New light stands and the money

The doorbell rang around 5:00 pm and I knew it was the UPS guy!
My load of stuff came from B&H today. For my friends who aren't familiar with B&H, it's like
the Amazon.com for cameras. They have everything. They have a gigantic store in NYC too.
That's like the Disney World for photographers.
Amongst all the things, probably my most anticipated item were the 3 Manfrotto light stands and Wescott reflector arm. I got the less cheaper ones, and they are so sturdy it's making me wonder if it was over kill. Mounted on the light stand is my LED mini light panel.
To be honest, I feel a bit intimidated by my own gear as I yet have figured out how to use the reflector arm (seems like I need to get some clamps). However, I truly anticipate these tools to help me expand my creative horizon. Next, I'm planning to get some strobes.
When I first thought about doing video a couple years ago, it came to my attention that I would need at least ten grand to get the bare minimum of equiptment. No way, I thought. And it made me very sad. So, I started looking for jobs that could pay. A couple years that include several unsatisfying jobs and lots of counseling, I am finding myself acquiring close to ten grand worth of gear which is really the bare minimum. My ten grand is coming from years of savings, years of tax returns, and some unemployment benefits that I'm getting from working on True Grit. Very little credit card debt.

If there is someone out there who is also thinking "no way" just because of money, I think I can tell you there is a way. It may not be immediate, but a way seemed to exist for me.

The Eye and I: Prepping my next project: Yoga with Orada

The Eye and I: Prepping my next project: Yoga with Orada: "Norm on Hill (Matador): f/4.5 , 1/125, iso 160, 24mm round hay things = bales: f/16, 1/200, iso 125 research for our yoga shoot..."

Prepping my next project: Yoga with Orada

Norm on Hill (Matador): f/4.5 , 1/125, iso 160, 24mm

round hay things = bales: f/16, 1/200, iso 125

research for our yoga shoot: beautiful Thai yoga poses

My Thai friend / yogi Orada sent me information about a photo competition in Yoga Journal.
We're going to try some shoots this weekend. So, I've been trying to do some research on how to go about doing this. Orada sent me some pictures from her Thai yoga book which I think are beautiful.
The biggest challenge is the location. We don't have time to go out far, so it will have to be some place in Lubbock that's not brown, or just completely make peace with the fact that everything is brown around here this time. 
There's Norman on one of the strange hills in Matador. We took this one at sunset. You can see some of the burn. That's really nothing. Don't know how those hills became. That area used to have a fence around it, but it was all burned so we just walked up the hill. It was freezing.
The hay bales are also from Matador. I always  wanted to take a picture of one of those. On this one,  I practiced how to use a small aperture on this one so I could get lots of depth.

My Landscape Experience in Matador part 2 (HDR practice)

little T: f/4, 1/60, iso 125 24-105@ 24

whole lot of nothing: bracketed exposure, iso 125

Okay, so we went to Matador which is about a two hour drive from Lubbock. I did what my books told me to do. Went out at sunset to get the, duh, sun setting across the land, then got up at 6:00 am to take photos at the "golden hour" of sunrise. The weather was okay in the evening, but truly friggin cold early in the morning and I couldn't function well.
The burnt landscape was quite dramatic, but as I expected, it was truly hard to get the picture of its entirety.  I got a very compelling shot of a wild pig that died in the fire. It's truly very compelling. It tells a story. But I think it falls into the objectionable category (so gross), so I don't know quite what to do with it.
Today, I tried what is called HDR (high dynamic range) processing. It's a technique that is popular for landscape these days, and one achieves the effect by manipulating exposure. Anyways, I tried it. I don't know if I'm such a huge fan of such trendy effects but I wouldn't even know this if I didn't try 'em!  It does make the landscape look sort of freaky and eerie though. I'm pleased with the composition of little T: it has a foreground, middle ground, and background just like my books suggested. Little T was not actually shot in HDR because I didn't know how to bracket then. Whole Lot of Nothing was shot in exposure brackets. It only took 5 minutes to learn how to do that.
All in all, I don't think I can ever be a landscape phtographer. I like lifestyle and fashion a lot more, and people. Also, I hate getting up that early all the time. Still, I think I can do better in landscape with more practice. enjoy!

Matador, TX 1

electric post near Plainview: f/9, 1/250. iso 100, 24-105@24mm

the ever dependable Allsup's in Matador: f/7.1 (?), iso 250, shutter speed 0.8, 24-105@24

After hearing all the news about the wild fire in Matador, Norman and I decided to check it out.
I'm so used to this West Texas area now, it's really hard to find something fresh. Nevertheless, I tried.
I think this Allsup's shoot came out cool: I set my camera to aperture priority mode, placed it on a tripod and used the shutter release for minimal shaking. I like the ghosty motion blur of the two truck guys.
More on my landscape experience tomorrow...

Santa Fe Women

wonderful coat: f/6.3, iso 100, 1/80

reading woman: f/5, iso 100,  1/80, 24-105@ 105

smoking: f/8, iso 100, 1/100 24-105@105

In Santa Fe it's all about the fabric. Next time I go there, I want to sit outside and just take pictures of women in their fabulous drapy clothes. The default footwear seems to be clogs. And of course, you need some sterling silver bling.

It's very challenging to walk the fine line between sticking a camera into someone's face and taking a shot from far far away. I ended up getting a lot of back and side shots this time. More zen is needed.

From the Streets of Santa Fe (part one)

Bevy: f/4, iso 125, 24-105 @ 95,  1/80

Blanket: f/5, iso 100, 24-105 @ 73,  1/100

Peppers: f/6.3 (?) , iso 100, 24-105@80, 1/125

Half Norm: f/4, iso 400, 24-105@88, 1/80

I belong to a theology discussion group. We planned this retreat to Glorieta probably 6th moths ago and I  was ready for some time outside Lubbock.  For those like me who are not familar with Glorieta; Glorieta  is a gigantic conference ground for churches and been around forever.

Fri/Sat: The retreat was pretty intense (in a wonderful way) and I was  incredibly wiped out afterwards. I regret that I don't have any pictures of our tea time at the St. Francis Hotel. Regret. Didn't have my cam. I wish I got a good shot of our waitress. She was very beautiful and polite, and the light situation in the hotel was ideal. Gigantic windows.  

Sun:  Norm and I went back into Santa Fe so I could take some pictures. I was very excited to try the new monopod. Truly loved the monopod and also just being there.  

I took the first picture just off the main square. I was totally unprepared when this gaggle of gals were strutting my way but made a quick move and got this. Note their expressions. I later encountered them again at the Blue Corn Cafe.  I am discovering that f/4 is always too open for direct daylight. 

The blanket picture is from the jewelry vendors on the North side of the square. More on this area to come. Great colors. 

I thought the pepper light thing looked very Santa Fe. This is a door of a Xmas shop. I am now wondering if I could have shot this from the side and got more of the show window and the stretch of the sidewalk. 

The final picture is Norman in a cool bookstore whose name I can't remember. Santa Fe has so many great colors.

Tomorrow, I'll post some fashion shots. It's all about the fabric in Santa Fe.