Calm Photos

I haven’t had a major photo gear boo-boo since that time I cracked two Canon L lenses and a 1V camera body on the cement floor of the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, way back in 2002. This past Sunday morning I pushed my luck and almost had an equipment tragedy that would have easily given the P-cola incident a run for its money.

Driving down rt. 725, east of Centerville toward Wilmington Pike, I noticed the big outline of a very large owl sitting right alongside the road. At first I thought it was one of those fake owls that people place in their yards to scare away troublesome critters. But then it moved and I knew right away what it was. A Barred Owl. She (had to be because it was considerably large than the last Barred Owl I saw in the wild) was hunting on the roadside, perched on one of the guardrail posts.

Always prepared, I had my camera gear in the back of my Honda Pilot. I pulled onto a driveway, parked and ran to get my Canon 1D Mark III with a Canon 300mm f4 L lens. Got back in, pulled out on the road and headed back, knowing that she would be situated on the left side of the road, perfect from the driver’s side vantage point.

I slowed down to where the Barred Owl was still perched, got one shot off and then from the other direction came a UPS truck. When the vehicle passed between us, she took flight, back to the safety of the woods.

“Well, at least I got one shot anyway,” I thought to myself. I put my foot on the accelerator and went forward to look for another turnaround spot so that I could resume my drive to Sugarcreek MetroPark.

And that’s when it occurred to me. The one thing that I forgot to do during all of my excitement, while scrambling to get my camera and the right lens. A sliding sound in the back and then a “BANG.” Yup, I left the back tailgate door open. Out flew my Canon 500mm lens. My big monster that I purchased used about four years ago. This is one of those lenses that you see on the sidelines of pro football games. Even used, the lens was not cheap.

I stopped the car in a fit of embarrassed anger. How could have done something so stupid ?

The lens was in a Canon Lens Trunk - kind of a mini-hardcase for big glass. Inside there’s plastic cradle lined with felt. When I opened the case I thought for sure I would see broken glass. To my pleasant surprise there wasn’t so much a scratch or crack. The only damage from the brief flight and hard fall out the back of my Pilot were some little chunks of asphalt ingrained on the outside corners of the lens case.

Takes a licking and keeps on clicking.

That’s the difference between consumer brand and pro shooter gear.

I was warned several years ago by a visitor to a garage sale I was having before my move to South Carolina. She was looking at a marble statue I had of an owl. “You know that owls are bad luck. You shouldn’t have these in your house.”

Below is an iPhone shot of the heroic lens trunk, and the one shot that it was nearly sacrificed for.

It’s almost like I know what I’m doing.

Messing around with computer hardware, that is.

Up to about three years ago I was backing-up all of my original digital files - both raw and JPEG - on an external hard drive - a Maxtor 300 GB. However, after experiencing a complete crash of my PC (back during my pre-Mac days) I started backing-up on archival-quality DVDs, using a great little device that I picked-up at a photography trade show, called a Burn Away. From that point on I burned all of my raw files to DVD even before downloading the contents of my memory cards into my Aperture library.

However, that still left many, many older files vulnerable that were still on the Maxtor drive. Being the lazy person that I can sometimes be, I just let those files be without transferring them to DVD or copying to another drive.

Murphy’s Law came to visit about a year ago. Sure enough, the Maxtor crashed. I did have secondary JPEG files from those images on my Macs, but when making prints I prefer to work from the first generation raw file. Plus there were many other image files on the Maxtor that perhaps on first edit back then didn’t make the cut but deserve a second look, especially when an ad or stock agency sends a request for something that I know I shot four or five years ago but never assigned a file # to.

My challenge was how I could recover all those files on the Maxtor drive without having to send the drive off someplace, only to pay through the nose for drive recovery service.

At last, it pays to read the help forums on some of my favorite pro photography sites as well as pick the brains of the friendly people down at Best Buy.

So what did I do ? I searched for an external drive enclosure kit that would accommodate the older IEEE connection for the 3.5″ drive that was within the original Maxtor unit. The kit came (Macally PHR 100 AF IEEE FireWire Enclosure), I popped in the 3.5″ drive from the Maxtor, hooked it up to my MacPro and bingo-bongo, I had all of my old raw files back again, ready to be imported into Aperture 2.0 for some fine tuning that I was not able to do three or four years ago when the images were first captured. My Mac didn’t even require me to re-format the old drive.

