Capture the Moment

Wrestling Dogs, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

In this capture of Holly and Ziggy playing, I used a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. Note how the camera literally catches Ziggy in mid-air. In addition to the fast shutter speed, I fired a string of several shots in a row in hope of catching one defining photo - and here it is.

The Lights of Christmas

Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I captured this photograph at the Sandy Utah city hall building this week. The city decorates each of the front lawn trees with small lights every year during the Christmas holiday.

To create the effect, I photographed this with a telephoto lens set wide open' (f/4.5) and got as close to the tree as possible (while still being able to achieve focus on it). Due to the low light, this took a rather long exposure of nearly 1/2 of a second and a tripod was used. If the lens was not set wide open the circles would have taken the shape of octagons (reflecting the shape of the lens aperature).

The result of the background lights blurring into circles and overlapping creates a dramatic effect.

My Great-Grandmother's Watch

My Great-Grandmother's Watch, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

In the late 1800's, my Great-Grandmother immigrated to the United States from Germany as a nanny for a doctor's family. Here is a capture of the watch she carried as she entered the United States. It no longer works, but it is engraved with the name Bertha. Her full name was Bertha Willamena Karleen Baaske. My Great Aunt Claribelle Legg gave this to me a number of years ago when I was a child.

Dinner on Christmas Day

Dinner on Christmas, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The day of the year for the fancy dinnerware and silver. Thank you Perry 2's...! :)

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Blue Sky Deer

Blue Sky Deer, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

2 More Days.....

Waiting softly, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Wow, only two more days until Christmas.

I remember as a child the days before Christmas would grow increasingly long - much as my daughters are experiencing today. Now, pushing 40 years old, the days just seem to fly by.

EyePod

EyePod, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I was at Best Buy the other day and overheard the sales guy telling a desperate shopper that they were completely sold out of iPods and wouldn't get any more in stock before Christmas. The customer was visibly upset.

This got me thinking about the growing obsession with the player and it's increasing popularity. I wanted to find a unique way to capture the iPod. Sarah helped me out and here is one of the results.

I created this by first taking a close-up of Sarah's right eye. I then edited the eye (adding the contrast effect) and uploaded it to the iPod. Then I set the iPod to display the EYE on the screen and had Sarah hold it up while I photographed her. The tricky part was adjusting the exposure of Sarah's face to match the brightness of the iPod screen.

Making a list, checking it twice...

So much to do, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Wow, Christmas is only FIVE days away! I hope everyone is prepared. As for me, I don't like to wait until the last minute, so I'll go out on Friday to get my shopping done :)

Inversion

Inversion, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

It has been rather hazy lately in the Salt Lake valley. It is truly amazing what just a short drive up into the mountains can reveal - blue sky and sunshine!

Here is a capture I made just before sunset this past week while overlooking the valley and the haze. Note how the color of the guardrail brings out the rust color of the haze.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

jux·ta·po·si·tion n - the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side; also : the state of being so placed.

I love the contrast displayed in this photo between the signpost 'sun' and the daytime moon. I captured this shot up in the Suncrest community on Traverse Ridge above Draper, Utah.

Daphlen?

Daphlen, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

I'm not sure if this is a common practice in other parts of the country, but in Utah it is not unusual to see a message displayed on an overpass by placing disposable drinking cups in the chain link fencing.

Shown here is one such message communicating amorous feelings toward Daphlen. If you know of, or are familiar with, Daphlen - please pass along the message.

Depth of Field

Depth of Field Example
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

With the popularity of fully automatic cameras, many people have missed out on the experience of using different settings on their camera to create the feel they desire in the photograph. They can visualize what they want to achieve in their mind’s eye, but are unable to transfer it into the captured image.

Depth of field is an example of something you can control with a simple camera setting that can dramatically change the final photo. Put simply, the less amount of light that is allowed to enter the camera lens, the greater the area of the photograph which will be in focus. This is controlled by adjusting the aperture setting (the ‘f’ numbers). In the example photographs included in this post, you can see that though they are both of the same subject the amount of background area in focus (the right side, down the fence line) changes substantially.

The top photograph (click on it to enlarge) has the camera lens set ‘stopped down’ to f29, or set to allow the least amount of light in. This setting ensures that the foreground and background area will be in focus.

The bottom photograph has the camera lens set ‘wide open’ at f5, or set to allow the most amount of light in. This setting causes the foreground, and more notably the background area to go out of focus.

Many automatic digital cameras have setting which allows the user to manually control the aperture and depth of field. Play around with yours and see what results you can achieve.

For more information on depth of field, do a google search. Here’s a good example.

Unique Perspective

Soundboard Adjustment, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

You never know where a unique and interesting photograph may come from.

