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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thoughts On Immigration
I have never been particularly passionate about immigration. I believe in it. I believe our country is what it is because of its long history of not only immigration, but integration of those immigrants into the American ideal. If anything, I lament that we have gotten away from that, but like I said, immigration has never been my thing. Still, I am perplexed by the whole debate and the boycotts that have sprung up due to the Arizona law recently passed. So here are the things that I don't quite understand:
1) Doesn't it make sense that as a country we should have a structured, orderly process for people to come into this country, not only as tourists, but as long term workers and future citizens? If that is the case (which I believe it currently is), shouldn't that process and its laws be honored by both citizens and by foreigners? If foreigners circumvent that process and its laws to gain access to our country, they should be deported. We should not make it next to impossible for those in authority to make that happen.
2) Roughly 80% of illegal immigrants come from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Any law or attempt to stem that tide of illegals would necessarily affect Hispanic people. There is no way around it. If 80% of illegals were coming from China, any attempt to stop that flow would affect people of Asian descent. I don't understand the automatic, knee jerk mantra being thrown about by people of racism. If you are tasked with stopping illegal immigration for the sake of preserving and protecting our immigration laws and process, and 80% of illegal immigrants are Hispanic, then a large number of Hispanics will be affected. That is just common sense reasoning. I realize that for some people, race is a factor, but for most Americans (including the people of Arizona), race has nothing to do with it.
3) My understanding of the Arizona law is that it basically mirrors federal law, only Arizona has decided to do something the federal government has decided not to do, get serious about enforcing the law. For that people from other states are now planning boycotts of Arizona. If the Arizona law is basically the same as the federal law, shouldn't people also be boycotting the federal government?
4) Speaking of boycotts, it sounds like the main problem people have with the Arizona law is the presumed use of profiling. Profiling, at its core, is forming a stereotype or "profile" of a group of people and then assigning that stereotype or "profile" to an individual. So what do you call it when a city council like the one in L.A. boycotts an entire state, randomly affecting individuals throughout that state? Are they not profiling each and every person in Arizona as being responsible for their new law?
5) What exactly do the naysayers really want? I heard one congressman on the news say that we should fine illegals and tax them. No mention about how we identify them in the first place without being accused of being racist, no mention about sending them back to their home country, no mention about how difficult it is to track most of these people to make sure they are paying their fines or taxes. Besides, paying taxes is no different than what ordinary citizens do, which I would guess is the whole point. Embrace illegal immigrants as though they are already citizens.
This might be one of those things where I can't understand the latino angst because I am not latino. When they demonstrate in the streets though, what exactly are they asking for? If it is amnesty, or for Americans to welcome illegal immigrants with open arms, well that's just crazy.
1) Doesn't it make sense that as a country we should have a structured, orderly process for people to come into this country, not only as tourists, but as long term workers and future citizens? If that is the case (which I believe it currently is), shouldn't that process and its laws be honored by both citizens and by foreigners? If foreigners circumvent that process and its laws to gain access to our country, they should be deported. We should not make it next to impossible for those in authority to make that happen.
2) Roughly 80% of illegal immigrants come from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Any law or attempt to stem that tide of illegals would necessarily affect Hispanic people. There is no way around it. If 80% of illegals were coming from China, any attempt to stop that flow would affect people of Asian descent. I don't understand the automatic, knee jerk mantra being thrown about by people of racism. If you are tasked with stopping illegal immigration for the sake of preserving and protecting our immigration laws and process, and 80% of illegal immigrants are Hispanic, then a large number of Hispanics will be affected. That is just common sense reasoning. I realize that for some people, race is a factor, but for most Americans (including the people of Arizona), race has nothing to do with it.
3) My understanding of the Arizona law is that it basically mirrors federal law, only Arizona has decided to do something the federal government has decided not to do, get serious about enforcing the law. For that people from other states are now planning boycotts of Arizona. If the Arizona law is basically the same as the federal law, shouldn't people also be boycotting the federal government?
