Craft Show 2012

I know it's been a very long time since I posted anything here. It's been quite the year. Tomorrow we are packing up some of what we've done and selling photo at the Mayo Employees Arts & Crafts show. The event will be held again at the Mayo Civic Center.

Attached is a sample of one of the photos we will have. I should have more to come.

Week 4 - Snowman

This weeks photo is pretty simple. I grabbed some of my wife's winter home decor and I posed me a photo. These are some of my favorites. I just love it every year when she gets out the bucket of snowball fight. Makes me smile.

As you should probably notice, this isn't how they are sitting around the house. I got out my light box. The one I made a while ago out of a cardboard box and some tracing paper.

Just so you can see this engineering magic, here's the scene I just shot. I think I paid $5 for the box at Home Depot, and about the same for each of the spot lights. The tracing paper was ridiculously expensive. You wonder why I lit it from just one side. First, I liked the look, second, I can't find the tracing paper and the right side has a whole in it. Grr.

Week 2 - Game On

Week 2 - Game On, a photo by OhCaptain1 on Flickr.

Made week 2. Well, I shot the photo Saturday, which was within my week, got it processed Saturday, but only minutes before we hosted a poker tournament at our house. I'm calling it good :-)

As I was setting up the tournament, I usually like setting up these scenes. I had just stacked all the chips we needed, put out my least favorite hand in the entire universe and snapped a couple dozen shots looking for a good angle.

I this I could get the lighting better on this one. I shot it using a flash. The ISO was too high as well. I had forgotten to dial it back from shooting sans-flash shots of the basement. Oh well, doing a photo a week for a year is gonna be messy.

Enjoy!

Week 1 - Kirby

Week 1 - Kirby, a photo by OhCaptain1 on Flickr.

The 52 week challenge is back. I guess I'm a glutten for something.

Week 1 is a portrait of our dog Kirby. I find shooting a black dog a real challenge to get the exposure right.

This was shot with my 50 mm prime f1.8. I got Lightroom for Christmas but didn't really think this picture needed much.

Happy new year!

A little update about a big weekend to come

This blog has been pretty quiet for a while. Family, work and life have kept me pretty busy. My camera hasn't exactly been idle, but lately, there's just not been the time to really shoot the photos I like to post here.

 But I have some news...

 After years of nudging, prodding and more nudging, my wife finally convinced me it was time to do and arts & crafts show and share my pictures with the public, for a small fee :)

 If you happen to be in the Rochester Minnesota area, I'll have a booth with my pictures in various states to purchased. Stop on down and check in with to make sure I haven't died of a stroke. The thought of this has me nervous like nothing else.

 Here's a link to the Civic Center's information.

If you have any requests, suggestions or advice, please share! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Week 9 - Playing the Blues

Someday, I'll figure out how to photograph the snow blowing experience. You know, let people that have never done it before experience of piece of it through the eye of my camera. I spent a fair bit of time this week doing that deed. Man, I'm sick of winter.

This weeks photo comes from a gathering we went to in Red Wing Minnesota. Here's four members of a band I didn't catch the name. I actually knew two members of the band as being apart of a different group known as the Back Channel Blues Band. I had thought this was them. Oops.

Back in the day, when I was still using film provided for me by the my college's newspaper budget, I used to fancy myself as a future staff photographer for Rolling Stone. A boy can dream right? Maybe someday I'll take shooting musicians more seriously again. I kinda miss it.

Anyone in this area, wanna go shoot a live band one of these weekends again like we did that one time at Whiskey Bones? Could be fun? Let me know. I need to get out and exercise my photo muscles again.

Week 7 - Family

Week 7 - Didn't want to miss another week. I realize this one is a bit more, abstract(?), simple(?). It's something.

9 PM on Sunday night. The day before Valentine's Day. We spent this day as a family. It's the day of love, and we love nothing more then our family.

We got this little decoration for my wife on Mother's Day, last year I think. The kids picked it out. It shows two parents loving their kids. Sounded quite familiar. This hangs in our kitchen and reminds us every time we leave that we are not alone.

If you've been her before, you know how much I love lines. Ah, lines. Lines make some cool and interesting composition if you ask me...which you didn't, but I'm telling you anyways. This is my blog so you are gonna like it.


Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Share it with the people you love!

Be sure to check out the Flickr collection from this challenge I have going. Take a look around. I'd love to hear what you think!

Week 6 - Hot and cold

I took a photo last week, exhaustion lead to snoring, snoring lead to REM stage, one thing led to another and presto magico! 1 week has passed.

I don't think this will hit anyone's list for the most important, best or truly great photos of all time. Probably doesn't even crack my top 10 pictures I've ever taken. It does, however, constitute week 6 in my 52 week challenge.