The problem wasn’t the actual disk-drive within the Maxtor. The problem was the original enclosure and connections, which just simply stopped working.

An important part of working as a professional photographer in today’s digital environment is learning a thing or two about computer hardware. Just as important as the software, the drives and disks must be carefully managed and protected. All those original raw files are today’s “negatives” and “transparencies,” the lifeblood of the photographer’s workflow and subsequently, livelihood.

Here are some images from my recently recovered files.

The Naturalists at Five Rivers MetroParks have done a wonderful job in managing the prairie at Sugarcreek. Visitors can now experience and view the beauty of the summer prairies that at one time stretched for miles and miles across Ohio. There are even a few species of birds showing-up that I have never seen prior to this summer, including a nesting pair of Yellow-breasted Chats. Here are some recent photographs:

Though the winter winds, snow and ice are sill upon us here in Ohio, one can’t help but notice the promise of spring with the gradual changes in the light and the small flashes of color. Just last week I was stunned to see a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds fly past me while I was photographing an icy landscape of the prairie at Sugarcreek MetroPark. And then another Bluebird just this past weekend as my daughter Chloe and I were departing Hocking Hills. I’m hopeful for an early spring. Most of all I am hopeful for life renewed and positive changes. Sometimes the Eagle has to drop southward, with talons at the ready, in order to climb to “higher ground.”

Enjoy the following nature, wildlife and landscape photographs of winter waning in Ohio, captured at Sugarcreek and Hills and Dales MetroParks, Calvary Cemetery and as always, Hocking Hills.

Yes, there is such a thing as press that’s less than positive. Sometimes it’s completely non-intentional and the negative effects aren’t realized until a few years down the road. Shortly after I started my photography business in 2003, the Dayton Daily News ran a full-page story about my work with nature and landscape photography. It was a good article. I can’t complain about that. The problem is that it ran at a time (early stage of going into business) when I held the mistaken belief that I could actually make a living solely based on the fine art market for nature, landscape and wildlife photography. The lasting negative effect of both that initial belief and particular article is that I’ve been permanently pigeon holed as just a “nature photographer” here in my local market, and I accept full responsibility.

I received a quick and expensive education to the contrary once the payables far outstretched the receivables. Even today people in Dayton keep mentioning “the article” and how much they are a “great fan of my nature and landscape photographs.” Daytonians love my work so much that they email or call me quite frequently asking me to donate a print to some silent auction or donate services or donate licensing rights. Donate, donate, donate. “It’s a great way to get your name out there.”

If I hear that phrase one more time I’m going to go out of my mind. Uh, I’m pretty sure that here in Dayton my name is out there. Perhaps that’s part of the problem ??

Here’s one the few certain things I’ve learned now that I’ve been in business as a photographer in the Dayton area going on five years now. The only thing that results from donations are more requests for donations, plus a whole host of hobbyists fishing for free info (that’s why I added paid workshops and lessons to my list of services).

Anyhoo, the truth is that my bread and butter is my commercial and assignment photography services, particularly in covering events, architectural projects, business portraits, products, processes, and a recent pick-up in activity for family portraiture.

Posted below is a new flyer I put together highlighting some of the recent architectural projects that I photographed. If I had to decide which area of commercial photography that I enjoy the most, I would have to say architecture followed closely by editorial and event work.

And yes, I will always hold-on to my first love of nature and landscape photography. However, I like to consider myself as a “renaissance man” in the field of photography. I can’t stand being pigeon holed - whether it applies to my professional or my personal life. What is it about this area of the Midwest that people feel so comfortable being permanently stuck in ruts - ruts of the same old way of doing business, day in and day out, and of applying convenient labels to one another.

Change, expand, adapt, learn, move forward. When things get too comfortable, then I know it’s time to light a fire under my @%# and get moving. In the words of Martha Stewart, “it’s a good thing.” Yesterday an old friend - originally from Dayton but who has also lived elsewhere (and that means out of Ohio) - commented that there’s just this “negative energy” to the area. I think it comes from so many of my fellow Daytonians falling into their comfortable zones and well, becoming permanent residents in the bland land of security and predictability. That’s not living. That’s just simply waiting.

