Feminine Protection

Winchester 1894

911 can send crime stoppers at 80MPH.
Her rifle can send them at 1600 MPH.
Questions?

Stark White Backgrounds

Zack Arias gives a tutorial on shooting into a stark white background. It's not how I did it , but I might use it in the future.

For the image at right, I used a white cinderblock wall and direct sunlight. It did not take much to blow out the wall when the jacket was properly exposed. At any rate, Zack Arias is blogrolled. Good stuff there.

Blues Man

I photographed a local guitar player for a soon to be released CD last weekend. Gary Ferguson once played in South Texas on the Rock & Roll and Blues circuit. He has slung riffs with the likes of Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Kenny Rogers once borrowed a dollar from him.


Gary's favorite instrument is his 1956 Gretsch Duo Jet. The photos I took last weekend were for what may be the last album Gary will record. He has contracted Alzheimers, and is slowly losing his ability to play. I tried to capture the fragile slice of time that remains of his musical creativity for him.

Trek Commuter Update

I received the Specialized Armadillo tires and mounted them on the Trek 970 commuter bike. My tastes have evolved to the right combination conglomeration of parts and ingenuity for me, and the Trek will be very similar to my Raleigh commuter bike.

Because the Trek has no fender eyelets on the front forks, fenders may be a challenge. Also, I had to go with 26X1.95 tires, the more narrow Nimbus Armadillos were no longer available. Beach cruiser style fenders would fit. A commuter bike needs fenders, so I guess I'll fit the cut down fenders that I had on the Raleigh at first.....

This afternoon I am off to photograph a local guitarist for an album release.

Light

I dislike most of the "strobist" portraiture I've seen. It seems as though many photographers use raw lighting without any modifiers to soften it. Perhaps that is the "modern" look to photography, but I much prefer my images to be lit with a more diffused light. In my opinion, the lighting should never overpower the image, the subject, or the message (assuming there is one) of a picture. If it does, the harsh light is like a shriek of a turpentined feline in a violin concerto. Studio lighting should imitate natural light in my opinion, and the closer it mimics it, the better. Thoughts?

100 Strangers Question

I just joined this group and plan on starting my 100 strangers in about a month or so.

Here's my question: I only own a compact digital camera. Is that good enough to get some nice shots? Do you guys all use a digital SLR or is a compact enough? I really want to buy a SLR, but it's way expensive and I'm not that skilled with photography yet.

To those of you who use a compact: don't people decline way more often because the camera doesn't look "professional" enough?

Thanks a lot!

It is the photographer, not the camera, that makes great shots.

If you use your compact well, know it intimately, and tweak it's settings to get the most out of it, you will shoot more beautiful photographs than 98% of the people who own DSLRs. This is aptly demonstrated by several award winning journalists going into war zones, and similar situations with only point and shoots. They are getting the shots, great shots, on the fly with incredible light. The work is making national and worldwide publication and acclaim. The first was Magnum photographer Alex Majoli in 2003.

The point and shoot has several advantages over the DSLR. It is quiet. Discreet. Ideal for candids. It is light. It is simple and quick. The LCD screen is perfect for off hand shooting. That is why a Nikon S52 is my constant companion. Even when I am carrying two (yes two!) Nikon D200s.

The DSLR gives you a bit more credibility in regards to stranger photography, but it also gives a false impression of a photojournalist. With some strangers, this can be a plus, with others it can be a hinderance. I am often asked if I shoot for a magazine or newspaper.

Until I finally bought my first D200, I shot digital exclusively with point and shoot cameras that I purchased used in pawn shops for under $60. I ride my equipment hard, and considered them disposable. Then one day a D200 was on the pawn shop shelf..........

Get started in the project. The type of camera you have is not a limitation, unless you make it one.

Please don't get me wrong, I totally love this as it is an awesome picture, and I have total respect for your photographic vision. I only wish my photographic vision were half as good. However there is one thing, which is that I see in color. Do you not? I hear dogs see in black and white are you a dog? When I look at this I see a totally unrealistic representation of reality as I see it. Why don't people understand that human beings see in color and black and white far from being artistic is just a depature from reality as bad as anything you could do in PhotoShop? That's my only comment otherwise I love this. I just really wish it had been in color as it would have been double awesome. dmofong999 please see my photostream

More totally awesome photo critique here...........

First, I would like to thank my readers who have emailed me well wishes while I was at a rather abrupt hiatus in my blog. I also want to apologize to the folks who continued to check in each day or two to see if there was anything new posted on my blog. I genuinely appreciate your readership.

I would say that I was spirited away by extraterrestrials, or traveled to distant and dangerous lands with a super secret squid platoon, or perhaps, that I had been in the witness protection program. The truth is much more pedestrian. I woke up one morning with a double dose of writer's block and a side order of other responsibilities. Sometimes, for whatever reason, we begin to feel like a repetitive, dissonant chord in a run away symphony of disagreeable music. When that happens, we can lose focus and turn to things that we feel are more productive.

As many of my readers know, I have rediscovered a long lost love for photography. It's not easy reacquiring old skills. I have been reading, studying, capturing light and sculpting with light. I am beginning to get a few images I am happy with.

