Dinner with my sweetie!

Went to diner with my sweetie last night, sans kiddos. Of course we talked all about them though!

Lovely evening and some nice adult talk...of course about the family! After working for almost three weeks straight it was nice to have a short break, even if the holiday tidings are forcing me to figure out what I need to do next right away!

Nice restaurant...Chicago's in East Cobb County off Shallowford Road. My wife loved the menu, even with her restricted diet. The nicest thing was she said, "that was like a normal meal!" With her food allergies, it was great to see her enjoy herself. I'd recommend it if you are in the area.

-ehw P.S. This is an iPhone5s photo....edited in Snapseed on my iPad.

Stetson Hats!

Walking around Seattle I found an amazing store full of awesome hats! It had been years since I'd found a nice hat store and I enjoyed the visit. I even found my old hat made new! Trying on the hats I found myself easily noticing the difference between the affordable hats and the higher quality hats...and I liked the the best ones because of their light feel and quality construction.

The store owner and workers were great hosts as they helped me size my head, explained the colors and materials. They even sold one of my coworkers a hat while I dreamed of my own.

Oh I wanted to bring one home, but not in the budget this month! If I lived in Seattle I'd have one in my budget for sure!

I captured the photos using my Fujifilm X-20, and post processed in Snapseed. The little bugger is a decent travel camera and stayed with me all the time in my coat. It did not leave my side, and caught a few good photos along the way.

-ehw

Signs of Fall

A few signs of fall appearing around the town of Roswell, Georgia the last few weeks...and I finally got to enjoy a photo walk win town to capture a few of them. I particularly enjoyed how the leaves gave a sense of closure to the season as we zoom quickly to the dawn of winter. This bench was very interesting to me. I enjoyed the rich textures, contrasty color, and detail. So I tried to capture it faithfully.

If you've followed the blog for any length of time you know I enjoy shooting in the fall. The afternoon light is so warm and enticing. Funny thing is this photo does not get that full treatment due to placement of the bench! Oh well a few more days of this light before a business trip will take me for a spin way out west!

I've become increasingly self critical of my work. I think it comes with the higher expectations I have for myself. That is good because it drives me to improve my game, it is bad because it gives me greater pause before I shoot and share. I'm still learning the needed balance between shooting for fun, sharing and living. What a wonderful journey life is...who knows where it will take me or teach me in the days and years to come.

-ehw

Feel the heat!

The competitors lined up their forces and studied their opponent. They peered into each other's eyes Looking for weakness. In the last twelve months each grew in various ways, the younger one practicing each week with new sparring partners to take on his mentor. With hardly a sound the hounds of war slashed across the field of battle, slaying with precision cuts and discipline the enemy who was careless in his positioning. After fighting for twenty minutes and new sound crossed the battlefield....

A young boys voice said, "Is a horse stronger than a castle? Who is winning? How do you know?"

What fun to see one son dueling with his Uncle Steve, and the other loving on him as soon as the game was over to get his own special time. It is an annual event now each boy looks forward to. It is a special time to watch them bond, and see how my sons grow to appreciate, in new ways only a boy one year older could, the good man my Uncle is.

I've known for years how great a guy he is because he takes such good care of my Aunt, and my Dad's youngest sister who is only 10 years older than me. She and I were pals when I was a kid..and on Thanksgivings she often came home from school to find me sharing her bunk for the weekend! That is what happens when you have a family of nine and a whole lot of kids/grandparents pouring in! No space is scared! Well I only want the best for her, and Uncle Steve definitely is the best medicine God ever dropped on her!

Yes it is one of the best memories a man can have in life...the knowledge that good lessons and memories are now passing through three generations.

-ehw P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with 18-55

Joy in Keeing the Faith

On Veteran's Day I took my family down to the Georgia Aquarium to enjoy some of the lovely things our country can do.  After participating in two incredible Veteran's Ceremonies the previous two days, this was the reward.

