What Happens in Vegas . . .

Posted on July 28, 2012 by admin

. . . in the Summer – HEAT

Two weeks ago I learned through Facebook that my close friend was in Las Vegas. Suddenly, I felt the urge to fly out to join him. After all, I hadn’t seen him for several months and I thought the time was right. So the next day, I caught an expensive flight out (last minute flights are always expensive) and we met up by dinner time.

Now keep in mind that when I left my home in Grand Rapids, the scorching heat took temperatures to an amazing 104 degrees. I thought that the Grand Rapids experience prepared me for the Vegas heat. NOT. As it turns out, the temperature in LV reached a record breaking 115.

With soaring temperatures, we decided to stay indoors for the most part, enjoying the climate of the air-conditioned casinos where we could comfortably talk, eat and drink.

My friend was there for the World Series of Poker Tournament and I was there supposedly to bring him good luck. NOT.

On my third day in Vegas, while my friend was entrenched in the WSOP tournament, I decided to escape the sizzle by heading northeast to Utah. My destination was Bryce Canyon. At 8,000 ft, the temperature was a much more bearable 80 degrees so hiking into the canyon was in my plans.

My visit to Bryce Canyon National Park was a short four hours.

On the way back to Vegas, I decided to drive through scenic Zion National Park where I caught a slight bit of rain but gorgeous colors.

So a few hundred miles of driving got me out of the record breaking Las Vegas heat and to some of Utah’s fabulous scenic areas.

Here we are at dinner: my friend Philippe Olivier and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier, one of the world’s top poker players.

The steamy hot nightlife along the Strip

In spite of the heat, I had a great visit with my friend Philippe as well as a nice jaunt up to Utah to revisit two of the nicest National Parks. It just goes to demonstrate that there is life outside of Las Vegas.

Written by Arnie Lee
 
 

Posted in personal, scenic, travel | 1 Comment

Shooting for Myself vs Shooting for Others

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Arnie Lee

Simply put, my picturetaking falls into one of two categories: photos taken for “others” and photos taken for personal use.

Photos that I take for others are usually jobs in which the style of the photos is dictated by the needs and desires of the client. These may be a paying client or a freebie client such as a daughter’s birthday party or a sister’s passport photo. She may need a business head shot or he may want an illustrative photo of his industrial machine. A group may want me to photograph an evening event, a restaurant desires closeups of prepared dishes for its new menu or a school a recording of the championship basketball game. Regardless of whether it is a paying or a free transaction, the client generally has a lot of input as to how the completed photos will serve the end goal.

On the other hand, when I take photos for personal use I’m the client. I am free to shoot however, whereever and whatever I like. And as you might expect, this is where I feel the greatest freedom.

While it’s exciting to go on a special outing dedicated to photography, it’s not often that I can squeeze the time into my somewhat hectic schedule. But by keeping a camera nearby, I make it a habit of looking for quick opportunities to sneak in a picture of two.

I get a lot of pleasure photographing “everyday” things such as kids, pets, garden and the like. These are subjects that are close by so I don’t have to make special arrangements to shoot them.
I get a big kick taking pictures of the grandkids.

Here’s one that’s learning to eat her spaghetti elegantly.
This pet is part of the family.

I caught him as he was taking a breather after running his head off for the past 30 minutes.
Sometimes it pays to look up(ward).

This is a majestic sycamore tree at a nearby home. It looks naked because it sheds it bark regularly.
These colorful day lilies arrive each Spring in our front yard.

I shot this one soon after an early morning shower left a few drops.
From a distance the furrows in the field look boringly straight and parallel.

Closer up I can see that the terrain isn’t flat as a pancake and makes for a nice visual.
You may be surprised by the things that you can spot around the neighborhood.

This vintage auto was sitting in an empty lot. Great color and great restoration.

I’ll leave you with this reminder: When you’re the client, you have the freedom to shoot whenever and whatever you’d like. Don’t fall into the “no time today” trap. Nor should you believe that the camera is only for special occasions. With a little preparation (i.e. keeping your camera close by), you can surely find a few everyday subjects to photograph.

Written by: Arnie Lee

 

Posted in events, kids, landscapes, personal, portraits, travel | Comments Off on Shooting for Myself vs Shooting for Others

There’s film in my future

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Arnie Lee
Relearning things from the past

 

Not long ago as part of spring house cleaning, my wife had me rummaging through one of our closets. I happened upon a relic from the past – a film camera.

Upon seeing it, nostalgia completely overtook my mind and I quickly loaded a roll of film into the camera and was out of the house and ready to take a stab at it the “old way”.

After years of using digital equipment, I felt a strange sensation going retro and having to set things manually. I was no longer comfortable shooting without the help of today’s “take in for granted” modern features: zoom lens, auto exposure, and autofocus.

Instead I felt compelled to plan each shot by positioning myself at the desired distance from my subject, picking a specific pair of shutter speed and aperture settings and carefully focusing before pressing an almost silent shutter button. Afterwards, I instinctively peeked at the back of the camera and felt slightly silly – there isn’t an LCD on the back of a camera from the 1950s.

I shot only one roll that day. Then I dropped off at the photofinisher and had to wait an entire day before I could see the results. Of course, the film is returned in an envelope with the proofs. But I find it hard to judge a photo from a 4″ x 6″ print so I scanned the negatives to see the results up close on a computer monitor.

Here’s a few of the shots.


For this photo, I first estimated the exposure and then I asked her to remain still for a few moments while I slowly focused the lens. I like the result.
Having scanned the negative, I used Lightroom to turn the color image into a greyscale. I prefer this photo which removes the somewhat distracting green color.

It’s been a few days since I’ve reviewed the 4″ x 6″ proofs. I am now able to deconstruct the process that I experienced that day.

Knowing that I was limited to 24 exposures, I carefully selected, posed and composed my subjects. Rather than snapping off six or eight shots of a single subject, I settled for one or two.

Since I was shooting without the convenient features of late model cameras, I found myself checking and double checking the focus and exposure.

I’m able to report that there’s a slightly liberating feeling of not having to (or being able to) instantly review each shot. I didn’t feel hurried to snap away. Instead, I took a few extra seconds so I could try to get things right in the camera.
I was able to catch the family dog resting so I didn’t have to rush my shot.

≈


I was so pleased shooting film after such a long respite that I retrieved these other cameras from storage. I bought a few more rolls of film and so I’m ready to go at it again the “old way”.
Caution: I quickly rediscovered that I need to brush the dust from the negatives before scanning. This is what happens to poorly scanned negatives. Don’t let this spoil your day.

Armed with a couple of these older cameras, I’m planning to go out and shoot more film.

I’m hoping to adopt this method of working more deliberately when I’m shooting with digital equipment. I’d like to improve my goal of getting it right in the camera. I think we can all learn a few things from shooting with film. Why not grab your trusty film camera and shoot a few rolls? It may do you some good.

Written by Arnie Lee

 

 

Posted in accessories, equipment, informational, personal | Tagged , , | Comments Off on There’s film in my future