Tough lesson

MOTS: Hard work and very little time over months may be stressful but it doesn't even compare to the disappointment a single person can hand out in a matter of seconds.

Life can be very stressful (relatively speaking of course).  Just purchased a new home; trying to get organized without enough places to properly put all of the accumulated goods; making necessary adjustments to bills, magazines, habits; keeping the growing number of birds and handful of squirrels well fed; painting...  that is just from moving.

For work there is: installing a new point of sale program for the store and working on a new web site at the same time by myself and doing it all on fewer hours... this includes taking pictures of countless items, measuring and weighing them so our shipping charges are correct, setting prices, typing up policies, and on and on and on.

On to the disappointment...

Imagine with me for a moment, you are driving about 45mph down a reasonably dark road.  Every moment brings you more ice under your tires.  You aren't scared but the truck behind you is getting a little too close for comfort.  Coming toward you is another vehicle which, normally, wouldn't give you any cause for concern; however, this time you suddenly notice a small dog on the left side of the road.  The snow banks are quite high and frozen solid leaving the dog no place to go but along, or in, the road.  As you pass the dog and look in your mirror your heart sinks, the dog is heading into the street.  The oncoming vehicle is barreling past you, no break lights, no swerving... someone doesn't care or isn't paying attention.  Frantically stopping and turning onto the cross street the truck, once riding your hind end, flies around you.  You muster all of the hope you can while you look back to see what happened...

A panicked sigh of relief, the dog made it!

I quickly focused my attention on further oncoming traffic.  Luckily there wasn't any so I turned around and started to head toward the lost pup.  Instead of cooperating, as I knew would NOT happen, the stocky beagle decided to be difficult; although it made me feel much better by heading down a much slower road.  After several minutes of following the beagle down this road it turned, almost instinctively down a long driveway.  I turned down it and decided I would follow this to the end and complete the task of finding the dog's home.  As I gave a slow chase, I noticed that there were two sets of tracks now.  I hadn't noticed them before because it had been walking where cars had driven over, leaving no prints.  I was pretty sure I was following it home.

As I pulled up to this beautiful home I noticed the dog walking up to the porch.  I pulled into the driveway and got out.  As I walked closer to the porch I noticed that there were people home and that the beagle was not exactly pleased that I was on its property.  While it gave me a quiet growl, it walked up to me with tale a waggin'.  I knocked on the door.  A woman came up to the door who had been playing with her young children.  She turned on the light and looked at me as though she lived far enough out to be taken aback by a knock at the door... probably because she lived far enough out to be free from unexpected visitors...

Judging from her look she wasn't exactly excited to open the door and ask what I wanted.  I simply pointed down and politely stated, "I think this is yours."  Slowly she opened the door and the beagle walked in.  She un-apologetically thanked me with very little joy in her voice.  I decided that this was no way to act when presented with your lost canine.  I told her what happened, emphasizing on the "you're lucky, it almost got schmucked by a truck."  Her response?  "We've only had it for a week, a friend couldn't keep it so we took it in."  I nearly offered to give 'it' a better home if that would relieve her burden.  I wished her luck with her new pet to which she wished me luck in finding my way back.

Because the lady called the adorable beagle 'it' and never mentioned a name, I have no idea if the dog was a boy or a girl.  It is extremely hard for me to refer to anything as an 'it' if 'it' deserves a 'him' or a 'her'.

Moral of the story?  No matter how daunting a long term stressful situation can be, it can be instantly dwarfed by a coldhearted response and ensuing utter disappointment that quickly follows.

Something tells me that the husband had the 'friend' with the dog and the wife was certainly not an animal lover.

Soon to be homeowner!

In just over a month I will be joining the ranks of those who are referred to as homeowners.

It is quite an exciting time; mostly due to the fact that I didn't think I would want to be 'stuck' in a single location, especially this location, in a million years. I suppose the dreary overcast summers, the skin eating cold winters, and the utter lack of my favorite seasons - spring and fall - has finally sucked my willpower to nothing.

Then again, I will be living less than two miles from one of my favorite places. I will be under two minutes from Lost Lake, Lake Michigan, the Block House, and amazing tranquility. I will gladly trade the screaming, yelling, and pounding of neighbors for the inconvenience of deer and rabbits constantly eating my plants; or trade the cost of running the AC all day because I am too afraid to leave the doors and windows open due to break-ins for the cost of feeding legions of beautiful song birds; or give up the fear of walking to my car to see that the windows were smashed in for keeping a well mowed lawn, a freshly shoveled driveway, and a full house of clean windows.

