Monday, February 27, 2006

"Aaugh! I been shot!"

Dude, did anybody not have a great time with the group Saturday?! Major kudos to those of you who came out and totally made my weekend awesome! I am pizzzumped!! For those of you who couldn't make it --don't worry, we won't excommunicate you ...yet =) -- here's what you missed out on. Hope you can make it next time! Below that are some other miscellaneous notes and oatmeal recipes.

About five of us met at Starbucks in Georgetown and talked shop for a while. The conversation began by taking a look "under the hood" of the camera and figuring out what's going on when you shoot in Program (or automatic) mode, but it didn't stop there. One person would ask a question, which then led to two or three rabbit trails of its own, and so it went. We got a little bit carried away talking and practicing different techniques (and by "practicing" I mean taking pictures of my shoes ....yeah, you had to be there. =)

So around 12:45ish we made our way to La Madeline to grab some lunch, and there we were joined by a handful of other camera-wielding peeps. After lunch we strolled down M Street, snapping pictures along the way. Our fascination with nothing in particular seemed to reach a climax when we found ourselves posing for a group photo. ...definitely good times, my friends!

Shortly after three o'clock about half of the camera batteries died. We figured that was reason enough to call it a day, but not without first savoring some ice cream at Hagen Das (I'm not even gonna bother spelling that correctly and using all those weird punctuation marks) and sharing pictures from the day.

That's pretty much how it all went down on Saturday. I would love to hear what you all learned, or what you liked the most. Feel free to post your thoughts a comments here or on the message board.


Now for the other stuff...

On the right of this page you will notice a new section of links (I know I know, you're thinking, "How many stinkin' links do we need, Stephen?!" but all I hear is "blah blah blahh...." =) In addition to the message board, we've got a Yahoo! Photos site. Also, this week we kick off our Excercise of the Week. As I said before, the majority of the excercises are extremely simple. They are designed to help stretch your creativity and strengthen your appreciation of the world we live in. They aren't required, but I think you'll find them fun to do anyway.

For everyone shooting digital, please upload your photos to our Yahoo! Photos page. To do this, you will need to sign in to Yahoo! Photos using the following user name: nccphotography and password: justshootme Organizational tools are pretty limited with Yahoo! but here's how we'll do it. We will create one new album each group activity. For example, we have a Georgetown album where we can all upload our pictures from Georgetown. To differentiate between photographers, add your name or initials to all your pictures. On the Georgetown album, you will notice that all the files that begin with "MCA" were taken by Marie Claire. You can easily rename the photos online after you have logged in and uploaded them. Make sense? Cool. For reasons too boring to explain here, I can only upload the pictures from my "combat" camera. I'll put the rest of mine online when I can.

If you've come here looking for oatmeal recipes, please go home. There are none. It is a figment of your imagination. However, feel free to post any comments regarding how many points your cholesterol was lowered by eating oatmeal. ...I'm feelin' an ice breaker!! =D

A few of you have had some questions about the member profile pages (member links on right). Apparently, you guys can't edit pages/posts that I've made. If you want to make any changes to your profile page, just go ahead and leave a comment on your page noting any changes you would like to make, then I'll edit the page to reflect those changes. I realize this is not the most efficient method, but that's how we'll do it for now (until next semester maybe??). Also, please send me a picture of you (or a link to a picture of you) that I can put on your page.

The tentative plan for next week was a sunset shoot, but I'm not yet sure if I will be able to do that. (It's all about me... =) Hopefully well before Friday I will know what we'll do this Saturday. Thank you all for being so rockin' awesome!

P.S. The title of this post comes from the movie Hook. It is precisely 7.4 times funnier if you can recall how Robin Williams said it. =)

Sunday, February 26, 2006

An Exercise in Creativity

Say What?!

Exercise: Put on your know-it-all face and critique other people's photos. (i.e. Flickr comments)

Examples: Don't just tell someone "I like it," or "Cool pic!" Go a step further and ask yourself "WHY?" then tell them why you do or don't like it. Kacey has done a great job with this.

