Happy New Year 2009! I hope it is healty, happy and prosperous for everyone. 

2008 was a pretty good year; did some traveling (got lost in the Gobi Desert), took some pictures, sold some pictures, got a new camera (or two) and nearly fulfilled my 2008 New Year’s Resolution.  What was my resolution you ask?  Well, for 2008 it was to take 6 (six) images that were good enough (both in composition and image quality) to print (at 17×22), frame and sell in a limited of editions of 10 each.  So out of the thousands of images taken in 2008 I got (drumroll please)… 4 (four)! Which was pretty good if you ask me. Sure I had quite a few images that were pretty good (some I felt damn good); but in the end only 4 made the cut. 

Selling my work was quite an experience.  I don’t quite know how to describe it; I sell commercial work all the time, but selling something as “art” was somehow different.  I took it personally (which I never do with commercial stuff), I was actually concerned with people’s opinion.  Well let me rephrase that, I’m always concerned with the client’s opinion (after all they are paying for it so I’d better care), but I don’t take it personally when they don’t like it or want me to make a change; it’s just part of the business.  But this was different I cared what people thought, I mean really cared.  I remember walking into a framer with one of the buyers (he opted to buy an unframed print; and pick his own frame); there were 20 people in store not including the staff and every one of them had something to say about the image (some good, some bad) needless to say I was very uncomfortable.  And things only got worse when the framer asked me to sign the matte (the signature on the image was covered by his choice of matte) and a few of the customers realized I was the photographer.  That made for a few awkward moments but in the end resulted in another sale, so I guess it was a good thing.

I haven’t decided on a goal for 2009 yet but I’ll post it here when I do.

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WOW! I’ve really been slacking off; I missed at least two months.  In brief I: moved (just down the block from my old place), finished a huge work project (about 50 shooting days) and today remembered I was supposed to shooting and sharing something everyday.  So let’s get sharing…

D3 AFS 200-400VR @200mm 1/1250 f/7.1

It has been a while since I’ve been really challenged in photography; I’m not saying I know all there is to know, it’s just that most of my work is commercial, controlled and “safe”. I know my lighting setups, the subjects aren’t moving or if they are it is in a very linear and predictable path. So when my friend Mark called and asked me to go ”birding” this morning I was excited and ready for something new and challenging. Apparently you have to get up EARLY for birding because for some reason I was in the car and headed down the freeway before sunrise (I know I know the “golden light” of pre-dawn; but you know what it’s pretty golden at 5PM too).  Now I know shooting action isn’t easy but I figured I would be pretty good at this bird stuff. I’ve covered my share of sporting events (Soccer, Basketball, Football etc.) and I know the ins and outs of my AF system but this was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  Birds are small, FAST and hard to track, did I mention FAST?

D3 AFS 200-400VR @200mm 1/800 f/5.6

Honestly, I took roughly 300 shots of these pelicans circling and diving and flopping around in the water before I got a handle on how to anticipate their dives.  Then came figuring out how to track them… hmm single focus? What about AF-C Dynamic (51-3D or maybe 21), wait but what about the Lock-On value? Or should I just hit the “idiot box” (no offense if you use “Auto-Area”)? So after about an hour of fumbling with the different settings I finally figured it out and was able to get a keepers.

Tags: Birding,Photos
Categories: Learning, Photos
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