4) Speaking of boycotts, it sounds like the main problem people have with the Arizona law is the presumed use of profiling. Profiling, at its core, is forming a stereotype or "profile" of a group of people and then assigning that stereotype or "profile" to an individual. So what do you call it when a city council like the one in L.A. boycotts an entire state, randomly affecting individuals throughout that state? Are they not profiling each and every person in Arizona as being responsible for their new law?
5) What exactly do the naysayers really want? I heard one congressman on the news say that we should fine illegals and tax them. No mention about how we identify them in the first place without being accused of being racist, no mention about sending them back to their home country, no mention about how difficult it is to track most of these people to make sure they are paying their fines or taxes. Besides, paying taxes is no different than what ordinary citizens do, which I would guess is the whole point. Embrace illegal immigrants as though they are already citizens.
This might be one of those things where I can't understand the latino angst because I am not latino. When they demonstrate in the streets though, what exactly are they asking for? If it is amnesty, or for Americans to welcome illegal immigrants with open arms, well that's just crazy.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Photography 101: Session 06
I feel like I am constantly learning information that is new to me when it comes to photography. That is to be expected because, for one thing, I have never taken a photography course, so all of my photography knowledge has come from trial and error and reading. But I am also learning new things because modern cameras are able to do things today that they were not able to do years ago. Sure, the basics are all still there: shutter speeds, f-stops, exposure; but today's cameras are essentially very sophisticated dedicated computers. What they can capture, how they can capture it, and how you can pull and craft the image after capture is just amazing. So I am constantly learning how to best make all of that happen with my camera, and with my flash.
As I mentioned in Session 05, flash photography is probably one of the most frustrating aspects for photographers, and that includes me. Inconsistent and unsatisfactory results are my two biggest problems. Much of the reason for these problems is that locations and conditions change. What worked in one area of the room may not work in another area that is just 15 feet away. Or what I am shooting in one area may be different than what I am shooting 15 feet away. So it is difficult to give tips for shooting flash that will work in all circumstances. Below I will offer some techniques that I use when shooting flash. I would encourage you to try these out, shooting multiple times with different settings and flash position, all in an effort to see what works and what doesn't.
If you have not read Session 05 yet, or it has been awhile, I would encourage you to read it now and then come back to this. For now, I would recommend staying in TTL mode with your flash. If you only have a pop up or built in flash, you will be limited in what you can shoot with that flash, and might consider getting a good external flash. Some pop up flash units do have some flexibility in them. You can't move them, but you might be able to adjust how much flash power is coming out of the flash. Check your camera manual for more info on that. If you are limited to a pop up or built in flash, you will need to be no further than maybe 12-15 feet from your subject for that flash to have any affect. And because the flash is so close to the camera, you have a greater chance for redeye. Bottom line, don't expect super results from a pop up flash. I find them helpful for outdoor photography though when you need a bit of fill in flash (more on that in a later post). The tips below are geared for external flash units.
Probably the least flattering light you can use comes from placing the external flash on the camera and pointing the flash head straight toward your subject, so you want to find ways to provide additional light to the subject without pointing the flash directly toward the subject from the camera. One way to do that is to use a flash bracket. A bracket will elevate your flash a short distance above the camera. This separation gives a better result than having the flash directly on the camera, simply by putting the light on a different plane than the camera. But there are two problems with using a bracket: 1) they are cumbersome to carry around, and 2) they can still produce a shadow, depending on how far your subject is to a wall or other object behind them. I used to use a bracket all the time when shooting film. I just don't see the need for most cases anymore.
Probably the best way to modify your flash is to bounce it. There are basically two ways to bounce a flash that is attached to the flash shoe on your camera: 1) using some kind of flash modifier, or 2) aiming the flash toward a wall, ceiling, or some other kind of object. A flash modifier is a piece of equipment that attaches to your flash head. It could be as simple as a piece of paper, or a translucent molded plastic, or some kind of fabric. If you are not using a plastic "dome" of some kind, you usually want to use something that is white. Some people will use a white card, attached to the flash with a rubber band. The flash is pointed up toward the ceiling, with the card on one side of the flash (away from your subject). When the flash goes off, the light bounces off the ceiling and then back down toward your subject. Some of that light is also bounced off the white card and toward the subject. That is basically the whole concept of bounced flash: the light from the flash is bounced off a larger area and then back toward the subject, wrapping the subject with a softer light.
