TOPICS:
Weekly Twitter Roundup – 2010-09-03
- Off to another shoot… #
- At a family shoot at my new favorite location in east Lewisburg! #
- - : Book by it's Cover – My Flickr Faves http://allenmowery.com/boo-by-its-cover-my-flickr-favs #
- - : 100 Step Challenge Goes International http://allenmowery.com/100-step-challenge-goes-international #
- I'm closing up and calling it quits – http://wp.me/pa2Ap-eb #
- - : Pregnancy and Romance – August 2010 Faves Roundup http://allenmowery.com/pregnancy-and-romance-august-2010-faves-roundup #
- Use Live View (and a mirror) to Capture Extreme Angles – http://wp.me/pa2Ap-dH #
- I'm not nearly as paranoid as my wife, but it's time like tonight that I'm glad I know the baby Heimlich Maneuver…. #
- Ah…second homemade latte of the evening… #
- Lovin' NPR live streaming… #
- - : FEATURED IMAGE – Sleeping Cherub http://allenmowery.com/featured-image-sleeping-cherub #
- Finally traded in Mamma Mia! and Moulin Rouge for Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. It's a good morning… #
- Shooting straight espresso, reading essays, and piping in classical music from Minneapolis… #
- Today is a good day…a bloody good day, in fact. #
- - : Santtu at the Station – My Flickr Faves http://allenmowery.com/santtu-at-the-station-my-flickr-faves #
- - : Test Post #
- - : Test Post http://allenmowery.com/test-post-2 #
- - : Test #
- - : Test Post #
- Anybody know of any art exhibits, etc. in Lewisburg, Williamsport, Selinsgrove…even State College…tomorrow evening (Friday)? #
- 13 Fun Self Portrait Mirror Shots – http://tinyurl.com/36m4kr4 #
- Check out First Friday tonight in downtown Williamsport! – http://tinyurl.com/2a3ajtd #
How To Send Images to Flickr Groups in Bulk
How many times have you uploaded a new set of images to Flickr and find yourself going into each individual image to select the groups you want to add them to? Well, here is a very simple process for adding images to your favorite groups in bulk!
- Click the “Oraganize & Create” drop-down arrow along the top of the page.
- Select “Your sets & collections.”
- When the organizer loads, select the “Groups” tab along the top of the page. This will load all the groups of which you are a member.
- Select your images (use Shift/Ctrl/Cmd + Click to select multiple images) and drag them to the groups you choose.
Have any Flickr hints or tips? I’d love to read them (and maybe share on the site)!
Santtu at the Station – My Flickr Faves
As I have mentioned before, I am an unashamed lover of HDR photography, so it comes as no surprise that my list of Flickr favorites includes a good share of images captured and processed in this way.
This particular image, taken in the skywalk leading to the Union Station in Toronto, is the work of Finish-born photographer Ville Miettinen, a man whose work I absolutely love. The detail that he captures in his images is downright astounding, so be sure to check him out!
- Ville’s Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wili
- Buy prints of Ville’s Work: HERE
FEATURED IMAGE – Sleeping Cherub
FEATURED IMAGE – Saturday our son fell asleep while eating lunch, so I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots. I used a Promaster 7000m mounted on the camera, bouncing it off the white wall to camera right at 1/2 power.
Use Live View (and a mirror) to Capture Extreme Angles
How many time have you found yourself laying in the mud or standing on someone’s shoulders in order to capture a unique angle of your subject? I know I have more often than I would like to think, but a simple solution is to let Live View be the liaison to your eyes.
The Problem
The problem when trying to capture extreme photographic angles, or even a little varied perspective, is that a person is either too short (for high angles) or too tall (for low angles). And, oftentimes, I have found that simply shooting high/low and hoping I got a good shot doesn’t really work.
“Why not just simply stand on your head to take the picture?” Well, apart from the blood rushing to your head and the additional unwanted attention you would undoubtedly be drawing to yourself, it’s just plain complicated. When I shoot I like to keep the viewfinder at my eye, making any necessary adjustments without pulling away. Try doing that with your camera set on the sidewalk!
The Solution: Use Live View
That’s pretty much it! Use live view mode to more easily enable you to capture those stunning perspectives. Leaning back to view what your camera will capture is much easier than “shooting and praying.”
