Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author widely considered the first existentialist philosopher.

Kierkegaard sourly prophesied a banal fate for the newly popularized art of photography. “With the daguerreotype,” he observed, “everyone will be able to have their portrait taken—formerly it was only the prominent—and at the same time, everything is being done to make us all look the same, so we shall only need one portrait.”

As we get older, it becomes more and more difficult for people to buy presents for us. We go out and buy what we need, so what would someone give you, and what can you give others that they don’t already have this Christmas?

One of the best personal gifts people can give is a photograph. The reason for this is that photos have the power to keep all our precious moments alive. And giving the gift of an especially well-chosen image is a way to preserve a fond memory with someone you treasure.

The gift of a photograph today has many ways for presentation. One way many uses now is a greeting card. This photo, however, is typically an individual or family sharing one of their memories with their family and friends.

If you give a photo to an individual, the image of something you shared cannot just show your friendship with them but help remind them of a memory that the two of you share.

Besides giving a photo print, you can have a shot put on just about anything. Here is just a sample of the items you could put the photograph on for that special gift:

• Coffee cup
• Candy Tin
• Blanket
• T-Shirts
• Aprons
• Coasters
• Calendars
• Neck Tie
• Ornament
• Porcelain Plate
• Puzzle
• Digital Photo Frame
• Coffee Table Book

The photo book also shows you took the time to make their gift. It will help preserve those memories of a family trip you made or one with your friends.   If you have the time and enough variety of photos, the photo book is one of my favorite things to come along. You can produce an excellent coffee table book for your friend for as low as $20 for a 20-page softcover book.  

If you choose to make a book, my favorite book publisher is www.Blurb.com.  

Go online to www.MyPhotoPipe.com, where you can get prints, holiday cards, and have canvas prints made.

Have Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This photo was taken at the mall near us, where you could get your picture with Santa. They created an experience where you can go on an adventure to see Santa with Po and his friends. Our son loves Po, so we wanted the photo with Po even more than our photo with Santa.

They had created great backgrounds and overall experience to put families with Santa.

The key to group photos is planning — and how big you plan to use the image can make a big difference in your planning. We don’t hang wristwatches on the wall because their faces are so small you cannot tell time with them. You could have a three-inch face clock in most family rooms and say the time. In a classroom, you might need a 10-inch face. The clock face size is a good rule of thumb for determining whether someone will be recognized in a wall print at an average viewing distance.

The more you show in a photograph other than people’s faces, the larger the photo needs to be to recognize the people because their face size will diminish. If your group photo is more for identification, getting everyone close together where you can see their faces should be the primary goal. Then you can run the image in a publication, and people can tell what everyone looks like.

On the other hand, if your photo is more about creating a mood for a poster of, say, a hip-hop band, you will shoot much looser and space the people out and let their body language help establish the mood. For these concept/mood photos, I like to spread people out and put people at different heights (relative to their faces). I want to think in triangles. If you were to connect the dots (faces) between people, do they make triangles? Create depth by having some people closer to the camera and others further away. This will give it a more three-dimensional feel.

If you go to the music store and look at the CD covers of music groups, you can see some of the leading work done in the industry. Try copying some of these until you get the hang of it and can come up with your concepts.

If you pre-plan, have a good idea, and consider people’s sizes, you will move pretty quickly through the process. If you don’t, it goes slowly, and your photo may fall apart — because you will lose the attention and interest of the people in the image.

In scouting locations in advance, you are not only choosing a site because of the scenery but also ensuring you are there at the best time of day for a group photo. Having the sun right behind the group isn’t the best technical photo. Sometimes, a location won’t work simply because the group isn’t available at the right time of day to make the photo.

I have found that you can make any group photo in 10 to 15 minutes if you have done your homework. You may get to the location earlier, but the people in the image should be able to be placed into position immediately — and then you are just looking for good expressions.

One last thing that can significantly impact the quality of your photo has a laptop computer or TV on location to view the images as you shoot. Virtually all digital cameras will plug into a TV and let you see the picture big enough to assess the minor details — enabling you to move people only inches and improve the final product.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/200

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience’s attention. Although people’s attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognizable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry which records and sells entertainment products. –– Wikipedia

During my time in London, we stopped by The Globe. The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare’s playing company. A modern reconstruction of the Globe, named “Shakespeare’s Globe,” opened in 1997, approximately 750 feet from the site of the original theatre.

I believe photography is one way to preserve these storytelling moments and enjoy them in a new medium, and share them with many more than live theater can do. While theater is quite entertaining, it is just one way for us to capture the imagination of people. Storytelling is a great way to take the brain hostage and substitute one’s vision for another people.

