Make Your Colors "Pop"

Click to enlarge (20120318_134251_nl_b_lr3_epl1)
Olympus E-PL1, 14-42mm II at 22mm,
1/160 second f/5 ISO 200. A "Normal, Large" JPEG.

In recent months-years, it seemed to me that many other photographer's shots seem to have that "spice" to them that mine seemed to lack. A fellow photographer (whom I sold my original Nikon D40 to in 2009, in fact) pointed out the reason--I needed for the colors to "pop."

It's funny--I had expended so much effort trying to make the colors "right" (not a bad thing in & of itself), especially in terms of using the "eye-drop" white balance tool for RAW files, that I had not really thought about the possibilities and, in fact, dismissed the comment initially. After awhile, though, I decided to try it out, and I must say, I really like the results.

The attached photo shows a "before & after" of such a recent shot, my shot Adrian playing putt-putt at Fire Mountain in Tyler near his 3rd birthday last March. The "before" shot is probably more "correct" in terms of its colors, but the after--it really "jumps out at you," yet (to me) does so without seeming artificially "jacked up" or "cartoonish." That is one element to remember in this--you don't want to overdo it and have the shots end up looking totally ridiculous in the process.

In this case, I used a set of Lightroom 3.5 presets that easily do this for you in an instant; however, with this photo, the preset was too strong and "cartoonish," in my opinion.¹ The problem: Lightroom 3 doesn't allow you to vary the strength (or "opacity") of a preset action, though--it's all or nothing. The workaround (which I found by a Yahoo! search):

• I did an "export" of the image with no parameters changed
• I applied the preset, did another export under a similar (but different) name
• I opened both files in Photoshop (CS, yes, I'm cheap, ha ha)
• I navigated to the "window" of the edited version
• I did "Select...All" then "Copy"
• I navigated to the "window" of the original, then did "Edit...Paste"
• The image now looked like the edit, but with the "layers" palette now visible, & with the option to vary the "opacity" (it defaulted to 100%), I simply varied the setting up & down until it looked right
• I then did "flatten image" under the "layer" menu
   

That's it!

So try it sometime, you may find that giving a little "pop" to the colours in your photographs (but again, don't overdo it and make them appear "cartoonish") can really add some "spice" to your photographs.

(And to my original D40's new owner, thank you for the tip!)

-------------
¹The presets were created by a photographer (Oh So Posh) who shoots with a Nikon D700, a camera that typically has very "neutral" colors by default. However, this image was shot with my Olympus E-PL1, which is known to have more "punchy" default parameters by default. This probably explains why it was too strong here--I have noticed that the action's settings are more appropriate as-is when I apply them to the RAW files from my Nikon D5100.

The Value of Props in Photographs

One thing I'm learning myself--the value of "props" in photographs. This photo I took almost 2 years ago illustrates this. (Moreover, the subject, a 7 year old child, actually helped me in that regard--how embarrassing, ha ha.)

Click to enlarge
(20100801_154151_nl_c_lr3_d40)

I am learning this myself--props give some "character" to an otherwise everyday photo. They give it a sense of spice, and in some cases they can even speak about some aspects of the personality of the subject you're shooting. In this case, the subject, our nephew, happens to love watermelons, and we had him on an outing near Tyler Lake State Park and there was a watermelon stand in someone's yard nearby. We stopped by and he and the others really enjoyed it very much.

While doing so, I decided to just take a "casual click" of the event to commemorate it. My nephew saw the watermelons & had the idea himself to pose on them in this way, and "hammed it up" for my Nikon D40 kit. What a brilliant idea--from a 7-year old!

The watermelons in this picture (a) remind us of this adventure (b) stress the awareness of our nephew being a huge fan of watermelons and (c) just plain "spice" up the photograph and make it more interesting.

I would say that a photo does not NEED such a "prop" to make it a good photo, many "plain" photographs without props can still be great photographs. However, photos like this say to me that one would be well served at times to search out props if possible and see, you just never know what they can do to spice up your photographs!

And heck, in this case, it was a 7-year old kid (our nephew) who helped me be aware of this.

Some of My Favorite Shots, And the Stories Behind Them

As I have taken MANY shots over the years, especially since going digital in 2003 (in earnest in late 2004), it's hard to narrow down a list of favorites and "greatest hits," and this post is NOT meant to do that. This is just a post of some of my noteworthy shots, most of them relatively recent, and the stories behind them. I chose 5.

