Home Front:
Well it finely got cold in Saskatchewan. We all knew it would come, but it was so good to get half way through January with mostly above 0ºC temperatures. Of course we had to get some snow with it, just enough to make it a pain in the butt to shovel out. I shouldn't really complain though, Janet did most of the shoveling around the house and work was done when I got there.
Well it's here, the big 49th. Half-century is just about on us, no stopping now! After almost 50 years on the planet, what have I learned, relearned and still can't get through my thick skull, keep watching the blog. ( Janet may have something to say on this subject )
Made it to Playa del Carmen for a week of 'fun'. More of a bust than anything else. I was sick for three days, not sure if it was the massive bug bites, food, water or a cold I brought with me. Went shopping and have never been so overwhelmed with people harassing us every 10 feet, our shopping and site seeing trip was cut very short. So my first experience in Mexico is an D-, but we'll try one more time next year on the other coast.
_____________________________________________________________________
Photography:
We're going to push the portrait & wedding area of our photography skills. I believe Janet and I will make a great team on this project as we have done on most of the things we try together. So watch out world, here we come.
I have to send my camera in for a checkup, with a charity shoot and a wedding coming up, time for a good cleaning and once through before it starts to get warm.
Just bought Scott Bourne and Skip Cohoan book 'Going Pro 2010' So far, it looks good, now that were back from holidays, we'll sit down and do some studying.
Kodak Files For Bankruptcy:
The Icon of the photo industry is at the brink and ready to fall into the abyss. I think when anyone says "Kodak", film and cameras is the first thing that comes to mind. I remember always seeing Kodak slides around when dad was showing his work. Kodak invented the digital camera as it were, but decided that it would let others build the bodies and that's was a major mistake I think.
Kodak was into all sorts of thing including building baseball grenades for the OSS in the 40's, who knew.
I spent some time at Kodak Canada in Toronto in the early 90's. It's where I got my first mini lab training. I was very impressed with their operation and the site was huge. Sad to see it fail, but that's what happens when you don't what to change.
I hope for the best for Kodak, but the writing is on the wall.
_____________________________________________________________________
We've been toying with the idea of writing about the stupid thing we see almost everyday.
Stuff like the lady on the plane back for Mexico that let everyone else know that the seat were too small and it was hard to get out to use the washroom. It was a bit tight for me as well, but when your 200+lbs, really, what did you expect? I did notice that the "Elite Plus" passengers had a bit more leg room, maybe spend the extra money and quit complaing.
Anyway, stuff like that. We'll see where it go's.
Have a great day and we'll chat soon,
Bruce
f/16
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Gettin' Busy
The the "Silly Season" of emotions upon us, it's getting busier. Christmas party's and charitable events are the one's taking up most of the time. I love to be at all of them, if only there were a 36 hour day!
Saskatoon Help-Portrait
Janet and I helped out this year and had a BLAST!!! It was fantastic to see some old friends and photogs, although, most we're younger than us. We met so many new friends, it will be hard to keep track of them all.
As I understand it we gave away a little over 100 packages ( 8X10 - 4X6 ) to family's and individuals that could not afford them, but the smiles that we received back were 10 fold in comparison. There is no price tag that you can put on watching a persons face light up and the self-esteem it builds when they open that envelope and see their smiling face.
Thanks to Krystian and Aleksandra Olszanski for their hard work and organizing skills. They did their best to keep us organized no mater how disorganized we got. All the volunteers did a bang up job no matter what their assignment was.
I look forward to being a part of this for as many years as possible. The skills I learned by listening, watching and doing were fantastic and will come in handy as I progress down that path of making images.
Be sure to log on the the Help-Portrait web site to keep informed about next years event.
A little something I wrote, enjoy....
Saskatoon Help-Portrait, 2011
'Twas the night before Help-Portrait and all through the city,
photog's were buzzing, some would say gitty.
Their batteries all charging so they would be ready,
to power a day, they'd give back to their city.
With Manfrotto's & Gitzo's all cleaned and quite steady,
the family's would see that we were really quite ready.
The Spiders and Aliens were ready to beam,
the hot lights are gone, or so it would seem.
The backdrops all hung with much care and concern,
just maybe smudged out with a dodge or a burn.
On manual, on shutter, on aperture or auto,
we must get it this right, that is our motto.
These setting's are mad and are starting to blur,
will I ever get ahead of that dam learning curve.
On Nikon, on Canon, on Pentex, on Fuji,
all the new camera's, they all look so pretty.
With hard drives a drivein', and printers a printin'
the editors will make the pictures ass kickin'
The help and support ol' Krystian drummed up,
he knew all along Saskatoon would step up.
To everyone that's pumped and ready to go,
there's only one thing that you really must know.
Look to the right, and the person you see,
maybe unsure with a little unease.
Grab their right hand and shake it with care,
you just made a friend, aren't you glad you were there
- Bruce A. Johnson, 2011
__________________________________________________________
Janet & I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New year. Be safe this festive season and remember to count your blessings, there's many, many more than you think!
f\16
Saskatoon Help-Portrait
Janet and I helped out this year and had a BLAST!!! It was fantastic to see some old friends and photogs, although, most we're younger than us. We met so many new friends, it will be hard to keep track of them all.
As I understand it we gave away a little over 100 packages ( 8X10 - 4X6 ) to family's and individuals that could not afford them, but the smiles that we received back were 10 fold in comparison. There is no price tag that you can put on watching a persons face light up and the self-esteem it builds when they open that envelope and see their smiling face.
Thanks to Krystian and Aleksandra Olszanski for their hard work and organizing skills. They did their best to keep us organized no mater how disorganized we got. All the volunteers did a bang up job no matter what their assignment was.
I look forward to being a part of this for as many years as possible. The skills I learned by listening, watching and doing were fantastic and will come in handy as I progress down that path of making images.
Be sure to log on the the Help-Portrait web site to keep informed about next years event.
A little something I wrote, enjoy....
Saskatoon Help-Portrait, 2011
'Twas the night before Help-Portrait and all through the city,
photog's were buzzing, some would say gitty.
Their batteries all charging so they would be ready,
to power a day, they'd give back to their city.
With Manfrotto's & Gitzo's all cleaned and quite steady,
the family's would see that we were really quite ready.
The Spiders and Aliens were ready to beam,
the hot lights are gone, or so it would seem.
The backdrops all hung with much care and concern,
just maybe smudged out with a dodge or a burn.
On manual, on shutter, on aperture or auto,
we must get it this right, that is our motto.
These setting's are mad and are starting to blur,
will I ever get ahead of that dam learning curve.
On Nikon, on Canon, on Pentex, on Fuji,
all the new camera's, they all look so pretty.
With hard drives a drivein', and printers a printin'
the editors will make the pictures ass kickin'
The help and support ol' Krystian drummed up,
he knew all along Saskatoon would step up.
To everyone that's pumped and ready to go,
there's only one thing that you really must know.
Look to the right, and the person you see,
maybe unsure with a little unease.
Grab their right hand and shake it with care,
you just made a friend, aren't you glad you were there
- Bruce A. Johnson, 2011
__________________________________________________________
Janet & I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy New year. Be safe this festive season and remember to count your blessings, there's many, many more than you think!
f\16
Sunday, November 20, 2011
A monthly blog, now that seems manageable....so far.
What's new?
Grabbed some new equipment a few weeks thanks to Steve Hiscock. Although I'm still mucking about at night, I wanted a better way to control some of the flash's. I decided on the Pocket Wizard setup. This, I thought, would have two advantages. 1. No 'line of site' BS or the "work one second but not the next" attitude the Chinese ones seem be built with. 2. When I do the odd wedding / portrait setting I have the right tools for the job, or at least well on my way to getting them. I also bought another SB900. Next is a lens, but I'm still on the fence about which one.
I was spending way too much time with an on-line game and had to break that off. MOHSH is a first person shooter that sucked me in .... again. Joined a clan and the whole bit. After several months I realized that I was spending 2-6 HOURS a day playing... WOW!! Tossed the CD in the garbage, which may have been extreme, but there's no going back, and I have a life to live.
The new Journey is doing Ok in the snow. I'll have to get some winter tires for it and with the AWD, it should go through almost anything. Still have yet to say the Journey is better that the Jeep Oliver, need's more time to grow on me I guess.
Help-Portrait News
All the info is here. We are still working out some details, but if you what to help out your more that welcome. Photog's, hair & make-up, runners, etc are always needed. We're still working on a plan to have everything printed on the spot. I think that will be the big obstacle in the whole set-up.
Any ideas are help you could give, please pass along a note on the FB page.
Well, thats all for now,
"Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film! "
Bruce
What's new?
Grabbed some new equipment a few weeks thanks to Steve Hiscock. Although I'm still mucking about at night, I wanted a better way to control some of the flash's. I decided on the Pocket Wizard setup. This, I thought, would have two advantages. 1. No 'line of site' BS or the "work one second but not the next" attitude the Chinese ones seem be built with. 2. When I do the odd wedding / portrait setting I have the right tools for the job, or at least well on my way to getting them. I also bought another SB900. Next is a lens, but I'm still on the fence about which one.
I was spending way too much time with an on-line game and had to break that off. MOHSH is a first person shooter that sucked me in .... again. Joined a clan and the whole bit. After several months I realized that I was spending 2-6 HOURS a day playing... WOW!! Tossed the CD in the garbage, which may have been extreme, but there's no going back, and I have a life to live.
The new Journey is doing Ok in the snow. I'll have to get some winter tires for it and with the AWD, it should go through almost anything. Still have yet to say the Journey is better that the Jeep Oliver, need's more time to grow on me I guess.
Help-Portrait News
All the info is here. We are still working out some details, but if you what to help out your more that welcome. Photog's, hair & make-up, runners, etc are always needed. We're still working on a plan to have everything printed on the spot. I think that will be the big obstacle in the whole set-up.
Any ideas are help you could give, please pass along a note on the FB page.
Well, thats all for now,
"Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film! "
Bruce
Monday, October 10, 2011
Opps, its been awhile
Hi everyone. Sorry about the long delay, really no excuse, just lazy sometimes.
It's thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, time to spend with the family, in laws, outlaws and friends. Janet put on a fantastic spread as always. I have learned over the years that it's best to stay out of her way, but I must always help when asked. A kind of "be seen but not heard" thing. Not that she doesn't want help more of a "I don't want to screw it up" thing.
So whats been going on.......
It's been a bit of a slow time for the photography end of things. Janet and I have been mucking about with off camera flash stuff and it's working quite well. I'm impressed with the results so far. I think we're getting the hang of it and I will be posting some of the images to the website ( http://www.leddycreekphoto.com/ ) in the next few days.
The website is getting there, I still have some adjustments to make and some rewording of things, plus I want to add Janet to the mix. She is becoming a great photographer in her own right. She out shot me the other night while shooting the northern lights.
_________________________________________________________
We had to say good-by to Oliver last month. He stepped up to the plate every time I asked him to. My daughter pushed a bit too far once and he needed some help to recover from that, however, it was a minor thing. My son did a number on his face, but that did not even make him quit, he bounced back in a week or so and was it it for the long hall.
The last straw was a beating he had. I could not even begin to count the number of hits he took, there were so many. Made his body look like a golf ball really, even cracked the windshield in two places. The last hail storm of the season and we were in the thick of it. I was very worried this time out.
Oliver the Jeep served us well and now sits in a salvage yard, sad ending really. Mechanically, he is fit as a fiddle, body wise, not so much. We're looking a getting him back for a photo-cruiser, but we'll have to wait to see what the price is.
Fare-thee-well my friend.
________________________________________________________
I decided not to join the Saskatoon Camera Club this year. I think I can put the money toward some new books I've been looking at. Scott Bourne and Scott Kelby both have new ones that look very interesting. I'm leaning toward the Kelby book for now and pick up Bourne's later (Maybe a Christmas present!!) Still going through RC Concepcion's book on HDR and having a blast.
I've also been looking at a new lens or another SB900 and a set of Pocket Wizards. So many items to add to the collection. We'll keep you posted on which way that go's.
_________________________________________________________
We're off to Mexico in the new year, Janet loves her hot holidays. I love the photo-ops, so it works out well. First time we've been to Mexico, so it will be a new experience. The Cuba trips (4) were fantastic, but it's time to change it up a bit.
_________________________________________________________
I think that's all for now, I'll be back as soon as I can...
Bruce
It's thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, time to spend with the family, in laws, outlaws and friends. Janet put on a fantastic spread as always. I have learned over the years that it's best to stay out of her way, but I must always help when asked. A kind of "be seen but not heard" thing. Not that she doesn't want help more of a "I don't want to screw it up" thing.
So whats been going on.......
It's been a bit of a slow time for the photography end of things. Janet and I have been mucking about with off camera flash stuff and it's working quite well. I'm impressed with the results so far. I think we're getting the hang of it and I will be posting some of the images to the website ( http://www.leddycreekphoto.com/ ) in the next few days.
The website is getting there, I still have some adjustments to make and some rewording of things, plus I want to add Janet to the mix. She is becoming a great photographer in her own right. She out shot me the other night while shooting the northern lights.
_________________________________________________________
We had to say good-by to Oliver last month. He stepped up to the plate every time I asked him to. My daughter pushed a bit too far once and he needed some help to recover from that, however, it was a minor thing. My son did a number on his face, but that did not even make him quit, he bounced back in a week or so and was it it for the long hall.
The last straw was a beating he had. I could not even begin to count the number of hits he took, there were so many. Made his body look like a golf ball really, even cracked the windshield in two places. The last hail storm of the season and we were in the thick of it. I was very worried this time out.
Oliver the Jeep served us well and now sits in a salvage yard, sad ending really. Mechanically, he is fit as a fiddle, body wise, not so much. We're looking a getting him back for a photo-cruiser, but we'll have to wait to see what the price is.
Fare-thee-well my friend.
________________________________________________________
I decided not to join the Saskatoon Camera Club this year. I think I can put the money toward some new books I've been looking at. Scott Bourne and Scott Kelby both have new ones that look very interesting. I'm leaning toward the Kelby book for now and pick up Bourne's later (Maybe a Christmas present!!) Still going through RC Concepcion's book on HDR and having a blast.
I've also been looking at a new lens or another SB900 and a set of Pocket Wizards. So many items to add to the collection. We'll keep you posted on which way that go's.
_________________________________________________________
We're off to Mexico in the new year, Janet loves her hot holidays. I love the photo-ops, so it works out well. First time we've been to Mexico, so it will be a new experience. The Cuba trips (4) were fantastic, but it's time to change it up a bit.
_________________________________________________________
I think that's all for now, I'll be back as soon as I can...
Bruce
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Some Updates.
A few updates from my world:
Scott Kellby's World Wide Photo Walk for Saskatoon is set for Oct 1, 2011. I'm hoping for nice weather and some leaves still on the trees. Scott Prokop is the leader this year and has chosen the U of S area for the walk. Really looking forward to it and seeing some of the other photog's from around town. Sign up soon, only 50 spots total and 15 are gone already. It a fun time no matter what level your at or how much you shoot.
Started a new Smug Mug account. "leddycreekphoto.com" will get you there. Still mucking about with the sections, but it seem to be working well. Another BIG learning curve, it never ends. I hope you enjoy your visit. Some old, some new stuff and the latest in lightning shots. Had a great spot and a fantastic show. Thanks to Mark D & Lisa G for the use of their place.
Holidays were spent in Banff, Jasper and LaCombe is August. Janet and I had a great time geocaching and and riding the gondola's. Banff's was soooo much better than Jasper's and we both recommend it highly. Got some great shots which I will post on flicker / leddycreek soon.
Off to Vegas the first week of Sept, should be a blast. Just the 'boys' so remember, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"....except I'll have pictures Hahahah. Some photo stuff, ATV ride and "other" stuff, it will be a grand week.
Getting ready for the "family" bbq next week, 30 - 40 people in the house and yard is always fun. We'll have a great time catching up and a good story as always after.
My son has left the nest as it were, so now I have a spot for the drums I took up last fall. It's right below my computer / photo room. Thinking of installing a pole so I can just slide down...... that would be cool. Janet picked the colours (more or less) so think of the "Partridge Family" bus and it looks similar. Love it.
The Saskatoon Ex is on now. If your going out don't forget to stop by the arts area and look for some fantastic shots from local photog's and, of course ME. You can vote for the one you like the most as well. Janet did not enter this year as we were a little disorganized to say the least.
I did have one shot "rejected" because of content. I really thought it would be because of the "family" show which is fine. It's just a reminder that people are not always comfortable with what is happing right in front of them everyday and if they can't see it, it doesn't exist.
That's all for now, I keep try to stay up on this blog thing, but it's more difficult that I thought. We'll keep trying to be a bit more consistent for you.
Have a great August and we'll be posting again soon.
Bruce
f/16
Scott Kellby's World Wide Photo Walk for Saskatoon is set for Oct 1, 2011. I'm hoping for nice weather and some leaves still on the trees. Scott Prokop is the leader this year and has chosen the U of S area for the walk. Really looking forward to it and seeing some of the other photog's from around town. Sign up soon, only 50 spots total and 15 are gone already. It a fun time no matter what level your at or how much you shoot.
Started a new Smug Mug account. "leddycreekphoto.com" will get you there. Still mucking about with the sections, but it seem to be working well. Another BIG learning curve, it never ends. I hope you enjoy your visit. Some old, some new stuff and the latest in lightning shots. Had a great spot and a fantastic show. Thanks to Mark D & Lisa G for the use of their place.
Holidays were spent in Banff, Jasper and LaCombe is August. Janet and I had a great time geocaching and and riding the gondola's. Banff's was soooo much better than Jasper's and we both recommend it highly. Got some great shots which I will post on flicker / leddycreek soon.
Off to Vegas the first week of Sept, should be a blast. Just the 'boys' so remember, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"....except I'll have pictures Hahahah. Some photo stuff, ATV ride and "other" stuff, it will be a grand week.
Getting ready for the "family" bbq next week, 30 - 40 people in the house and yard is always fun. We'll have a great time catching up and a good story as always after.
My son has left the nest as it were, so now I have a spot for the drums I took up last fall. It's right below my computer / photo room. Thinking of installing a pole so I can just slide down...... that would be cool. Janet picked the colours (more or less) so think of the "Partridge Family" bus and it looks similar. Love it.
The Saskatoon Ex is on now. If your going out don't forget to stop by the arts area and look for some fantastic shots from local photog's and, of course ME. You can vote for the one you like the most as well. Janet did not enter this year as we were a little disorganized to say the least.
I did have one shot "rejected" because of content. I really thought it would be because of the "family" show which is fine. It's just a reminder that people are not always comfortable with what is happing right in front of them everyday and if they can't see it, it doesn't exist.
That's all for now, I keep try to stay up on this blog thing, but it's more difficult that I thought. We'll keep trying to be a bit more consistent for you.
Have a great August and we'll be posting again soon.
Bruce
f/16
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