What I learned from my Pentax K1000: ISO

This is the first real camera
I ever used. It's a classic.

          In the seventh grade, Mr. Sleadd, was quickly becoming my favorite teacher of all time. He introduced me to the worlds of Macintosh and photography. That Christmas I got my first "nice" camera: a Pentax K1000. It was fully manual.

          I liked outdoor photography so I took to the woods as soon as possible. I took pictures of deer, birds, squirrels, hawks and an amazing sunset. In no time I'd exhausted my only roll of film. Eager to get it developed, I sent it off. It came back blank. Nothing. Something went wrong in developing. I was distraught. 

          I went straight to Mr. Sleadd. He simply asked, "Did you load the film correctly?"

          I replied, "Sure. I put it in just like my automatic camera, right?" He smiled and asked if I'd read the instruction manual. I hung my head and said no. He opened my camera and showed me how to load and wind the film correctly. Hence, fully manual. A hard lesson learned, but one learned indeed. 

          That Pentax K1000 taught me a lot about how cameras work. I learned the logic behind the magic. I learned what terms like ISO, aperture, and shutter speed meant. These things often get lost when shooting digital but they'll help you take better photos. 

          ISO stands for International Standardization Organization. Think of it as the old "film speed." For instance, 200, 400, 800, 1600 speed film. These numbers tell you how much light your image requires. With ISO 200, it takes more light than it would with ISO 1600. The photo will be clearer with ISO 200 than ISO 1600, but you cannot take photos of fast-moving objects or objects in low light as well with the ISO 200. 

          Think of creating a mural on a table with plates. Picture a dinner plate being the size of the light receptors for ISO 1600. For ISO 200, picture a tea saucer. If you were to create the mural with all dinner plates, it would take less of them to cover the table than tea saucers. The same goes for photos. With ISO 1600, it takes less light to fill the image. Less light but less detail. To create the picture with tea saucers, it would require more of them. With ISO 200, you need more light to fill the image. More light but more detail.

          Although digital helps, ISO still matters greatly. I would recommend using ISO 400 or less when taking photos where you'd like great detail: bird feathers, flowers, extreme close-ups, etc. Use a tripod if you're going to use ISO 100 or lower. If you are shooting fast-moving subjects: sports, race cars, or running/flying wildlife, use ISO 400 and up. The same goes with subjects in low light settings: dusk or dawn. 

          Tomorrow I'll continue my series on "What I Learned From My Pentax K1000" with a look into aperture. 

Writers Need Friends Too

"Writing is utter solitude, the descent
into the cold abyss of oneself."
Franz Kafka 

          If you are going to write, then you are going to spend hours alone with your thoughts and your laptop. There will be times when you literally have to force yourself to go outside and be social. It helps that I have a wife but I try to write when she's not here. I don't want to be staring at a keyboard when she's home. When she's not here, Roscoe is an adequate companion. Although, he sleeps most of the time.
          Writing is something that no one else can do for you. No even ghost-writers. You have to pour your heart and soul into your words and this takes solitude. This is why you need a writing buddy. On the days when you've just written a fantastic line, scene, or chapter, that's when you need this writing buddy. On days when you're frustrated and can't write a single word, that's when you need this writing buddy. This person needs to be the one you call up and say, "I've got this great idea for a novel." To which they'll reply, "Great! Let me hear it."
          Some of the best writers in history had writing buddies. Take C.S. Lewis for example. Isn't it fascinating that he and J.R.R. Tolkien were friends? Every writer needs another writer in whom they can confide. Here are some questions you should ask when you're trying to find a writing buddy.

1. Are they a writer? (you need to have this in common.)
2. Can you trust them? (you don't need to worry about them stealing your ideas.)
3. Are they accessible? (will they answer the phone? or reply to e-mails?)
4. Will they be honest with you? (you want someone who will honestly tell you if your work is a piece of garbage.)
5. Will it be a symbiotic relationship or will one of you be a parasite? (it takes both of you giving and taking.)
6. Are they encouraging or belittling? (you want someone who knows how to encourage and you need to be an encourager as well.) 
7. Do you enjoy this person's company? (if you're going to be talking for hours, you need to at least like them.)
8. What level of a writer are they? (if they are more experienced than you, you will learn from them. If they are less experienced, you can teach them.)
9. Are they a good listener? (do they engage in the conversation or are they disconnected if they're not talking about their own writing? You can see where this would be a problem.)
10. Are they respectful? (you need someone that will respect your privacy, family time, and intellectual property.)