You can click on any image to view it more full-sized.

My Best Shot Ever, Flagstaff AZ, October 2nd 2005

Click to enlarge (20051001 092156_d50)

It's an older shot (October 2005, 6½ years ago at the time I'm posting this) but I included it because I consider this the best shot I've ever taken in my entire life, and because I had to be a bit persistent, maybe even ugly, to my own mother in order to get it.

It was the last months of our time in Tucson Arizona. I had just purchased a Nikon D50 DSLR kit 2 weeks earlier, having sold my 1st DSLR the Canon Digital Rebel. My mother was visiting, and we went on a tour of northern Arizona--Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona.

This was somewhere near Flagstaff, we just ran into this particular area. You drove off the road down this path to go to a hiking park from where you would then check out the facilities. While driving down the path, I saw this--and IMMEDIATELY ordered my mother to pull over, I saw a killer shot. She did not want to (she's never really supported my photo-taking endeavors, but I won't elaborate on that for now), she insisted that once we parked we could take plenty of photos there. My reply: "me myself, I'm here to take photos, that's the whole PURPOSE of this trip--well, I just saw a photo." Besides, we weren't holding anyone up behind us.

She pulled over.

I snapped this, 1/90 second f/11 ISO 200, in Fine-Large JPEG (I only had two 512 megabyte cards at the time and no laptop, and we were on the road). I did absolutely no edits to the shot at all. I nailed it--composition, the horizon wasn't crooked, the colors were perfect. This was only the 2nd shot I took from that vantage point, in a matter of a few seconds.

I've gone through too much (elaborated on my personal story page) to let anything stop me when I see a shot. Sometimes, you've just got to scream at your parents even if they are the ones driving, they're bossy and you're 6 hours from home. This photo hangs in our house as a 13x19, and deservedly so. For a long time, in fact, I wasn't satisfied with any other images I was taking, because I felt as if I had "peaked too early" with this shot & could never again match it. I may not have, but I've come close, and besides, I live to try again another day.

Never Leave Your Camera at Home--The Cliffs, Lindale TX, August 2011

Click to enlarge (20110813_201346_rj_b_d3000)

Last year a new place called "The Cliffs" in Lindale Texas, a cliff-diving swimming hole, opened to the public. My brother-in-law & I, both of us watersports fanatics, are absolutely enamored with the place.

At this time, our "everyday" camera, the camera we always took with us, was a Nikon D3000 10mp dSLR with an 18-105 lens. We took with us almost everywhere, and we had it with us today.

Good thing.

We were at the "second hole," with me on a flat area, with the other side well above me, and we had been there quite awhile and were packing to leave. I was very ready to go. I was putting away my camera and grabbing wads of clothes etc, totally in "let's go" mode, when I looked up and saw this.

We didn't leave quite just yet, as I started putting things down to free my arms up to quickly pull the camera out & put the settings in RAW mode (normally that camera was in Normal-Large JPEG since it was used more "everyday"). I fired off several shots, this was the best one (I believe it was the last one). I edited it in Nikon View NX2 and Photoshop CS, 1/40 second f/8 ISO 200 (how did I prevent blur at 1/40 second when I was zoomed-in to 150mm?).

I've since sold the D3000/18-105 kit for an Olympus E-PL1 that's even smaller & even more capable (if you can work with its non-DSLR type of body), which leads to shots such as this next one....

The Everyday Becomes Transformed By a Fog Outbreak, Feb 14th 2012

Click to enlarge (20120214_073827_rj_b_epl1)

Fog shots have always fascinated me somewhat. On this day, a day when my daughter Helen had to be awoken by 6:40 a.m. to get aboard the bus taking her to school, the crisp autumn foggy atmosphere beckoned me to board my bicycle with my newly reacquired Olympus E-PL1, my "mini DSLR" as I call it, to see what awaited me.

I had to work fast, as my wife would be leaving for work within an hour & I'd then be "home-bound" with the kids. I pedaled down CR 138, which is within ½ a mile of my house, with my Olympus E-PL1 strapped to my shoulder to see what awaited me. Down "Reid Switch Road" (basically CR 138 "continued") near CR 136 intersects is a railroad track & a small marshy pond-like body of water which I figured would be very photogenic what with the fog surrounding it.

Turns out the railroad track was, to me anyway, the most photogenic of them all.

