Photo sharing on the web...oh my...

Lingcod on 737 Artificial Reef, BC.  August 2012

I ran into one of the scuba instructors I work with at Lighthouse, Mike Penders, last night and he shared that a mutual friend and former student, Jesse Miller had purchased a new Canon DSLR and was taking it underwater with him.  The 3 of us had all be using the G10-12 series and while Mike and I were using the basic Canon housing, Jesse had upgraded to Iklite.  I am more into green water photography, while Mike and Jesse love to go out and take photos of the smallest stuff they can find.  I love to dive with them because we normally photograph the same stuff, but since our eyes and perspective is different, we come up with some cool versions of the same animal underwater.  Mike and I are instructors and love to teach, but Jesse has focused his energy into photography and has won contests with his photos.  Since I hadn't talked to Jesse in a while, Mike reminded me to check out Jesse's stuff on Smug Mug.  When I got home last night, I did and blown away with the beautiful images that he has taken over the last year.  What also impressed me was how nicely everything was presented on the website.  Since I don't have his permission, I won't publish his work here, but you can check it out on Smug Mug, under "Jesse Miller"

Mark and Kendra, August 2012

I started to think about the different options of storing photos on line.  I like the idea of it, especially if my computer or hard drive are lost or stolen.  I decided to Google the options and as expected, I was blown away by the choices.

Flickr seems to be the most popular and I have been using it for a while, but not consistently.  I have accounts on Snapfish and Photobucket but rarely use them.  I looked at Smug Mug and I think I liked it best because it is easy to use and allows me to grow my site into a website.  However, it isn't free like the others are.  I flipped onto Picasa because it is linked to Google and for free, it uploaded every photo on my laptop.    Besides the well-known sites, there are hundreds of smaller sites that offer everything from basic storage, to services for the professional photographer.  It is overwhelming, but excellent to know that there are options for everyone.


Most often, I use Facebook for storage and sharing, but the quality of their display isn't great.  But, for showing off snapshots, it is easy and quick, and I know that it is a great way to make sure my friends are able to see photos.  I think I will bit the bullet and just go ahead and jump into Smug Mug but not until I get everything watermarked.  For now, just look for my photos on FB, Picasa and maybe Flickr.  Let me know what photo sharing site you like best and why.

Editing with Lightroom 4...@#$%!!!!

When I bought my G12 2 years ago, I thought it was time to also get a good editing program.  I did a little research and decided Adobe Lightroom was the right choice.  I got a great deal on an educator's version and I got a book and started to learn how to use it.  I quickly discovered that it was way beyond anything I had used before.  After a few weeks, I quit using it because I was having a hard time trying to use it quickly to do basic editing, and I realized I did not have the patience to be able to spend hours perfecting a photo.  I went back to Microsoft's basic edit program so I could crop, and I did not edit anything.

With the new camera and my desire to enter a few photos into contests, I knew I would have to go back to Lightroom.  I got a free upgrade to LR4 but I am still struggling on how to use the program quickly.  I have managed to create a watermark (see below) yet, I can't even figure out how to put it on a photo, let alone find my photos after I edited them.

My solution to all this is to take a class.  My friend Wenmei Hill teaches a class on Lightroom, so I think I will enroll as soon as she announces her next class.  My husband also has Photoshop and will be working with it next quarter so he may also have some tips for me.  Until them...not sure what I am going to do other than swear at my computer.

My watermark

The Canon 60D goes to its first party.

     I was invited to a Christmas party by the 7-Eleven franchisees. I thought it would be a great opportunity to see how the new camera would perform.  It was on an Argosy Cruise, so it was on the water. I took about 70 photos.  I split my photos into 2 groups, Seattle photos and people photos.

Seattle, Washington

American flag with Seattle in the distance; southern facing shot.

     First, my city shots.  These are okay but nothing I couldn't have got with my G12.  Disappointed that I couldn't pull more color.  I did not manually WB; I used the cloudy day setting.  I used 200 ISO and the camera is in program mode, so I didn't play with a F-stop.  I was on a moving boat, so I didn't really have the option of using the tripod.  I think if I had a longer lens I would have had more luck.  It was also drizzling, so I didn't want to stay outside for very long.  I wanted to get a photo of the new Wheel and the Space Needle in the same photo.  I also took one of the American flag on the boat with the shot of downtown.  It was nice because it added the color that the dreary December day was lacking.
The new Seattle Wheel is a pretty addition to the Seattle skyline, but during the day it isn't lit.  Had it been, it would have also added the much needed color.

