Fast forward to 2021. I’ve had two major back surgeries, lost my clientele to Covid and made a major life change to Oregon to a small beach town with one of the famous Haystack Rocks offshore. With my change in lifestyle I will be blogging more to catch up on life in general. My approach will be helter skelter but at some point will make sense. The bottom line will be about the images and the art.
Equipment: Nikon Z6II, 14mm, 28-300 and an Apple iPhone 11
Father and Son ConversationJamison: Is Zoey a Dalmatian?
Joe: No. She’s a French Bulldog.
Jamison: But she has spots?
This is a quick exchange Joe (my son) had with his 4 year old son, Jamison.
I’m not a real descriptive writer. That’s why I’m a photographer, a visual artist. I let my images tell the story. Cubans were very friendly, interested and loved to interact. Tour guides loved to tell the stories of the Revolution and the strength of the culture. Owners of paladores wanted to not only share their tasty cuisine but the stories of their families. Street vendors along with the hustlers were happy to share their smiles. Others just wanted to enjoy their siesta.
Summer for a lot of parents mean a lot of time spent at the ballpark practicing and on the weekend All-Star tournaments. Payton, one of my granddaughters fits into that category. But this isn’t about her story. As they used to say these are “Kodak Moments”. If you spend all that time you need good memories. And not just the team or posed photo. So I’m going to share a couple tips to improve your chance to get good photos.
This is not the big leagues. Every where you look there are fences you have to shoot through. Most of the photos above were taken through fences. If you have a dslr first put your shutter speed on a high setting, 1/320 or higher. The longer your lens the faster your shutter should be to minimize vibration and movement in the photos. Your aperture (f4.0, 5.6, 8.0) on the lens should be at the smallest setting. The ASA should be set as low as possible to get a quality image. But if you need go up to asa 400 or 640 to get the proper settings. These combinations when shooting through the fence will start to give you good results. To improve on that go to the side of the fence where the sun is behind you or totally in the shade. Move the lens as close to the fence as possible. What you want to do is avoid the sun bouncing off the fence into your lens. Remember your pictures that look foggy? That’s what happened. The light bounced into the lens creating flare (photo term). This won’t work all the time but most.
What if you have a iPhone or Android? Same concept. Get close to the fence. Make sure you know where the lens is and carefully place it in-between the wire so you have a clear shot. And don’t forget to use the zoom. As our editors always said, “fill the frame”. Lastly, do you use one hand when holding your smartphone? Unless you’re blessed with ultra steady hands don’t. Two hands will make you steadier and your photos sharper. Below are a couple tips that will give you your “Kodak Moment”.
• Move around. Don’t always shoot from the same place.
• Don’t just shoot the action. Look for reactions. Sports is about emotion, the kids having fun.
• If you have a long (large 200 or longer) lens go to the end of the fence to get different looks. Even if they look small in the frame you can crop in. If your camera has a lot of megapixels use it.
• Learn your camera. Don’t wait till you get to the ballpark to figure out how to use it. You don’t want to miss the action.
• Have fun. Capture the action but always remember, it about the kids. They won’t always be young.
Charlie
(This is a guest blog written by my oldest daughter Rhianna. “Rana” is our oldest, probably our most unique, well all our kids are Unique. But she has alway seemed to have a very eclectic mixture of friends. I met Charlie yesterday. Charlie just finished treatment for a brain tumor. He seems like a very happy kid. We’re not sure if it was successful yet.)
Allow me to introduce you to Charlie! He is 14 years old, loves soccer & snowboarding and has a heart of gold! How bad do you want to pinch his freckled cheeks?!?! Back in March, after 8 weeks of complaining of headaches and umpteen tests his family received a phone call that would change their lives!
Charlie was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor! After surgery to remove the tumor and several rounds of chemo & radiation Charlie is on his way to recovery! This poor kid has been through more torture than anyone should ever have to go through let alone a child!!
Charlie is the youngest brother of one of my closest friends, Chelsea!! They are 12 years apart so Charlie is more like a child to Chelsea than a brother. She absolutely adores this kid and will do anything for him! And he certainly looks up to her! Next to Mom, he wants Chelsea there with him for all the bad as well as the good throughout this journey. I am forever in awe of this entire family and their love & commitment to each other and giving all they can to help charlie through this nightmare!!