I worked as fast as I could while trying to prevent a sense of urgency from surrounding this shoot, which was a delicate and calm of an environment as one could ask for, and I wanted to capture the essence of it as such.

I must've--many people who've seen this call it one of their favorites.

Shot in RAW+ JPEG, processed the RAW file in Lightroom 3 & Photoshop CS. Used the "original" 14-42mm kit lens (at 15mm) before I upgraded it to the 14-42mm II MSC. 1/30 second at f/11, ISO 640. (Pretty good ISO 640 noise characteristics from this sensor--not as good as the D5100 I now own, but about as good as the D5000 I owned at the time.)

Letting a Child BE A Child, & Have your Camera With You--March 26th 2012

Click to enlarge (20120326_142137_sf_b_lr3_epl1)

My kids & I often-times go for walks in the woods around our place, especially since a nearby neighbor allows me to swim in their pond & will watch our 2 kids for me while I do so.

When I photograph my kids, despite the advice of others where they often-times advice you to just "let your child be themselves" & you photograph them as they are basically being themselves, I tend to try & coax a particular pose out of them of some sort. I guess I don't consider myself talented enough & creative enough to get an "artistic" shot of them just being themselves.

On this day, thanks to me having my "mini DSLR" Olympus E-PL1 with me, and taking advantage of my boy's current fascination with dandelion flowers (and his laughter when the spores are blown about), I managed to get such a shot.

The day before, he had picked a dandelion & laughed when I showed him how to blow the spores, yet I had left my camera, even this "mini DSLR" meant to accompany me almost everywhere, at the house. So, on this day, remembering that, I tried again.

He shoots--he scores!

I shot it in Superfine-Large JPEG & edited the shot in Adobe Lightroom 3.5 & Photoshop CS. This is one of the first shots, also, where I learned how to moderate the strength ("opacity") of the LR "Oh So Posh" presets I often-times use (I find them often-times to be too strong with Olympus JPEGs, they're more on-target with Nikon NEF RAW files, maybe because the shooter uses a Nikon D700).  You do so by "exporting" 2 versions of the file in LR3--one with the action, one without. You then open up the 2 files in Photoshop CS, you select and copy the edited shot and paste it on top of the original, which causes "layers" to materialize at which time you can vary the "opacity" before "flattening" the image to finalize it that way.

Shot at 1/200 second f/5.6 with the 14-42mm II MSC at 37mm, ISO 640.

My New D5100 and (From Last Year) 50mm 1.8 G

Click to enlarge (20120408_120750_rj_b_d5100)

Last year Nikon finally introduced an updated 50mm 1.8 lens that was compatible autofocus-wise with their "AF-S" only bodies like the D5000 I owned at the time, the D40/D40x/D60/D3000 I had owned before, and the D5100 I now own. I got it hoping to capture some great "bokeh" portraits with it, and it has not disappointed.

Meanwhile, for tax refund 2012, I had updated my D5000 to the D5100 (passing on the D90 to get the newer sensor, passing on the D7000 because I didn't really need its load of features, although it tempted me & I certainly had the money for it). Naturally, I was anxious to really give it a spin.

This was a shot I took at the Tyler Rose Garden, our 1st time there, with our kids. I wanted to get a shot of either of them smelling the rose. I was trying to get one where they smell the rose NOT looking at the camera, where they're "lost in their own world," to play along with the "capture them just being kids" theme. I didn't QUITE do that, but I nonetheless got this keeper, one of my favorites.

Shot in RAW+Basic/Small JPEG, edited the RAW in Lightroom 3.5 & then Photoshop CS. 1/80 second at f/5 ISO 100.

What I Shoot With--and WON'T Shoot With

What I Shoot With
The "equipment history" with me is long & varied, to say the least. (I'm only talking about digital at this point, I'm skipping the Nikon N80, EM, FE, Rolleicord 120 TLR in this discussion.) Starting with the Canon Digital Rebel in Nov 2004, followed by the Nikon D50 in September 2005, all the way to the Nikon D5100 I now own, I've been the user of MANY different cameras.

