Shooting Style

   My shooting style? Quick and dirty.  Brings to mind the Leonard Cohen lyrics, "The only thing I learned from love was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya".

    My equipment is: a Nikon3000 DSLR which is pretty satisfactory - now that I know more, I can see some limitations, but one thing I do love is the intuitive feature-finders, and how it fits in my hand.  It's my buddy.  Even if I upgrade someday, I think this will still be my everyday buddy.  I have a 18-55 zoom lens and another zoom lens to 200.  (I SUSPECT there is a 50mm 1.8 portrait lens sitting in a box for my upcoming birthday...)  I carry this backpack thing that I hate.  I prefer to just have the camera crossbody until I see something.  The zoom lenses are handy for that - i can typically get away with just bringing one of them. I'd love suggestions for something different though.
     I prefer natural light, period.  If I never had to edit a photo, think about flash, or learn more about lighting, I'd be happy.
     Time of day - I don't have the luxury of thinking much about this. I shoot when I squeeze a moment. I do trend toward that awful middle of the day though! I love bright light.
     At home - prefer not, although there is a time of day that is stunning in my house.  Prefer to shoot when out and about, when the mood strikes, and definitely when traveling, at an event, or doing something I'd like to remember. I don't shoot when I'd rather be in the moment.  I don't shoot when I know the conditions are just going to frustrate me.
     I like everyday life and special events, as long as no one is expecting results!
     I'm pretty stuck on aperture priority mode.
     I like photography excursions, but that's because it seems to be the only time I can spend real time with the camera.  As per Twyla Tharp's book on creativity, I do try to keep my "pencil" on me at all times, just in case, which has led to some great photo shoots.  I will go with my husband and daughter sometimes, they're good company and keep me moving so I don't always get lost in the minutia.  I do also love to be alone and spend an hour photographing a birdhouse, lol.

     The camera equipment is a combo of suggestions from photographers I love, a quick decision in someone's trunk, and my own research.  The camera was supposed to be a D40, which I'm feeling I should have stuck with, as mine performs poorly at high ISOs.   This is only 400ISO - seems awfully messy to me.

Lack of faith in my camera does limit me from attempting some lighting situations.   My love of natural light is probably adapted from my favorite child photographers - I love portraits outdoors, in natural settings.  Use of aperture mode is just my lack of skill - I've got to find more moving targets to play with so I can rev up that part of my photography.  I am feeling really good about my use of Ap. mode though, so I guess spending the last 6 months in that mode wasn't all bad!  I'd like to focus on shutter priority and eventually be able to use manual mode effectively - but to be honest, I can't figure out how to use it, literally.  I can set the aperture but not the shutter.

    I am starting to envision a little bit how I'd like a photo to look, now that I'm understanding the camera's eye is different from mine.  I'm learning how to capture the essence of what I'm looking at.

    In other news, a friend of mine may be setting me up with a photographer friend of hers to follow around a couple of Saturdays - in return, he photographs many children w/ autism and has a hard time engaging them - DING!  That's where I come in!  I'll keep you posted... and in other news, the mom from the post below let me know today that her whole family is just dying to know... who took those pictures?  HEE HEE!

Facing Photography Fears

    My greatest problem is intimidation and other people's expectations.  If I am just on a photowalk for myself, I am free and easy - no stakes, no problems.  If I'm just photographing my own daughter, I know I get a second chance if I screw up.  The only thing preventing me from taking my photography on the road (besides that I need more skills) is confidence.
      With Kat's assignment of tackling a challenge in mind, I had my mind open for the last few days to work through this issue of confidence.  Two came up (of course - if you look the teacher arises)
     I work with children with special needs (autism) for a living.  I am in children's homes every day, and usually toting my camera around (don't like to leave it in the car!)  A mom was lamenting that she never has "school pictures" because it's so hard to capture her son.  I raised my figurative hand for that assignment - very low stakes - I see him every week!  I would love to show some of the results but due to confidentiality, I can't.  I can share her response though:

"Hi JJ,

Thanks so much for wonderful pics. I loved all the pics in his new outfit. I am crying looking at his today's pics.He is looking so handsome in Black & white pics.I can't believe that you have taken such good pics of N. He is very difficult guy when it comes to taking pics.M [his therapist], thanks so much for your idea of taking pics & efforts.regards,M."

How did i feel working through this problem?  You can guess.

     The second opportunity arose at a breast cancer walk which is close to our family's hearts, as my mother in law chairs it, and she is a 2 year survivor.  Those pics are below.  As soon as you break out the big gun camera, people are asking if you are from the newspaper etc etc.  I also don't excel yet at changing settings on the fly - I thrive much more in a controlled environment.  But when I focused on capturing the details for my mother in law and not on creating great photography, I came out with a few winners.  Having learned more about my "eye" prevented me from taking on photographs I couldn't handle, like groups of people or action shots.  I just stayed with the small stuff and was pretty happy with some results (below).  They might not be art, but they're documentation and they made someone happy.  Which is enough for me.

Breast Cancer walk

On Sunday we hung out at a breast cancer walk in honor of my mother in law, a two year survivor.

Autumn Walk

In an effort to flex my photographic muscle, preparing for the next series in the Kat Eye: Finding Your Eye series, I took a quick fall walk in the front yard.  I guess I should say I didn't do much walking: I laid on the ground:

Sat:

And spent a fair amount of time with my head on the concrete.  Ahhh, good to be back.  Looking forward to starting again on Sunday!