Don't neglect your lenses

I have been shooting quite a few senior photos lately and while shooting the other day realized that there was one very un-used lens in my bag. Everyone always raves about the quality of the 50mm lens and says that it is a must have lens for any photog. I would be inclined to agree. Mine unfortunately had been sitting un-used in my bag for quite sometime until a couple of weeks ago. I must say I am sorry I had neglected it. I always carry it with me but use my zooms more often than not. I forgot how great the shallow depth of field of the Nikon 50 f/1.4 can be and the great contrast if gives the photograph. I finally dug it out for a few shots on my last senior shoot and am glad I did. Below is an available light shot with my Nikon 50mm f/1.4. If you don't have a 50mm in your kit yet, pick one up. If you are short on cash then go for the f/1.8, even a used one. Nikon, Canon, Pentax, whatever you shoot, it's a must have. Those of you who have one already. Please don't neglect it.

A must visit link

Just have to let all the photo enthusiasts out there know about a photo site that I frequent. If you are looking for a wide variety of great photography check out onexposure.net

You'll find everything from portraits, to fine art and photojournalism. Definitely worth checking out when you need some inspiration.

Hot air balloons and Gravity Clowns

Here are some of my photos from the recent Buffalo Trace Balloon Race and the Gravity Clowns skydiving team. The balloon race once again had a great turnout and this year I got to take a few shots of the balloon glow. If you missed it this year make plans now for next year or find a balloon festival near you.

Upcoming photo events

Just a little note about some upcoming photo ops. The Buffalo Trace Balloon Race is coming to the grounds of Maysville Community and Technical College again this year. For more information click the link. http://www.buffalotraceballoonrace.com/

The balloons are a blast to shoot and always a colorful event.

Also coming up is the Battle Re-enactment Celebration at Blue Licks State Resort Park. I've included the info from their website below. It's always a colorful event as well.

Battle Re-enactment Celebration
8/16/2008 to 8/17/2008

Blue Licks Battlefield pays tribute to the brave pioneers who fought and died at the Battle of Blue Licks, August 19, 1782, during this weekend of special programs and demonstrations. A craft area features local crafters, artisans and vendors along with special music and a battle re-enactment at 3 p.m. each day. Stroll through the pioneer encampment and see how pioneers lived over 200 years ago. Special museum programs featuring hands-on demonstrations. Package Fee: $5 for ages 13 and above, which includes viewing the battle reenactment, unlimited access to the Pioneer Museum, 18-hole Mini Golf Course, Jr. Olympic Size Swimming Pool, and all activities and programs for the entire day.

The wish list

It's official, and has been for some time now. Nikon has added the D700 to their lineup. After reading about it I can now say it is on my wish list.

I had first thought there might be a D300 or maybe even a D3 in my future to go along with my D200 but I can now say that I think the D700 has moved up my list. I'll leave the real reviews to those who've actually had their hands on one. (Hey if anyone at Nikon is reading this and would want to send me one to review, I'd be more than happy!) Anyway, Nikon's latest along with the SB900 seem like a step in the right direction. High ISO quality looks like it will be great for phojos who cover prep sports as well as other shoots where high ISO noise has caused problems in the past. Just Google it or check it out at Nikon.com.

Selling online

Decided recently after a big shoot that it was time to start marketing reprints online. I didn't want to miss out on sales but wanted something more convenient than taking the orders myself and then getting the photos to my customers. After some Internet searches and talking with another local photographer I went with printroom.com. Their free account that just charges a percentage for each print was the best for my current needs. I'm not a full time photographer anymore and paying a monthly fee for the amount of sales I would have is out of the question right now. Setup was simple enough and the account management software was simple to use. Now I can market my prints online and the customer can have them shipped directly to any address they want. It's win, win!

Check me out online at brianrhitch.printroom.com

Photography close to home

With rising gas prices many of us won't be traveling far this summer. That's no need to give up photography though. There are many things to be photographed close to home if we look close enough.

With some time on my hands and the weather starting to get warm, I've spent more time outside the house lately. Watering and weeding flowers and just general stuff that has to be done. While wandering around in the yard and checking on the flowers I noticed a wasp hanging out on the peonies. Bugs and other critters can sometimes make very willing portrait subjects when people aren't as willing.

I grabbed my Canon SD400 and set it to digital macro mode and moved in as close as I could. Luckily this little wasp wasn't easily spooked and made a very willing portrait subject and amused me for several minutes.

The images were cropped slightly and sharpened in photoshop. I also did a minor adjustement to the levels on the final images.

Enough for now! Time to get back out in the yard to see what else I can find.

Greenhouse color Strobist style

Had a chance to spend a little time at a local greenhouse shooting photos for an advertisement. Greenhouses are

great to get an early jump on spring photos. I played with off camera lighting some using my SB800 with a Stofen omnibounce triggered by a Pocket Wizard Plus II to fill in the shadows. Flash was on full power. Shot with a Nikon D200 and 12-24 f/4 lens.

Here are a couple more.

Child Abuse Prevention

Haven't blogged for a while and thought I'd put up a recent photojournalism shot.

