RICK PROKOSCH just pictures · 2014. 3. 5. · My name is Rick and I love photography. I assume you do as well so this should be fun. I hope you enjoy what I have before you, images

just pictures

A COLLECTION OF IMAGES, THE STORIES BEHIND THEM, AND TIPS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY. VOLUME I

RICK PROKOSCH

My name is Rick and I love photography. I assume you do as well so this should be fun. I hope you enjoy what I have before you, images that I’ve taken and love. I’d like to share this book with you for free because I want to give back to everyone on the internet that has given to me. Simple as that. I also plan on this being the first of many books, so if you like this one, let me know! Tell me what you liked or didn’t like. Perhaps that can make the next book even better.

I would like to thank the photography community for everything they’ve shared with me. Some specific people that have really had a big impact on me are:

• Ken Rockwell

• Thomas Leuthard (AKA 85mm http://www.85mm.ch/)

• Eric Kim (http://erickimphotography.com/)

• JT White (http://jtinseoul.wordpress.com/)

• Shoot Tokyo, Dave Powell(http://shoottokyo.com/)

• El Dave Photography (http://www.eldavephoto.com/)

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first words

“It’s a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.” - Lucille Ball

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Just%20Pictures%20Vol%201%20Feedback




http://kenrockwell.com/

http://kenrockwell.com/

http://www.85mm.ch/

http://www.85mm.ch/

http://www.85mm.ch/

http://www.85mm.ch/

http://erickimphotography.com/

http://erickimphotography.com/

http://erickimphotography.com

http://erickimphotography.com

http://jtinseoul.wordpress.com/

http://jtinseoul.wordpress.com/

http://jtinseoul.wordpress.com

http://jtinseoul.wordpress.com

http://shoottokyo.com/

http://shoottokyo.com/

http://shoottokyo.com

http://shoottokyo.com

http://www.eldavephoto.com/




CHAPTER 1

pleased to meet you

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.” - Anne Frank

Why write a book and give it away?

I recently read Steve Jobs, the biography written by Walter Isaacson. I’ve always been fascinated by Steve and what he did with Apple. I’ve tried to learn from his presentation style and his attention to aesthetics. He wanted to change the world for the better and he did. I think everyone should try and change the world in their own little way, make it just a little better no matter how big or small the change is. Steve’s changes were pretty big... some people’s are. For pretty much 90% of the world population though, we do the small changes that make the people around us happy and our little pocket of the world a bit better. I want to share my passion for photography and my photographs with you. Maybe a picture will make you smile or feel better if you’re not in the best mood. Maybe it’ll inspire you to write a book about something you love and give it away for free so everyone can learn from it. Whatever this book does for you, I truly hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have while creating it.

Learning

The internet has opened up a huge door when it comes to learning about anything you want. Feel like learning how to draw? Look it up. Want to write a mobile app? Hit up a site to get the coding basics down. How about counting cards? Look that up and teach yourself! Then please teach me how because I just didn’t get it when I tried. When you want to learn something now, there is NO stopping you. That’s how I ended up being so interested in photography. I’ve always had an

interest in it but never really followed it up. I ended up looking into that interest in my late 20‘s. That was it. I love the visual medium, I found that out in a hurry. I loved looking at images others had created and taken. I was fascinated with the pictures that I was looking at, trying to figure out just why they were so appealing to me. I left it at that, an observer of fine photography skill.

A friend bought a Nikon D90 when it was released. He brought it over to show it to me and it was my first real experience with a DSLR. I had a little Canon A720 IS that we bought a few years earlier. He showed me a few tricks and some finer points of aperture and shutter speeds. These were things I’d never looked into. I was hooked, curious, couldn’t wait to get my brain into this. I started reading everything I could about photography and, being a geek, cameras and gear. I played with my little Canon point and shoot and kept increasing my knowledge of photographic terminology and the like.

That friend of mine also introduced me to kenrockwell.com, an amazing site that is an absolute goldmine of photography instruction and insights. I think I have read every instructional article he has written... twice. It’s a great place to start for anyone who really wants to take better pictures.

Ken also led me to my first camera, a used Nikon D40. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it because I wasn’t sure how much I’d take to it for the long term. I grabbed a couple of cheap lenses to play with and started building some skill. I

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http://www.kenrockwell.com/

http://www.kenrockwell.com/

read more articles, studied others’ photographs, took more pictures, and evaluated everything that came out of my camera. I found Digital Photography School which also has some fantastic instructional articles. Again, I’m a nerd and I tend to study up quite a bit on something that interests me. I can take to take this too far, I’ll just read and read but not do anything with that knowledge. I realized that and made the effort to overcome that habit. I took more photos and tried to inspect everything that came into my view. One article said that she saw the world in a whole new way, she was appreciating everything she saw and it all seemed amazingly new and beautiful to her. I honestly felt this too. The world just got more interesting to me when I started to look at it with the eyes of a brand new photographer and continue to do this today. Try it, it’ll also bring you into the present and help you appreciate your surroundings. It’s awesome.