These are just ten simple questions to ask yourself when searching for a writing buddy. I have a good one. His name is Stephen King...na, just kidding. It's James Patterson. Not really. Seriously, his name is Jason Wallis. He and I have been bouncing ideas off each other for about five years now. You can follow him here. Happy Writing!

Scars and Stories

          It happened last Tuesday. Yes, Valentine's Day. I thought it would be a good idea to cook Sarah a meal so I went for it. Shepherd's Pie was what the recipe said it should yield. And it did...ish. Meat and potatoes--nothing says "I Love You, Sweetheart" like cooking the ultimate man meal for your lady. Long story short; I burnt my hand taking the dish out of the oven and it left a pretty nice scar on my right hand. Luckily I didn't drop the dish or it would've been Roscoe's Valentine's Day present. (Roscoe is our Lab)

          Looking at this scar I'm reminded that it was caused by an act of love towards Sarah...and that touching a hot oven rack with your bare hand is not smart. The same goes for all my other scars. I've had over sixty stitches in my head alone. That's right...my big ole' noggin. Each one is a reminder of the specific event that caused the scar. One serves as a reminder that I shouldn't hold dumbbells over my head without the weights being clamped on (5). I shouldn't try to take a softball away from a strange dog's mouth (42). I should hold on tighter to the teeter-todder when the big kids are swinging me (4). It's not smart to dive into the shallow end of a swimming pool to impress the ladies (7). Wearing your chin strap is a good thing when you play middle linebacker (5,3). And that's just my head! That's not including the countless number of butterflies, stitches and broken bones I've had on other parts of my body reminding me of the events that caused them. 

          I can recall each event in detail. The one about the pool is a strange story. It may or may not include a part-time Santa Claus/taxi driver taking me to the ER at midnight who'd died and had an out-of-body experience. Oh yeah, and they had to drain the hotel pool. Each scar has a story to tell. Vivid memories that I wouldn't want to relive but will never forget.

          Jesus has scars too. The Bible tell us in Isaiah 53:5-6, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." I can guarantee you that He will never forget the events surrounding those scars. In the same way that when I see the scar on my hand and am reminded of an act of love towards Sarah on Valentine's Day, Jesus looks at the scars on his hands, feet, and head and is reminded of the ultimate act of love he showed you and me on the cross. God loves you and has the scars to prove it. 

Explore Your Subject

          Sorry that I missed posting yesterday. We had a Men's Retreat at our church and I was busy most of the day. So, here is a quick tip on exploring your subject. I took these photos last November in Ft. Payne, Ala. I thought the windmill was cool and the Fall colors added a nice touch. However, I didn't quite know how to capture all that was surrounding the focal point. 

          Looking back at these photos I thought about how important it is to get the shot from different angles and different amounts of lighting. Sometimes you'll be disappointed but sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised. Make sure you get creative and take a lot of photos. It doesn't cost you anything since you're probably using digital. These shots were taken with my iPhone4. 

 Placing the setting sun behind the leaves added a little bit of lens-flare that I thought added to the pic.

I was down pretty low on this one and was able to get the blue sky and colorful leaves but still leave the windmill in the foreground. 

On this one, I forsook getting the whole windmill and focused on the rusted blades instead. It turned out better than I expected with the trees and blue sky showing up in the background. 

This one was much like the first one but with less sky. Too much white sky is just boring. I think this one works better than the first one. 

And sometimes you just get distracted by something colorful and one of your best shots doesn't even include the original subject at all. Keep looking around. Your best shot might be hiding in plain sight. 

Welcome to the Party, Mr. Inspiration

These are my moleskines. They are
filled with clips of novels, ideas,
short stories, and grocery lists.

