Family Fun-op...

Welcome again my friends! I know it has been awhile, but I am back to share with you all my triumphs and my struggles with this my new journey, photography.
So this past week, I am greeted with great news by my son, he proclaims to me that he is the "SUPERSTAR of the WEEK"!!! Which is a huge thing in his school, and even bigger in my house! WE JUMP FOR JOY, and make up songs about how my son is a "SUPERSTAR"!!!! After coming down from this gigantic high, he presents me with some added facts to his new his new found SUPER-STARDOM!! "Daddy you have to take a picture of me by myself, and I need a picture of you, me, and mommy together....oh and daddy i need it tomorrow". I was instantly reminded of the fact that we do not have recent pics of us all together, because I am always behind the lens! Not to mention this has to happen quick, I mean he is a SUPERSTAR now...so my brain gets to going(can we get a hand clap for that lol).
I inform the house that we are going to have to have a family shoot pronto! Wait a min here, I do not have a studio, or lights, or even a tripod!! What am I to do? So...my brain gets to moving again....(hand clap please lol) I am going to need my sb600 flash, uhm...my trusty 30mm sigma 1.4 lens, a stool, and a sheet (feel like Macgyver over here lol).
I cover up an little ottoman with a sheet, put it up against

my lightest wall and shoot my son first. The first 30 shots were not so hot, but as I adjusted the settings on my camera, things started to pick up, and boy did my son get silly, which made for great pics!!
It was working, my plan was working but I was still trying to figure out how I was going to get myself in the pic with everyone doing the process.

Next up, my son and mommy, again I got some great shots of the two of them, which seemed to make mommy emotional (Mommy's get like that when they take pics with their children, I guess Daddy's do to........crickets lol)


So moving along now....now is the challenge for me. I set up the timer on my camera, and add 3 shots per round, that way I can make sure I am not getting any closed eyes, being that I am not behind the camera. I focus everything while placing the camera on the stool, then run to make it in time. I did this time, after time, after time (talking about a workout!) till my son made it very clear that he was done the shoot. LOL who could blame him!

 At the end of it all I was happy at my first attempt of shooting on the fly without any studio aide. I was most happy with shooting my SUPERSTAR family, whom I have now introduced to you all.
I hope you all enjoyed this adventure.

Until next time......CLICK CLICK CLICK

A day at a D.C. Park...

Man in the Park, leading the drums

Well we meet again.....I do not know if i have what you guys want, but I definitely have some fun things to share with you all. (Well at least fun to me, which as we are all finding out, is all that matters. lol For the most part that is)
OK so back to the fun stuff......This weekend I was blessed to find that a friend, and former student( please do not ask how long ago I taught her, that is just rude to a young in heart individual like myself. KNOWING I am getting OLDER is hard enough, geez lol.)
OK, so she hits me on Twitter and shares that she will not only be in town, but she wants to shoot at a park in  DC. Please understand that was music to my ears!!!!!!!
We discussed the details back and forth, and came up with a time, and a place......I WAS ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!!!! (as one of my favorite comedians Kevin Hart would say lol)


 I rushed to the appointed place and time and was met by the crew, and the subject of the shoot, Which was my friend's cousin. Wait Wait, I am so rude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me introduce you to my friend Celesti! So we arrive and I am amazed by the venue. I have been in this

CELESTI!!!

area of DC a thousand times and had never been in this park. There was soo much going on, and the park had beautiful structures all through the property. This was a photographers dream!! I jumped in the mix right away, and boy oh boy did I have a great time, while being serenaded by the drums all around us. The weather was great! I started the shoot with my kit lens and was snapping like a semi-automatic pistol!!!! I shot at any and everything, enjoying every moment. This again is what it is all about for me, the passion, the joy, the freedom, of capturing moments in time significant to me, so much that I want to share it with you all!! As the shoot came to a close, I pulled out my trusty 30mm 1.4 sigma lens, and just totally invaded the space of my subject, it was kool that she was kool about it. I am learning that as a photographer, you learn quickly to get in the space   of your subjects, Lol I

JUST DON"T CARE lol!!