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http://www.digital-photography-school.com/

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/

CHAPTER 2

scenes

“A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Sun and Wheat

I should start the book from Saskatchewan with a picture of Saskatchewan.

I was out for a walk with my in-laws and family on a great fall evening. I had my camera with me because the light was beginning to look pretty interesting. My father in law farms and this wheat field was extra golden that evening, begging for a shot. I fired off a few without thinking and then realized that I had done so. I then bent down and really looked for the angle and positioning that was the most interesting. I wanted to figure out how the image looked the best before I got it into the camera. So many times I was guilty of just firing off a whole bunch of shots without thinking. I’d then look at them on the computer and choose my favorite. Getting lucky with them was the only way I’d get shots! I knew there was a shot there but I didn’t put any thought into it. So I searched for the image I wanted and snapped two of them. This was the first and best.

I edited it a little bit on the computer to add some vignetting and fill light to the wheat. I try to get as much right in the camera as I can and then make up for the rest on the computer. I don’t want to have the computer be a crutch and an excuse for not taking the extra time to get it right in the camera.

Don’t Just Hold the Shutter Button

If you’re not shooting sports or kids, you probably don’t need the rocket off a whole bunch of shots. Take that time to look around and really ask yourself what catches your eye in the scene. Is it a color? Shape? Pattern? Texture? Find what it is and make the picture about that or a combination of those things. It’s fun to hold the shutter down and there is a time and place. If you want an image that really jumps out at the viewer and makes them stare, there is a good chance it will be the ones you really put some thought into.

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TECHNICAL DETAILSTECHNICAL DETAILS

Camera/Lens Nikon D40/Nikon 18-55 mm VR

Focal Length 18mm

Exposure 1/500 @ f/11

ISO 200

Other Information None

Harvest in Full Swing

Let’s carry along with harvest. My father in law wanted some pictures of harvest and his combines. My son was riding with him so I ran back to the truck and snapped a few pictures.

Much like the last one, I fired off a bunch of shots because I could and was going to look at them after. I checked a few out on the camera and didn’t see anything I liked. I took another minute to look around and see what was catching my eye. The clouds and the color of the sky, that was it. The yellow in the combine really jumps out, yellows and oranges jump out of a nice blue background as this scene had.

Consider Every Element

For this one, I wanted to capture the clouds. I loved the way they seemed to be whipped in the sky. I realized the clouds were the biggest thing jumping out of the image but they weren’t enough to be the only thing in the shot. Putting the combine and field in there was the only other option and I thought they would enhance it. I didn’t worry about the ‘rule’ of thirds, I just lowered the camera until I found the right amount of land in the shot.

I probably spoke to myself the whole time, out loud, as I was thinking about the image. When you’re contemplating your shot, look at all the possible elements that are going to be involved. You’ve heard this when you’ve read about taking portraits, be aware of the background. That’s just another elements in your shot and it can make or break it. So don’t gloss over all the elements in your view, ask if they will make your shot better or worse.

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Focal Length 24mm


ISO 200


The Last Drive

After a training course, I took some time to go out on a photo walk. I stopped in a cemetery to explore a little bit. I took a number of shots that I was happy with but this one stood out the most. It’s the last road a person will drive down before they are laid to rest. The evening light made a very peaceful scene for the shot.

Tell a Story

Try and tell a story with your shots. When someone looks at this photo, they can see the headstones and make the connection that this is in a cemetery. A long road, sunset, graves... it’s the last drive.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Hazy Sunset

I took this one on the way to my family’s place. It was harvest time and there were some combines around that were filling the air with dust. The sun was setting and really hitting that dust and making it look cool. The picture didn’t capture the dust as much as I’d hoped but it still turned out quite well.

Equipment is Secondary

The camera still doesn’t matter. I shot this with my Canon S90 when I had it. I bought it used and just had it with me in the car. If I had a smart phone with me, I still would have taken the shot and gotten something I’m happy with. Don’t get hung up on gear, just have fun with what you have.

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Camera/Lens Canon S90

Focal Length 22.5mm

Exposure 1/200 @ f/4.9

ISO 80


Birds at Sunrise

Thanksgiving in Canada usually happens during harvest season. I went out with my father in law, mother in law, and son to watch the Canadian Geese take off. My father in law said this happens every morning around sunrise when they flock together. We went out just before sunrise and waited for the geese to take off. Sure enough they did. I had my camera all ready and had fired some test shots to get the silhouette I wanted. When these birds took off, it was amazing. The sound was something I can't even describe. It's a low grumble that grows into, what you could possibly imagine, thousands of wings flapping in the air. It's something else, something I have never heard before.

The visual aspect was equally as amazing. The birds didn't just lift off and fly away, they would swirl back and forth in the these amazing waves. The amount of birds in the picture are nothing compared to what was out that morning.