There have been some readers who have exhorted me to get back to guns and shooting as a topic. It's true that this blog has been generally seen as a gun blog. Guns, shooting, and defensive survival skills are a part of my life. However, I feel that what I needed and wanted to say a few years ago has been said ad nauseum. There are a lot of great gun blogs on the internet. Folks that are better equipped than myself, both with a keyboard and a trigger, write blogs.

I've reached that place in defensive training and gun ownership that makes me comfortable, and barring some unpredictable event that produces a paradigm shift in my way of thinking, I am not likely to change. To me, it's basic. Train hard. Shoot a caliber sufficient to incapacitate while maintaining the accuracy necessary to stop a threat as quickly and efficiently as possible. Train hard. Train to shoot on the move, to recognize emerging threats so you have the response time needed, and take every advantage you can to preserve your life and the lives of those you love. I have found what I believe to be my solution to the problem of self defense. My solution might not be the best choice for everyone, but I believe it is the best for me. I've written about it, and until there is a change, I think I've said it as best I can.

I've never been one to discuss politics much, nor religion. I am not going to become an evangelical drone in opposition to the current political administration, no matter how distasteful I may find it to be. I have my beliefs, and they will not change. I figure the thing to do at the present time is as much damage control and containment as possible and vote the sons of bitches out of office in the next go-around. My blog is not likely to become a political blog.

I have rediscovered this love of photography though, and I have been teaching my daughter how to use her own digital SLR. At the end of the summer, I surprised her with her own Nikon DSLR, and she has been learning to see as a photographer. We have also planted the seeds of our own photography business, with her working as my assistant as I photograph actors and writers in the area. I continue to work as a nurse, but I am starting to consider an actual side-line business of photography. I have thought about studio space, the financial aspects of it all, and I may be drafting up a business plan soon. These are the things that have taken away the time I once devoted to writing.

Learning new things takes time and dedication. While my blog has been a journal of sorts, I recognize that the bulk of my readers do not come here for my thoughts on capturing light and composing form. So, while I am still regaining my footing in that area, I have kept my thoughts to myself for a while. For those truly interested, I apologize. I do want to say that I am OK, in good health, and that I have not been devoured by jackals or pancaked by a beer truck while riding my bicycle.

To catch up with the burning question I left hanging in my last post of more than five sentences........... The gun range at the Police Academy........ There was a demonstration of the Heckler & Koch MP5, and a SWAT officer's personal AR. I was amused at all the gadgetry on the AR. Perhaps in SWAT, lights and infared cameras have a practical application on an automatic carbine, but I almost started to think SWAT was an acronym for Special Weapons and Toys. During the SWAT demo in a previous class, I was not impressed with the tactics demonstrated. Of course, it might not take much in the way of tactics to take down the standard delusional Bubba that is well armed but off his medications. That's their job, and I figure they do it well enough. Who am I to criticize how they do it as long as they do not infringe on the rights of the law abiding?

The range class was four hours on a Saturday morning, and I got to fire a total of thirty rounds. Budget cuts, I guess....... Although I had 500 rounds of 45ACP and a range bag full of 1911's in my trunk, we were not allowed to bring our own weapons into the class. I had the choice of a .38 special S&W revolver with a four inch barrel, or a 9mm Glock. I chose the revolver, shot it double action. I smoked the rest of the class and performed as well as the best instructor did with his Glock. One of the instructors tried to match me with the revolver and failed. The instruction was competent, although an unfounded gender bias was verbalized several times. At 15 and 25 yards, I kept all my groups tight and I hit multiple targets as they were called out to me. Thirty rounds was used up quickly though.

After the class was over, I helped put away the target frames, and I noticed a couple of falling plate racks in the storage shed. I mentioned to the instructors that I had ample ammunition in a 45 caliber and several nice pistols to share if the instructors wanted to roll out the plates and continue to shoot a bit. Although the rest of the class had left, the instructors declined my offer. I won't speculate why.

But at any rate, I will be back to writing, but the subject matter will likely stray from guns rather frequently. This may have been viewed as a gun blog by many, but in truth, it is just a blog of my thoughts. It's getting late, and I am on call with a full schedule of cases in the AM. Thank you for your readership.

Nikkor 500mm ƒ8 Reflex

Yes, I finally found a subject that it captured beautifully. Thank you.

100 Strangers

One of the more challenging photographic endeavors I have been working on is stranger photography. I am participating in a group known as "100 Strangers." The group seeks to help it's participants build the skills and chutzpah to request a portrait of a complete stranger, and quickly compose and get the shot.

The social challenges are great. Getting past the reluctance to approach and request a photograph of a stranger is an obstacle for many photographers. Once the person agrees, getting them to relax and drop their guard is the next hurdle. All the while, the photographer must quickly evaluate lighting conditions, composition, and the best angle for the subject. Quietening fears of how the image will be used is also a challenge.

My first stranger photography actually was done years ago in the Orient. That was a different time and place though. Times have changed. I first began to approach strangers for photographs at the Tea Party I documented some time back. Most of those people were hoping to be documented by the media, and were happy to pose. People such as Anthony, who I approached as he was fishing, are often more reluctant.

