Black or Color? (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

I actually got to go out this weekend! During my 3-4 hour excursion into the city, I took about 50-60 shots, with only 10 of them serving as my favorites.

On a complete tangent, over the past few months (almost 7 months now!) that I've been running this blog, I've been trying to find a equal compromise of professionalism and inclusion. What I mean is, I've been trying to find a way to share my journey through photography with the world without turning this blog into a 2004 text-heavy photo journal. So as of today, I plan to really re-think how I present these images through both my posts, and blog itself.

Getting back to photography (and away from marketing-- which is what that is pretty much), the photos below gave me one of those great photo-feelings where you're completely unsure of how to treat the colors on a photograph because they both work so well. As a result, I put both versions in the post below (for only the images that I couldn't decide on), and I hope I can get some feedback on the "best rendition".

Click on the READ MORE text for six boards of wood and a nail

I think that while this picture wouldn't work "on-paper", the distinct boldness of his figure from the background makes the image stand out.

Interim Update (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

Just a small photographic update here. If you're out of the times, I haven't posted in the past few weeks due to recent fluxes of schoolwork and tight schedules (college is hard). While I try to get out at least once a week for photos, I haven't had the time to go through my pictures and select the ones that I like the most.

In addition, I've been finding that as much as photography is a fun hobby, it's also a real "mental chore". While I love it to death, it's really difficult sometimes to get into the "mood" of looking for good pictures and  take enough initiative to actually get down and get the best angle when your mind is somewhere else (hopefully, I'll adjust to my new college life and I'll have a bunch of wonderful pictures to share next time).

Click on the READ MORE text for ten thousand magnificent honey bees

First Try at Studio-Esque Shooting! (Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8) (QUICK HIGHLIGHTS)

Hey, Norman here. The following is actually one of my first attempts at doing studio-esque shots for the fun of it. Now before anything else, let me say the following things:

1. I should have scrubbed down the lens more (dust and cameras are a unforgiving combination)
2. I should have adjusted the white balance on-camera or in post production to make the images uniform
3. I should have balanced the exposure better so that the images are consistently exposed
4. I should have shot in RAW for better image quality and flexibility in post production (JPEG here for convenience)

With my snide comments to excuse my laziness/inexperience aside, the following set of pictures are from a "product-shoot" I did on Saturday. I knew someone that was selling one of their vintage lenses, and I asked if I could take some pictures of it before they sent it off to the cold harsh world.

After about 40 test shots, I finally narrowed it down to the following ten shots. All in all, I'm pretty sure I learned a great deal (though still not enough) about studioish shots.

Here's what I used:

• Nikon D90
• Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G Lens (This is the only lens that allowed me to focus close enough. Luckily, it comes with most cameras. I was actually surprised on the
• Cheapie Sunpak Tripod (In order to use such a dark lens and take sharp pictures, a tripod is NECESSARY)
• Powerade Fruit Punch Variant Sports Drink (for holding my background paper up-- very important that you use this flavor of sports drinks; safety not guaranteed for any other type.)
• 11x14 Sketchpad Paper (used for a solid-color background)
• Leica Summaron 35mm f/2.8

Click on the READ MORE text to see completely unprocessed, out-of-camera JPEGS!

The warm lighting is provided by my Samsung S3's flashlight with toilet paper used as a light dampener. Turns out the flashlight actually emits a soft summer yellow when bouncing off its own diodes.