Go For the Heart

Try and capture the emotion of the scene. I'm not sure if I did this or not, if I'm honest with you. I wanted to really convey the sense of scale, the numbers, the feeling of this amazing sight that so few people get to see. The crisp air in the morning, the gorgeous light, and the spectacle that I was witnessing. This could quite possibly be the hardest thing to do when you take a picture. So many times we go on vacation and see amazing things. When we get home we go, "Meh, that's a picture of it… but I don't get the same emotion". This goes back to really thinking about your shot. What is giving you this emotion? Focus on it or combine the things that are. Relate elements in the shot as they actually are in life. Maybe that's getting a different angle, maybe it's a longer exposure time, maybe it's a silhouette like this one. This takes a lot of practice and I'm far from getting this in my shots even 25% of time right now.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Windy Winter

This was Christmas day 2010 in Saskatchewan. It was nasty cold out, around -38c with the windchill. We went to see my father in law's new building and the snow blowing over this old stretch of road caught my eye. After we got back to the house, I rigged up a protective case for my Nikon D90. I used a ziplock back, cut a hole in one of the corners of it, and twisted the UV filter on my lens with the bag between the threads. That held it nice and secure. I ventured out in the truck and popped off a few shots. I have my camera in manual focus because the bag prevented the focus motor in the lens from turning. I took a few safety shots of this one because I didn't have time to check the camera screen, it was way too cold.

The wind was blowing so hard that the truck door slipped from my hands as I was getting back into the truck. The door smashed against my shin and gave me a pretty good gash… and a story to tell about the image!

Sometimes, Break Trail

Be willing to go where and when no one else wants to. Ken Rockwell said this and I agree with him. He stayed behind to grab a shot while his friends went back for supper. I didn't see anyone else out shooting where I was and I haven't seen many images like this because people don't want to go out when it's this cold or don't want to risk their gear. I can agree with that last point, you have to know what your gear can stand in harsh conditions and how to take care of it.

DO NOT put yourself in harm's way just for an shot, no image is worth that unless you are a photojournalist, then it's part of the job, I guess.

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Camera/Lens Nikon D90/Nikon 18-55mm VR

Focal Length 36mm


ISO 200


CHAPTER 3

architecture & buildings

“ You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” - Ansel Adams

Windows

There is the back of a building that faces the parkade I use when I’m working. I walked by it a bunch and didn’t really notice it that much before. I saw the patterns of windows and imagined what it would look like in black and white. Although it’s a pretty standard brick building, when I thought about the patterns of the windows and how the white trim would stand out in a black and white shot, I figured it was worth a try. It turned out to be one of my favorite images!

B&W

Black and white brings a depth to photos that is unreal. It’s amazing how much a picture can change once it’s black and white. When I see something I find interesting, I ask myself what it might look like in black and white. An easy way to answer this questions is by looking specifically at the contrast in the image. Are there lots of bright and dark colors or is it kind of mute, around the grey area? Yes to either of those can be used for you picture, mind you. Lots of contrast will lend itself well to a B&W shot, usually. If it’s a lot of muted colors that will turn into grey, it could give the image a subtle and relaxed look that may or may not suite the image in front of you.

I also find that B&W images accentuate patterns very well. Your eye is drawn to the patterns a little more because there isn’t color distracting you. Try and imagine what you see as if it were black and white. It’ll take some practice but, then again, that’s half the fun of taking pictures; practicing new ways of looking for photos.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 200


Child and Gower

Like another photo of mine, the back of this building faces the parkade I use every day. When you walk right by it, it doesn’t really jump out at you. When you are on the third floor of the parkade, the building takes on a whole new look. I noticed this building shortly after I started using this parking spot. I thought, “that’s really cool, I need to get a shot of that building”. I thought about it from a few different angles and decided the best one would be from the third level that looked straight on at the building. I took my camera to work that week and snapped it. I didn’t give much thought to this one the day I brought my camera, I knew it was just going to be a straight on shot with the building in the middle so that’s what I took.

I did do some post processing work on the computer to make the colors and feel match the look of the building. I also punched up the contrast and sharpness to really make the details pop. I knew what I wanted the photo to look like before I took it so that really helped me get it done.

Mind’s Eye

Try and have an idea of the photo you want before you take it. With the power of post processing available to anyone with a computer, or even mobile device, the possibilities are endless. That adds another aspect of your photo that you have to take into consideration if you plan to post process it quite a bit on the computer. When you are looking at the picture you are planning on taking and processing, think about what you may want to do to that photo and if there is anything you need to do when you take it.

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Focal Length 40mm


ISO 200


100 Rider Years

Saskatchewan has a football team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. For 2010, their 100th year, they placed two huge banners on two of the iconic office towers in Regain. This was pretty early on in my digital SLR use so I was still learning how to use it. I took my Nikon D40 out with my work group for coffee this summer afternoon and wanted to get a shot of the banners and buildings. I tried a few locations and some were alright but then I went right up to the base of the building and ended up with a picture that wasn’t really about the Riders’ banner but more about the building itself. I loved the lines in the image and the clear sky all around.

I actually didn’t take this with black and white in mind. I wan’t thinking in terms of black and white photography yet and only found that it looked really cool in B&W in post processing.

Perspective matters!

I tried a number of different angles to get this building in. Across the street, through the park, straight on, nothing seemed to work. I then went right to the base and shot nearly straight up. This perspective makes the building look massive and really accentuated the patterns of the windows. The shots I was trying to take initially were the ones everyone else was taking.

