Finding A Gritty Garage In An Unknown City - That's Where We Come In

A photographer can close his or her eyes and envision THE shot that will end up taking up the cover of a magazine or as a poster hanging up in the office of a Fortune 500 CEO’s office. As a photographer, your job and skill is getting the shot; working with the light and the models, insuring that the camera and lens are performing at their optimum levels and you have everything set to translate the photo that you see in your head and making it happen in front of the lens. Ideally, you have plenty of ideas on where to take this photo based on your knowledge of the city, perhaps you grew up there or you visit your grandparents every year in a city and know of the perfect spot to execute the shot.

Sometimes you are hired to take that photo that you have in your mind or that the marketing company has vaguely painted for you and expect you to take the photo in a city you have never been to in your life.

That’s where we come in.

Here is the story of an auto garage scout and its’ destiny to meet Roy Ritchie Photography…

                                 

                         

Heroes

Heroes. Everyone nowadays has their own definition of what a hero is. Is it a fireman who runs into a blazing inferno to risk his life just because some onlooker said that a child might still be inside. Is it a soldier who dives on top of a grenade to sacrifice himself so that his fellow brothers can continue the battle?  Both of these examples in my opinion, are heroes. Our perception of what heroes our I believe has changed in recent times. It seems like the act of being brave instantly allows you to attain hero status. I believe that heroes come in all shapes and sizes.  A hero to you might not be recognized as one by your fellow man, but if someone in your life has earned that hero status, then they are a hero in someone's eyes, even if the entire country has never been told their story. 

Mental toughness is an attribute I have a great admiration for. Doing what you have to do no matter the circumstances, how miserable you might be performing said task or anything of the sort. Always pressing on regardless of how cold it might be, how tired you are or when your last day off was. 

My dad is the perfect example of the above. Many of you may or may not know my dad.  Many are intimidated by him when they first meet him.  He's the stereotypical tough guy that can stare down the devil himself and make him cower in fear. Peal away all the layers and you have a sensitive, caring individual who would do whatever it takes to help you in any way he can, no matter how hard or long the task asked is. Did I mention he has Stage IV Colon Cancer?  This has obviously impeded his day to day life but his mind and drive are as alive as ever. 

I used to despise his growing up. Some of my worst memories as a kid growing up what yard work. No matter how hard I tried, he always told me I wasn't doing it right or it needed to be done this way or that. To this day the smell of cut grass takes me back to South Lakemont Ave in Winter Park with him taking the lawnmower away from me and finishing the yard himself. It tore me up because I wanted to do it, I wanted to contribute but more importantly, I wanted him to be proud of me that I had done the job correctly. 

Recently on a trip to a spring, I saw a middle-aged man teaching a group of youths how to snorkel, dive down a bit and come back up. One child only went under for a few seconds and maybe 6 feet down but when he surfaced way sooner than the other children in the group, he was immediately told how good he did and how proud of him the teacher was. In my mind I thought," Are you kidding me?".  I could hear my dad yelling at the kid from inside my head that it wasn't good enough or we weren't leaving until you go all the way to the bottom. This is how I learned many traits and skills.  I wasn't allowed back into the boat when trying to learn to water ski until I got up on both skis and was able to stay up. If you wanted back in the boat, you better get up on two skis and stay up. Which is exactly what I did.  Some might say it's a harsh way to teach a child but I believe it instilled a sense of self reliance at the same time. 

My family is not the ordinary family. There are days that I wish we were, I think it would be easier.  But if we weren't who we are now and not gone through what we have, we wouldn't be the people we are today. In third grade I was pulled out into the hallway to see my mom and the principal talking quietly as my teacher escorted me out into the hallway. My mom walks over to me and says, "Grandma is dead.  And we can't find Grandpa".  It's as if it happened yesterday and I'll be the first to admit to having a poor memory. That is the day when our normal family life that I knew and loved ended. Grandpa was found dead a few days later in Jacksonville. 

