Self Portrait

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Self Portraiture can be quite a learning experience. In the past two years, I’ve experimented with making self portraits several times. I don’t particularly need the pictures of myself – just need a model and want the learning experience. In these situations, I find that I’m quite patient, understanding and willing to sign a model release for a very reasonable fee.

To get this photo, I followed some tips from the Strobist. It seems that almost any exposure is “right” for a sunset. I began this shoot with exposures of 1/500 at f5.6 and ended with exposures of 1/160 and f5.

The equipment was my G9 mounted on a tripod, a Nikon SB-28 and a Nikon SB-24 each fitted with a ¼ CTO gen and Stofen diffuser, one light stand and one Canon EOS Elan 7. Both flashes were triggered with a Cactus wireless trigger with the transmitter mounted on the G9. The Elan 7 was turned off; it was used only as a prop to hold the SB-28.

In this particular picture, the G9 was set for 1/250 and f5 at ISO 80. The SB-24 backlight was set for 1/16 power and the SB-28 was set for 1/4 power (I think – forgot to write it down!). These settings probably seem a little higher than suggested at the Strobist site but remember that the G9 was set for ISO 80 and a diffuser eats light. On top of all this, diffusers aren’t normally used outdoors because there’s nothing to bounce the light. Actually, I wanted a diffuser on the main light simply because it would be in the photo. For the first several shots, I had the diffuser pointed upward as though indoors. In the diffuser up position, the SB-28 was set for ½ power (I think).

With the G9 set for a 10 second delay and camera bag on the ground to mark my modeling spot, I made – well, quite a few -- trips back and forth. Elan 7 and flash high, low, wide, front, etc. Take a picture, chimp, critique myself, increase exposure as the sun set, repeat – you get the idea.

This was a fun shoot; try a self portrait.

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Reify and Redact: More Selections

The paper and interleave tissue has arrived but the portfolio box was backordered. Those first selections have been printed and a few more selected to be printed.








In 1997, beginning a return to photography, I picked up my old Yashica 12 for a walk around the beach near sunset. The Yashica 12 is a twin lens reflex camera using 120 film (2-1/4 x 2-1/4 inches) – a medium format camera from the 1960s. This child’s bicycle caught my eye and I took a few shots of it against the sunset sky. The prints were terrible but I always thought that there was a good photo in them. A few years later I was able to scan the negative myself, process it in Photoshop and finally got the picture I wanted.







In 1999, while on a Popular Photography Mentor Series workshop on the Mississippi Queen paddlewheeler, I woke early as we approached Natchez. With my 1972 Konica T2, I was able to get this shot. Later that day, I dropped the T2 and it jammed. Fortunately, I was able to borrow a more modern Canon SLR and complete the workshop. I had the T2 repaired but also bought a Canon SLR.

Egret and Sunset Catch

The lakes at LSU are a great place to try out new equipment and get in a nice walk at the same time. My son and I certainly enjoy it. A few years ago, realizing that my old tripod was a bit flimsy, I had just bought a new one and took it for a hike around the lakes. On this new, heavy duty tripod, I mounted my trusty old Konica T2 along with another purchase: a very used Vivitar 300mm lens. By adding a 2x teleconverter to the Vivitar 300mm, the old Konica was looking through 600mm of focal length!

Even though the tripod was steady, the Konica plus 2X plus Vivitar sitting on top of it was not exactly motionless. Even so, we had a nice walk while I experimented with the equipment and a roll of Kodak Ektachrome E100VS – a highly saturated transparency film designed to produce very colorful slides.

The end of our hike, the last few shots on the roll and the close of the day were coming together nicely. We set up our cameras for a few closing shots. I spotted an egret standing patiently on a submerged stump near the middle of the lake and took a shot. Then, ignoring all advice about shooting directly into the sun, I relocated. Aligning the egret with the sun, I waited for something to happen. Surely the egret would fly away at any moment but nothing happened. Meanwhile, the sun continued to sink. Disappointed and giving up, I turned my head and yelled to my son that we should be going. Naturally, this was when the egret struck. I yelled in disappointment but recovered in time to get this shot.

I like this picture a lot. It was planned (well, sort of), pushed my equipment to its limit (well, a bit past), original (to me anyway) and reminds me of a nice hike with my son.