I love the theater for the same reason I love the movies and TV dramas; they all help me think beyond my imagination. After watching these stories, I often find my mind dreaming new dreams made possible by these art forms.

To me, the one thing that is just as impactful if caught in such a way that it is a slice of a story is real life. I believe photojournalism is that medium of telling real-life stories.

Here is a slice of a wedding, the first chapter of the couple’s new life together.

Real moments make your photography better. Real moments are perfect for hijacking a person’s brain from their own dreaming stories to your storytelling.

Great lighting, excellent stage direction, and acting can capture an audience’s attention. But a soundtrack can make your story even more memorable if you want the audience to remember.

We all have had an earworm. An earworm, sometimes called a brainworm, sticky music, or stuck song syndrome is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person’s mind after it no longer plays. Phrases used to describe an earworm include “musical imagery repetition,” “involuntary musical imagery,” and “stuck song syndrome.”

Also, music can help create mood as much as light does. Finally, music helps us remember storylines and just about anything.

Multimedia packages are where I combine still images, motion, and audio to tell a story.

I do this for companies. Here is just one example:

Storytelling is an art form. The artist is always looking for ways to capture the audience’s attention. So you are competing not just with other things demanding their attention but with their daydreaming.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 25600, ƒ/4, 1/100

First of all, before you jump too sure, a $6,500 camera should be better than a $1,500 camera. It is more about the features than the prices. 

You will not hear that I love it because it weighs so much. One of the reasons I own the Fuji X-E2 system is because it is light. Spending a week in London walking everywhere would have been a pain carrying my Nikon gear.

The bride and groom asked me to take a photo with the groom’s grandmother. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a shot list, so I had to prepare for every situation. Ready for any case is why the Nikon D5 is the go-to camera for almost all my client jobs. I quickly got a custom white balance and then clicked the photo at ISO 25600. The lens was wide open, and I was shooting at 1/100. The lens has image stabilization as well.

To do this with the Fuji with available light would have me shooting at ISO 6400 and 1/25. I wouldn’t say I like slow shutter speeds with people when I prefer a sharp photo.

As a family friend, I was also at the rehearsal, and thank goodness. I was then utterly aware of how dark the church would be for the wedding.

When they mentioned that they wanted to have everyone in attendance in a group photo, I wanted to be sure you could see everyone clearly, so I just used strobes for that photo.

Another thing is that the Nikon flash system is far superior to the Fuji. I used fill flash for some photos of the bride and groom outside due to the overcast.

Today I believe it is challenging to find the one camera system that does it all, but my Nikon D5 is that camera for me, and if it were light as my Fuji X-E2, then I would work only on it for all my work. However, for those times I need a camera but don’t want to lug my Nikons, I use the Fuji.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/400

We have been having lots of fun in England this week. Morning full English breakfast at The Orangery at Kensington Palace. My daughter enjoyed her tea.

I am just going to add photos here from the last couple of days that I was able to capture with my Fuji X-E2. I use only 18-55mm and the 55-200mm lenses.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/7.1, 1/120

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 800, ƒ/9, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/4, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 250, ƒ/4, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/11, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1000, ƒ/11, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/350

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 200, ƒ/4.7, 1/180

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5, 1/600

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/120

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/5.6, 1/240

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/2.8, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/350

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 200, ƒ/3.6, 1/680

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.8, 1/950

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4.8, 1/300

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4.7, 1/120

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/1100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.2, 1/640

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.6, 1/3800

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 200, ƒ/3.6, 1/750

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 200, ƒ/4.8, 1/120

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/2.8, 1/300

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/45

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/90

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 2000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

I enjoyed seeing the sights in London. But unfortunately, some of the views were just reflections on the sidewalk of the Coke sign in Piccadilly Square in London.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

There is so much to see in London, and there is not enough time for any tourist. So you pick your locations. For example, our family went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard ceremony.

Finding one location to get good photos of every part of the ceremony is impossible. We got right next to the railing of the front gate. I had to shoot through the iron gates to get this photo.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 800, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

I found the Fuji 55-200mm lens just great to use for this situation. Unfortunately, I was too far away for the 18-55mm, but I could have fun moments like this one of the London Bobby with tourists taking a selfie.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 800, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

I just had to wait and watch to capture people in beautiful moments of expression. The people were more uncomplicated to do than catching the guard. They are very business-like throughout the event in their role.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 640, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

In photography, to capture people’s attention, you need “surprises.” Most of the time, I find that expressions on people’s faces are the easiest to find. Different enough to be a “visual surprise,” like this guard wearing a turban rather than the tall bearskin hat that the rest of the guards wear—the only one with a beard makes this better photo.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 400, ƒ/3.5, 1/150

The most important thing for me the entire trip was that my wife and daughter were having fun. If they were enjoying everything, then I was OK with wherever we were in London.

We all love Harry Potter, and my wife has been a Downton Abbey fan for a while. So London was a perfect place for a vacation.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/70

This photo made me think of the “Night Bus” in Harry Potter. Maybe before Harry Potter, it would just be a double-decker bus in London, but the storyline of Harry Potter is part of my memory, and now these are the Night Bus in the series.

Technical Tip

Before I could concentrate on capturing the moments and moods of England, I had to understand my camera and make it do what I wanted, not just whatever it would create.

For all these photos, I used the ExpoDisc to create a Custom White Balance. Unfortunately, using presets or Auto White balance usually doesn’t yield good results. So here is how I do that in an older blog post.

For the most part, I think you can shoot much of travel photography with lenses between 28mm to 200mm. The FUJINON XF 18-55mm and FUJINON XF 55-200mm give me between 27mm to 300mm coverage. These two lenses was important to get those photos at Buckingham Palace.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/5.6, 1/100

You don’t have to get a camera with changeable lenses; you can buy cameras with built-in zooms that cover this range.

My last tip for your vacation travel and all photos is to write captions and keywords for the images. This way, you can find them later on when you need to. I use the software PhotoMechanic to do all my captions and keywording. Here is an earlier blog post to help you understand how this works. For those who prefer a video, I created a video showing this workflow.

After this trip, I will most likely create a coffee table book with Blurb, so I can enjoy this trip for years to come.

In 1987 I drove up from Richmond, Virginia, to Rock Port, Maine, to attend a photography workshop. I was able to stop along the way and take some fun tourist photos of the country. This first photo is of Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, Maine.

I was looking for this photo on my last trip to Bangor, Maine, last week. However, this was more than two hours away from Bangor, so I decided to go to Bar Harbor and take some photos there.

I was pleased with some of the photos but was still disappointed I couldn’t get a lighthouse.

In 1988 I decided to take another Northeast vacation and visited Cape Cod. Highland Lighthouse, located on Cape Cod, is one of 4 lighthouses on the outer cape. While I was in Hyannis, Massachusetts, part of Cape Cod, the closest lighthouse to me was on private property. I decided to try and capture some of the coastlines, so I shot this instead of the lighthouse.

Sometimes I think we get too locked into one visual icon representing an area of the world that we forget there is much more to see and capture.

Sometimes there are photos worth making just in your neighborhood, like this Kroger gas station near me.

Here is a bicycle race taking place about a mile from my house. My point is you don’t have to go far to capture exciting photos.

This was in my yard. While this is being posted on a Thursday, many people will post older photos for “Throw Back Thursday” why not take some time today and explore your city, neighborhood, or backyard?

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/13, 1/200

I shared earlier about doing travel photography and trying to capture a place and mood. Today I want to share my efforts here in our country’s Bangor, Maine area.

While Bangor is the biggest city in this area of Maine, people travel a great deal from Canada and go to the coast like Bar Harbor, which is only about 45 minutes away.

A person who lives in this part of Maine may be from a city nearby, but they all enjoy their state. They love to enjoy Maine’s oceans, parks, and other outdoor experiences.

The people of Maine love their water sports and fishing. The people of Maine also are very resilient. Mainers know one thing is always sure that winter is coming. They have a more pronounced Boston-like accent. It’s “Lobstah,” Not Lobster.

Maine people are hearty people. Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors. One of the statues of Paul Bunyan is in downtown Bangor, Maine. He exemplifies the ruggedness of the people of Maine.

I will leave you with my last shot of the day. Remember when you travel to do the images that immediately come to mind and then look for some unique things to toss into your coverage.

When I reach for a camera to shoot an assignment, here are some variables that are important to consider:

• Can it capture the scene?
  • Is the ISO high enough for the lighting conditions?
  • Is the shutter speed fast enough to freeze moments?
• Do I have to think about which camera I have in my hand?
• Are the controls the same as my other cameras?
• Is the buffer big enough so I can shoot whenever I want?
• Can I use high-speed shutter sync and shoot at any shutter speed with my flashes?
• How does it feel in my hands?

This is not an exhaustive list, but some things made me upgrade to the Nikon D5.

The Nikon D5 is blisteringly fast and has accurate autofocus. The new AF system is nothing short of sensational. If you set the camera up correctly, the D5 doesn’t miss a beat. User error is far more likely to be the reason for a missed shot than the camera letting you down, even for the best of photographers. [My D5 Settings for Sports]

I had anticipated needing strobes to shoot the volleyball game due to possible banding issues. I arrived earlier and set up three Alienbees B1600 strobes pointed to the ceiling. I wanted to shoot at a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1000, and to do this required me to use the PocketWizard TT5, AC-9, TT1 & AC-3 in combination to shoot above the sync speed of 1/250.

Here are the TT5 & AC-9 on the flash. I was not using the umbrellas.

This is the TT1 with the AC-3 that was on the camera.

The referee said no flash less than three shots into the game. There is no time to repeatedly talk to the school officials and coaches to fix this problem. So I just switched to the available light. The available light was a mixture of LED and tungsten lights.

The Color Temperature was 4700º kelvin with a +25 magenta shift to get a good skin tone. I used the ExpoDisc to get a custom white balance. [Earlier blog on ExpoDisc]

As you can see, shooting sports is essential to me. My clients need sports as well as classroom shots, for example.

According to DPReview.com, “Studio report: Nikon D5 has lowest base ISO dynamic range of any current FF Nikon DSLR.” Now, this is testing, more specifically, the high ISO range. If you want a low ISO dynamic range, buy the Nikon D810. As they concluded in their article, I can attest to this as a working pro, “For its intended audience, the D5’s high ISO imaging capabilities, advanced autofocus, and durability are likely to be much more important.”

In just a few hours, I was shooting from inside fluorescent lighting and outside with daylight and shade. I finished the time shooting under the mixed lighting of LED and tungsten and working without an assistant to keep the costs down for the client. The Nikon D5 allowed me to capture all this at such incredible quality.

I use my Nikon D5s for video shooting as well. Most of the time, it is for formal interviews. The cool thing is that D5’s entire ISO sensitivity span is available in a 4K video recording. So, I can also shoot at these incredibly high ISOs in the video if needed.

Missing a shot because you have different camera systems is what sometimes happens. You forget how to make a change because it is other on one camera than on another. The Nikon D5 camera has freed me up to concentrate on any subject in any light and look for the moments I want to capture.

Often, I find that while there might be enough light to make a photograph, the light isn’t the best quality. The Nikon D5 works excellently with their Speedlights and doesn’t limit me to just shooting with them. I can use other systems like the Alienbees and still shoot at any shutter speed.

Here is the lighting diagram for the photo above.

The leading light is an Alienbees B1600 with a 20º grid to keep the light tight on them. I put enough light on the background to light it and then used a CTO gel over an Alienbees positioned behind the background with a 30º grid.

So, how is the resolution of the Nikon D5? Well, this 6′ x 9′ banner worked just great. You can walk up and look at the details in the poster.

Having the workhorse Nikon D5 in my bag is great because I feel ready for any situation.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Did I ever tell you how much I love my job? Every assignment is meeting new people, capturing their personalities, and hopefully introducing them to you.

I love meeting a teacher that looks like one of the NFL linemen showing the tender side of caring for children and wanting them to learn all they can.

With children, I get a chance to watch their personalities forming. Watching children work is one of my favorite things to see. You can picture them working their minds.

Peaking in on them working is how I often feel when I am asked to photograph children for organizations. I see myself being the fly on the wall as they work and play. Here you can see the sensitive moment of the child tenderly placing her Lego block.

This little girl has to re-think the needle on her sewing machine. I am catching a child super focused and enjoying herself. Now to capture things like this, I believe my personal experiences come into play.

My grandmother sewed all of her clothes. I remember watching her work. Today my daughter is doing costume design for theater. Capturing a passion requires you first to understand it is a passion.

I also love to capture the group dynamics going on. I love this photo of the boys playing ball. I watched as each of them found their role while one of them was batting. They were learning how to play ball with the school’s baseball coach.

Now what is fun to watch is how patiently the coach is with all the kids and then taking the time with them individually, teaching them how to be their best. I could also see where the coach couldn’t teach everything they needed to know but took it one step at a time.

The older kids were more coordinated in their sports. I captured this young girl spiking during their win over a rival school.

I had my first opportunity to capture these young girls learning manners. Here they are learning how to introduce themselves. How to make eye contact, shake hands, greet with a smile, and have a good voice.

While shooting something, these two little boys asked me many questions. They wanted to interact with me, and hopefully, I captured their curiosity and eagerness to engage with others.

I will end here with another moment that just took me back to our oldest son. When Pokémon came out, our son Nelson was the age of Ash Ketchum. In 1997 when it first was on TV, our son was nine years old. These guys were earnest about Pokémon, as I remember our son Nelson.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy said:

“Love what you do, and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

S. Truett Cathy