Fun at a local carnival

Girl playing bottle game (PP)
Originally uploaded by Chris in KC

We had a fun time at a local carnival today. The sky was overcast which provided for some nice lighting. Even so I had to change the white balance back and forth between shady and cloudy depending if the subject was under a tent or out in the open. There were lots of opportunities to catch people doing fun and interesting things. Even better, I was able to get several photographs of people in relaxed and unposed positions. The Kansas City Police Department had some of their best stuff at the carnival such as a couple of race cars, their bomb robot and their SWAT vehicle. Overall, it was a great opportunity to take photographs of things as they happened. This required me to change my settings on the fly and adjust to changing conditions which can only help me become more familiar with my camera.

Here are a few of the photographs I liked best. There are more on my Flickr portfolio (see the link on the right).

Photographing a subect from multiple perspectives

Loader001
Originally uploaded by Chris in KC

I found a good photography course online at www.morguefile.com. I started the class several months ago with my Kodak Z612, but I kind of fizzled out because I ran into limitations with the camera's settings. I figured it would be good to revisit these lessons with my Canon XT. Lesson one has two assignments: take an abstract photograph, and shoot a subject from multiple perspectives. I already did the abstract lesson a second time and this is my effort to get multiple different perspectives of a subject.
In the past I have spent a lot of time searching for just the right subject, which often meant I did not around to actually doing the lesson because I never found the right subject. This time I left my office with the thought that I WOULD find a subject before I got home. As I walked out of my office I saw this CASE loader that has been sitting in our parking lot for several months. In spite of the big pile of dirt around this, the loader is actually smack dab in the middle of an asphalt parking lot. We don't always get to choose the subject we are shooting, so I tried to make the best of what I had and shoot it in an interesting way.

As an added element, I used my 75-300mm zoom so I could get some practice with it. Even 70mm is way up close and personal. For several of these shots I had to be 100ft away or more. I was hoping for more bokeh in some of them, but I guess I can work on that technique later on.

Here are the rest of the photographs from this series. The full size versions can be seen by clicking on the photos below:

Introduction

I have decided to become a better photographer. Unfortunately, just deciding something does not make it true. The pictures I have taken over the years are only snapshot quality and are mostly of family events or vacation landmarks. Granted, the family snapshots are of interest to the family members and many may become treasured over the years for the sentimental/historical value.
I now desire, however, to appeal to a broader audience. I hope to learn how to take photographs that will be appreciated by a viewer who does not know me at all. I also hope to find some way to earn some money on the side with photography. I have no desire to become a full time photographer (that would make it too much work). I don't want to open a studio for portrait photography and I don't really want to shoot weddings. These are all fine uses of a photographer's skills, but they don't exactly mesh up with my interests in photography. I do like the idea of becoming a stock photographer and selling pictures that way. I also have a romantic idea about taking "art" quality pictures that I can sell at art shows.
All of this is pie-in-the-sky thinking at the moment because my current level of photographic skill is no where good enough for me to sell pictures to anyone. I have been reading books, investing in some basic equipment, and above all, shooting lots of pictures. But, my current approach feels very choatic and unorganized. It is difficult for me to track my progress and above all, it is difficult to get feedback from anyone else as most of these pictures just sit on my PC or on a CD.
So, this blog has two purposes initially. The first is to help me organize my journey into better photography and be able to see my progress as I improve (hopefully). The second is the scariest part, which is to put my work into the public forum where others can see it and criticize it. I am extremely critical of my own work, and I almost never take a picture I am happy with. This makes me very hesitent to show my work to anyone else. But, I also recognize that I need input from other people on how my photographs can be improved, so I am throwing caution to the wind and taking this blog public.
Input from everyone is welcome, even if you have never held a camera in your life. Good photographs are appreciated by everyone, even if they don't know why. And usually people can tell why they don't like a photograph. So, criticize away (but try to be nice, eh?) and let the journey begin.