At the end of the day my wife asked me what was my favorite part of the aquarium.  I told my wife the joy in the eyes of the children.  I don't think she understood what I meant.  How could she?  These photos still were locked up in my memory card!  Me?  Well I knew what was there since I had seen it through the lens!

-ehw

P.S.  Fujifilm X-E1.  Polarizer brush in Aperture on the glass.  The JPEG was pretty much straight out of the camera other than that.

Piano Master to be!

Today I had to substitute as the Silver Bullet driver for my wife who was out with the nasty stomach bug...so I took the three big kids to Joyful Noise Band.  Me being me, grabbed my camera to do some street photography and contribute to the yearbook.

Ok, for those of you new to the blog we are homeschooling in the Wojo household.  Best thing we've ever done for our little family of six.  Atlanta Metro has a growing home school movement over over 85,000 children!  Well Joyful Noise Band is a large group of dedicated parents and children who gather once a week to form orchestras, bands, jazz bands, guitar bands, recorder bands for the youngest children and choirs.  I know I forgot something...but they do gather and make merry music.  The teachers are wonderfully trained instructors, many of them home school their own children.  I sat in with my big kids and snapped photos in their intermediate orchestra, and I was impressed.  I almost felt like I was back in the pit orchestra with Mr. Whitman at Paul VI High School ready to play myself.

Well this young boy was in the cafeteria between classes.  He was not much different than a number of other boys and girls who aw the piano and just started playing.  The music they played was not some chopsticks number, it was wonderful beautiful music.  Some talked while they played, they were the party social butterflies.  Others took a challenge and played at the urging of their friends.  Some like this young lad put their fingers on the keys and played, leaving the busy auditorium behind and entered the place where you can play with the angels.

I found myself wanting to capture the photo so badly, that I set the camera to quiet mode, and shot from the LCD at hip level.  It was not a stealthy shot, it was quite crazy inside a busy door!  But the lad just kept playing away long enough for me to experiment with the camera and get the shot I wanted.

I hope it makes the yearbook...and I hope I can get it to his parents.  It was a special moment that will be with me for quite a while.

-ehw

PS X-E1, 18-55 lens at F4.5.  Internally processed jpeg with extra saturation and contrast.  Processed in Silver Efex Pro 2 for the B&W with vignette added back in Aperture 3.

Dodo Bird spotted in Alpharetta!

Contrary to most textbooks, the dodo bird does show up from time to time in the wild.  This one wore a mask to disguise itself amongst the busy downtown Alpharetta Canton Street.

For this photo I did a little bit of work in Capture One 7 Perfect Effects.  One thing I've learned is that many, many effects can be done in your primary photo editor.  Programs like Perfect Effects and the Nik products (I own both) can make the process of having fun with your image faster.  Yes there will be some things you can only do in Photoshop, but reality is that for 95% of your work these tools will do just fine.  Yes I did use some one shot HDR work with Perfect Effects for this...as RC Conception says...everything can look better in HDR.

-ehw

PS Fujifilm X-E1 with the old 18-55 again.  The darn thing is just so versatile!

To color or not to color

During my work around in Alpharetta I began to work with my camera settings internally.  In this case I shot the jpeg with Artisa Film mode on high color and contrast.  It as nice, but I also wanted to see what the B&W would look like.  So I simply reprocessed in RAW using the B&W setting with increased contrast and detail.  The more I get comfortable with adjusting settings in camera, I think I may be able to reduce my time at he computer after the shoot.

I also wanted to experiment with the B&W because out of camera, many much more experienced and savvy photographers, say this machine is a B&W dream machine.  I think it did pretty well, but I'm not an expert yet.

In either case, it makes a good study of how removal of color can change up a photograph and focus your eyes and experience on different parts of a photo.  While the white frame and dress draw you in while it is in color...the shapes and patterns box you in for the B&W version.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1

Pretty Kitty

Here is a rarity for me...portraits of a cat.  Yes, you read right, I photographed a cat.  Yes the animal I am very allergic to.  The animal that looks at me and says, "I can take you."  The animal that is ripping up my popup trailer cover.  I photographed a cat!

