Free Study

"Fall Foiliage" - Mike
I liked how this red leaf stood out from the brown ones and the gray rock.
45 mm, f/5.3, 1/50 sec., ISO 400

fall colors - Kirk
Last week we went for a drive up the canyon to see some fall colors. Lucky we did it when we did because the canyons are now covered in snow.
55mm, f/5.6, 1/20sec

"Fall" - Matt

Not really what I wanted, but oh well. If anyone knows how to set-up so that there are no shadows on the white background, I (and Kirk, I think) would be grateful.
50mm, f/4, 1/4sec

"Mighty Silky Mississippi" - Cary
I've been wanting to take a "silky water" picture of the bridges over the Mississippi at Vicksburg for a while now. Just needed to have it finally stop raining and clear up at the right time of day for it to work.
>E-3 w/ 12-60mm @ 12mm, 30 sec @ f/11, ISO 100

"Double Exposure" - Lisa

Matt taught me how to do this with my new camera. Unfortunately, I didn't have live people around to practice on so this will have to do. I may try it again with one of my kids and add it on the bonus section later if it is worthy enough.

Next Week's Challenge:
Southern Shots
28 October 2009 - Weekly Photo Challenge: "Rule of Thirds"
Due: 4 November 2009

It has been a while since we have focused on composition techniques. I thought it might be fun to go back and remind ourselves of a few basics.

Bonus Pics:

"Bridge Lights" - Cary

I liked how the lights from the bridge reflected in the water in a long exposure.

E-3 w/ 12-60mm @ 19mm, 25 sec @ f/11, ISO 100

Windows

"Rainy Day" - Cary

Rain, rain, go away, come back some other day.

E-3 w/12-60mm @ 45mm, 1.3 sec @ f/3.9, ISO 100

"Three Pumpkins & A Window" - Mike
I've taken a lot of photos of windows from the outside and thought I would try taking one from the inside. The three pumpkins made nice subjects.
18 mm, f/3.5, 1/80 sec., ISO 400

"Church Windows" - Lisa

This was taken when we went to visit Harper's Ferry.

"Peek" - Matt
He was surprisingly cooperative as soon as I promised an M&M.
f/1.8, 1/45sec, 50mm

Next Week's Challenge:
Southern Shots
21 October 2009 - Weekly Photo Challenge: "Free Study"
Due: 28 October 2009

It has been a few busy months so I guess Matt is suggesting I get back in the game by assigning me the challenge topics. Anyway, as I was considering what to choose I decided a free study was in order. If nothing else with such a wide open topic there is no excuse for not posting, especially me. So go find autumn colors if you are in colder areas. Find those last glimpses of summer for those in warmer climates. Or just find something you like and share it.

Kirk

Bonus Pics:

Jen and the kids (kid... Liz was obviously preoccupied) picked 40lbs in 30min.

Personality

"Contagious Laugh" - Kirk
Ella loves to laugh really at anything and found joy playing with balloons this past weekend.
48 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

"Chillin' on the Farm" - Mike
I had to be quick to get this shot of Kirsten. She warned me that she didn't want her picture taken, but after I took some of the other kids on their wood post horses, I quickly snuck up and took hers as well. She shouted at me immediately after I snapped it and got very upset for a bit, but I still got the shot. On a side note, it's usually better not to push your luck with kid models or they may not cooperate later. You usually want to gain their trust and confidence instead. It was a little while before she let me take her picture again. However, Cox Farms is a really fun place to visit during their fall festival if you're ever in Northern Virgina in the fall.
32 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

"Trevor the Worker" - Cary
There are two things that Trevor does not like to do: 1) work and 2) have his picture taken. However, if the work involves destruction or you can turn it into something totally silly, he's much more amenable to both.
weekend.
E-3 w/ 12-60 mm @ 19mm, 1/60 sec @ f/8, ISO 100, bounce flash


By Lisa
This photo has personality!
ISO 400 24 mm f/5.6


"Hoh Tai" - Matt
This is "Grandma Ho", as my kids call her; a chinese/malaysian friend that lives near us. A bit more posed than Mike probabaly would have liked, but chinese tend to be pretty formal in their pictures. I love the eyes and beginnings of a smile.
f/2, 1/125sec, 50mm

Next Week's Challenge:
Southern Shots
14 October 2009 - Weekly Photo Challenge: "Windows"
Due: 21 October 2009

Take a photo of one or more windows as the primary subject, or use a window as a significant theme or element in your composition.

Bonus Pics:

"Queen of the Mountain" - Mike
We had a fun time in Shenandoah National Park and the kids had a lot of fun running around the Big Meadow area and climbing on the rocks.
55mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400

"Halloween Spider" - Aaron

There was this really cool orange and black spider in what used to be Mike's yard this morning.

1/160 Sec, F 5.7, 250mm, ISO-1600

Unfocused

"Unfocused Beetle" - Lee

"Cookin' Dessert" - Aaron

I thought I'd highlight the glowing coals with the unfocused shot. I fanned the coals a bit to get the sparks flying off. The dessert was apple dumpling rolls, which were delicious!

45mm, f/5, ISO-100, -0.7 exposure bias, 6.0 sec, manual

"Rainy Day" - Mike

I thought the downpour we had this morning would work well for the unfocused topic. I had wanted the rain in the foreground to stand out more, but it was hard to get a short enough shutter speed to really see the rain without the picture being very dark.
55 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec., ISO 800, Manual

"It's a Party!" - Cary

The colorful table decorations from a child's birthday party made an interesting unfocused subject, I thought.

E-3 w/ 12-60mm @ 17mm, 1/500 sec @ f/3.1, ISO 100

"Morning Shower" - by Lisa

I love going outside with my camera after a rain shower.

(I thought I would include the focused flower too.)

"Tiddlywinks" - Matt

Caleb was intrigued with this "new" game.
50mm, f/4, 1/15sec

Next Week's Challenge:
Southern Shots
7 October 2009 - Weekly Photo Challenge: "Personality"
Due 14 October 2009

Make a photograph of a person that reveals something about their personality; help us understand who they are or where they're coming from.

Bonus Pics:

"Rebecca Climbs at Sunset" - Cary

Unbeknownst to Mike, I "borrowed" his daughter as a model for this shot while she was climbing on some playground equipment at the same party used for the picture above. Kids usually make good subjects, blurry or not.

E-3 w/ 12-60mm @ 23 mm, 1/4000 sec @ f/3.4, ISO 100

"Portrait in Little Chair" - Mike
I bought a light set last year since I have been so frustrated with the kids' school portraits. It had a three lights (two with umbrellas and one overhead or otherwise positionable). However, even with 500 Watt bulbs, I had a hard time being able to take photos at speeds over 1/60 sec with ISO 800. I made a couple of soft boxes from foam board and found that with 300 Watt bulbs I was able to take the same speed at ISO 400, which was a nice improvement. This was one of my favorites of Alyssa.
45 mm, f/5.3, 1/50 sec., ISO 400, Manual, Two 300 Watt Studio Lights + Soft boxes