Today at church I was standing in the soundbooth with my camera sitting next to the mixing board. It occurred to me that the lens was aimed at the sound board and that this might make a cool shot. I waited for the right moment when Jonathon (the sound tech) was mixing the sound and then discretely reached down and pressed the shutter release.

It wasn't until I got home later in the day that I could actually see what was captured. Here's the result.

Chronicles of Narnia

Narnia
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

The family and I had the opportunity to see the new Disney movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe tonight. I must say that I feel that Disney did a good job in maintaining the vision C.S. Lewis had when he wrote the book. Though lacking in the detail the book is able to deliver, it does follow the original storyline closely.

The tale of Aslan the lion, an allegory of the story of Jesus Christ, comes across well on the big screen. I think this movie will attract both Christians and non-Christians alike.

To learn more about C.S. Lewis and his Christian faith, check out the book Mere Christianity.

'Tis His Season

Jesus Saves, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Wheeeeee....It's Friday!

Wheeeeee...., originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Winter Has Arrived!

Winter Has Arrived!, originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Beautifully Cold

Gallivan Skating
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Even with yesterday being the coldest day so far this winter, many folks got out to enjoy the crisp winter sunshine. The high in Salt Lake City was in the teens, and the overnight low near zero.

I had the opportunity to be in downtown Salt Lake City Wednesday afternoon. Captured here are some Utahns braving the cold while ice skating at Gallivan Center.

Where'd the color go?

Wheeler Farm
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Ever since my high school yearbook staff days, I have had an attraction to black and white photography. Today, with the proliferation of digital cameras, this style lives on - just with a different technique.

In the old days, we loaded our camera with Plus-X or Tri-X black and white film and went about our business. Now we have several options.

Set Camera to B&W
The photo in this post was shot with my camera set on 'black and white' mode. I don't even have a color capture of this scene. This works well, but limits your ability to have a color version of the same photo. If I was shooting this photo today, I would set the camera to the standard color setting and use software to convert to black and white.

Photoshop
My preferred method is to convert the photo to black and white with an editing program. I use Photoshop, so I will demonstrate how to use this program for converting.

The simplest way is to 'desaturate' the photo by using the hotkeys [CTRL][SHIFT][U]. Simple, yet allows no control.

Another way is to select [Image] [Mode] [Grayscale]. While this works, as with the first method you do not have much control.

The way I achieve my desired result is a bit more complicated, but allows the photographer the greatest amount of creative control over the result. In Photoshop, select [Layer] [New Adjustment Layer] [Channel Mixer] then click okay. Now click [Monochrom] in the lower left and change your RGB settings to Red-0%, Green-0%, Blue-100%. You can tweak these three percentages, but always ensure they add to a total of 100%.

Take some time and play around with black and white. You just might find you enjoy having a little less 'color' in your life.

Photos - Now and Then

San Francisco Blue
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

What blue sky!

This shot was taken in San Francisco in September of '04 while I was in the bay area for a series of meetings. This is one of many shots I have recently re-discovered. I am currently in the process of going through my digitally archived shots and uploading the ones I feel are interesting to Flickr!. Maybe I'll eventually get to the box of photos from the eighties out in the shed.

Take a moment and visit my Flickr! photo stream at flickr.com/photos/richlegg.

Let It Snow...

Highway Storm
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

A major snowstorm hit Salt Lake City today dumping several inches of the white stuff. It made driving a bit of a challenge, especially with a camera in your right hand.

How to Photograph Snow

(Here's an article I recently found. It's fitting, since it is currently snowing here)

Using your camera's exposure compensation adjustment can make sure snow comes out as white as possible in your pictures this holiday season.

read more

I will sing unto Him a new song

I will sing unto Him a new song
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

With the next Worship Gathering quickly approaching (January 28th) at Gateway Community Church, I thought I'd post a photo I took at the first one back in May of 2004. Here's Discovery Christian Community's worship team.

Coloring Black and White Photos

(from Digg.com) This is cool software. It doesn't quite match Photoshop's quality, but on the other hand it is very simple to use. You draw a bit of color on objects in a black & white photo, and it colors them for you.

read more | digg story

Christmas M.C.

Christmas M.C.
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

Christmas is coming and this photo captures Sarah's excitement. Created the effect by manually zooming during a 4 second exposure. Hand fired a separate flash to 'capture' Sarah's face without blurring.

Dream Big

"When I grow up, I want to be....."

Caught this shot of a duck at Sea World Texas blending in with the flamingos. He did such a good job, it took a second look to realize he wasn't a flamingo :)

Shoshone Falls

Shoshone Falls
Originally uploaded by LeggNet.

This photo was taken over the July 4th holiday at Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. I love the contrast and the way the foliage serves as a vignette.