This photo was taken for my 7 year old's science fair project. We were demonstrating that microwave ovens don't heat food by heating the air like conventional ovens do. You can clearly see that the water is 100 ° while the temperature inside the microwave is 72 °.

Gentlemen. Don't forget. Next Monday is Valentine's Day. And what ever you do...don't let me forget either!

Week 4 - Cold and dark

The thermometer on my computer says is 7°F outside. I don't know why but it seemed much colder then that. I'm gonna post every week, even if it kills me and I need to do it posthumously, it seems. Again, I find myself staring at the clock with nothing for my deadline. Not sure why, other then all of my other last minute shots have been inside, where it's a comfortable 68°F and I have yet to acquire frostbite living up to this challenge.

My shot for the week, while I don't think I'm really all that fond of it, is a long, very cold 13 second shot off my deck in the backyard. I was really hoping to capture the icy playground equipment but this wasn't long enough to get it, plus the light on that house was really starting to drowned out everything. This was the last of about 10 frames I snapped. Getting it focused was pretty hard. I think I'll return to this idea when the moon comes back out and shines with a little more light. The ambient city light was all I had and it just didn't seem like enough. Could have been my numb fingers and ears too, but who knows.

Stay warm!

Week 3 - An experiment with a mirror

It's after 10 PM on Sunday night. I'm looking at the clock, wondering how it is I find myself on week 3 of the 2011 52 week challenge and still, I have yet to shoot anything. Like the first two weeks were better, but don't I learn?

The thought had entered my mind to just let it slip. This year we had agreed to a softer, gentler deadline. I could just shoot something tomorrow. Right? Procrastination.

But I reminded myself of an incredible speech I heard from a famous photographer. He had set out on a quest, to take one and only one photograph every day for 90 days. For most of us, that would be nothing, grab your phone, point and click once a day. Easy peasy. But Jim is no regular photographer, no sir. He was one of the few staff photographers for National Geographic. This guy was already a legend.

This is a story, as I remember hearing it, that he told at a speech he gave in the Twin Cities. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, take it. He was outstanding and very inspiring. This story was from his adventure making the outstanding collection known as "Chased By The Light: A 90-Day Journey"
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As the story goes, he spent the 90 days at his home near the Boundary Waters of far northern Minnesota. This is some of the most beautiful land you will ever see, but what he found was, some days, you just don't feel it or your busy with life's other challenges, like being married and needing to fix a sink. And after a long time of looking at what is usually described as God's Country, you just don't see anything that catches your eye. And remember, he's only taking a single shot. One click.

One night, it was getting very close to midnight. Scary close. He hadn't taken his shot all day. Since it was already dark, light was scarce. He got an idea, he would make a shot by enlisting his wife to hold a flashlight behind a waterfall. He had never said that none of these pictures would be staged, right? He took the shot and was able to continue on his quest, never missing a day and only taking one shot.

Well, if Jim Brandenburg can make it just one more day, damn, I can do it too!

I recently discovered a guy doing neat things with every day objects, his name is Terry Border. Check out his blog at http://bentobjects.blogspot.com/. Neat stuff.

I needed a shot, to get me through just one more week. Below is the shot I took tonight. I think the term shot has many meanings on this blog. Most of the time, I just mean photograph. Tonight, I think I mean, I took a chance.

My wife does a fantastic job of decorating our home. She finds the coolest things. Since Christmas is over and Martin Luther King Jr. day doesn't really bring about a great deal of home decorating, she goes with theme of snowmen. It's Minnesota and we do what we can. On the mirror in our entryway, she likes to put little nick knacky things. Bringing the two inspirations together, the first being, I just need to shoot SOMETHING and loving the little bent things, I turned the sign of the melting snow man towards a mirror and shot it's reflection. I suspect I could have just taken the picture without bouncing the sign off the mirror, but what fun is there in that? Besides, I may need it next week.

I took a shot.

As always, be sure to check out Flickr set I've started to collect this years challenge. And feel free to look around while you are there.

Week 2 - Teething puppy

Week 2! Weeeee!

I didn't have my camera out all week and I went through my phone...let's just say, I'm not ready to bring myself to post a picture of something I took in the grocery story to text to my wife to make sure I was buying the right canned good.

We got a new puppy. Ain't he cute? OK, silly question, he's a puppy that looks like a cotton ball, of course he's cute.

Shooting low and up at something that stands 7 inches tall is hard. So I shot a lot of frames just holding my camera and pointing it in the right direction. Thank goodness for auto focus. He didn't know what to think of the camera and the clicking and dad being all like "hold still, look at the camera, yadda, yadda, yadda".

I think he did just fine. Welcome to the family!

To see the rest of the photo from this years 52 week challenge, check out my Flickr set!

