Agility Photographs

Jumps!

I’m still getting used to taking low-light photos using my speedlight. Fortunately, Quincy and Grete provide me practice and encouragement (not to mention photogenic content).

This week we went up to a gym in Lynnwood where Quincy and some of her dog agility classmates practice. While the gym has standard lighting, it turns out it’s way too dark for non-flash, quick shutter photography. I found this out the first time I joined them (there were no useable photos… just too dark or too blurry). This time, I brought Quincy’s D90 (which has higher ISO settings) and my speedflash.

I found that all the research I did on proper technique really paid off. Oh, right, I didn’t look up anything at all. That must be why my photographs fell into two categories: washed out and dim. I was at least able to stop the action. Quincy loved it, of course. We learned that Grete curls her toes under her on jumps; some dog curl, others stretch. I would have bet her a stretcher, given how often she’s sprawled out on the bed in every direction.

I’m thinking that distance is a great factor in these types of photographs. Zooming in and out with the 55-200 lens doesn’t change the brightness of the flash much; but moving physically closer to the action (or the action moving closer to me) does impact quite a bit. I’m thinking that I might have a setup for close, medium, and far shots. What knobs to widget I have no idea. I guess I’ll just have to look something up!

You can see more photos on Quincy’s Flickr page (linked from the photo above).

2008 in thumbnails

This year started off auspiciously with a backwards repel down a waterfall in Costa Rica. I came back sore and wondering what the heck I was thinking. That was January 1st. The 365 days that followed stayed in the same theme: exhilarating and sometimes painful. Overall, it was one of the busiest and most eventful years of my life.




My dad visited in January, followed by a nontraditional wedding between two of Quincy's best friends, Maggi and Jeff. I spent January through March unemployed by choice, preparing the house for Quincy, Grete and Gesso to move in, and relaxing for the first time in years. Rick moved out in February after four years of living in my basement -- it was both sad and happy, as he is now in Portland with more room, more light, and more music in his life.




Rishi, Omar and I went to Vegas for the Super Bowl ('nuf said) and Grete spent her first weekend at my house. Quincy and friends spent long hours ripping up the floor in her kitchen, preparing it for an eventual sale which would be both stressful and ultimately rewarding.




Quincy, Grete and I met my mother and Eileen on the Oregon coast for a long weekend of hiking and beach walks. I was getting weaker and sicker at this point, and visited the doctor for more blood work. Still no idea what it could be, we traveled to Pennsylvania to meet my family and to South Dakota to visit Quincy's. I swung up to Vermont to see Brian wed Becca, certainly one of the most beautiful weddings I will ever witness.




Quincy and Grete ran their first 5k. Quincy moved in and we started gardening in earnest in the middle of the summer. By July, I was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. Just one month later, with a fresh supply of oxygen in my blood, I asked Quincy to merry me (the day before Vena married Simon, another beautiful gathering of friends and family).




We dog sat DJ & Emily's Lola and hosted a super-fun game night in the fall. Megan and Talina got engaged this summer as well, so we spent a few nights sharing our wedding planning. I continued working at Attenex, taking the bus every day, and re-learning how to manage stress (now that my energy returned, so did much angst).




Parties (with DJ & Emily's new baby!), outdoor lights, and snow capped off an amazing year. Quincy and I have absolutely no idea what next year will hold for us. After all that we've done so far, I know we're both hoping for a little breather. So, who wants to take bets? hehe... I didn't think so. Let's go sailing!

New camera in the family

Those of you who follow Q's blog or Flickr stream have certainly notice that she's gone and purchased herself a new camera. She settled on the D90, two steps up from my D50, but still in the consumer area of Nikon's offerings. The next step up into the three didget range (D200, DX2, D300) brings more power, but also considerably more weight. Also, the aspect ratio changes, meaning our lenses would need to be upgraded. So, the D90 it is.
I was hesitent at first, thinking it more practical for Q to just borrow mine whenever she wanted it. Silly me. The new camera is great, and now we can both play with shooting at the same time. Also, the D90 is more than just a couple notches up on the feature totem pole; it's also two generations of technology younger. The CCD is fast, so fast that the ISO goes up to 6400, then a full three more steps from there! Holy cow. We've taken a number of acceptable low-light (grainy) shots that come out black with my camera. Also, it's very, very fast.
If you want an actual review of the camera, the lens (18-105), etc, I recommend www.dpreview.com.