Model for the day

So as I mentioned, I had a great time, and met some new friends to take pics with, and I have Celesti to thank. So I am taking this time out in my Blog to thank my friend Celesti for a wonderful day, and a chance to learn more about a city, and more about this craft, this privaledge we share, PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!

Until Next time...CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!!

All about the LEGS!!

Grab shot of a Lady and her Dog

Some art we used as a Prop

My new Friends

Doing What we Do!!

To the Aviation Park!!!

I thought this sign was funny!

Well hello again my friends, or casual visitor, to this my silly blog! I am glad to share with you all once again. If this is your first time, WELCOME!!

Ok, let's get STARTED!!!!

Today was a beautiful day in the DMV!!! (D.C., MD., and VA). The weather made it near the 80's today, and you know what that means to people like myself who try to snap what ever they can, YES!!!!! RECESS!!! I grabbed my camera, and tried to figure out, what I was going to attempt to shoot today..........an Air Plane flew over head, and the light bulb went off!! I live near and aviation park, why not take advantage! So I jumped in my truck with my camera in bag (whom I have yet to name, remember to give suggestions, so that I can give my camera a name. Remember, my camera is a LADY), and vroomed over to the Park.

Due to the weather, it seemed like every other person with a camera had the same idea!! One of the photographers, of which I met,  also had a Nikon D90, (Shout out to my new camera friend Yoli!). As the planes flew by to land, we all scrambled in position to get a picture of these wonderful planes, which were so close to us. I felt more like a kid, then that of a budding photographer. I have always loved planes, so this was a definite treat!!

Landing with the Moon in the background.

I felt I took a few half decent shots, while running to the positions that I found myself jockeying for. To be honest I felt like a power forward trying to get in position to get a rebound, instead of taking pics lol. I guess this all has to do with everyone feeling like the other has the best spot, you know that crab in the barrel syndrome. lol

Nah it was not that bad, we all laughed at times when someone bumped or tripped in the process.

While I was waiting in between shots, I looked over and found myself taking pics of the little children who shared my enthusiasm as well about seeing the planes. They ran and jumped with pure glee as each majestic vessel passed them by. It was a perfect transition to to have my lens focus on them. 

Well at least I thought so, I guess that trumps any other opinion at this point right? lol

So after getting permission from their parents, I got my click on and captured these shots.

My Favorite Picture of the Day!

Today was a good day! I hope the morrow brings forth the same weather, and a venue where I can put these budding skills to use. I am truly finding this hobby to be a time of solace and a positive release. I hope to soon share more technical things that I am learning, so we can learn together.

Remember I need a name for my Camera.

Thanks again, and I will keep keep you posted to each CLICK CLICK CLICK I attempt.

Until next time....

Grubbin In the Dark.......

Grubbin Destination

So tonight I ventured out to get my grub on with my family, and chose to dine At the restaurant seen at your right. Of course I invited my camera (hmmm I guess I should give her a name, well at least you know my camera's gender. Maybe you all can give me some name suggestions. So if you have some, post on this feed.) Okay yes, so I invited her as well, with the notion that I would take some pics of the food I chose to eat. First problem in this scenario is, I had yet to eat at this point, and was starving. Second was the fact that there was next to no light in the venue, just candle light at each table. Okay Okay, I'm prepared, I have my trusty Sigma 30mm 1.4 with me, hooray for the fact that I was prepared!!!!!

