A.D. Drumm Images, LLC – Landscape, Portrait, and Fine Art Photography in Rochester MN Photography

December 31, 2011

2011 Year at a Close

Filed under: General photography,Personal — Tony Drumm @ 11:07 am

Two-thousand eleven is nearly done. I guess I’d say it’s been a very full year with its ups and downs like any other year. It’s been a great year for my photography, and I know I’ve grown as a photographer. Whatever we do, growing and improving should always be a goal. There is always something new, something we haven’t thought of before, or an angle or perspective we’ve not explored.

Kem was my most recent subject, a totally enjoyable shoot with many different poses, many different shots, lots of moving around of lights. Lynne was a huge help. I posted this shot on my Facebook page, too. While this wasn’t exactly what we were after (we were shooting full-length and 3/4 shots), it was there in my set of photos waiting to be seen. We knew her expression in this shot was great and it would be one of our final picks, but making it into a close-up wasn’t expected.

The year started off with a wonderful winter trip to Yosemite, my first visit to that wonderful National Park. I think it would be difficult for anyone with any reasonable skill at photography to not come away with several great photos. There are great photos everywhere. We went up to Tunnel View to shoot the valley as the sun set. We also had a full moon rising which made for a spectacular scene. With my camera on a tripod, I was shooting different photos and playing with some HDR exposures and some panorama shots, but at one point I noticed the colors on the LCD display.

The magenta was unexpected, and I looked up – naked eyed – to see that, yes, the sky really was magenta. It’s way too easy to become lost in the viewfinder and miss what’s actually around you. A good lesson, and I captured a good photograph, too.

I again attended Photoshop World in Vegas this year. As my skills improve and change, I find myself attending classes with different topics, looking for insights and inspiration to expand my boundaries. I’ll hopefully attend some other workshop or classes this year, but I’m still searching for the right one.

I continued to volunteer at Rochester Civic Theatre, mainly via my photography but occasionally working backstage or helping install some IT gear. I already have the list of shows for next season, and I’ve started – barely – on the posters to be unveiled in April. I’ve been shooting the show photos and head shots for several years now, but it’s still fun and still brings something new with each show. I’m thinking Chicago this spring will have a lot of the cool lighting I like.

I’ve also had an opportunity to shoot shows in Austin, MN at Riverland Community College. Besides the enjoyment of photographing a show, I’ve seen a couple shows for the first time.

I’ve had other interesting projects. I finally shot my The Elements personal project. I’m thinking of some other possibilities for the future, trying my hand at other abstract ideas. And I recently was able to shoot some cool sports shots. Have I mentioned how much I like creative lighting?

And in 2011, my sister and I lost our father. He lived a full and very long life, suffered with dementia for several years. So, while his passing wasn’t exactly a surprise, the timing, so soon after mom’s passing, wasn’t the best. What is the best?

But as the year closes, I begin a new journey of sorts, transcribing the box of letters mom wrote to dad when he was in Asia during WW II. Like photography, it’s a way of preserving some moments for the future. She wrote him every day, so there are many, many letters. Wish me luck.

I want to wish you and your family and friends all the best in 2012. Let’s hope for a safer and more peaceful world.

December 23, 2011

Basketball Shoot

Filed under: General photography,Rochester,Sports — Tony Drumm @ 4:59 pm

Jeff, my friend and neighbor, enjoys doing Photoshop editing and creating interesting projects. Last year, he did a cool poster for his daughter’s basketball team, and he asked me to help out by shooting some full-length portraits to be included in the poster (see this post). A year later, he has a new poster idea. He once again contacted me about doing the photography for him. The concept included a team photo and several action shots.

The team photo would be shot in the gymnasium some time when we could gain access to it. He mentioned perhaps we’d try to do some action shots then, too. But also, if I could shoot a game, there’s be some photos of the girls in action there.

The opportunity for shooting at a game happened first. I don’t do a lot of sports shooting. Certainly, my gear is more centered on portrait and landscape photography. Specifically, the Canon 5D MkII, while being a wonderful camera, is not the first choice for a sports shooter. It’s focusing is a bit old-ish technologically compared to some of its peers, and it’s frame rate, while decent, won’t win any contests. Still, it has good ISO performance in low light, and its 21 megapixels makes up for some shortcomings.

But it was certainly fun shooting the game. Someone told me to watch the refs who will invariably stand between you and the shot. It turned out to be quite true. Especially for free throws, when I’d set up the perfect angle and composition, the girl would dribble a couple times, then the ref would ease into my frame. Arg!

Jeff and family and friends were into the game. He later told me he forgot I was there. As a photographer at an event, you always wonder about this. At a wedding, I don’t want to be what the attendees see and remember. Same thing for other events – you want to try to be there but unnoticed.

On Sunday, we were able to use the gym. I was looking forward to this shoot. This time, I’d be able to use lights to construct the shots. I brought three Speedlites – one on the camera as a master and two slaves. The master was set to not fire during the exposure – it was there only to control the other two. The team shot was first. Using a couple umbrellas, this gave me some remarkably even lighting. Jeff was great in arranging the girls to match his vision and the girls did really well as I clicked off a couple dozen or more shots.

But I was most excited about what we might get for action shots. I had the lighting and a particular look in mind. It took a few minutes to find the right setup for the lights – still using two strobes. But once that was nailed, things went pretty smoothly.

