First – go to “1. Members – Out and About” in the left-hand column – Jim Dick post 3 wonderful photos.  If you missed my last post on June 21 – go to “older Posts” at the bottom of this page.

Then read the following – my thoughts on  the “Ideal Camera” & and a little on “Photo Club education.” – If you want to volunteer to be a teacher – contact me. How is that for a blunt call for teachers!

What good is a camera club if it does not teach us through classroom sessions?  Let me tell you:

1.  The Club provides birds-of-a-feather social opportunities. We humans love to be with folks (birds) that are like us.  In fact we learn from each other at our social gatherings (Club meetings).

2.  The Club provides a learning environment just like the birds we photograph. Birds see what others do and from that they learn. How do real birds-of-a-feather teach each other? Not in a classroom but rather by example. Momma deer does not say to fawn “Stay away from man with gun” –

Momma shows the fawn to stay away. Same way the Merganser teaches her chicks to find food – by example. She leads them to water and starts to eat – the chicks get the idea.

3. The Club lets us share what we photograph. Without a classroom we learn this way too. If the things we share bring a response of “ho-hum” we try to do something else. If by chance what we share brings a response of “Wow”, we try to duplicate that accident. – That is learning.

4. Hopefully too, the club will offer some classroom learning – on subjects such as aperture to use while shooting the full moon, composition elements to use when shooting a bird on a branch (or when it is sitting on a rock by the sea,) or what is the ideal camera we should purchase.  

I wanted to get you to a thinking about the ideal camera.  Yes, I know I push you to remember to use your cell phone camera – but it ani’t gonna do it for all shots.

Think about this: What is the ideal coat to wear in Titusville, Fl.  Is it the same coat as the one you would wear in the windy drizzle at 50 F here on Drummond?  What is the ideal pair of shoes, or the ideal flowered dress (not you men), or what is the ideal mud-tire to put on your Jeep. 

There is no answer to these questions until you know where you are and how you want to use them.  The same goes for the camera.  

To select the ideal camera, you must ask yourself something like this:  “Which is the ideal camera for underwater photography, portrait photography, or travel photography.” It depends where you are and what you want to do.

 

Camera selection is a complex question.  For this trip to Drummond, the only camera I have is my iPhone – Before my next trip  I hope to purchase the Ideal camera for what I do. Since the club did not educate me, I will live with my mistake. But, I am hoping for your sake,  one of our members researches the topic of “Ideal Camera” and teaches you in a classroom session next winter

Of course I did some research for myself I-  looked into an ideal travel camera:  (Point and Shoot, Advanced Compact Cameras,  Bridge Camera, DSLR, & Mirrorless) Each has its own list of benefits. In my research, I found that knowing the following terms would help an individual make a decision. Maybe a learning session, for the Camera Club, on terminology is a good idea:  The terms, Sensor Size, Aperture, Megapixels, Optical & Digital Zoom, Focal Length, EIS/OIS, Ergonomics & Navigability, WiFi, Lens Selection, Video, RAW capability, Pocket Size, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), High-resolution screen, Dynamic Fine Zoom.

Dave posted new bird photos – click #2 in left column.  Study not just the birds he photographed, but look at the photography – think about composition, action, color, depth of field, patience, and detail that he does – all those attributes of great photography.

Then come back and read about seeing “Old Stuff” as “New Stuff”.  Your camera can be a way to help you study nature. Not to show it to others – but – to study and collect it for your self: 

Nature is an integral part of everyone’s life. Each persons experience with nature is unique. Pause now for just a moment and ponder your unique way of enjoying nature.

For me, nature has been integral to life itself.  Somehow nature was available whether I worked outside growing up on a farm, or cared for cows on my ranch in Texas, or sat working in an office.  I always found nature  – when 12 years old I was getting the cows into the barn for milking in the pre-dawn mist – when I was 45 most of my day was in a plane or in an office but at night I escaped to ski down Utah or Swiss mountains, now that I am 83 I have all the time I want to take camera in hand and  walk the shores of Lake Huron.

When my office was in Copenhagen I took many opportunities to experience new sights of Europe’s nature before heading to indoor offices. I just had to bundle up and take a stroll in the new geography – and often new weather conditions for me. There is a very common phrase that you can hear Norwegians repeat – “det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær” / “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!” I think this phrase helped me get out each day – experience nature regardless of weather conditions before heading to the office.

