Sunday, April 27, 2008

Brent Flying a Kite


Brent Flying a Kite, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500) [+]
* Aperture: f/9 [+]
* Focal Length: 18 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 400 [+]

SB-800 on camera with CTO gel for a bit of fill. Circular Polarizer used as well.

I bought new kites for the kids. About a week or so ago we went out to fly them when we had a good wind.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

New Glasses


New Glasses, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/4 [+]
* Focal Length: 85 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 320 [+]

Strobist: SB-800 M 1/2 into white satin umbrella camera left. SB-600 into wall at M 1/16. Both triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. Fan for blowing hair!

Natalie's old glasses were too strong for her so she got a new pair with her prescription being now +1.75

Another view of the new hair cut


Another view of the new hair cut, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/2.8 [+]
* Focal Length: 85 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 125 [+]


* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/2.8 [+]
* Focal Length: 85 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 125 [+]

Strobist info: Clamshell lighting - 43" Umbrella above and slightly camera right. SB-800 into umbrella at M 1/2 triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. 2x3' white poster board below umbrella with a gap for me to shoot through. 3x7' white Styrofoam reflector camera left for side fill to the face. SB-600 at M 1/16 on tripod at 3 o'clock location (camera right) pointed at hair for hair light. Triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS.

Enough Photos?


Enough Photos?, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Danielle had amazing wide eyes for this photo. Maybe she was just done with the pictures?

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/4 [+]
* Focal Length: 50 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 250 [+]

Strobist: SB-800 into white satin 43" shoot through umbrella above camera and a bit to right. 2x3' white posterboard underneath for reflector fill up. 3x7' white sytrofoam refelctor standing at left for reflector fill. SB-600 shot bare for hair light.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Ta-Ta Tonsils!


Ta-Ta Tonsils!, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/8 [+]
* Focal Length: 170 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 250 [+]

Strobist: SB-800 and SB-600 Strapped to the lens with the lens extended to the 200mm setting. Attached with ball bungees with each flash on opposite side. This created a pseudo ring light appearance. Since I had Becky take the photo, I set the flashes to TTL. Triggered via pop up flash via Nikon CLS/AWS. Shutter speed set to 1/320 to eliminate any reflection directly from pop up flash. f/8 chosen for greater depth of field. ISO was left at 250.

For some time I had worsening halitosis (bad breath), pocket of my tonsils, food accumulation, snoring, and calcifications. I saw the ENT surgeon, Dr. McDonald at the Mayo Clinic a couple of months ago. We decided to proceed with tonsillectomy. My patient schedule was filled out for 2 months so I blocked my schedule and on 4/23/08 I underwent tonsillectomy.

After not eating or drinking after midnight, I showed up around 8 am to the hospital. I was escorted to an outpatient room and changed into hospital attire (Snaps in the back!). A young female IV tech came in and after a few seconds of prodding with a needle, my IV was in. The nursing staff was excellent and friendly. They hung an IV and took vitals. The scale they weighed me on-- IT LIES! :-)

I was then taken to the pre-anesthesia room. Assessed multiple times (spell your full name and what is your birthday) and confirmed what surgery I was having, things were a go. The anesthesiologist and a CRNA came and saw me and the CRNA rolled me to the OR. I was transferred to the OR table. Dr. McDonald came over to say hi. They hooked up my IV. I remember having the thought of "I wonder if I can see the propofol flowing down the IV into my arm". That was my last thought and I started coming awake in the PACU (recovery room). I had been intubated and extubated while I was asleep (hallelujah!). I consciously tried to breathe deeply and wiggle my hands and legs to try and recover as fast as possible from anesthesia. I kept on catching myself wanting to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I forced myself to stay awake with the goal of recovering and going home. I needed a shot of pain medication in the recovery room (fentanyl). They switched my nose cannula of oxygen to a face mask of oxygen and moisture. I believe the Lord blessed me with a quick recovery, a successful surgery and blessed Dr. McDonald in performing the operation.

