Shortleaf

Photo of the Week #4: Barn at Sunset

Ryan — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:01:26 +0000

Here is the first, though probably not the last photo I’ll post of my barn. This, as many of my photos are the result of having my camera with me at just the right time, rather than picking a subject and waiting for the perfect scene to occur.

I added a gradient neutral density effect in Lightroom because I still have yet to but an actual ND grad filter.

24mm, ISO 500, 1/40sec @ f/5.6

Photo of the Week #3 – Firery Sunrise

Ryan — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:08:29 +0000

This week I had a nice problem to deal with – choosing between several photos to post of my photo of the week. The other morning I managed to shoot 3 completely different, but interesting photos and had a hard time selecting which one I liked the best. I ended up with this one because I like the vibrant color and the subtle tree branches that almost get lost in the bright sunrise through the fog. The first couple shots I took more to the right of the sun, but in this shot I actually included the sun in the frame, which I like.

Although the photo strikes me as fairly warm, it was a quite chilly morning.

105mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/250sec @ f/10

Emma’s First Bears Game

Ryan — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:07:23 +0000

Tuesday night was a much anticipated night, for me at least. I took Emma to her first bears game. I think she mainly went because I promised to buy her some mint ice cream, but nevertheless it was fun to see her dressed in her bear-wear (even though I forgot to put mine on amidst the excitement).

Emma got to see the bears defeat the Salukis of Southern Illinois and from pretty good seats I might add! We met up with my friends Bridget and Andy, who are also loyal bears fans.

Photo of the Week #2: Eily’s Reflection

Ryan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:16:16 +0000

Well it’s only the second week of this project and I’ve already broken my self imposed rule of posted primarily artsy or nature photos rather than cute photos of my kids as the photo of the week. But I found this shot both cute and interesting and it’s my project so I can post whatever I feel like.

The reason I find this interesting is because in Eily’s eye you can see the reflection of my silhouette taking her photo and the flash illuminating the doors and part of the ceiling. For some reason I’ve always found it interesting to look at the reflections in people’s eyes or sunglasses to see the subject’s perspective at the time the photo was taken.

Aside from that it’s just a cute photo…

Photo of the Week #1: Hayes Spring

Ryan — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:36:43 +0000

This year I am going to attempt to take and post a ‘photo of the week’. Considering there are many weeks I don’t have tons of time, they may not all be great or even good, but it should be a fun project nonetheless! Feel free to critique my selections!

To get things started I’ll post this shot I took a couple days ago while taking Eily on her first hike. We went with Grant and Gavin on a short afternoon stroll at Hayes Spring Conservation Area. You may recall, this is the same place I took Emma a couple months ago back in the fall. It was certainly more scenic in fall, but it was also nice even on this mild winter afternoon.

On this outing I was playing around with a 28mm prime lens Grant let me borrow. Here are the settings for the image:


28mm, 1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 250

Sepia effect in Lightroom

The Winter Landscape

Ryan — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:06:58 +0000

Winter in Missouri can be a pretty drab time considering most of the undeveloped landscape in the state is either farmland or deciduous forest. Even in spite of that I find the bleak winter landscape enjoyable. I like the change from the almost baroque greenery of the spring and summer months to the more muted browns, greys and yellows. One exception to the rule is waterways, or at least the one near my house. In the cold of winter, the water typically becomes clearer and more blue.

The winter landscape can be messy, especially in forested areas hit hard by the ice storms of recent years, but it can also be more interesting with the foliage no longer hiding the contents of the forest from view.

Probably the most annoying thing about winter is scraping frost off my windshield in the morning. I absolutely hate that!

Flash Photography

Ryan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:32:23 +0000

My camera does not have a built in flash and I’ve never been a fan of flash photography so I didn’t buy one to go with the camera. Also, since cinematography (my degree) deals only with constant source lighting, I am relatively uneducated about exposing when a flash, or multiple flashes are involved.

I recently borrowed a friend’s flash just to play around with it and I’ve been really enjoying it. I don’t like the flat in your face flash snapshot look, so I usually point the flash at the ceiling or a wall, which usually gives me nice, or at least interesting results. If I ever decide to buy a flash, I’ll probably also buy or make some diffusion to go along with it. I’ve already envisioned a device that would bounce a little bit of the flash straight at the subject while letting most of the flash hit the ceiling or walls for indirect light.

Here is an shot where I was playing around with the flash. It’s mainly just an excuse to show off my cute baby girl.

Settings:
1/100sec @ f/1.4, 35mm, ISO 100.

Show-Me Bowl 2011

Ryan — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:01:59 +0000

Thanksgiving weekend marked my former high school Webb City’s 12th appearance at the Class 4 Missouri State Football Championship, cleverly named the “Show-Me Bowl”. We decided to make the long trek to St. Louis to catch the game and see a few sights in Missouri’s most populous metropolitan area.

The game was among the most exciting I’ve seen ever. The cardinals played MICDS, a private school in St. Louis, and neither team was capable of stopping the other’s offense. Webb City scored on every possession except the first and when the clock ran out at the half. MICDS scored on every possession except for 2, both in the second half and both teams successfully pulled off on-side kicks to attempt to steal an extra possession, since it seemed the only way to win this game was to have an extra possession. For most of the game, the score was tied or one team had a temporary 1 score advantage.

In the end a total of 98 points were put on the board, which was a Show-Me-Bowl record for all classes. With Lamar and Rogersville also bringing home titles, it was a good showing for Southwest Missouri at the dome.

A 60ish yard score that sealed the win.

Eily hangin’ around with Grandad.

The next day we visited the arch and enjoyed the fairly nice fall morning in the park!

The I-44 Challenge

Ryan — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:35:04 +0000

Saturday was the “I44 Challenge” where my alma mater came to Joplin to play an exhibition game with MSSU and the proceeds from the event went towards a tornado recovery fund. It was fun because it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to go to a Missouri State game without having to leave town…probably since I lived in Springfield. It was also fun because Bridget and Andy came down for the event and it was also Eily’s first bears game!

As you can see in the photo she was quite interested in the action on the court. I think she’s going to be a good bears fan!

The Unexpected

Ryan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:20:21 +0000

Lens: 24-105 f/4L @ 35mm, f/5.6, ISO 500, 1/10sec.

There is a spot near Table Rock Lake that I keep wanting to photograph. Given the right conditions, I believe this particular view would make a stunning photo, however I cannot seem to position myself there with any kind of decent lighting present. While spending a week down there a few weeks back I decided to get up in the dark of the morning and drive to the spot to wait for sunrise. I selected a morning when fog was in the forecast, thinking the fog would fill the valleys and make for a great sunrise photo.

As it turned out, the fog was so dense that I couldn’t see anything other than this tree until well after 10am, at which point the magical morning light was long gone. I didn’t get the shot I wanted, but I did get a pretty neat photo of something unplanned. That is the way it often works with nature photography. I rarely get what I expect or intend to get. Nature always throws a curve ball, but if I’m lucky I still manage to get something worthwhile. Even when I don’t, I still enjoy the pursuit of captivating images.