Reason: Not only are you helping someone else by pointing out what works and what doesn't work in their photos, but it also forces you to put more thought into it. Perhaps you will find yourself making similar comments over and over until you discover that you gravitate toward a certain style. By helping others, you'll also be helping yourself. Before long, you will find yourself assuming the role of the student and the teacher.


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A New View on Familiarity

Exercise: Take a full roll of pictures (that's 24 for us digital types) from within your bedroom.

Examples: Here are three pictures to give you an idea. Also, Stuart took some great photos in a hotel room last week.

Reason: Too often we think that in order to get an exciting picture we need an exciting subject. The idea behind this exercise is to help you see creative shots in a place most familiar to you. Chances are, you haven't considered your bedroom (or your kitchen, for that matter) as an exciting place to take pictures. After all, you see it every day, and there's a pretty good chance you're bored with your surroundings. Well pull out your camera and find some fascinating shots within your four walls. Ever tried photographing a stapler? How 'bout an action figure? The books on your night stand have a story to tell. Can you capture it??


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Worth A Thousand Pictures

Exercise: Give your pictures a name, not merely a description.

Examples: My sister has a black and white picture of an old wooden bench in the middle of a garden. She could easily have named it something like "Bench in garden," but instead she titled it "Memories of Grandpa." Suddenly the picture evokes a whole new meaning and a bucketfull of emotions.

Reason: Not only can a good name take a picture from mundane to one that grabs your attention, but it forces you to think of photography as a medium for storytelling --or "storyshowing" as I've heard it named. It can be daunting to think of naming all your pictures, but perhaps that thought is enough to help you exert more thought before releasing the shutter. Still, some pictures are better without a name, opening them to broader interpretation. As is the case with every one of the exercises listed here, the moral of the story is simply to put more thought into what you do. Your work will show a marked difference!


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A Fresh Perspective

Exercise: Just look around your everyday surroundings. ...it's that simple

Examples: When you're walking to work or to the metro or the convenient store what do you notice along the way? Do you always notice the same things? Instead of looking at the floor, check out the ceiling. Don't bother reading the same sign that says "Restrooms" --trust me, it hasn't changed since you last read it. Just because you don't have a camera in your hand doesn't mean you can't look for interesting viewpoints.

Reason: It's easy to get stuck in a rut, although too often in the business world we call it a "schedule." When we start doing everything from memory the excitement fades and the opportunity to learn passes by. It's not complicated. It doesn't take time. All it takes is a willingness to be surprised.


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Intentional Observation

Exercise: Observe composition in visual media and try to identify what rules they follow, if any.

Examples: Spend a minute examining advertisements on the metro, camera angles in a movie, composition on television. Break it down into elements arranged on a screen or page. Ask yourself, "Does the composition alone make it clear the message they are trying to convey?" Could it be stronger if they arranged it differently? Soon you will find that just because something is done "professionally" doesn't mean it can't be improved upon. If it were up to you, how would you do it, and why?

Reason: There is so much to be learned by simple observation. By looking at other individual's work, it forces you to consider why you do or don't like it. It reinforces your knowledge, and ultimately sharpens your own abilities.


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No Right Turn

Exercise: Use your "bad hand" for simple tasks.

Examples: Unlocking a door; brushing your teeth; using a fork, tying your shoes, holding a glass, using a tv remote, dialing a cell phone, or if you're really in the mood for a good time try plunging a toilet.

Reason: There is a marked difference between the right and left hemispheres of your brain. The left side controls facts, data, words, and logic. The right side is non verbal and thinks in terms of pictures, colors, sounds --creativity, in general. Additionally, the right side of your body is controlled by the left hemisphere of your brain, and the left side of your body is controlled by the right hemisphere. By using your left hand, you are excercising the right side of your brain --the creative side-- and strengthening the connection between the two hemispheres. The more you develop this, the more you will be able to see the world in a creative light. Capturing that with a camera eventually becomes an extension of how you view the world, and your pictures will reflect that creative perspective.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Michael Mannina

Name: Michael Mannina
Birthday: March 27
Random Fact: I love Chick-fil-A

Portfolio: Portfolio 1, Portfolio 2,
What inspires me: Sunsets, Chronicles of Narnia, Snow skiing, Mountains,

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field, Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro, Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film...basically everything!

