Natural Expressions - Series 1

Yes, it's early... 4:20AM here. I couldn't sleep and have some ideas. What's new you say? Quite simply, I'm going to start writing some photo journalism articles which is what I always wanted to do. Writing a little column every week, or in this case a blog, about people in their natural environments.

To me, naturalness really helps capture some good shots especially when they don't know a photographer is around. It shows people doing natural things and not posing or putting on some type of show in front of the flash. It's beautiful if you ask me. True works of art and reflections of people at that particular time. Yes.. naturalness.

To start out with, I'm actually posting relatives of mine. These precious photos show how much young ones LOVE food! To those who know these cuties, aren't they wonderful? To those who don't, appreciate the scene captured and the expressions... priceless! Therefore, my series will be called 'Natural Expressions'.

Enjoy!

Self Portraits Are Fun

Don't forget to take some self-portraits of yourself. To accomplish this and get a natural look, utilize the 'self-timer' functionality on your digital camera. This option allows the camera to take a picture within a certain amount of seconds based upon your settings.

In this case, I took a picture of myself and then of course modified it with a feathering around the edges for blending, then duplicated the original image, rotated it, and moved it to a different location forming three images. We'll discuss layers at a different point which allow multiple images overladed to be worked with individually and then merged or flattened later.

So take those pics of yourself and send them in! I want to see how creative everyone can get. Throw some different filters on it, rotate your pictures, add/remove color, merge other pictures... have fun and just enjoy yourself. After all, it's YOU you're messing with. :)

Happy Captures!

Look Beyond the Critics

Let's face it, everyone is a critic. It doesn't matter what you're talking about, people have opinions. Many truly want to help others succeed in becoming better at what they like and are striving to become while others are completely destructive in their comments to simply tear people down and hold them back from creative genius.

I'm posting this to inspire those who love photography and art. I'm a member of several online 'art' and 'photography' communities which allow open criticism on pieces of your work and some of the feedback people give is unbelievable. All negative...

Let me tell you something. When you pick up your camera and take a picture, it's a piece of art. It doesn't matter if you just bought a camera and are 5 years old to a so called seasoned professional with a fleet of over expensive gear. There isn't ANYONE who has that piece except you. Cherish it and appreciate you noticed the shot and took the time to take it. Regardless if others like it or not, keep adding to your collection of fine works and be weary of online communities over brimming with critics!

Masters were once told they wouldn't succeed. I'm telling you right now.. you're a Master! Claim your works and capture them with pride. Don't let people criticize your works to death so it sucks the life out of you and what you enjoy. Love your work.. and love doing it.

Happy captures folks! You're a Master and go on succeeding!

Of The Order of Mantodea

Sometimes while walking, carrying your camera helps because you never know what you're going to see around you, in this case, below you.

This past day while roaming around in the backyard we discovered this rare insect widely known as the Praying Mantis. It was sitting on some blue canvas we had covering lawn equipment bathing in the sun. Albeit, a nice macro lens would've done the job better but sometimes the moment is upon you and you don't have time to switch lenses - you stop, capture, and work with the results. In this case, a macro lens would've really sharpened the Mantis's facial features in high detail. I had my big lens on the camera so I had to stand about 8' away.

Keep that in mind when traveling and going on for specific types of photography. Always carry your other lenses with you in the event you want to capture something else. Or you could use a universal lens with attachments.

Factoids: This insect is protected in the State of Connecticut as the state insect. The word mantis is derived from a Greek word mantis meaning prophet or fortune teller namely due to it's posture or position.

URL Reference: Praying Mantis Wikipedia

The Roaming Photographer: Cindi-Jo Ammeen

Date taken: 9/1/07
Title: Pilobolus
Location: The Riverfront in Hartford CT

On the first, we went too see Pilobolus. The weather was perfect. A warm day, but breezy on the water. The first act was a playful display. The second act brought a darker musical selection and an emotional performance. Dancing to songs by Primus and Radiohead, I was truly inspired by this dance company.

