Summer Surprises

I have to admit I was not in the best of moods when I woke up this morning.  I did not want to wake up.  I did not want to run.  I did not want it to be blazing hot.  I did not want to do anything productive.  Lucky for me, Speed Racer has motivation, and I have guilt.  As soon as he's out of bed I know I have to get up or forever feel like a bum.  I rolled, literally rolled out of bed, my old runners feet creaked and popped as I shuffled down the hall on the hardwood floors.  I pulled on my running clothes and poured some cereal.  Hunched over my frosted mini wheats, my eyes finally peeled open. I still really wasn't awake on my way out the door.  It was hot, the humidity engulfed me to the point it was hard and thick to breathe.  My glumness transferred to the weather.  Everything looked brown, everything was crusty and dead.  (This is how lovely I am in the morning.)  As I walked towards the road, this caught my eye.

A beautiful lily was just opening up, still covered in morning dew.  I smiled.  Flowers always make me smile, especially stubborn flowers that just try to carry on no matter how hot it is.  This lily was there going, "I'm a flower and I'm going to bloom, dagummit."  I started to run and as I ran it was like little flowers opened up to me everywhere.  Blue, white, red, and yellow just peeped out from all the dead foliage.

As I ran I was reminded of how last Lent, I decided instead of giving something up and being sad about how I couldn't have chocolate, to dedicate a time each morning to come up with five different things I was thankful for.  It worked amazingly well, I felt so grateful for all that I had been given, and it got me out of the habit of just saying, "I'm thankful for my husband, my family, my friends, my home, and my kitties."

I really enjoy trying to figure out the little things I'm grateful for.  The small changes in life that make it surprising and lift my spirits.  So in the hopes that this lifts your day as well as mine, I encourage you to write down ten unique things you are thankful for today.  Here is my list:

1. I am thankful for stubborn flowers.

2. I am thankful for the shuffling sound of my running shoes on pavement.

3. I am thankful for curiosity and that I still have some.

4. I am thankful for furry paws that greet me every morning.

5. I am thankful for late night talks.

6. I am thankful for fingers gently moving through my hair.

7. I am thankful for the feel of sun on my skin.

8. I am thankful for funny emails from friends.

9. I am thankful for hugs that take my breath away.

10. I am thankful for smile wrinkles.

Oh! And #11.  I am thankful for my camera so that I can share pictures and my random thoughts with you! Happy Wednesday everyone!

Pinhole Photography

Lately I've been thinking a lot about art.  My darkroom is still in transition, still lots to figure out about water pipes, and demolition.  But I have been absolutely craving to do a pinhole photography project.  Pinhole Photography is tons-o-fun, very easy to do, and you can get a lot of creative effects. Hanging above my desk is a pinhole photograph that my photography professor took of me for a class example in college.  It was one of my favorite wedding presents that we received.  In the foreground is a statue, one side is lighter than the other side, I think he was showing the difference in exposure times.  Then he had me stand on the right side for a certain amount of time to get a ghost image.  I love the mystery and the ambiguity of the photograph.  And in some ways it's like seeing a ghost of myself from back in college.

A Pinhole Camera is a basic camera without a lens.  Really it is just a box or object with a very small hole in one side that light passes through.  Whatever you use for your camera needs to be primarily light tight, and you will need to make some sort of shutter (I usually used electrical tape).  Getting the light right in pinhole photography can be a bit of a trick.  It can take anywhere from 5 secs to hours of exposure, depending on your light situation.  When it's done right pinhole photography can have exquisite tones, eerie ghost images, or funky focus.  You can make a pinhole camera out of an oatmeal can, a hat box, a regular box, something that can fit in your mouth, or (I've never actually seen this but I've heard about it) a red pepper.  Supposedly the light that does come through the skin of the pepper is similar to that of a red safe light in a darkroom, so it wouldn't expose your sensitive paper.  But like I said, I have yet to experience this.

One of my favorite artists is Ann Hamilton.  She does large scale installations that deal a lot with textiles, as well as photography, language, video, and sound.  Some of her works include Indigo Blue, Corpus, and Myein.  They are absolutely beautiful and moving, but also deeply thought out.  It's fantastic to hear how she speaks about her work as well.  One of my favorite photographic series that she did, though,  was called the "face to face" series.  In this series she made a pinhole camera out of a small plastic container, small enough to fit in her mouth.  She used her lips as the shutter and would open them to expose images of the people she was talking too.  Obviously she would have to keep her mouth open for quite awhile to expose the image, and she talked about the social awkwardness of having your mouth open while staring at someone's face.  In the photographs you can see the outline of her lips.  It's very interesting and you can check out some galleries of her work Here and some videos of her HERE.