I was rolled back up to the semi-private outpatient room (2 person room). After being assessed by the nursing staff, my IV was removed. I quickly changed out of my hospital clothes into some loose fitting basketball pants. Becky waited in the room for me while I got ready. We went down to pickup my medications (narcotic - oxycodone in liquid form, antibiotic - amoxicllin) which it took the pharmacy an HOUR to fill. I fell asleep in the wheelchair. Becky pushed me in the wheelchair to the parking ramp and I climbed in the car. We picked the kids up 1/2 hour early from school and headed home. I proceeded to vomit once from being nauseous, took my first dose of oxycodone, and then went to be bed for an hour nap. I got up and took some tylenol. Drank some water and had a bit of jello. I promptly threw that up too with water coming out my nose! Ugh!

I drank lots of water and managed to keep down some jello. I ate a jello cup with mandarin oranges in it. That was a mistake--they burned the back of my throat! After that and for the rest of the night, I felt nauseous. After going to bed at 10, I got up at 12 and again at 2. I got clammy and cold and threw water up. I got up at 3 and couldn't sleep, so I read for 45 minutes. I went back to sleep and got up at 5:55. I drank some water and promptly threw it up along with the mandarin oranges from last night. After that, I haven't thrown up since--must have been those that didn't set well with me. It hurts to swallow more than a couple of times in a row. Consequently, I find myself not swallowing much. I've had a ton of water, some Lipton diet citrus green tea and bits of jello (Becky blended some bananas with some different varieties of jello for me) and yogurt. I will lose weight yet! :-)

I took a nap in the morning and a nap this evening as well. I thought I'd share this photo of the back of my throat to show you what things looked like. Carl.

Becky's New Haircut


Becky's New Haircut, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/2.8 [+]
* Focal Length: 85 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 125 [+]

Strobist info: Clamshell lighting - 43" Umbrella above and slightly camera right. SB-800 into umbrella at M 1/2 triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. 2x3' white poster board below umbrella with a gap for me to shoot through. 3x7' white Styrofoam reflector camera left for side fill to the face. SB-600 at M 1/16 on tripod at 3 o'clock location (camera right) pointed at hair for hair light. Triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS.

Becky's hair was the longest it had been in the last 12 years of our marriage. She decided to have it cut. She had it layered and thinned. It looks cute on her. Of course, her hair is naturally curly so she has to use a straight iron to have this look. We tried various poses: full on, 2/3 view, 3/4 view, headshot only, glance over the shoulder etc. This view is one I decided upload first. She has a nice smile.

First step of editing in Adobe Lightroom. Then edited with Portrait Proffessional. Reimported into Lightroom and then edited in Adobe Photoshop for a Gaussian blur layer. Reimport into Adobe Lightroom and Vignette applied.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Danielle


Danielle, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

this is just a different processing of the previous photo.

Danielle Before Spring Program


Danielle Before Spring Program, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Before we went to their spring program/production I photographed her in my studio room.

Taken with a Nikon D80.
* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/4 [+]
* Focal Length: 85 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 100 [+]

Strobist Info: SB-800 and SB-600 at Manual 1/2 through 43" white satin umbrella camera right. Triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. About 2' from Danielle.

I set shutter speed of 1/320 to eliminate any hint of the onboard flash in her eyes. I chose ISO 100 and f/4.0 to eliminate ambient and achieve a depth of focus to include both eyes. I had on a bank of fluorescents camera right that lit her face enough for autofocus to function however these did not contribute to the overall exposure. First shot taken led me to want a bit of fill from left. I then moved over my 7' tall white v-card and placed camera left to provide some fill.

Post production: Adobe Lightroom for cropping. Adobe photoshop for layers, surface blur etc.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Karen and Elizabeth


Karen and Elizabeth, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

The Teachers pose following their successful spring program with the children. The spring program included singing, acting and readings. We had some treats afterwards. For this photo, I used both my SB-600 and SB-800 Flashes shooting through a white satin umbrella. Flashes triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. Flash output of Manual 1/2 for both. Umbrella camera left and above. I was standing on a chair for a higher vantage point.

