Wedding

This past weekend, I got to shoot a wedding again. I thought I'd gotten out of that business six years ago! But it was one of my nephews, so I promised to shoot it and give them an album as my wedding gift.

Now I remember why I quit doing them; it's very hard work! Fortunately, his new bride is a beautiful gal; I always enjoy shooting beautiful people.

I just hope they enjoy the fruit of my labors.

Hand-held or in-camera meter?

Just returned from my PhoArts group meeting. It's an invitation-only group of serious photographers (say the name quickly and you'll learn a little more about us). The topic of in-camera reflective metering vs. hand-held incident metering came up and a lively discussion ensued. We all agreed the current crop of digital D-SLRs and even some point and shoots have very good reflective meters that will do a good job under most conditions. But there are some conditions that can cause poor exposures when using them. For example, when everything in the viewfinder is very dark or very light, the reflective meter will try to render them as 18% grey (gray?). Or if shooting into a gorgeous sunset with an object in the foreground, that object will be rendered as a black silhouette. But if an incident meter is used to measure the light falling onto the subject (vs. being reflected back to the camera), you will get a much more acceptable exposure. So for all you shooters who have "retired" your hand-held incident meters, put them back in your bag and use them when conditions are appropriate!

Slot Canyon Adventure

Wow! What a great adventure. This weekend, I met 8 other pro and semi-pro photographers for a two-day adventure exploring and shooting the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons near Page, AZ.

Upper Antelope Canyon is a very easy canyon to navigate. The floor is at ground level and reasonably wide throughout its 150 meter length.

Lower Antelope Canyon is not so easy. At one end, you descend about 4 flights of steep metal stairs to the floor, which is about 90 feet below. At the other end, you step into a narrow defile in a riverbed, then immediately descend several flights of short stairs to the floor, which is about 20 feet below the riverbed. The canyon then continues descending, with perhaps 6 more stairs/ladders throughout. It is much narrower than Upper.

Both are spectacularly beautiful. As one photographer approached me from around a corner, he said, "Wow!" I responded, "Yeah; there are lots of them in here."

My thanks to Ralph Nordstrom (http://www.ralphnordstromphotography.com/) for organizing and leading our knowledgeable and interesting group of photographers!

Doo Dah Parade

Well, after living in SoCal for over 50 years, I finally went to the annual Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena. And boy, was I ever glad I did! Take a look at this picture and you'll understand. Go on, take a closer look, no one's watching.

The Doo Dah Parade is a "politically incorrect" parade that lasts about two hours. You'll see everything from political commentary (I don't think there was a Republican in the bunch), to alcohol and marijuana advocation, to just plain weird stuff -- all with a few non-uniformed bands (OK they had hats). It was a really fun experience that I'll be sure to do again.

I went specifically so I could try out my new Nikon D300 camera body. After about 20 minutes, the autofocus stopped working and the shutter would not trip. Tried flipping switches, turning the camera on and off, removing and reinstalling the lens, and cursing. Nothing helped. The only way I was able to get through the day was by focusing manually.

Next day, I took it to Nikon in El Segundo. Of course, by then, it was working and they couldn't duplicate the problem. They suspect it was caused by a poor ground between the lens and the camera, so they cleaned it and gave it back to me. Let's hope they're right.

OK, time to look at the picture again. Have you noticed the lady second from the right? You can probably use "Control, +" to zoom in (and "Control, 0" to return to normal view).

First Prize!!

A pleasant surprise; my image of The Mittens in Monument Valley won First Prize in the Advanced category in our camera club's competition!

This is especially pleasing to me, as our 135-member club has some VERY talented photographers. Competition was close. This image missed Best Of Show by only 6/10 of a point!

Now won't someone please buy it from me??? Go to my website for details.