We humans are primed for novel experiences. New sights capture our attention; old sights barely register. Psychologists call this “habituation.” 

You do not need to work in Europe or a far off country to experience new things of nature – just study old sights barely registered by you – they can become new experiences – there are thousands out there. I will give you just four as an example:

Moss — Moss is usually overlooked or else aggressively eradicated, but rarely is it appreciated for its unique beauty.  Mosses have been around much longer than flowering plants.

Rocks—Rocks are a tangible reminder of gigantic natural processes, like time and pressure, volcanism, and plate tectonics. Start by picking up a rock. Where did it come from? What forces shaped it? Wet the rock. It will come alive with different colors and patterns. Maybe start a rock collection – in digital form – why?

This week I was adding to my physical collection, one of my collections rolled onto my little pinky – Yea, I get the 12 stitches out next Thursday if all goes well!

Ants—When Marc was attending Cornel University in up-state NY, I watched graduate students, on hands and knees, following ants across a walkway – the student taking notes and photographs for his/her  “Ant Research Project.” Ants are social insects. They have complex societies and job differentiation, much like humans, which is probably why they are so often studied.

Trees—Take a moment to look at an individual tree. They are remarkable feats of natural architecture. Their structures are strong enough to grow vertically. Sometimes balanced in ways that would be disastrous for a building, yet they can bend in the wind. How does water get distributed from the roots to the tippy-top of the highest branch.  A tree is part of our eco-system, but it can be the whole world to all sorts of small creatures. Look for tiny spider in the folds of the trunk. How about the tree being a host for moss?  Photograph two trees over the course of a year – see how each handle the seasons in a unique way. Suddenly a single tree is not just another tree.

Some nature seen this week on Drummond: 

 

We pass along to members of out family so many things and of course they return their things to us.  One morning last week Heather, my daughter, passed along to me a great gift – for Father’s Day I suppose..  She called me as she was leaving her house with my Grandson Charlie to tell me they were thinking of me. They wanted to tell me how happy they were that they inherited traits from me.

I wondered what traits – maybe intelligence, maybe her blue eyes, a positive attitude to life, maybe compassion for others, a healthy body, and the list in my mind went on.  Passing along any one of those traits would be great. But,  nope, it was none of these traits. 

Here is what happened as they left their house: They had to stop the car in the driveway, go back into the house to check if they turned off the stove. Then on the second attempt at backing out of the driveway, they had to stop, go back into the house once more and check to be sure they unplugged the hair dryer and to pickup the letter they wanted to take to the post office. 

Oh my – Heather went on to say that every morning when I went to work she was just waking up to get ready for school – she heard me exit the front door, she lay half awake feeling safe that she would not drift off to sleep and miss the school bus – ‘cause she knew I would be back in at least twice to pick up something I for forgot or to check to be sure I turned off the stove – after my third departure she knew she had to get up – there would be no more door slamming to wake her up.

That is the inherited trait I got told of for Father’s Day – no mention of compassion for others or their intelligence, or good looks ………  Heather went on – She said when she and Charlie left the house for the third time this morning they thought of me – they inherited that from me they said – always going back into the house before final departure!

I laughed a full 5 minutes and said to myself that I hope each of you get rewarded with such a nice story from your family on this Father’s Day.

How can I wish that kind of passed on trait upon you?  Well, it is a story of memories of day-to-day living – of events of the past that help us remember the joys, traits,  and the fun of day-to-day sharing together.  I think that is what life is all about. That is how I can wish that upon you.  Accept my wish, and right now, laugh at a funny trait you passed along.

That made me think about things we “SEE” every day as we live day-to-day life together. 

For example, when we are outside, 50% of what we see is sky! Think about it. Above the horizon we see sky.

The nice part of that is, it is never the same. The morning sky is different from the evening sky. The white puffy clouds are different from the clouds of an approaching storm, and the moments before a snow storm can be dark and spooky.  How about the clouds silhouetted  by a full moon.  50% of every thing we see outside – that which is above our horizon – is the most beautiful display of nature’s. It is as if God is changing, just for us, the art hanging on the walls of the sky.

Now think about being indoors. At least 50% of what we see is above the furniture – it is the  wall.

In most homes the walls are decorated with paintings and photos. We see these paintings so often that we hardly notice  – we hardly appreciate them.

Our community, The Great Outdoors Golf and RV Resort, took a different approach they change the art on their walls. Walk into our great Blue Heron restaurant in our community, 40-50 paintings decorate the walls.

