Science In Our Backyard

While searching for websites that have photos from space of the Columbus and Chattahoochee Valley area, I typed in the U.S. Geological Survey, which is filled with great information and a zillion links to more great information. They call it, "Your source for science you can use." It beats unending cable reruns, and your kids can run amok and dazzle their teachers with their science reports. Type 'Georgia' into the Science In Your Back Yard link, which is where this map is shown with more detail. When I find the space photos, I'll link it up. Until then, check out the Astronomy Picture of the Day site from NASA. You'll love it, and it's easy to find their archived photos and once again, a ton of cool stuff about the stars.

Robin (amateur astronomer and onetime biochemistry major)

Just Checking In ...

... my shoulder is still recovering from surgery, and the Doc has yet to give me the okay to schlep a camera around ... so I've been browsing through my archives in an ongoing attempt to organize the hard drive (never mind all of the negatives), and I came across this photo that was shot while waiting for an assignment to get rolling. These birds were watching me, honestly.

This is also a nice example of how cropping a photo can create a very different image, as compared with leaving it full frame. Let's talk about that in next week's Photo Tip. And I'll see what other photos catch my eye - it's an interesting exercise to look through the files.

One Month to Kickoff!!

For all of you (us) college football fans -- 31 days until the tailgate begins and the marching bands loudly declare -- bring it on!! And, our local high school teams begin practice this coming Monday, Aug. 4.

Okay -- so I'm from Nebraska, for the most part, at least enough to be a Cornhusker - GO BIG RED. But thanks to Dusty Nix, our veteran editorial page editor who bleeds blue and orange, I can be heard echoing WAR EAGLE from September to December. Unless of course, I'm hanging with my Nebraska buddies who live in Atlanta - who bleed HUSKER RED - then I tend to stutter. Like when the Tigers talked back to the Huskers 17-14 in the 2007 Cotton Bowl. But it was a 25-year payback (1982) - that's when Nebraska yawned its way past Auburn 41-7 at Jordan-Hare. It was a "train wreck," according to Dusty. "I couldn't stay for the embalming."

Now -- I'm all for the Bulldogs when they face any Florida team - and if I get to go to a bowl game.

(Insert favorite fight song here)
RT

Wanted: A Beach Day

Greetings! Hope everyone is surviving this crazy Georgia heat and humidity ... All I want to do is sleep. Like my cats.

Or go to the beach. I've decided that one life goal that would be great fun to pursue ... would be to swim in every major body of water on the planet. What you see here is the hike to Red Beach on Santorini, one of the Cyclades Islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea. Red Beach is made of black and red volcanic rocks, and is near the village of Akrotiri, on the south end of the island inside the caldera. The Aegean Sea is a northern arm of the Mediterrean Sea, with the island of Crete forming the geographical division between the two.

To get to Red Beach, you need to park your car ... and walk. Actually, hike. See the little white and red specks that dot the center of the photo? Those are folks headed to the beach. And my friend and I were two of them. You can see umbrellas along the shore to the left. It was magnificant. And the water was cold. Not the warm waters and white sands of Panama City or Gulf Shores or Pensacola, but it is nevertheless a beautiful beach.

A brief note, a friend informed me that she was unable to access this site by typing my name into the search window of the Ledger-Enquirer. This is true. To find Picture Columbus, or any L-E blog posted by our reporters, photographers and editors, go to the strip of tabs under the Ledger-Enquirer.com mast and find 'blog.' Or scroll down the homepage to find the list of blogs.

Photo Tip #3 -- When Your Subjects Face Each Other

When faced with the compositional problem of photographing 'facing planes,' patience and a subtle, keen eye is essential. What I call the 'facing planes' situation is when the two primary subjects of a photo are facing each other - like the gentleman looking at an exhibit hanging on a wall.


If you were to stand in such a way that the wall is to your left, and the man is to your right, and you are centered, you will photograph the two men and the brick wall in the back. It's a difficult situation. Why? Because the image that you want includes both the observer and what the observer is observing. You want more of your subject's face and less profile, plus you want to show what is on the wall. So you need to stand facing the wall just a bit, watch closely, and wait for your human subject to move in such a way that you see more of his or her face - closer to a 45-degree angle and not a 90-degree angle (the two men in the background are 90-degrees to the camera). It's subtle, but there is now an 'interaction' between Mr. Boone and the exhibit. The picture frames and the wall continue past him (and in the background to his right) with with a sense of continuity. The nice arc of light behind his head, the spot of light over the gentlemen to the back, and the simple arched brick over the dark hallway goes black helps this photo's background to be clean, uncluttered and still contribute to the image. The florescent light in the top right corner isn't awful, but I could do without it.