I hope you enjoy the photos!
Thank you

Cindi-Jo Ammeen


Editor comment: The Roaming Photographer welcomes Cindi-Jo Ammeen as being the first to publish photos in this edition. Thank you for your active participation and I wish I was there at this show! By the pictures it looked awesome!

Monthly Reader's Photo!

Thanks to CJA from Gales Ferry, CT for sending in this month's photo! A beautiful picture she titled 'Bundle of Sun'.

I really appreciate all those who read this blog and send in submissions. It shows not only this blog has readers but those who are really interested and interact with me via emails and pictures.

Best regards to all and I hope those who have kids have had a pleasant trip back to school.

Happy Captures!

Panthera tigris

Captured of course from afar and through glass with a 200 mm lens - hand held. What a beautiful looking animal huh? It's amazing how BIG these tigers are when you see them up close and personal. Well, not too close I hope. The glass we viewed them through in their artificial habitat (yes, I say artificial because there is nothing like their real homes in the wild), was pretty THICK as well as mesh fenced.

Desaturation is pretty common among photo editing enthusiasts. Some like to desaturate the backgrounds and only keep the main object in color. You can see my Dandelion shot posted back in March of this year as well for reference.

The 2nd picture is modified to include some texture and defined ink outline markings. Have fun and mold your pictures into pieces of art even if the subject is dangerous!

Happy Captures!

Cooling Off With Splashing Sunshine

This bear really enjoyed himself in the summer heat! The day was pretty hot and well into the mid 90's but the temperature didn't stop this brown bear from playing in the pool with his favorite ball and shaking a little sunshine off its fur!

The pictures were taken with a 300mm zoom at f/5.6 and 1/800 shutter speed using my Nikon D70. How do I know this?

TIP: If you want to know how you took a specific digital picture and what settings your camera was at for that particular shot do the following.

• RIGHT click on the picture and select 'Properties' from the drop down menu
• At the top of that window click the 'Summary' tab
  
  This is especially helpful if you shoot with different cameras and want to learn how to take specific shots.

The Roaming Photographer Idea!

Ok. Ok, so I'm never satisfied with whats on the site so I have to keep adding to it's features. With the latest being The Spotlight! which two have already sent in their information and been published, I've decided to add another idea called "The Roaming Photographer"!

Think of it like photo journalism but from a wide variety of events, locations, and from everyone! Yes, EVERYONE! This is the difference. Instead of always seeing what I see and take pictures of, I thought it would be great if I open it up to everyone who has been to an event and would like to share their thoughts and pictures on it. This way we can get a larger perspective on what people like going to as well as seeing more events and shows from different areas including different towns, states and countries!

What is considered an Event? This is open and could be anything from school shows, sporting events, movies, parades, traveling experiences, concerts, news, exhibits, and more. Use your imagination and pretend you're hired as a Roaming Photographer who has to show new people different aspects of living in the area. Enjoy yourself and I look forward to reading and publishing them soon.

Details/Guidelines:

• Your Name (Initials are ok)
  
• Date of Event
  
• Title of Event
• Location of Event (city/state or country)
• Pictures must be in .jpg format with a MAXIMUM of 5 pictures per event
• Send in a narrative along with your event detailing what it was all about. This must be at least a paragraph or more. Content must be appropriate and I reserve the right to edit as necessary.
• Rating - yes, rate the event you've been to on a SCALE of 1-10 (1=poor to 10=awesome)
  With rating, don't just give a number but explain why it was so. If it was poor, what could be better or if it was awesome, why. That way readers and determine expectations if they ever go to the event.

Who's first!! :)

Send In Your Submission!

Monthly Readers Photo - September!

With September being only 2 weeks away, it's that time again for the Monthly Reader's Photo! I'll now be accepting photos for September. Starting sending them in! Don't forget to send the 'title' of the photo and the location.