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 112 mm
ISO Speed: 250

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Natalie and her Dog


Natalie and her Dog, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Natalie took Angel out for a walk while she went to empty some garbage. Angel was as usual, loving the attention. It was cloudy and overcast which acted like a gian softbox for lighting. I used a bit of flash for fill with my SB-800. I applied a 1/4 CTO Gel for a slight warming of the colors and used white balance setting in camera of clouds. It really wasn't that bright out, but Natalie could barely open her eyes and was squinting for all the photos I took.

Brent with Black Eye


Brent with Black Eye, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

In a clash between Natalie's Accidental Elbow and Brent's eye, guess which one wins? It was bleeding profusely. I didn't have any Steri-strips to pull it together, nor did I want to go to the ER for this. I found some Breathe-Right Nasal strips, cut one to size and used it to pull the gash together! Worked just fine.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Single Broccoli Sprout


Single Broccoli Sprout, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/11 [+]
* Focal Length: 200 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 400 [+]

Strobist Info: 43" White satin shoot-through umbrella camera right. SB-800 at M 1/1 and SB-600 at M 1/2. Both strobes triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. Umbrella approximately 10-12 inches from cup. 7' white posterboard/styrofoam reflector camera left approximately 16" away.

Technical choices: I chose my Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens for the telephoto ability and shot at 200mm. I stopped down to f/11 to try and achieve as much acceptable depth of field as possible. Higher than that would start to get soft (lens itself and due to circle of confusion) with this lens otherwise I would have went up to even f/16. I had all the lights off except for a fluorescent bank camera right to allow focusing. At 1/320, f/11 and ISO 400 a test shot left the frame entirely black and the fluorescents did not contribute to overall exposure.

Processing: Adobe Lightroom 1.3.1 - Cropping, exposure, recovery, fill light, black point, Clarity, and sharpening all performed.

Real info: Even though there are still bits of snow on the ground, the temperature has been rising quickly. I brought in three buckets of dirt from the garden. I have filled several planting trays and planted broccoli, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and papas. Additionally we have some raspberry bushes sitting in a 5-gallon bucket of water in front of the patio doors. They are just starting to sprout. In this and the other photo I have uploaded you can see my broccoli just starting to sprout. In this image you see a single broccoli sprout that I lifted out of the tray and placed in this cup. The tray is too crowded. You can just see in this photo some of its hair like root filaments. In the tray photo, you can see them much better.

Broccoli Sprouts in Black Tray


Broccoli Sprouts in Black Tray, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

Taken with a Nikon D80.

* Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320) [+]
* Aperture: f/11 [+]
* Focal Length: 200 mm [+]
* ISO Speed: 400 [+]

Strobist Info: 43" White satin shoot-through umbrella camera right. SB-800 at M 1/1 and SB-600 at M 1/2. Both strobes triggered via Nikon CLS/AWS. Umbrella approximately 10-12 inches from cup. 7' white posterboard/styrofoam reflector camera left approximately 16" away.

Technical choices: I chose my Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens for the telephoto ability and shot at 200mm. I stopped down to f/11 to try and achieve as much acceptable depth of field as possible. Higher than that would start to get soft (lens itself and due to circle of confusion) with this lens otherwise I would have went up to even f/16. I had all the lights off except for a fluorescent bank camera right to allow focusing. At 1/320, f/11 and ISO 400 a test shot left the frame entirely black and the fluorescents did not contribute to overall exposure.

Processing: Adobe Lightroom 1.3.1 - Cropping, exposure, recovery, fill light, black point, Clarity, and sharpening all performed.

Real info: Even though there are still bits of snow on the ground, the temperature has been rising quickly. I brought in three buckets of dirt from the garden. I have filled several planting trays and planted broccoli, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and papas. Additionally we have some raspberry bushes sitting in a 5-gallon bucket of water in front of the patio doors. They are just starting to sprout. In this and the other photo I have uploaded you can see my broccoli just starting to sprout. In this image you see the multiple sprouts in each container. I will have to thin them out. They are now 3 days old from the day that I placed them dry on the soil. I didn't cover them up, I just seeded them on top. It was easiest that way. The fine root filaments are fascinating to me! One guess which direction the sun is?

Danielle


Danielle, originally uploaded by carlcmc.

In the midst of her homework, I had her sit down for a photo and then we finished her homework.