Family Visual Historian

Alice Pecoraro’s 80th Birthday Alice Pecoraro, Bill Teubner, Chelle Leary, Cliffy Collins, Dorie Griggs, Joseph Earl, Kayla Pennington, Natalie Earl, Robin Collins, Sue Earl. [Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/60]

I am my family’s visual historian. I take photos and give them away to my family all the time. Thanks to social media, there is a good chance these may be seen and enjoyed more than when I shot the film, and they went into a family photo album.

Peter Teubner at Alice Pecoraro’s 80th Birthday party. [Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 180, ƒ/4, 1/100]

While I am not working on an assigned story, I still capture our family’s story in moments. The cool thing with social media is our ability to match words with those pictures.

I still take those formal photos of our families, but the living life photos capture the personalities of each person, in my opinion, so much more.

Leary family Family Photo
at Ocean Isle Beach, NC. [Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 1/250, (2) Alienbee B1600s triggered with Pocketwizards]

This role often means you are just observing, but I believe long into the future, when I am no longer here, my family will cherish these and learn about their ancestors.

Christmas in Morganton, NC

My mother’s dad was always documenting his family and my dad.

Christmas in Farmingdale, New York.

I grew up every Christmas with my dad having these lights pointed at us as we walked into the room. I am not sure I saw anything for a few moments. It was so bright.

Alice Pecoraro’s 80th Birthday
Alice Pecoraro, Dorie Griggs, & Sue Earl [Nikon D750, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/320]

This is one of the rare moments where my wife Dorie has been with two of her sisters. While getting to see them was excellent, capturing the moment for us to remember makes this so we can tell the generations who their family is and how they are all related.

Christmas 2015 in Morganton, NC.
Cousins: Chelle Leary, Elijah Poe, Joshua Poe, & Taylor Lalli [Nikon D750, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 3200, ƒ/1.4, 1/200]

Here are a few tips to make you a better visual family historian.

  • Take lots of photos of your family.
  • Share your photos with your family. USB Jump Drives are good.
  • Use metadata to put the text with each photo. For example, be sure you have the occasion and the names of the people in the image.
  • Put your photos in some storage system like Google Drive, DropBox, or other online services.
  • Create photo books. I use Blurb http://www.blurb.com/user/stanleyleary.

One of the best things you can remember is how you captured your family for everyone to enjoy now and for eternity.

What birds can teach us

American Gold Finch [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 8000, ƒ/10, 1/280 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

– Matthew 6:26

The past few weeks have been bitterly cold for our community in Roswell, Georgia. While we didn’t have a lot of snow, it stayed on the ground longer than usual due to the freezing weather.

While we always have birds at our bird feeders during this cold snap, they have been eating a lot more. I think this is because the ground is so hard to kill many insects and keep many in the background.

Yellow Finch [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.2, 1/2200 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

We stayed inside more than usual due to the icy streets for many days.

Since I couldn’t sit still, I decided to take photos of the birds at our bird feeder with a new Fujifilm X-E3 camera and a new flash system made by Flashpoint for the Fuji cameras.

Blue Bird on my Birdfeeder in Roswell, GA [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/8, 1/2500 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL]

This morning I pondered how they survived and was reminded of the scripture that says God takes care of the birds. I was fascinated by the scripture that birds do not “sow nor reap nor gather into barns” as humans do, yet God takes care of them.

Tufted titmouse on our Bird feeder [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/7.1, 1/3200 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

No matter how well I know the scriptures about how God will take care of us–I worry.

We all indeed worry to some extent but do it too much, and it can color your whole life, leaving you strung out, unhappy, and constantly anxious. It’s not unusual either. Around 1 in 20 of us experiences excessive worrying – called Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – at some time in our lives.

If you are struggling, get some help through a licensed counselor like a social worker, psychologist, or psychiatrist.

One thing I noticed from being locked up inside due to the cold is getting cabin fever. It can be depressing as well.

Keep physically active. Develop a routine, so you’re physically active most days of the week. Exercise is a powerful stress reducer. It may improve your mood and help you stay healthy. Start slowly and gradually increase the amount and intensity of your activities.