Part 2, the people photos.  I was happy with most of the photos I took, but again, I think my G12 could have done well here.  However, here are a few photos I like.

Theresa and Barry

Mitter Pal Singh's youngest daughter

Prem Singh's daughter and son

Enjoying drinks and scenery

Manny Duo and Theresa cut up the dance floor.

I especially love the photos I got of the children; especially Prem Singh's son and daughter.  I didn't use a flash on the first 3; just ambient light and WB setting for indoor lighting (yellow).  The other 2 I used the cloudy day WB and flash.

So, I wanted to edit these a bit, so I thought I would got back to Lightroom and try to make my peace.  I was able to upgrade to LR 4.3.  No.  I could not easily navigate that program.  I was just frustrated just trying to import photos!  So, I didn't edit any of these.  I will write another blog soon explaining my dealings with LR.  I hope that I can use it...I got lots of photos I want to tweak!

So after my first day out with my new camera, still just starting to feel the love.  It is easy to use and I like the buttons on it.  I am still working on focusing using the eye piece again...that is something I haven't used at all with the last 4 digital cameras I had.  I need a new bag and also a longer neck strap.  I am looking forward to playing with it some more and using more of the manual settings.

The journey to today...

My father had a old Minolta camera he got for $5 in Vietnam.  He took family photos with it, and in 1982, he gave it to me to use in a photography class I was taking in 8th grade.  I wore it out, and got another one a few years later; almost identical, and wore it out too.  It used 35mm film, but it didn't have interchangeable lenses.  I lived in the darkroom at school and learned how much fun it was to develop black and white film.  I used the school's Canon and gave me my first real experience with a SLR.  Color was always my calling and as much as I loved taking photos, developing rolls and rolls of color film got expensive for a college student and I moved on to other things.  I always seemed to have a point and click camera though.

A few years later, I married a man very much into photography.  He loved his Nikon camera and I let him document the 7 years we were married.  In 2001, I asked him for his backup SLR to use and he found it frustrating that my flower photos were as good, if not better than his.  He kept both cameras after we split, and I went back to using a point and shoot camera after that.  A few years later, I remarried and my new husband could care less about a camera so the family photo duties were assigned to me.

Red Irish Lord, Skookumchuk, BC

I learned to scuba dive while working at a travel agency in 2000.  I found travel, photography and SCUBA went hand and hand.  Soon after becoming certified, almost every trip I took involved being underwater.  In 2002, digital photography became more and more mainstream and giving up a film camera only made sense.  I got a 1 MB digital camera that I could dive with as well as take topside photos.  I found myself using that camera so much, I wore out the battery door on it!

After a few years, I upgraded from the Sealife and moved into a Canon 10MP, which I used happily for several years.  It was easy, took great photos but I felt like I was missing something.  In 2011, I decided it was time for a "real" camera again.  I missed working with a SLR.  However, I wanted something easy to use underwater that wasn't a lot of money.  A Canon G12 became the answer.

Quillback Rockfish and Cloud Sponges, BC

The G12 rode sidesaddle with me everywhere.  I took photos of family, birds, flowers, weddings and of new babies.  I took it underwater and learned how to bring out color.  In the spring and summer of 2012 I documented the development of my overgrown garden, into a beautiful place to sit and enjoy the flowers.   I had finally hit a wall with the G12 though.  I wanted a longer lens and more options than what I was using.

Sea Anemone, BC

Underwater, the G12 was just beginning to hit its use.  I was getting some great photos with the camera and housing, but not using the external strobe or spotlight to get the macro stuff I wanted to capture.  I was having a blast taking green water shots and wider photos.  In 2013, I would like to get a better arm for the strobe and get some tight macro shots.  With all the cool opportunities with video programs, I would like to play with the video mode too and see what I can get live.  I feel I have at least 2 more years shooting with this camera underwater.

For Christmas this year, I asked my husband, Tom for a Digital SLR.  I did the research and decided that a Canon 60D was exactly what I was looking for.  I found the entry level DSLRs to be too close to my G12 and I wanted more of a challenge.  We found a great deal and the new camera was mine shortly after Thanksgiving.  I am looking forward to learning how to use it and take lots of photos of my garden next spring and summer.

My goal with this blog is to document my journey with photography, travel and scuba.  I will post family stuff from time to time too...my 8 year old son Robert and husband Tom are excellent subjects!  In 2013, I plan on taking some classes, teaching some classes and will documenting here.  Feel free to comment and give tips.

Leaves at Les Davis Pier and Park, Tacoma, November 2012

I will post a few photos, but most of my stuff will either be posted on FB or Flickr.  I will link this blog to both.