Currently, my DSLR of choice is the Nikon D5100. I chose this model because it has a very modern & capable sensor, the same one used in the very nice Nikon D7000, and has just enough features to differentiate it from the bottom models. I like to shoot in RAW + JPEG mode, and like for the JPEG to be as small as possible, as I always edit the RAW file of the best shots anyway & only use the JPEG as a "preview" image. The entry-level models don't allow you to specify the size or quality of the JPEG as the D5100 does. Also, I like for ISO to be on display in the viewfinder at all times, and the D5100 allows this. I also like to change f-stop increments from 1/3 to 1/2, and again, the entry-level models don't allow this whereas the D5100 does. The D5100 also has "green dot reset," where you can quickly return many settings (ISO, white balance, exposure compensation etc) to their normal values so you don't forget to, say, return ISO from 6400, exposure compensation from +1.5, white balance from fluorescent, and turn off bracketing etc.

The tilt-screen, for me, is somewhat beside the point, the point is getting the latest sensor-technology in a lower-priced body that nonetheless isn't the ABSOLUTE bottom-line. Much the same was the case for me with the D5000 before it, so upgrading to the D5100 (vs the D90 or the D7000) made sense to me.

I also shoot with an Olympus E-PL1 so as to have a camera of quality with me when I don't feel inclined to lug the D5100 (even though the D5100 is actually small for a DSLR). With this model, I sometimes shoot in JPEG mode, as I'm often-times looking for a more "hassle-free" path, and Olympus models have an excellent JPEG engine. However, I will sometimes shoot in RAW mode with it as well.

What will I NOT shoot with? Camera Phones
There has been a recent trend towards "iPhone Photography," and call me a snob, but I won't have anything to do with it. People like to say that since your phone is always with you, it makes sense. I disagree, unless you're a frat boy in college documenting your bar-hopping exploits, such a camera is WOEFULLY inadequate for ANY useful photography. And no, I don't care who has won what Pulitzer Price for an iPhone photo, I still don't do it--and flat-out refuse to. I use the Olympus E-PL1 for such shots, it's still pretty small and WAY better.

Many like to respond "the tool doesn't matter," but I disagree. I agree when this statement is meant to say that you don't have to have the absolute BEST Nikon d-SLR to "rate," that you can take great photos with an entry-level DSLR vs the expensive ones. However, I think you have to draw the line somewhere. After all, would a fine cuisine chef serve someone Chef-Boyardee from a can?

How strongly do I feel about this? If I ran a photo group, I would ban the submission of any photo taken with a camera phone, no matter how good others regarded it as being. As Olympus says, "camera phones are to photography what 3 minute noodles are to cooking."

Ditto D-SLR Video Clips
I also have nothing to do with using a DSLR to shoot video clips. (I use a "palm" camcorder, the Kodak zi8.) I strongly disagree with the inclusion of video-mode, which I derisively term "YouTube" mode, in D-SLRs. Why? To me, it's about priorities and focusing on 1 task at the time, vs being a "jack of all trades/master of none." A DSLR is about uncompromising excellence with taking PHOTOGRAPHS, and I don't want the manufacturers to become distracted into pursuing anything else in such a tool. Let them do that with their point & shoots, and let the Android and iPhone devices of the world do this.

Also, I don't want the ergonomics of the tool compromised. With my D5100 for instance, as excellent as it is, I don't like the "red dot" button near the shutter release being mapped to the YouTube mode. Instead, as the D5100 doesn't have a dedicated ISO button (it can be remapped to the Fn button, which I've done), it would make sense to have this button capable of that setting, which is a STILLS setting (and DSLRs are supposed to be about stills). As it is, this button gets in the way.

How I Rename & Organize My Files

File names, to me, are very important. The default names out of the camera, similar to DSC_3493, just don't cut it. They tell you NOTHING at a glance.

When I first went digital in 2003, I would rename files like "may03_001" then "may03_002" etc. However, once I started shooting RAW, this would no longer work, as I would alternate between shooting RAW & JPEG, throwing the sequence off. Further, you would have to manually select the files for renaming, you couldn't just execute a program in a folder full of files & be done with it. Also, in the case of shooting RAW+JPEG (where you have 2 files, one RAW one JPEG), the 2 files would not keep the same name to where you link them to each other. Finally, if you deleted an image after renaming, there would now be gaps (001, xxx, 003).

Finally, around 2007, I found a system that worked for me--renaming the files based on the embedded date-time the shot was taken. I found a simple program, exiv2, an MS-DOS based program that easily did all of this. Using my computer techie knowledge, I wrote a BAT file that allowed me to run this program via a Windows shortcut without the need to entering "command" mode and typing out manual MS-DOS-era command lines.