So what do I do when I’m stuck in the house on a bitterly cold, mid-January day ?

Well, I head outside with the camera to catch the Wild Kingdom in action, right in my own backyard.

Run for your life Mimi. Momma Red-tail is cold and hungry.

Sidney to the rescue ?? No, he just spotted a squirrel.

“Better them than me,” thinks the little Nuthatch.

No wild animals, pets or photographers were in any way harmed or injured during this photo shoot. Nor is the photographer responsible for placing the smiley face bow in Mimi’s hair.

The Red-tailed Hawk had flown off by the time Mimi and Sid came out to play. The bad news is that this Red-tail has been hanging around our backyard for quite a few days now.

Small Signs

* Last night, while putting my daughters to bed, my oldest, Emma, said “Dad, I have something I need to tell you.” At first I thought oh no, what did my eight-year-old mini-me do now. Instead she smiled and asked a simple question. “Do you know about Aquila ?” Well of course I did. One of two of my favorite constellations in the night sky, right along with Orion. Aquila - the Eagle of Ancient Greece who carried thunderbolts to Zeus. Altair is its’ brightest star, forming one of the three points of the summer triangle.

“We’re studying the stars in science class and each of us had to pick a constellation to report on. I chose Aquila because it made me think of you.”

* Early this morning, on my way to the gym, I received an email from a writer based in northeast Georgia, inquiring about usage of one of my photographs of a Golden Eagle on his web site to promote his newest work of fiction in which this magnificent bird of prey serves as principal image in the hero’s journey through various stages of life.

* While exercising in the gym at the Five Seasons Club (now go ahead certain readers of this blog and run the numbers on that one - it’s your favorite pastime), I notice that all the new weight machines have the brand name of - you guessed it - “Eagle” prominently displayed on the top. And then one of the few people in the gym at that hour is guy with a t-shirt on with a large eagle on the front, promoting the “Eagle 5K Race.”

* And then when I get into my studio and check my account on iStock Photo, I notice that the non-exclusive licensing rights for one of the 30+ photographs I have listed with this stock agency just sold on 12-17-07. It was another photograph that I have of that same Golden Eagle, taken in Ft. Collins, Colorado back in February of 2006.

Small signs. Immense meaning.

The Darkest Hour

December 20th, 1994. Never before, or never will it be again, as dark as it was for me on that day. The humiliation and destruction was nearly complete.

They almost succeeded. Almost.

Alone in the night, and the fears and anxieties close-in, hungry for the final thud of the coffin lid or the locked gates of places where people are conveniently placed away from sight, never to be heard from again.

I hit rock-bottom just days before the longest night of the year. I’ve been told to “get over it” and “move on.” But how can you when it is your own blood, and what makes the sting of this stigma and embarrassment so ever-lasting and painful are the echoes of the giggles, laughs and willing assistance of paid participants.

I’m like the ex-smoker who hates smoke-filled rooms the most. I know them so well because I was almost - almost - one of them.

Forgiveness is my only redemption. My only true hope for peace. At least I know this now, but I’m not there yet. I’m still fighting the hurt, the night, the darkness.

I don’t think it was a coincidence that such a painful fall occurred at that time of year, just as it I don’t think that December 25th was randomly chosen from the calendar as the date to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.

You see, it is in the darkest hour of night that the small signs of hope shine the brightest, marking the turning back to the sun, the return of hope and the promise of spring.

This year the winer solstice occurs on December 22nd, at 1:08 AM. From that point forward each day becomes slightly longer, the shadows a bit shorter and the night less and less overwhelming.

Even now, just four days prior, the small signs are appearing. Like the little bright lights on the Christmas tree that sits in the corner of the family room or the stars in the sky that make the Eagle.

As long as we keep looking and knowing and loving, the darkness will never prevail. Never.

Thank you Emma. I love you.

A few additional macro, floral and wildlife images captured during a recent visit to Wegerzyn Gardens in Dayton.