Scattered Thoughts . . .

I'm always looking at the light and hoping to find interesting light as it contrasts with shadow, texture, and patterns. I constantly see the scenes in front of me framed as a photo composition in my head. I don't put the camera to my eye until I see a composition in my head which I find interesting. One evening, a pair of loons visited while the sun was setting. The sun was a bright orange and it was behind this pair of loons. The scene was actually quite blinding but I was able to see something interesting... I was just barely able to see the silhouette of one of the loons... just enough to be able to focus on the loon... all around this loon, the water was shimmering and reflecting the warm orange glow of the setting sun...  The moment I depressed the shutter release, I knew that this would be an interesting photograph... a different photograph... I like it!

Panasonic G3 camera, Olympus Zuiko 70-300mm lens As I was writing my previous blog post this morning, I could hear all sorts of birds and squirrels outside  for the first time in quite a long time . It was as though they all moved into the area at the same moment! It has been unusually quiet here for months... no small wildlife at all... no birds, no squirrels... just an odd silence outdoors. All of a sudden, this morning, this all changed. I grabbed my newest camera purchase... my Panasonic G3 with my old Olympus 70-300mm lens mounted on it. This combo gives me a very long telephoto reach equivalent to a 600mm field of view on a full frame camera. This is a loonnnggg telephoto reach in a rather small package! When I stepped outdoors, I headed toward the deeper part of the backyard with old, tall trees where I figured most wildlife would be located. As I walked back that way, I listened to hear where the birds were located... "hmmm..." all the noise seemed to be c

Flash photography has always been a thorn in my side.  I'm not alone though.  Most people have no clue how to properly shoot photos using a flash and that includes most photographers! Whenever we think of "flash photography" we picture a photo, any of millions of photos, that look like there is a big spotlight shining on the subject.  The background is so dark and underexposed that you can't see further than about ten feet in front of the camera.  These kinds of photos are terrible and have always bothered me. There is nothing 'warm' about them... there is nothing exciting about them... you can't even tell where the photo was shot... and they almost always cause the subject to frightfully resemble that "deer in the headlights" look. To imagine the types of photos I am referring to, think of the last time you tried to shoot your friends at night... you are in a beautiful location with warm lighting throughout the room... there is beauti