Pinhole is a great way to get some fun, and beautiful images.  Sometimes going back to the basics can inspire and intrigue us in new ways.  If you decide to give pinhole a try, all you need is: photographic paper, your object that you are going to make into your camera, I suggest a small strip of metal to drill your hole into and then attach to your camera, something for a shutter, and lots of tape to seal up any holes or light leaks.  And then of course you will need somewhere to develop your pictures.  I'm hoping to do some pinhole soon, I'm just bursting with ideas.

Beach Bummed

I miss the beach.  This is a fact that I cannot ignore.  For over a year now I have been living in a landlocked state, for the first time in my life.  I grew up near or on the water, and I miss the smell of salt in the air, the heat that is so close it's like a hug, and the soft powdery feel of sand beneath my toes. Unfortunately with the way the summer is looking, I don't think Speed Racer and I will be able to make a beach trip this year.  We have always gone to the beach at least once in the summer, it's a ritual, it's a need, it's a raw animal desire...see? I start to get a little dramatic when I don't get some beach time.

The day the above picture was taken of me, was a day that my parents will never forget.  At that time we only lived about 30 min away from the beach, and on the weekends in the summer, it was a fairly common ritual to hit the sand.  This day in particular the beach was packed.  When I was that age, I never really went farther than the water front without my parents, and after some lounging in the tidal pools I decided it was sand castle makin' time.  One of my favorite parts of sand castle makin' time was collecting beach items to decorate my sand castle with.  My Mom started getting the buckets together and asked me to collect a few shells to put on the castle.

I started collecting and I guess got a little farther away than planned.  But what really did me in was that I lost our blanket in the sea of blankets and passed it on my way back.  I have no idea how long I walked.  But it was long enough that eventually I started to get scared, very scared.  Finally in frustration I just sat where I was and started to cry.  Luckily I was right in front of a lifeguard station.  The lifeguard came down and asked me if I was lost.  Being told so many times to not talk to strangers, it took me  a while to warm up to him.  But he showed me all his official uniform items, and his radio, and said that he was a good stranger and that he was going to help me.  He took me up on the lifeguard stand, gave me some crackers and some water, and radioed down the beach for my parents.

I can't explain the relief I felt when I saw my parents (or now that I'm older, the relief I'm sure they felt when they saw me!).  They took me back to our blanket, where my two brothers explained they thought I had drowned...and may have been a tad happy about it (no annoying little sister, yay!).  All kidding aside, they hugged me and explained how worried they were and how hard they had searched the beach.  It was a great reunion, and that's where that picture was taken.

With such a traumatic experience you would think I would be afraid of the beach or the water, but no.  If anything it strengthened my love for the beach.  For me it is a place to be alone, a place to get lost in the roar of the waves, and a place where the ever changing scenery is all I need.  It is a love that Speed Racer and I have always shared.

Here are some of my favorite beaches and watering holes.  Some of the pictures are not mine but hopefully the people who took them won't mind sharing.  They are all family and friends.  Hopefully this will give you a taste of the beach, even if like me, you can't get there this year.

Camera Basics: Depth of Field

On our last camera basics post we talked about camera settings and Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual.  We lightly touched on what aperture is and depth of field, as well as shutter speed.  Today we're going to talk about how aperture affects your depth of field and how depth of field affects your pictures. Depth of field is literally, the "field" in your photograph that is sharp or in focus.  Your aperture is what determines your depth of field.  Smaller aperture number 2.8 means the larger the opening in the camera is (I know it's confusing it's backwards!), the higher the number like 22 the smaller the hole and the more that is going to be in focus.  Let's use some pictures to illustrate, that always helps me figure it out a little better, and after all this is a photography site!

For example if your aperture is set at 2.8 (wide open) you are going to have a shorter depth of field, meaning the things closer to you will be in focus and the background is going to be soft and out of focus.  Here is a prime example of that.  The red circle highlights the area that is in focus while the background is out of focus.

Here is another example.  In this photograph my aperture is set at 5.0, shifting the depth of field more towards the middle.  Now I am highlighting the corner of the lantern (yes it's a funky lantern, oh the things we use for examples).  This allows the closest part of the object to go out of focus, while also keeping the background out of focus.

Again, as we continue up the aperture numbers, this is at about an 8.0.

And all the way up.  Now, even though aperture controls your depth of field, the point on which you decide to focus on is obviously also going to change what is in focus and what is out.  For example if I were to zoom out in this photograph but keep my aperture at 12-22, then everything would be in focus, not just the back ground.  But I am choosing to focus on the background.  But I am also able to do that because of my aperture being set at the higher setting.  Confused yet?

