Page 21 – JWNPhoto.com

Blog

Monotone SC Wetlands

1/200th of a sec | f/9.0 | 65mm | ISO 200

I was out at a private plantation in Goose Creek, SC this morning and on the way out I took some shots along the road of the forest. The shot above is one that I always want to shoot when I’m driving and see the woods cut abruptly short at the edge of a road. The sight of the wall of the edge of a forest is daunting to me.

1/100th of a sec | f/9.0 | 55mm | ISO 200

The cypress trees always make for interesting pictures because they grow out of still swamp water and sometimes have a very graphical interaction with their shadows and reflections.

1/15th of a sec | f/16.0 | 35mm | ISO 320

This shot is an oak tree alongside a marsh in James Island, SC taken in 2009 with my D40. I like the relationship between the curves of the water and the curves of the tree limbs.

Here are some more cypress trees at Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner, SC. This shot was taken in 2007 with my D40 and converted into a single image HDR photograph.

1/1600th of a sec | f/4.2 | 26mm | ISO 200

Finally, we arrive at Botany Bay Plantation in Edisto Island, SC. This photo was also taken in 2009 with my D40 (that camera is a fantastic little DSLR). The beach at Botany Bay is like something out of a dream; shell covered beaches, trees in the surf, and teaming with shorebirds and wildlife.

Bees Up Close!

1/160th of a sec | f/10 | 100mm | ISO 160

While I was washing my car on Sunday, I noticed that the bees are out in full force in the bushes in my front yard. It sounds like a beehive in 2 of my bushes, with mostly honey bees, a couple of bumble bees, and even some wasps getting in the mix. After I was done with the cleaning, I grabbed my camera and started shooting.

1/500th of a sec | f/3.5 | 100mm | ISO 200

At f/3.5 in the photo of the bumblebee directly above, you can see how small the plane of perceived focus is. I hand-held the shots of the bumble bees because they moved so quickly and rarely stayed still long enough to get a sharp picture with a slower shutter speed/smaller aperture setup that I had to use a fast shutter speed and large aperture to get a properly exposed sharp image. I used my Tokina 100mm macro lens. Even though the lens can shoot at f/2.8, typically when shooting something like this, it’s best to use a smaller aperture. Since it’s a 100mm prime lens, some amount of bokeh will be present at even the highest f number (smallest aperture). In order to get more of the honey bees in focus, such as the shot at the top of the post, I needed to rely on my tripod.

I set the tripod up very close to the subjects, composed the image of the flowering parts of the bushes, grabbed my ML-L3 remote, and waited. A little patience and sooner or later a bee would come along and start gathering pollen. Prior to grabbing my remote, I was trying to stand behind the camera and manually fire the shutter. Besides being a bit nerve-wracking, I noticed that the bees all seemed to have moved to the other side of the bush while I was standing there. I guess they were more intimidated by me than I was by them. After I stood back a bit and used the remote, they came right back to the front of the bush again.

Much like shooting the hummingbirds in my front yard, the key ingredient is patience. If you can allow yourself to slow down enough to wait out shots like this, the reward is much more than just a cool picture, it really is a zen-like experience.

Kulture Klash 7 Announced

I’m very excited to say that Kulture Klash 7 has been officially announced. Last year’s Kulture Klash Arts Festival was, in my opinion, a major highlight of the Low Country’s arts community. Needless to say, I’m honored and excited to be participating in this event! You can read my recap here, and check out this awesome video of last fall’s event:

Kulture Klash Episode 6 from Jewell&Ginnie on Vimeo.

What: Kulture Klash Arts Festival #7
When: Saturday, April 9 at 7:00pm – April 10 at 2:00am
Where: Noisette @ the Navy Yard, 10 Storehouse Row, North Charleston, SC
Why: Great art from all different walks, including photography from BadJon, Robert Donovan, & more!

Water & Western North Carolina

A few weeks ago my family went to the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina for a weekend getaway in a tiny little cabin on the side of a river in a town called Bat Cave. We did some hiking, checked out waterfalls such as the one above at Pearson’s Falls, spent a day at the Biltmore Estate, visited Chimney Rock (pictured below), and of course shopped at all the touristy shops.

I also took some time to try and teach the kids a little bit about photography. The kids love when I let them shoot with my D40! This shot below is of my son on the side of Hooker Falls sporting the greatest little DSLR ever made.

I used this shot below as a lesson on using long exposures to shoot running water. I showed them that if you set the aperture to a really small setting (which means larger f number), then you are able to set a really long exposure time which gives the running water a glassy and smooth effect. This was shot at f/22 for 1/2 a second. I used the guard rail on the edge of the trail to brace the camera since we were sans tripod on the hike.