If I am in a room with a low white ceiling, I will usually bounce the flash toward the ceiling. If I am close to a white wall I might choose to bounce the flash off of that wall. Sometimes I might be in a room with pillars in the room, so I will stand near that pillar and try to bounce the flash off of it. If I am in a room with high ceilings or a dark ceiling, I will rely on some kind of modifier on the flash, usually a small plastic modifier.
Keep this in mind, anytime you use a modifier or bounce your flash you are diffusing the light; or in other words, you are throwing less light onto your subject. With TTL your camera and flash will try to throw out more light in order to illuminate your subject. This will potentially drain your flash batteries quicker or take longer for the batteries to bounce back between images. Or you might need to play around with your shutter speed and f-stop in order to pull in more ambient light so the flash is not carrying the full load. Or you can adjust the flash exposure compensation (see flash manual).
The whole point of this tutorial is not to give a full blown instruction manual on flash photography. My main objective to get you thinking about how to use your camera and your flash in ways that you maybe have not tried before. Most people throw a flash on their camera, point it straight ahead, and go at it. Others point their flash in all kinds of directions because they see other people doing it, but they have no idea where or why they are pointing the flash in that direction. To me it is amazing how much light gets transmitted toward the subject when you bounce the flash correctly. The best thing you can do is think it through, visualizing how the light will behave if you point it in one direction versus another direction.
I would recommend googling "flash modifiers" and looking through some of the other articles and products that are out there. One word of caution: I have a bag full of modifiers that I have bought over the years, thinking each one was THE one. In the end I end up not using any of them all that often, usually going back to the plastic dome that came with my flash (Nikon sb900). Generally speaking though, I like the Lumiquest products.
As I mentioned in Session 05, flash photography is probably one of the most frustrating aspects for photographers, and that includes me. Inconsistent and unsatisfactory results are my two biggest problems. Much of the reason for these problems is that locations and conditions change. What worked in one area of the room may not work in another area that is just 15 feet away. Or what I am shooting in one area may be different than what I am shooting 15 feet away. So it is difficult to give tips for shooting flash that will work in all circumstances. Below I will offer some techniques that I use when shooting flash. I would encourage you to try these out, shooting multiple times with different settings and flash position, all in an effort to see what works and what doesn't.
If you have not read Session 05 yet, or it has been awhile, I would encourage you to read it now and then come back to this. For now, I would recommend staying in TTL mode with your flash. If you only have a pop up or built in flash, you will be limited in what you can shoot with that flash, and might consider getting a good external flash. Some pop up flash units do have some flexibility in them. You can't move them, but you might be able to adjust how much flash power is coming out of the flash. Check your camera manual for more info on that. If you are limited to a pop up or built in flash, you will need to be no further than maybe 12-15 feet from your subject for that flash to have any affect. And because the flash is so close to the camera, you have a greater chance for redeye. Bottom line, don't expect super results from a pop up flash. I find them helpful for outdoor photography though when you need a bit of fill in flash (more on that in a later post). The tips below are geared for external flash units.
Probably the least flattering light you can use comes from placing the external flash on the camera and pointing the flash head straight toward your subject, so you want to find ways to provide additional light to the subject without pointing the flash directly toward the subject from the camera. One way to do that is to use a flash bracket. A bracket will elevate your flash a short distance above the camera. This separation gives a better result than having the flash directly on the camera, simply by putting the light on a different plane than the camera. But there are two problems with using a bracket: 1) they are cumbersome to carry around, and 2) they can still produce a shadow, depending on how far your subject is to a wall or other object behind them. I used to use a bracket all the time when shooting film. I just don't see the need for most cases anymore.
