Undiscovered subject: can you spot the spider? (click for larger image)

Yesterday I was climbing Blue Mountain, just west of Missoula, MT with our dog Angua. I ran into some great flowers and took a number of macro shots using extension tubes.

It wasn’t until I was doing post processing this morning that I found an added bonus. I was doing sharpness checks at 1:1 in Lightroom 3, and suddenly there was …. a dustspot? No, it was…. a spider! A very tiny one to be sure, hiding in the petals of the subject flower.

Can’t see it? Here it is close up and personal. In retrospect I was extremely lucky that it fell within the depth of field. I’ve shot bugs before, but I believe this is my smallest wildlife subject to date.

See him tucked away there, near the petal tips? (Click for larger image)

Eagle in Trees

A day for celebrating our independence in the United States. Why do we HAVE that independence? Because a hell of a lot of people gave up a lot, and continue to give up a lot, to see that we keep it.

I extend my thanks for the democracy I enjoy to the people who made it possible. The obvious group are those who serve or served in our military. Some, like my father and my good friend (and fellow photographer) Tom Ferguson gave up years of their youth. Others, like my Uncle Roger, were severely wounded, and spent the rest of their lives living with pain and disability so that we could continue to live in freedom and democracy. Countless others gave the ultimate sacrifice, dying while in service to our country. (Next time your responsibilities to our democracy, including voting, paying taxes, or participating in civil political dialog feel excessive to you, compare your burden to that LAST group. Then tell me about how unreasonable the demands on your time or wallet are.)

Others are teachers in our public schools and universities. We depend upon these folks who dedicate their lives  to helping the next generation learn the value of our way of life, the values that keep it alive, and teaching the skills that will keep us going for … well, for a while longer. Most of all, we depend upon teachers to teach our children to THINK RATIONALLY. We depend upon teachers to assure that each generation knows the basics of history and learns the civics skills needed to be an effective part of our democracy.

Still others serve our country as policemen, firemen, border guards and social workers. All these public servants keep our social fabric intact. Without that, we have no basis for our democracy.

Often these people get less support from us than they deserve.  It’s easy, over time, to forget the people who made great sacrifices. It’s easy to feel the pinch of budgets and forget yesterday’s contributions. To forget the value of schools. To forget the effort it takes to run for local public office – win or lose.

Make sure your voice is part of the REAL Grass Roots and ignore the astroturf of political noise and nonsense.

I believe our political process is becoming more polarized, less civil, less truthful, and less rational. We again face rising challenges in the world, in our communities, and in our environment. This fourth of July it would be a good idea for all of us to remember that the United States needs to be just what the name says – The UNITED States. That means we all chip in, and we all  give as well as get from our society. And we remember democracy is based upon compromise and mutual respect.

Three quotes come to mind:

SERVICE:

“Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time. The only thing that lasts is what is shared with others.”
Marian Wright Edelman

ADVICE TO POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FROM CITIZENS:

“Abandon the failed politics of partisanship. You can’t demonize each other and expect us to trust you.”
Report by citizens from an AmericaSpeaks national Town Hall meeting held June 2010 about the US Budget Deficit.

DEMOCRACY:

“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
Winston Churchill

I wish you a fun, safe, and thoughtful Fourth of July, 2010.

Art

So I was both surprised and beyond pleased at the casual, fun, yet respectful air that surrounded this particular graduation ceremony. Yes, there was the usual standing in line and grumbling to get in. And yes, there was the one graduate who may have started his partying a few hours too early…. But there were so many real positive differences I’m not sure where to begin. There was a big slide show, not of student works, or of stodgy head-shots. It was a slide show of students working and playing. And it started early, and played continuously.

The students probably dressed more casually than the faculty...

... but not by much!

The students had a choice of “cap and gown” or “other”. “Other” won in spades. Probably less than 10% chose the traditional “little professor” dress. (I wasn’t counting, but I was looking down on an sea of heads, not mortar boards, when I looked over the graduates.)

Students and audience both enjoyed the candor and casual feel of the awards comments

A ballcap? Why not! No old ladies fainted, and he looked happy and comfortable with his choice.

The variations they elected were befitting a group of artists: on the guys? One young man wore a white suit, another a baseball cap with tassel, there were lots of blue jeans, plus black suits of all descriptions, age and style. Sort of formal-casual seemed to be the theme, but there was clearly no rule.

Two creative takes on the traditional black robe...

White and Pink were good choices, too.

For the women you had everything from cap-and-gown to party frocks, (though I don’t recall any women in jeans).
One ingenious young lady presented herself wearing a traditional mortar board, a slick short black dress that confirmed she had an athlete’s figure, and a long white jacket/sweater.

The faculty shared in this casual blend. There were two professors in full PhD regalia. At the other end of the spectrum? A sport shirt.

The faculty also wasn’t there to be stodgy and professorial. When presenting awards, many expressed genuine respect and joy for the students they were lauding. They often spoke more from the heart than their notes, and one even got emotional and shed a few tears, at which point she was hugged and patted by the recipient. And no one seemed embarrassed by either the tears or the hyperbole. Not a bit.

Groucho glasses and mustache somehow fit right in with the spirit of respectful fun

Only a few audience members pushed the limits of good behavior. One gentleman felt it necessary to shout some word in an oriental language and pump his fist in the air as his daughter’s name was read, and again as she mounted the platform, and again as she was handed her a diploma, and again…. well, you get the idea. But I think there was no more disruptive behavior than at a traditional graduation, and it was clearly less disruptive.

Yep. That's a pup-in-arms there on the balcony...

A mom thought it necessary to bring in little Fifi-the-pocket-dog, and then to stand at balcony’s edge, holding the dog out for a better look.

