Dancing Grandpa! Or, Heart Failure Be Damned!

Today was Christmas and the cockroach was up at daybreak. Isla, my youngest granddaughter, caught me, the cockroach, doing my Christmas dance. I have heart failure and a new hip, replaced after a fall playing basketball. I seem to be impossible to keep down. My doctors agree. Of all the animals I could be said to resemble, the you-can't-keep-'em-down cockroach best symbolizes me.

I wanted to share this video and did not know where to post it. I trust all you died-in-the-wool photographers will forgive me. 

Click on the broken square in the lower, right corner of image to enlarge.

 #senior #grandfather #dancing #heart failure #hip replacement #dancing senior #jump #photography #video

Another inspiring photographer

A simple snail attracted my friend. I had never paid much attention to the perfect spirals.

Recently, my wife and I had a couple visit from Montreal. The wife has Alzheimer's. An artist all her life, she is now losing her connection to reality. Amazingly, her love of art and her need to create seem to be strong drives nestled deep within her, and as core drives both appear to be very difficult to extinguish.

We went for a walk in an old-growth forest and watching this woman work was truly inspiring. A stroll in the woods with my friend leading the way took four hours.

My friend's links to her memory banks, both long and short-term, may be breaking but she is truly in tune with the moment. She didn't miss a picture opportunity: a small snail (stop to take a picture), a loudly buzzing bumble bee on purple/blue wild flowers (stop to take a picture) or a green on green flower (stop to take another picture.)

With her leading the way, I can honestly say that I haven't had as much fun taking pictures in the woods in years.

Finding inspiration from others

I was a newspaper photographer for about four full decades. During that time, I taught photography to journalism students at the local university. With photography film-based and camera automation in its infancy, I accented the course on the technical. I told reporters they must understand f/stops and shutters speeds, ASA/ISO and darkroom procedures or fail. Reporters might see a picture but if they didn't understand the technical side of photography, it would mean that all too often newspaper readers would not see their vision.

Today all has changed. My granddaughters all took good pictures at the age of three. Oh, the new digital cameras are not perfect, errors are still possible, but they are vastly better than the old mechanical contraptions.

I ran a photojournalism seminar for more than a decade. I featured world-famous shooters from the National Geographic, Time magazine and many big newspapers across Canada and the States. These famous, talented photographers inspired me and who attended.

Now, in retirement, I am finding it is no longer the big name shooters who inspire me. It is much lesser known talents. I follow folk from around the world who enjoy posting their images on the Net. And locally I follow a woman with whom I once worked. BT was not a photographer at the newspaper but an editor.

I  always argued that good word folk should make good shooters. If they can create a word picture, they can capture the real thing, especially with today's digital cameras. Over the years I have known a lot of professional photographers whose talents were all technical. These shooters were dependable. They would always return with an image. Always. Sadly, the images would not always be good.

BT is a bright lady. I don't for a minute question whether or not she could have survived as a photographer in the bad old days of film; she could have. No doubt. Still, she is pointing the way forward for journalists asked today to shoot pictures. Her example says: "You can do it."

I know. I looked at her images of falled honey locust leaves lying in large drifts on a black, asphalt driveway and I was inspired. The very next day after viewing her shot, I shot my own version. My version is clearly inspired by her image. Some might call my image a ripoff, a copy.

But, I like it and I'm proud to show it. And I'll proudly confess to all who will listen that I was inspired not just by the golden leaves but by a golden photographer, a fine shooter with a discerning eye with whom I once worked.

Honesty and photography

I live on a small court high on a hill overlooking London, Ontario. This means I enjoy one of the best views of sunsets in the area. If a sunset is spectacular, there is a good chance I'll see it, walk across the court and take a shot.

On the downside, my point-and-shoot has a tough time with images that have both deep shadows and bright highlights. Keeping detail in the shadows while also retaining texture in the high end values is impossible. I can see it but my camera can't.

The solution? Take two pictures and slide them together in an application like Photoshop. The problem: some folk will claim this is dishonest. The picture was created by a software app. and not simply taken.

I can see the argument and in some situations it has validity -- but not here. My wife saw the sunset last night and when she saw my image she said I had captured the moment. My sunset picture captures the wonderful colours of last night's sunset. Without the aid of Photoshop, my final image would have been pale imitations of reality -- maybe not a lie but a poor retelling of the story.

Don't let critical words get between you and a fine picture.

Think-point-continue-thinking-and-shoot

I have some visitors from Montreal staying with my wife and me this week. The other day I took them to Sifton bog. There are lots of pictures to be taken at the bog but with one very big restriction: one cannot leave the boardwalk.

