Harry’s Photo Contest

So those of you in Sitka know that Harry’s photo contest ended back in June. Well, since I am re-tooling my blog, I thought that my entries for this contest would be a good subject as my first photo posts. Just to give some perspective on this contest, my daughter was born in early May and I found out about this contest in the middle of the month. The photos were due the first week in June. I didn’t really have much time to take, process, and choose photos, and I think the photos really suffered for this. I think these are pretty good photos, but each and every one of them needs some serious work. And if you hadn’t guessed, I didn’t win.

This was the only shot of the three that I took specifically for the photo contest. I had gotten the idea from some websites I saw. Obviously, it’s not really a miniature, but the technique is supposed to fake it. One of the big things I wanted to do was take three totally different pictures, and this one was my novelty shot. Not a single heavily processed shot placed in the contest at all, so I learned what not to do for next year. The subject is the cable house in Sitka. It’s a historic building that currently holds a restaurant and a radio station. In the background, you can see both the O’Connell bridge and Mt. Edgecumbe.

Of the three shots I submitted, this was my favorite. I took this one on a walk with my wife and newborn daughter. Along the sidewalk, I saw a large stone planter with a bunch of tulips in it. There were actually as many red tulips as there were yellow, but I managed a composition with the one red in the foreground and the yellow ones in the background. As far as composition is concerned, I think I did very well. Unfortunately, and it’s difficult to see on this shot, the red tulip is slightly out of focus. It was a lot worse on the printed 8x10. I think it was a combination of the wide open aperture (f/1.8) and the fact that I was hand holding. I’m still very happy with this shot.

In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t submitted this shot to the competition. This was the last shot I chose for the competition, and it was between this one, and one of some fishing boats in a harbor. I don’t remember why I chose this one, but when I saw the printed version, it looked awful. It looks pretty decent here on the screen. The volcano is Mt. Edgecumbe and is about 8 miles away from where I was standing. I still love the colors I was able to capture.

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2, NASB

Trying Again

So this will be my third go with this blog. My first attempt was a beginners photography guide. Unfortunately, I realized early on that I myself was a beginner, and still had much to learn. My second attempt was simply a place to post photos that I thought were good. The operative words are “I thought.” As it turns out, they really weren’t all that great, and I stopped posting. This time, I simply want to do a post each time I’m able to go shooting, post a photo (good or bad!), and simply talk about what was going on when I shot it. I love hearing the stories behind photos, and I hope others will also.

I have been into photography since the Summer of 1998. My Dad gave me his old Canon AE-1 so I could work on my Senior Project at school. I didn’t quite understand exactly what I was getting myself into. I slowly learned about photography, and subjects like exposure, composition, and things like that. Having a manual camera like the AE-1 may be seen by some as a handicap, but for me, it was a boon, because I learned more about focus and exposure than I would have normally. I shot pretty consistently until my first semester of college in September 1999. As a poor college student, I simply couldn’t afford film and processing. As a result, I gave up photography. However, I promised myself that I would get back into it once my situation stabilized.

I actually forgot about my promise to myself until about the Winter of 2007. At this time, I told my wife that I wanted to get back into photography. For my birthday in April 2008, my wife presented me with a Canon Rebel XTi. Since receiving it, I have spent much time re-learning a lot of what I had forgotten. I have slowly been progressing. I am finally at a stage where I am happy with my skills, although there is a lot of room for improvement. I consider myself more of an advanced beginner.

The purpose of this site is to document my journey of rediscovery of the art of photography. Please, enjoy the photos, enjoy the posts, and please leave a comment! Thanks a lot.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8, NASB