Week 1 - 'Tis the season of sparkles

Here we go again. I signed up again to be apart of the local 52 week challenge. I know, I know, I sucked at it the last time. My challenge this year, to just post something. I know the biggest thing that held me back was just letting go and posting something, even a failure, but post something.

For my first attempt I tried shooting a photo using only the power of the candle. While I was setting this up, the jar seemed kind lifeless with only the light of the two on the side, so behind the jar is a 3rd candle. I spent forever trying to get everything square and realized I have to go to work in the morning. Bah. This first week is a little short, it started yesterday.

Oh well. Enjoy.

Week 52 - Framed Capitol

Week 52 - Framed Capitol
Originally uploaded by OhCaptain1

Yep. I totally sucked at a 52 week challenge but I figured since I posted the first week, I should post the last. Not sure if I'm going to give myself a challenge in 2011 or not. We'll see. If I start anything, it would be this Sunday. Thursday are a tough day for a deadline.

I took this photo on Tuesday at the Minnesota Historical Museum. What a beautiful place. I was here a few years ago for a Rocky Mountain School of Photography weekend. This time, we were back with the kids. My wife really wanted to see the Chocolate Exhibit. It was fascinating.

Happy new year!

Week 33 - On Top of the World

A few weeks off. Summers been brutal around here. High's in the 90's and humidity that can melt paint. Everything feels wet.

Last weekend, I took some time away from home to spend with good friends and poker bloggers in downtown Minneapolis. I brought my camera with, cuz, well, that's what I do. We went to a Twins game and spent a great deal of time making sure we tried every beer available.

Not sure why, but this was favorite shot. Catching Drizz hamming it up with some of the guys lounging in the background, all of us, enjoying the rooftop. A wonderful summer night.

On top of the world

This is the first runner-up in the 52 week challenge. While contemplating the just how good Surly beer was, we played beanbag toss on the roof. I just love this view. Minneapolis is such a beautiful city.

Not sure how, but this and the photo of Drizz were both hand held at low light. Pretty sharp, I think I got lucky.

The hand light, the black roof, and the bright lights of the big city just make for an interesting view. A tripod and a trigger release might be handy. Anyone have a favorite compact travel tripod?








This last one I did with my bendy tripod. It's pretty little and it was hard to use on the roof. I really do need to get a trigger release. I try the timer approach but it takes forever to get shots set up. This is more of a close-up of the downtown. What a great view.

You can check out the rest of this set at my Flickr site. Night shots, day shots, but when ever it was, it really was a fun weekend. Enjoy what's left of summer!

Week 30 - Plummer House

I suck. I got these pictures already to go Thursday night and fell asleep getting this post up. Herein lies the rewrite of the ramblings of a sleeping man that were here before and just never quite got published. Pushing that button labeled "Publish Post" is incredibly difficult when you are snoring.

So, I missed a few weeks. It's been damn hot here and my camera has been neatly tucked away in my office. The camera on my phone has also been surprisingly quiet. Might have something to do with just being busy. Summer. Who knew.

This first picture was taken at the Plummer House here in Rochester Minnesota. I've shot here before. If you go through my archives, you should find quite a few. The Plummer House is now owned by the city and is open to anyone who wants to wonder around a shoot. Why even  the day these were taken, a girl was getting her senior pictures done.

I loved the lines in this hallway. I've tried shooting it before and just never really liked the results. A harsher midday sun seemed to give me a better shadows from the pillars. I squatted just a little as well trying to give just the right perspective. And don't...what do you think?

These next two were the runners up.
This second one, is just a fun shot of the other side of the hallway pictured above. The lighting here is strange and hard for me to balance. It's clear, bright summer's day, but there's also plenty of trees making shade.

These grounds are well kept. I think coming out here during the magic hours would make for some awesome colors.

We happened to venture here because my good friend Kat and her husband were visiting from Toronto. Rochester is a strange place. It's not a huge town and it's not particularly old, but it has some fun history to explore, with the Mayo Clinic being founded here and everything. Dr. Plummer built this magnificent place many years ago. He was one of the first doctors hired whose last name was not Mayo.

The last photo is of a tower on the grounds. It's attached above ground to the main house, and I'm not sure there's a tunnel to it, I suppose I could check into that. I've always kinda struggled shooting this up close. It's kinda big. I think this angle was kinda cool. You are somewhat controlled by the area around as to what you can do. There are several large trees near it and a rather steep drop off. Gravity can kill. Remember that.

Whew. Week 30. In the bag. Time to see if I'll get anything shot before Thursday this week. You never know. Check back and if you want to see the rest of my public stuff and more from the 52 Week Challenge, Go check out my Flickr site.