The baskets were raised and we were losing the gym to another group, so we couldn’t spend much time exploring various types of shot. But we were able to catch each girl in some action. I really enjoy using lights like this. It adds drama to the shot, and when it’s combined with a cool move, the result can be terrific.

I think I have some good shots for Jeff to use. I took the resulting images and applied some effects in post to give them the look I had in mind when I shot them. This was my favorite shot as it really hit the mark I wanted. She’s in a great position and her flying hair adds to the motion and action of the photo.

I’ve never been a big fan of basketball, but put a camera in my hands and, better yet, give me the freedom to put up some lights, and I’m loving it!

December 15, 2011

White Christmas, 2011 edition

Filed under: Rochester Civic Theatre — Tony Drumm @ 9:50 pm

White Christmas is one of those big musicals from the era when the American musical was an event more than just a story set to music. There are big song and dance numbers and a plot of sorts to hold it all together. You really attend a show like this, I think, to enjoy the musical performances. Not for the poignancy of Home Games, for instance.

As a Christmas show, it works really well. Folks are looking for good family entertainment in December as the Minnesota winter sets in. Last year, it was accompanied by tons of snow. This year for the reprise, not so much!

The lights and costumes provide lots of color to work with when photographing the show. But, the scale of the numbers means there are lots of shots you want to make really wide. Try to gather it all in. But that’s hard to do effectively. I’m torn – I want to show the scope of the numbers, but I also want to zoom in and focus on the main players. I want to show sisters Betty and Judy in their nightclub setting, and also show them up close and personal.

I just end up shooting them both ways. I think it works. See what I mean about the color? Hard to take a bad photo here.

There are plenty of fun moments, too. Can’t go wrong with having the guys do the Sisters number!

Some of the numbers are intimate which makes for interesting photos. I love the glance over the shoulder. A shot like this doesn’t need the context of the show. It works on its own telling its own story. If I can find one or two photos like this in a show shoot, I’m happy. You can see this moment still happens in a “club” with patrons, yet it’s still about these two people. It’s intimate in spite of the setting. The stage lighting helps for sure.

Yes, the two lovers get together in the end. Did I spoil it for you? I don’t think so. I regard shots like this as classic for this sort of story. Still, you need to make sure it looks right and meets the expectations. I think it’s a good photo and kind of nice. But the one above is the more interesting photo to me.

There are a couple huge numbers at the conclusion of the show. Back to the problem of capturing the size and scope of it. The costumes and all that red help. It gives some visual interest that pulls you in a bit. Trying to shoot it with drab costumes would be tougher.

As RCT prepares for the final weekend of the show, I hear it’s sold out for all four performances (counting the one happening as I write this). That’s incredible! It’s terrific for the theatre, it’s great for the cast and crew and orchestra who love performing in front of big crowds. And it’s great for the audiences. Big audiences are fun to be a part of, and live theatre is a treat. The calibre of our local performers really shines in a show like this.

Me? I’m just a photographer doing what I love and sharing it with whoever happens upon this modest blog!

December 4, 2011

First Real Snow of the Season

Filed under: Beautiful Earth,General photography,Rochester — Tony Drumm @ 5:21 pm

I love the look of fresh snow, especially the kind that builds up on the trees, fluffy and white. We had our first real snowfall of the season yesterday – several inches. It was a wet, heavy snow. Here in Minnesota, we see a lot more of the light, dry snow with our typical cold temps. But, it’s been fairly mild so far.

Luckily, there was practically no wind today. The snow covering the trees was still there pretty much all day. I told Lynne I might go out and try to grab some shots. I was thinking driving out to the countryside and looking for some cool image. My car does okay in the winter with its winter tires, but it’s not the sort of car you go wandering about looking for some out-of-the-way location.

When I look over my big collection of photographs, winter and snow shots tend to be few. I do like the look, the way it blankets the landscape. But I really don’t like cold. I figure it’s my Mediterranean blood.

Still, I can’t deny how terrific snow photos can be. I still remember some I shot after a big snowfall back in NY when I was shooting slides. Some of those were pretty darn good, if I do say so. Lots of big fluffy, heavy snow back there.

Lynne thought I was talking about walking out back and taking some shots of our trees. Hm. Why did I immediately think about going out driving and hunting for a shot when the backyard looks so great?

I pulled out the camera and thought a moment about lenses. It might be cool to shoot some close-in photos. Focus on the snow and some other natural element. And, it could be useful to shoot wide-open and avoid having any nearby houses or other distractions in the shot. So, I grabbed my 135 f/2 lens.

I dialed in the aperture to f/2 and set about shooting. The obvious starting point is our crabapple with its load of fruit waiting for birds to clear it, usually in late winter. The red crabapples look great with the white of the fresh snow. And it’s one of my favorite color combinations – red and white.

Then I started looking around for other interesting subjects. Couldn’t miss Coco, our neighbor’s dog. He doesn’t like to stand still so focusing with such a shallow depth of field is a challenge, but I started seeing this peaking-out view of him and managed to grab a nice photo with sharp eyes. Or, I guess, sharp eye.

The grapes still hanging from the vines on our fence and the apples in the neighbor’s tree caught my eye. You might imagine how the grapes look in December, so I was thinking black and white when I shot them. The apples are looking a bit worse for the wear, too, but their color was just too wonderful to leave out.

I thought the snow on the gate was interesting with the patterns and gray background. Another good subject for B/W treatment. Of course, it was already nearly black and white to begin with.

Sometimes you do need to just look around you. Even living in the city with a small yard, there can be some cool photographs waiting for you.

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