In no way am I complaining nor am I trying to set apart my hardships with others. I had an amazing childhood and there are many who have experienced far worse things than I. I'm only painting my picture for you. These experiences have made me and everyone in my family the individuals that they are today. 

Who is your hero?  Stop and think about it. We all have one. Who is a person in your life that has made a difference when everyone else walked on by?  Heroes come in many shapes and sizes, but we all have at least one person we can classify as one. 

Times change. People change. Places change.

We all know that change is inevitable, but is it always for the better?  For example, a local, family owned produce store that had a sandwich counter and wine section has relocated to the mall. The ambiance now?  Insufferable. No more friendly greetings as you walk in the door. The one on one service is gone. It might as well be a huge big box chain that came into a strange town, opened up shop and is trying to overpower the local market. Maybe the store owner thought that a location with a higher traffic count would be better for his business. But people will drive when they've found that special place that they can depend on to deliver what they are looking for.

There's a special place in Orlando that most would call outdated. I would call it outdated. But there are certain aspects of this place that are staples of the establishment that shouldn't be changed.  You don't take down the green monster at Fenway to put in more seats. You don't tear down the Ivy at Wrigley to make way for ad space.  

Today I found that a few places that I hold near and dear to my heart have been removed at this outdated hotel to make way for more rooms. But it's what they took away are aspects of the foundations of this place that very well could have been kept or at least relocated.  Now they are nowhere to be found. For a tourist that has never been here before, they would call it an improvement, but in actuality, they don't know what they are missing because they never saw what was once here. And what was here was great and shouldn't have been messed with. I'm glad that I have photos to remember them by or else I would have to depend on my memory to which I shall be the first to admit can't be relied upon at times. 

Before you make a change, take a moment and take a step back, take a deep breath and make sure of the decision you are about to make. A small change in your eyes might be a huge change in someone else's. You can attribute this to a job, a relationship, a friendship, or in this case a renovation of a hotel. Every place has its own soul, it's ambiance which is important to some, but maybe not to someone living in another state that is only looking at a pro-forma and doesn't care what changes are made as long as the numbers at the bottom line stay black and only increase in size. 

The soap box is now yours. 

Please Help My Dad Fight Cancer

First off, thank you for taking the time to read this.

My dad has been fighting colon cancer over the last few years and it has taken a significant financial toll on all of us in the family. I would please ask that you read his story at the link below and donate if you can, even the smallest amount would of great help.

www.gofundme.com/Fighting-Stag…

If you can't donate, please share the link on your Facebook page or your Twitter feed or anywhere else you think would be of benefit. Thank you again for each of you doing what you can to help my father. We all have our battles and right now I am fighting for him and doing what I can to help him. Thank you!

Rob

Taking Control Of Your Photos

This will be the first in a series of blog posts entitled, "Taking Control of Your Photos".  Framing your image can only be done by you.  Choosing the right angle, distance, time of day and camera settings are all variables that are controlled by you, the photographer.  Yet, there are many other aspects that make up a photo that your camera decides based on software and computations that are done without your knowledge that also can have a huge impact on the look, feel and overall tone of your photo.  I am going to tell you how to take control of those parameters so you can decide what your photo will look like without the camera dictating that to you.

The topics I am going to cover over the next few posts are as follows:

• Shutter Speed / Focal Length Rule of Thumb
• Setting Proper White Balance
• Why you shouldn't shoot in Programmed Auto
• Shooting in Aperture Priority
• Shooting in Shutter Priority
• Advantages/Disadvantages of shooting in Aperture or Shutter Priority
• RAW vs JPG
• More To Follow

I am going to make the assumption that if you are reading this, you realize what focal length is.  If not, a lens that is a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens for example, has a wide and a long end.  The wide end would be 70mm and the long end is 200mm.  Those numbers are the focal lengths.  If you shoot a picture at 135mm, that, would be the focal length of that particular photo.  The longer the focal length of a lens, the further "reach" it has to pull in a subject to you.  A 600mm lens is VERY long and can see a flea on a dog from a mile away.  A 12mm lens is on the opposite end of the spectrum is very wide.  