Most people go for the scenic picture. That's the obvious picture of choice. I went for two image: one, a grouping of toad stools and two an image of the reflection of the shy, complete with clouds, in the pond at the end of the boardwalk.

The one image, the mushrooms, took some looking. It was a small image hidden in the overall scene. The other picture was essentially a scenic picture with a twist; I flipped the image. I thought it looked a lot cooler when viewed upside down.

The next day we all went to the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. When one goes to a butterfly conservatory there is only one shot: butterflies.

But, if you can kick up the image with brightly coloured flowers, all the better. This takes time and effort. One must stay observant. If you do, you will be rewarded.

So, don't just point and shoot. That's too uninvolved for a good shooter. Always think about what you are shooting and try and make the strongest possible statement. 

By the way, all the images were shot with my Canon S90 point and shoot. Not a perfect camera but it will do in a financial pinch. Remember: I'm retired.

A couple of tips for shooting portaits

Shooting pleasing pictures of little kids does not have to be hard. Just stay alert and don't reward kids for making faces at the camera.

Isla, my 5-year-old granddaughter, was busy setting up her tea set in the living room. I was one of the invited guests and arrived early. I immediately noticed the lovely morning light illuminating the little girl. I grabbed my camera.

Isla's a ham, as are most little kids in my experience. I followed some simple rules: I posed Isla with the strong window light behind her and I set my point and shoot lens to 105mm.

Backlighting hair is always a fine idea and a lens of between 85mm and 135mm is traditionally best for shooting good portraits. The longish lens gives a more pleasing look when compared to an image made by filling the frame using a wide angle lens.

In the bad old days of film this was much harder. You never knew what you had until you processed, and possibly printed, your film. Today, with digital cameras, shoot, immediately examine the result, and shoot again, if necessary.

Shooting food is easy but there are rules

There is a photog that I follow on Facebook who is possibly the best wildlife photographer in Ontario. He is amazing.

Yet, when he shoots food, his pictures wilt. The images are often dark, the food poorly presented. His food pictures are not inviting. You don't long to sample the food shown.

If you are shooting food there are some simple things to watch for and often an image enhancement program is necessary to get the most from you images.

First, do not use straight on strobe. The light is ugly. Enough said.

Position your food near a large window to take advantage of the soft, even, available light. The window glass must not be tinted. You want clean colour. If there is a shadow, make sure it falls at the bottom of a least toward the bottom. No horror movie lighting (lighting from the bottom) is used here.

My point-and-shoots do not shoot images with the same quality as the pro equipment that I used when working. My point-and-shoots blow-out highlights; the detail in the tart crust was gone (but not forgotten.)

I took this image into Photoshop and using Levels made sure the brightest tones were maxed out (255) but not to the extent that important detail was lost. I set the dark tones in a similar manner. I made sure I had a clean black somewhere in the image. This gives your image excellent contrast. Make sure you don't go too far. You don't want too much contrast.

In Curves I brightened the entire image and I burned the edges of the image as I would have done in a wet darkroom in the past. There was a hint of a green cast in the image. I removed this in Curves, as well. I saturated the colours a little, a setting of 8 as I recall, and finally I used Unsharp Mask to gently sharpen the image (16-.8-3).

Oh, I also made sure the cooling rack bars were parallel to the edge of the image using select all, transform and skew. It didn't take much. It didn't result in the tart being distorted. You don't want to make huge changes using skew but your image can be tweeked quite successfully if you are careful.

Photoshop is not the only program I've used to pull-off this magic. I've also used ACDSee and may at some point switch over to this Photoshop competitor. Photoshop is simply too expensive. When my computer will no longer run my version, I will look at ACDSee -- or maybe GIMP. It's free!

How to get a good picture? Luck and a handy camera.

We don't get a lot of red foxes in our backyard. To be at the window at the moment one is sighted in the yard takes luck.

We don't always have a camera handy but when the fox showed up, a camera was sitting right there. More luck.

I zoomed the lens on the Fuji HS10, stood still at the window and began tracking the fox. It strolled into the open. I got the picture. And that took luck.

All too often, the importance of luck is overlooked in photography. Being there, and of course, being ready, are so very important when it comes to getting a picture.

Now, if only I had better equipment. Ah, that takes money.

As one gets older, one's shooting stance changes

When shooting children, the working rule is to get down to their level.

Soon I'll be 71. Ouch. My back doesn't bend as it once did, nor do my knees. I find myself shooting pictures standing up that I once would have knelt down to shoot.