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people), Still life, Wildlife, Sunrise/Sunsets

My experience as a photographer:
Complete amateur here. Never got paid for any pictures of mine. Nor have I taken any classes.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Capitol, Lincoln, Washington Monument, Shenandoah National Forrest, Cherry blossom time, Fresh snowfall,

My suggested activities and ideas: Sunset/Sunrise shots

Friday, February 24, 2006

Georgetown tomorrow

All right friends, we're gonna meet tomorrow at Starbucks at 11 AM. Once again, we'll talk shop for the first 90 minutes or so, grab some lunch and then head out at 1:00 to practice what we just talked about. Tentative end time is 3:00.

This week we'll focus on getting the most out of our cameras in Auto Mode or Program. And yes, as you'll see there is more to it than just "pointing and shooting." We'll also touch on some composition techniques and such. Bring anything you like --questions, inspiration, portfolio, whateva! Hope to see you all there!!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

just a tease

Hey guys (don't take that literally, I'm lookin' out for all you ladies too)

There are several things cookin' on the burner right now, but they're not yet ready for Prime Time Posting. In the mean time, I wanted to give you all an idea of what this coming Saturday will look like.

We are going to try something a little bit different and sort of split the day into two parts. We'll try this approach for three or four weeks and see how it goes. If you're anything like me, I think you'll like it! So here's how it breaks down: First, we'll meet at 11 AM (location TBD), but we're not just gonna stroll around and take pictures right away. Instead, we'll spend an hour or so talking shop. Each week we'll focus on one specific technique/principle/workflow/idea and really try to understand the ins and outs of photography. Additionally, this is a great time to get feedback about your pictures and learn from other's experiences.

Sometime between noon and one o'clock we'll grab lunch --heck, we could take it back to the third grade and we could all pack lunches!! After that, we'll venture out and have an opportunity to practice what we just talked about. This will give us more of a focus and will help solidify our skills.

Basically, the idea is that we can do more than just take pictures together. We'll have an opportunity to learn and practice and hopefully bridge the gap between head knowledge and experience.

Now, I realize that you all have a life (no comment =) and probably won't be able to make it every Saturday, but that's fine. Maybe you can only make it to the first part; maybe you can join us for the whole thing --whatever works for you. Different people are looking to get different things out of the group; all I'm trying to do is provide an opportunity for us to get the most out of it.

So that's the idea. Details will follow shortly, but now at least you've got a tentative view of the next few weeks. AAAhhhhhhhhh..... SNAP! =)

Thursday, February 16, 2006

el Saturday

All right friends, this Saturday we're gonna rock the Old Town scene. We will set out on our photo excursion at 1:00 o'clock, however, I am going to have lunch at Cosi at noon and I would love to have you all join me. I will bring some photos from my portfolio for you all to look through and critique if you wish. I'd love to see some of your pictures (I didn't get to see everybody's at our first gathering), so feel free to bring anything you would like. Just keep in mind that you might have to carry them for the rest of the day.

We're gonna try some variation of the buddy system. There are no hard and fast rules, so don't worry about being "paired up" with a bone head all day (Stephen Elliot says: "Doesn't anybody wanna be my friend?" =) Hopefully this will give you the freedom to shoot whatever you want regardless of whether or not that's the popular decision among the group. Also, it should be a way to get to know each other a little bit more as well as help us to see things that we might have otherwise passed up on our own.

We will leave straight from Cosi to wander the streets of Old Town in hopes of capturing a glimpse of the sights and sounds that await us. The closest metro is King Street, on the blue line; it's about a three-quarter mile walk. Hit up the message board (or maybe just leave comments here) if you need to coordinate a ride. For sake of having something of a schedule, we will plan on being done around 3:00 o'clock. Hope to see you all there!!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Question

Umm..... can you guys even edit posts that I have made?? It occurred to me this morning that you might not actually be able to edit your "profile" since you weren't the one that created that post. If you can't, then you'll need to copy and paste the info into a new post and then I'll connect the link on the right.