There are three key elements that make up each and every photo taken.  Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.    Each one plays off of the other two and always need to be in sync to capture a sharp, well exposed, clean photo.  Right now, I'm going to concentrate on Shutter Speed since I'm going to explain the rule of thumb to follow using the relationship between shutter speed and focal length.

Shutter Speed is the length of time that the shutter inside the camera is "exposing" the film or in today's world, the digital imaging sensor to the subject.  On your camera, the shutter speed is shown most of the time as a fraction, i.e. 1/500, 1/250, 1/8, 1/4 and so on.  This can also be a whole number such as 1", 5" or 8".  A shutter speed of 1/2000 is VERY fast, whereas a speed of 1/2 is extremely slow.  1/500 reads as one five hundredths of a second.  1/2 reads as half a second.  In the photography world, 1/2 second is an eternity.  1" second is even longer.  So much can happen in half a second to make the photo that you think you have framed correctly and planned out completely turn into a blur.  

Here is where the rule of thumb comes into play.

Now, this rule of thumb only works when you are shooting without a flash and without a tripod.  This is for shooting handheld.  The rule of thumb states that your shutter speed should be equal to or faster than your focal length.  First, frame your photo.  Take a look at your lens and see what focal length you are shooting at.  Lets say you are shooting at 125mm.  Turn that focal length into a fraction by placing a 1/ in front of it.  125mm becomes 1/125.  This means your shutter speed needs to be equal to or faster than 1/125 of a second to eliminate blur in your photo from camera shake.  The longer a lens, the more susceptible it becomes to camera shake.  Hand-holding a 500mm can be done, though the rule of thumb states that your shutter speed needs to be at least 1/500 of a second or better.  1/1000 would be acceptable and 1/1500 would be even better and so on because they are faster speeds.  Less can go wrong in a shorter amount of time.  

500mm focal length, 1/1000 of a second.  Nice and sharp.

200mm focal length, 1/80 of a second.  Too Slow.

A 50mm lens is considered a normal focal length.  It's not wide, but also not long either.  It's normal.  50mm becomes 1/50 of a second.  A shutter speed of 1/50 or faster is required to gain a sharp shot.  1/60, 1/100, 1/200 are all faster and would be acceptable.  1/40, 1/15 or 1/10 are slower and shooting at these speeds will risk a blurry photo being captured.

In my next post, I will address what to do when your shutter speed is too slow for a given focal length and what advantages shooting in a different mode will give you.  

This all is about taking control of an image and making it yours.  Anyone can point the camera at a subject and press the shutter release.  Knowing how to capture the absolute best image given current conditions and setting up a shot properly is key to becoming a great photographer.  Keep shooting, keep practicing and remember the fundamentals of what makes a great photo.  

Packing Your Camera Bag, Intelligently

I cannot tell you how many times I have stared into my camera bag and pondered whether or not I was taking the right lenses along. My main concerns are:

• Bag weight - How long and how far will I be carrying around my camera bag around while shooting?
• Subject matter - What will I be shooting and is there any lenses or accessories in my bag that I can leave at home? Is there anything that is not in my bag that I need to consider bringing along?
• Length of stay - Will I be away from home and do I need to bring a charger for my camera or flash batteries?