When you are taking a photo, try and take it from a perspective that’s new or unexpected. Anyone can shoot from eye level but how many people crouch down or even get on their stomachs for a shot? Not many. Those who do, end up with a very unique view and possibly a great picture.

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Focal Length 18mm

Exposure 1/2500 @ f/3.5

ISO 200


Aliens in the Attic

I waited over a year to get this one. I knew this house was near my in-law’s farm and thought it would make a great picture. The weather was too cold when I first got the idea for the image so I waited until the following fall season to get it. I ended up getting two shots of this house, this one and another in the afternoon light.

To get this one, I had my father in law come with me in his service truck. It has a bright spotlight that you can remotely control. I setup my camera and tripod for the shot and guessed at the exposure based on my experience. I opened the shutter and had him move the light up and down over the house. After about four shots, I had the one I wanted. We went on to shoot a whole bunch of other light painted stuff that evening as well, this was my favorite.

Wait for it

This is another one of those “wait for the time to be right” photos. I won’t rehash this tip because I cover it in another photo.

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Focal Length 36mm

Exposure 5 seconds @ f/16

ISO 200


Slow Lean

The second of two images of this house. This one was taken in the afternoon light. I wanted a nice bright shot of this house to show the characteristics of its age. I grabbed my Nikon D90 and 18-55 lens. I knew exactly the shot I wanted of it so I crouched down, framed it, and took it. This was the one and only shot I took of the house that afternoon and I think it’s one of the better shots I’ve taken.

Light up Your Brain

Think about your subject in different lights or conditions. I knew the house looked cool but I wasn’t sure how to capture that. I thought about, and took, a long exposure shot and night. I then thought it might look cool in the afternoon light, it did. Think about how cool it would look in a rain storm. There can be so many images from one subject when all that changes is the environment, don’t forget about that element.

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Focal Length 18mm


ISO 200


Bins at Night

This was part of my first attempt at shooting long exposures of the sky at night. I had to do some reading about how to get the proper focus for the stars and how long to keep the shutter open without getting star trails. I went out to my in-law's farm on a nice harvest night. The combines where going in the background and the sky looked pretty cool, from what I could see of it. I setup my tripod and camera, had some tunes playing on the smartphone, and had a great time.

Research

Be sure to research a little bit before you try a new technique like this. I found out that you can't simply twist the manual focus ring to infinity and the length of time you can keep the shutter open before you get start tails depends on the focal length you are shooting at. Look that kind of stuff up before you got out because nothing is more frustrating than coming home after a few hours of shooting and finding out that you had some simple thing not set right that ruined all of your pictures.

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Focal Length 18mm

Exposure 20 seconds @ f/4.5

ISO 400


Here are some more shots from that night.

Half of My Heart

I was driving home after work one day and saw this painted on the side of a building. I pulled over and grabbed my camera, which I had with me all the time. I’m a big John Mayer fan so the name was the first thing I thought of actually. I tried to use all the elements around me including the weather and the pile of barrels. I could have just focused in on the heart but that would have been boring.

Change it up

Take a different way home if you can. That’s what I was doing the day I took this. I was looking around at things that were new because I wasn’t used to seeing them all the time like I am with my regular route. So next time you drive, walk, bike, whatever to work, try a different route if you can. Just be sure to pay attention to what you are doing, don’t be looking out the side window and trying to drive at the same time.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


CHAPTER 4

nature

“ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

The Frost

Fall in Canada can be quite a sight sometimes. The frosty morning can yield fantastic macro shots of plants and other environmental elements.

On the morning of this shot, I looked out the back window at the strawberry patch in the garden and saw it covered in frost. Actually, the BBQ cover is what caught my attention first of all. The white frost on that deep blue cover was quite eye catching. I grabbed my camera and headed into the back yard. This was another time where I had no idea what I wanted to take a picture of. It was quite early in my photography hobby and I just wanted to take some photos. I shot everything I saw and this is the only survivor from that day.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Taking photos, lots of photos, helps you develop your eye. Sometimes you don't know what works until you try everything. I don't want to sound like I'm contradicting some of the other tips I mention in this book though. Tips like this and thinking about, and planning your shot, are two things that you will probably go through. As you develop your eye, taking lots of photos helps you learn what your your unique style might be. I started shooting a ton of photos and keeping very few. Now I shoot few and keep a good amount of them because I've learned how to capture what motivated me to take the shot. I'm not saying I know what I'm doing, just that this is where I am in my photography journey. I'll never be done.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 250


Evening Flowers

These are the flowers on the front porch of my house. I'd seen, and really liked, shots where the sun was almost blowing out the entire image. Some of the shots I liked were at sunset with the sun actually into the shot, washing out the subject a little bit with that golden light.

I took a number of shots to try and get this one. I had originally gone out to take a few pictures of my sister in the evening light. I took some of her but then saw the flowers in the flower pot. I think it took seven or eight shots to get the exposure where I wanted it. I couldn't let the camera have control over the exposure, it wouldn't let the image get this blown out. Flicking it into manual mode and playing with the aperture and shutter speed got me the shot I wanted.

