Shooting Track

Light. Focus. Emotion. Story.

Those are the things I look for when photographing sports. Although I know how to find these on the soccer pitch and the baseball diamond, shooting track has been much tougher.
But I'm getting better.

I was pretty frustrated with the results from my first track meet.  The only good shots I got were taken with my longer lens and when I got up to move around the track.

So, for the second time out, I decided to use my long lens, my monopod and to move around to try to capture more of the overall track meet experience. But always focusing upon the four keys.

Light . . . 

Focus . . . 

Story . . . 

Emotion . . .

I think I'm getting better at this! 
{Inspired by my friend Becky who posted these reflections on shooting tennis}.


  

ZIZO #13: Eggs!

Clara's chickens have started laying! It's very exciting. The Buff Orpingtons lay brown eggs; the Americaunus lay blue-green eggs, and Laverne (the white leg horn) will lay white eggs. I had fun photographing these eggs for this week's version of zoom in < zoom out, a photography meme sponsored by Helena.  See more here.

Thoughts on 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt

The first day of spring has passed, and I've been having thoughts about summer, which leads me to thoughts about the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I've really enjoyed hosting this event for the last few years, and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year.  Interesting items to add to the list have been floating through my mind and ideas about how to structure it have been simmering there as well.
For those of you who haven't participated before, I host this event starting on June 1 and running until the last day of summer (September 22, 2014). I post a list of about 20 items for people to find and photograph during the summer. I encourage people to blog about their finds, and I host a link-up once a month. The original idea was to create a list which gets people out and about during the summer months to explore places they might not otherwise go, but I also include items which are somewhat challenging to find. The time frame is long enough that most people are able to find most of the items without being too stressed. It's become a way for people to open their eyes and be aware of their surroundings and also a way to see the great variety of items found around the world. There's usually about 60 participants from all over the globe, which means some people are actually participating in the summertime scavenger hunt during the winter (those in Australia and New Zealand).
The scavenger hunt is free and open to everyone! If you don't have a blog, you can put your images in a flicker account or any other photo hosting site that works for you. The only rule is that the photo needs to be taken during the time frame of the Hunt (no using old photographs from your archives).
You can click on this link to see all my old scavenger hunt posts. The 2013 list is here. You can click on this link to find the 2012 list. The 2011 list of items is clickable here. 
So, I was wondering if you have any feedback on the last few hunts. Any suggestions for what to do this year differently than before? It seemed to run pretty smoothly last year, so I'm leaning to using the same format. But I'm definitely open to suggestions. 

A Weekend Ramble through the Random

1. We recently got rid of our 2000 Toyota Avalon and replaced it with a BMW SUV. I was surprised by how sad I was to see the Avalon hauled away. It was still running (barely), but definitely time to let go. But we owned it for 14 years. I remember when we bought it and loved driving it; loved teaching Henry to drive in it; and remembered when he drove it alone to High School for the first time. Sigh. Oddly, I have often felt a strong attachment to my cars - my first (a 1963 Chevrolet Valiant station wagon, which I blogged about here); the first new car Paul and I ever bought (a red Chevy nova) and even my current BMW (which Paul bought me as a 25th wedding anniversary present). Have you ever had a strong attachment to a car?
2. My new favorite iphone app may be "Collect - Everyday Photo Diary . . ." It's a really easy way to record a photo for each day in the month and leave a brief note about it. Plus, it prompts you if you've forgotten. I'm really enjoying it. Have you tried it? Got any other good iphone apps to share?

3. We're full-on into track season here. Last weekend, we spent a wonderful, sunny, exhausting day at the "Dublin Distance Fiesta," which culminated in a distance medley relay, followed by a full-on, line dancing party in the infield. This weekend, Clara is participating in the Santa Barbara Easter Relays. We stayed home, but are monitoring the website for results. Relays are fun!

4. Meanwhile, back at home, Clara passed her driver's permit test, so she can begin to learn to drive with a parent in the car (or a driving instructor). She can apply for her actual license in September.
5. Spring is here. The weather is warming up. The hens are almost 5 months old (I think). They've gotten much bigger - fat and happy.  But, still no eggs. When will they start laying???

Photo Credit: Becky Ruppel (thanks Becky!)

6. The boys are back in town . . . I picked Henry up from the airport on Thursday evening. He's home from college for spring break. And so are many of his friends. A bunch of them went to the high school baseball game yesterday, and my photographer friend Becky captured these three. I'm so happy to have my boy home. We have a date this afternoon to eat burritos and nachos, while watching his Oregon ducks play in the NCAA basketball tournament. It makes my heart happy.

What's making you happy this weekend?

ZIZO #12: The Path

Photography never ceases to amaze me in its ability to open my eyes, to help me see the new, even on a path I walk every work day. 
My zoom in < zoom out pair, linking up to Helena who inspired this lovely meme.

Class Review: Frugal Still Life Photography

At the beginning of the year, I was happy to hear about a free photography class offered by Cheryl McCain called Frugal Still Life Photography.  It turned out to be so popular that Cheryl decided to offer it as self-paced paid class available here for $25-$30.
The class ran over eight weeks, with a new prompt posted each Monday morning. The prompts varied - some were subject-related, others composition-related and a few were technical challenges. Each prompt included several examples created by Cheryl. There was also a link-up available for participants to show how they approached the prompt. Cheryl used a lot of textures and made several available for free to workshop participants.
My favorite thing about the class was that it forced me to think about still life photography and gave me the opportunity to spend time considering subject matter and composition. I really enjoyed exploring this aspect of photography, and I think I will continue to do more of it in the future. My only complaint was that the lessons were more inspirational than educational. The one educational one (on metering) was too confusing for me to understand. But, for a free class (or even for one priced as low as $25-30), I felt it was definitely worth my time. Overall, I would give the class  a solid B. To improve it to an A, I would suggest adding a formal critique component. For the rest of you who took the class, what did you think?

Blog cos you want to: Still Life Free Choice

My friend, Sian, runs the "Blog Cos You Want To" Club where she suggests some easy ways to create blog posts. Recently, she suggested simply posting a photograph of a craft project without worrying about coming up with words to go with your photo. She suggests that you might just end up with an interesting post. And I think she's on to something. . . 
I've been meaning to photograph these embroidered cat pillows. I did the embroidery when I was quite young. They are, from what I can remember, my very first craft projects ever. They make me smile whenever I look at them, partly because I remember the joy of completing the embroidery and partly because they are one example of what a great gift-giver my mother was. You see, although I completed the stitching on these cats, I never actually made them into pillows. My mom did that and then gave them to me for Christmas one year when I was in my 20's. She had found the stitched samplers and knew I would appreciate receiving them in a more functional form. And she was right, as witnessed by the fact that I have kept them safe and secure for another thirty years.
When the Frugal Still Life Photography class posted a "free choice" subject for the final week of class at the same time that I read Sian's club inspiration, I decided to try to create still lifes using these pillows. 
And here's what I came up with:

I think this is a much better way to photograph the red cat pillow than simply by its lonesome. 

And then there's this:

 

{thanks to Deb Turtle for the bird}

I'm unaccountably happy with this second effort. There's something homey and whimsical about it, but it suggests a story as well. It's my selection for the "free choice" still life. 

And, finally, here's one last photograph. It's a project, and I'm not explaining it.

Because Sian said that I didn't have to . . .

Are you bloggin' cos you want to?