The first bulletpoint topic won't apply to you if you only have one lens. In today's world, consumers having only one general purpose walk-around zoom lens is not abnormal at all. Most advanced amatuers do have a few lenses and if you are obsessed like I am, you have more lenses then will fit into your bag even without a camera body occupying it. If you are shooting indoors at a birthday party or a baby shower for example, a standard zoom will suffice. My "normal" lens is a 28-70mm f/2.8 Nikkor. It's wide enough to use inside but also is long enough to tighten a shot if needed. I would feel comfortable enough bringing strictly this lens and leaving all others at home because it's a great range; a common range that in most circumstances works quite well. If I have never shot at a location previously, I would also consider bringing something even wider. A large group of people in a confined space requires an even wider lens because once you zoom out all of the way, you have to start physically backing up. My goto lens in this circumstance is my 15-30mm. Notice that right now I am not bringing any lens with a focal length longer than 70mm. You just do not need to bring a large lens ( high focal length mm ) with you to an indoor occasion such as a birthday party, etc.

In regards to bag weight, if I know that I will not be lugging around my camera all day, I feel more comfortable packing the bag a bit heavier knowing that I can either set it down somewhere or I can leave it locked securely in my car's trunk. You can now buy bags that are suitcase style and have wheels to make moving your gear around even easier. Most of these feature locks and even cables to secure the bag to a much bigger object so that your gear does not grow legs of it's own and disappear. ThinkTankPhoto offers a great selection of these type of bags. I have always used LowePro for my camera bags. They offer a great selection of sizes and have always built quality products.

There are certainly days where I leave the house and really don't know where I will end up shooting but also don't want an overly heavy bag. On these days, I pack the following:

• Nikon D200 camera body.
• 28-70 f/2.8
• 70-200 f/2.8
• 1 Flash
• Spare Memory Cards
• Camera Connection Kit for my iPad

You might wonder why I am so concerned about bag weight. Early in my photography shooting life, I shot an entire Formula 1 race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Having not been there before, I brought absolutely everything with me that I could fit into my bag and brought my heavy ass tripod to boot. I had my Nikon D1h body, 3 spare batteries, a very beastly 80-200mm AF-S f/2.8 Nikkor, 28-70mm f/2.8, 15-30mm Sigma, and my 50-500mm Sigma. My inexperience at the time had me switching lenses left and right without learning to use the best aspects of one lens and sticking with it. I enjoyed the fast focusing and quality of the 70-200mm, but the reach of the 50-500 was unparalleled. Did I use the 28-70mm? No. The 15-30mm? No. It was simply dead weight that I got to lug around that ENORMOUS racetrack all day with not a single shot using either of those lenses. Knowing that for the following day, my camera bag was lighter having only brought the 70-200mm and the 50-500mm.

Spending a few minutes thinking about what you will be shooting and which lenses to bring will make your back and shoulders thank you later in the day!

The third bullet point is simple. If you are staying overnight somewhere, pack your camera battery charger and if you plan on using your flash, throw that charger in your overnight bag as well. If you don't use either one, so be it. But if you do need it, you will have it handy.

Airshow Photography

When we visit airshows, we visit for the way aircraft seem to slice through the sky without effort, the way the afterburners rumble the ground on the takeoff roll. Trying to capture this is a photograph can be difficult. Obviously we cannot reproduce the sound of an F-15 Eagle barreling down the runway pulling into the vertical and disappearing out of sight into the sky. But what we can do is capture the speed, the raw power and the beauty of these aircraft.

I have been shooing airshows for over 10 years varying from a huge fly-in such as Sun ‘N Fun in Lakeland to small shows with only a handful of performers flying to a crowd gathered on the edge of a lake. Of course, shooting any subject multiple times will teach you the dos and don’ts and will also help you hone your techniques to deliver the results you expect.

So what makes a great airshow day? In my opinion, I don’t want a clear blue sky as it looks like each aircraft is simply cut and pasted into the sky with no reference or relationship to the background, as shown in the photo of the F-16 shown below. A few spotty clouds is ideal, it gives the photo depth and texture and can sometimes frame an aircraft as shown below as well with the Mustang.

