Indiana trip

Some pictures from our trip to the cottage in Indiana. All taken with a tragic little POS camera. These are mostly for my soon-to-be-in-laws.

Drive from Flag to Phoenix

Fly from Phoenix to Denver

Drive from Denver to LaGrange, Indiana.

 

Beachfront where we will be getting married. Boats will all be moved. Aisle will be in the sand where the wooden pier is. The happy couple will stand at the waters edge.

She fits right in :-)

View from the pier at our place and the neighbors' lawn. On the left is the side that we will not be renting - the places we will get are through the sailboat on the right.

Dad driving the ski boat (this is the boat Kristen and I have now!)

Mom on the jet ski! ZOOM!

My mom swimming across the lake. It's kind of her thing.

Kristen and I escorted her to make sure no boats ran her over. Good way to spend the morning kayaking

Mark is crazy

We have lots of computers....

Mocha chasing the ball.

Mark on the jetski

Here you can see the lawn we will be able to use on the left.

We will be renting these places. Lots of space and even more beachfront!

The following 4 images are the Williams property, where we hope the Bains and Phillips can stay. It's about a 4 minute walk from the Beaty cottage.

View from the street

View from the backyard

Pretty good sized yard. Good pier to dangle your toes in.

Double balcony too.

Watch out for mosquitos

Taking the new boat for a drive.

 

Kayaking through the channel to the no-wake-zone lake. This is where we usually go to swim.

Parents with the new boat!

We did a lot of kayaking :-)

and a lot of grilling

One of the rooms we can rent. Two beds, but it's just one room. The rest of the house won't be ours. Nice view and great for 2 couples or 2 people.

rediscovery: assignment four

Now that you've cultivated some inspiration (you did do that last assignment, right?) it's time to grab the camera and get shooting again.

Today's assignment is all about limitations, with the idea being that limiting the things you have to constantly think about, you can be free to create.

Pick one camera, one lens, one ISO, one aperture. The only setting you are allowed to change is your shutter speed. Spend two days shooting with these settings. If you are really feeling adventurous, shoot in JPG.

One of my favorite ways to do this assignment is to set the camera to mimic a disposable black and white camera. I've blogged about this before, but it's been a couple years since I did it.
ISO800, f/13, 1/80 sec. I even set the camera to manual focus, just before infinity, and tape it there.

When the camera isn't focusing, the exposure isn't changing, you aren't allowed to change lenses.... you quit worrying about the pictures and you quit "chimping" every time you make a photograph. You just let it go and shoot. Extra bonus points if you tape over the rear LCD.

Here's my take:

Your First Day with a Camera

Photograph by Kristen Phillips -- soaking wet and cold, having the time of my life with my camera

Reading through all the big-shot photographer websites you see a lot of beautiful images and many varying opinions on vision, composition, gear (all the gear), film, sensors, prints, books, etc.

You know one thing that is all the same? Everyone has their story about how they first started shooting. About their first memory with the camera in their hand, that first picture that made them feel like they had found something special.

Then, they have a bio somewhere that says something to the effect of "I've been shooting since I was 11," or "I've been honing my craft since the age of 8."

Can I call bullshit on these statements? You haven't done anything seriously since you were 11 except chase girls (or boys) and cost your parents money. PLUS, nobody worth a damn cares how long you've been taking pictures. When they ask you how long you've been shooting, they are really asking one of two questions:

1) Are you any good at it yet? (obviously, look at my big expensive camera)
2) Are you sick of it yet? (obviously, look at all the crap I have to schlep around for my big expensive camera)

Looking back on all the stories that these photographers have, the story each of us has when we realized that making pictures was something we could never escape, I realize we are all chasing that first picture, the first time we held the camera, the first time printing in the darkroom.

I want to reconnect with that moment.

I want to shoot every day like it is the first day I held a camera. 

The next time someone asks me how long I've been shooting, I'm going to say it's my first day. I bet the conversation gets more interesting from there.


(thanks to zarias at DEDPXL for today's inspiration, and to Dano at Fotodano:headshots for pointing it out)