Sled Milwaukee
I went sledding with Ella and some friends. The light was tricky — snow, setting sun, and black coats. It was getting dark. I went with ISO 500 and fired away.
Halloween
Here are some Halloween pictures. We had a fun weekend visiting my brother’s family up in Wisconsin Rapids. I decided it’s time for me to start sending prints of family events to my relatives. This photo collage is going to make a nice 8×10 print. It’s designed for refrigerator hanging.
Here is Uncle Joe sporting the evil clown mask for the second year in a row. Why mess with a good thing?
Here is a close-up view of Ella’s peacock costume. Maria made it and it turned out great. Last year Ella was afraid of Uncle Joe’s clown mask. This year she was unfazed. Nearing the end of our trick or treating Ella announced, “See, I told you I would be the bravest peacock ever!”
Notice my use of off camera flash in the bottom two photos. I am learning to light. For me, off camera lighting is the final photography frontier. Wish me luck.
Holy Hill Visit
The Catholic Church owns the best real estate in Southeastern Wisconsin. While driving around Milwaukee’s outer suburbs it’s hard not to notice The Basilica at Holy Hill looming over the landscape. Wisconsin is mostly flat — squished by the glaciers of the last several ice ages. When the glaciers retreated they left behind of few massive gravel piles that now make up major hills of southeastern Wisconsin. Holy Hill Basilica sits on top of the most prominent of the glacial formations. The church was built before the Milwaukee suburbs stretched far into the landscape and before the state decided to turn the glacial hills into a park. There is an observation deck inside of the highest steeple. Ella and I climbed to the top a few days ago. The leaves were slightly past peak, but the stormy fall sky made up for the lack of leaf color.
Left Photo: 38mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/250 sec.
Right Photo: 24 mm, ISO 100, f4.o, 1/250 sec.
Wilco Fans Support Scott Walker for WI Governor
Last Saturday our family walked down to check Center Street Daze. It’s a counter-culture festival held each September here in Milwaukee. My favorite part of the festivities were the art cart races. There aren’t many rules for the cart races. The carts have to be human powered. They race down the street, turn at a pylon, and then race back to the starting line. Since this is an election year some of the carts had a political theme.
Here is the High Speed Rail cart. My next door neighbor is one of the guys doing the pushing. Obama has proposed a high speed rail line that would connect the major metro areas in the midwest. Scott Walker, the republican running for Wisconsin governor opposes the project. Notice the sign at the back of the cart.
Here comes High Speed Rail down the home stretch. Notice the sign on this side of the cart, “Madison or Bust”. Rather than give me a feeling of solidarity with my fellow democrats the idea of Madison and Milwaukee linked by a high speed rail fills me with horror. How will I ever get tickets to see Wilco at the Pabst theater if all the Madison Hippies have access to a high speed train linking them to Milwaukee. Milwaukee area Wilco shows already sell out in like 10 minutes. Their Madison shows sell out in less than four minutes. My only hope is to see Scott Walker elected governor and the train project sidelined by Republican roadblocking.
Here is the Scott Walker cart. I think they called it “The Chicken Politician”. Hey Wilco fans, I think it’s time to take another look at this guy.
Happy Labor Day
We went to the labor day parade in downtown Milwaukee today.
Here is the next governor of Wisconsin, Tom Barrett
Camera Settings: 135mm, ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/2500 sec
Who says organized labor is dead in the United States? Check out the thousands of marchers on their way to see Obama talk this afternoon.
Camera Settings: 135mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec
3 a.m. Hustle
Some people define art as any creation that causes the viewer to see the world in a new or different way. By that definition I would have to declare that the United States Airline Industry has been the most influential work of art in my life. In this photo we are streaking through the night sky 6 miles above southern Wisconsin. On the horizon (from left to right) you can see the lights of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Chicago, and Gary. This is the last leg of our four day trip. We’re on our way from San Francisco to New York. It’s the red eye flight.
I grew up in Southern Wisconsin. Over half of my life has been lived down in that blur of lights and blackness. At mach .77 we leap over my home state in less than 25 minutes.