With today's point and shoot cameras, one can hold the camera at waist level or lower and view the image on the screen filling the camera back.

It is not a perfect way of working but it is damn good. And it beats shooting down on little kids and totally missing including their faces in the pictures.

If you think about what you are shooting and have formed a clear idea about what you are trying to capture, you are well on your way to getting a fine picture.

Isla, my granddaughter, is a drama queen. Everything she does, she does with flare. It was clear I had to capture the magician's pose as Isla waved her wand and created long, tubular balloons.

This was not my first shot. It took a number of tries as the camera shutter was slow to fire. It is a hurry-up-and-wait camera from Canon. Isla, being three, was quick. I had to squeeze the shutter release as she just started sweeping her hand in front of her body. As it was late afternoon, there was enough light to force the camera to choose a fast shutter speed.

I know it is no longer cool but I still like to burn my edges - sometimes I burn too much. I may have gone a little far here, but I like it. And it even though I do this electronically using Photoshop, it brings back memories of the wet darkroom and working side by side with the other photographers at the newspaper where I once worked.

Are you a cook as well as a photographer? Take pictures of dinner.

I am learning to cook. At the age of 70 I am making dinner not only for myself but for my wife. And she is liking my cooking. I guess I can read and follow instructions well.

Shooting food is not all that difficult. First, use window light. It is clean and often soft but directional. Perfect. And serve your meals on dinnerware that looks good. No chipped dishes. No cheap, scratched plastic plates.

Keep your images simple. Simple means quick and quick means fresh, as in fresh from the oven. Food looks best when still warm. Gummy not only tastes poor but often cold and gummy does not photography well either.

One warning. Light usually comes from above. This means shadows usually fall below object. Place your meal to be photographed, with what will become the top of your picture, such that the top is closest to the window. This will give your images a naturally lit by the sun look.

And don't be afraid of trying different angles and different lenses. I tend to favour slightly long lenses like 85mm or 105mm shot from above but wide angles like a 35mm shot from a low angle can work as well.

Good luck and good dining.

Someone's listening. Who? My granddaughter.

I started this blog simply to encourage folk to spend a little time thinking about their photography. Cameras may be point-and-shoot but people don't need to be: Think and then point-and-shoot is a better approach.

One thing I've harped on while writing this blog is light and its quality. Is the light harsh, is it soft, is it clean or is it tainted with colour? Old fashioned tungsten bulbs, for instance, give pictures a yellow cast or even a reddish-orange look. Some modern lights are nicely colour balanced. When in doubt, consider shooting your pictures without the electric room lights. Turn the lights off.

Today my three-year-old granddaughter, Isla, got out a book with instructions on how to draw simple animals pictures. The book is aimed at young children. Isla loves the book and was soon drawing cats. The one she did of the cat on a pillow was especially good for a child her age. I got my camera. I needed to record this.

Isla told me to "hold it" and "wait." She ran over to the kitchen light switch and turned off the overhead pot lights. There was a lot of light pouring into the room through the large, kitchen window overlooking our backyard. "This will make the colour better," Isla told me. She turned toward the window and posed. The moment I saw the image on the back of the camera I knew she was right.

The little kid follows instructions well. Hey, one only has to look at her drawing of a cat on a pillow to know that. And clearly she's been listening and watching as I take pictures. Although, I am a little embarrassed that it was my granddaughter and not me who turned off the overhead pot lights.

Daylight LEDs deliver bright, clean light

I don't like this picture. It's too clear these kids know they are having their picture taken. It is almost a posed picture. Ugh. That said, it does capture their personalities: childishly goofy and pleasantly funny.

So, why am I posting this. What is there to see here? Anything? Or should we simply move on.

What's to see is the gorgeous lighting. The child on the right is perfect. And the light is amazingly clean. Look at the white of the sink. It is white. Not yellow. Not green. It's white.

The lesson here is that today's daylight LEDs really do closely match the colour temperature of daylight. This is good to know. Why? Because bright, clean light can make a picture sparkle. Shot with straight-on strobe, the amateur goto indoor light, this image would be flat and fall flat.

Better cameras do take better pictures

Shot with an aging Canon PowerShot S90.

When I started this blog, I hoped to encourage readers stumbling upon my blog to take more pictures. I tried to spread excitement with photography and to make people understand that their point and shoot cameras did not doom them to shooting poor images.

Gradually, I have had to admit that you can take good pictures with inexpensive equipment but it does limit both your creativity and the quality of your images.