This cat is called Friendly by my trusting, adoring, cat petting, and often drawing wife and children.  She is a neighborhood cat.  My kiddos go out an pet the cat, the 22 month old chases the cat with glee.  She and her buddy Shiloh own my yard and keep it free from snakes and other pests (for the most part).

How did I come across this?  Well I was playing with my camera working on a tree across the street with its fall colors and late afternoon sun.  Then Friendly waltzed up into the yard and starting being coy.  She even wanted me to to pet her!  Obviously she needs glasses and a smell test.  I look nothing like my six year old or my red headed wife.

Seeing that she wanted to play, and pose and goof off I took the opportunity to get some photographs of a new type of subject for me.

What I learned was that working in the contrasting light, on a subject with such a glossy coat is not in the easy to do category.  Next time I'll stop down up the aperture a bit as well.  I threw out a number of photos because my depth of field was too small.  The portrait up top is a good example of the eyes being perfect, and the rest good.  The others...well not so much.  The final photo was a fun one of the cat on the prowl.  Just as with any photo or portrait I found myself taking some time to touch up parts of the photo to make the cat look like a winner.

-ehw

PS: Fujifilm X-E1 with 18-55

Fall Colors in town...

I went for a walk yesterday and learned I have a lot to learn...while using my tools.

Fall is a wonderful time.  Great light, cool weather, and some things slow down around the house.  Well as the kids get older it does not seem to slow down much, but it does a bit.

This photo is an interesting juxiposition (well to me at least) of nature's leaves, a service panel on the sidewalk and a spray painted spot of blue!  Not expected with the fall and natural colors in there!

I hope you enjoy it!

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1 with the not so kit 18-55 lens.  RAW file conversion and edit right in Aperture.

Heart Struck!

One last one from Art in the Park here...

This is from my friend Wendy Dickerson's booth called How Charming.  She makes charms of every type you can imagine.  This one struck me as sentimental since it reminded me of my nurse wife.

I'm finding in my artistic journey that it is not the technical aspects of a photo that sells it to most of us.  It is the sentimental that makes us want to attach a photo to our walls or story books.

That said, the any good of a photo is almost equal parts technical and art that can tell a story.

So I guess our job as an artist trying to create a story from our minds and then to capture it in our particular product.  If we do our jobs right with technical and artistic competence, we will have that story connect with some cord in others in a way that allows them to relate to the piece as well.

Not as easy as it sounds or looks...or to understand late at night after a good long day with four kids, yard work and a photo session!

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1with 60mm Macro.  Contact Wendy at Howcharming22@gmail.com if you'd like to see her work!

Dancing Water

Last week at Art in the Park us photographers were having fun with the park fountain.  The objective was to both capture and display motion in one shot.

To accomplish this I used my telephoto lens, pushed it out to 175-200mm.  I switched to manual focus (something I am still learning with my new focus peaking feature) and tried to watch my focus zone so I had enough depth of field to have the drops in and out of the focus zone.  I used a series of shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1/600 to capture the drops.

Lots of fun...and you only get better with practice!

-ehw

Over the last few days I've worked with my sons to review the christian concept of hope.  Hope in God and his goodness is what prevents us from falling into despair.

When I looked at these trucks, I realized my boys have had a lot of hope for the last few years.  They dig, and dump, discover and learn day after day in the same spots with the glee a only a boy can get by playing in the dirt.  They are happy with each dig and dive into the dirt of life.

So keep up the hope and drive on to expand your knowledge of faith, hope and charity...it will keep you from deep despair in the groundhog days of crazy politics, and distraction from the prize.

-ehw

-X-E1 in the yard with the 35mm

Sights around Art in the Park

We had a slow. but lovely weekend at Art in the Park...so that left some time for us photographers on scene to play and make some art...and admire the work of others!

Please enjoy the photo essay that follows, and know we were working hard!

-ehw

PS  All taken with my X-E1 with a variety of lenses...

Urban Jungle

Walking through an office I saw a plant reminding of the phrase urban jungle. Quick shots, catch good light and frame in camera the best I could... Then snapseed and done.

Just a reminder watch for a weekend sale on the store!

-EHW

iOS Travel Photography

I am mad as heck at myself...I ran out of the house to beat the rush and forgot my lovely X-E1 in the house on my desk with two charged batteries. So when I got he photo bug I had to turn here to my iPhone. I know, I know everyone is doing it nowadays. I am just resistant to it. I'll use live view and all the modern conveniences but at the end of the day I just want my real camera.

Well I had the bug to shoot something, and I found myself at a rest area. I got a quick shot with a little morning sun. Problem was the flowers were definitely starting to fade...some flowers were downright depressing for what I wanted to do. So I came back to my room and played with the photo...first in iPhoto and then on Snapseed. Snapseed gave me some fun options I liked and knew how to use from my extensive experience with the product....and iPhoto is on its first run with me in its current regeneration.

The bottom line is that even when you have what you feel is little to work with, in today's world it is a far cry from what we had just ten years ago. I made a pretty interesting piece...or so I hope!

Stay optimistic, and drive on to making some art!

-ehw PS iPhone camera on auto, edited in Snapseed.

Art in the Park in Alpharetta Today! October discounts!

Hello!

It is the last Art in the Park of the year in Alpharetta today and tomorrow!  I need to sell off my inventory so if you come down to the show expect up to half off on matted prints.

If you like any of the photos in my store or in my portfolio I have a deal for you!  I am offering 10% off all photos, even special orders you start this weekend!.  Use the code "Octoberfest" in the Square Marketplace.

I hope to see you there.  I'm as always excited to help you decorate your life with some of images of His Glory!

-ehw

Season Finale

Today was the season closing game for Roswell Little League Fall Ball.  We had a nail biter of a game.  The Royals put on a furious rally in the bottom of the 5th, scoring five runs...but our very last available pitcher fought for the final three outs and got the save.  With the save came the division title for our Astros.  I think we ended up second in the league, but I'm not sure if that was part is official yet.

It was a great season, I can't say enough for the good coaches and families that made it so enjoyable for all the boys.

If you want to see a compilation of the year please feel free to click right here...

Roswell Astros 2013 11-12

It was a long day...so this will be brief and I'll close out with just a few more images from today.

Just a reminder that if your in the Atlanta area and would like something like these products made up for your team please let me know.  I'd love to help you out!

-ehw

PS  Two photos taken by My Pentax K-5 with the 60-250 and one from the Fujifilm X-E1.  Edited in Aperture using a Sarah France Holga Color preset.  I used the preset to make the photos across the video as consistent as possible even while taken across different days and with different cameras.  I think it worked for that purpose...let me know what you think.

Home Stretch

Last two games of the season coming up for the Roswell Astros (11-12 year olds).  During a season you can get a lot of good action shots, but a team portfolio is not complete without some ambiance shots.  During night games here I don't have the full frame and F2.8 lenses needed to capture quality action shots.  So instead I switched up my gear to use my FujiFilm X-E1 and my fastest prime lens...my 35mm F1.4.  Just walking around the dugout you can usually find some interesting if you open up your eyes and switch gears from action to environmental shooting.

This is my son' s hat, glove and batting glove.  It was his inning to sit the bench while the team was in the field.  So they were stacked up while he waited his turn to head back out.  While the available light may be awful for moving subjects, the same situation may be interesting and add nostalgia to an environmental photo.

-ehw

A few more for sale

I added three photos to square market you might like...Tuscon Monsoon Morning (above), Roswell Bridge and the DC Tidal Basin.  You can purchase them on square market.  If you want them in a different format...or see anything else in my Smugmug portfolio you like please contact me so I can serve you!

The EHW Photography store is open at:  EHW Square Market

View the rest of my portfolio here: EHW Portfolio

You'll also see some other gear I have up for sale there as well.  Some good gear not getting enough use.

As always 10% of the print profit goes to charity.

-ehw