"If it's a penny for your thoughts, why do you have to put your two cents in? Somebody's making a penny." -Steven Wright

My two cents...

My thoughts on the group, take them for what they're worth: While it was great to see everybody and meet the new ones, Saturday was a little weird for me as far as the taking pictures thing went, and not just because of the weather. I like the buddy system idea, but I don't want to lose what the whole purpose behind a community group is, which is to really get to know each other so that we're not just random strangers who kind of like each other upon first meeting but then never really know much more than that except that we all like taking pictures. So what if we still do all of the on-location things, meet for lunch before hand, have fun, eat food, catch up on the week and then break into smaller groups (pairs, threes, fours, whatever works for everyone) to go out around the area and shoot. And then all meet back up again to debrief before we're done. That's my idea. Any thoughts?

We need something billowy

Major props to everybody who braved the elements and joined us on Saturday! Thanks for your patience as I rediscovered why I don't like the metro (granted, I was running late as it is, so I can't blame the metro entirely). I'd also like to give a shout out to those of you who contibuted to my five voice mails that morning. That was special =D

Quick recap: We met at Federal Triangle before marching down Constitution (Ave. St. Blvd. Wtvr.) It only took about 20 minutes to decide that water spots on the lens really aren't that cool, so we took it inside the Natural History Museum. We stumbled upon a sweet photography exhibit and then bummed around that museum and the National Gallery of Art, snapping photos along the way.

There's a rumor going around that next Saturday we'll hit up Old Town Alexandria. Check back here for details.

A few other miscellaneous notes:

Man, you all are awesome! There's a buzz around NCC about the group, and that's because of you!! Even Pastor Mark gave us a nod on his blog the other day. Heck, it's not just NCC. Rodney who joined us on Saturday heard about the group through the grapevine and decided to check it out. Virginia and Lisa both brought a friend too! Thank you all for making the group so fun and exciting already! Keep it up!

Let me know what days you won't be able to make it (you can just email me). I'm trying to map out the next several weeks to give us a tentative schedule, and I want to make sure everybody is available to do what they really want to do. Of course, this won't be entirely possible, but we'll do what we can to work around everybody's schedules.

I would ideally like to phase out the use of email for announcements and whatnot. Instead, I will rely more on the blog and message board. BTW, you can set your delivery preferences for the blog and message board so that you get an email whenever someone posts something. Is that cool, or do you hate the idea?? If you have any complaints please direct them to Laura. =)

On the right (and below, for the time being) you will find new Member Links. Each of you has a profile-like page where you can tell us a little about yourself and show off some of your work. To update your page you must be a contributor to this blog, and to do that you need to have a blogger account. Let me know if you didn't get the email invitation to join this blog, and I will pass it your way. Those of you who made it to our first gathering on the 4th will notice that the Member Links pages are basically the same as the survey you filled out. I will copy the information from the surveys onto the appropriate member links on Thursday if you haven't already done so by then. If you do not want certain info posted on your page please let me know by Wednesday. Otherwise I'll fill in the information as you already gave me on the survey. Also, you can edit and update the information as often as you like.

We've got our own Yahoo Photos page now. Like pretty much everything else we've done so far, we'll just figure out how to best use it as we go. Maybe each of us can create an album and put our favorite pictures from our Saturday trips on there. Here's the link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/nccphotography/my_photos To upload any pictures you will need to sign in with the account name: nccphotography and the password: justshootme
I'm also looking at something else called SlideShowPro, but probably won't get anything going with that until April.