This is one I shot while out looking for features one day recently. April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and the kick-off for our community was the next morning so the photo was very fitting.

I went with a low angle and a wide lens to give a sense of importance to the scene as well as to fill the frame better and remove any unnecessary elements from the photo. Caption below.

Donna Fryman, foreground, hammers a wooden cutout representing a child into place as Mary Rushing, background, sets out more of the cutouts as the two work to set up a display outside of the Fleming County Public Library in Flemingsburg, Ky. Wednesday, April 9, 2008 for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Digging Into the Archives

Well, I've been looking back through some of my older photos for stuff to print and hang on the wall and came across this one. It's a night shot of a local train station. I know it was shot with a Nikon D1 but as for any other details I'm not certain. Enjoy.

George Clooney and Colonel Sanders

Yeah you read the headline right. I really did say George Clooney and Colonel Sanders.

I had the chance to cover the premier of George Clooney's newest movie Leatherheads in a nearby town, just down the road from his hometown and Colonel Sanders even showed up to shake hands and have his photo taken.

I worked the event from the ground just prior to Clooney's arrival. Press credentials were limited but by the time he arrived I had secured myself a spot in the window of a vacant building directly across the street from the entrance to the theater so I had a birds I view of the event without having to fight with the crowd for space. It worked out for the better not being where the rest of the media was. I was even able to get out of town before the rush of leaving trafffic.

Now I can say I think I have officially covered all there is to cover. Movie premiers and a former President as you can see in my prior post.

Presidential Visit

Wow! What a week. Little did I know when I came to work Tuesday morning that I would be covering former President Bill Clinton's visit to my tiny (and I do mean tiny) hometown. It was a whirlwind as he dropped into town that afternoon on an impromptu visit between campaign stops in Kentucky while stumping for his wife. Here are a couple of photos from the exciting 20 minute visit.

For those of you interested in my setup for covering this event, the details are as follows.

I arrived early to check my lighting (even though I've been in the place a hundred times) and knew it would be crowded so I used my wide angle Nikon 12-24 f/4 lens. I had my file size set to RAW so that I could get the most out of this one time event and recover in case of a bobble on my part. Settings were ISO 400, 1/200, f/5.6, SB800 flash set at 1/8 power and tilted at a 45 degree angle with a stofen flash diffuser.

It was definitely an adrenalin rush and a fast 20 minutes. I had more excitement the evening prior when I covered the premier of George Clooney's newest movie Leatherheads in a nearby town. Check back for those pics later. Whewwww! I can rest now.

Gettin' some air

Had a bit of warm weather so I headed to the local skate park to see what I could find.
I've shot several skate photos in the past but decided this time to enlist the help of my pocket wizards. Nikon's CLS mode just didn't cut it with the bright sun. This is the photo I ended up with for my efforts. Strobist: SB800, 1/4 or 1/8 power hand held slightly to camera right at arms length above my head. Triggered of course with my pocket wizards. Drop a comment and let me know what you think.

Going Green

The shot above of the green light bulb was a happy accident. I was planning on shooting the energy efficient fluorescent bulb floating against a green background but after a couple test shots I realized that my backdrop was going white and the bulb was turning green because of the placement of my speedlight, so I went with it. I really like the effect for what I needed for my assignment.

The image was shot using a single SB28. The bulb was hanging by fishing line inside my light tent and lit from behind with the SB28 1/8 power with a green gel. ISO 100 f/8 1/250. I trigger the speedlight with my pocket wizards.
Only slight levels adjustment and cropping in photoshop.

Since I liked how this turned out, I may try some different color gels down the road to see what I end up with.

Getting Started

Welcome to my blog. To get things started I'll give you a bit about my background and how I got into photography.

I first got into photography while I was in college. I got bored one summer out of high school (can't play golf all the time) and applied for a job with the small weekly newspaper in my hometown. After my summer job and a couple of journalism classes I decided that this was something I enjoyed. I worked one more summer for the weekly before moving to a small daily (The Ledger Independent) and working as a staff photographer. I was named Chief Photographer for the Ledger and worked there for another year before leaving to take some time off to work as a wireless Internet installer. I left there to go back into photojournalism for a short time. I am currently available for freelance work. I also dabble in portrait and fine art photography.

Now that the introduction is out of the way, I'll get to the reason for this blog. After starting a small photography group locally I have decided there is a need to share tips I have learned while working in photography. Our group which consists of photographers from a variety of backgrounds, including those just beginning was created to share information. I'm always looking to learn more about photography and always working to make my photography better. I'll pass along tips and gladly answer any questions I can along the way just like people have done for me.

So without further ado, I'll kick off my blog. I thought I'd go with this photo from a recent fire. Shooting a fire is a running and gunning type of event. The first thing to remember is not to get in the way of the firefighters who are there to do their job. The second is to stay safe. You can't make photos if you're injured and they can't do their job if they are tending to you. This photo is your standard photo you might go for in a similar situation. I like it because it showed several firefighters and established the location with the front of the building and the sign. It is what I would call a safety photo. One of the ones you would shoot first to make sure you have what you need for publication before moving on to something else or before you are called out to another event.