Links to Better Photography

I have found Twitter to be a great resource for photography information, inspiration and education.  I tend to collect things on the Internet.  I have thousands of bookmarks and, with Twitter, I have a lot of Favorite tweets saved now, too.  Here are some I thought you would find of interest.  Oh, and if you are on Twitter, why don’t you follow me at @sthomasphotos.

Here are three short and informative articles to improve your photography.  Enjoy!

Scott Bourne’s 15 Quick Tips on Composition

Mike Panic writes How to Improve Your Photography in just One Evening

Darren Rouse shares 3 Tips for Shooting Portraits in Bright Sunshine

Humboldt Penguin getting up close to each other. Getting close and filling the frame is one way you can improve your photography overnight.

Baseball

I did not quite get the photo I was looking for.  As I reviewed this photo I wish I had used a smaller aperture so the player in the batter’s box swinging the bat is more discernible.  I was looking for a photo that said (screamed) of the sport…Baseball.  As we found out last week, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Baseball cap and glove sits on a fence near the dugout as a player swings a bat waiting for his turn at bat.

Maybe a tighter crop would help.  Ignore the cut off watermark, please. Better?  Worse?

A different crop of the original photo.

View 135: The Boys of Summer

I spent the weekend photographing Under-16 and Under-18 All Star Baseball teams participating in the CNY Thunder Classic Tournament.  I borrowed my friend’s Nikon D700 digital SLR camera and put on my Nikon 80-400VR f/4.5-5.6 lens to capture the action and talent of these Boys of Summer.  With the D700′s ISO capability, I was able to shoot from 1/1000th to 1/5000th of a second shutter speed.  I have almost 2,000 photos to process this week and here’s a small sample.

Looking for Photos from the Tournament?

CNY Thunder Classic Under-16 Games

CNY Thunder Classic Under-18 Games

A Boy of Summer who wanted to make sure I got a good photo of him.

Turning a Double Play.

A baseball tradition...Bubblegum!

A Pitcher hurls a fast ball at the plate.

From his knees, the second baseman throws the runner out at first base.

Swing and a miss. A batter strikes out.

Travel Photography Ideas

To help in the assignment on Travel Photography, here are a few ideas as you prepare for your trips or, having already traveled, your photo essays.  Keep in mind this is not an essay but I will provide extended captions.

Sports/Games – if there are people around, you will see them playing sports and games.  Sports is an integral part of every culture.

Horseshoes is a game played throughout rural areas in the United States.  Popular at family gatherings, the game depicts two players or teams of two players each pitching horseshoes with the goal of making a ringer on the stake (the red post in the photo above).  A “ringer” is a horseshoe which surrounds the stake.  Points are rewarded for ringers and for getting within a horseshoe’s length of the stake.  Thus the saying, “Close doesn’t count except in horseshoes” makes sense.  The game is fun and competitive and sometimes is accompanied with the drinking of beer for both participants and spectators.

Icons – these are places, things and even people who are synonymous with the area you are traveling in.  This one should be easy for those of you who where here for my first assignment on Local Landmarks.  Remember that one?

The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., is among the most architecturally impressive and symbolically important buildings in the world. It has housed the meeting chambers of the U. S. Senate and the House of Representatives for almost two centuries. Begun in 1793, the Capitol has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored; today, it stands as a monument not only to its builders but also to the American people and their government.

Food – you can tell a lot about a place and its people by the kind of food they eat, prepare or sell.  I put that last one in as this photo is from a resort in central Florida.  Can you guess which one?

Known for its themeparks, the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida has many hotels and restaurants to accommodate their guests.  Restaurants range from fast-service to formal attire.  Disney chefs have developed many unique foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner like Mickey Waffles served at buffets and sit down restaurants daily.  Certainly brings a smile to a kid of any age.

Economy – show how an area makes a living.  You can look for markets, stores, offices and other places of business to photograph the places and the people who work there.

The Sagmore Resort situated on Green Island in Lake George, New York, is a vital part of the local economy since it was built in 1883.  The resort employs up to 600 people during the peak summer season and brings in millions of dollars to the towns along Lake George.  A recently announced $20 million renovation bodes well for the resort’s future after a couple of tough economic years that saw The Sagmore shut down during the winter months for the first time in its history.

Bighorn Smile

Unlike my blogmate Terry in Montana who is able to photograph Bighorn Sheep in the wild, I visit the small herd at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.  Last week I witnessed for the first time something I had only seen on film.  The bighorn sheep ewes where running around their enclosure and got the two rams riled up.  I was photographing this when the two rams unexpectedly butted horns.  So unexpectedly, I missed the shot.  It is not something I would normally post but it will explain the photo below it.

Two Bighorn Rams collide horns at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

As you can see, focus is off, you see some of the fencing and a blur of an object between myself and the dueling rams.  I have never seen this before and it was a thrill to hear the sound as the horns of the rams made contact.  After this encounter, the larger ram raised his head and “smiled” while the other one walked off.  Dominance restored, all the sheep went back to browsing for food or laying down to rest.

A Bighorn Ram "smiles" after his confrontation with another ram at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

Cloudscapes

I have admired many a photograph featuring beautiful cloud formations and colors.   My attempts at trying to capture the beauty of clouds had been disappointing until last weekend.  While attending a concert on Paper Mill Island in Baldwinsville, New York, I noticed these clouds being lighted by the setting Sun.

