Hey I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says “I forgot to store acorns for winter and now I am dead.” Ha! It is funny because the squirrel gets dead.
– Dug from “Up”
Marching Band
Thought I’d pop on over and take some preliminary images of the John Handley Marching Band during their band camp. I dove right in and edited a couple images and thought “it’s just weird that I can shoot like this.”
Something’s Not Quite Right
One of my responsibilities at TV3 Winchester was to train the production staff and one of the first ways to demonstrate the “rule of thirds” was to show somebody a camera framing that was not quite right. I would then indicate that maybe people at home couldn’t vocalize what was wrong, but they would know it. Kinda like this image. Something’s not quite right about it. It looks normal at first, but as Mufasa from “The Lion King” would say “look harder…”
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Target Practice
Alright, so the consensus is that it would NOT, in fact, be a good thing to use a pellet/BB gun to shoot the squirrels off the bird feeder in the back yard. I think I’d be a good shot, though, considering I’m a halfway-decent photo shooter. I’m considering this my target practice…
The Buzz
Are you tired of the aerial stuff? I’m not and won’t be for a long while. I think subconsciously I decided to shoot the race this weekend to make sure I still knew how to use my DSLR! Along with so many things, another cool thing about the aerial viewpoint is that I can be in the images and not draw a lot of attention. It’s kinda like “Where’s Waldo.” Maybe I should make a cameo in the aerial images and make you try to find me.
I was shooting for a job today and, although I know this is very novel to many people right now, sometimes I just want to get my shots and move on. I enjoyed talking to a lot of people today though about my work and this new perspective. It’s quite the buzz around town – literally!
Can you see me now? I started with an easy one.
Mobile Office
My office “window” for the day (that’s Shenandoah National Park in the distance). Today was the first race I shot with the new camera and it was certainly a challenge. At times I was shooting with three different cameras almost simultaneously. It’s a crazy concept to shoot with the quadcopter. When I needed to shoot with my wide on the ground, I would simply elevate the drone and let it hover until I was finished shooting – weird. I really only shot video with it because I didn’t want to miss an actual still shot from the ground. It was photog multi-tasking to the extreme. And loads of fun!
By the way, race photos are being posted here.
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Alma Mater
While my laptop is on the fritz (my GFX processor has all but blown up), it’s next to impossible to do anything creative while I’m traveling. I shot some amazing images this evening at James Madison University (my alma mater), but am essentially “flying” blind in post. I have absolutely no idea what this actually looks like (until, of course, I post it and look at it on one of my mobile devices. So, here goes…
Cemetery
I wasn’t initially going to post this one, but once it all came together I changed my mind. I just like the perspective this one gives to the landscape. By the way, this is the big cemetery in Winchester – Mt. Hebron Cemetery. They advertise that they have space available for the next century! Yeah, it’s huge.
Historic District
Every city has one. Ours just got a major facelift over the past couple years and it’s really been revitalized. Lots of stuff going on down there. Only thing it’s missing is the view from up here.
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Foreground
I like to shoot sunrises and sunsets. I’ve said this before. But after a while, as with anything, it gets harder and harder to shoot it differently. Granted, each sunset and each sunrise is different, but how do I create something unique. A big deal for a perfect composition is to have depth to your images and that’s done by introducing foreground elements. That’s kinda tough when your camera is 250 feet up in the air. I just wonder if I’ll get any backlash from this image because of how close I was to it.
By the way, if you live in the Winchester-Frederick County area of VA (and maybe even if you’ve driven through), you’ve seen this water tower along I-81 at exit 310.
Architecture
I’m so amazed at the new perspective of architecture that I can get with this new technology. Some things look much more majestic from above and others tend to lose a little something with the elevated perspective. I think the Handley Library actually loses that majestic edge when it’s shot from above. Maybe I’m too high. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing building, but it’s just not the same from above. Certain things are meant to be shot from below, specifically subjects that you want to appear more powerful. I’ve posted images of this building from the ground (and, of course, from inside) on this blog. What do you think?
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Horseshoe Bend
Free photo contest! When I first started, I joined any and every photo contest out there. Not so much anymore. It just seems to me that photography is so very subjective (as is any art) and it really depends on how the “judge” is feeling that day. Sure, anybody can evaluate an image based on a set of established criteria (framing, composition, use of leading lines and so on and so forth), but that removes all beauty from the work and it becomes sterile. Anyway…
But this contest is totally random. You submit an image to be eligible for a random drawing. The photos aren’t really “judged” at all. They’re there for the viewing pleasure of all – minus all “objective” judging criteria. I’m in. You should be, too. Enter the contest here and support Virginia State Parks.
The Shenandoah Valley’s very own version of the Horseshoe Bend (like the one in the Grand Canyon).
Driver’s Ed
“Pick a spot and park – it’s an empty parking lot” I tell her. Any spot. I suppose it could be worse. Better here than for real, I suppose.
Summer Lovin’
I remember my youth when my mom would go out in the back yard and spend an afternoon pulling Japanese beetles off the flowers and dropping them into a can of gasoline. Yep, that’s how I remember it. So when I saw the beetles on the flowers today I had to grab my camera and, of course, I like to get creative (go figure). Not only with my photography, but with the names and post titles and…well everything. I just couldn’t help myself with this title. Sorry Mom.
I know nothing about entomology so this may or may not be a suitable title for the blog posts, but it’s appropriate as far as I’m concerned.
New Series?
I think I should try my hand at a “series.” What do you think?
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Annie Lisle
I’ve posted “One-A-Day” since January 1 and have yet to actually post a video. It’s about time I did. I’ve been collecting plenty of video footage over the past couple weeks with this new drone and had an idea to create some school videos for various local high schools and universities. What better school to start with than the school that both my kids and my wife attended – John Handley High School. And what better music to accompany than the alma mater. I wonder how many people really know the origin of this tune. The original lyrics don’t really paint a pretty picture, but I’ll leave that up to you to research.
You may know it as “the ubiquitous alma mater song used by almost every school in the universe.” – +oldwhtman
I looked all over for this song and all I could really find was the Kellerman’s Anthem from Dirty Dancing. Or a university glee club singing their own lyrics. Thank goodness for YouTube! And thank you +oldwhtman for allowing me to use your performance of it.
Daredevil
Shhh, don’t tell anyone. You’re not really allowed to fly over 400 feet, but I just really wanted to see what it could do. It’s kinda like the sports cars (or most cars for that matter). If the speed limit is 70 here in the states, why make a car that can do 184?! Somebody, somewhere is going to put it to the test. It just has to be done.
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400 Feet
So, this is what the sunset looks like at an altitude of 400 ft. I’m dying to try 1,000 now.
The sunset over Sherando Park in Stephens City, VA
Curiosity
“Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.”
– William Arthur Ward
It definitely draws attention. Glad these kids had some fun with it. It’s always interesting to see people’s reaction to it when I rev it up.
Band Camp
“This one time, at band camp…”
Well, this was the last JMU Summer band camp that either of our kids will attend. What a great opportunity for any band student. This camp not only teaches marching band fundamentals, but it also teaches leadership and teamwork. Great opportunity if you’re thinking about a band camp.
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Cedarmeade Studios 