Sticks and Stones

I took a "mecation" this week to Florida. While I'd love to be soaking up the sun on one of Florida's beautiful salty beaches, I'm inland. My father is a contractor in central Florida, and has been working on a beautiful home for a couple of years now. He builds custom homes, meaning the homeowner helps with every step. Where do the power outlets go? What kind of faucet do you want? How big do you want your porch? No cookie-cutter homes from this fellah!

I got the opportunity to visit the construction site a little under a year ago, and took some pictures of the beginning phase of the building. This week, I went back out to the construction site and found some impressive changes.

What once looked like this,

Now looks like this!

The back porch was just getting started...

Not quite finished, but starting to look like a home.

The back porch is spacious and just waiting...

...for a skilled mason to shape stones for the outdoor fireplace and columns.

It's rare when I get to study a true artist while he works. JC is a stone mason, and he hand-forms the stones he works with. He let me photograph him as he worked. Here is my favorite image of him forming stone into the proper shape and feel for the fireplace inside the house:

Not every artist comes with a black beret.

Want to see more pictures? Visit my SmugMug gallery!

Transition Clinic at Bicycle Cove

Last night, I was blessed to be able to practice my photographic skills during an endurance sports training clinic. Bicycle Cove hosted a transition clinic for triathletes who want to get in and out of transition quicker, and more efficiently. Embrace Sports shared the wisdom and experience of two of their coaches, Eric Doehrman and Graeme Buscke, on how to get in and out of transition without too much fuss.

When you go to set up your transition area, you're not on the clock. So take your time, and get everything laid out perfectly. First thing's first: set up your shoes so that they don't drag on the ground when you're exiting transition to go on your ride. How do you do that?

Using *thin* rubber bands, attach the backs of your bike shoes to a part of your bike so they are sitting horizontal to the ground. 

Your shoes will be conveniently in position for you to get started! When you mount your bike, the *thin* rubber bands will pop off. 

Shaving seconds off of your mount time will help you to not miss a beat in transition. Static mounts make you passive (you'll be stuck looking for a clearing so you can push off and start your ride), and keep you from making forward movement. How do mount your bike on the fly?

This takes practice. Don't try this on race day until you've practiced it hundreds of times in training. While you're practicing your mount on the fly, why not work on your dismount on the fly?

Place your foot on top of your bike shoe and push your bike forward with the foot still on the ground. Swing your pushing foot around and on top of your bike seat, and place that foot on top of your other bike shoe. When the timing is right, you'll be able to fidget your feet into their shoes.

Take your feet out of your shoes and pedal with them on top of the shoes. Swing your leg over your bike seat, thread the leg between the bike and your other leg, place the foot on the ground and start running.

There were many other tips and tricks to consider, but you had to be there to catch them all! Thank you, Bicycle Cove, for letting me come out and photograph this fantastic event. And thank you, Eric and Graeme, for sharing your time and wisdom with us! To see all of the pictures visit my SmugMug page.

Let there be...

Light! Photographers are master light manipulators. Look at an image... any image. Where is the light coming from? Is the light source illuminating the subject of the photograph in a manner that is appropriate? Is the subject stuck in the shadows, and the light is actually highlighting something in the background that has absolutely nothing to do with the purpose of the image?

This session, I'm learning how to use studio lights on still images. Tonight's lesson was on the effects of light placement, and the quantity of lights. Want a big, fat for instance? Here goes!

One light here. The placement of this light gives depth and form to the subjects, and completely ignores anything behind it.

Two lights here. The first light is in the same location, but I added a light to illuminate the background. This pulls the subject off of the backdrop, and makes it appear to not be floating in darkness as much. 

Back to one light, but this time I moved the light to be right in front of the subject. The effect is a harsher contrast between the highlights and shadows. 

I still have much to learn here, but I am already seeing some growth in my still life photography. This is exciting for me as I rather enjoy photographing inanimate objects.

New Studio

It can be argued that Photographers are "the great problem solvers". Okay, so we are not talking suicide jumpers off the ledge, nor are we in peace negotiations between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. But from the moment we walk into our photo shoot we are constantly analyzing the situation, interpreting possible difficulties, overcoming obstacles, and finding creative solutions.

I have found that when I want to further study light, I bring myself into my "studio". Luckily for me, my children enjoy sharing a bedroom (and hopefully they'll stay that way until we move) and my husband has no desire to have a spare bedroom in an actual bedroom in our house. That third bedroom? My studio. And for the next 5.5 weeks, my studio will be a hot-mess as I learn how to use my studio lights, my scrims, my gobos, my softboxes, my umbrellas, my reflectors, and all of the other fabulous swag I have acquired thus far in my studies. To say the least, my studio is a dangerous creative lair with extension cords and bright lights everywhere you look.

And what happens when I can't explore from behind my camera while at the same time setting up my scene? My trusty assistant leaves his fear at the door and blindly follows my instruction. "Blindly" being the operative word here. The poor thing had his face five inches from my strobe as he poured milk into a cup of coffee, and glitter onto wet glue. Why? I needed to stop motion with my new lights. There is much to be done with these two concepts, but for my second shoot with these beauties, I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Studio Work!

Get ready to watch me embark upon the exciting and fabulous realm of studio photography. I have had my Einsteins for a while now, but extenuating circumstances kept me from learning much about them. Now I'm in a Studio Photography course. After a quick glance at my syllabus, I have determined that I will be shooting still life images for the better part of the nest semester, and finish up with a final that forces me to use a human. To say that I'm nervous is a gross understatement.

For starters, my lights are super nice, and very impressive. But the buttons. Oh, the buttons. There are so many options! And that doesn't even begin to discuss the CyberSync and Cyber Commander units I got with the lights. Even more buttons! But I'm sure I'll get it. One day. Somehow. So if you see me over the next five weeks, and I'm not really "all there", forgive me. I should be back to (what I consider to be) normal eventually.

Oh, and poor Josh. I kicked him out of the office so I could turn his desk into my studio work station. His studying area for his Master's is in a corner in the house... somewhere. At this point, I'm pretty sure he is hiding his area from me so I won't come in, take it over, and make him move again. But here is the lovely workspace I'll be working in. It's not the size I want, but it's the size I have!

2013 Frantic Frog Sprint Triathlon

I was able to photograph the 13th Annual Frantic Frog sprint triathlon. This race distance is wonderful because athletes of all ages, sizes, and ability levels come together to play in three sports, consecutively. I used some of the images in my final project for the printing class I was taking. Here are the images I used:

This race does the transition area right! They roll out the carpet for your wet feet to dry off on, and you can even wipe the sand off your feet before embarking upon your bike ride. 

Body marking is quick and painless. Volunteers are standing just outside the transition area to tag you with oversized Sharpies.

The open water swim happens in beautiful Goosepond Colony. Athletes jump off of the dock, swim past several buoys for easy sighting, turn around and swim to shore.

The 14.5 mile bike ride takes athletes through beautiful parts if Scottsboro, Alabama. 

The 5K run involves a little bit of trail running, but hits the streets for a good bit as well. 

The unofficial fourth event in a triathlon is "beer recarbing" (for those who are of age, of course). This year, Flat Tire was on tap. It was a cool welcome for hot, sweaty athletes!

Fresh Jambalaya filled the bellies of athletes and supporters alike. 

Frantic Froggers, ready to tri!

The day was warm, with just enough breeze to keep spectators from having heat stroke. Make sure to mark your calendars so you can head out to Goosepond Colony next year, either as an athlete or a spectator. You will not be disappointed!

For a look at all of the images of the day, go to my SmugMug gallery!