Blog

January 16, 2013
Blog #03

Ever participated in an organized Photo Walk? They can range from local events sponsored by a photography club, a group of friends on an afternoon outing, or on a much larger scale. On the large-scale format, there is one that is hosted by professional photographer Scott Kelby. Some of you may recognize his name as being associated with the popular PhotoShop program for processing images. Not going to go into detail here about the program, as there are so many possibilities within it’s use, and I haven’t even begun to touch all the things one is able to do with it, or the many variations of the program.

Each year the World Wide Photo Walk is held on a specific date, and anyone can participate. Doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out, or a seasoned professional, and you can use any camera desired, from point and shoots, to the upper echelons of the equipment scale. I’ve participated in two of the Louisville, Kentucky events in 2010 and 2011. Once the event starts you can venture around on your own or go in groups. I tagged-along with a great couple (Peg and Dwight) from the Louisville area...and I still owe them lunch at the next one, as they were kind enough to pay for my lunch that day after the event. Unfortunately, I missed the one this past year in 2012 due to other obligations. On the specific date and time, groups of up to 50 participants (as per the event rules) meet at the designated location and have two hours to take as many photographs as desired in the location deemed by the local host of the event. Oh, and participating is free. All you have to do is signup online. After the two hour limit, most groups have a designated place to meet, usually a restaurant, café, etc. Those who desire to do so can submit an image of their choice in a contest, which is judged, and entries in several categories, are selected at the end of the judging period and announced on-line. There are no monetary awards, but do have some nice items to be awarded, depending on how your image places in the contest. In conjunction with the large world-wide contest, each group also has a contest within their realm, with only one image being selected by the group leader.

During the 2010 event, the first one I participated in, I was very fortunate to be selected as the winner (photo inset in this blog issue), from group #2 (Louisville had two groups that year due to the number of people). The award for the local group winners was a copy of one of two preselected choices of Scott Kelby’s books. I chose the Adobe Photoshop CS5 book for Digital Photographers, 2011, which has been invaluable in assisting me with my image processing. This past year I purchased the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers, 2010, by Kelby, which has also been a valuable asset when working with the Lightroom 3 program.

If interested in participating in the next World Wide Photo Walk, check for information on-line towards the middle of this year. Here is a link from last year’s event so as to provide some background information on the event: http://worldwidephotowalk.com.

January 13, 2013
Blog #01

First entry of my blog, on a rainy, cold, dreary day in Western Kentucky. Not an ideal day to get out with the camera, so here I am at the computer again. Just checked the visitor log here at the site, and things are slow. My main emphasis of images include landscape, waterscape, urban, and rural scenes. Continually adding select images from my files, and hoping to get out with the camera once the weather is more hospitable, but snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow possibly. I'm ready for Spring!

Since retiring this past June, I had hopes of devoting much more time to photography, but when the weather is nice I sometimes get side-tracked and take the boat out fishing, and even if I don't catch anything, it still provides the opportunity to get some nice shoreline/waterscape scenes, which you can view in my galleries. Taking images from the water, instead of from the shore, always adds a different perspective, permitting one to get as far away, or as close to the scene as desired. The image of the tree emerging out of the fog, aptly titled "Breaking Through", was taken at the lake on a very foggy morning, and launching the boat was not in the cards that day, so got the camera into play and made a morning of camera work out of it. Be sure and checkout my site!


http://greg-jackson.artistwebsites.com

January 15, 2013
Blog #02

I’ve been asked on occasion if I go around randomly taking photos, or do I plan the “adventure”. Not sure if I would call it an adventure, as most of my images have been accomplished locally, within 5-6 miles of my home in a small town environment or rural setting. Not as if I were trekking to the far reaches of the globe, but there is some prep work to be done for my little excursions, even if seemingly minor in comparison to a long-distance trip.

I usually know where I’m headed, and first and foremost, I check the camera battery making sure it’s charged, then ensure there’s a memory card in the camera, and I also take a quick look at the lens to see if there if is any dust or spots on it. If it’s a hot day, I’ll have a bottle of water with me and normally leave it in the truck.

If doing urban shots, waiting for passing vehicles can present a lag-time problem if I’m trying to get a photo of a building, and I’ll normally wait until pedestrians are clear of the shot also. In acquiring shots in a rural setting, such as a barn, dilapidated structure, or a scenic view, the biggest problem is finding a place to park. The majority of the roads around my area have no shoulder to get off the roadway in order to safely park, and most locals do not want you parking in their driveway. A few occasions have occurred where a photo has been taken from my truck, but I’m not real keen on that, as it drastically limits different points of view of the scene. There has been more than one image I could not get just due to inadequate parking space.

Back to planned trips, even locally, I am always scanning the scenery around me, looking for possible future shots, and I believe this is a inherit trait of those that actively engage in outdoor camera work, but I could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time!

The barn you see in this installment came as a surprise as I was driving down a two-lane blacktop rural road. I came around a curve and spotted the structure, but was already past it by the time it registered that there was some “ghost” signage painted on the corrugated metal siding. I had to drive almost a mile to find a place to turn around on a side road, then I headed back to the location. Upon arriving there, I saw there was also an abandoned house, but it offered no above-average image opportunities, so I concentrated on the barn. I parked in the muddy, grassy area that was adjacent to the still existing mailbox, walked about 50 yards down a sloping, weed-covered incline to barn, then walked around the barn looking for good angles, and started clicking. Besides the faded signage on the barn side, the old feed sack in the loft caught my eye also. That image, in both color and black and white versions are in my gallery at http://greg-jackson.artist.websites.com . I probably spent about 30 minutes there and then headed for home, pleased that I had found the barn, even if by accident. So much for the planning theory!

http://greg-jackson.artistwebsites.com