ChinaCoop PhotoBlog http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:35:31 +0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Photos and Words Is a picture really worth a thousand words? Should photos speak for themselves or does the photographer need to guide the interpretation? Should we combine photos with words? Should we even have captions?

Yes. Wait...no. Man, I don't know.

There are many answers to each of those questions. A photo may be worth a thousand words, but depending on the content of the photograph and the audience viewing it, just which words could be hard to determine. The photographer needs to determine what the message is and communicate that. If words are needed, use them. If not, don't.

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/take_better_photos/photos_and_words.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/take_better_photos/photos_and_words.html take better photos Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:35:31 +0800 Broken Bokeh, Nice Vignetting Well, I talked briefly about controlling the shape of your aperture in order create cool shapes in the out of focus regions of your photos. I had experimented some with it, and thought I had the perfect situation to use it. It was the 4th of July and I had a start shaped aperture in my bag. So I gave it a run...a very short run. Here is what happened

cowboy on parade, vignetted

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/take_better_photos/broken_bokeh_nice_vignetting.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/take_better_photos/broken_bokeh_nice_vignetting.html take better photos Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:20:14 +0800 What is a Professional Photographer? I have a little confession to make. I cannot even count the number of times I have, in the depths of my thoughts, tried to justify calling myself a professional. It really seems the digital age of photography has confused the minds of many as to who is professional and who is amateur and what the word 'professional' even means.

The topic came to mind the other day when I saw a contest with different categories for professional and amateur, where of course, they had to define the difference. The rules said that professional photographer are "people whose main activity is photography and who, consequently, have already sold, published and exhibited their work". The amateurs are everybody else.

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photosophy/what_is_a_professional_photographer.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photosophy/what_is_a_professional_photographer.html photosophy Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:46:29 +0800 Photo Albums and Chinese Adoption Sometimes, a totally random event will draw us outside our preconceptions and help us see photography in a new light. I would never have thought of photos and captions in the context of adoption or how that application of photography could be anything special, but for a foreign adoption of a child who is already grown and speaks a different language, knows a different culture, and within the space of a few minutes is being launched into a new family, a simple photo album can be a treasure.

At first glace, this seems totally unrelated to photography, I know, but keep the title in mind. It has everything to do with photos and captions, and not only that, but applying our medium to the world around us in order to build others up instead of shooting just for some techy self-pleasure.

My brother and sister-in-law just adopted a nine-year-old girl from China. Before they left, my sister-in-law had the idea of using this cool little photo album they had been given to help their nine-year-old daughter acclimate to the her family. Each page in the photo album could record a ten second message to explain the photo. Then, when you just happen to have a brother that lives and works in China (enter ChinaCoop), that album can be narrated in Chinese.

Simply put, all I did was narrate captions (in Chinese) to a photo album.

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photosophy/photo_albums_and_chinese_adoption.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photosophy/photo_albums_and_chinese_adoption.html photosophy Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:25:25 +0800 New Wedding Photography Gallery Up I took a slightly different approach to this wedding, in my ever evolving approach to photography gigs. With each wedding, I have been trying to add services to what I can provide for a wedding shoot. This time, the big thing I did was to provide the photography online so that guests of the wedding—well, of course, for the couple themselves too—could view the wedding photos without needing to wait weeks just to see an album in person with the couple.

That is why the photos, though taken way back in February, are just now hitting the gallery. I had them online for the guests, and waited to give them more than enough time to browse through those, before I took them down and created the gallery. Just between you and me: it was taking up a good bit of space for the website, and I had to take them down sometime. :)

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/software_equipment/new_wedding_photography_gallery_up.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/software_equipment/new_wedding_photography_gallery_up.html software & equipment Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:03:40 +0800 To Regain My Perspective taking a look at a new camera

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/to_regain_my_perspective.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/to_regain_my_perspective.html photographs Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:21:15 +0800 Cowboy Guitarist Steve Dykes on guitar

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/cowboy_guitarist.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/cowboy_guitarist.html photographs Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:56:43 +0800 Looking the Other Way tips appreciated

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/looking_the_other_way.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/looking_the_other_way.html photographs Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:52:00 +0800 Fishing Prime Time sunset over Lake Bridgeport, TX

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/fishing_prime_time.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/fishing_prime_time.html photographs Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:14:45 +0800 Hauling That Fish In Vietnamese lady hauls in sand bass at Lake Bridgeport, TX

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/hauling_that_fish_in.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/hauling_that_fish_in.html photographs Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:03:46 +0800 Irresponsible Cow Mothers? bottle fed calf

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/irresponsible_cow_mothers.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/irresponsible_cow_mothers.html photographs Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:47:54 +0800 Neil Diamond 8-Track Cadillac 8-Track player with Neil Diamond

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/neil_diamond_8track_cadillac.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/neil_diamond_8track_cadillac.html photographs Fri, 30 May 2008 13:41:42 +0800 Whispy Lightning Fingers crawling ligthning

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/whispy_lightning_fingers.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/whispy_lightning_fingers.html photographs Fri, 23 May 2008 01:20:38 +0800 Passing the Flag blackhawk and huey at temple airshow

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/passing_the_flag.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/photographs/passing_the_flag.html photographs Sat, 17 May 2008 05:20:35 +0800 Um Bump Bump Under the stars in bright rainbow display,
Towering round the heights through every step
Teaching us full hearted belly laugh shouts,
Acclaiming yon,
Proclaiming bon,

Resplend.

Are we the seeing beings we think we are?
Do we know all we think we know?
I suggest a life beyond ourselves.

Transcend.

]]> http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/writings/um_bump_bump.html http://www.chinacoop.net/photoblog/writings/um_bump_bump.html writings Thu, 15 May 2008 05:17:42 +0800