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New Year, New Photos
I haven’t done well with my goal of completing past dailyshoot photo assignments, as I had hoped to in a recent post. But I did have a chance to take photos yesterday. We met up with Yen and Timothy at Valley Fair Mall. It’s amazing how much Timothy has grown. I was able to take a few photos of him, but boy does he move a lot. Of the 40-plus photos I took, only half were usable. But that’s a good thing.
I’m trying to get into the habit of pressing and holding down the shutter release button. If I have the camera in a certain mode, it will take a series of three-to-five shots at a time. With an empty 4GB memory card I should be able to take approximately 170 or so photos in RAW format, at least that’s what my camera says. Unlike film, I shouldn’t worry about taking too many wasted shots, when seeking that one that captures a moment. After all, it’s difficult to take non-flash photos in low light, a situation I often find myself in. Using this method, if I’m lucky, one of those three-to-five photos should turn out. I guess I could get a faster lens or start using flash, but a better lens costs money and I don’t often like the results with flash.
I wish I got into this habit earlier. I think it would have come in handy on some of our travel photos.
A Bunch of Photos
Kaleb!
I’ve posted a bunch of photos on our Smugmug account. The four new albums are: Visiting Kaleb on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Getting Together at South First Billiards, and Genentech Holiday Party.
For me, taking photos has been a bit more fun the last several weeks. I’m not sure if it’s the holiday season that has gotten me snapping away, but I hope to have more updates in the New Year.
Also, I’m evaluating a few programs from Nik Software, so some photos may look as if they have better post-processing than others.
As always, most of the albums are password protected. If you need the password please contact me. And, as always, if there is a photo of you that you want me to take down, let me know as well.
Shooting in Low Light
My photography background consists of taking a few classes at the local junior college, and what I’ve read online and in books. All of these resources have helped me along my journey in photography. I’ve taken a handful of photos that I really enjoy. But I still lack the ability to take decent photos in low-light situations.
Kayla’s volleyball game.
When I shot on film, using my Nikon N90, I was always anxious when shooting in low light. I would dread that the photos I took would develop and show nothing at all. Shooting digitally I am less anxious, but I’m rarely happy with the end results I achieve.
I know part of the solution is having the right tools. If you don’t have a fast enough lens, then shooting action in low light will be a challenge. The photo above is from one of Kayla’s volleyball matches. I used the fastest lens I had, a Sigma 30mm / f 1.4. From the looks of it, the photo came out as best as it could. But the lens is wide, so close-up details are not possible. I wish I could move closer to the action. I guess I need a longer lens.
Kaleb sitting.
I used the same lens to take this photo of Kaleb in very low light. I shot this at ISO 800. You can see some blurring, as I had the aperture wide open. I didn’t take into account the depth of field I was working it. I need to pay more attention to this aspect of photography. I was simply hoping to get a photo without using a flash. I worked on the photo a bit in Photoshop, but it could have been much better if I had just a little more light.
So what do I know right now about shooting in low light?
- If you have a fast lens, use it. As I understand it, a fast lens is f 1.8 or lower. If you have a kit lens it may not be suited for this task.
- Use a higher ISO. If you use 800 or higher, you may get some grainy photos, so don't be surprised.
- If possible, use a tripod. A tripod may not work, especially when your subject is moving.
There are plenty of good tips out there. I just need to read them and keep shooting. As they say, practice makes perfect.
Ketchup with Pepper
I don’t know when Farrah starting putting massive amounts of pepper on her ketchup when we have fries, but now I can’t eat fries any other way.
When I met up with some friends at Yahoo! for lunch at the local In-N-Out, I notice Gloria did the same thing to her ketchup. I forgot to ask her where she got the habit from. I’m curious, who else do I know that does this? If you do this too please leave a comment and tell me how or why you started doing this? I’m just curious.
Camera Fun
I have had about five digital cameras. I didn’t enjoy the Sony Cybershot DSC-T1 as much as I had hoped. Daytime results were good, but anything indoors or at night was very problematic. I bought it before a trip to Hawaii. This is when I learned to never buy a camera right before a trip, as you may not be happy with the results. I was happy with about 60% of the photos I took.
One of the features I liked was the ability to take these consecutive shots and have them as one image. I like this photo I took of Ernie when we met up for dinner one night.
Changes
I forgot to acknowledge several accomplishments on the blog. Kayla graduated middle school this year, and Jonathan graduated high school. Congratulations to you both!
I also forgot to mention (probably because I haven’t blogged in some time) that I have changed jobs. It’s been about a month now since I left my previous company and started working at the new one. It was a tough choice moving on, but change is good, right?
In my new job, I’m exercising a few different skill set then my last position. It is both scary and exciting. Needless to say, I am up for the challenge.
Leaving
I don’t blog about work much, but it’s difficult to read that many talented people are leaving Yahoo! lately (here, here, and here). When I was luckily enough to join Yahoo! in 2002, I was met with a work environment very similar to my first Silicon Valley job. The company seemed full of energy, wanting to make a big impact on the Internet, more so then it had so far. It was exciting to be a part of Yahoo! and you could feel that throughout the company. The campus always seemed to be alive with energy.
Around early to mid-2004, if I recall correctly, the feeling within my specific group changed. What once was an exciting energetic team, became a stiff corporate group. I can’t say whether this was felt throughout the company, but I’m sure it could have become infectious. The change in work culture may have been needed for the company, but the company’s focus, and soul, were lost with the change.
Missing Green
For the last couple of months, I’ve had the urge to start running. I was never much of a runner. My lack of endurance only allowed for short sprints. But I think all the walking Farrah and I did in England, France, and New York has made me realize you can get far on your feet. This fact, plus the cost of gas, is making self-powered transportation a good alternative to driving. Maybe I need to invest in a couple of bikes? At the least, I think we’re going to try to hike more, possibly on Sundays.
Dreaming of Vacation
Farrah and I are planning on going to Hawaii in September. Luckily we purchased our plane tickets before the whole crazy mess with the gas prices. Otherwise the price of a ticket would be insanely high. I haven’t been back since our wedding in 2005, so it will be a real treat for me. I can’t wait until September.
The Kids
Photo no longer available
My sister sent me this mobile photo of the kids, who I have not seen in a very long time. I was surprised to receive the photo by phone.
Unfortunately, AT&T does this very funky thing with multimedia messages received for an iPhone. Instead of just sending you the image or item, they send you a text message saying you received a message. They require you to go to a web site, viewmymessage.com, and input a username and password that you receive by text. The site is pretty lame as it only stores the photo for a short time.
So sis, next time you send a photo just email it to me from your phone. I can then view it in my email.
Visiting from Hawaii
Just wanted to make this quick post saying that Tiana, Jane, and Ann are visiting from Hawaii this week. This weekend was packed with activities including a trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Paramount’s Great America.
I’ll work on the photos when I can and get them posted. Come to think of it did I ever finish all the photos from England slash France trip?
Easter Photos Available
Photos: SmugMug | Flickr | Zenfolio
Photos from Easter day at Auntie Tina’s home in San Jose are now posted at the above links. Yes, three different ways to view the same photos! I’ll write more about why this is the case later. Until then enjoy the photos!
You might also want to see Jane’s posting of Tiana’s Easter photos as well on Vox.
Any comments welcomed.
