Need a Lift...?

Some one found a tree or lost a bicycle...shot analogue ( Ektachrome film) in Mesa, AZ.

A night out...

A night out..., a photo by Spero's Photos on Flickr.

A wedding party's table setting for their guests.

The lighting and colors reflecting in the glasses caught my camera's eye...

Portrait Tips

Some tips and hints I came across for any of you wanting to take your portrait work to the next level. These tips come courtesy of
http://feeds.feedburner.com/EpicEditsWeblog">http://feeds.feedburner.com/EpicEditsWeblog

Photos courtesy of Speros Photography

PHOTOSHOP

If you’re good with post-processing and manipulations, use it to your advantage. Get crazy with the adjustments, try some new Photoshop techniques, and maybe even a composite If texture is a big part of your subject, make it stand out and make it obvious. Match up the textures between your subject and your background. You might even try adding texture to the entire photo for additional impact.

OVEREXPOSE

Blowing out the highlights or making a high-key image makes a nice soft portrait with kind of a light airy feeling. Another advantage of high-key photos is that the smaller details and defects are blown away, making the image look much smoother.

UNDEREXPOSE

A dominantly dark or low-key image will naturally draw your eyes to the lighter parts. These tend to have a grittier and harder look to them than the high-key images.

 BACK-LIGHT

Hair lights up like crazy when it’s back-lit, so if hair is a big part of your subject make it stand out by placing your subject between you and a light source. You could also take this a little further and push the image to a silhouette.

POSING

 Get crazy with the pose and positioning — extra points if it looks uncomfortable. Not only with the poses, but also with your own positioning — shoot from different angles to achieve different impacts.

Hot times...

Things are starting to heat up in Arizona...

Foggy Day, Laguna Beach,CA

Foggy Day, Laguna Beach,CA, a photo by Spero's Photos on Flickr.

Shot on Kodak color film ISO 200 using a Pentax 35MM SLR

Zebra

Zebra, a photo by Spero's Photos on Flickr.

Talk about selective focus :-)... Shot on Tri-X ISO 400 B&W Film. Nikon FE 2 with 50MMFX 1.4 lens

Join Aday.org

On May 15th, 2012  aday.org asks photographers and people around the world to pick up their collective cameras and capture, in a picture, what is close to them that day.

There have been photo events like this before but this one is asking for EVERYONE on the planet to contribute.

They state that some of the images will be selected for a book, others for digital exhibitions.However, they promise that every single image will be saved for future research and inspiration.

I'm not certain how inspiring a photo of Aunt May cooking corn dogs would be but I suppose its the effort that's important.

Further, to help us along they have a list of categories and sub categories for us to choose from for inspiration. As an example: From my office the shot below would fit the home category and the sub-category  my wall.

For more information & on how to sign up click on the link at the top of the page.

Art or Error?

Loose Film and light leaks leads to an interesting photo...? 

I was using my old Argus 75 twins lens 620 film camera using a rewound roll of 120 film onto a 620 spool.

Clarification: 120 and 620 film are the same size. The only difference being the hole in the ends of the spool are slightly different sizes. Thus, these days, if you want to use an old 620 film camera, one has to purchase a rewound roll of 120 film. I got this one through one of B&H Photography's website. Obviously you takes your chances with this type of photography. However, it is a colorful shot.

EveryMan (Or Woman) Contest

This years Everyman Photo competition is now accepting entries. Click on the links for more information for contest rules.        
 http://theeveryman.com/121.php


The Everyman believes that anyone who has ever taken pictures in their life, has taken good pictures. One of the primary differences between professionals and non-professionals is how reliably they can get the good shot. because, photography, like any art, is meant to capture a moment, convey a feeling, tell a story, it is erroneous to believe that in order for a photo to be effective or artistic it must have formal composition, ideal lighting or, and most importantly, be taken by a professional.


My entry won an Honorable Mention  in the competition in 2009 (see above).
Click on the link below to see all of the winners and Honorable Mentions from 2009.
 http://www.theeveryman.com/95a.php?cat=2 

The posted photo was taken in Hollywood, California using Tri-X film ISO 400 pushed to 800 to add more contrast during the processing. I used my dependable 35MM Pentax Spotmatic coupled with it's 1.2  50mm FX lens .

Middleburg, VA. Flowers R Us

Middleburg, VA. Flowers r us, a photo by Spero's Photos on Flickr.

Visiting in Virginia...