Imitate!

If you want to learn more techniques or keep developing your eye, try and imitate your favorite photographs. As I said above, I'd seen shots somewhat like this and wanted to imitate them. It's another way to expand your knowledge of exposure!

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Camera/Lens Nikon D90/Nikkor 50mm

Focal Length 50mm


ISO 200


Clown Fish

My cousin has a salt water fish tank with some great looking fish in it. Everybody loves the clown fish and I’m no exception. We had just put some cleaner into the water to help with some algae growth so it too on a milky look. I had my prime lens on my Nikon D90, as I always did, so I fired off a number of shots at a few fish in there. This one ended up being my favorite.

Try Manual Focus

If you can, try and use manual focus. If your camera has a good manual focus system, like a DSLR, give it a go sometimes. Prime lenses are the best for this because they usually have a nice big focus ring so you can really tune in that shallow DOF. It'll also help you control exactly what you want to focus on, sometimes even faster than changing the focus point for the AF system.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 500


Evening Grass

I love the evening light, like most people do. I had seen some shots of grass and other plants with dew on them. I wanted to take one like that but it was bone dry outside, no dew. I just found a spray bottle and put some water in it! After a few squirts of mist, the grass had a great look. I switched my lens into manual focus so I could be more selective, zoomed in my 18-55 to get some DOF, and away I went.

DIY

Sometimes you have to make your own environment. If most of the elements are there for your photo, sometimes you just need a little bit of creativity to get it the way you want. Grabbing that squirt bottle was easy and fast and was the biggest thing that made this picture. When you want to take a shot but it’s not just the way you want it, take a second to think about if there is anything you can do to make it 100% the way you want it.

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Camera/Lens Nikon D90/Nikon 18-55mm

Focal Length 52mm


ISO 200


Sunny Day

I have always liked shots of sunglasses in different locations. There wasn’t anything special about this one other than it’s an image I wanted to replicate. I wanted it to be just grass and the glasses. I love the lazy and relaxed look about them and tried to carry that across.

Do it For You

Don’t take pictures for other people. When you take a picture, don’t have thoughts about what the Internet will think or what others are going to say about it. If you like it and want to take it, take it! I personally like this image despite knowing it’s been done a lot before. That didn’t matter to me, I wanted one that I had created and of my sunglasses. Take pictures for yourself and forget about everyone else.

That goes without saying that this assumes you are just a hobby or amateur photographer.

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Focal Length 72mm


ISO 200


Jet Plane

I had this shot planned for a while as I have done in th past. Summer skies are awesome and they look pretty neat with a jet trail. I had my camera ready for quite a while on the kitchen table inside the house whenever we would go out into the back yard. It took a few weeks but finally I had a clear sky and jet pass overhead. I ran and grabbed my camera to snap this one. I wanted the lens flare in there as well, that was planned and not added in post processing. It turned out how I wanted, with the jet flying into the blue.

Planning... Again.

I have already spoken about the tip for planning your shots and having your camera ready. Both of those applied in this case and worked out well.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 250


CHAPTER 5

isolation & abstract

“Contemplation seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing.” - Dodie Smith

Fancy Drinks

My sisters like to make up fancy drinks when they get together and Christmas was no exception. The counter with the drinks and glasses is lit from an under-the-cubboard light that shines down. It has a really cool look when it’s dark out and the other lights are on in the kitchen as well. I thought for a second about what I liked about the display and decided it was the crushed candy cane around the rim of the glasses. I grabbed my camera and took a couple of shots. A few of them were of my sister pouring the drink and the others were just the drink sitting there.

I did some post processing to bring up the contrast and clarity to make the colors pop.

Natural Light Can be Your Friend

Learn how to shoot with natural light just as you would learn how to shoot with a flash. Natural light is my favorite way to shoot because it’s the closet representation of what you see as a photographer. You can do this kind of lighting with a flash of course but natural light requires much less setup and it’s everywhere!

The challenge comes with how much natural light is around you. Inside a building it can be quite low so this is where you will benefit from a prime lines with a large aperture. I shot this one with my absolute favorite Nikon lens, the Nikkor 50mm 1.8. I took this wide open at f/1.8 which is why I have the great depth of field and was able to use the natural light. I think every photographer should try and shoot with a prime lens or own one if they can afford it. The nice thing about the 50mm lenses from Nikon and Canon is that they are cheap, around $100 to $150 Canadian dollars.

I’m not much of one to dwell on gear but I have to say, a prime lens is something I fell in love with. It’s currently the only lens I own with the camera I have now, a Panasonic Lumix GF-1 with a 20mm 1.7 prime lens.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 200


Frosty Sunrise

I was at my sister’s house at the lake one winter and looked out into their sunroom. I noticed the awesome looking ice formations on the windows and knew the sun would be up right away. I grabbed my camera and took some pictures as the sun was rising. This was early on with my camera so I didn't now much to think about the image I wanted, I just started taking a whole bunch not really knowing what I wanted the end result to look like. When I got them on the computer, I weeded them out. This one was my favorite and even my brother in law didn't know what this was a picture of even though it was of his house. That is the case a lot when you do macro photography, the things you take pictures of are usually unrecognizable.

Golden Hours? Sometimes.

The morning and evening light makes even most mediocre views into a great one. If I had taken this in the middle of the afternoon it would have still been a cool shot but nothing compared to this one. The morning sunlight made it awesome shot. You've all read this, the golden hour thing, the best light. It can be some of the coolest light but you don't have to limit yourself to these times. It's still not a bad idea to use them when you can!

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Well Played

This is a shot of my dad’s guitar. I inherited it after he died and thought it would be cool to take a picture of the well worn knobs on it. The pick guard and knobs used to be bright white but after 20 years they are now yellow and look fantastic.

I built a light tent out of white art board from a local craft store. I found the guide on DIY Photography, a great site for DIY photo projects to do. I light the tent with daylight color bulbs from the local hardware store with one in a flexible neck desk lamp and the other in a mechanics trouble light. I also used my Nikon sb-400 flash to bounce off the ceiling of the tent.

I post processed this to really make the detail pop and to lower the vibrant colors and give it a slightly more aged look.

Artificial Light Can be Your Friend

This shot is with 100% artificial light. It was a great way for me to learn how to use continuous lighting for a still life shot. With the light tent having three walls and a roof, I simplly pointed the desk lamp at the left inside wall of the tent, had the trouble light hanging from the roof of the tent and pointing to the right, and then had a really low power flash from my Nikon sb-400 flash. The combination of these light sources really worked well. I had to take a number of test shots to get it just right. That’s the beauty of digital, you can take a bunch of test shots until you get it right without wasting anything! It’s a great way to learn. Something you’ll want to do is flick your camera into manual for this kind of thing or at least into shutter or aperture priority. You may find it easier to control the light entering the camera that way.

I still use this tent and lighting when I do still life shots. I’ve gotten much better at the exposure value on the camera and now only need to a take two or three test shots to get it right.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


http://www.diyphotography.net/

http://www.diyphotography.net/

Wet Window Sunrise

This is my bedroom window on a really cold winter morning. This window gets quite wet because the humidity from the shower in the bathroom right beside steams it all up. The sun was just coming up and the window had fantastic looking water droplets on it.

Close to Home Can be a Good Place

Sometimes you don’t have to travel for far out sights. Looking with that curious eye, even around your house, may surprise you. I must have walked by this window hundreds of times with it looking like this. For some reason, I actually paid attention to it and saw something like this photo in my mind.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Stone Angel

I was on a training course for work and drove past this cemetery on the way home. It was getting into fall so the sun was setting sooner in the day. I had my camera with me in the car so I stopped off and grabbed some photos. I saw this angle on one of the headstones and it stood out quite a bit. I ended up with two shots of it, this one and another straight on. I really like this one, the way it's isolated with the sky so clean.

Explore Out-of-the-Way Places

I'm not sure cemeteries are the first place people think of to take photos. I saw the opportunity as I drove by with the light being really interesting. Don't be afraid of different places to shoot. I got some, what I think are, unique photos for my area. More importantly, I like them. So try out some places you wouldn't normally think of when it comes to taking photos.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Sunlight Spiderweb

I had been working in my garage, cleaning it out. I saw this web in the corner and was about to knock it down when I thought it would make a cool picture in the evening light. I left the door open and waited the few hours until after supper when the sun was going down. I grabbed my ladder to get a new perspective (something I touched on in this book) and took a few shots. It didn’t take much to get the shot I wanted.

The lighting and perspective make this shot, I just love it. It wouldn’t have looked this good in the middle of the afternoon with me just pointing up at the web from a standing position.

Plan For It

Plan your shots if you can. I saw the opportunity but didn’t have the light I wanted when I first noticed the web. I knew I had the option of waiting until the light was what I was looking for so I simply planned to come back. If you have options like this, to wait for better lighting or subject positioning, it’s well worth it. You’ll get the shot you had in mind and be much happier with it.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 100


The Best Part

I have a few hobbies and one of them is guitar. I really tried to ramp up my skill level a few years back by playing for at least an hour a day. I got to the skills I wanted and really fell in love with it. I used my dad's 1990 Fender Stratocaster and Princeton Chorus amp, which I had inherited after he died. This is a shot of that amp and the best feature it has, reverb.

Mix up Your Hobbies

Mix your hobbies, they won't mind. With photography, you can mix other hobbies in and makes photos of those interests. It's a super fun way to take pictures and freeze those other hobbies in time. Try it out.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 200


Fall Walk

Walking to a session in one of the nearby hotels in fall, I wanted to get a picture of the fall environment. What was in front of me was really cool but I couldn’t decide on what the take the picture of. I decided the sidewalk and leaves were the part of the scene in front of me that stuck out the most. I was right, it made a great picture.

Choose Your Elements

Again, choose which elements you want in your pictures with care. Leave things out of your shots that don’t add to or enhance the photo. For this one, if I had taken a picture looking straight on, you would see an intersection, a bunch of cars, some buildings, a kids’ playground on the right, parking meters to the left and it would look like a mess. By focusing on the path and leaves, you know exactly what it was that caught my attention.

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Camera/Lens BlackBerry 9800

Focal Length N/A

Exposure N/A

ISO N/A

Other Information The stock photo app was used

Rain on my Windshield

I had just gotten my 50mm 1.8 lens and wanted to take some cool bokeh shots on a rainy night. I pulled over where I had a bunch of traffic and store lights in the distance, lights I knew would give a cool bokeh effect. I used manual focus to focus on the rain on my windshield which is nice and close and at f/1.8, the effect is exactly what I had in mind.

More Imitation of my Favorite Photos

This was another case of me imitating some of my favorite photographs. I love bokeh so I studied some pictures and figured out the kind of shot I would like to take. This also goes back to knowing your equipment and how to operate the basic aspects of it.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 400


Molsen House

After I got my first DSLR, the Nikon D40, I took it with me as many places as I could. I changed up my route to work to look for new images to take. I came across an old building, what used to be the Molsen house, that had closed down. The logo was in the pavement and it looked really cool. I took the picture knowing that I really wanted to accent the distressed nature.

Post Processing Presets Are a Jumping Point

Use presets in your post processing software to give you a starting point for your photos. I wanted to process this photo a little more than most so I went through the presets that were installed. I found one that was as close to what I liked as I could and then refined it a little more. It beats starting from scratch and saved a lot of time.

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Focal Length 18mm


ISO 200


CHAPTER 6

people

“Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase.” - Percy W. Harris

High Rise

This is my absolute favorite shot so far. This was taken from the 12th floor in the head office building for the company I work for. I knew we were going to that floor for a vendor demonstration web session so I grabbed my camera and took it with me, planning on taking a few photos of the cityscape. It was quite cold out that day, even for winter in Saskatchewan, Canada. The steam was awesome looking and that’s what I was planning on taking pictures of. I snapped about two shots and then saw a co-worker’s reflection in the window. It really caught my eye so I tried to get him in focus. I didn’t really have time to frame it or even think of the shot, I just took it.

I wish there was a more impressive story behind this photo but that’s it, I saw the shot and I just took it. Sometimes you get lucky like that!

Carry Your Camera

Take your camera everywhere you can. That’s it, you never know when you might stumble across a fantastic picture.

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Focal Length 40mm


ISO 200


My Little Boy

This is another one of my all time favorites, my oldest boy after we took some family pictures at a local art gallery. There was a Christmas tree there with some elevators near it. You could watch the elevators going up and down so he wanted to see them. I made a bokeh shape cover for my lens and wanted to try it out. I popped it on a snapped a few shots of the tree out of focus. I thought it might be cool with him in the shot so I took a few. He didn’t stand still at all so I fired off a number trying to get one where he was looking at me. It didn’t quite focus on him perfectly but who cares, I got a shot I love. The expression on his face is perfect although I’m not sure what kind of expression that is...

Try New Things

Trying out new things is a good way to think of new photos to make and to open you photography eyes. With the hearth shaped bokeh cover I made, I had it pointed at a tree I wouldn't normally. Then I saw the little guy in there and thought it would be cool to combine the two. By trying out shaped bokeh, I found a really great shot and added a neat trick to my photography repertoire.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 2200


CHAPTER 7

black & white

“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.” - David Alan Harvey

Sparky

A guy I know has a nice BWM 3 series that he's modified for some auto cross racing. He had finished some work on it and wanted to know if I would come over and take some pictures. Of course I did. If pretty girls aren't available to take pictures of, cars are next in line.

I snapped some pictures of his workshop and car of course. I also saw this lead from a charger just lying there all by itself.

Isolate Your Subjects

Isolation is a great way to make a picture jump out at you. You've seen the lone tree in a field or the single person standing in a huge airport or station. This has emotional power, in my opinion. Trying to isolate an object isn't that easy and takes an eye looking for that all the time. Try it, it's interesting to play with.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 500


The Mall

I was walking back to my office and I went through the mall on the way there, it was on the way. I wasn’t really paying attention but this caught my eye. These four people were sitting there just looking at the people coming and going. I grabbed my blackberry quickly and fired up the camera.

Train Your Brain

Your subconscious will do some work for you. I think I’ve trained my eyes to be looking for pictures all the time now. I still look around consciously but when I’m not, things still jump out at me. Keep that in mind as you go through your day, be ready for those images to jump out at you so you can grab whatever camera you have with you.

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Camera/Lens BlackBerry 9800

Focal Length N/A

Exposure N/A

ISO N/A

Other Information The stock photo app was used

Little Feet

I had just gotten some cheap flash gear in the mail and wanted to check it out. I set it up in the living room to play with. My son was on the couch playing with an iPod and didn't seem to care that I was pointing the camera at him. I fired off a few shots before I realized that his feet would make a great shot. I took the image with an off camera flash, it worked really well. It turned out to be one of my more popular shots.