Kevin Whatshisname


Name: Kevin
Birthday:
Random Fact:

Portfolio: (include links here)
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
(A few suggestions to get you started. Delete whatever doesn't apply) Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
(more suggestions:) Landscapes, Portraits, Candid (people), Still life, Product shots, Sports, Wildlife, Abstract, Other:

My experience as a photographer:
(make this as long or as short as you like)

What I hope to learn/do this semester:


My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Stuart Fraser

Name: Stuart Fraser
Birthday: December 17, 1980
Random Fact: I really like classical muzac.

Portfolio: Flickr myspace pictures
What inspires me: I like nature, especially clouds. Storms inspire me too.

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Use my camera and photoshop as effectively as possible. Night photography, flash, and filters.

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people), Architecture, Still life, Wildlife

My experience as a photographer:
Not much I recently got "really" interested in it and started playing with photoshop.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
To take better photos, make some friends, and expand my portfolio.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Don't know yet.

My suggested activities and ideas:
Movie and food
Baseball game

Amanda Schmidgall

Name: Amanda Schmidgall
Birthday: May 27, 1983
Random Fact: I want to be quadrilingual

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people), Children

My experience as a photographer:
I enjoy it as a hobby, and want to get better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
Expand my portofolio. Understand what makes a good picture and how to capture that. Use photography as a way to serve. I'm looking forward to a scheduled time and place to give me the impetus to start taking pictures again.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Historical landmarks in D.C. Parks. Church events. Shenendoah Valley and other "nature" places. The ocean.

My suggested activities and ideas:
Go out and shoot pics. Go to a photography show or art gallery. Take pictures at NCC outreach events. Take pictures at Ebenezers.

Angela Yee


Name: Angela Yee
Birthday: November 10
Random Fact: my Myers-Briggs type is ISFJ

Portfolio: none yet
What inspires me: music of all kinds

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Color, Aperture/Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Lighting, Black and White, Digital photo editing

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
cities/landscapes, people i know, sun/nature, words

My experience as a photographer:
junior high class using a manual camera and being in the darkroom, and it's a hobby i like

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
learn to takes pictures that tell a story - "a picture is worth a thousand words"

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
anywhere so far

My suggested activities and ideas:
Eastern Market, neighborhoods of DC/Virginia, i like the "word pictures" idea too

Becky Handforth


Name: Becky Handforth
Birthday: March 19
Random Fact:

Portfolio: (include links here)
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Night Photography, Flash, and Exposure

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Wildlife, and Macro

My experience as a photographer:
I take most of my pictures while traveling. I enjoy photography as a hobby and want to get better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I want to create a portfolio and have some people to take pictures with.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Anywhere --city and nature

My suggested activities and ideas:

Edith Hwang


Name: Edith Hwang
Birthday:
Random Fact:

Portfolio: (include links here)
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
(A few suggestions to get you started. Delete whatever doesn't apply) Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
(more suggestions:) Landscapes, Portraits, Candid (people), Still life, Product shots, Sports, Wildlife, Abstract, Other:

My experience as a photographer:
(make this as long or as short as you like)

What I hope to learn/do this semester:


My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Erin

Name: Erin
Birthday: March 10th
Random Fact:

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Night Photography, Black and White, I just want to take better pictures!

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people)

My experience as a photographer:
I enjoy it as a hobby and want to learn to use my camera better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I want some people to take pictures with. I want to learn what all the buttons on my camera do. I want to have a better understand of what makes a good picture and how to capture that.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
National Cathedral. Georgetown Waterfront - Thompson Boat Center. View of monuments from Iwo Jima at night.

My suggested activities and ideas:

Jenn Osborne


Name: Jenn Osborne
Birthday: March 1st (woo hoo!)
Random Fact: I've lived in Hawaii

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
uh.... pretty much everything.

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Portraits, Still life, Whatever I see that looks good compositionally.

My experience as a photographer:
(spoken in my best Napoloen Dynamite voice) "I'm pretty much the best photographer ever." j/k. I took a class, I still like taking pictures and I do it on random occasions.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I'm looking to expand my portfolio and take pictures with other people.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Glen Echo Park. Capitol Hill. Shenendoah Valley. Mount Vernon.

My suggested activities and ideas:
I'm game for whatever.