Sometimes it helps if you take your camera lens off of automatic focus, set it to manual and then set your aperture.  See when you move the focus what is in focus and what can't be in focus at that setting.  That will give you a little better idea of what I mean.

Most of the time I prefer a short depth of field, meaning I keep my camera at 2.8 a lot.  I think it just adds an intimate feeling to the photographs.  But even in this picture I should have paid attention a little bit more and got his little antennae in focus as well.  Focus and depth of field help you tell the viewer what is important to you.

Like pretty flowers...

And tomatoes...

Here is another example of changing the depth of field within the letters on the truck...

A little bit farther out on the focus...

More over all in focus.

Although I prefer the shorter depth of field, there are times when having everything in focus is nice.   Like for large sweeping landscapes, or group shots, or big honkin' trucks.  If you take a landscape picture for example at a shorter depth of field (but you want it all in focus) it may look all in focus at the time, but then you'll get it home, put it in photoshop and go, "why is that mountain back there fuzzy?" Same with group shots, it will look wonderful but then you'll exclaim when poor ol' Uncle Bob is all fuzzy.

The only last thing to remember is that as you're changing your aperture, remember that you have to adjust your other elements like shutter and ISO to compensate for your lighting.  So, if you're in Aperture Priority (AV) your shutter will adjust for you.  But remember to change your ISO if you're going from inside to out, or sun to shade.  If you're in Manual, remember to keep your eye on that light meter in your viewfinder and change your shutter speed when you adjust your aperture.  Now go out there and have some fun with depth of field!!

Clingstone, House on the Rock

I first ran across these photos in an email forward and instantly fell in love.  I think everyone imagines or dreams of having a house like this.  And the great part is the owner is willing to share in exchange for some tough love.  That's right, you can come stay at this beautiful home if you are willing to help spruce her up with some good ol' elbow grease.  Hop the jump to find out more!

Here at Runawayalice Photography, we're very conscious about copyright.  That being said, this is going to be my first picture-less post.  Tragic you say? Yes, indeed.  But wait!  There are still pictures, they're just not mine and you just have to click one more thing to check out this beautiful home.  The original article (from what I can tell) and a beautiful photo gallery with photos by Erik Jacobs of The New York Times can be found HERE.

As you can tell from the breath taking photos, the view will take your breath away.  You actually feel like you are staying on a boat in the water, and the artist did well to bring the landscape into the house itself.

Clingstone is a 103 year old mansion that resides in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. Clingstone was built by J.S. Lovering Wharton with the help of artist William Trost Richards.  The building is a 3 story mansion with 23 rooms, a huge central hall, and dozens of large picture windows.  The building was completed in 1905 with the final bill totaling $36,982.99.

The current owner Mr. Henry Wood, is a distant cousin of J.S Lovering Wharton.  Mr. Wood bought the house in 1961 with his ex-wife Joan for a mere $3,600.  At that time it had been empty for nearly two decades and needed a lot of work.  That's where Mr. Wood had a bright plan.  He created the Clingstone Work Weekend.  Usually held around Memorial Day, the work weekend brings around 70 friends and families to the mansion to handle the repairs.  And what do they receive in exchange for their hard work?  A chance to stay in this beautiful home.  But Mr. Wood doesn't limit that invitation to just family and friends.  Mr. Wood says that all skilled workers are welcome.  So if you're willing to put in a little hard work, you could enjoy a summer stay at this beautiful gem.

Camera Basics 101

Lately I've heard a lot of people talk about how they want a new camera and many of them want to graduate to bigger cameras.  As Mrs. Miami put it, "I want a big girl camera."  So, if you are thinking about entering the world of Digital SLRs (which stands for single-lens reflex, F to the Y-I) here is a post for you.  I'm going to try and explain some basics to help you get started and realize what you're looking at.  We're gonna start really basic, and go slowly, so don't be scared.  I'll hold your hand.  And as a side note, if I don't explain it well enough or you've got questions, feel free to comment and I will try to explain it better.  Let's get started!

First, we're gonna want to turn it on.  Now I am using a Canon 40D for all these photos, so depending on what camera you are using some of the buttons may be in different spots, but you should be able to figure it out.

This is your review button so you can see any images you've taken...that way when we start comparing you can be like, "Hm, this one is much darker than this one...I wonder why that is?"  Push it once to review, and once to turn it off.

And the all mighty delete button.  Make sure you don't trash anything you might want.

Big-ol-selection wheel.  Use this to scroll back and forth between pictures on your view screen, as well as select options like, "Well yes I would like to delete this photo."