Make sleep a priority. Do what you can to get enough sleep to feel rested. If you aren’t sleeping well, see your doctor.

Eat healthily. Healthy eating — such as focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fish — may help reduce anxiety.

As a freelancer looking for work to pay your bills, focus on the jobs, people need now. Portraits/headshots are usually needed quickly compared to someone booking a wedding photographer.

People don’t book headshots six months to a year out, but that is how they book photographers for their weddings.

Bird feeder in our backyard during snow day. [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/8, 1/1000 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Get together with other photographers and talk. They will not solve your problems by telling you their clients’ names, but you will pick up tricks and how they talk to their clients.

Maybe you can just practice a cold call with another photographer. Maybe you can practice doing an estimate with them.

Female Cardinal [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 8000, ƒ/10, 1/280 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Don’t let life ruffle your feathers.

Focus on one thing at a time. For me–and most people–multi-tasking typically leads to chaos. I try to choose one task, see it through, and head on to the next task that needs to be done.

Learn to be flexible. Things will come up, or someone will ask you to help with something, so learn to go with the flow a little bit. Just take a moment to think about what is happening and regroup. Change your plans accordingly.

Learn to prioritize. Let’s face it; some things will not impact your goals if you don’t get to them. However, there are some action items, if you put them off, can wreak havoc.

You can use your energy to focus on all that could go wrong or, even better, just focus that energy on doing something. The energy amount is about the same, but one moves you forward and leaves you standing still.

Remember, birds go where the food is, which is called migration. This is where we get the word about migrant workers. They go where the work is for them. They go where they can help their families survive.

Today is a day for action. The question for you is, what steps will you take? While the birds don’t “sow nor reap nor gather into barns,” they are out looking for food. How about you?

Don’t raise Cain in your business

Story of Cain and Abel [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 1000, ƒ/4, 1/200]

Yesterday, when I was in my Sunday School class, we studied the story of Cain and Abel. While I have read this story repeatedly since I was a little child, I come to the scripture a little differently each time. Life experiences and where I am in life really can impact one’s perspective.

Reading this as a business owner, I saw this in a new light. I thought of how I know this story lives out in business daily.

Just read the story with a customer being God, while Cain and Abel are two freelancers giving estimates to get a job.

Genesis 4:1-15

4 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

While discussing this passage in class, I was struck by why God didn’t treat both Cain and Abels’s gifts equally. The scripture doesn’t say why he treated them the way he did.

You would think God should treat them equally.

I can think of many Christmas and birthdays where opening a present I was disappointed, or one of my family/friends was disappointed with a present. It was always important in my circles that you appreciated the gift.

So I can get why God might like one gift more than the other; I am that way. Our customers and potential clients also have reasons they pick one vendor over another, and they don’t always tell you why.

Instead of dealing directly with God over his gift Cain got angry with his brother Abel. Sound familiar. We often are upset with our competition.

Instead of taking our anger out on others, we need to work on ourselves. We need to remember there is always the next time. Maybe not with that client, but with another.

Maybe you are like Cain and realize you only have  “fruits of the soil” as a farmer and not an animal to sacrifice because you are a farmer and not the cowboy. Don’t be shortsighted and think eliminating your competition is the only way to win a contract. [You could be just talking about your competition badly to the customer.]

Look at what you have to offer and do everything you can to be sure that your presentation of your gifts is as good as the gifts themselves.

Focus on your Audience’s Needs. … As you prepare the presentation, you must remember what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them. While giving the presentation, you also need to focus on your audience’s response and react to that.

The Catch-22 of finding work for the freelancer

2017 SOP1 Group Photo–L/R Juan Carlos Sanchez De Fuentes, Thema Black, Daisy Wang, Fred Tesone, Hayley Webb, Michael Gellerstedt, Laurelee Martens, Chance Punahele Ortiz,Heather Morse, & Dennis Fahringer. Also featuring Keiko the dog. [Fuji X-E2, Fuji 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/9, 1/80]

A month from now I will be back in Kona, Hawaii to teach the YWAM School of Photography 1 portrait lighting and business practices for a week.

This group photo is last year’s class. This year’s group will be twice the size of last year.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8, ISO 100, ƒ/5.6, 1/200

While I will be teaching a great deal about lighting the business practices is the one thing that over the years has proven even more valuable to the classes.