Joe Portnoy

Name: .Joe Portnoy
Birthday: March 24, Annon Domini MCMLXXXI
Random Fact:

Portfolio:
Shutterbook
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better: (A few suggestions to get you started. Delete whatever doesn't apply) Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is: Portraits, Candid (people)

My experience as a photographer:

What I hope to learn/do this semester:


My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Kacey McGowan

Name: Kacey McGowan
Birthday: November 21
Random Fact: I don't have a gallbladder :-)

Portfolio: My Kodak Gallery
What inspires me: Online: Tom Jenz, Recherche Photography, Books: Shutterbabe, Kids With Cameras Movies: Koyaanisqatsi / Powaqqatsi, I Am David,

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Flash, Lighting, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop), Whatever is necessary to take better pictures

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Portraits, Candid (people)

My experience as a photographer:
I want to be a professional photographer when I grow up.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I just want some people to take pictures with and expand my portfolio.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Dumbarton Oaks Park. Old Town Alexandria. Arboretum. U Street.

My suggested activities and ideas:
Anything that gives us the opportunity to build community.

Karen Keyser

Name: Karen Keyser
Birthday: December 17
Random Fact:

Portfolio: Flickr
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people)

My experience as a photographer:
I enjoy it as a hobby and want to get better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I want to have a better understanding of what makes a good picture and how to capture that.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Laura Eagin

Name: Laura Eagin
Birthday: April 15th
Random Fact: nonsense... =)

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Color, Abstract, Exposure, etc...

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Abstract, Conceptual

My experience as a photographer:
I want to be a professional photographer when I grow up

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I just want some people to take pictures with.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Cheesey tourist places like the Mall. U Street Corridor. Old places, abandoned places, scary places.

My suggested activities and ideas:
Shoot NCC events.

Lisa Suwandi

Name: Lisa Suwandi
Birthday: February 17th
Random Fact:

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Filters

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, A little bit of everything

My experience as a photographer:
I took a photography class in school, but haven't done much outside of that

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I want to have a better understanding of what makes a good picture and how to capture that

My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Marie Claire Andrea


Name: Marie Claire Andrea
Birthday: October 26, 1983
Random Fact: I like taking pictures of dead animals (ask to see bird and rat I found on the street!)

Portfolio: Photo Albums, Flickr, Ethiopia Trip,
What inspires me: Brian Petro, Luis Gomez,

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Black and White, Filters

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Portraits, Candid (people), Beautiful strangers, Urban decay, Children, Abandoned buildings

My experience as a photographer:
For now, I enjoy it as a hobby, but I want to be a professional photographer when I grow up.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I want to expand my portfolio, get feedback, and network with other photographers

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
U-street, Theme Buildings (victoria, adolf cluss, modern), Construction Sights, Dupont Circle, Where ever there are beautiful people to doing fun things!

My suggested activities and ideas:
Take photos of NCC retreats. Take better pictures for NCC print materials. Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Hanes Point, Great Falls, and Rock Creek.

Rob Nation


Name: Rob Nation
Birthday:
Random Fact:

Portfolio: (include links here)
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
(A few suggestions to get you started. Delete whatever doesn't apply) Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
(more suggestions:) Landscapes, Portraits, Candid (people), Still life, Product shots, Sports, Wildlife, Abstract, Other:

My experience as a photographer:
(make this as long or as short as you like)

What I hope to learn/do this semester:


My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Rodney

Name: Rodney
Birthday: -----
Random Fact: Not an NCCer

Portfolio: Various photos,
What inspires me: The different things that catch my eye throughout the day.

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Digital photo editing

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Landscapes, Candid (people), Wildlife

My experience as a photographer:
I enjoy it as a hobby and want to get better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I just want some people to take pictures with as I build and expand my portfolio.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Adams Morgan, Arboretum, market places, scenic areas, national parks

My suggested activities and ideas:
"classroom" sessions

Tom Puskarich


Name: Tom Puskarich
Birthday: October 12, 1981
Random Fact: High school nickname: "Tommy P"

Portfolio:
What inspires me:

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Color, Lighting

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Candid (people), Still life

My experience as a photographer:
I just want to learn how to use my camera better.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
Looking for some peeps to take pictures with.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Monuments, National Cathedral

My suggested activities and ideas:

Virginia Something???