Enter our community office, 15-20 photo prints decorate the walls. Our Manor House community building has 30-40 photo prints on the walls. Or library walls, above the book shelves, are lined with photographs.

All of  these paintings and photos are changed at least annually – many are changed every 3-4 months. Just like the sky, this change is refreshing – our minds are engaged and brought to life by this change.  We notice the new paintings and photos, we study them, and we appreciate them.

 

God changes our sky – we change the walls of our community buildings – these changes bring sparkly to our day-to-day living. What about the walls in your home?  Do you sparkle them with new images. 

Let me tell you, the walls of my home are changed often. 

Even the garage walls are changed – every time I drive the car into the garage I might see new art. 

If you would like to sparkle your walls, think about exploring, with me, how you could change the images on you walls.  Maybe we could work with local Photographers and Artists to see what could be done to change your wall images often – sort of “trade ’em in” may be possible..  

Jim Brubaker — 321-693-0597  jimbrubaker@earthlink.net

 

 

Sure hope you enjoyed the last post – looking at the photos by Candis, Dave, Ed, Susan, and myself. Click links in left hand column.

Today, I will share, on this page,  photos from Eileen Norrington, Jim Dick, and Friends of Gloria, and Gloria – And a late postscript photo from Bob Hazlett.

You know, we enjoys things we see much more because photography has trained our brain to stop, study, and enjoy.  – Read on:

When you become part of the photography world, you join an eclectic array of characters. Some are dedicated photographers, some only snap cell phone photos, some are joiners, and some are loaners. But, they all speak the same language when they attend a TGO Photo Club meeting. You never have to be alone in the photography world – well, on the other hand, you may want to be out  photographing nature alone – or alone in the big city just people watching.

A huge part of photography is about sharing your work.  Maybe you want to sell your art Maybe you just want to put the image on the web – people will get to see it. You can seek critiques or avoid them. If your images are only on your hard drive, you can share and enjoy them, alone, with your own memory.  But, for some folks, sharing their images with others is what photography is all about. For you it may be  somewhere in-between.  You choose.

You can never really get bored. There is always a new lens, or a new technique. The world of photography equipment is ever-changing.  As the world evolves your subjects change. There is no reason to get bored in photography.

One of the best things in photography is that it’s a skill that can be passed on. If you want to give kids something to do, a camera is an excellent learning tool. As a photographer you don’t have to separate your hobby from your family. They can be involved and you can share, with your grandkids, – helping keep you in their lives.

Photographers have a great opportunity to take a fine look at the world around them. Whether they are on a trip looking at wild reminders of the ancient past, or touring the Space Center, or simply walking through the parking lot at Publix grocery store photographer get to capture it all and share it. Photographers are in a unique position to better see what’s going on in their home, community, and the world around them.

See, I think sharing photos is a lot of fun – especially when I am on the receiving end – Thanks to Eileen Norrington, Jim Dick, and Friends of Gloria Brubaker.

The world is an interesting changing place with many thought-provoking subjects to closely study. If you stay in the house, you miss them. Photography makes you want to go out, see, and enjoy the world.  So, in your world, photograph something each day and share with us each week – Thanks say I.

PS: Just got this from Bob Hazlett:

 

We all love to talk – and we hope the person we are talking with cares about what we want to share – Oh my – maybe, rather than talk,  we can just share a few SNAP SHOTS of our day – Well that is what I did, so click on “Jim’s Ramblings” in the left column.

Now, Candis, Dave, and Ed sent some really great PHOTOGRAPHS. Go to “Photo shoot images” in the left column.

Before the story – I enjoy sharing my thoughts on photography(and PhotoShopped photos)  with you via these Blog pages – In addition to photos on these blogs the Club shares sideshows and videos on the screen on the Manor porch.  Any photos you send me (Jimbrubaker@earthlink) will get shared via one of our digital outlets.  Donald Wyllie volunteered to create slide show of your photos – he can put any subject into a show, but themes such as flowers, rocks, birds, mushrooms make great shows – think about it – You can get the joy from sharing.  Send photos to me, and I will  post them on the blog and/or get them to Donald.

Now the story: This whole story, today, is to feature Susan Hubbard.  She sent me  photos of the boat race she witnessed in Port Canaveral. 

Click in left column:  “1. Members – Out and About” to see her photos.