So what do the names look like? The format basically is this:

yyyymmdd_hhmmss_quality_versionofedit_camera model

The first portion is the DATE the shot was taken, the second portion the TIME (in 24 hour format) the shot was taken. The 3rd section notes the quality of the shot (or if it was in RAW mode), and the 4th section will have _b or _c etc if it's an edit (_a would be the original). Lastly, the camera model is noted.

The quality section has certain abbreviations it uses, if there's nothing there, then "Fine, Large" JPEG is being assumed, otherwise it goes like this: (all of these are mainly for Nikon d-SLRs unless noted otherwise):

For Original Files:


sf--a JPEG image, JPEG mode, "Superfine/Large" for my Olympus E-PL1
fl-- a JPEG image, JPEG mode, "Fine/Large" for my Olympus E-PL1 (for Nikons, nothing is there for "Fine, Large," it is assumed)
nl--a JPEG image, JPEG mode, "Normal, Large" quality (my wife's Nikon D60 is usually in this mode)
n**--the JPEG file from RAW + JPEG mode (n denotes NEF, the Nikon RAW extension), ** denotes the quality of the JPEG:
      bs--basic small (done often with my Nikon D5100)
      bj--basic/large JPEG (for models that don't allow the size-quality to be set, like the D60)
      fl--fine-large (rarely done)
r**--the JPEG file from RAW + JPEG  mode for my Olympus E-PL1, ** denotes the quality of the JPEG:
    sf--superfine
    fl--fine/large
    nl--normal/large
    bs--basic/small
raw--the original RAW file
rj_*--a JPEG derived from processing a RAW file, with _b usually following denotes it's an edit; if there is more than 1 edit, this part will read _c, _d, etc.

For Edited Files
sf_b--a JPEG image, JPEG mode, "Superfine/Large" quality, an edit of an original (that's named sf_a)

nl_b--a JPEG image, JPEG mode, "Normal, Large" quality, an edit of the original (that's named nl_a)
rj_b--a JPEG image, RAW mode, an edit processed from the original RAW file
rt16_b--a TIFF image processed from the RAW file (16 denotes the 16-bit mode), _b means the RAW parameters were changed making it effectively an edit

With all of the "edited" files, there may be more than 1 edit of the original, in which those filenames will have _c, _d etc at the end.

Examples of names (I don't explain the date-time section, which should be obvious):

Filename	Mode	This File Is	Edit/Original	Camera
20120513_184323_nbs_d5100	RAW+JPEG	JPEG, Basic/Small	Original JPEG at Time of Shoot	Nikon D5100
20121203_071343_sf_epl1	JPEG	JPEG, Superfine/Large	Original (Implied)	Olympus E-PL1
20120913_132354_rsf_epl1	RAW+JPEG	JPEG, Superfine/Large	Original JPEG at Time of Shoot	Olympus E-PL1
20110403_111534_nbj_d60	RAW+JPEG	JPEG, Basic/Large (Only Option For That Model)	Original JPEG at Time of Shoot	Nikon D60
20110403_111534_raw_d60	RAW+JPEG	RAW	Original RAW file	Nikon D60
20110403_111534_rj_b_d60	RAW+JPEG	JPEG	JPEG Processed from RAW file	Nikon D60
20110403_111534_rj_b_d60_rz	Same file as above, but the downsized (rz=resize) version for the Internet

Do I Rename Every File Manually This Way?

No, no. The original-unedited shots are renamed automatically all at once using the exiv2.exe I downloaded & the BAT file I created. The edits retain much of the original name & I simply edit the relevant portion of the name while doing a "save as."

Organization

Despite that I know what "meta tagging" is and have long had tools for doing this, and have had Adobe Lightroom for about a year now, I've never bothered with any sort of "tagging" of images. As for organization, I do so almost totally by year, then date, then camera. I then organize by JPEG/RAW if applicable & tend to put any edits in their own folder (in final JPEG form).

So, if on 05/15/2012 I take photos with my Olympus E-PL1 and they're all JPEGs, and I also use the Nikon D5100 but shoot in RAW mode, the folder structure will be like this:

E:\Pictures\2012\2012-05-15\epl1\  Then all of the shots go here with no further folder structure, with the edits interspersed with the originals, as the originals will have an _a prefix & the edits a _b prefix. (If I did shoot in RAW, the original RAW files are in a RAW subfolder, the original JPEGs in a JPEG folder, and the edits in their own folder within JPEG or RAW.)