We’ll be landing in New York in two hours. I’m a commuter pilot. My journey doesn’t end in New York City. Once we have the airplane secured at the gate I race off to catch my flight home. Four hours later I’m in Milwaukee napping between my two fat dogs.
Camera Settings: 24mm, ISO 50, f/5.6, 30 second exposure
An Afternoon at The Wisconsin State Fair
We went to the Wisconsin State Fair this week. I brought my camera. By the end of the afternoon I had completely filled my 4GB compact flash card (275 photos total). I chose to post these four photos because they fit together in an odd sort of way. Of all the thousands of photos I’ve taken of Ella, this one of her driving the General Lee is one of my favorites. It would be nothing but an average kid photo if it wasn’t for that horrible confederate flag. The flag gives this photo a big twist and 100 different meanings to consider. Bonus points for anyone who can figure the connection between the rabbit image and the image of the lady with the Coke.
Last week I made a resolution that I would post all camera settings for every photo I post on this blog. I’m going to one up that resolution today and give you the thought process and the settings for each of these photos. This is part of my how it’s done series. Consider it working from the back of the series forward — as if you were reading a text book from the back towards the front. Someday, the beginner lessons will meet in the middle with the more advanced concepts covered here.
Photo #1 The Black and White Taxidermy Display
Settings: 35mm, f/5, 1/60 sec, ISO 1250, Aperture Priority Mode
This picture was taken indoors — inside a giant, poorly lit pavilion. Because of the poor light I had the ISO set high and the aperture fairly wide. Why exactly these settings? Well, it wasn’t a scientific choice. The settings were the combination between a guess and a compromise. I was using my 24-70 mm lens so I wanted a shutter speed of at least 1/60th to avoid camera shake from hand holding. I could have opened the aperture wider and used a lower ISO, but that would have limited depth of field. Or, to gain depth of field I could have raised ISO and increased aperture. These settings seemed like a decent compromise between depth of field and high ISO (higher ISO means more noise). These settings weren’t picked based on this specific photo. I set them when I first entered the pavilion and I didn’t know what I would be photographing. I was walking through a crowd with my family and had to chose settings that would work passably no matter what the subject. I knew I wouldn’t have the luxury of time to fiddle around changing camera settings.
Photo #2 Lady in Red Drinking a Coke
Settings: 24mm, f/4, 1/400th sec, ISO 500, Aperture Priority
This photo was literally shot from the hip. As we were walking out of the rabbit and chicken barn I spotted this lady sitting alone on some bleachers. I didn’t want her to spot me and ruin the spontaneity, and I knew I only had a couple seconds before this shot disappeared. I dialed the zoom on my lens out to 24mm and shot a continuous burst while holding the camera at my hip. The whole time I shot I was talking to my mom who was walking by my side. No one but me knew I was taking pictures. I’ve shot from the hip before so I did have some previous practice. This technique actually works surprisingly well, especially when shooting at wider angles. With a little practice you can frame a picture without even looking through the view finder.
As for the camera settings –I knew I already had working camera settings dialed in for the lighting conditions. When I took the photo my camera was still set up from shooting rabbits a few yards away. The light in this barn came from the translucent roof. The light settings from one spot worked the same in another because the roof created nice even lighting.