I sure am giving up a lot. Granted, and shockingly so, my current apartment is the only one that I have lived in where I never called the police for one reason or another. I will have to kiss the love of watching the cops show up at a neighbors door for being morons goodbye.

I will be posting pics as soon as I can get them. Each time I have been there I have forgotten to bring a camera with me. That and Zack and Mel still have my pocket camera!

Till then, adios!

A look at small wonders

Being up close and personal with nature is quite an amazing feeling. Blending it with photography can blow your mind.

With all of the awe inspiring telephoto lenses available, macro photography is often overlooked (no pun intended); but more often rewarding. That breath taking shot of a bald eagle diving into the water snaring a fish in its talons is, indeed, a great thing. What we often miss is that tiny tree frog resting in the small thorny bush in the back yard. Attaching a macro lens to your camera will change your perspective on life and nature almost immediately and immensely.

Price, simplicity, complexity, exercise, and stress relief are all benefits of macro photography. A wonderful macro lens can be quite affordable, especially compared to an equally capable telephoto lens. You can find all of the macro pictures I've taken with my new equipment here. I am using the Olympus 50mm f2.0 lens. You can find it here for $499.99. It instantly became my favorite lens when I got it for Labor Day weekend.

Macro photography can be both very simple and incredibly complex. It is simple because finding a subject is often as easy as looking around. The complexity comes with experience and it doesn't take long. Once you grasp the understanding of depth of field, the world is your oyster (a very kind woman once told me that after reading my Lost Lake article in the Muskegon Chronicle). You will begin to see everything in a new and wondrous way. You will soon find yourself thinking more dimensionally, and just as quickly realize flat you had been seeing things. New angles will scream out at you while browsing through the days shots and you will wish you had only thought of it while you were there. This will vastly increase your observation skills and patience and in so doing, improve your images as well.

Exercise is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about macro photography; however, it will soon be evident when your knees and legs hurt from a day in the backyard or in a pleasant field. This is where you will begin to notice all of the interesting things you step on each and every day. The majority of macro subjects, at least outside, will be found close to the ground or in a position which will require you to move and support your body in ways you never thought possible. Even Gumby will be jealous. You will begin exploring every flower, stump, mushroom, bush, and puddle. With all of the bending and kneeling, you will not only appreciate the incredible images you capture, but all of the exercise you're doing.

While you are totally immersed in the tiny natural world, busy leaning and bend all over the place, you will soon realize how peaceful macro photography can be. Losing track of time is not abnormal with all forms of photography. "Just one more shot." "I will leave once I can get it flying away." Or my personal favorite, "when the sun comes out and the wind stops blowing at the same time, I'll have what I need." Everyone truly interested in photography knows what I'm talking about. But, macro photography is different. It is on a whole new level. While doing telephoto work I feel like I am an observer. With macro work, I am a part of that world. Not only am I seeing everything up close, I am up close. Stress relief is a regular result of that personal connection with nature and something I hope everyone tries out. The only problem with looking close at the things around you is you might not like what you find!

Start of a new beginning

Tomorrow marks my first day of my new career path. There is a lot of work to be done.

For starters, if anyone is interested in photography at all, you can follow the Camera Shop on Twitter. In time, I will be creating a blog to give out more information. We have a forum; however, it is very difficult to build a group of people using that format without first having some sort of relationship. I believe that Twitter and the blog will help build that. Once we gain a reasonable number of 'followers' we're going to offer timely specials and savings available only to those who follow us.

In addition to the Camera Shop, I too have a Twitter account that you can follow me on as well.

Because of my full time schedule, I don't really have as much time available to spend with a portrait photographer as I would like. But, I do need to gain some experience. I am going to be offering my photographic services to those who are interested. Since I am a 'noob' of sorts, I am going to offer significant discounts so I can build my portfolio. Also, because I am an extremely picky and self critical person concerning my picture taking, my satisfaction is guaranteed or it's free! ... or we can redo it? I suppose I'll take your opinions into account to, but if I'm happy, I'm pretty sure you'll be ecstatic!

If you are interested, contact me for more information.

Transition...

In keeping with my latest post I have decided to make a big change. I am putting law school on hold. I had a decent discussion with my boss and we were able to negotiate a full time solution.

Details aside, I believe this will put me in the perfect position to pursue a career in photography.