So those are the first operating basics.  My main focus today is going to be on Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter Priority Mode, Manual Mode, and ISO.  We're going to review what they mean and how to use them.  In the next post we will go into how to apply them and what your pictures will look like using each.  Today's just the mechanical aspect of it.

So here are your three modes I just mentioned.  To be honest, these are what I use for the majority of the time.  We have a no Automatic fly zone here.

AV= Aperture Priority.  Your aperture is the actual size hole in your camera that is letting light in as well as determining your depth of field.  Depth of field is another way to say focus, or specifically what parts of your pictures are in focus.  So we've all seen pictures where something really close up is in focus but the background is out of focus or vice versa, those are changes in the depth of field.  When you scroll back and forth in Aperture Priority you are going to notice the numbers go from 2.8 (depending on what lens you are using) to 22, these are called F-Stops.  At 2.8 the hole in your camera is wide open, letting the most light possible in, this is perfect for low light situations as well as close up focus.  At 22 the hole is as small as possible, letting the least amount of light in and also making more of your picture in focus.

That is how you tell what aperture capability the lens you are using can do.  So this can go to F4.0, which is just ok, the lens I'm using to take the photo with can go to 2.8, which is why I was using that one.

So once you have set your camera to AV, your screen will look something like this.  The top box is your F-Stop.  So right now I am as wide open as that lens will let me go.  The bottom number is my ISO Setting.  ISO is the digital version of film speed.  Back in the good ol' film days, you would pick your film depending on what you were shooting.  100-400 speed film was used mostly for outdoor settings where there was plenty of light and then 400-3200 was when you would transition into indoor and low light settings.  So basically lower speed film like 100 was less sensitive so it required more light, while higher speed films like 3200 were more sensitive to light so required less light to expose them.  The ISO setting on your digital camera is replicating this.  I was shooting inside so my ISO is set at 1600, to compensate for it being darker.

You can change your ISO setting by pushing your ISO button, and then using your smaller scroll wheel, which is located next to your trigger, to change the setting.

When you are in Aperture Priority, you are still in a semi-automatic mode.  Meaning that while you are controlling your light and focus by determining how open your aperture is, your camera is automatically adjusting your shutter speed to match it.  That way your photos will come out with an even amount of light.

TV=Shutter Priority.  The shutter is the device in your camera that opens and closes when you take a picture.  When you switch to TV, you are selecting to control how fast or slow the shutter opens, while your camera automatically chooses an aperture that will balance the light for you.  Occasionally you will run into a circumstance where you have a high shutter speed and your camera cannot get a low enough aperture to compensate for the lack of light.  At this point, inside the viewfinder, you will see a blinking light and the camera will not let you take a photo.  And you will be forced to bring your shutter speed down.

This is what it looks like when you are in Shutter Priority.  The lower the numbers the slower your shutter is going to open and close.  When your shutter is at a slower speed, you are more likely to get motion blur in low light situations.  Which isn't always a bad thing.  When your shutter is at a higher speed, you are able to stop whatever motion is happening and freeze it.  So, lots of famous sports pictures where the athlete is frozen in action are taken at high shutter speeds.

A lot of times I will use Aperture priority for nature or portraits, while I will use Shutter Priority for sports, or kids playing.

Aperture Priority

Shutter Priority

However, I'm old school.  Most of the time, I would say 99% of the time at this point, I shoot in Manual.

Manual=full control.  So basically it's up to me in any given situation to change my ISO, my Aperture, and my Shutter speed to match the light that I want in the photo.  When I first started shooting with a digital camera, I got frustrated...alot.  I was so use to setting everything myself and then checking my light meter to make sure I had the light where I wanted it.  But in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority the camera is matching the speed etc, so that you will get the optimal balanced light.  So your light meter always looks like this:

Right smack dab in the middle.  And I'm going to admit something that's kinda embarrassing, for awhile I didn't realize that this was my light meter.  EEk!  My light meter was very different on my old film Pentax.  But this light meter is also in your viewfinder at the bottom.

So this is what it looks like in Manual Mode.  You have control of all these buttons, and your light meter will change, which is super handy.  So you can always use your light meter to gauge what's going on.  I will warn you however, beware of white things, shiny things, mirrors, and windows...it's gonna freak your poor ol' light meter out!  So just experiment and try to gauge how to get the light the way you would like it.

And the last little tidbit in this marathon of a post, is how to set your Diopter.  Your Diopter adjusts the focus in your viewfinder to the strength of your eyes.  This might not seem like a big deal, but I have had times when I have picked up someone's camera to use and taken a photo and it looks out of focus.  I can't figure out why it would be out of focus, and it's because their Diopter is different from mine.  So this is easy to do, just hold the camera up to your eye, relax, and scroll the Diopter up and down until it looks as sharp as it can be.