I like hiking in the mountains, everything just seems so photogenic. Maybe it’s the change of scenery from living near the coast, or maybe it’s the way things are designed to compliment the environment such as these steps on a mountain trail.

There are times when we’re driving through the hills and I scream “pull over now!” so I can capture scenes such as this:

I’m sure when people come to the beach, the plantations, the city, or swamps of the low country, they get the same kind of excitement. Physically taking yourself out of your comfort zone can be a very inspiring act. It’s quite true that the spark of inspiration is easily lit by doing something different. The struggle is finding the new inspiration in your own backyard!

This is my family on the last day of our adventure – what a rag-tag bunch we were after a few days in the back woods! Gotta love that ML L3 Remote in my right hand – I was over 50 feet away from the camera outdoors, and it worked like a champ.

Evans Rehearsal Dinner

I had the pleasure of shooting a wonderful couple’s wedding rehearsal dinner at Waters Edge at Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, SC this weekend.

Beau and Kathryn Evans are two beautiful people whose awesome mother, Donna Evans hired me to shoot this event for their family.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite pics from the evening. We had a great location at a great time of day with perfect weather – You couldn’t ask for a better combination!

There was music, shagging, and shucking, oh my!

The more events I photograph, the more I realize how important it is to know your camera inside and out. I can’t tell you how often I double-check my camera and almost every time I do I find that a crucial setting has been changed, a button mashed, or dial spun that would have otherwise ruined or missed a moment. I don’t know how many times I would find myself chimping the LCD screen in the past – after a number of phantom setting changes, I do get real paranoid that I’m blowing the shots! The more I do this though, the less I need to check my screen because I accept that while I’m communicating with subjects, and squeezing through crowded bars, my camera is busy taking on a life of its own, so I check my settings before I press the shutter.

It’s also handy to keep a mental baseline of settings for each environment you shoot in. That way you can quickly reset the camera to that baseline and work up from there. I still find shooting people at sunset is the hardest time because the light changes so drastically with every passing second. Event photography is very fast-paced, so any method you employ that will gain you precious seconds looking through the viewfinder is the difference between getting a great moment or just missing it.

Biltmore Estate in the Winter

A couple of weeks ago we spent the extended weekend in western North Carolina. One of the days was spent at Asheville’s Biltmore Estate. How do you shoot a touristy estate that forbids photography inside and is littered with pixel peepers on the outside?

Well, one answer is to get in close and get the detail. Try and isolate a subject and create a graphical image of it in its surroundings.

The property is littered with great statues – most of them with a major subject and a minor subject interacting. The challenge is positioning yourself in a way that incorporates the background in a non-distracting way. The image directly below uses the lines of the staircase to draw you into the figure of the cherub, while the bushes behind provide contrast.

Getting in physically closer, but zooming out shows how a similar composition can look completely different! I had to depend on color to get the right contrast to isolate the statue here.

And this photo of a statue works best by getting low and letting the blown-out cloudy sky act as a white background.

During the winter months, some people wouldn’t see much value in a landscape devoid of lush vegetation. I tend to enjoy the look of the barren trees and yellowed grass mixed within the evergreens.

Finally, capturing a moment is one of the most exciting things to do when shooting in a place like this. It’s like a little gift when you have an amazing background and a subject to place within it. The couple was enjoying the view when I happened upon them (from the stairs in the pictures above).

That’s how I attack a situation like this – by getting closer, moving around, and seeking out moments. What’s your method?

Brewvival 2011 Photo Essay

When I first arrived at the old Navy Base in North Charleston on Saturday for the second annual Brewvival, I felt a similar feeling as when I walked through the doors at CupcakeCamp. Elation. As a fan of real beer, not that swill most people pass off as beer at sports bars and chain restaurants, I was in heaven. Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by real honest-to-goodness beer!

After I pinched myself a few times, I remembered that I had a job to do. I had to captured the day in photos. Where to start? Well, there was the huge growing line of attendees awaiting for the 12 o’clock hour to strike so they could start the party. I walked to the front of the line and met this group of folks who had arrived an hour early to be the first to enjoy the heady goodness that was to be dispensed throughout the day.

I realized I had a few minutes to check out the grounds before they were filled with festival goers. I walked around taking in the sights of each booth.

Soon, the “gates” opened and some of the happiest people on earth were welcomed with a program and a beer glass as they entered the festival.

And so it began. People lined up at the booths and started sniffing, tasting, and in some cases, even licking their beer!

The organization of the festival was brilliant. Lines moved quickly, each brewer was organized in alphabetical order, and everyone had a list of what each brewer had to offer so there was little doubt as to where you could get the beer you wanted to try.