“How do you make a living doing photography?”, is answered through solid business practices.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/180

Knowing your Cost-Of-Doing-Business and how to price your work doesn’t get you clients. It only makes sure that you make money when you price jobs rather than losing money.

How do you get those clients? Well this is the Catch-22 of Freelancing.

When you are a professional photographer you are like every other business person. You are in the business of solving people and businesses problems through the use of photography.

What you need to be doing is interviewing people and listening. You need to find out what their problems are so that you can pitch to them solutions for which you can provide those services.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm, ISO 100, ƒ/13, 1/200

Having a portfolio is like any other business where you can display your wares, or as in this example Maine lobster buoys on the side of the road of commerce.

If the client know what they need then this works really well, except now your work is more of a commodity. This is an article of trade or commerce, especially a product as distinguished from a service. Due to your work being seen as a commodity it is much harder to get prices that work with your Cost-Of-Doing-Business.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/320

You need to be seen as a visionary for the person’s business and not just a commodity if you are in the creative arts type of a business.

Mark Johnson’s Photojournalism Class [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/3.2, 1/100]

You need to put yourself in situations where you get to listen to business people talk about what they do. You need to learn about their business. You need to ask questions that give you understanding.

Only when you really understand what problems they are facing with their business can you then think of ways that you can help solve some of those problems.

Now often they do not even know that your solution is to a problem they have. This will come over time where you start to recognize problems facing business owners and knowing that there are solutions you have done for others that could work for another business.

Here is the Catch-22 you must face each day to make a living as a photographer. You have solutions for a business to thrive, but you must first find a way to know what problem a particular business is facing before you can offer a solution.

Making this even more complicated is that if the client already knows what they need then you will be treated as a commodity. You need to be the photographer that has business solutions and not just the ability to take a picture.

What are your “Business New Year’s Resolutions?”

One of my wife and I’s favorite photos of our daughter Chelle. She has her first Shirley Temple drink at the beach. Her expression of how much fun she was having and that we had this experience with her and the photo now helps us remember that moment like it just happened.

This is the time of year we make New Year’s resolutions, which are typically about taking care of ourselves. What are your Business New Year’s Resolutions?

Most likely, whatever you come up with is a way to build your brand. Let me give you some business topics you should be very concerned about this year.

Number One _________________

I want to leave that blank for now for a reason. I will come back to it shortly for you. Now let’s look at some of those hot topics.

Quality Control – You should always be concerned that you are giving your customers the very best they can get in the open market. Notice I didn’t say the best that you can give them. If you lack something that is keeping your quality behind, that should be one of the things you want to address this year.

In my industry, photographers always try to keep their camera gear as new as possible. The images from the latest cameras are superior to the quality of older models. I know many photographers who update immediately and others who upgrade every other model.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 22800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

Speed of Service – If you are not careful, your competition will take away your business because you are too slow. Customers have problems for which a company has a solution to fix. If you are too slow, the customer will go elsewhere to solve those problems.

Pricing – There are many things that affect pricing, so you need to be sure you are on top of everything.

One thing about pricing is the cost-of-doing business. You must be sure you are covering to make a living. However, have you considered how your pricing comes across to the customer?

Too many businesses are more concerned with what they make and covering their costs that their pricing is worded to how they think and not about how the customer feels.

I am a big proponent of at least giving a customer three to four prices: bare minimum, medium, and high price packages and even the Whoop Ti Doo for a fourth option.

How you differentiate the pricing points also gives a better understanding of the different services you can provide.

I want to return to the Number One thing I started with but left blank. What core values guide your business?

This core value is what I think of as the culture you exhibit to your client. When you go into a hotel where the décor is all about a log cabin compared to going into a castle, it sets a tone for the business.

I also think about the restaurant chains Texas Roadhouse, The Ground Round, and Logan’s Roadhouse that all served peanuts, and customers tossed the shells on the ground. The waitress greets you with Howdy as much as a Hello.

Now, these core values often will have you doing things that do not make the most business sense. We often talk about a person having a moral compass. A moral compass is an internalized set of values and objectives that guide a person regarding ethical behavior and decision-making.