One Step Further: Use a pocket mirror
“Okay, you dolt*, but I’m still gonna have to stand on my head!” This is not necessarily true. Unfortunately, my low-end Canon is not equipped with a flip-out LCD screen like some cameras on the market, so my only alternative to shooting blind was to hunker down to see the screen, which was, undoubtedly, better than face-planting the sidewalk. Then I thought of a simple solution…so simple, in fact, that I firmly planted my palm against my forehead. Why not simply carry a pocket mirror with me to reflect the screen, thereby forming the same basic principle that is inside the viewfinder and making it much easier to view and control from a comfortable distance. So, I now carry a cheap, rectangular Goody cosmetic mirror with me to do the work that my head on the ground once did.
*DOLT: One who is clueless not only about current events but also has the IQ of a rock. “Dolt” may be the most sophisticated insult in the English language. Dolts commonly populate such stereotypes as jocks, nerds, fruits, bookworms, and dorks.
DOLTERGUIEST: A spirit who decides to haunt a REALLY stupid place, like a septic tank.
How about you?
Got any tips for capturing images at extreme angles or heights? Feel free to share in the comments!
Pregnancy and Romance – August 2010 Faves Roundup
There are a number of users on Flickr who limit the share-ability of their photos. This is a collection of some of my Flickr Faves that cannot be shared directly on my site.
- {overdue} by J. Soltren
- Amy & Scott by John Gardner
- My First Wedding by Christophoros Papachristophorou
- 28 [weeks] by Heather Evans Smith
Calling it Quits: Monday Musings – 8/30/10
IT’S OFFICIAL: I’m closing up and shutting down. And, no, I’m not calling in the family and saying my last good-byes before I shuffle off this mortal coil.
Over the last number of years I have operated my own graphic design and marketing business. It’s been an interesting ride, and I have learned a lot of skills and valuable life lessons that will stay with me for a long time, probably forever. But I have come to a new chapter in my life, and life of my family, and since God has not chosen to bless me with omnipresence or omnipotence, there are some things that must be cut. So, moving forward, I have chosen to not accept any new client projects and am working to wrap up the ones currently on my proverbial plate. However, I will continue the printing side of the business for the time being.
The driving force behind this decision? My wife and I are both in college, focusing our time and energies into that as much as possible, and between our studies, our focus on family, and my current full time position in marketing and design, there were just too many irons in the fire to dedicate the attention we should to reaching certain goals over the next several years. There were many factors that went into the decision of what to axe, but in the end it simply came down to prioritizing what I felt to be important on a variety of levels. Stepping up to take it’s place is my focus on photography which has been growing rapidly over the last while, and I would not be able to dedicated the necessary attention to it if I were splitting my energies and resources.
Will this ever change? You mean, will I ever run my own graphic design business again? Possibly, I’m not sure. If the right opportunities come at the right time, maybe.
Are you giving up graphic design entirely? In a word, no! As I mentioned above, I am currently employed as a graphic designer, so I work with it on a daily basis. Plus, it’s an awesome field that I do not want to loose touch in, and my focus on photography will go perfectly with it. In addition, graphic design will be/can be a huge asset to my photography…like pickles and ice cream. I’m just simply not officially going to be taking on external client projects (with maybe a very few exceptions).
What happens to the business? Well, I’m still trying to decide all of that. Do I pull down the website or simply revise it to only focus on printing? (Should I even continue the printing aspect of things? I’m leaning towards “yes,” for several reasons.) I have been using my business email address (…@mowerygraphix.com) for years now as my primary address, but do I switch it over to @allenmowery.com instead? There are a variety of factors that I am still working through, but I anticipate some quick resolution.
Am I happy with my decision? Yes. It’s downright liberating! The goals and ambitions that I once had have changed over the years, and at this point my future is still playing itself out. It’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see what is in store!
100 Step Challenge Goes International
Photo courtesy of Johan Andrén
Click to learn more about the 100 Step Challenge.
Granted, the 100 Step Challenge was not an original idea, so I can’t take credit for its inception. However, I can take credit for Swedish blogger Johan Andrén picking it up and propagating it himself. On Saturday, Johen posted his own experience with the 100 Step Challenge (complete with photos), siting me as the source of his inspiration! (Oh, exciting stuff, I know…) Check out Johan’s blog here, and if you scroll down to the bottom of his 100 Step Challenge post (click) you can see my feeble attempt at Swedish (props to Google Translate)!