Soon after the gates opened, the rock began with the sounds of Gaslight Street (featured in the photo at the top of this post). Now I was getting into my groove – I love beer, photography, and rock n’ roll (not in any particular order).

I started to get into it and got in close on the instruments…

I decided to head back into the crowd for more shots of ~~beard~~ beer drinking!

It was lunch time, which I spent inside of Coast Brewery’s facility and enjoyed some amazing home-made food that was prepared for the vendors and brewers. While I was in there, I decided to take some shots of the inner workings of the brewery.

After I was done inside Coast, I headed back outside to the festival with an idea for a shot. I wanted to get the darkest beer I could find and fill one of the Brewvival beer glasses and get a shot of the band behind it. I set the aperture as small as I could to get the most depth of field (and showcase the plethora of dirt on my camera’s sensor). I believe it captures the essence of the day. The shot up top is my favorite, and here is an alternate of the same shot in the key of G:

The beer I used was Palmetto Brewing’s Espresso Porter, which was amazing to say the least (I had to drink it because I wasn’t about to waste it). I also checked out some of the food vendors. We had D’Allesandro’s Pizza, Ted’s Butcher Block, Roti Rolls, as well as others on hand to keep the drinkers paced and satisfied.

Next up on the stage was the Garage Cuban Band, who played a trippy Latin-flavored soulful sound that was perfect for the occasion.

Phew – this is a long post, and I’m still going! After checking out a riveting game of bean-bag toss, I met up with some Twitter Friends.

It’s @JasonCZ & @SkimTheOcean

I tried to explain to Jason the art of being a creep with a camera at an event such as this. Sometimes the shot you want is of people off their guard, such as these:

When people know they are being photographed, the tend to step out of their natural character and when you combine that with beer, it may look something like this:

As the day went on, people came out of their shells and it was much easier to approach them for candid shots. Here are some of my favorites:

Let’s not forget the unsung heroes of the day. I’m talking about the designated drivers who, donning their straight-edge X’s on their hands, sacrificed partaking in the alcohol bevicide for the good of their fellow man.

Guess what time it is? It’s banjo picking, fiddle sticking, foot stomping time! Fire up the Dukes of Hazard car chase scene soundtrack and check out these shots of the SC Broadcasters!

Right about now, the people started to get the itch and some dancing ensued.

The day was winding down, and somebody with temporary tattoos on his head was getting his skull licked, so I took that as my cue to wrap up my photo shoot.

I had a blast, and I can’t wait until next year’s event. Until then, I raise my glass to the Brewvival crew and Coast Brewing for putting on a spectacular festival. Cheers! I leave you with this picture of this guy looking awesome.

Check out the whole set of 247 photos on my Flickr!

Charleston Brewvival 2011

What: Charleston Brewvival
Where: 1250 2nd St North, North Charleston, SC 29405
When: Saturday, February 26, 2011 12-6PM
Why: Beer!

I’ve been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks, but I wanted to quickly update you with my latest project – I’ve been tasked with shooting the Charleston Brewvival 2011 event. I’m very excited to bring my love for photography to the world’s love of cold liquid gold.

If you are coming to the Charleston area this weekend, make sure to get yourself some tickets, and a designated driver, and get ready to taste some of the low country’s best brews. I hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday Mackenzie

I’d like to quickly say happy birthday to my little shooter. My wife and I are so proud of her – not only in celebrating her 11th birthday, but she found out this weekend that she was accepted into the school of the arts for her middle school. We are all so happy for her!

Machine Shop

One of the perks of my other job is that I get access to all sorts of interesting places here in the Charleston, SC area. Today I was doing some work in a machine shop over at the old Navy base and while I was walking through the giant shop floor, I started to notice all of the cool shapes, colors, & surfaces all around me. On the return trip I pulled out my iPhone and started snapping shots of various things that caught my eye.

I made most of these shot’s using Trey Ratcliff’s awesome 100 Cameras In 1 app. The color and texture complimented the effects of the app – a case of marrying the right tool for the job at hand.

I also tried using one of the new in-app purchased filters in one of my other favorite iPhone camera apps, Camera+. An awesome new feature in the latest version of Camera+ is the ability to adjust the strength of the filter you apply – very much like Trey’s app. If they let you combine filter’s like Trey’s does then it would be perfect. Fortunately 100 Cameras In 1 does do just that!

Most of us have subjects all around us that can be captured photographically and we pass them by due to either familiarity or just plain negligence to open your eyes in your own backyard. Try to look at life as a tourist – you might be surprised at how cool your environment can be.

« First ‹ Prev 18 19 202122 23 24 Next ›Last »