The Power Of Cropping Images

I know I've talked about this before, but it continues to shock me just how much of a difference a good crop can make for an image.

I went it Lucha Libre Volcanica's 8th Anniversary event recently, where I took this photo:

I took a ton of photos, actually and MANY of them look like that - I sat behind tall people, and there were short people behind me (so I couldn't really stand up without blocking their view).

So I had to hope that the image(s) can be fixed with a bit of cropping.

Like this:

Now don't get me wrong: It's still not a great image, but it's significantly better.

For the record: It was a fantastic show, and I'm going to go to more of their shows, time permitting.

An Old Favorite

I honestly don't know if I've shared this one here before or not.

This is my brother Eric getting ready for his (first) wedding.



It's not a fantastic photo, but it's a good photo.

Instagram

This weekend, I had more than one person ask me why I wasn't a professional photographer.

I'm not a bad photographer - I've gotten past that mindset, finally. But I still have a hard time seeing myself as a good photographer. I'm nitpicking my photos. Over and over and over.

Let me show you what I mean.

A few weeks ago, A friend asked if I'd be willing to take some photos for his sister.  This is one of the photos I got:



It's a great shot. It's well-composed, and the expression on their faces is so expressive. But I didn't use my fill flash, so there are shadows over the eyes of the woman on the right.

It's a small detail, but it's an important one. It's not a mistake I'm going to make again, but it's still a mistake. And small details like that are what's holding me back.

The Warehouse

This is the warehouse where I work as we were shutting down for the night.  I just really like how this photo framed itself and the way everything in the image is squareish.

The New Camera

Here are a few shots out of my new camera.

One of each resident of our home (other than myself).

Stephanie:


Feina:


Miss Daisy Mae:


Ramses:


A few notes:
1) I really like this lens. All of these photos were taken in less-than-ideal lighting conditions, so the 1.4 aperture combined with the camera's shake reduction made for some great shots.

2) I'm going to really like using this camera.  I can tell already. The fact that it's compatible with all of my other lenses and gear is just icing on the cake. Once I master a few of the bells and whistles, my results will improve.

3) The new camera is a Pentax K-3II. The only complaint I have is that it lacks a flash. Pentax opted to add a GPS to it instead. Which is ... cool. I guess. If a bit weird.

I Gave My Camera Away

I've been awfully quiet here, lately. It's because it's been a while since I broke my camera out.

Sorry.

I ordered a Pentax K-3II this week. It's compatible with all of the same lenses as my K10D was. But it also has a few features that I look forward to fighting with.

The K10D found a good home - one of my co-workers is one of those Outdoors types, and he was bored with his point-and-shoot.  So I gave it to him, along with two lenses.

Since I last posted I've ... not taken many pictures, actually.

Or, more accurately, I've not processed many photos.

And I've definitely failed to share a bunch here. I promised a friend this summer that I would work on that. And now I'm promising you that I'll be working on that.




The Lytro has had a good workout with board games. I's share them, but Lytro's gallery page seems to be down at the moment. I liked it enough that when the Illum dropped to under $500, I snagged one of those, too.

I won't have weekly posts, or a regular schedule, but I do intend to post more here. Because I definitely plan to put my cameras through their paces.

Phone Call

I still think that this is one of the most perfect photos I have ever taken.  The light, the framing, the bokeh ... it all just works in this shot. Yes, the background is just a hair overexposed - but I like the finished work.



This is Amy, the wife of a good friend of mine.  A mutual friend was in town (a rare occurrence at the time), so we gathered to play some games and have some BBQ.  It was the kind of bright and sunny day we just don't get in the Seattle area (which is a large part of why I live here, honestly).

The kind of day that many photographers love, really - and if I could get results like this more consistently, I would probably like them more.

This was shot via my Pentax K10D with its kit lens, BTW.

Oh.  Um ... I'm back. It's been forever since I updated here - and I can't promise regular updates, either.  But I'm going to try.  Especially now that I'm shooting more and more film again.