Blue Jay

I use the term ‘bird feeding’ because when I think of traditional ‘birding’ and ‘bird photography’ I think of birding enthusiasts dressed up in camouflage and hiding in bushes for hours on end. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Never say never, but that’s just not for me at this point in my life. Why not have the birds come to me in the comfort of my own home  instead?

Chances are if you don’t live in a skyscraper you can easily set up a feeder near a window and shoot through the glass. If I can do it, you can do it. As a matter of fact I was able to capture this photo of a Blue Jay the very day after I put up my feeder.

Read More…

Arundel Camera Club

I wanted to take advantage of the extra traffic from the Mobbies to invite anyone and everyone to a great local camera club.

The Arundel Camera Club meets at Severna Park High School in Severna Park, MD every Wednesday night at 7:30pm while school is in session.

All skill levels welcome, we have speakers, field trips and contests. Check out the schedule on the website and stop by one evening to say hello. You’ll meet plenty of friendly people to talk photography with!

One tip on visiting, unless you want a long walk – when parking at the high school be sure to park in the parking lot to the right of the school. Follow that back until you can’t go any further. Park in the large lot and come in the side door. Look for the posters directing you to the classroom.

Badly overcooked HDR photographers are usually banished to the hallway for punishment, please do not talk to them. (Just kidding)

http://www.arundelcameraclub.org/

Oriole Bird

Today voting starts for the Baltimore Sun Mobbies awards. As stated before, some wonderful person or persons nominated this weblog and I certainly thank them for that!

Competition is tough, heck – even Mr. Baltimore-Based Strobist, David Hobby’s weblog is there, however I think us other Photo nominees still have a chance because while the Strobist weblog is an amazing resource, it is geared mostly to photographers and not the public as a whole.

Besides myself, who are the other nominees? Absolutely wonderful reads that also deserve your time to check them out..

John Waire’s photoblog is at http://johnwairephoto.com/blog/ – It is full of wonderful images and John himself seems like a great down to earth guy.

Jodie Otte’s photoblog is at http://jodieotte.com/ and is a great sample of her work at Black Horse Studios. I’m a sucker for contrasty black and white!

Michael Wriston’s blog at http://boyghost.tumblr.com/ may not look pretty, but the simple template of the weblog itself is made up for by images that are full of life.

I really don’t know who is behind the ‘Nightening‘ photo blog at http://www.nightening.com/ but all night images? Count me in! And some of those are near my house. Who could it be?

And last but certainly not least is Paul Gillespie’s Photo Blog at http://photo-monkeys.blogspot.com/.  Paul is another one that seems to life pretty close to me and I think I may have even run into him at the ‘Thunder on the Narrows’ race. Paul is a Nikon shooter, but hey, can’t we all get along? Besides, he has great images and really connects with his readers. And hey, he said that if he wins a Mobby (What’s the singular of Mobbies?) he’ll throw a Sexy Party. Are we invited Paul?

Congratulations to all of the nominees. Check out these great Baltimore based Photography Blogs and then visit the Mobbies Voting page at http://data.baltimoresun.com/mobbies/#Photography to vote for your favorite and let the best blog owner win! Remember, you can vote for your favorite once a day!

After my ‘Toys I would have loved as a kid…‘ post, I figured – if I could ask Santa for anything this year, what would it be?

Here is my top ten list of ‘(Photography) Toys I would love as an adult…’

Canon 400mm 2.8 IS

1. Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM Super Telephoto Lens, $6800 – It’s about the same price as a decent used car but this lens is the holy grail of lenses (Ok, Scott Wyden recommends the 1200mm as the holy grail but at f/5.6 I really couldn’t use an extender and 5.6 is a little slow…). I love shooting with crop sensor bodies but 400mm x 1.6 (crop factor on a Canon) = 640mm at 2.8. Currently I can achieve 640mm at f/5.6 with the 200mm 2.8, 2x extender (which adds two stops) and crop sensor. Imagine 400 x 2x extender x 1.6 crop sensor.. 1280mm at f/5.6 but you’ll lose some quality with the extender.

Read More…

Snowy Directions

It’s never too early to start thinking about New Years resolutions, over the last few weeks I have really been kicked into high-gear and a relaxing weekend gave me time to reflect on a few things. Things that I have graduated to and a few things I have left behind. Growing is always good but some things you just can’t take with you. Or can you?

For me, growing as a photographer means leaving back some of the things I really enjoy because of a big lack of time. I was always active on message boards, ‘admin/manager’ of a few and enjoyed helping as many beginning photographers as I could with a leg up no matter how often I saw the same question. Critiques until my fingers were sore, contests and contest judging that pushed and pulled at my likes and dislikes until I reached an unbiased choice. I miss attending general photographic meet-ups to shoot an event, location or people. I am also proud of the few photographers I have mentored that have gone on to produce really amazing work. Not that I really helped much, creative genius will get recognized one way or another.

So, my resolution is to get back to where I was but continue to go where I am heading. While I may not get my hands completely into the forums like they once were, I hope to continue contributing there and also by taking this weblog further along the path of providing something that professionals and novices alike can learn from. I hope to lead a few photographic expeditions around the country this year for a small group of local photographers and set up a few of my own meet-ups. I really enjoy going somewhere, setting up a few light stations, giving photographers a pocket wizard and letting them take the wheel. Sure, I may get in there to shoot, but it’s really a nice break to go from shooting to teaching/assisting every once in awhile.

What are your photographic resolutions? Will you get outside your comfort zone and shoot something new? Sell your first photo? Get published in your first newspaper/magazine/book? Shoot your first wedding or portraiture session? Pick up that old film camera and re-learn how to pace your shots? New dSLR? Will you share your experience with others? Comment below!

-J