It is unusual for Susan to send me photos that are not of flowers.  Click:  2. Photo shoot images” then click on her name to see flowers she posted there in the past. 

The last time I visited Susan’s and Rone’s house, Susan showed me a box she built to set flowers in to photo them.  The purpose of the box was to control light and shadows and maybe more?

When I returned to own home, I went on-line to find out about photo boxes.  Here is some of what I found:   

1.  “A light box or photography tent is an accessory that generally has sides made from a semi-transparent material that diffuses the light coming from a number of different sources. This provides an almost completely shadow-less and even amount of light to hit against a solid, simple background.”

2.  A website explaining Dark Food Photography also popped up. Over the last several years, a trend has developed in the world of food photography –  a trend towards controlling light and shadows to create dark, moody images, often with a rustic feel – Not very far from flower photography say I:

3. For about $100 you could purchase a “FotodioX LED Studio-in-a-Box”

I bet if you search the web you will uncover lots of techniques and equipment to better show off your flowers and/or food.

Now Click: “4. Jim’s Ramblings.”   I rambled on about  flower photography – hope you enjoy my rambling. You might even see some PhotoShop playing I did with flowers and the TGO wall at the corner of Plantation and East Plantation (By Lake Judy).

Maybe we (you) would like the TGO Photo Club to find someone to teach us (educated us) on flower photography. Maybe we could form a “Birds-of-a-Feather” flower photography group to learn more about flower photography.  Just let me know!

FIRST: Dave Cesari updated the Photo shoot page with some great photos of a Cerulean Warbler.  If you want to see a Cerulean, you sure better click the “Photo Shoot Page” in the left column.

Be sure to check “Members – Out and About” – See Jim Dick loving to do what he does every day.

5/26/2019 update – TGO Photo Club members and friends receive Club communications via our our e-mail list. If you want to be on that list contact Susan Hubbard at rone_sue@bellsouth.net or txt Jim Brubaker at 321-693-0597.

MY EXPLANATION: Onward with my story about “Knowing why the photo was a real success:”

The quality (goodness) of a photo is judged by how well it accomplishes the reason the photo was taken. If you did not check out the 54 reasons I told you about in the last post,  click the “older posts” at the bottom of this page to see the last post.

In the Photo Club, we talk about photo perfection and of learning more about perfect composition, background, tone , color, and sharpness…………

I want to emphasize  – DO NOT LET ALL THAT TALK OF PERFECTION GET IN THE WAY OF YOU SNAPPING  YOUR PHOTOS YOUR WAY and having fun doing it.

For this post, I selected two reasons why my family and I whip out the camera, with little thought to photo perfection:

12. SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE:  The way you see the world is unique, and photography lets you share that unique perspective of life.

14. TELL A STORY:  Photography is a fantastic story-telling medium.  Whether you’re telling a story with one image, a sequence, a series, or an entire portfolio, the possibilities are endless.

I love my family and we enjoy life according to our unique family culture and history – we text multiple times per week with photos – showing photos that tell a story of what we did and thought about that day – Are the photos a perfect?  Is their composition just right? – I doubt it.  Are they all clear and  sharp?   I doubt it – but they sure make us happy to be able to tell each other of our days.

Here are a few recent text photos that came my way:

Here are two videos that I have received – they communicate family culture stories – hope you can view them on your screen:

CLICK HERE: A story of Heather’s love for life, animals, and the early morning

CLICK HERE: A story of Gloria’s personality and her passion for art.

Oh my, this week, I sent them the following just to show them my day in sunny Florida – our candidate for Florida’s state bug:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If sharing with family is one of your reasons – snap often and txt often – it will be one of your joys. Of course, participate in our (the TGO Photo Club’s) focus on learning more about photo perfection but do not let it get in the way of just having fun with your camera.

When you point your camera at a subject, you are focused on the subject.  It might be a deer, a flower, your family, or your spouse’s crazy antics.  Now the big question – how much did you focus on the background?

A great subject photograph requires a great background. So, when we photograph, do we consider all the elements that make up the scene.  If we do not, the final result may be far from what you want – You may not have that great photo of your subject.

The background is fundamental to the composition of the image -they can not be separated – together they emphasize the subject, prevent distractions, make it pleasing to the viewer, and help tell the story of your photograph.

A pure black back ground may not distract the viewer from your subject but it may be boring and it will not help tell the story you wanted to tell about your subject.  An element properly placed in the background can contribute significantly to the balance of the image, it can interact with your subject, and tell the story you want your photograph to tell.