The guest speaker, a Microsoft millionaire, was bland, a bit disorganized, and at times tough to hear. But he kept his remarks to under 20 minutes and showed a few interesting personal slides. He was the designer who lead the development of the first Microsoft Mouse, and he told how he’d tried playing the curve as music. He clearly appreciated his parents – though just what it was that his father had taught him eluded me. But somehow, the speech fit the mood and the audience was mostly attentive.

But the best feature was the attitude and behavior of the students: they were there to celebrate.

Everyone was smiling, and they all seemed to be rooting for each other (click thumbs for full image).

Not disrespectfully, but joyously and without (much) restraint, they celebrated their own, and their entire classes, achievement. They smiled. They waved at family. The early-partier waved his arms from time to time, and everyone laughed a lot. And despite the dread fears and warnings of hundreds of graduation organizers spanning over hundred’s of years, this celebration had all the momentum of a Mardi Gras parade – it just kept moving forward. It stayed “in control,” it was interesting, even fun, from end to end, and it ENDED ON TIME!
During the march of graduates, (in which hugs were as acceptable as handshakes) they played the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance.” But once the ceremony ended and it was time for everyone to go outside? They played it again – but this time it was the best full-on version that I’ve ever heard.

Participants were gracious spectators and celebrated each other's accomplishments.

In short, for this group of lucky students the traditional celebration had shed decades of dust and crust, and was carried out as it should be – as a joyous occasion. Just like a wedding done right. (Or even a very good wake.)

Afterward, just outside as graduates hugged friends, introduced parents, and headed off into the rainy Seattle night, I thought about the somber drudgery of all the prior graduations I had witnessed or marched in. The closest thing to them was a funeral. What a great change this was! I felt more than a little envy, and hoped these grads would carry this positive spirit forward into their lives.

The next day I learned that the school of Public Administration had a vastly different, traditional graduation (“You MUST wear a cap and gown if you wish to march.”) But I was relieved that at least part of our culture has adopted a true celebratory attitude about such a great occasion.

(Photo note: all images were taken using a Canon 5DMkII at ISO 12,800 with a 24-105 zoom lens. Post processing was limited to a few Lightroom tweaks.)

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841 – 1935)
Associate justice on the US Supreme Court (1902 –  1932).

Sometimes Holmes’ wonderful, elegant, and often elusive “simplicity on the other side of complexity” comes not from external system improvements, not from better technology, but from simple practice. You’ve experienced this. Remember riding a bicycle? Now remember learning to ride a bicycle?

• THEN: Balance – peddle – steer. So many variables – watch your feet. Look out for the curb! Not into the flowers! (Glance around. Did anyone see that? I don’t want to be laughed at…)
• NOW: You swing your leg over and go. (Or at least you did last time you rode a bike. How many years ago was that? No matter – your body will remember how…)

Consider the first 10,000 serious photos you take. So much complexity! ISO. Lens selection. Shutter speed. F-stop. Depth of field. Hyperfocal distance. Metering. Flash exposure compensation.  Composition…. Composition!? Even using the camera’s “automatic” setting, you feel lucky to get the subject in view, in focus, and well-lit more than half the time! And before you can view or share your images, there is the workflow: transfer from camera to computer. RAW vs JPEG? Please, I’m still figuring out where the files landed on my disk!  (Computer – what do you mean I’m “OUT OF HARD DRIVE SPACE”!?)

Layers in Photoshop or Gimp? Not until you’ve mastered cropping, white balance, tint, contrast, tone curves, levels, the menus and keyboard shortcuts, and …. and then, suddenly… you just understand. We say “It comes naturally.” But it didn’t. It came from practice. From repetition. You lost more than one great photo to a painful,  now seemingly stupid mistake.  A lot more. But that is ok – because back then you had no idea. And now? Now you just “know.” The right thing “just happens.”

Bikes. Photos. Life. It’s a lot less about better equipment and a lot more about mental memory, muscle memory, and creative memory. It’s not always easy. In fact, it’s hardly ever easy. Sometimes it’s impossible. At least it feels impossible today. But for that problem? Well, there is always more practice.

What will you discover if you sign up?

Cool Photography Tips- I’ve been taking photographs for about 40 years. Sometimes professionally, other times just for the fun of it. I’ve built my own studios, labs, and props. I’ll be sharing the tricks I’ve learned the hard way and from other photographers to save you time, energy, and money. Things like building 4×8 light table for under $100, $15 rollers for background paper, and info on how to determine the shutter activations on a used Canon camera.

Night sky over Missoula

Photoshop CS4 - I’ve spent a good deal of time climbing the learning curve for the new version of Photoshop. I’ve also spent serious time using GIMP. I’ll be sharing tricks, odd sources of information, favorite reference books, and examples from my own experience with before and after shots.

Lightroom 3 - I’ve also done some hiking up on the LR3 learning curve as I work on loading my catalog of 80,000 digital images and enter each day’s new images.  I’ll share observations and pieces I couldn’t find in the manual (at least not easily!)

Technology and Computers – My experience building an inexpensive mass storage device, and other geekish tales useful to those interested in photography.

Favorite tools -  After a few years in any business, most of us have a list of favorite tools and products. I’ll be sharing my “favorites” lists with you, as well as letting you share yours.

Shameless Commerce Division - (a tip-o-the-hat to The Car Guys) I’ve developed a product called the Hiker’s Camera Belt. Given the name, it’s not rocket science to guess its purpose. I’ve built a separate site that will tell you about it. I won’t be doing much here other than offering a link to it, and answering the occasional question. You can see details at:

www.hikersCameraBelt.com

And of course your thoughts, suggestions, and responses are a big part of this site.

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Best regards and thanks for coming by!

Art H.