So that is our start on getting to know your camera.  The best thing to do is play with the settings, see what you get, don't be afraid to push buttons, and just see what setting is the most comfortable for you.  On the next camera post we will work on applying these settings to actual photographs.

Life

About a year ago on Valentine's Day, my Dad got me this photo book: "Life: The Classic Collection."  He thought it would help inspire me on my photographic journey, and boy has it ever.  The photographs in this book are iconic.  And I say photographs because that's what they are.  They aren't "pics" or "photos," these are PHOTOGRAPHS.  These photographs are so awe inspiring not only because they capture some of the most traumatic and meaningful times in history, but because of the art, timing, and skill that each photographer illustrates in each photograph.  When I see these photographs, I realize how far I have to go and how much determination I need.  It's a great kick in the pants as well.  AND one of the great details about the classic collection, is that it comes with 25 removable photographs, that you can frame and put around your house, which I will do as soon as I get frames.

Many of these photographs are very recognizable.  We've grown up seeing them in magazines and highlighted on television.  They are timeless.  One of the most famous photographs is the classic Times Square Kiss by Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Everyone knows this photograph, and it's one of my favorites.  I really didn't know much about the photograph however.  I knew that it was taken on V-J day in Times Square.  I knew that the couple was anonymous for a long time.  I knew that they didn't know each other.  But that was about it, until today when I ran across this article.  On June 23, 2010 Edith Shain (the Nurse) died at age 91.  Apparently she didn't contact Life until the '70s, and the identity of the sailor is still unknown.  According to the photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, he was in Times Square trying to get some shots, when he saw the sailor going around kissing any woman he could find.  Eisenstaedt saw the nurse, and focused on her hoping that the sailor would kiss her, so he was ready when it happened.  According to the sliberstudios.tv article, Shain spent the last half of her life educating others on the events of World War II.  When interviewed about the spontaneity of the kiss, Shain said this, "This guy grabbed me and we kissed, and then I turned one way and he turned the other. There was no way to know who he was, but I didn’t mind because he was someone who had fought for me.”  She also said, "As for the picture it says so many things — hope, love, peace and tomorrow. The end of the war was a wonderful experience, and that photo represents all those feelings.”

I love how passionate the kiss is, how taken surprise the nurse seems, the ladies in the background giggling, and how it is framed as a snap shot.  You feel the passion and absolute joy of V-J day.  And as Edith Shain says, you experience the hope, love, peace and tomorrow.  This photograph represents something we all hope for, not only as photographers, but for our lives...to experience absolute joy and (especially so close to the 4th of July)  the end to wars.

Mann: Keeping Inspired

If you have met me, and talked to me about photography, you will know that I love Sally Mann.  Her work is deep, and meaningful.  I love the ambiguity and imperfections in her photographs.  In Photo School, my friend Clara and I, related to her a lot not only because we were in awe of her work but because she lives in our home town.  When I got married, Clara's gift to me was a book of Sally Mann's "Deep South" series, a gift that I really treasure.  Her photographs have an essence, which is something I strive for in my own photographs. Night-blooming Cereus, 1988 Sally Mann Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 inches Copyright Sally Mann These images are for illustration only and are not to be reproduced without permission.

After a talk with Warnie this morning about last night's blog post, I realized that I had talked down a lot of my work from Art School.  That was not my intention at all.  I really take pride in my work and love doing art, whether that is printmaking, photography, painting, or sculpture.  And I think I have a talent for it.  The last couple years out of school have been harder than I thought they would be, and I have found this to be true for several of my friends from school as well.  Not only do you no longer have the support of your fellow artists, but you also no longer have the same resources available to you.  It's hard, very hard.  My Professors tried to tell me how hard it would be, and I didn't fully understand.  I am just now getting to the point where art is invading my every thought.  I think about painting, dream about smelling darkroom chemicals, and long to feel plaster in my hands again.

I think that is another reason why I respect Sally Mann so much.  In her "Immediate Family" series she talks about how part of the reason she took pictures of her children was that they were there.  You work with what you have and find something beautiful, or mysterious in it.

As an artists it's also great to find things that inspire you to keep your spirits going and keep you motivated.  If you're looking for some free motivation, check out the Art 21 Series by PBS.  You can watch it for free on their website at http://video.pbs.org.  They do interviews with many different artists from large scale sculpture, to paintings, to different types of photography.  Just hearing the way these artist talk about their work is inspiration enough.  Be sure to check it out.