Photo #3 The Rabbit
Settings: 70mm, f/4, 1/400th, ISO 500, Aperture Priority
Not to much thought went into this picture. I simply wanted a usable rabbit picture to show my 2 year old daughter when we talk about our trip to the fair. I actually wish I would have gone with a higher aperture because there isn’t enough depth of field. The rabbits eyes aren’t in focus. I could have dialed in a higher aperture and still had enough shutter speed for hand holding. This picture still works for a blog post. However, I wouldn’t try to submit it to istock. I suppose small depth of field gives it a dreamy look. A lesser man would say he planned it that way 😉
Photo #4 Ella in the General Lee
Settings: 43mm, f/7.1, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400, Manual Mode
This photo was meticulously thought out. First I picked the best lit spot on the perimeter of the ride to set up. It was late afternoon so I ended up standing on the western edge. It was the only place on the ride where the cars poked out of the shade into the sun. After that I dialed my ISO up to 400. I picked 400 because I wanted the fastest possible shutter speed for the fast moving cars. I know my camera fairly well ,and I know that ISO 400 gives me almost no added digital noise while shooting at high shutter speeds in the sun. Next, before the ride even started I bracketed a few shots of an empty car in direct sun. I checked the histogram and programed the best settings into manual mode. The reason I picked f/7.1 was because I felt it gave me a decent depth of field without sacrificing shutter speed. I used manual mode because I planned to shoot in bursts as the cars passed. My camera uses the same exposure settings from the first shot in a burst on all the pictures in the burst. In this instance I was afraid my camera would expose for the car in the shade and then over expose as the car entered the sunny area. By switching to manual i could avoid that problem. Lastly, I switched to AI servo mode which enables the camera to continuously focus on a moving object. Everything was set up perfectly by the time the ride started and I was able to get a bunch of well focused and correctly exposed photos of Ella riding the General Lee.
Lift Off
Ella and Maria launch a kite along the West Bank of the Milwaukee River. Homemade kite day might be the first time Dad’s Aerospace Science Degree is seen as useful.
Summertime Rolls
Here is Ella exploring in the woods along the banks of the Milwaukee River. We live a few blocks away. Her and I take the wagon down there often. There are trails, abandoned stairways, and a couple abandoned bridges. On a warm summer afternoon it feels like the woods could easily reclaim the city if given a little time.
This is the type of photo you’re not supposed to take. The sun is behind the subject. Also, every beginner’s photography book says a sun dappled forest in afternoon presents too much contrast to make a good photo. Well, I think they got it all wrong.
Touring Lake Park With Ella
We’re back in Milwaukee. This is Ella climbing the stairs at Milwaukee’s Lake Park. Yesterday, her and I took a long bike ride and walk together. At the bottom of these steps Ella turned to me and said. “Dad, these steps are big! And, they have a balcony.” I asked her where she learned a big word like balcony and she replied, “Mom.” Later, when we were outside a crowded coffee shop a car honked it’s horn nearby. Ella then yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Come on! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I asked her where she learned to say something like that and she said, “Mom.”
Here’s a sprinkler we found after climbing those big steps. Ella demanded I take off her new shoes before she would step into the water.
Ella on the Water
“Grundpa you can carry the duck food,” Ella says to and Grandpa on their way to the dock.
After a five hour car ride and a week of hype from Mom and Dad, this is how Ella feeds the ducks. Grandpa gets photo credit for this picture!
Ella gives mom a hug while boating around the lake. Hang on tight! Dad is the driver and photographer at the same time!
Granny Lillis teaching Ella to Fish.
Here she is standing on the dock at sunset.
We took the same trip last summer. These are the pictures from last year so you can see how much Ella has grown.
Family Pics
Let me now entertain you with some family photos from our vacation…
Uncle Joe and Sam take a paddle around the lake.
Our dog Gatsby is concerned about Uncle Joe’s boating skills.
Eagle River biker gang menaces the back roads.
Uncle Joe, the world famous fish surgeon, delicately removes a swallowed hook from a trophy Bluegill. The fish is released with no lasting after effects.
Our dog Jack waits for his next chipmunk victim.
Maria finally realizes she isn’t in Philadelphia anymore.
This is how I win the father of the year trophy year after year. Look how flawlessly I perform this perfect save. I make it look easy, like I’m not even making an effort. That’s how you can tell I’m a pro.
The North Woods
We just returned from visiting my Dad and Step Mom up in the North Woods of Wisconsin. As always I took a pile of photos. This will be the first post of several from our mini-vacation.
For those of you that follow my blog you are probably familiar with my inner conflict regarding “hero photos” versus subtle mood setting photos. If you aren’t familiar with what I mean by “hero photos” check out these posts to see what I am talking about: here, here, and here. I love a hero photo when I have one to post, but I grow to hate them when I haven’t shot one in awhile. The beauty of subtle mood setting photos is you don’t have to wait around on magnificent light or an unusual meteorological event. You can go out and try to capture the mood no matter what the light. Getting this kind of photo is almost 100% up to the photographer and not dependent on special circumstances. That’s not saying that a mood setting photo is easy to get. In fact, a mood setting photo takes lots of thought and practice on the part of the photographer. Fortunately since these kinds of photos can be shot anywhere, anytime you have ample opportunity to practice.
Enough said… Here is my attempt to bring you the feel of north woods of Wisconsin with out aid of magical light or piles of spare time
Jack Loses His Stick
Gatsby swipes Jack’s stick. It’s payback time.
Happy Halloween
Maria takes our size small Cat in the Hat trick-or-treating in Wisconsin Rapids.
Uncle Joe is certain he has one of the best costumes in Wisconsin Rapids. It only cost $5 and took only five seconds to don.
The Second Largest Producer of Air Pollution in Wisconsin
Sunset on the Wisconsin River in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. The photo Doesn’t convey the paper mill sulferous rotten egg stink. The mill does provide a lot (almost all) the local jobs.
What You Doing Ducky?
We took a small road trip two days ago. Here is Ella in a Park in Burlington, WI. The duck was coming in for a closer look. Maybe Ella had some bread? Nope, she was throwing rocks. Upon seeing the duck Ella says, “What you doing Ducky?” Pretty good for 20 months old. I’m allowed to brag. It’s my blog.
Ella in the Woods
We spent six days at the cabin in the North Woods of Wisconsin. This was Ella’s first summer visit. I took lots of photos.
Our woodland fairy — it’s not Photoshop — it’s fill flash
Peeking from behind a large red pine
Radio Flyer through the forest
This is Ella’s “Give Me! Give Me!” face. Her grandpa was holding a handful of sticks above her head. Throwing sticks off the dock was her favorite activity.
Grandpa helps her pick a dandelion. Seconds later Ella squeals with glee as she hurls the flower into the lake.
Going Up North
Driving “up north” is a summer tradition for many Wisconsin families. The length of the drive depends on your definition of “up north”. Some people only go as far as Wautoma or Shawno (if your not from Wisconsin those are names of towns. Almost everything here is called by its Indian name). Other people feel the need to drive all the way to the upper peninsula of Michigan. Ever since I was a kid, my family has always vacationed in Eagle River which is about four hours away from the civilized/populated southern part of Wisconsin. This week we drove Ella and our two dogs to my Dad’s lake cabin for the first time.
Here are Maria and Ella at our first rest stop somewhere north of New London, Wisconsin.
We stopped for lunch in Birnamwood. Ella made herself part of this very lifelike diorama outside of Trucks Place Restaurant.
Ella likes life on the road. What could be more fun than eating a grilled cheese at a Truck’s Place? They have a picture of a semi on the front of their menu. “Beep Beep!”
Highway into the Boreal Forest. It’s a long way from America’s Dairyland to “Up North”.
We made it. The dogs jump in the Lake and take a drink, Ella walks out on a dock for the first time in her life, and Mom keeps a close eye on things.
My Home Turf
Earlier this week while flying the red eye between San Francisco and Boston we flew directly over central Wisconsin. This photo was taken from 37,000 feet and slightly north of Oshkosh. The view is looking south towards Fond du Lac (my hometown, where I flew my first solo flight). Thanks to an arctic high pressure system you can see all the way to Chicago. Somewhere down in the cluster of lights in Milwaukee is my current back porch light.
Put Your Root Down
This is a photo of our daughter, Ella exploring our new home in Milwaukee. We’ve moved three times this year — Charlotte to San Francisco, San Francisco to Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac to Milwaukee. We should be staying put for a long time now.
I am thinking of starting a photography business now that we’re settling in. If your looking for a photographer in the Milwaukee area or anywhere in Southeastern Wisconsin email me at gamutedge@gmail.com. Ella needs to eat.
Photos4u2c 