Colorado trip

Last summer, my sister and I took a trip to
Colorado. To see more, go to SpiveyPhoto

Spooky shot in cemetary

Here is one from a recent shoot. lit with an LED flashlight.

Motorcycle shoot

This is a shot we did in a garage recently

Arkansas scouting trip

Weekend before last, I took a scouting trip to Lost Valley to scout for our upcoming Field Trip. I took some pictures, hiked a little, and generally had a good time. I found a new place, Broadwater Hollow that has some beautiful places in it, and revisited an old friend, High Bank Twins, that isn't nearly as impressive without lots of water. All in all, a good time.

Do you know your aspect ratios?

I hear many photographers who are confused by the aspect ratio of their pictures. Aspect ratio is the relationship of the long side of the picture to the short side. It has nothing with size, just the shape of the picture outline.

There are two aspect ratios that matter:
The camera aspect ratio
The output aspect ratio

Compact cameras and 4/3rds DSLRs (Typically Olympus and Panasonic) usually take pictures in a 3 by 4 aspect ratio. This ratio is ideal if you are going to print at 8x10, 8.5x11, or 11x14. Only a little cropping of the long end is necessary. The problem is when you want to print 4x6 prints. You will need to crop a pretty good chunk off the top or bottom (or both).

Other DSLRs, as well as 35mm film cameras, use a 2 by 3 aspect ratio. This is perfect for printing 4X6 prints without having to crop. But if you want to print at 8x10 or 11x14, you are going to really have to whack the long end to make it fit.

For the web it’s usually no big deal. A common size is 800 pixels by 600 pixels. This is native for a compact camera but a 2x3 is 800 by 533.

The point is to know the aspect ratio of your camera and think about your possible output when you take a picture. If you have a Canon DSLR and take a picture that you want to print at 11x14, don’t frame the picture so tightly that you can’t crop the long end to make it fit. Or if you are shooting with a compact camera and normally print at 4x6, be sure you leave crop room at the top and bottom.

Muskogee Azalea Festival

Denise from my Photography Meetup Group and I went to the Azalea Festival yesterday. We met Bing and Tuan. The Azaleas weren't as good as some past years but we had a great time. We even found a mini waterfall.

We got there early and it was not too busy. We shot all morning, then went to eat Mexican and when we got back it was PACKED.

Digital Photography Meetup Group PhotoWalk

Our meetup group had a photowalk Saturday. I had a lot of fun even though it was cold and windy. The model was very cold and really didn't get into it until the very end when we did some ballet stuff (her passion).

Product Shots

Rachel's husband Tommie makes coils for tattoo guns in his spare time. He hand winds the coils, turns the end caps, and in this case, used Chinese money as decoration. Pretty cool.

I've been wanting to do some product shots, so I volunteered to take pictures of these coils. I used my new 100mm f2.8 macro lens, and my new off camera strobe on a separate light stand. The strobe did not work reliably. I definately have some work to do with them. I'm not too happy with the result but I guess it's not too bad for a first effort. More later.

New Photo Gallery Site

I have a new Photo Gallery site at www.spiveyphoto.com

It's pretty much a work in progress but I will be able to post larger pictures and I think it looks better than pBase. I still have my old pictues at www.pbase.com/lefturn99

Southwest Street Rod Nationals 2008 Oklahoma City

I went to the Southwest Street Rod Nationals in Oklahoma City Saturday. Saw some great cars. It was hard to get any great pictures because of the crowds, but I took a few.

Chasing Waterfalls

It rained 6 to 12 inches in NW Arkansas last Monday and Tuesday. Even a little too much for waterfall chasers. Many of the roads were flooded or washed out. I took Friday off and went waterfall hunting. I started with Dewey Canyon, Dale Bumpers falls, and Tassel Spring Falls.

Saturday I was still hurting from Friday, so I mainly drove. I went to the Mills of Ozark County (Mo). Saw some beautiful country and drove some excellent twisty roads. The mills were ok. Rockbridge Mill. is now a trout fishing resort. I had lunch there. Yummy. Hogsdon Mill is the prettiest.

Sunday I went to Falling Water Falls, Six Finger Falls, couldn't get across the river to get to Fuzzybutt falls, and the road was washed out and I couldn't get through to some others. Went By Triple Falls at Camp Orr on the way back.

New Camera Club

Last Saturday I went to a "meetup" of photography buffs at Lazar Automotive. Had a good time and it looks like it will become an actual club. Actually two clubs. One lady there had some big plans that were different than the others and she will go her own way.

Deborah Moffatt, the organizer, has a full studio in the shop and we looked at her setup. Very nice.

Michael Reichmann Style

On the way back I caught a glimpse of a shot as I drove by a large oil storage tank. The shadows of the stairs made an interesting pattern. I made a U-ey and went back and got it. I think it is pretty Reichmann-esque. Michael Reichmann is the owner of the Luminous Landscape web site and his style is very simple and sparse.

The Battle of Round Mountain

Last Sunday I went to a Civil War re-enactment at Yale Ok. It was pretty interesting and I got some great shots. I had the new 100-400mm L IS on the 30D and the 10-22mm on the 40D. My technique needs some work but it was great to have both cameras and not have to switch lenses.

http://www.pbase.com/lefturn99/civil_war