of the motion of the waterfall and it made it easy to handhold the camera.

Now a couple of sports examples:



My young friend, Greg, catches the ball and heads straight toward my position on the sideline. What a catch and what a photo! I had the ISO at 3200 (max), the f/stop at 2.8 (max) and my shutterspeed was 1/500th of a second. Any slower than that and the shot would have been blurred.



My daughter, Sara, plays a little soccer at 1/400th of a second. Again, f/2.8 and ISO 3200 - both maxed out - and the best I could get under the lousy stadium lighting was 1/400th of a second. Notice how her foot is slightly blurred as it heads for the soccer ball. Maybe the shutterspeed was too slow or maybe it was her awesome power.... hmmm.

And we'll wrap it up with an appearance of the marching band!



This is a very cool shot that I actually did on purpose. This shot was at ISO 1600, f/20, and 1/15th of a second. I had been shooting with the high ISO and the camera set in Aperture Priority Mode when I saw this cool opportunity develop. With a flick of my index finger, I switched from f/2.8 to f/20 which caused the shutterspeed to drop down to 1/15th of a second. I took a couple of shots and immediately rolled the selector back to f/2.8 to continue. When I got home that night and reviewed my shots, I had a keeper! The blurred motion of the drumline with elements going in all directions really looks cool.... at least to me.

Know how your camera works. Know how to control the shutterspeed and you can get the effects you want.

Keep watching.... there's more to come!

JRA