Working at the Camera Shop provides me with all of the latest news and equipment relating to the industry. I also get to hear about all of the methods that other photographers use along with all of the mistakes they made. Every so often we get people asking about a photographer, now that I have a lot more free time, I will be able to offer myself as an option. In order to get some good experience, there are quite a few customers who have asked me to assist them on weddings and group shots.

Best of all, I am going to be able to offer everything I know in the realm of non-people photography. Eventually I will be able to offer classes 'in the field' that go beyond the beginner courses taught at the store. A few short instructional guides are in the very early stages that should be quite helpful the beginner and intermediate user. A local trail guide, a major goal, was put on hold because of school; work on that is going to begin in earnest.

While being a lawyer certainly has its benefits, it isn't really for me. I do like the idea of protecting the things and people I care about in any way possible, but I feel like I can accomplish far more doing something I love. Plus, it is far easier to share a story about a great picture than it is to share the reason why I won a case. I do need to mention one thing. Law school was a great experience. I will truly miss it. Interestingly enough, I believe that it expanded my photographic eye more than anything else I have learned. The law is so dynamic and complex; it requires a very open and broad mind; it leaves a desire to look deeper. Just like a well decided case, a beautiful photograph leaves you inspired to make the world a better place. The problem with law is that very few people appreciate the intrinsic exquisiteness of it all. As with photographs you have compromise, the give and take; subtly or saturated, sharp or soft, highlights or shadows. They are both artistic.

However, with photography I get the most important thing of all... outside. Very little law is done while hiking through the deep woods, kayaking a peaceful river, or hiding in a blind for that perfect shot.

If I had a choice I would live two lifetimes and pursue both, but we all know that isn't possible... yet... *crosses fingers for genetic rejuvenation*

Well, to close this whole thing, I hope that everyone will check out my gallery and please... make comments, or at least click the thumbs up or down thing. And, if you ever need a photographer, or know anyone who does, try and think about me.

Also... I really need to throw this in here. Mike, sorry I didn't get this in until the bottom but it's all about me! ;) Anyhow, my great friend Mike Prince is a part author in a new book! I'm very very excited about this. For less than $10 you can get the book shipped to you! Go here to order it... seriously, $10... it's well worth it! You can check out their site here.

New Gallery

It has been a long time coming. I have finally decided to put forth the effort to venture into the world I love so much.

While I don't have that usual story of "I was born with a camera in my hand" I can certainly say "I grew up with my eye through a lens."

I first discovered my love of photography during the Muskegon Air Show in 2002 (I mourn its loss with anger and sadness every year...) with my parent's Minolta Maxxum 5000i. I don't remember exactly how many rolls I went through on the second day, but it was enough to deter my 'bug' for several months due to the cost of film and developing.

Late 2002 saw the release of the Olympus C730UZ and in early 2003 I got my first digital camera.

I kept nearly 1600 pictures that year. The bug bit down hard. Due to its point and shoot nature, I was unable to capture the images that I wanted (it was infuriating to shoot a bird in a bush when the camera would keep focusing on the branches... by the time it finally focused, the bird flew away; that happened far too many times). This frustration led to the Canon EOS 300D Digital Rebel w/18-55 and w/75-300 IS lenses. I was in heaven (sort of).

There were many things I loved about my Olympus - rarely had to retouch the pictures, never had to adjust the colors, and it NEVER had any problems (except its limitations). My Canon had plenty of issues, I always had to retouch my images, the colors were bland (at best, even with upping the in-camera settings), and after a year it began having lens errors (very frustrating to have the camera randomly shut down just as you push the shutter).

Last year, August, I got a job at The Camera Shop of Muskegon. This led me back to Olympus. I was able to take the 520 out for a test spin and fell in love. While I was forever tainted with the need to retouch images, the 520 made it far easier. I kept borrowing the camera until they announced the E-620. I had to have it!

Olympus let me loan an E-620 for several months (got it a month before it was available to the public... should have milked for all the fame I could have.) Then, on June 19th, I finally got my own.

I have since increased my arsenal of gear, but more on that later; for now, I only want to say that I feel it has been far too long since I started this love affair and want to announce the new online home for my passion of viewing life a little differently, TTL (through the lens).

Please take a few more moments (I know this was longer than necessary, but oh well, what else do you expect from me?) and check out my new gallery!

Also, the thumbs up are a simple way to say you like, even if you don't feel like commenting!

Thanks!

Olympus 620 test run

Olympus Imaging Inc. was kind enough to lend its premier dealers a couple of E-620s!

Being a lucky guy, I was lucky enough to get one of them.

This is one really nice piece of equipment.

Here's a few shots: