Early Morning with the Daffodils

Sneaking out early before work to shoot is a really nice way to start a Friday.  What's even better is when these flowers weren't the primary objective.  

My friend invited me along on a trip on the Potomac.  He wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms from within the Tidal Basin.  He had a boat, and the Tidal Basin had water in it.  Made sense.  Made even more sense when we reviewed on the map.  But upon arrival, we were blocked by something the map didn't show.  Oh well.  We'll just cruise up and down the Potomac and enjoy the weather. 

While preparing for the boat trip, I was lost in this small field of daffodils.  Not wanting to waste this opportunity, I set out to take a few pictures.  Pictured here is the GoPro, with my usual setup for creating timelapses.   I captured the picture below in an attempt to show the extensive size of the daffodil field.  Be fooled, as this field is merely 20 yards long. 
  

 Here's to good friends who know when to change the routine and help me see new things, cheers!

Cherry Blossoms at the Nations Capitol

Waking up at 5am to go do a new photo shoot is incredibly energizing.  I woke up several times before 5 with anticipation of it being 5.  

I also wanted to include the different things I find myself doing getting ready for a shoot.  Being as I get excited, I have to write things down, or I'll forget something.

I'm pretty good at creating the list, but sometimes I'll forget to check things off after I do them.  A minor clerical error at this time, but I'm going to work on this.

The next big step is to label a map and roughly plan my shots.  Thanks to The Photographer's Ephemeris App I was able to learn the orientation of the sunrise.  This gave me a visual on a map to plan my shots around.  I marked it on my notebook so I could have a quick reference.

Also in this section is the rough list of gear I wanted to bring.  Like I mentioned previously, I usually write it down, pack it, and forget to mark it off.

Along with calling my shots, I try to think ahead in logistical ways.  Especially in terms of food and bathrooms.  These are those few things you want AND need.

When I find I have a free moment, but I don't want to move, or get a new shot, I like to write down notes before I forget.  The information at the beginning of this post was pulled from the notes page listed here.  It's also my future planning tool when I bring my family.  If I know it takes me 20 minutes alone, it's going to take at least 35 minutes with 2 kids, a wife, the stroller, bags, etc...












I also write down lessons learned for setting up the next shot.  For example, with the sunrise coming from behind the memorial, the Cherry Blossoms were underexposed.  If I were to shoot with the sun behind me, I would have missed the memorial.  As usual, it's all about location, location, location.

I setup two extra cameras to do timelapse sets.  This was pulled  from the GoPro Black Edition controlled by my iPod touch.   This is the same configuration I mentioned previously in this post.



Happy Friday and Mannr Cheers!
-Billy

Experimenting

I've been wanting to experiment with Black and White for some time.  This was that experiment.  Perhaps I should say the first of many.  I like this image as so much focus is drawn to the eyes.

I took this picture in the backyard right after dinner.  Eli only lets me see him through the view finder for a sheer second before he resumes whatever fascinating thing he was doing before.  This split second I feel I connected with him through this image.