Clouds in the distance being lighted by the setting Sun to the east of the village of Baldwinsville, New York, on Saturday, July 17, 2010.

Using my venerable Nikon 18-200VR lens, I switched to manual mode and exposed for the brightest of the clouds and zoomed in to focus on the area above the Seneca River bridge.

Clouds as seen from Paper Mill Island in Baldwinsville, New York, on Saturday, July 17, 2010. Nikon D70, 18-200VR, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 105mm focal length.

I zoomed in further to photograph this most interesting area of the beautifully lighted clouds.  For another beautiful cloudscape, visit Birgitte’s post called A view.

Cloudscape by Scott Thomas Photography. Nikon D70, 18-200VR, 1/125s, f/11, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 170mm focal length.

Bird Portraits

Normally, I do not post two days in a row unless I am on vacation.  However,  I am finding I have a backlog of photographs I want to share so I hope you do not mind a couple more animal portraits of the avian variety.

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/100s, f/2.8, ISO 200, EV +0.6, 200mm focal length.

Both of these photos were taken using the fabulous Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8 lens.

Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) taken during the Sunset Safari evening at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/250s, f/4, ISO 400, EV +0.6, 200mm focal length.

View 134: Eyes of a Lion

African Lioness (Panthera leo) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 900, EV 1.0, 155mm focal length.

If you have seen my flickr photostream in the left sidebar lately, you have noticed I visited the Rosamond Gifford Zoo last week for a Sunset Safari.  I had planned on bringing the Nikon 80-400VR f/4.5-5.6 lens. Late in the day, clouds rolled in and I decided to use the Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8 lens as I had a feeling I would need the extra stops the f/2.8 lens would give me.  Turns out I was right as I needed every bit of light I could gather.

One of my goals for the evening was to get animal portraits.  Using an f/2.8 lens wide open you have to make sure the eyes are in focus or the portrait will not work.  As you see above, the lioness’ eyes are in focus.  Her nose and right ear are not in focus but does not take away from her pretty eyes.

Another goal was to get a photo of one of the zoo’s Snow Leopards.  I have been trying for a few years now.  On most visits, the leopards would be lying next to the viewing glass fast asleep.  Being in the zoo close to sunset, I has hoping I might get lucky.  About 15 minutes before Sunset Safari was over, one of them got up and jumped up on one of the logs in the enclosure.  This gave me an angle through the cage’s wires instead of glass. Made for a cleaner shot and I took a bunch with this one being the best of the bunch.

Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) photographed at Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Sunset Safari in Syracuse, New York on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Nikon D70, 70-200VR, 1/125s, f/2.9, ISO 560, EV 0.6, 200mm focal length.

Look for more animal photos this week on the blog and flickr.

Assignment 8: Travel Photography

Those of you who followed or joined in on my last assignment got a heads up about this one. As this is a long assignment, I am now listing the latest photo assignment (or challenge) at the top of the right-hand sidebar for your reference under the title, Assignments (how original, eh?).

Unlike my other assignments, I am asking for, at least, a three (3) photograph essay relating to Travel Photography.  I know some of you cringed at the word, “essay”.  I wrote a post to explain about photo essays being no more than the addition of extended captions to your photos to pull them together into an article.

Here are some travel photography links to inspire you on your trips this summer:

Travel photography tips from National Geographic magazine

21 Essential Shots You Should Capture On Your Next Trip

Tips for Photographing New Places

10 Travel Photography Tips

Remember, travel photography does not mean you have to travel to far off distance lands.  My town is a travel destination as are many nearby places.  It is the style of a photo essay which can tell us the story of the place you wish to photograph and share.  Have fun and extra credit if you include people in your essay.

Built in 1901, the Tugboat Urger is now a teaching tug and spends it’s days throughout the year educating school children and adults about the importance of New York’s historic Barge Canal System.

As in the other assignments, do not send me your photos. What I would like you to do is post them on your blog, flickr or other photo sharing site, personal website or any other place on the Internet where you can place a link to it here by making a comment to this blog entry. Then we can visit those sites and enjoy everyone’s Travel Photo Essays.

Please, have your photos posted on or before Midnight (your time), Wednesday, September 8, 2010. Don’t have a place to post? Might be a good time to start up a blog or join a photo community like flickr.  As I have done for all the Assignments, I’ll put together a recap with my comments.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer them. By the way, I would really appreciate it if you would help spread the word about this assignment so we can get lots of people to participate. Blog it, tweet it, email it and talk about it to your fellow photographers, bloggers, friends, family and pets. Thank you!

View 133: Rite of Passage

High School Graduation is a rite of passage here in the United States.

It is high school graduation party season.  Since the end of June, I have seen many parties and yesterday was my turn to enjoy a family graduation party.  My cousin’s son whom I have never really gotten to know was celebrating his accomplishments of his life to this point.  The party featured what I call the Brag Wall.  This is the place the proud parents display their prodigy’s photos, awards, and accomplishments.  I always enjoy browsing and, in this case, photographing these displays.  To get to known a little bit about the person before their next step into adulthood.  Good luck, cousin!

The collage and graphics were done at Picnik.com.