Name: Virginia
Birthday:
Random Fact:

Portfolio: (include links here)
What inspires me: (links to photos, books, articles, whatever gets you goin')

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
(A few suggestions to get you started. Delete whatever doesn't apply) Composition, Color, Abstract, Aperture / Depth of field (i.e. “blurriness”), Shutter speed, Night Photography, Macro (i.e. close-ups), Flash, Exposure, Lighting, Black and White, Filters, Developing film, Digital photo editing (e.g. Photoshop)

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
(more suggestions:) Landscapes, Portraits, Candid (people), Still life, Product shots, Sports, Wildlife, Abstract, Other:

My experience as a photographer:
(make this as long or as short as you like)

What I hope to learn/do this semester:


My favorite places to take pictures around here:


My suggested activities and ideas:

Stephen Elliot

Name: Stephen Elliot
Birthday: April 12
Random Fact: I have the entire Peanuts gang in 5 foot tall cardboard cutouts. ...made by yours truly.

Portfolio: Mud Productions Flickr Photos
What inspires me: David Molnar Val Proudkii drawing book instrumental movie soundtracks

What I want to learn about or learn to do better:
Aside from the fact that I want to get better at everything, I would like to learn how to photograph people well, and experiment more with lighting.

My favorite subject matter to shoot is:
Still life, Abstract, and just finding unique ways to photograph everyday things.

My experience as a photographer:
Started in the technical world of computers and began to study video and film. Since I didn't have access to a motion picture camera, I figured a 35mm still camera would be the next best thing. I read a couple books, but more importantly, I just ventured out to take pictures and learned as I went.

What I hope to learn/do this semester:
I'm excited to see what will happen as a group as well as how everybody will refine their craft individually. I look forward to taking pictures at NCC where they are needed, and I can't wait to learn from others.

My favorite places to take pictures around here:
Just about anywhere. I try to find something cool everywhere, although, sometimes I do this at the expense of missing the obvious =)

My suggested activities and ideas:
Photo scavenger hunt; various exercises that stretch your creativity; "Word Pictures"

Friday, February 10, 2006

This Saturday

UPDATE!!! You guys ROCK!! The peoples have spoken, and we ARE meeting at Federal Triangle this Saturday at 1:00 o'clock. Come prepared for rain or snow (bring a plastic bag for your camera) and we'll brave it together!!

703.303.3131 -Stephen's cell

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Week 1 Recap ...not to be confused with nightcap

For those of you who couldn't make it to the meeting last Saturday, and for those of you with short term memory loss, here's how things went down at our first meeting.

After several groupies experienced blessed encounters with parking in Crystal City (recall the bit about flossing your teeth) we kicked it off by chillin' at Stephen's crib. In an attempt to avoid the awkwardness that can often accompany the sometimes-dreaded "first meeting" --no, "first gathering"-- we each took a turn telling a little bit about ourselves and the worst meal we have ever eaten. Apparently some people think Kentucky is part of the South, and one confused member seems to think that Cheesecake Factory serves bad food. Who am I to judge, though? Everybody is entitled to their own opinion ...even if it's wrong =)

Anyway, after I stepped on way too many toes by making sarcastic comments I decided to shut up and let everybody fill out a survey. In addition to the usual name, contact info, birthday and random fact about yourself, the survey helps give me an idea of what everybody is looking to get from the group this semester. That's just it; the first meeting was all about casting and catching a vision for the group.

On a slightly more personal note, I found it encouraging that everybody who spoke up about "what they hope to get from the group" all said something different. I'm excited to see how the group will meet all those different needs and then some!

Below are some comments, suggestions, and ideas that were tossed around on Saturday. These have also been posted on the message board, so feel free to fire back new ideas as you have them or make comments about anything presented here.

