hats off to you

Taken: July 4, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS 40D plus Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 800

I'm headed to Chicago so that it can live up to it's name of being the WINDY city. I have great love for Chicago and the Cubs. The plan is to catch a couple of games and take a couple hundred pictures!!

deere(st) john

Taken: July 4, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS 40D plus Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 34 mm
ISO Speed: 400

My dad drove me around for a bit so I could take some pictures. It tends to be easier to stop along the highway and shoot if you have someone else driving you. My dad doesn't shoot, but he's been very encouraging of my hobby. This was taken in my hometown - Vilonia, Arkansas. This was other one of those things I pass all the time, but it finally stuck me to be something worth photographing. I mean, who doesn't love a tractor?

plum full of potential

Taken: June 26, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS 40D plus Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 800

I love how the right light can turn something ordinary into something beautiful. My mom had this basket of plumbs sitting on the carport. I have no idea why they were there, but it seemed like a good picture at the time.

the spark seen 'round the world

Taken: July 4, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS 40D plus Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400

I had a lot of fun captures fireworks on Independence Day. I may not have captured the grand scale that a lot of people managed to do, but it was still fun. I bet you can just picture me crawling around on the ground trying to capture this up close. :-)

hay fever

Taken: July 4, 2009
Camera: Canon EOS 40D plus Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Exposure: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 400

I have a minor obsession with hay bales. I think they make great landscapes. The angles you can create with a field full of these is endless. My dad drove me around Independence Day and let me take a few pictures around my hometown - Vilonia, Arkansas. I could have driven myself, but stop and shoot photography is so much easier with a driver.

holgasaurus rex

Taken: July 4, 2009
Camera: Holga 120N and two rolls of Kodak Gold 200 35mm
Exposure: ~1/120 sec
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: ~38mm

With photography you always want to take a pleasing photo. Sometimes it's fun to experiment though. One of the main reason I got a Holga is there are some amazing modifications you can do to the camera. One of the most interesting is feeding two rolls of 35mm film through it instead of using the 120 size film. This was my first attempt at this. One day I hope to try it again.

This was taken in Vilonia, Arkansas at a fireworks stand on Independence Day.

If you are interested in the modification here is a link to my version of it.

hay! check out my holga

Taken: June 29, 2009
Camera: Holga 120N and Kodak Portra 400NC film
Exposure: ~1/120 sec
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: ~38mm

Sometimes it's all about the camera. The Holga is a cult favorite among photographers. The casing and lens are all plastic. The thing just feels cheap. It takes amazing pictures though. They have a vintage feel with a sweet focus spot in the middle and blurred edges along with vignetting. The only thing that you can really change on the Holga is the Aperture. There is f/8 and f/11. The shutter speed and focal length are both fixed. Maybe part of the appeal of these is it keeps photography art. It is all about the composition. You give over much of your control to the camera. Because of the quality you risk blurred images, light leaks, and exposure issues. However, all of the pictures have a Holga stamp. I, personally, cannot help but love a Holga picture!

This picture was taken in my hometown. I had been looking for some hay bales worth photographing for a while. I spotted these in one of the school fields and decided to take some pictures.