Monthly Archives: October 2009
View From the BWCA Campsite
This summer I was offered the opportunity to go canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) for an extended weekend with some friends. Having never done anything remotely like this ever, I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing (let alone how to protect my camera equipment.)
Nonetheless, the trip was amazing and we are already planning for next year. I ended up taking about 300 pictures which in retrospect, doesn’t seem to be that much for four days out in the wilderness. I did some minor editing and as a gift to the rest of the guys, I burned the images to a disc. As I look back at the images now, I wish I had been more selective and only sent out about a dozen or so of the best images rather than sending 100 plus. Something to remember for next year.
This was the view from our landing area next to our campsite. This is probably my favorite image of the entire trip (or at least one of the top three or four). Using LR 2, I changed the Tone Curve to Strong Contrast, moved the White Balance Temp a little more Blue, and sharpened it a bit and that’s about it.
Exposure: 1/1600 sec, Aperture: f/5.6, Focal Length: 28 mm, ISO 200

Making a Change
In what feels like forever since I last posted a image I’ve had some down time to think about what I want to do with this blog. I’ve had a bit of a creative funk as of late and didn’t pick up a camera for the better part of a couple of weeks. During that time, I also didn’t have any work on the real estate side so was a bit bummed out about that as well (which only added to the lack of interest in picking up a camera). No blog updates, little activity with Facebook or Twitter and I basically just sat around.
So what changed? Reading this post by Chase Jarvis. Following his advice, I went and did all the little things I’ve neglected (backups of hard drives, reorganizing camera bag, making a list of equipment I need for the real estate business, and oh yeah, just walking outside with a camera with no plan and shooting.) Not just rattling off frames for no reason and hoping one maybe turned out but actually taking the time to be inspired by what was available and taking the care and time to compose the shot and get it right in the camera rather than hoping that Lightroom can bail me out.
With that, I’m going to run things a bit differently from here on out. I’ll probably post more and link to articles/blogs/cool images I see elsewhere as well as provide some thoughts on photography in general. I will also put up an image but it will be probably no more than one per week. I tried putting up 5/week and looking back through the archives there were a lot of images that were more suited for the Delete button rather than for posting. Instead, the image I’ll be post will be what I would consider from the small pile of images I would consider my best. Only from getting feedback from those images will I get better.
Yellow Crop Duster
Found this crop duster sitting at an airstrip while making my way through North Dakota this summer.
Exposure: 1/200 sec, Aperture: f/11.0, Focal Length: 135 mm, ISO 200

Fresh Images and Thoughts
There has been nothing new as far as images go as of late and that should change next week. I’ve been able to get and shoot during my travels and will share some of those images (as well as some older ones). As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had an opportunity to try my hand at real estate photography and have secured my first client who should be able to provide with several homes/month to photograph. Depending on how things go with them I will probably at some point make this a business site and run a blog tab or something along that line. I have a few ideas but nothing concrete yet.
I don’t know if this real estate gig will turn out or if I’ll get more work because of it. While doing research, it appears to be a pretty good field to get into (and judging by what I see on the MLS, you’re work doesn’t have to be stellar
) and would allow me to upgrade/add equipment while getting more practice time in behind the lens (and Lightroom 2 as well).
Stay tuned.