Cheapskates Can Have Some Fun

Cheap gear can get the job done too. When I want some new gear and the quality doesn't really matter, there are cheap options online. This flash, white umbrella, stand, and umbrella holder were all bought online for about $80. I still use them all a lot. they don't go on my camera so I don't have to worry about electronics conflicting. Do your homework and look online, maybe you don't need that expensive flash just for your fun shoots.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 200


Bird Crap

I didn't have my D40 very long before i took this shot. It was a nice summer day and we were outside in the back yard. I noticed some bird poop on the deck and thought it might make a cool shot, like a paint splat on some boards. I really like the way the black and white made the shot, really cool look I think.

It Doesn’t Have to be Something Nice

Even bird poop can make a cool picture. Your subject doesn't matter, it's how you portray it. Its how you position and display your photo subject that really matters. Don't rule anything out, really study it first before you decide not to take that shot.

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Focal Length 35mm


ISO 200


Rainy Day Window

This is the blurry view out of the back door of my house. I love rain on the windows and wanted to make a picture of it with my first DSLR.

Depth of Field Tips

To get depth of field with almost any camera, focus close. Sometimes you have to zoom out and focus close, that usually blurs out the background and gives you a shallow depth of field like you see in this one. For this image, I just used a big aperture to give me a very shallow depth of field. I've done this with my point and shoot, blackberry, and iPhone cameras.

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Focal Length 50mm


ISO 400


CHAPTER 8

toys

“The camera's only job is to get out of the way of making photographs.” - Ken Rockwell

Sam Fisher

I love video games so I bought a Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell) action figure when I found one. I wanted to get a cool picture of him so I put some thought into what I might like to see. I took inspiration from the game and how he spends a lot of his time in the shadows and dark. I decided that the best way to present him was to give him that look of just being on the fringe of being seen. This is what it ended up with, a great shot of him sneaking in the shadows with a single light over his head.

Lots More Planning, Never Settling Until it’s Right

To get this one, it took a bit of planning. I had a little light box built from a project I had done earlier in the year. I used a single flash from above by cutting a little square into the ceiling of my light box. This let me use a really focused light to put the figure under. I took a good number of shots before I had something I was happy with.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 500


Here are some other shots from that session

Halo

I love toy photography, just love it. I really enjoy seeing images that someones has created with these figures. I follow a few people on flickr who are absolutely amazing at this. EL Dave is one of my favorite and possibly the best I’ve come across so far.

I studied a number of his shots and put a lot of thought into how he may have done them. Turns out, he has some physical mini environments that he uses with his figures. I thought perhaps he used a picture or something. What I came up with was using my laptop screen with an image on full screen to provide my background. I’ve used this trick a lot since I first thought of it actually, it works really well! Image searches are your friend for this stuff.

I also had two lights going. I have daylight color bulbs in my desk lamp and a trouble light. I leave the desk lamp in a static position and then use the trouble light to provide the rest. I can move this light around all I want to get the perfect light. I used a tripod to hold the camera and then played with the exposure to get the DOF and focus I had in mind.

Keep On Keepin’ On

Don’t get discouraged if you can’t get the shot at first. I have found that it can be quite difficult to get the figure shot you want. I had to take a lot of shots before I got this one. I’ve done a number of figure sessions that simply didn’t give me a single shot I was happy with, even after an hour of work. Keep trying because when you get one you like, it’s totally worth it. I absolutely love this image.

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Focal Length 55mm

Exposure 1/3 @ f/8

ISO 500






Sam Fisher Redux

That Sam fisher action figure is just too cool. I had to take him out for another shoot and I probably will again and again as I get more ideas about how to pose him. I did the same trick I do for pretty much all of my figure shots, used the laptop screen to provide an illuminated background. The trick is to find one that matches the color or style and angle of view of your figure. I really like this one as much as my others. It took a good number of tries to get the shot just the way I wanted it.

Redux!

Don't be afraid to revisit old places or ideas with fresh ideas. Like I said, I'm going to take this figure out lots more as I get new ideas for shots of him. A fresh twist on something you've done before can turn out really well.

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Focal Length 55mm


ISO 2000


Extraction

This is another one of Sam Fisher, but not a head shot. One of my favorite toy photographers said something about not taking head shots all the time and that made sense to me. If you can do it right, it looks really good. Same thing I did with the other ones, used my laptop screen as the background.

Don’t Go For the Obvious Shot

Try photographing different parts of your subject or scene. Don’t go for the same shot you always go for or have seen a bunch of times. Look at their pants, shoes, watches, nails, anything like that.

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Camera/Lens Canon S90

Focal Length 6mm


ISO 250


I truly hope you’ve enjoyed this book and maybe even picked up a tip or two. I had a great time creating it and sharing it with everyone who is interested.

I am always creating new images and would like to do more of these books. Please, let me know ([email protected]) what you thought about it so I can improve the next volume. Tell me what you liked or didn’t like, what you’d like to see more of or what you saw too much of in this first volume.

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thank you for reading

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Just%20Pictures,%20Vol%201%20Feedback

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Just%20Pictures,%20Vol%201%20Feedback

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Documents

RICK PROKOSCH just pictures · 2014. 3. 5. · My name is Rick and I love photography. I assume you do as well so this should be fun. I hope you enjoy what I have before you, images