Probably the best way to modify your flash is to bounce it. There are basically two ways to bounce a flash that is attached to the flash shoe on your camera: 1) using some kind of flash modifier, or 2) aiming the flash toward a wall, ceiling, or some other kind of object. A flash modifier is a piece of equipment that attaches to your flash head. It could be as simple as a piece of paper, or a translucent molded plastic, or some kind of fabric. If you are not using a plastic "dome" of some kind, you usually want to use something that is white. Some people will use a white card, attached to the flash with a rubber band. The flash is pointed up toward the ceiling, with the card on one side of the flash (away from your subject). When the flash goes off, the light bounces off the ceiling and then back down toward your subject. Some of that light is also bounced off the white card and toward the subject. That is basically the whole concept of bounced flash: the light from the flash is bounced off a larger area and then back toward the subject, wrapping the subject with a softer light.
If I am in a room with a low white ceiling, I will usually bounce the flash toward the ceiling. If I am close to a white wall I might choose to bounce the flash off of that wall. Sometimes I might be in a room with pillars in the room, so I will stand near that pillar and try to bounce the flash off of it. If I am in a room with high ceilings or a dark ceiling, I will rely on some kind of modifier on the flash, usually a small plastic modifier.
Keep this in mind, anytime you use a modifier or bounce your flash you are diffusing the light; or in other words, you are throwing less light onto your subject. With TTL your camera and flash will try to throw out more light in order to illuminate your subject. This will potentially drain your flash batteries quicker or take longer for the batteries to bounce back between images. Or you might need to play around with your shutter speed and f-stop in order to pull in more ambient light so the flash is not carrying the full load. Or you can adjust the flash exposure compensation (see flash manual).
The whole point of this tutorial is not to give a full blown instruction manual on flash photography. My main objective to get you thinking about how to use your camera and your flash in ways that you maybe have not tried before. Most people throw a flash on their camera, point it straight ahead, and go at it. Others point their flash in all kinds of directions because they see other people doing it, but they have no idea where or why they are pointing the flash in that direction. To me it is amazing how much light gets transmitted toward the subject when you bounce the flash correctly. The best thing you can do is think it through, visualizing how the light will behave if you point it in one direction versus another direction.
I would recommend googling "flash modifiers" and looking through some of the other articles and products that are out there. One word of caution: I have a bag full of modifiers that I have bought over the years, thinking each one was THE one. In the end I end up not using any of them all that often, usually going back to the plastic dome that came with my flash (Nikon sb900). Generally speaking though, I like the Lumiquest products.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Nathan & Ashley at Whitehall Manor, Bluemont Virginia
Here are a few initial images from Nathan and Ashley's May 7 wedding at Whitehall Manor. The weather was spectacular and it was great reconnecting with some grads from Loudoun County High School. Click on image to enlarge.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sam & Kerry At Murray Hill in Leesburg
Saturday May 1 was a great day for a wedding, that is if you were Sam and Kerry. The weather was nice, the lighting great, and Murray Hill was the perfect location. From a photographic perspective, I have recently concluded that the best sites are ones with a variety of natural backdrops and locations for photos. This was my first experience at Murray Hill and really enjoyed discovering spots around the property that made for great shots. I probably wore Sam and Kerry out. Fortunately they were more than game. Here are a few images I grabbed from the batch. Many, many more to come. Click on image to enlarge.
Progressives
Paul Kengor of Grove City College is one of my favorite writers. This article on progressives is must reading.
"Here is the essence of the problem with progressives and their movement, which is a gigantic problem for all of America: One of the only things we really know about progressives, and that they know about themselves and their ideology, is that they favor constant "change," "reform," an ever-shifting, ongoing "evolution," or, yes, progression. And therein is an inherent, significant difficulty: progressivism offers no clear, definable end. The goal-post is always moving, forever pushed further away. Ends are never ends; they always "progress," with culture and society -- all along relying on the ludicrous assumption that the changes are always (or largely) good."
"Here is the essence of the problem with progressives and their movement, which is a gigantic problem for all of America: One of the only things we really know about progressives, and that they know about themselves and their ideology, is that they favor constant "change," "reform," an ever-shifting, ongoing "evolution," or, yes, progression. And therein is an inherent, significant difficulty: progressivism offers no clear, definable end. The goal-post is always moving, forever pushed further away. Ends are never ends; they always "progress," with culture and society -- all along relying on the ludicrous assumption that the changes are always (or largely) good."
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