In other words, if you can afford a digital SLR camera with a few interchangeable lenses, go for it. Bite the bullet and buy the stuff. And read the instruction book that comes with the camera. it will be filled with good suggestions. The camera maker wants you to be successful. If you are, you will buy more equipment.

I like my image of my 3-year-old granddaughter reacting to her winning of a computer game. It was a bit tough for the little girl as she was using an old notebook computer and not an iPad. She had to coordinate the use of a touch pad with the simultaneous pressing of a mouse below the pad.

Shot with an old Fuji FinePix HS10.

A faster shutter speed would have been wonderful. My camera couldn't manage it. If I had had an aperture setting of f/1.4 available, I'd have had a sharper image. The f/stops control the amount of light entering a camera through the lens. Most point and shoot do not let in all that much light. That's why these cameras are always pumping out bursts of light from their on board electronic flashes. The quick, short flashes freeze the action but they do so by using a truly ugly light.

When I shot the images of my 7-year-old granddaughter moving up to the orange belt level at her karate class, I was forced to shoot moments that did not contain a lot of action. The actual testing offered a lot of opportunities for capturing some fine images but my camera failed to nail even one. The action unfolded simply far too fast.

My advice. If you can't afford a great camera, don't sweat it. But if you can, move up to something better, do it. Before buying, read a good photography book. Your local library is a good source.

Another shot from an old Fuji FinePix HS10. Background blurred in Photoshop.

Making Memories

Fiona, 7, blows out her birthday cake candles with help from sister Isla, 3.

My memories are fading. Then again, I'm almost 70. Fading memories come with the territory. But I have noticed something. Memories that are attached to photographs, memories that have been etched and re-etched over the years by the repeated viewing of photographs, seem to be hanging in better than the many undocumented memories that once cluttered my brain.

A dog in fondant with edible-ink detailing.

Fiona turned seven this weekend. Grandma Judy made a special doggie cake on request of the little girl. The resulting cake was decorated with dogs made of fondant with detailing done with edible-ink markers.

Fiona might remember the cake. She might. But her sister Isla at three will surely forget. That would be sad as both the little girls had a hand in the decorating. They made the little coloured buttons decorating the cake. The buttons were Fiona's idea.

But I got some good pictures of both the cake and Fiona and Isla blowing out the candles. I backed up the event pictures with some shots of the cake itself. I took both overall shots and close-ups.

I will make sure I have prints made and I will make sure the kids have copies. Fifty years from today the prints may be faded but I think the memories will still be fresh thanks to my photographs.

Fiona wanted a puppy cake for her birthday. Grandma Judy delivered.

Note: No flash was used for any of the images. I only have a camera-mounted flash and I hate the light from  straight-on strobe. If I cannot bounce my flash, I go for available light. I moved the cake closer to a window before shooting. Moving the cake helped to ensure that the white icing reproduced close to white.

Nice shot but the one that got away was better

A deer shot in Woodland Cemetery with a Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

I have tried to convince my readers that they should always have a good camera handy. I can't vouch for an American Express card but I can promise you when it comes to a camera "don't leave home without it."

I shot this deer relaxing among grave stones in Woodland Cemetery. One herd, possibly two, call the cemetery deep inside urban London, Ontario, home. Visit the cemetery and sighting one or more deer is almost guaranteed.

Saturday I took my three granddaughters to Woodland to view the deer. We found seven lounging about the front of a very ornate mausoleum with two reclining concrete lions guarding the building entrance. It was an amazing sight and I didn't have a camera. (My Nokia cell phone camera just wouldn't cut it.)

I missed a wonderful shot. Don't be like me. Keep your camera close -- all the time.

Sharp is important but . . .

Taken at Storybook Gardens with Fujifilm FinePix HS10. Note the sun-blocking hat. It's mine.

My shots are usually taken with a Canon PowerShot S90 and they are not always sharp. Today I used my Fujifilm FinePix HS10. What a difference.

The files are bigger and the images tend to be a little sharper. But, they are not perfect. It is at times like this that I know my photography would benefit from the use of a better camera.

Will I be buying a better camera? No. I'm retired and I can't afford a better camera when the two I have are still cranking out acceptable images. And, and this is important, the people in my pictures would not appreciate the better quality. Don't throw pearls . . . , my mother would say.

So, is there a lesson here. Yes. Buy the best camera you can afford and take care of it. It may have to last you a long time. Once you have purchased a camera, aim to shoot the best images you can. Push the envelope, as they say. And don't miss those moments, like the above. Eloise forgot her hat but found one of mine in the car. "This will have to do," she said. She made it clear that she wasn't going to get a sunburn.