I know of one man who confronted a young man when he discovered that his employee was drinking on the job. As long as an employee would come clean and own up to their digressions, he would do all he could to help that employee.

He helped that employee overcome his drinking problem. It made no business sense to do this, but this was his core value of giving those who need help and willing to make changes the help. Now he would fire many people as well, and the line in the sand appeared to me to be one of if the person would own up to their mistakes.

Here are some ways that you might want to evaluate how your character is coming across and revealing a lack of core values that show a moral compass.

How do you speak to your spouse? Let me say I am preaching to myself on this one. We all need to show respect and not get so short with those closest to us. Whenever you answer your phone, and it is your spouse, others in earshot hear how you treat your spouse.

How do you speak to your children? Now, if you don’t have any, this could be anyone who is a subordinate that depends on you. You always want to talk with respect and love to them. You still need to discipline, but how you do it should help to build them up and not tear them down.

How do you speak to those serving you? Our son works in a restaurant as a server, and the stories he tells horrifying how people treat others. You need to be able to request things you need and correct a mistake in a way that honors those who serve you. Now, if you get horrible service and are mistreated, you still can handle this in a way that demonstrates the high road.

How do you speak to your enemies? Truly listening to others and addressing their concerns in a calm voice is a powerful way to win friends. Stay with the facts over disagreements and explain what you can and are unwilling to do.

Lincoln Memorial

Your attitude can jeopardize the situation more than the words themselves. Abraham Lincoln wisely said, “Better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”

Put your moral compass first this year. Focus on relationships and not on transactions. If you do this, then you will be successful.

Shooting High Speed Sync with Fuji X-E3 & Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL

Blue Bird on my Bird-feeder in Roswell, GA [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 1000, ƒ/4.8, 1/200 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Before Christmas, my friend Dennis Fahringer forwarded me a special Adorama had on their  Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter. The flash was $119, and the transmitter was $46.

I bought the Godox VING V860IIN TTL Li-Ion Flash Kit for Nikon with its transmitter because I loved the Neewer TT850, which is pretty much the same flash as the TTL capabilities.

Neewer, Godox, and Flashpoint are all the same company but are marketed differently. Flashpoint is the Adorama-branded system with more warranties than the others.

I have not bought the studio version of the system yet, but I plan to do so soon. This week, they introduced the newest version of the studio  Flashpoint XPLOR 600PRO TTL Battery-Powered Monolight (Bowens Mount) – Godox AD600 Pro. This sells for $899 without the transmitter.

The XPLOR 600Pro TTL is the next evolution of the Flashpoint R2 radio system, compatible with the R2 Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Olympus/Panasonic TTL auto flash systems for remote power control and shooting.

Brown-headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla is probably the least numerous nuthatch in North America. It has lost ground in some areas because of habitat loss, but it is still common where southern pine forests exist. [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

Using the bird feeder in my backyard, I tested how well the camera worked with the HSS of 1/4000. The flash supports the FP mode (high-speed flash sync), in which the flash outputs continuous light while the first and second curtains travel across the sensor, enabling flash photography at any shutter speed.

The range of the radio transmitter from the camera to the flash is 330ft / 100m. Recycle time is <4 seconds. This is great for more than 600+ full-power flashes with the Lithium battery.

You need to use their studio heads if you want something faster. The Flashpoint XPLOR 600PRO TTL Battery-Powered Monolight recycle time is approximately 0.01- 0.9 seconds.

Blue Bird on my Bird-feeder in Roswell, GA [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 25600, ƒ/8, 1/4000 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL]

When you think of the exposure triangle, you believe all are affected as you change the others.

There is a kink in this because when you use a flash, the light volume is pretty much the same as you shorten the duration. The problem through the years was the ability to shrink the shutter speed and sync with the flash. This has now been pretty much solved in the last few years. So, shortening the shutter speed impacts the available light (The Sun) if outside and not the flash as much.

Action shot of soccer player in Oxnard, California. [Nikon D5, Nikon 14-24mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 50, ƒ/11, 1/200 – (2) Godox V860IIN + Godox X1NT]

Earlier, I showed how I did this with the Nikon system. I can do the same with my Fuji X-E3 and the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter.