The photo that was taken during a Thanksgiving dinner at the 11th Engineer Battalion dining hall shows a similar problem with the added obstacle of the food line. You can see where I tried my best to not shoot straight down the line (although I mostly did), and also tried to get the officers and soldiers with more than their profile. The photo still has too much dead space down the middle, with my two primary subjects barely in the frame at the edges. The wall and the activity in the background is cluttered with poor light, doesn't add much to the image and takes up a lot of space. (This photo suffers from other problems, too, like bad flash, but that's another topic.)

The painter and her canvas. This one was tough. I'm straddling a small amplifier behind a drum set and other stage stuff (pre-show) while stretching up and over to the left, trying to get some of Eileen's face as well as the finished Ma Rainey painting and the portrait in progress. Fortunately, Ms. Desterno began to work on the lower left part of the painting, so her back was no longer to the camera. Luck gave me the arc in her arm that flows with the arc in Ma Rainey's arm.

In this photo of the college students working on a Habitat for Humanity house, I waited for one of them, hopefully the young man in the center (who eventually complied), to turn slightly so that the picture would not be all backs of heads. His face represents all of their faces as they hammer away at the fascia. The young woman in the foreground helps this photo even more by having a slightly different stance, but not one that breaks the rhythm of their line. It's not a prize-winning image, but it is a successful story-telling shot that conveys how the students who come to Columbus each spring work together on the annual mega-build called the Collegiate Challenge.

Watch for these tough compositional challenges as you shoot. Recognizing them is half the battle, then be patient, watch closely, keep in mind what you want for your photo, change your camera position and, as always, experiment.

Robin

Don't Let the Rain Get You Down

Just thought I'd share a few reminders of the beauty that awaits us when the rains go away. These are photos from walks around my neighborhood earlier this summer, and I think one was taken last fall. I love a good thunderstorm, but have been out of town and so missed the opportunity to make storm photos. Enjoy the flowers.

Robin













More to come.

Photo Tip #2: Vacation Travel Photos

Travel and photography are natural friends, and part of the vacation joy is reliving the experience with every photograph we take during our journey. Vacation photos bring memories to life - the travel, the adventure, the misadventure, the food, the weather, the people, the stories and the stories and the stories. A photo that tells one story that leads to another story that leads to another photo that leads to another story that leads to .... you get it.

So here are a few tips to spice up your vacation photo album with pictures that are more than postcard reproductions.

1) Do a little Research If 'travel photography' is an important part of your vacation, do some research about the places you will visit -- any events, when it's crowded (or not crowded), quick side tours, local customs you might need to know about, nearby locations of interest. Go online and see what you what can find.

2) People Photograph people - the locals, other tourists, your travel companions. Add the human touch - like a busy outdoor market or plaza. Be aware - you might encounter unusual and interesting street people who will ask for money in exchange for being photographed. And always be friendly and respectful.

3) Along the Way Think photos as you travel to and from your destinations. Take pictures of your kids asleep in the airport terminal (probably not a good idea these days to photograph strangers at the airport), get a bird's-eye view from the airplane window, blurred-motion from the car window, the bus or the train. Sights along the highway. These can be good transition pictures to tell the story of your travels.

4) Go where most tourists don't go If time permits, break away from the crowd and see what catches your eye. Perhaps a trail that takes you above town for a nice 'cityscape.'

5) Don't be Oblivious to the Obvious Look for details - of daily life, in the architecture, out your hotel window. Shoot small - photograph the 'little things' that tell stories about where you are - items on the beach in the foreground of a sunset, the cat that sleeps in the flower pot outside your inn, interesting flowers that don't grow at home.

6) Food Who doesn't love food? Food, for me, is an important part of the travel experience, whether it's Indian fry bread in New Mexico or grilled octupus on a Greek island. I love beautiful food, and I love to photograph food. And I love to photograph my friends enjoying their food.

7) Don't let inclement weather shut you down If you're caught in a rainstorm on the inside looking out, what a natural, moody photo this could make. Beach fog won't get you much of a tan, but it can make for a peaceful, lovely scene.

8) Self portraits Hold the camera out at arm's length and put yourself and your friends in the scene. It's a fun and different angle compared to the pictures that a stranger takes of you while standing 20 feet away.

9) Shoot the landmarks They're famous for a reason - just use your imagination. Take the postcard shot, then change your framing as you look through the camera: shoot low, shoot from above, fill the frame with a detail, create a scene with your subjects' surroundings, fill it with people (then without people), return to shoot at different times of the day (and night) if possible.

10) Et cetera Pointers that always make for different and interesting pictures: Shoot early in the day and at dusk - it's often beautiful light (quick note here - in low sunlight, watch for your shadow and where it creeps into your frame). Shoot odd angles: the view walking down the stairs; look straight up and tilt the camera a bit; sit on the ground, set the camera on the ground, tilt it up a bit and see what you get (don't look through the viewfinder) - go for the perspective of a small child; hold the camera up high, tilt it down a bit, and see what you get - go for the perspective of Shaquille O'Neal.

P.S. Happy travels, and have fun!