Week 27

Week 27
Originally uploaded by OhCaptain1

Not much to say about this shot. I shot it with my iPhone 4. I really like the camera on here. It's still challenge me to learn how to get the most out of it. I don't think I got this exposure right, the sky seems so washed out, but I think I would have lost the tree had it not been. Thus could be the nature of a camera the size of my pupil.

Click through the picture and explore my flickr site. It's easy for me to upload from my phone, so hopefully more shots will be appearing there on a regular basis.

Week 25 - Barn Bluff

Week 25 - Barn Bluff
Originally uploaded by OhCaptain1

I missed a few weeks. It happens.

This past Fathers Day, I talked the family into joining me on a hike of Barn Bluff in Red Wing, MN. I hadn't done this hike since high school. The single best view of the Red Wing river valley there is.

If you click through to Flickr, you'll see the most of the series. This was my favorite. I'm still going through all the shots. I took close to 300 in 2 hours. Many of the are family shots.

Enjoy!

Week 21 - Illusion

Week 21, 4 weeks in a row! W00T! W00T! You've probably seen something like this before. I know I have, but part of doing something like this challenge is just posting what you have. I took about 400 pictures in the last week. Some at a wedding reception, some more at the Science Museum of Minnesota and even more at my nieces birthday party. Most of the involve people that I really should ask permission before posting their picture on the Internet. Sigh.

I don't need permission to post this one. This was taken at the Perception presentation at the Minnesota Science Museum. It's the classic, do you see a face or a vase demonstration. I was pretty excited it turned out as well as it did. The lighting in that room is changing constantly and I had never seen it before to know how the timing went.

If I get permission from my sister-in-law, I'd like to post some pictures of my niece eating her birthday cake from 2nd birthday party...so incredibly cute and a bit funny. As of right now, she's not called me back. Bummer.

So, do you see a face or a vase?

UPDATE:

Just got permission to post my second favorite picture of the week! This little lady was working pretty hard on the birthday cake and ice cream. I just love her expression!

Week 20 - Bloom and Balloons

Been a pretty busy week again, last weekend, we had a garage sale. I'm so glad those only happen bi-annually.

Here was my choice for my picture of the week for the 52 week challenge. Not one of my favorite pics but I like the composition and the depth of field. It's really got me thinking about getting a better macro lens. I've really been craving better glass lately. Must be the midlife crisis.

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Runner up is this guy. It's a shot of a balloon landing behind the houses across the street. Neat trick if you can pull it off. The did, thankfully. We've had tons of near misses lately with the balloons. Our neighborhood is often in their flight path but lately, their landings have been pretty much in the subdivision. Well done boys :)

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This next one is of a similar shrub/bush/flowering thing from our front yard. This one is a lot more filled out in the bloom category. I just couldn't find a composition I liked. Again, this had me longing for different glass. Excuses, I know.

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And finally, a shrub. Keeping with the attempts at macro and not really finding what I was looking for. At least, it was green :-/

Week 19 - Target Field Panorama

Here it is, week 19. Sorry I missed last week. I had a pretty good feeling nothing was gonna happen last week. My wife was at a conference in San Antonio, Texas, so I played the part of a single father of two daughters for 5 of the 7 days in the week. I had the camera out for some family fun but by Thursday, I was wiped.

This weekend, on Mother's Day, my wife really wanted to go see the Minnesota Twins play at Target Field for the first time. I gotta tell ya, this park is amazing! For my picture of the week, you should also notice that I'm venturing out of the "as shot" mode and into something different. This is actual a panorama I created in Photoshop Elements out of 8 separate stills. I'd never really done this before so I'm pretty sure there is room for improvement.

Target field proved to be really challenging to shoot during a day game. I should have figured this since midday sun suck big time. I really can't wait to shoot this field closer to evening and even at night. During the day, the colors just seemed so muted from the blasting of the midday sun.

If you click the top picture, it should take you to the Flickr set from the day. If not, try this link. If you don't see much, that means I need to let you in. There are pictures of my wife and kids. My oldest is getting touchy about me posting pictures all over the Internet of her. She going to be in middle school in the fall. Girls...

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This is my runner up for the week. I'm not sure this small size is really showing much of why I like this photo. If you click it, hopefully you can see what I like. The little boy is clearly enjoying the game standing on mom's lap. It's great to see the Twins fans starting this young.

It's the mood and the story I like so much. I think I got that.

We had a blast at the game. I took a ton of reference shots and plan on taking notes to the game with me the next time I go. I'm pretty sure that shooting later in the afternoon, evening and at night will produce more shots I just love. Even though it was in the 50's for temps, midday sun is just a tough thing to shoot. If you have any ideas for me, let me know. In most of these shots I was shooting with a circular polarizer. Although, to this day, I have no idea how to get anything more out of a circular polarizer I can't get out of a standard polarizer. Another one of life's mysteries.