Now, the cool thing about picking up the studio flash Flashpoint XPLOR 600PRO TTL Battery-Powered Monolight (Bowens Mount)—Godox AD600 Pro is that it works with all the transmitters for Nikon, Fuji, Sony, Canon, and Olympus. So, my two camera systems can use the same studio flash in TTL mode.

Yellow Finch [Fujifilm X-E3, 55-200mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/8, 1/1000 – Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter]

I look forward to shooting more with my Fuji X-E3 and the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on R2 TTL & Flashpoint R2 TTL transmitter in the months ahead. I love such a small system for travel.

Sharing my own struggle with depression related to storytelling

Witchdoctor and his family in Togo, West Africa [Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/2500]

I believe that many journalists look for validation that the work they are doing is essential. I sure do look for it myself. I want to know that I am making a difference.

However, I believe that too many put that validation within the industry through awards given mainly by the high priests of journalism. Awards like the Pulitzers and POYs are judged by our peers and not by our audience.

Children of the local pastor in his corn field in Togo, West Africa. [Nikon D5, Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG Art, ISO 100, ƒ/1.4, 1/2000]

I stopped entering contests more than 25 years ago and only recently can articulate why. I felt like the awards didn’t validate if the stories I worked on making a difference in the audience’s lives.

When journalism is done right, it is often a languid pace of change in the communities it serves. Sometimes the most challenging part of the job is our impact can take years to see. Sometimes we take credit for the change. We see that is the work of others long before we came on to the scene.

This little shepherd boy is part of the Fulani tribe known for being herders and working in Soubakamedougou, Burkina Faso village. The Marlboro company gives hats to the young cowboys to promote their product in Burkina Faso. [Nikon D2X, Sigma 18-125mm, ISO 100, ƒ/5.6, 1/90]

As journalists, we should look to our audiences and how they respond to our stories about our communities for validation.

Though it may be interesting or even entertaining, the maximum value of news is as a utility to empower the informed. The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, communities, societies, and governments.

Lisbon, Portugal [Nikon D4, Nikon 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6, ISO 800, ƒ/9, 1.3 – On Tripod]

We need to ask ourselves, “Who’s paying attention? Why does the story need to be told? Why should the audience care?”

When the inner drive in our souls is that of a calling to journalism, it is much easier to endure a long time, sometimes necessary, to see any real change.

I am most depressed from burnout when I am no longer in touch with the audience and know what they care about. If there are stories we think they should care about, and they don’t, then this is where I struggle the most.

I have discovered that when I see no impact from my work, it is often because the metaphors and similes I may be using do not resonate with the audience. I must know my audience so that while doing the story, I think of what the audience would be interested in and why.

Herăști, Giurgiu, Romania [Nikon D750, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 1600, ƒ/5.6, 1/100]

One of the best questions journalists should ask themselves is not how much time they spend telling their stories but how much time they spend getting to know their audience.

Once you have sought to understand your audience and your subject entirely, only when great journalism can take place.

The Nicaraguan woman shows us her kitchen and the lunch she is preparing. [Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 4500, ƒ/4, 1/100]

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Highlights

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 8000, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000]

Every year I cover the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. These games have been some of the most watched in the Bowl Series. Many close games and big upsets have taken place.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 10000, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000]

This year it was a match-up between the SEC and the AAC conferences. The University of Central Florida achieved perfection, upsetting Auburn for a 13-0 season.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 22800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

Auburn fought hard but had three turnovers, while UCF only had 1. This was the difference that helped UCF defeat Auburn 34-27.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

The game was close throughout the four quarters. They traded scores back and forth, keeping it close.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

UCF is Nation’s Second-Largest University. The University of Central Florida has become the second-largest university in the nation in student enrollment, surpassing Ohio State.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 20000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

The hard part about covering football is the tension about shooting too tight so that you don’t see the competition.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 12800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

I couldn’t switch cameras fast enough on one touchdown, so my lens was too tight to show the playing crossing the end zone.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 5600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000]

One thing I did enjoy capturing with the UCF players was the joy they had for the game.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

These are just some of the action shots I captured from the game.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 22800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]
[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

How To: Christmas family photo where everyone will look great – Even pets!