If you're going to be a writer, you have to abandon the idea of a 9-5 job. Some days you will be awake at the breaking of dawn just to see how to describe sunlight dancing on top of the ocean. There may be days when you're awake until two or three o'clock in the morning fighting to reach a deadline. And still there are days when your brain is a complete mess and you give up after writing a sentence or two, only to have inspiration hit you the moment you fall asleep. These are the moments I'm discussing today.
          One time before my wife and I got married, we were watching a movie together on the couch--probably some chick flick. In a sweet moment of the movie she turned to me and asked that dreadful question, "What are you thinking about right now?" It was then that I realized that I was caught. Done for. Flashbacks from a Rocky movie came to mind, "It's over, Rock!" I couldn't tell her because I wasn't thinking about her. Then I wondered if the Sunday school answer would apply here by saying "Umm...Jesus?" There was no way this was going to end well because my mind couldn't be further from the movie or anything else that was logical.
          So I asked her to clarify. "Huh?" ("Huh?" = "Please clarify.") She asked again. I said, "Do you really want to know?" She insisted, so I told her. "Well, I was actually inventing a glow-in-the-dark Ping-Pong game in my mind." I tried explaining how cool it'd be but she wasn't interested. Needless to say, that was the last time she asked me that question.
          There are times when I'm sitting in church and inspiration hits and it's not about the sermon. (Sorry Pastor T.) It looks like I'm taking notes but in reality I could be writing a car chase scene involving Mexican drug lords. You know...churchy stuff. I find that my church sanctuary is a great place for inspiration and I've actually gone there mid-week just to gather my thoughts.
          There have been nights when inspiration hits after I've already gone to bed. Many nights I have woken up, grabbed my pen and moleskine, written the scene in my head, and have gone back to sleep. I always keep a moleskine notebook on me just in case I get inspired whether it's in the church or the check-out line. It's easier to write in my moleskine than to type on my iPhone. Plus, I like the "Old School-ness" of the moleskine.
          You never know when inspiration will hit you; but, you can prepare for when it does. If you hear a conversation, see a scene, or have a brilliant idea; write it down quickly so it doesn't slip away into literary oblivion. Keep a pen and notebook with you at all times. Write down everything that is interesting; you never know when it will become part of your next masterpiece.

And I Will Always Love You

Happy Valentine's Day! And, no. This is not a post about the history of Valentine's Day nor is it about the difference between love and lust. It is simply a post about Jesus...and singing...and dynamite...and Whitney Houston.
          Have you ever wondered if Jesus sang? Personally, I think he did. With as many Bible verses there are about singing praises and making a joyful sound, it's not a stretch to think that he sang. After thinking about Whitney Houston's death, I thought about what a great song title (not necessarily the lyrics) for Jesus to be remembered by, "I Will Always Love You." That's what Jesus wants you to remember about Him, that he will always love you. No matter what you do, no matter where you go, no matter how far you run; He will always love you.
          When I found out via Twitter that Whitney Houston had died my first thought was of the movie, "Bodyguard" where she absolutely nailed Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You." In a matter of minutes Twitter was blowing up with the lyrics to that song. The trend continued to Sunday night at the Grammys where they gave a tribute to the late singer with Jennifer Hudson singing "I Will Always Love You."
Isn't it great that even though Whitney struggled with so many things in this life, she will be remembered by that song of love?
          Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, knows what it's like to be remembered after you're dead. In 1888, Alfred's brother died in France. Shortly after this the newspaper wrongly printed Alfred's obituary instead of his brother's. The paper criticized Alfred for inventing such a destructive weapon of war that claimed the lives of so many people. As he read his own obituary he realized that his life would always be remembered in a negative light. In 1895 he signed his last will and testament and in it he designated a large portion of his estate to establish a prize that would be given to those who exemplify great peace-making efforts, thus creating the Nobel Peace Prize. Alfred died in 1896 and left a legacy of peace. How lucky we all would be if we, like Alfred, could know how we'd be remembered after we're gone. Would we change the way we're living? Would we do things differently? Will our life be remembered for a life of love?

"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

--1 John 4:15-16

Walking in Memphis: A photo tour

          It was a Saturday morning in early November. The weatherman had forecasted a foggy commute the night before. I knew that was the recipe for some great photo opportunities of Memphis. I got up early, grabbed my gear, and headed downtown. I parked at the corner of Union Avenue and Main, or thereabouts. The sun was coming up and the fog was fleeing. I knew I had to work fast. So, I started walking. Here is what I saw.

 I love shooting when there are long shadows. That falls usually around sunrise or sunset. It is a time that few people slow down to observe, but when you do, it's breathtaking how differently the world looks. Or eerie, depending on your mood I guess. 

The rain the night before left some great reflection shots. Make sure you don't overlook these. They can turn out pretty sweet...not to mention that they are great for jumping in.

Vanishing points are neat to experiment with on trolley/train tracks...just watch out for trains.