E:\Pictures\2012\2012-05-15\d5100\jpeg
E:\Pictures\2012\2012-05-15\d5100\raw
E:\Pictures\2012\2012-05-15\d5100\raw\lr3 (shots converted from Adobe Lightroom 3.5)

Is this the ideal way to rename & organize one's files? I don't know that it is, or isn't. What I do know is it makes me fully in charge of every image--the name will tell me if it was shot in JPEG or RAW mode, if there is an edit of that file which exists, and the originals link to the edits, the JPEGs link to the matching RAW files. I can tell ALL of this without even opening the image and reading its EXIF data.

My Personal Story in Great Detail

I initially made this part of my first post, and then thought better of it. I "spun this off" into a post of its own, making my personal history very brief in the first post. This is for a greater accounting of my personal journey into my photography hobby.

Early Years, 1980s

Nikon EM, my first "real" camera. Got it on
January 1983 when I was 14 years old.

Photography has been a love of mine ever since I was 13 years old and received a Kodak Ektralite 10 camera for Christmas 1981. I immediately fell in love with the ability to document my life with that thing. The pictures stunk, by any reasonable measure, but it sparked something inside of me that would never go away. Immediately, I outgrew it and longed for a "real camera" (like a 35mm SLR) that I could REALLY do something with. In this pre-Internet and "Tumblr" era, and with me being a recluse with few friends (none of which were into photography at all), the library at Snow Hill Jr High school became my friend. There, I checked out books and read books ad nausea about photography & the gear "advanced" users use for such pursuits. I also subscribed to Modern Photography (now Popular Photography) and Peterson's Photographic magazine. I had a HUGE box in my bedroom full of these issues.

One of My First "Greats," White Lake NC 1983

I learned everything I could about taking pictures & even developing them. F-stops, shutter speeds, ASA film speed, depth-of-field, guide numbers for hot-shoe flashes, "D-76" film developer, "fixing bath,"--I knew it all. During this time, a local professional photographer named Bob Aiken, introduced to me by my mother who could tell I needed someone to share my passion with, allowed me into his home while he did his thing, as I watched in wide-eyed amazement at it all. I would go into camera stores (including JCPenney's--back then, they actually had a nice selection of good cameras) and absolutely bug the heck out of those store clerks who knew I couldn't afford their nice cameras but entertained my conversations anyway. I suppose they thought it was really unusual that someone who still was 3 years away from no longer getting around via their bicycle or their parents' raggedy rust-bucket of a car could actually compare a Pentax K1000 to a Nikon EM in intricate detail (again, this was in the days before the Internet or smartphones) and know what the heck "Dektol film developer," ASA film speeds, "Ilford" black & white film and "fixed focal length lenses" actually were, even if my yellow "puppy dog" piggy bank only held enough money to buy a roll of film for a camera I didn't even own anyway.

17½ Years Later, Same Nikon EM,
I'm Still At It. Tucson AZ, Dec 2000

Finally, in January 1983, I scored my first "real" camera, a Nikon EM 35mm SLR. (I chose it over the Pentax K1000 because the Nikon had a self-timer, and as socially reclusive as I was back then, I figured I needed it.) From there, I really pursued my hobby with unbridled passion. A recluse socially, I photographed landscapes mostly. For years, off & on, I did what I could, and mostly missed. I tried close-ups of bugs in the flowers around our house, "star trails" our house, anything. 

However, finances were not great, especially in this pre-digital era where every shot you took would cost you--film processing, film itself, the cost of enlargements, trying to get slide film instead of "print" film when there were no "real" photography stores around--it was nigh impossible. I had a few hits here & there, but it never could really "take hold" in a big way for me during those years.

Digital Enables Me to Go REALLY Nuts, 2003-

Fast-forward to 2003. Just months earlier, I still had my Nikon EM for what was almost 20 years, and also had a vintage Nikon FE, which I had added right before I married in 2000. However, during desperate times late in 2002, I had pawned everything, and never got any of it back. Photography was out of my life, I didn't take a picture of ANYTHING. I'd try garage-sale point & shoots only to be (understandably) disappointed at the horrible pictures that resulted. Perhaps most heartbreaking of all: at the time, we were enduring a struggle whereby our 1st child, our son Fenton Isaac Harrison (who was a year & change old), was not home and we only saw him in visits which they allowed and during this time very few, in any, photos of him were taken, and the few that were taken were horrible in quality.

