Photography 101

I wonder if winter is finally over this time. The sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. If I didn’t have a lot of homework to do tonight in my statistics class, I would be outside taking pictures or seeking new locations to take pictures. I will have opportunities later this week, as the forecast is calling for mid-70s within the next few days. I love snow, I don’t mind winter, but I admit that spring fever is now in full swing… and gardening comes next! Cool!

Too bad it was rainy and cold when we were in the Cities a couple of days ago. It was a long drive and stopping at the Minnesota Zoo made it more enjoyable for the family. The weather was lousy so we checked out the Tropics building and the main building. We have seen those areas three times this year, but it gave me the opportunity to take pictures and experiment with the teleconverter and the long lens. I have another dental appointment in a few weeks, and if the weather cooperates, I will finally be able to take advantage of the brighter light conditions outdoors for the long exposures in the larger enclosures. The elevated track of the monorail may be conducive to some great photos I haven’t had the chance to capture the last few times we visited the zoo. Listen to me, talking about photos as if “they” were living things. “Watch the photograph hunter as he approaches the unsuspecting snapshot. With luck, he may finally capture a live one in its native habitat. The wild snapshot has a keen awareness of its surroundings, but fortunately for us, has not yet detected the photograph hunter”, etc., etc.

With more experimentation, I am sure that I can get the right exposure in the more complicated lighting situations, but I will keep practicing. One of my favorite subjects in the Tropics is the white-cheeked gibbon exhibit, along with the sun bear and the cougars. The lighting is great for the cougars, but at the gibbon and sun bear exhibits, the light is comparatively weak for a long-glass situation. Using the teleconverter, I lose one stop of light-gathering ability. Even with a monopod, it isn’t easy to get really sharp photos at 465 millimeters, because to compensate for the low light, I need to lengthen the exposure time to 1/30 second or longer. In the future, I will try to shoot RAW format in that building (without on-camera processing). Then I can use Photoshop to tweak the various attributes of the raw picture with much greater latitude, a lossless file format, and photo stacks so I do not compromise the original file. Then I can always revert to the original, unedited RAW file if I don't like the results of my own manual adjustments.

The other thing that occurred to me is that I should have adjusted the exposure bias to compensate for the low light. The distance is too great for a flash, and so I can manage some acceptable (but not tack sharp) photos, but the problem for me is that the result of the low light situation is that I end up needing to use an ISO around 1800-3600, which isn’t suitable for enlargements, in my opinion, due to the noise that is introduced in the photos. Had I adjusted the exposure bias and used a tripod, I am confident that I could have gotten tack sharp photos. That is the great thing about digital photography. If at first you don't succeed, go back and take a dozen more photos with bracketed exposure settings and you are sure to get it right!

Don’t let my comments sound like I am negative on this camera. The D300 takes beautiful photos, even at ISO 3200, but pictures shot at high ISO settings are best viewed at a reduced size or possibly the size that fits on a computer monitor, but not at the native resolution. Of course, this is just my opinion, and maybe I am starting to become a photo snob, wanting my pictures to be better all the time. Remember, kids, this is merely my own opinion, and my personal experience. I am still experimenting and have much room to improve, but I love every minute of it. The problems I face with the camera so far have been due to the learning curve of the settings on the camera much, much more than any shortcomings in the camera itself. Nikon, if you are listening (not that anyone at Nikon is paying attention to this), this camera is superb. The D300 is an incredible piece of photographic hardware and I think this camera rocks. I have always loved taking pictures, but the D300 has awakened a new enthusiasm in me that is incomparable.

Photography is really exciting again. I love that.

Statistics

Just a quick comment before I finally get to my homework. The university pulled a fast one, because the instructor bowed out after three days. Then a new instructor was assigned and made his appearance known for all practical purposes on the fourth day of class. He still expects a full week of participation, even though we were instructed to DO NOTHING until the new instructor was in place and gave us new guidelines for the class. As a result, it seems impossible to even get the full attendance this week, but that is life. I think that wasn't particularly fair or reasonable, since the university decided to continue this week, rather than restarting the next week on the proper starting day (Tuesday). In any case, it is what it is, and I have homework to do so that I dont get behind on my work.

Now, if only my techs will respect the boundaries of normal working hours, so that I can focus on my homework assignments, everything will be copacetic. Otherwise, I will have to set them straight and ask the guys to respect my commitments outside of work. I do not expect them to work 24 hours a day, and I dont understand why they would think that they can call on me anytime, day or night. Operations and the dispatch office in Vegas CAN call me 24-7, but the techs need to understand that there are reasonable hours, and there are things that CAN wait until the next business day.

Time to get to work. Over and out.

R.I.P. Buster

I found my friend, usually very noisy, on the bottom of his cage in a position that wasn't upright. It surprised me and saddened me. I loved my little bird. It saddens me not to hear his voice or see him flit around anymore. In fact, the empty cage is a constant reminder that he is no longer with me. I struggle with trying to figure out whether we should get Kiwi a new companion or I should dismantle the cage. I don't want Kiwi to be lonely, but I sit and wonder how much interaction he gets with Gabriel and I talking to him and the cats bugging him...if it is enough. Above all, I just miss Buster.

The rest of the week

It looks like the university pulled the plug on the statistics class for this week. The instructor had some unforeseen scheduling conflict and could not instruct, so until there is another “facilitator” in place, the class is on hold. I assume that means the class will restart next Tuesday, but I am not sure. It is not as if the school can expect a full week’s participation in four days, if there is a new instructor today, so for whatever it is worth, it looks like a brief amnesty from the anguish of statistical analysis. That is good, in a serendipitous way, as my schedule is far busier than the calendar would indicate. I just found out a day or so ago that I have an install at Prairie’s Edge today, so as soon as I post this message, it is time for me to hit the road for the casino, three hours south of here. I have to complete the install today, as I have other obligations tomorrow. It sounds like it might rain, so that would slow the drive. Yuck. But it is spring, so I am not going to look the gift horse in the mouth, as the rain is still in short supply.

Tomorrow, I am getting a new crown installed in place of the previous, as that one failed after a short time. Fortunately, it is warranty work, so it isn’t going to cost me a dime. That is rare these days! After the dental visit, we will likely stop at the zoo again. I figure that every time we visit, it reduces the cost of our membership, since we only pay once a year and economize through frequent visits, dividing the cost among the visits. The more visits, the cheaper the membership. We have gone to the zoo two times this spring, but each time, the weather was lousy, so we only checked out the tropical exhibits. Maybe one of these visits, we can actually visit the open-air exhibits. One of my friends is coming with us on this zoo visit. Heather will get a chance for an introduction and we will get to show off our beautiful children! Now, if only the weather would cooperate, we can see the rest of the place.

Time to fly. Peace.