People moving along the street are even more recalcitrant about a quick photograph. Tabitha was attending a concert, and at first wanted five bucks for a photo. When I turned to walk away, she agreed to a photograph or two for free. The spontaneity of the resulting images is one of it's greatest attractions for me. It's a lot like fishing with shiners. You never know what you will come home with.

The objective of the group is to learn a little about the person, to make contact and have them agree to a photograph. Candid shots and long range telephoto shots are not admissible. 100 Strangers is one of the most energizing photographic endeavors I have undertaken. I am up to fifty-nine strangers now. I am using my Nikon D200 with a 50mm or 28mm lens. I noticed early on that I had a tendency to stay within my comfort zone with people not unlike myself, and I took steps to rectify that. The experience has been exhilarating. After I reach a hundred strangers, I intend to continue with the project.

Portraiture

The first portrait session with Michael DeVault went well. Michael approached me for a few portraits after seeing some of my work online. I took photos of him in his office, as well as in a friend's courtyard.

So far, I have not relied on strobes or typical photographer's lighting gear. I rely on sunlight. I'm cheap and low tech, I guess. That's the main reason. I suppose investing in some lighting equipment would give me more flexibility, enabling me to shoot when and how I would like. It would also involve managing more gear however, and also invest in the time required to learn to use it well. I like to see what I am getting when I press the shutter. I do own a collapsible reflector. I haven't used it much....

Michael is a novelist, currently working on his third book. He is the author of Anything But Ordinary and Thunder in the Distance. The shots I took will be used on the "about the author" section of the book jacket on subsequent books. These two frames are my personal favorites, and aren't necessarily the ones he will chose to use.

I find that I enjoy the spontaneity and serendipity of shooting environmental portraiture. Being able to adjust to available lighting conditions and still squeeze out a decent shot is what excites me. Taking a bunch of supplemental lighting gear up a couple of flights of stairs does not. If I continue to shoot portraiture for profit though, I may have to readjust my way of thinking........

Portrait Mosaic

For those readers who have been missing my gun posts, and for those who have been enjoying my photography posts, here is a bit of what I have been working on.

1. Nikon F

2. Portrait

3. Red for Burma

4. Alvin

5. L.J. "Boots" Hinton

6. Cowboy in the City

7. William

8. One More Round

9. Duff



Go to the links, give me some views. If you are a member on flickr, hit me as a contact. I'll be back to guns soon....... I appreciate your patience.

Xavier

The Beginning

My first set of photographs of Tea party participants is nearly exhausted. The message the people who gathered was clear and undiluted. There is a groundswell building. It will not go away unless the path our government has chosen changes to be for the People and by the People once again.

I am going to end this series with a few faces from the crowds. The crowd is getting larger, and more discontented. Should the government fear them? Yes, they should. This crowd wields the most powerful weapon in existence. They believe in themselves, their country, and they vote. It is only beginning.......

100 Strangers

I have begun participating in a group on flickr that seeks to photograph 100 different strangers (per photographer) as a learning experience. A lot of the participants seem to be quite shy about approaching a complete stranger and asking to photograph them. For some reason, this does not seem to be a problem for me.

Perhaps it is because of my time spent in Japan, where strangers often approach each other for photographs. Perhaps it is because I have worked as a nurse, where I deal with complete strangers on a rather intimate, albeit professional basis each day. Perhaps my ease comes from a long history of reading people. I don't know why, I just don't seem to have a problem with the approach. Heck, all they can say is no.

In reality, I think that I can simply pick out the willing. They advertise the fact that they want to be seen like a peacock. It's the people who are the most unusual that not only make the most interesting photographs, but also are the most willing to allow an unknown photographer to document their appearance. People like Mr. Fontana, pictured here, are much more difficult to convince.

Flat Tax

Nikon D-200 70-210 zoom ƒ4

L.J. "Boots" Hinton

"They knew they would die, but they would die together. It was a love story that shamed Romeo and Juliet," declares L.J. "Boots" Hinton. A retired lawman, the 75 year old Hinton is now the proprietor of the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum in Gibsland, Louisiana. Boots Hinton knows the stories of the notorious lover criminals all too well. He is the son of Deputy Sheriff Ted Hinton, a participant in the May 23, 1934 ambush outside of Gibsland.

Known locally as the "Marshal of Main Street", Boots constantly peers out his plate glass window, ever monitoring the goings on in the sleepy Southern town. The town will soon awake from it's slumber, however. This photo was taken a few days before the 75th anniversary of the bloody ambush. Gibsland holds a festival each year to commemorate the event. Boots is expecting the 75th anniversary to be especially busy. All the while he sat for his portrait in the natural light of his office, his Bluetooth kept him busy. His desk phone kept ringing. Calls were coming in from all over the United States, and as far away as Europe.

Security

Nikon D-200, 85mm ƒ1.8

Dangerous Musician

Nikon D-200 70-210 zoom ƒ4

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Nikon D-200, 85mm ƒ1.8