Christmas Family Photo [Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 400, ƒ/8, 1/200 – (2) Godox V860IIN + Godox X1NT with MAGMOD MagSphere]

This is a family photo we did this year of our family with my wife’s family. One of our son’s couldn’t be there and had to work with a new job.

To get this final photo required me to be behind the camera saying “Do you want a treat?” to get the three dogs in the middle to look at the camera.

Photo without me

So this is actually the photo I took with me behind the camera.

Photo with me but the dogs not paying attention

Here are the steps to then add me into the photo with dogs looking the best.

Open photo with me in photo shop. Open the second photo in photo shop with dogs looking best. Select all and copy the photo of dogs best.

Go to the photo with me in it and paste the other photo on top of it.

You will now have two layers. the top will be the one with dogs looking best and I am not in the photo. See the copy of PhotoShop screen grab.

Now we need to create a mask. Down below the layers click on the mask.

It will now look like what I have screen grabbed here for you. Be sure the brackets are around the mask (white box) and that it is the top photo, which is the one without me. We are going to use the eraser and now erase the empty chair and reveal me.

You just need to brush me in. See the photo of the tools here. Pick the eraser. It has box around it.

Next be sure the foreground color is black and on top. This will let you erase me.

Now if you make a mistake you can then click so that the white is on top and use the same brush and brush back the photo on top.

 As you brush you can see in the mask that what you brush over becomes black.

Now when we I finished and showed the photo they wanted the small dog on the far left to look at the camera as well. So I looked for a photo of the small dog looking great.

So I found this photo and then using the same technique brushed in the dog.

Here the tips you need to follow to make this work.

First put the camera on a sturdy tripod. You want to lock down the composition so that nothing changes.

Second do not change the zoom if you are using one.

Third if you are in the photo use the timer or use a remote to fire the camera. I had left my remote so I set the camera timer to 10 seconds.

Fourth, be sure you have good lighting on everyone. For this photo I used two Godox V860IIN + Godox X1NT with MAGMOD MagSphere. Here is what the setup looked like:

Breaking Tradition to experience Christmas in Sparta, New Jersey

Christmas in Sparta, New Jersey. [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/4, 1/60]

We are celebrating Christmas in Sparta, New Jersey, this year. This is my wife’s hometown.

She hasn’t been home to celebrate Christmas since 1985. We have spent many years together with my family in North Carolina.

A family photo with Santa is my sister-in-law’s family tradition. [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/3.6, 1/100]

Joey is my brother-in-law, and while eating dinner, he realized my family’s traditions might be different, and he asked me what we did for family traditions at Christmas.

What I am really excited about is that our family is willing to do something different to be part of our family we haven’t had as much time with this year.

Santa is watching me at breakfast and holding his naughty or nice list. [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 51200, ƒ/4, 1/4000]

Just seeing the decorations around the house reminds me that these are new traditions for us to be exposed to.

Dorie and I went to see The Man Who Invented Christmas earlier this year. The movie is the journey that led to Charles Dickens’ creation of “A Christmas Carol,” a timeless tale that would redefine the holiday.

While you may have some excellent traditions for your family at Christmas, ask others about their habits and why they do them. Maybe you will also learn to redefine the holiday for your family this year.

Maybe the process will bring you closer to Christ, whom this holiday is about.

Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

Over the digital learning curve and on a plateau

First Snow for Winter 2017 in Roswell, Georgia. Christmas Tree with our Magnolia tree in the backyard. [Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm ƒ/4, ISO 400, ƒ/14, 1/40 – Godox V860IIN with MAGMOD MagSphere]

One of the biggest things to ever hit photography was the move to digital.

No matter how experienced you were in photography if you were a film shooter and went to digital, you went through the digital learning curve.

In the 1980s, I went to learn about computers. I remember learning Quicken to track my checkbook and credit cards. I used a dial-up modem to connect to the internet and go to the NPPA forums, similar to the message board; here was my first time connecting to photographers worldwide.

In the early 1990s, I experienced the learning curve for scanning film and learning PhotoShop. I kept waiting for the digital camera to surpass the film so I could jump to digital capture.

