Picked up this interesting blog from a soldier in Iraq. A worthwhile read and interesting diversions.
Archive for October, 2004
Birding Babylon
Thursday, October 28th, 2004
Featured Image #18
Saturday, October 16th, 2004Being free of style?
Wednesday, October 13th, 2004I have added a few more new images to the gallery lately and have been reflecting on some of them. Often photographers will discuss defining their own particular style. How they make an image uniquely theirs and recognizeable as such.
Looking at some images in the gallery, recent and from the past, I myself do not see a unique pattern or style per say, but one of adaptation to the moment and spirit of creativity at the time. Referring to past martial arts training reminds of me how Bruce Lee used to teach and practice. For he was a strong proponent of having no particular style of martial art, that you must be free to react to the situation at hand and respond without any predefinition.
Photography can be approached in much the same manner, particularly when approaching a diverse group of subjects. How can you apply a singular style to macro, landscape, underwater, and a bird?
Fall in Michigan
Saturday, October 9th, 2004This is one of my favorite times of the year – the temperatures, the colors, and the general smell of the air can be invigorating. This morning was my first venture out to photograph fall colors this year. Southeast Michigan is just approaching its peak, with many trees already past. After driving around for about an hour, I finally settled on a spot and probably spent 2 hours within a 20 sq. ft. area just photographing what interested me. There is no shortage of subject matter in fall.
It can be difficult to compose something original though. Fall colors make for great subject matter, but everyone is shooting them.
It was also my first time out with my new Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead. It just arrived Friday after being on a waiting list for about 6 weeks. Before this, I have been using the Kirk BH-1 for awhile. It is actually my third one after being replaced a couple of times for locking up, or failing to lock up. The third one has been fairly reliable, but I decided it was time to try something new. Perhaps it was a pure case of gadget envy vs. need.
The first thing you will notice about the RRS is attention to detail and craftsmanship. It is a finely machined product that obviously had a lot of attention to its design. I love the large locking knob and its smooth feel. I have the version with the new lever quick release mechanism. I was a bit skeptical at first, wondering how easily it could ‘pop open.’ But my concerns have been eliminated. The lever tucks nicely underneath the camera body so there is little risk of it grabbling a branch or something similar. I actually became quite fond of it when swapping around lens configurations, camera mounted to tripod collar mounted. It makes this process much easier and faster. I had also read that the small bubble level that they include on the mounting plate is covered by the camera body when installed. Not so with the D2H at least. It tucks slightly under, but visible. I have yet to try it with my larger lens, but have little doubt this will become one of my best pieces of equipment.
You can find details of the Really Right Stuff ballhead at this link;
And thorough reviews at ;
Luminous Landscape BH-55 review