My withheld Menu with and edit

So I scooped up the menu, and was ready to get it in immediately, Ahhhh Yes, "Uhm I will have water, Oh yes, Egg Drop Soup, Appetizer? Oh yes that too, Let me have The Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Oh no, I'm ready to order my meal as well...Honey Spicy Chicken please, with White Rice, oh no, can I keep the menu.. Thanks!
(Can you tell I was hungry? lol)
So hungry that while waiting I only took a few pics, the menu, the cutlery, blanketed with a napkin, and the spices. So hungry that i never even took pics OF MY FOOD!!!! The very reason I invited my camera. Sheesh! I guess I blew that one, so I will save that assignment for next time, when I am not so hungry.
Hey 2 blog post in one, wait, it's after 12, strike that!
Until next time..........Make sure your getting those Click Click Click's in!

The Last shot before the feast!

 

Here's to the weekend..........

View from my Door

I awoke this morning, wait, let me start this again, My son woke me up this morning, to alert me first that he himself was awake, and that the rain had finally stopped. (He is also my weatherman, I'm sure you will find this out in later in my many post, oh and if you have not figured out the other job my son has given himself, he also is my daily alarm clock. problem is, there is no snooze attached to him lol) Okay I have truly digressed! I was excited to hear from my weatherman, that the rain had ceased! I jumped out of my bed, grabbed my camera, and took a shot of the sky from my door. It was great to see light coming through the clouds, after days of darkness and rain. I'm learning that a photographer loves days that allows he or she to get out and be able to capture the world, one click at a time. So here's to the weekend, and all of my fellow picture takers, may we have a weekend that allows us to appreciate the light that creeps through the clouds.
Until next time........Click Click Click!!!

First attempt at a sports venue....

Getting things Started

Welcome to another attempt of mine, trying to figure out this wonderful art form known as photography. The ride is never the same, nor will you find consistency at this point, but hey give me an A for effort or any other Ra-Ra's that can help this poor man feel like he is doing something right. :-)

So here we go! The other day I was fortunate to be able to see a great friend of mine, whom I view as a little brother, play basketball. For those who may know me, I LOVE BASKETBALL!!! So when he asked if I wanted tickets, best believe I jumped on the opportunity. While doing so (jumping up and down at this point), I asked, uhmmmmm errrrrrrraaaaaa, can I bring my camera? He replied yea, I WAS TOO HYPED!! Ok so what to do now, uhm what lens, what about the lighting, how close will I be, will the crowd be too hype? Questions in my head plagued me. Once I got a hold of my thoughts, I was good. The only thing I could not bring was an external flash, ok, cool, Lets Get It!

Action shot, taking it to the basket!

So It is time to get it going, I arrive with my homie O, early of course cause I want to get a lay of the lighting. Hey the lighting is ok, I'm shooting manual now, I got this! I kept the ISO mid-range, and the F-Stop as low as possible, VIOLA!!! SUCCESS!!! The crowd piled in quickly, and the atmosphere was amazing. The Band was hype, the dancers were getting LOW!, and even a few celebs, Jon Wall, Andrae Blatche, and Javelle McGee was in the house. Then there was me, catching what ever moments I could, and loving every minute!!! See you guys next time.....

Lil Bro, Wes Dunning

The Burr, Howard's Gym

Jon Wall, Andrae Blatche, Javelle Mcgee

What time is it?

Checking the time

The hour is late, and I found myself going on a drive in the middle of the night for some snacks. (Don't judge me for liking 3 scoops of ice cream at 2am, I mean Baskin is open 24 hrs every day!!). I decided to bring my camera as well, why, who knows! I now have the feeling that I cannot leave my house ever without my camera, again don't judge! ;-)
While driving, I pull out the cam, I know I know, this is rather dangerous, and no I'm not a trained professional, and take a few shots.

I return home and realize that the past few nights I have had the oddest dreams, most of which are me taking pics, and everything goes wrong, I mean everything! Funny thing is, when I awake, I want to get up and shoot. This hobby is trying to leak into my everyday world, what am I to do? Well for now, my camera as well as myself are resting, but the anticipation for our next time together is mounting, lets just hope my reality overcomes my current dreams :-)

Until next time....