A Photo Story

Here is an example the colored fireworks.  For these, I could leave the shutter open and catch multiple fireworks going off during that time period.  I think it turned out well. Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 24mm, 1.3 seconds at f/16, ISO 200.

Welcome back to the Photobook Solutions blog.    Hope everyone had a great Independence Day.  My favorite part is taking photos of the fireworks.  I have quite a few to share over the next few days.  I found a good spot to shoot this year at Houston’s Freedom Over Texas.  I had my tripod set up with my camera on manual.  After a few fireworks went off, I found that the best orientation was portrait instead of landscape.  I used some trial and error and took many shots to get an idea of when to open the shutter and when to close it on the bulb setting.  I found that with white colored fireworks, shorter shutter speeds were necessary to keep the shot from being too bright.  Colored fireworks could have a longer shutter speed.  Also, I decided on an aperture of f/16 to maximize the blackness of the sky.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 40mm, 1.3 seconds at f/16, ISO 200.

With the start of the new year, have you considered starting a 365 photo project?  Many people decide to take one self or family portrait every day for 365 days.  This is a really interesting project.  The photos don’t have to be in  your best condition.  In fact it’s just fun to see a narrative of your daily living.  Photos at breakfast, or going to bed would work.  Photos of your kids just being kids.

Also, check out the Flickr 365-day groups.  It might be interesting to see what other people are doing.

If a portrait a day is not your cup of tea, think about other items that can create a 365 photo project.  Maybe 365 photos of buildings, trash cans, or street signs.

Most of all have fun with your camera!

The other day I was driving across Texas.  Outside of the city lights, the stars were bright and numerous.  I nearly pulled over to stop and just gaze up at them.  I probably would have if I would have had my camera and tripod in my car with me.  I spent the rest of the drive kicking myself for not bringing the tripod.

As I drove over a hill a gold light became visible in my rear view mirror.  The moon was rising in the east directly behind me.  It was golden due to the low spot on the horizon and it was gorgeous.  In fact I was most impressed when an 18-wheeler crested the hill behind me and with the moon just so, it was a perfect photo, but only for a second.  I really longed for my camera and tripod.

Beauty is everywhere and you never know when a great photo opportunity will present itself.

Now that 2010 is started, it’s time to do something with all those 2009 photographs.  I chose my favorite photos from the year and put them in a 2009 Year in Review album.  This photo album was the perfect gift for my parents and grandparents and we were able to sit down and look at all my pictures together without having to pull out the computer.  What have you done with all your 2009 photos?

Perhaps it’s time to give Photobook Solutions a call so we can get your photos into an album and off your computer.

Do your New Year’s Resolutions include organizing your photos?  If so, give Photobook Solutions a call.  Before you know it your photos will be in an album and you can cross that task off of your to-do list.

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Happy New Years Day and Happy Friday.

The simplicity of this house attracted me in the midst of highly colorful houses filled with yard ornaments.  I took the photo at a slight angle to make it more interesting.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 18mm, 1.3 seconds at f/7.1, ISO 400.

Happy New Years Eve!

At night when long shutter speeds are necessary to correctly expose a photograph, I look for interesting motion.  Here are two Spanish dancers.  The twirling of her skirt caught my eye and I knew I had to capture it on film.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 18mm, 1/5 seconds at f/4.5, ISO 1000.

One of the assigned challenges on this photowalk was to find holiday cheer in an abstract form.  I liked finding smiles and when this one popped out at me I just had to take a picture.  This smile is adorable and completely happenstance with the bush in front of the window just so.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 200mm, 1.30 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.

Part of my experimentation with the holiday lights was to zoom in very close to several lights.  When I first looked at this photo, it almost looked like fireworks going off.  Detail photos can end up being very interesting.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 200mm, 1/30 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.

This is a wonderful example of using motion in photography.  I saw this guy on the side of the road twirling lights.  I slowed my shutter way down to capture the movement of the light.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm at 1.6 seconds at f/8.0, ISO 800.