This is NOT "Stephen Elliot's group." I am not the teacher, and you are not my students. My role is simply to get us organized so that the group can become a community with a life of its own. Each one of us has something to teach and I hope the group provides an opportunity for that to happen.

I gotta give props to the one and only Nathan Gonzales. As much as I would love to take credit for the group name "Just Shoot Me," I must give credit where it's due. Nathan was the one that came up with the group name, so go tell him how cool of a dude he is.

The blog and message board. I'm not entirely sure how they will be used, but I guess we'll just kinda see what happens over the next several weeks. I imagine the distinction will be something like this: the blog is more informational and networking-oriented; the message board is more for current activities and sharing miscellaneous thoughts. The message board is open to everyone. As for the blog, I would love to make you all contributors if you wish. This will allow you to create new posts on the blog. You need to have a Blogger profile, but you can create one for free. You can expect a contributor invite soon.

On a similar note, the blog has a section for Member Links. If you've got an online portfolio and would like to share, send me a link and I'll gladly put you on there. Also, there is a section for "Things that inspire us." Whatever gets you fired up and spurs creative ideas is game for this section. Other photographers, books, music, poetry, whateva! Send me links to any of that stuff so that in the end we'll have yet another great way to procrastinate.

Life is way more fun when you leave some room for creativity. I hope we can all develop our creativity more this semester, and one of the ways to do that is to be intentional about it. Each week I'll suggest some things you can do throughout the week to get the right side of your brain a bit more engaged. Don't worry, it's nowhere near "homework," and none of them are anything you have to go out of your way to do. I reserve the right to chastise you if you don't do them though, okay? =D

A couple months ago (shortly before I even knew I was going to start a photo group) I began collecting my notes and things I've learned about photography. As I continued to write, my ideas snowballed and now I'm in the process of writing a book about photography. (Crossing my fingers) I'm hoping to get it done within the next couple weeks. This will provide a guide for anyone who wants to learn photography and (this is more selfish honestly) hopefully I can get some feedback from you all about what parts you liked best and what parts were so boring that they made you wish you were clipping someone else's toenails instead of reading. So keep your eyes peeled for "A Crash Course in Photography," soon to be a PDF near you!

Serving opportunities, eh, this announcement is getting long enough and we already touched on this one in the blog. Any questions? ....didn't think so. Moving right along.

Activities. I definitely want your suggestions here! Here are a few that sprung up during our discussion on Saturday. Stroll through Eastern Market and check out any photos there (this will likely be a meeting point some week). Word Pictures - given a list of words (e.g. harmony, love, depth, hurt, strength, etc...) we will go out individually or corporately and try to capture pictures that best depict those words. Photo Scavenger Hunt - Laura had a great idea (wonder of wonders! =) of going around the city taking pictures with an NCC theme in each one.

.....Dude, I didn't realize we covered so much stuff on Saturday. I thought this was going to be a short note. Hope you didn't have anything important to be doing right now =)

Week to week. If you all are interested, we could emphasize a theme or technique as we go out and take pictures. One week could be Aperture, and the next week Light or whatever. Nobody says we have to follow the rules, but they might provide a decent starting point.

With the rise of digital photography, the dark room is nearly being replaced by digital editing programs like Photoshop. There seems to be enough of an interest in the group that we can incorporate Photoshop into the group somehow. I don't know all the logistics yet, but, like everything else, we'll figure that out as we go.

We can't control the weather, so if we find ourselves forced indoors by the rain we'll use the time instead to share photos, talk about techniques, and figure out "why, when I press this button, it looks like this..." One idea I had this morning is that a rainy day could lend itself quite well to "Photoshop 101." Maybe it's because I'm a geek, but I could get really excited at the thought of that =)


Finally! I think that covers everything (although, I still fee like I'm going to have to edit this post a dozen times as I think of more stuff). Anyway, thanks for your interest in the group!! It's been fun so far, and we ain't seen nothin' yet! ...now I need to go help some old lady with her computer.