For more info here is a online fundraiser to help defray the exhorbidant expense of the treatment and surgery. http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-charlie-our-13-year-old-son-fight-brain-cancer/163010
The following is a blog on the Asmp.org site by my good friend, Kevin Lock who I’ve known a long time. His blog post was part of a series about other photographers that had an effect on their careers and lives. Here’s Kevin’s story.
Fellow photographer. Mentor. Friend.
Posted: 15 Oct 2014 09:01 PM PDT
[by Kevin Lock]
I met my mentor in college and didn’t even know it.
While attending San Diego State, I took my first ‘paying’ photographic job at the Daily Aztec. After only being on staff for a few weeks I attended a slide show presentation on Somalia, presented by a photojournalist whom had begun the rocky transition from newspaper photographer to freelance. After the presentation I ran down the photographer and interviewed him for an hour or so. I had no idea at the time how profoundly this photographer would affect my career and how quickly. I had just picked up my second job. Assistant.
Over the years my relationship with this photographer grew. My photographic career metamorphosed. He introduced me to his fellow photographers which led to new jobs, I mastered the art of being his gopher, dark room technician, second shooter, digital retoucher, studio manager, problem solver, occasional house sitter, and in time, business partner. This ever evolving relationship has taken us on photographic adventures across the country and to a few international destinations.
It was with his encouragement that I joined the ASMP in 2003. I attended a few board meetings and then he pushed me to run for president of my local chapter. After 2 years as president and as I approach my final year on the national board, I can’t help but think how differently things would be for me today had a photographer not taken interest in my journey and taken the time to help me succeed over the years.
Joel Zwink, I thank you for your guidance, encouragement, and your friendship.
Kevin Lock is a current director of the ASMP. While Kevin and Joel joined the ASMP at different times, they both continue to give back to their community by being photographers, helping photographers in San Diego and in a town near you.
Techy/Credits: Photo of Kevin Lock by Joel Zwink
Kevin’s website: http://www.kevinlockphotography.com
My sites: http://www.zwink.com – http://www.bigstudioz.com
My three Gds (l-r) Payton, Natty and Parker
This post is actually for my Granddaughter, Payton. I hope someday she spends some time and reads my blog to see what “PoppaZ” did and thought. But I’m a little ahead of myself.
Payton Jo Rohrer was born seven years ago yesterday. It has been a crazy time. Having a grand daughter is the best reminder that you’re not young anymore. I’m not….
I was very blessed to have been invited to see the birth of Payton. I was there documenting the experience until the doctor told me to get out. A short time later we heard the newborn cry. And there she was.
Payton created a lot of fun even before she was born. Her mom, Tiffany, and I had several heated discussions about the choice of Payton as a name. My argument, it’s a boy’s name and as a Charger’s fan, it’s the same as Payton Manning, our arch nemesis, on the football field. I lost the argument, and Payton Jo it was.
Personally, I was hoping she’d be born on the 4th of July. It would be special imagining her sharing a famous holiday as PoppaZ does (Cinco de Mayo). But once again true to her Mom’s stubbornness Payton arrived on the 3rd instead. She wasn’t going to share here birthday with anyone….. Happy Bday Pay.
GO ON VACATION…… SERIOUSLY!!!
I have a phobia of losing clients by going on vacation. So I try and be the good communicator and notify my clients of upcoming trips and vacations so they don’t (hopefully) schedule or plan anything during that time frame. This way clients know and I have a few days to pack or relax before heading to the airport.
WRONG…. I don’t know if it’s the law of attraction but 90% of the time I end up shooting during the week and finishing the post production just before the early morning trip to the airport. I end up catching up on my sleep on the flight to our destination.
The last time I failed to send out my obligatory email was when my father died and I flew back to Kansas. My primary client at the time called me the day of the funeral and asked if I could do a major rebranding shoot in two days. No, I replied my father just passed away, can we reschedule the shoot for a week later. No they replied. That week I lost two very important parts of my life. One can’t be replaced.
btw, I’m going on vacation next Sat. and I sent “the email”. I’m shooting for four days, doing one day of post production and then off to New Orleans. I hope your thoughts of vacation are as productive.
Some of my vacation photos are at: www:zwink.com
“Get yourself in the picture. Nothing is worse than a vacation with no shots of the family photographer. Get in the picture by using a tripod (or a steady surface such as a wall or a car hood) and the camera’s self-timer to make sure you’re included in the family memories.”
Borrowed quote from a Nikon site…..good advise.
More of my work at: WWW.Zwink.com
