Single-Serving Photo

I’m preparing to depart for Death Valley National Park in California for three days of shooting; my first serious photography trip ever, actually. If I can, I’d like to offer a few words of advice for anyone considering taking a serious photography trip, and possibly even for those who do.

1. Make a list. This is very important. Make a list of everything you will need on your trip, from cameras and batteries to accessories and your toothbrush. It may seem unnecessary if you don’t have a lot of things to bring, but trust me on this: even the pros make lists. Don’t get caught without an important bit of equipment! If you do, however, add it to the list so you won’t forget it next time!
2. There is no such thing as too much gear. I hear some of you out there saying, “Why would I want to bring this old lens with me,” or “I’m not going to need a super-telephoto to shoot vast canyons or mountain ranges.” Never underestimate what you will find a use for. Even your old lenses can become serviceable stand-ins for your cutting-edge ones in a pinch.
3. You can’t actually have too many batteries. Similar to the previous advice, never get caught without a power source. I’m taking seven Canon batteries with me, my friend is taking eight; we both would bring more if we had them (and if they weren’t $50 each!)
4. If you’re planning to do night photography, it will be very helpful to have a flashlight with a red lens cover, or a red LED flashlight, or something similar. Once you’ve become acclimated to the dark, you don’t want to lose it when you swap out lenses (unless you can swap out lenses by touch…)
5. Scout out the location beforehand. There are tons of online resources about Death Valley regarding the availability of different roads, what’s going on with the three gas stations within the park, numerous maps and guides, the advice of other photographers, and so on. Wherever it is you’re going, make sure you’re well informed!
6. It will help to have an itinerary. On any trip, you will not have unlimited time, so the most effective way to make use of it is to plan every shooting location and time and figure out how long it will take to get from place to place so that not a moment is put to waste. You will probably want to plan your shooting locations around sunrise and sunset times, as well. Refer to sites such as The Old Farmer’s Almanac to find times for any city.
7. Last but not least, have fun. Even if you’re on assignment, or building a stock portfolio, never lose sight of the enjoyment of being in a cool place with your camera around your neck. A sense of whimsy can inform your artistic vision; never forget that!

That’s all I have for now. After my return, I will share with you what went right and what went wrong and hopefully offer more useful advice. Keep shooting!

As many of you are aware, I do have a “day job,” which is the only reason I can afford to take photographs at all. Sometimes I am called upon to flex my photographic muscle at the office, but only occasionally.

I brought my brand new Canon EOS-5D in for a little candid photo session to pad some of our marketing stuff and wound up with a few semi-interesting shots that I want to share.

I was shooting with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, which is a very mid-range, somewhat inexpensive lens (taking the f-stop into consideration, a very inexpensive lens). What you will probably (read: should) notice is the pronounced vignette in the images. When I bought the lens, I was using the EOS-10D, which has an APS-size sensor (1.6x multiplier), which is to say that the outer edges of the frame are cropped. In that situation, the vignette is much less pronounced because the camera literally can’t see most of it.

With the 5D, however, the full frame is visible and the vignette is obvious. Now, the 50mm f/1.4 is not an “L” series lens, so I knew the quality would be less than perfect, but I didn’t know what it’s shortcomings would be. When I saw these results, I actually became excited because the vignette added atmosphere to otherwise hum-drum images. A bit of tweaking in Photoshop and…

Notice the great depth of field you can get with an aperture as wide as f/1.4. If you want to experiment with this kind of thing, the most economical Canon lens is the EF 50mm f/1.8, which retails for less than $100. The build quality isn’t too hot, though, and it feels somewhat flimsy. You can step up to the EF 50mm f/1.4 for less than $300, which is still pretty decent, and if you want to go the whole way, you can pick up the brand new EF 50mm f/1.2L, which is available for a cold-sweat-inducing $1,300. Notice, though, that it’s an “L.”

In another article I may talk about the real differences between Canon’s “L” lenses and non-“L” lenses; you definitely don’t have to break the bank to do some nice artwork. For now I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment!

I picked up and I moved to New London, CT, The Whaling City. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of fishing and whaling, but I am a huge fan of the waterfront. I finally got a chance to take my camera out and walk along the pier by the train station last night and I want to share these with you all.

In front of the police substation, overlooking the main fishing dock.

Various impressive waterfront industrial complexes across the river.

My favorite of the three, my experiments with long exposure facing another fishing pier.

Here we are at the beginning of September already, and I haven’t even posted these photos from July! These were taken at Mill Pond Park in Newington, CT during their “Mill Pond Park Extravaganza,” which happened to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Newington’s Parks and Rec. Department. There were fireworks, there was fried dough, there were heaps of people… Some of them were waving glowing toys around.

Hope you enjoy. More to come soon!

This weekend I had a wonderful, experimental photo shoot with miss Ilva. I really wanted to give this roll of orange paper a go, and try some things with my fan (which I did in another recent shoot and I thought that went pretty well).

Here are just three to whet your palate!

There will be lots more up on my gallery soon, so don’t forget about that link on the right that says “Aaron’s Gallery!”