The J-Mo Zone » Photo schtuff

a quick run “home”

THE J-Mo — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:08:43 +0000

I had the opportunity to zip up to the Smokey Mountains this past weekend to spend time relaxing with friends. I grew up in Knoxville – south Knoxville to be exact. From my house there, it was only about a 45 minute run till you were in Pigeon Forge and a few more minutes to Gatlinburg. From there you were another few minutes to the Sugarland Visitors Center – the first spot most folks go when arriving at the park. Back in the day, my friends and I would take my Trans-Am and go all over the place. Nothing like having the t-tops out and driving around those curvy mountain roads to make for a fun time.

I did make it over to Cades Cove to drive around the loop. Nothing has changed from what I could tell. My last time in the park was at least 20 years ago. I did get to see some wildlife this go around. First was a small black bear. Of course all I had on my camera was my wide-angle lens so that did me no good. All you see in the image is a dark spot in the grass. I did have better luck with some deer though…

new awards

THE J-Mo — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:52:13 +0000

What a pleasant surprise! Our agency won some awards for work we did for the City of Decatur. One was even “Best of Show”. This is one of those things we’ll be placing on our website, but one of the steps was to get a photo of the awards themselves. The problem is that they are made from a clear material with some faceted accents which can make photos a little challenging. I had an idea of how I was going to light it and nailed it on the first try. Checkit yo.

weekend fun

THE J-Mo — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:44:03 +0000

Friday last week ended a busy few days for me. The big news is that my parents are in town for a visit. Picked them up from the airport Thursday without incident, but had to put up with the minor inconvenience of VP Dick Cheney’s motorcade returning to Air Force Two – they temporarily shut down a few roads which caused some delay but nothing unreasonable. Anyway, I spent Friday evening with friends relaxing at Maria Bonita. Megan was under the weather and stayed in that evening to get some much needed rest.

Saturday was a big day of football. Alabama won, the Vols got smushed (I am NOT at all happy with that NOR am I impressed with our new QB) and Auburn fell to LSU. A mixed bag for sure. I spent the evening photographing a surprise birthday party for my friend David’s 30th. His wife did a great job of planning things out and keeping it all under wraps. I was pleased with my photos although the more I look at the images coming from my 5D, I really only turn to my old 20D for backup purposes as the quality difference is monumental. Speaking of 5D, Canon announced the newest iteration of the 5D, the 5D Mark II. Full-frame and 21 megapixels has me (and plenty others) drooling. It’s got a spot on my wish list for sure.

Sunday morning came early. I was on drum duty so that meant I needed to get there by 6:30 am. Due to some logistical challenges, the mood was not its normal cheery albeit groggy self. It was crotchety. Not one to let other people’s moods influence mine too much, I went about my normal setup routine which went off without a hitch. My audio setup was even smooth which was a pleasant surprise. Almost as quickly as it began, church was over and it was time to pack up and leave. Our lunch crowd avoided the regular restaurant choices and instead opted for Pizza Hut. As a result, we had food in front of us after only a few minutes then were headed home in no time. MUCH better than burning 2+ hours at most other places.

Ended the evening having a nice cookout with the family.

it’s the big daddy

THE J-Mo — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 02:32:27 +0000

Thanks to a buddy of mine, I had the opportunity to sample Canon’s current pro-body and the go-to lens of most sports shooters. The combination of Canon 1D Mark III and 300/2.8 IS lens is a common sight along the sidelines of most professional sporting events. Since we didn’t happen to have any pro events going on here in the big city, I had to opt for the next best thing – local high school football. Keep in mind that while the camera is a Canon and I was somewhat familiar with the controls, it’s a whole ‘nother ballgame with this body. 45 focus points (as opposed to the 9 I’m used to) plus a top speed of 10 frames per second makes this the right tool for the job. The whole rig is a bit large, especially when you have the hood on the lens. The weight is still manageable although I;m sure I would be reaching for a monopod if I was shooting for an extended period. I ended up tinkering around for a little over a quarter and got a good feel for the camera. I didn’t get anything spectacular but I think with practice, I could get some good stuff.

Busted Stuff…

THE J-Mo — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:49:47 +0000

That’s the title of a Dave Matthew’s Band song and album by the same name. It could also be used to describe my DVD player – dangit. Jason was over here the other day so I was going to show him something I had on DVD only to find it wasn’t working. When you put a disc in, the player would try to read it then after a minute, display a cryptic error message. I Googled the error message and found the problem – the spindle motor was dead. There was a slim chance that it had frozen in place and by removing the player’s cover, manually turning the disc could free up the mechanism and you could be back in business. I did all that to no avail. It’s really dead. I hate it when my technology malfunctions.