 © Rob Clements 2012

 © Rob Clements 2012

The sun can be your friend and can quickly be your enemy as well. One important rule of thumb for any type of photography is to shoot with the sun to your back if able; this gives you the most contrast on your subject and disposes of any risk of lens flare. Shooting into the sun at an airshow makes for an absolutely dreadful time as exposing aircraft with the sun behind them is nothing short of tricky. A well planned, thought out airshow will favor the runway ( if winds allow ) that gives the spectators the best view without looking up and into the sun for the duration of the show. 
Speaking of spectators, if you plan on shooting any airplanes in the static display or any other aircraft on the ground for that matter, plan on getting there early. It can be difficult to shoot an aircraft on the ground without someone in a big floppy straw hat stepping into your frame while he peaks inside the jet intake of that F-22 Raptor that you’ve been looking so forward to getting a shot of. Not only will shooting at an early hour reduce the number of people walking around the ramp, it will also let you shoot in that golden hour of warm light in the morning that just makes planes on the ramp glow almost like they are alive.

Most photographers have their own opinions about focal lengths to bring to an airshow. Ideally, a wide angle lens is great for capturing those views from the tail of a warbird looking up the fuselage to the propeller. I believe most will agree with me on this point. Another advantage of shooting with the wide angle is that you can get closer to an aircraft and reduce the number of people that are going to walk in front of you because you are able to stand a lot closer and get the shot. 

A prime lens (fixed focal length) will always give you a sharper image than a zoom, but it is definitely not as flexible at an airshow as a zoom is. I really enjoy the ability to frame the subject using the zoom knowing that I will be able to keep cropping to an absolute minimum in post processing because I framed the shot when I took it. Focal length is important for getting the shots that you will be proud of when reviewing your images after the show. Vapor pouring over the wings in a High-G turn is a great example of a longer lens paying dividends back to you. In my opinion, 200mm on a D-SLR is the minimum especially if you have a camera with a 1.5x crop factor (that 200mm lens becomes a 300mm). A long prime lens such as a 400mm f/2.8 will allow you to capture some very tight shots but you will lose some flexibility once the aircraft nears your shooting position as you cannot zoom out. Shooting this way requires some fast thinking and framing technique on the fly. Like I said, I'm a big fan of a long zoom at airshows because of this very reason. I'd rather frame the shot at the moment of capture then losing precious image size while post processing.

Now this might come as a surprise to some, but photographing a jet is easier than photographing a much slower moving aerobatic aircraft.

Why? Simple. Since there is not a moving propellor on a jet, the only thing to worry about is to ensure that your shutter speed is fast enough to get a sharp shot on the plane and at an f-stop that is in the sweet range for your lens. You don't want to shoot an entire airshow at f/2.8 just because your lens will allow you too. You might end up with a very fast shutter speed, but your images will not be at their optimum. As long as you have enough shutter speed while shooting the fast movers, bump your f-stop down a few bumps from it's maximum.

On my 70-200mm f/2.8 as example, I typically shoot at f/4.

Propeller driven aircraft and helicopters are both a different story than the jets. Any propellor in the photo should not be frozen due to a fast shutter speed. It's not natural and it just looks wrong.

Helicopter rotors are not visible while they are flying overhead, so why should they be any different in your photo? A slower shutter speed and consequently, more technique is needed to get the blades in motion while also keeping the rest of the aircraft sharp and in focus. I will normally shoot at f/8 and adjust the aperture up and down from there to gain the best shutter speed. 

As far as where to shoot from during the show, I prefer to shoot from what is known as, "show center".  This is the point that all of the pilots will use as a reference or almost like a home plate for their entire routine.  Take into consideration any potential obstacles that might block your shots such as temporary control towers , rescue equipment, etc.

Try to attend as many shows as you can and learn to deal with the variables like the weather and the crowds.  You will learn to adapt to shooting each type of aircraft be it a fast moving fighter or a tumbling aerobatic Pitts.  Enjoy yourself, have fun and keep shooting!