In 2002 I bought my first digital Nikon D100 camera. Just one year earlier, a similar 6-megapixel camera cost $25,000, and then I was able to buy the Nikon D100 for $1,999.

Jimmy Carter peanut Christmas Tree Ornament [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/11, 6 sec]

All my colleagues and newbies to photography were all part of the digital learning curve.

I remember being told to shoot Adobe RGB, yet when I took the pictures to the local pro lab, they came out all screwed up. This is when I started learning about color space and realized the printers could read sRGB at the time, not Adobe RGB.

This was when photography workshops exploded. We all needed help to learn PhotoShop and then later Lightroom.

Other advances were also happening. Most in the industry with the film were using the hot shoe Vivitar 283, an automatic flash where you dialed the output by picking yellow or red, and if you bought the adapter, you could control it by power.

Hummel design Christmas Tree Ornament [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/11, 6.5 sec]

Nikon introduced a pretty complex TTL hot shoe system that changed lighting. Again we needed workshops to learn to use them.

The web evolved from forums to delivering videos. Now you can Google almost anything on YouTube and find a video showing you how to do just about anything, including everything around photography.

This meant workshops started dropping off in attendance.

Camera stores started building online stores, which also changed the industry.

We no longer have the entire industry on the same learning curve at the same time as we did with the change from film to digital capture.

Now we are back to where we were just before the digital revolution hit. We are talking about the subject.

Wreaths Across America Day at Roswell Presbyterian Church Cemetery. [Fujifilm X-E3, 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/7.1, 1/105]

Workshops are now coming full circle. We are now talking about how to make a living in this industry again, concentrating on capturing subjects and telling stories.

We are also talking about the business side—excellent customer service and how to protect yourself when working with clients.

Who do we seek out now to listen to? I am now having a more challenging time finding those “trending.” There are just so many mediums in specialties that you may not even know about some incredible photographers because we no longer have just a few publications as in the past.

We are looking for those people producing great images and want to learn from them.

What I think we want more than anything in the future is a way to find great work produced worldwide.

The problem is that most pros are scared to promote other work for fear of losing jobs. Therefore how do you find great work? I think whoever creates the new place to point us to great work is what will be the next big thing in photography.

What is an “Image Library” photo shoot?

Do you have an “image library” for your organization? What is an “image library”? It is a pool of pictures that you commission that will be used in many different ways for mainly internal and external communications. Sometimes, but rarely are they used for advertising.

Today many of those with “image libraries” are hosting these online through intranet or Internet for different departments and even the organization’s agencies to use.

Lisbon Mission Storytelling Abroad Workshop. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.6, 1/800]

Previously, non-profits and educational institutions commissioned this work due to budget constraints. Still, the need to feed social media with ongoing content is becoming popular for corporations.

[Nikon D3S, 85mm ƒ/1.4, ISO 640, ƒ/1.4, 1/640]

When I shoot for an “Image Library” production, the coverage is quite broad—often looking for diversity and showing some of the operations that go on daily. We tend to have alerted departments we are coming at a particular time, and then we capture their people working. We may move them around and even have them change outfits, like asking them to put on a lab coat.

I have recommended that companies subscribe to online services like Libris by PhotoShelter. [https://libris.photoshelter.com/]

You can give access based on passwords or by email/password that gives you protection for your images.

Strong visuals can connect with an audience faster and more emotionally than words alone. Storytelling remains at the heart of good communication. The power of images in modern touch is irrefutable.

The approaches for doing an “Image Library” production vary widely. You can do high-production shoots back to back, where lighting and styling give you high-quality images. This tends to be where the photographer creates images rather than capturing them.

Mark Prausnitz, a chemical engineering professor from the Georgia Institute of Technology, shows the size of the experimental microneedle with 400 tiny spikes.

You can go to the other extreme, where the photographer uses little or no lighting and captures mainly what already exists in situations. You are paying for the years of experience of the photographer to capture images within a case.

Sometimes there is a mixture of high production and existing light depending on your organization’s needs.

Doing bi-annual or annual “Image Library” shoots gives your communications team images to help with the messaging you need to be doing to engage your audience.