While things are going down the tubes, I noticed my car being a bit sluggish when starting Tuesday. Progressively, it got worse throughout the day but I was always able to start. This morning though, it was REALLY sluggish so I headed straight to Sears for a battery and called the office to let them know I would be in later. Turns out going to Sears was a great idea. Once I got there and turned the car off, it wouldn’t crank. It was indeed the battery and nothing more serious (or expensive) like a starter or alternator problem. Got a new battery and now I’m back in biznass.

Switching gears, I got a new wide-angle lens. I actually got it in an equal trade for another wide-angle lens I had. Me and this guy on one of the photography forums I frequent luck out as he was looking for the lens I had and I was looking for the one he had. They are both equal in value (+/- $10) at about $700. So after checking him out (he did the same on me) and looking legit, we each shipped our lenses off to each other. Everything went smoothly and we were both happy with the trade. Just goes to show there are indeed still some honest folks out there that you can trust.

Looks like my 3-week break from drumming at church is over as I’m back on deck for this Sunday. In the very near future (2 or 3 weeks), things will be stepping up as we’ll be going to TWO services on Sunday mornings. I have to say that’s pretty exciting. The move to two services was prompted by a good problem to have… more and more people coming to make room for. I’m really looking forward to it.

For those of you that don’t know, the church I attend meets in a movie theater. In a nutshell, we’re there because we outgrew the building we were in prior to the move and there are no other locations suitable for us at this time. Here’s the thing… we just rent the theater. We have to bring in and set-up/take down all lights, sound, staging, music gear, projectors, kids areas, coffee bar, etc. every Sunday. There’s a lot involved. From what I’ve heard, we may have a big influx of volunteers that will make the logistics a little less demanding on individuals. That’s a good thing…

August heat

THE J-Mo — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:59:19 +0000

We have had quite the heat wave here recently! Oppressive humidity and highs flirting with triple digit temperatures make going outside feel like walking through pudding. Thank goodness for A/C!

The heat makes anything outside more challenging, whether is be working in the yard, washing the car, outdoor dining, playing sports or whatever; it’s just plain uncomfortable. How about this: let’s get dressed up and stand around in this heat… and get married? That’s exactly what one couple did last weekend. It’s always exciting to see a couple start their lives together. I would have of course preferred something indoors in A/C but no one asked me. So I along with my friends Richard and Cindy put on on our best moisture-wicking clothes and covered the event with our lenses. THANKFULLY, a rainstorm late in the day cooled things down a bit and heavy cloud cover shielded us from the sun. Despite the latter, we were all still soaked to the bone within the first hour of a long evening. It didn’t matter though, we were all having a good time. That’s the important thing – working and still having fun. You just can’t complain with that combo.

I’m sure the bride’s dress was steaming hot but you woudn’t know it from her smile!

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… no, it’s a plane alright

THE J-Mo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:49:06 +0000

A Cessna 172 to be exact. After a week or two of trying to figure out what would work best for me to shoot aerial photos out of, the Cessna won out. The other options were a helicopter or a Cirrus SR22. The helicopter would have been the best option, but things didn’t come together to make that happen. The Cirrus – although the sexiest of the bunch by FAR, was too fast and also had the additional handicap of the low wing. Shooting out of that aircraft would require a steep bank for me to be able to see the ground clearly without the wing in the way. The Cessna was a high-wing craft which only had a small, thin strut underneath it’s high wing that was easy to shoot around. It’s low stall speed of 59 knots increased the chances of getting some sharply focused shots. There was some haze in the air that I was hoping to reduce with my polarizer but the light angles weren’t really coming in at a direction where it would have been much benefit. After an uneventful flight (the best kind) and getting the photos I needed, I was offered control of the plane. Back in the day, I used to play around with Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. As funny as that sounds, it really helped. As a matter of fact, this particular Cessna model I was in was one of the first ones replicated in the simulator. Aside from the navigation (which I never really thought too much about in the sim), the mechanics of flight were pretty straightforward. After adjusting the trim via a wheel in the center of the dash, pushing the wheel forward made you go down while pulling back made you climb. Turning the wheel banked you left and right. The pilot kept control of the rudder so I wouldn’t have too much to do and think about all at once. After about 10 minutes of turning and going to different altitudes, it was time to land. The pilot took back over and got us back on the ground smoothly. A few years ago, I had toyed with the idea of taking flying lessons. It might be time to put that on the front burner.