TGO Photo Club members – tell us what you want in our “Education” and our “Birds of a Feather” sessions this fall – if “Learning more about background”  is your want, I am sure we can find someone to educate us.

The following images are presented here – not to suggest which is the greatest background for the subject – but they are presented here to show you differences.  It is my hope that  they trigger your mind to think about backgrounds:

 

YOU MIGHT ENJOY MY NEW RAMBLING – CLICK HERE or CLICK #4 (Jim’s Ramblings) IN LEFT SIDE PANEL.

“Do you see what I see?”

“Why are you a photographer?” Oh my! If you are not sure, ask your computer. How  to ask your computer? – well, just Google “54 Reasons to be a photographer.”  

On the web site that pops up, each of the 54 reasons has a paragraph explaining the reason.  I will only list a few of the titles here:

1. CAPTURE A MEMORY THAT YOU CAN HAVE FOREVER

2. NOTICE THE DETAILS

3. SEE THE BEAUTY IN THE EVERY DAY

4. LIVE IN THE PRESENT

5. FORGET YOUR WORRIES

6. SHARE IT WITH THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE

7. DOCUMENT YOUR FAMILY

8. CAPTURE THE AMAZING RANGE OF LOVE AND EMOTION IN KIDS

9. IT’S A CREATIVE OUTLET

10. MAKE ART

11. A GREAT CHALLENGE

12. SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

13. EXPRESS YOURSELF

14. TELL A STORY

15. CAPTURE AN ADVENTURE

.

.

49. HELP PEOPLE

50. EXPERIENCE DIFFERENT EMOTIONS FROM THE SAME PHOTO

51. TRAVEL IN TIME

52. COMMUNICATE ACROSS LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

53. MAKE MONEY

54. DEVELOP A LOVE FOR LIFE

I think my strongest reasons for being involved in photography are #9 thru #14 and I like to help (#49) club members.  I hope in some way these blogs are helpful. 

Reason #9 “As A Creative Outlet” is where I really have fun with  Photography and Photoshop. 

There is a book I recommend by Bryan Peterson “Learning to See Creatively.  From the Amazon Kindle store you can read a sample of this book for free.

If you read Bryan’s, book, You will have more fun with photography – regardless which of the 54 reasons are important to you. He (Bryan Peterson) helps you advance your personal vision. He offers exercises that promise to unleash the visionary in you.

Henry David Thoreau said, “The question is not what you look at but what you see”

Jim Brubaker said “Don’t worry about making the right image. If it is your image and making it was fun, how can it be a wrong image”

TGO Photo Club members – tell us what you want in our “Education” and our “Birds of a Feather” sessions this fall – if “Learning to See Creatively”  is your want, I am sure we can find someone to educate us.

So the other morning – thinking of this blog, I said to myself – get your cell phone and take a few creative photos.

Two links have been updated today (click in left-hand column):  “Jim’s Ramblings” and “Photo shoot images” by Gary Wittstock. After you look at them come back and read on.

You noticed that Gary talked of DOF – that prompted me to say, the art of photography is knowing what you want your photograph to look like.  Most likely it is not a view of reality – not a view as your eye saw it – it is a view that you think is pleasing to the mind of the viewer – in short it is art.

Well, DoF in photography stands for “Depth of Field” and it helps you make your photo truly your statement of your art of photography.

So which one the following two images is most pleasing to your mind – you the viewer?

The difference is depth of field (DoF).

Depth of field (DoF) is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a scene that appear to be “acceptably sharp” in an image. The distance between the camera and the first element that is considered to be acceptably sharp is called DoF “near limit.”

Three main factors that will affect how you control the depth of field of your images are: aperture (f-stop), distance from the subject to the camera, and focal length of the lens on your camera.

A large aperture gives a shallow depth of field (top). A small aperture gives greater depth of field (bottom).

But there is more to it than that:  As sensor size increases, the depth of field will decrease for a given aperture (when filling the frame with a subject of the same size and distance). This is because larger sensors require one to get closer to their subject, or to use a longer focal length in order to fill the frame with that subject.

But for now let us think only about what we want th depth of field to be in the photos we take (or make).  Before we study how to control depth we must know why we want to control it.

TGO Photo Club members – tell us what you want in our” Education” and our “Birds of a Feather” sessions this fall – if DoF is your want, I am sure we can find someone to educate us.