The Last Photograph We Took of Our Son. 
The Impending Loss of Him Inspired me to Start Taking
Photos Once Again. Oct 16th 2003.

In July 2003, funds were better, meanwhile we came to the realization that we would not be able to have our son come home with us as we had hoped. We were going to lose him. During all of those months prior, we had taken hardly a single picture of him at all during our allowed visits, and when we did, using those dinky point & shoot cameras, the pictures were so awful that, regardless of the heavy nature of the circumstances, we hardly bothered. 

Now, with funds better, and with a pressing desire to get many photos of our son while we still could, I re-entered photography land. Circuit City was closing out 35mm SLRs as digital technology took hold, and I got a Nikon N65 35mm SLR (with 28-80mm lens), my 1st "modern" SLR (with autofocus, auto-film loading etc), for only $230, only to shortly after upgrade it to a Nikon N80 (a much more "enthusiast"-biased model). I used it to take good photos of our son while we still could, and I also got back into "enthusiast" photography along with it.

However, even though funds were better, it was still something of an eye-opener when we saw how much we were spending on film & processing everytime we took photos of our son during visits, and while we got a few "masterpiece" shots here & there, many were merely "snapshot" caliber, what with all the clutter & sign-plastered walls present in the visitation rooms. It occurred to me--maybe a digital camera would be better for those situations, and I could save the N80 35mm SLR for my "enthusiast" work.

So, in August of 2003, I purchased our 1st-ever digital camear, a Nikon Coolpix 775, a 2 megapixel 3x zoom point & shoot. The technology now vs then is laughable, but it worked at the time. It was good for 4x6 snapshots without a problem, thus enabling us to capture shots of our son as much as we wanted without the fuss & expense of film, and to do likewise for "everylife" life--our friends, our times as husband & wife, our trips, everything. Finally, after 20 years of frustration, at least for "everyday" pictures anyway, film & processing costs were no barrier anymore. It was a perfect match for me as well, as I was very computer literate as well, I figured out concepts such as storage, light-edits, re-naming and organization of the files almost instantly.

So, it was set--the Nikon N80 35mm SLR allowed me to pursue my photography interests when I could, but I meanwhile could document everyday life without limitation using the digital. In December, I also added an old twin-lens-reflex 120 film medium format camera, a Rolleicord VA Type 2 that was 10 years older than I was.

Meanwhile, at our church, a new photography "lifegroup" had formed. Now, finally, I had a "peer group" to share my interest with. We would shoot every 2 weeks, and even with film & processing costs, I could afford that for our Nikon N80. Later, I even became the leader of this group when its founder moved onto other things.

Around this time, I had learned of sites such as Dpreview.Com and FredMiranda.Com, the former an "enthusiast's" site where I could learn more and talk with others of like interest, and study camera gear until my eyes popped out of my head. The latter allowed me to trade & sell gear, which would become important in 2004, the year I REALLY made my move.

In 2004, Nikon had introduced the Nikon D70, and this is what I REALLY desired to get my photography off of the ground--a digital SLR, and a relatively affordable one at that. It would combine the digital advantages (no film-processing costs, computer-based storage which I was a natural at) with the wonderful SLR body and image quality. However, at over $1000, I could not even come close to pulling that off. In May, I instead settled for a Coolpix 5700, an "enthusiast" point & shoot model. I started shooting and learning about RAW edits & the like with it, and sold my N80 along with it. 

Me With My 1st-Ever DSLR
November 2004

However, the REAL break came for me in Nov 2004, when I acquired my 1st ever DSLR, a Canon Digital Rebel. Selling for $900 with lens at the time, I found one for $550 at FredMiranda. By selling our spare Coolpix 5400 (a second "enthusiast" point & shoot which was acquired so my wife could shoot along with me during our shoots) and a computer laptop I was no longer using, I was right there.

From there, and with me getting a Nikon D50 (a lower-priced D70) in 2005, I REALLY started to take off, and as the cameras have gotten better and better, I have been at it ever since.

Now

We have 2 children that are at home, and I still photograph landscapes. I never realized my dream of a "wet" darkroom (although in my teen years I had purchased much of the supplies for one), but I am happily enjoying the digital equivalents we have nowadays. That currently consists of a Nikon D5100, the "best" DSLR, an Olympus E-PL1 "mini-DSLR" I take with me almost everywhere, and a Nikon D60 that my wife uses.