A Beale St. sidewalk getting pressure washed was a nice surprise. The spray reflecting the low sunlight was a unique shot. I would've missed this had I not gotten up early.

Although the sun was getting higher, it made a cool contrast with the lit signs from the night before.

Some signs are good enough to merit their own photo...this is one of them. I like getting close to signs like this and shooting straight up. It makes for a different perspective. 

I walked to the Lorraine Hotel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. As I was looking around, I saw these really colorful doors right behind me. Although I got several photos of the hotel, this gem was hiding in plain sight. Be sure you look around for the not so obvious photos just waiting to be taken.

I continued walking to South Main and stopped at one of my favorite diners, Arcade. It is the oldest diner in Memphis and they serve a great breakfast. It's a must see if you're downtown and like cool retro diners with a lot of history. ...and did I mention they have good breakfast?

On my way back towards Union I passed this building. By this time the fog had lifted and the sun was getting higher. I thought these shadows were photo-worthy. 

As you can see, I like to take photos of the sides of buildings in the morning. Not sure why, but I like them.

You can't see it but the trolley driver was waiving frantically for me to move off the tracks. She gave me the evil-eye and a trolley toot when she passed. Good thing they go so slow or I would've been toast....speaking of toast, did I mention that the Arcade has great breakfast?

I'd highly recommend taking a walking tour of your own city some time. Be sure to take your time and take a lot of photos. You'll be glad you did. Remember these tips along the way. Happy shooting!

Is Your Story Simply a Scene?

Should you make
your story smaller?

Not long ago in a land not so far away...okay, it was just last week in Memphis. Anyway, I was writing on my novel, like I try to do every day, when I thought, "this stinks." It wasn't that my whole novel stunk but that one of the storylines and characters stunk. I started with the idea that I could tie in his story to the overall storyline. It was going to have an unexpected twist and then a feel-good ending. Good story stuff, but I dreaded writing every word of his life. His part didn't even move the main story forward and he wasn't directly connected to the major conflict. I thought about killing him off but after a short deliberation I removed his chapters and put them in a folder for future use. It'll probably end up as a short story one day. Who knows?
          Where am I going with this? Well, it takes a strong story to support 100,000 words. Although it could be done, I doubt anyone would want to read a novel about making a sandwich. It's just weak...but I guess it depends on what kind of sandwich it is. Brains, alien flesh, and mad-cow ham would be cool...I guess.
          People often want to write about their personal stories; but really, unless you are already famous, nobody cares. For instance, let's say you graduated high school at age fourteen. I'm sure your story is great but do people want to read a fourteen-year-old's memoir? I'm sorry but unless you have 5,000 family members, nobody cares. Your story is probably fascinating but it may need re-scaling. Sometimes when you think you have a story to tell, all you really have is a scene.
          Instead of writing an entire book on your story, what if your story is just part of your protagonist's character development? Or, what if your story was told through another character that attended her genius niece's graduation and on the way got into a car wreck sending her into a coma only to wake up ten years later with her niece as her doctor? Cool, huh? What I'm trying to say is to think bigger. Sometimes the "big" events in our life have to shrink when we think novel-big.
          I often write scenes from my life as if they were fiction. They are usually played out through multiple characters though. It may be a conversation I overheard, a unique setting I saw, or even a personal event that I recount. These are fun because I'm able to write the story exactly how it happened. What better way to make a scene seem real to a reader than if it actually was real? You experienced the smells, the sights, and the feelings first hand and can place the reader into that scene with ease. Isn't that the goal: to get the reader to experience our stories whether fact, fiction...or both?

Decisions, decisions, decisions

At a crossroad? 