Below, my picture of my granddaughter Eloise is a bit soft. The original file is small and quality could be better. All that said, it is an image to make a mother exceedingly happy and it will bring back happy memories for Eloise for many, many upcoming years.

I guess, when all is said and done, a good subject trumps good technical quality. Don't let your lack of cash prevent you from aiming for the moon or aiming at that granddaughter smiling away at the foot of your bed.

Taken with a Canon PowerShot S90.

Motor drives not only for shooting sports

I've said this in the past but it bears repeating. Setting your camera to its fastest, automatic setting in order to capture a short burst of pictures is frequently a good idea. I used the term motor drive in the title for this post but any fast firing, automatic setting is often better than simply squeezing off individual pictures.

Babies don't move a lot. They stay put -- unless they fall over. That said, babies do stuff and they do it quickly and often for just a moment. If your point and shoot suffers from even a little shutter-lag, you may well miss the moment.

My old Canon S90 can take quick bursts of pictures. I time my bursts with the anticipated action but there is still some luck involved. That said, if I tried capturing the baby's smile without using the series-taking approach, it would be a lot of bad luck that would be involved.

• To create catchlights in eyes, face the baby towards a window. 
• Try and shoot from the same level as the child. Don't shoot down.
• Soft light is better than harsh, strong, directional light.
• Try not to use very wide angle lens. Zoom out a little. 
• Keep a little distance between you and the baby.

Learning photography from a six-year-old

I know a lot of folk who could learn a thing or two about photography from my six-year-old granddaughter Fiona.

She has been using my Canon PowerShot S90 since she was two. The kid is confident and I am beginning to understand there is a lot of thinking going on in that young head.

The other day Fiona decided to shoot some pictures of her Shopkins. These are little collectible toys that are all the rage today.

I was amazed when I saw her pictures. They were actually pretty good. Unfortunately, the best shot was a bit out-of-focus. Hey, cut the kid some slack. She is only human and a damn young human at that.

What amazed me most about these shots were the backgrounds and foregrounds. Without prompting, Fiona told me that she spent more time finding the appropriate backgrounds and foregrounds than she did on setting up the Shopkins. I know adults who have never figured out that if it is in the picture it's important. They ignore busy backgrounds regularly and then wonder why their pictures don't have punch.

She also said lighting was important, especially for one shot showing a side-lit Shopkins pair.

She put the Shopkins on the wooden floor and chose a high shooting angle to minimize the sofa in the background. It almost worked. I thought the angle was too high but the lighting was remarkable. I loved the long, dark shadow.

Learn to think when taking pictures and be self-critical. Fiona does both but she needs a little time to mature. After all, she is only six.

Confidence will take you a long way

My six-year-old granddaughter took this picture for me. Thanks, Fiona.

Recently I received an LCBO gift card from a close friend. The LCBO is the government run liquor and beer store chain in Ontario for those who don't know. My friend suggested I take the card and buy three inexpensive but enjoyable wines. It was a good suggestion and I took it.

I wanted to send my friend a picture of me with my purchases but the only person handy to take the picture was my granddaughter who is six. When I told her what I wanted she smiled knowingly: "You have to use me. I'm the only person here." She was right.

Was I concerned? Not really. I've been letting Fiona use my little point and shoot, a Canon PowerShot S90, since she was two. The kid isn't perfect but she has confidence. I knew her confidence might carry the day and it did.

She took a picture, checked it on the monitor and ordered me to take another pose. She took shot after shot until she was satisfied. I don't think I smiled enough for her liking but she knew my poses were not going to get much better.

She also had an opinion on the wines. She feared the one with a "smelly" foot on the label might be a poor choice. Later, I discovered she might be right. Her mother, a wine consultant, agreed it might have been a poor choice: too sweet.

The point of all this is to have confidence when taking pictures. Shoot a lot and don't let anyone or anything dissuade you from taking another picture if you think you should. Keep plugging away and you'll walk away a winner.

Good pictures are rarely taken by the timid and certainly not by timid six-year-olds.

Asking kids to "say cheese" is cheesy

My oldest granddaughter uses her sewing machine and the sound bothers her sister.

My granddaughters have been asked to say "cheese" so often that when they play with a toy camera they ask their dolls to say "cheese." I'd like to scream: "Why!"

Saying cheese doesn't make a subject look like they are smiling. What it does is it stops them doing what they were doing that made you want to take a picture. Take the picture and forget the cheese.