Last night, I had the privilege of tagging along for a photo shoot with my cousin Diandra Ann Photography. She was up in Portland visiting family and booked a shoot while here. I had known she was planning on shooting while up here, so I asked if I could see what she does and how she shoots. What a better way to learn then to watch a pro work!

My role for the night was chauffeur and location scout since both Diandra and her client, Sarah of Yellow Eleven Photography, were from out of town. We wound through country roads stopping occasionally at a spot that stuck out to Diandra.

5 Things I Learned

I was able to shoot a little while Diandra was at work, but I did a whole lot of listening, watching, and learning.

1. I’m afraid that I am going to get into people’s personal space, but when you are shooting people it’s okay.
2. Being able to give good direction makes a world of difference. This is something that Diandra excelled at.
3. Show people what to do, don’t just tell them.
4. It’s okay if a setting/position doesn’t work. Move on.
5. I undershoot. It’s okay for me to shoot a little more and sort it out later.

A Few Of My Shots

Have you ever had one of those days when you are eating lunch at your desk and you start nodding off to sleep? That was my day today. To fight the lunch time snooze, I decided to take my Rebel T2i and head outside. And the product of that 30 minutes outside is 7 decent textures.

Feel free to use them download them and use them how you see fit. Just don’t sell them or redistribute them. And give credit when appropriate.

I hope you enjoy them!

I stumbled upon an article today about Independence Day & Christianity. The article challenges some of our assumptions and understanding of what we are really celebrating and the implications of it. Though hard to swallow, I find myself agreeing with the author. Here is a quote from the article:

No matter what position you hold in regards to being a Christian and war (I happen to hold to nonviolence), I believe we cannot justify glorifying the ‘winning’ of our independence from our friends across the pond. How can we celebrate that we killed thousands upon thousands of people because they were taxing us without giving us representation in parliament?

What do you think? Jump over to Sojourners for the full article.

A new design for a new season! It had been too long with a design that I didn’t like much. So, I decided to simplify. Cutting out unintentional graphic elements, the new design focuses on what is important: content. That is one thing that I’ve learned recently. Design choices must be intentional to be effective.

What inspired my choice is that in the past I’ve worried about something that looked good and never wrote much. And now I’m going to start to write. But not about what I think I should be writing about. I’m going to write about me, my life, and what I happen to be interested.

And I’m excited for the change.

For those who may not know what the old design looked like, here are before and after screenshots.

Thirty days ago my wife suggested that I start taking at least one photo a day. It seemed like a great idea since I’ve decided to make photography a hobby. This project has helped me grow immensely. I know many of my photos are nothing great, but that’s what you get when you remember at 10 PM that you still need to take a photo for the day.

Here is a gallery of my first 30 days of the project. And yes, I did miss a couple days.

A little while ago, I was looking for a good lens for my Canon Rebel T2i (side note: I wish they just called it the 550D in the US. It’s so much less gimmicky.). I wanted something that was fast for low light, but something that was really sharp. A sharp lens with good color can make all the difference in your photos.

I ended up settling on a Sigma 30mm f/1.4. The reason I decided on the 30mm was three fold. First, the 30mm equivalent focal length (efl) is almost 50mm. Simply, it gives the same field of view as a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. This makes the lens quite versatile. Second, it was fast. Third, it was several hundred dollars cheaper than the Canon equivalent.

Now, I gotta say that people always suggest getting the Canon L lenses if you have the money. But seriously, how many people can blow a $1k+ on a lens for recreation? Not me.

To keep this short, I love the lens. It’s amazing. Quick to focus (at least for the T2i). Even at f/1.4 the lens is pretty sharp. If you are looking for a lens, I’d recommend it. However, read reviews on sites like Amazon and make an educated decision. That’s my advise.

Here are a few samples shot with the Sigma 30mm on the Rebel T2i:

Recently, I picked up a great book about photo design at Powell’s Books in Portland. The book is called The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman. One thing that I love about the book is that the author doesn’t just write an opinion piece about what people like, but Freeman provides design and art theory and principles that can be applied to photography (or really any design/art medium). I’m learning a ton from this book.

One principle such tidbit is the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization. These are all about how people perceive elements in any composition. It’s something really helpful to be aware of. Here is an excerpt from his book:

The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization

• Law of Proximity. Visual elements are grouped in the mind according to how close they are to each other.
• Law of Similarity. Elements that are similar in some way, by form or content, tend to be grouped.
• Law of Closure. Elements roughly arranged together are seen to complete an outline shape. The mind seeks completeness.
• Law of Simplicity. The mind tends toward visual explanations that are simple; simple lines, curves, and shapes are preferred, as is symmetry and balance.
• Law of Common Fate. Grouped elements are assumed to move together and behave as one.
• Law of Good Continuation. Similar to above, this states that the mind tends to continue shapes and lines beyond their ending points.
• Law of Segregation. In order for a figure to be perceived, it must stand out from the background.