Today, everyone will be talking about two or three plays from last night's game: Brady's last hail Mary, Bradshaw's touchdown fall, and Manningham's sideline catch. Are these plays considered "game changers"? Sure. Are these plays worthy of the conversation between Monday morning quarterbacks? Sure. These were big plays but there were well over 100 plays between the two teams. Let us not forget the two-yard runs by Brandon Jacobs, or the 23-yard average kick returns by Jerrel Jernigan, or the field-goals by Lawrence Tynes. These seemingly meaningless plays set up the "big" plays that led to a Giants' victory.
          You've probably made four or five big decisions in your lifetime: your college, career path, who to marry, where to live. Those were big plays. However, there were a lot of meaningless plays leading up to those decisions. For instance, if you chose to go to X University, you didn't just pull that name from mid air. You might've known someone that went there and loved it. They might've had the major you were looking for. It might be the distance from home that took you there. All of these factors led to that decision of where you went to school.
          Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not onto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."
          When you seek the Lord and trust him with the meaningless plays, you don't have to worry about the big plays. God is directing your path. He will steer you to where he wants you to go. Are you still going to have to make the decision? Yes. If God opens up a door for you are you going to have to walk through on your own? Yes. God will direct your path but He will not take the steps for you; you've got to do the walking. Just ask Moses, Noah, and Abraham.
          You might be scared to face those big decisions but that's why God lets us practice with the "meaningless" ones. Think about this: was that catch last night the first catch Manningham had ever made in his life? Of course not. He's probably caught a million passes before. He was prepared for the biggest play of his life by making millions of meaningless plays before then.
          God is not going to lead you to a decision without preparing you to make the right one. When you're faced with the next big play of your life, remember all of the "meaningless" plays you've made previously and know that if you seek God and trust Him, then the decision you make will be the right one. Don't second guess yourself by saying, "What if I would've made this decision..." The "what ifs" in life don't exist so don't dwell on them. God is directing your path, walk down that road humbly with Him.

Seeing stars: Night Photography, a How To

Today's topic is one of my absolute favorites. I'm discussing night photography with an extended shutter speed. This post is going to show you how to make awesome photos of the stars that makes them look like they're streaking across the sky. First, here's what you'll need:

1. A digital camera with a bulb setting (the B on the top of most SLR cameras)
2. A fairly wide angle lens. Usually the standard lens that came with your SLR will work.
3. A tripod (Any tripod will do. It doesn't have to be a fancy one.)
4. A clear night away from city lights.
5. A back-up battery for your camera.
6. A flashlight.
7. A digital shutter release cable with a locking option (they are very inexpensive)
8. A lot of patience.
9. Oh yeah...and maybe a compass. (I'll explain later)

When you see that there is going to be a clear night, grab your camera gear and go to a large field or somewhere by a lake. There's usually enough open skies there to get some really great shots. You'll want to be conscious of your surroundings because wherever you point your camera is what you're going to get in your photo. Below are a few examples of some decent shots. 

Here are the 10 easy steps:

1. Secure your camera to your tripod and make sure your tripod is on a sturdy surface.
2. Set your camera to the B (bulb setting)
3. You'll need to adjust your aperture to a number between F2.8-F22. (Here's a quick lesson: The aperture setting is telling the camera how much light you're going to let in. The larger the number, i.e. F22, the less light is going to get in. However, the larger the number the more focused the image will be. So, I'd put my setting somewhere right in the middle. You want light to come in but you also want to have a little wiggle room on the focusing.)
4. Point your camera to the horizon or to where you see the most stars in the sky. Focus it to infinity...and beyond! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) 
5. Here's where the magic happens. Plug in your shutter release cable and step away from the camera making sure not to touch the camera. Press the shutter release button on your cable and lock it into position.
6. Now, you wait. I'd recommend waiting 15 minutes for the first shot just to see how well you aimed the camera. (It's important to remember that the camera will be exposing the image during the entire 15 minutes or however long you keep the shutter open. It's imperative that you don't touch the camera during this time.)
7. On my camera, it takes just as long to process the image as it did to expose it. For example, 15 minute exposure + 15 minutes for processing = 30 minutes for one shot. (Like I said...patience.)
8. Next, look at your photo and make adjustments to where you're aiming the camera.
9. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6. This time keep the shutter open for 30 minutes or longer for more star streaks. (The stars will look like they're streaking because the earth is rotating.)
10. Finally, this is a fun trick. Use your compass to find the North Star. Center your camera on that star and repeat the steps. I've done that with one of the photos below and the result is really cool.

Here are some examples. Click on them for larger images. 

The reflection on the lake is a nice touch. Keep in mind that it is about midnight when I took these shots. This one is actually focused on the constellation Orion. See the three stars in the middle? That's his belt.

Here is another one over a pond. The lights in the background are those of a city about 20 miles away.

This is the one that is focused on the North Star. When you center on this star it looks like all the other stars are moving around it. Kind of neat.

This one had a little different look to it since there was stuff in the foreground. But it turned out cool with the stars streaking in the background. 

Happy shooting!