Photography: Up Close

Beautiful vistas are just that, beautiful.  It's what we're looking for when we're on vacation.  The sun glistening over the bay.  A quiet lake with the snow capped Rockies in the background.  Waiting till vacation to take a great picture?  Why? There are plenty of opportunities around us everyday!

Nikon D300 w/ 50mm f1.8

When you look at a garden, what do you see?  If you take the time to really look at your surroundings you will find a world full of opportunities.  Get close and, as much as possible, focus on your subject.

Pet Portraits are fun 
Nikon D3400 w/ 70-300mm

Of course, a close focusing lens is essential.  The 50mm Nikkor lens used for the flower, reviewed here, is inexpensive and sharp.  Paired with the D300 from 2007, reviewed here, it's very capable of producing wonderful pictures.

One last note, try getting on the same level as your subject.  I've always considered it a mistake to make every exposure from a standing position.  Here's another example of shooting from a different perspective.

Avatar cosplay from DragonCon 

While this creative young cosplayer posed for a dude shooting from the standing position I slipped down a stairwell for my shot.  He shot on and on because digital is free but he never varied his perspective, despite seeing me taking a shot from the stairs.  And the young lady never asked for my card.

Get close and choose a perspective.

My mother inspired my interest in photography and at 62 I'm still shooting.  My interest in film photography remains strong.  If you have film equipment collecting dust consider donating it to someone that would put it to use, like me.

I'm particularly interested in large and medium format cameras.

kirbyatlanta@gmail.com

Climate Catastrophe in Photographs

When every weather related disaster is portrayed as the result of man made climate change it is a testament to our ignorance of history.  There is nothing new about these calamities.

Rochester N.Y. March 1913

Yes, horses were still being used in the early twentieth century.  I suppose their flatulence might be to blame for this disaster.  Greta Thunberg could not be reached for her expert opinion.

While automobiles were yet to be commonplace cameras certainly were and Rochester was the home of Kodak.  The photograph above is from a collection at Monovisions.

In March of 1913 a weather system moved up out of the Gulf of Mexico dumping torrential rainfall as it moved through the Midwest to the northeast.  Photography was now in the hands, literally, of more people.  Large unwieldy cameras were giving way to smaller hand held units.  Here, one photography blogger determines which cameras might have been used to capture the devastation.

Dayton Ohio March 1913

The Great Flood of 1913 was the biggest disaster in Ohio history.  Dayton was particularly hard hit when levees along the Miami River succumbed to the deluge.  Rather than blame something as speculative as climate change the people invested in modern flood control.  

Suing power companies and blaming man made climate change will not prevent forest fires in California.  Greta Thunberg is the face of a political agenda that prevents us, the people, from taking practical action like land management.

One hundred years later we are no wiser.  When viewing the present without the context of the past we can be easily deceived.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back at the hardships of the past and the practical remedies.  I have been going through some hardship of my own due to a chronic health condition.  You can help by donating through my PayPal here.

I could really use a haircut! Thanks