Working with Rick and Cindy…

THE J-Mo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:27:48 +0000

I have the pleasure of shooting weddings with my good friends Rick and Cindy of Grainger Portrait Studios over in Madison from time to time. Richard and I go WAY back to our days in retail… many eons ago. If you’ve ever met Rick, you’ll know that when you mix our senses of humor together – someone’s gonna be blowin snot out their nose before too long from laughing too hard (usually Rick).

Two weekends ago, I joined them for a wedding at a catholic church over in Huntsville followed by a reception at the Monte Sano Lodge. The church was surprisingly well-lit, with many windows all around letting in the sunlight. That’s in stark contrast to a lot of churches that are lit like caves. When you can’t use your flash (or don’t want to), lighting is typically a challenge. With the 3 of us shooting, we were able to get some good images despite being restricted from moving around during the ceremony. To be honest, I did ninja around in the pew I was “assigned” to when no one was looking to get a better vantage point. As soon as the ceremony concluded, I zipped off to the reception location which was about a 30 minute drive away. Located atop a mountain (or a hill for those used to REAL mountains), it made for a nice setting for outdoor photos. Here are a couple of my shots.

rain? what rain?

THE J-Mo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:39:16 +0000

By all accounts, this weekend had been predicted by the local meteorologists to be a total washout. With that in mind, I went ahead and mowed my lawn Thursday night. It’s Sunday night now and all we’ve gotten is a sprinkling so far. So much for that.

LOST got cranked up again this week with a new episode and BOY was it a doozy! It was an action-packed one to say the least. For me it was one jaw-dropping event after another. Any of you guys LOST fans?

Since the rain held off, I finally went to battle against the holly bush hedges in front of my porch. Those beasties get a little out of hand if left alone too long. Luckily, I think it was last year I picked up an electric hedge trimmer that made the job of manicuring them less of an ordeal than with hand clippers. I got done with one set but need to turn my attention to the shrubs beside my house before I can check that off my list as “done”.

I took a short break in the afternoon before going to dinner with Megan, Livvie, Jessica and Mark. We met up at Macaroni Grill and had a delicious dinner. I tried a different wine this go around as they no longer carried the Kendall-Jackson chardonnay that I’m so fond of. Instead, they had the brand “Toasted Head” that turned out to be pretty good so I really had no complaints. After dinner, we headed to a local bowling alley for a game. That was a nice way to end the evening.

Today was Mario Kart for the Wii day! I picked up my copy after church as well as 2 extra steering wheels (for total of 3). For some reason I thought I had 3 Wii-motes. I went back and got a third when I discovered my mistake. Played that most of the afternoon. In my downtime, I watched the F1 race – they were in Spain this weekend. Ferrari is starting to look pretty strong after a bumpy start to the season. BMW is looking good too.

That wraps up the last few days… Oh, I mentioned I shot a wedding a week or so ago. Here’s one shot from that event:

zoom zoom…

THE J-Mo — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:07:56 +0000

Last Saturday, I took Megan and Livvie down to Barber Motorsports Park with me to attend the AMA Superbike race. It’s such a great facility – it’s like a country club but instead of a golf course, there’s a road course. I had been there a few years earlier for a Rolex Porsche Cup event and knew what to expect. Normally I don’t follow motorcycle events but I wanted to try my hand at photographing one for fun. I used my Canon 5D although in retrospect, my 20D may have been a better choice with it’s higher frame rate and cropped sensor. Despite the camera choice, I made the best of the situation. The high pixel count of the 5D made extreme enlargements possible though so that could outweigh the speed advantage of the other camera.

I recognized a few of the front runner’s names but don’t follow this sport enough to know who is who on the track without a list of racer numbers in hand. Matt Mladin, Miguel Duhamel, Ben Spies and Tommy Hayden were the ones I knew of. The others I’d have to read up on. I didn’t know who rode for which team or who their sponsors were so I was just a noobie with a camera in the crowd – LOL!

I’ll post more pics from Saturday as soon as I get some time to sort through them. I got several keepers but PLENTY of discards. I also ran into my friend Nicole there. She was there with Honda doing grid-girl duties.