I am nowhere near as much of a recluse socially as I was then, but I can STILL be nervous in some situations, hence my gravitation towards landscapes--you're not risking someone's memories if you blow it (which, to this day, I STILL worry about). However, I am known to take chances and photograph portraits of people for hire on occasion. I certainly photograph my OWN children, as well as those within the family (shown, above left).

I LOVE Photographing Other People's Kids, and Do So 
Within the Family Very Often

Would I have re-entered photography even without the personal loss (our 1st son not returning home to us) inspiring me? I tend to this so. Maybe it was coincidence, and maybe I would've re-entered photography regardless--after all, the emergence of digital was HUGE. Regardless, we are very glad to have had a second chance with our 2 current children, and I am very glad 31 years after things kicked off to STILL be taking a stab at it with all I have in me to do.

How big of a mark will I make? Will this turn into a side-career for me or just be a "hobby" as my outlet for showcasing the beauty of the world? I don't know, & I can say I would be totally okay with this being "just" a hobby. I do know that the 1st 20 years of being held back, & the personal loss that helped re-boot me at the same time digital was liberating me, equates to as if an animal has been let out of the cage, free to actually live. And live I intend to.

First Post, Welcome to My New Blog!

Overview

Where It All Began: My 1st-Ever Picture,
Me & Granddaddy, December 1981

Yes, hello, it is I, Larry R Harrison Jr. This blog has been, I think, a long time coming--an outlet for me to elaborate and "chit chat" about one of my main hobbies, photography. Here, you will read different pointers on how to take better photographs, and will read basic "how to" articles on making the most of your gear available, and you will read many updates and opinions of mine regarding the latest in camera gear.

First, let me give you a brief history of my photography hobby. For a more extended history of my personal life in photography, go here.

My Personal History in Photography

I have been "at it" in the photography as far back as a 13 year-old. I had just received a 110-film camera for Christmas, and was enamored with how I could photograph life around me. I read a lot about photography in our school library and learned how to work the advanced cameras, 35mm SLRs, twin-lens-reflexes. I learned f-stops, shutter speeds, depth-of-field, etc. I also learned basics about chemical-based darkrooms (at that time, the only type that existed). I knew how to work a 35mm SLR by this time, but couldn't afford one.

Finally, the next year at age 14, I got a Nikon EM, my 1st-ever 35mm SLR. I immediately went at it, taking photos of everything, trying to be that special type of picture taker that could wow people around me. However, the limitations of film (cost, the fuss of getting slide film when no real cameras were around us, & this was pre-eBay/Amazon etc) locked me into a funk for most of the next 20 years. Other than the occasional "visit" to this hobby during a season of inspiration, I mostly did other things.

Finally, in 2003, digital allowed me to start participating in it on a more permanent, everyday basis. When I got my 1st d-SLR in Nov 2004 (a Canon Digital Rebel) and then a Nikon D50 (I'm a Nikon guy!) in Sept 2005, I really started to take off with it & have been at it ever since.


What Pictures Mean to Me

Cousins I Used to Enjoy Immensely back in 1984
(I'm on the left.) We Never Talk Anymore,
We Have Moved On & Lost Touch, But I Can At ANYTIME I
Please I Can Look at this Picture And Be
Mentally Transported Back To Those Days

To me, pictures are a means by which we can freeze time and capture memories that we can revisit anytime we wish. Our grandparents when they were still alive, our parents when they were still young and vibrant vs crippled by the passage of time & the aging inflicted upon their bodies, the time when our high-school friends or childhood buddies lived next-door & were over at our house visiting all the time before they moved away and moved on with their lives. In pictures, you can go back & see when your now 12 year-old child blossoming into adolescence & about to be preoccupied with boys was your little guy enamored with Dora the Explorer & thought you walked on water.

It is such a shame that digital did not exist until I was in my mid 30s. Digital liberates you to take all the photos you want without worry of what it costs or having to fuss with the aggravations of film. As I am something of a computer nerd as well, computer storage naturally works out for me. Since 1983-2003 was "pre-digital," the shots of that era are very scarce compared to the enormity of what I have for the time since. Man, what I could've done with it during that 20 year period, when I was 14-34.

Oh well. Since 2003 as a 34½ year-old, I have heavily photographed almost everything around me, with varying degrees of success, but with a huge amount of joy in it all along the way. The journey continues.

Again, if you wish for a more detailed & highly personal story on my historical journey, go here.