Race for the Cure

Just returned from running the "Race for the Cure" which took place in Downtown Miami. It is such a wonderful organization and it is always fun to participate....

Normally, I would not mention my time but considering today was a personal best for a 5K , I would! My time was 26:02 . I was please with the time and now know that I am getting close to breaking the 26 minute mark....

I think I can say with great certainty that we all have been touched by cancer in someway. It's events like "race for the cure" that really make it possible to make difference...

Have a great day!!

Commercial Work

Obviously, one of my objectives in starting a blog and a website is to create greater awareness of my photography.

The photo I included in this posting is from a shoot that I did for World Waste Services ( www.worldwasteservices.com ). They are a very successful independent waste/recycling company owned and operated in South and parts of Central Florida. My goal with their direction was to capture daily life in the waste management business. For several weeks, I teamed up with drivers on routes capturing images of their day to day work in neighborhoods and commercial districts that they service.

The image seen here was taken about 5:00 AM in a staging area by MIA. The photo was taken with the ISO setting at 400, white balance (Auto), Quality (fine), Saturation (auto), Shutter speed 1/8 and FStop was 4.5.

Capturing the Moment

When I decided about an hour ago to continue writing in my blog after a few days away, I struggled with what to write. So, after several attempts it hit me!

As you read in my last post the news of my Dad's passing. It has been just over a week and I have had time to reflect on what this has meant to me. Now, that both Mom and Dad are gone it gives me a clear understanding of how important the little things are in life.

As you can see by the title of this post "Capturing the Moment" should be very straight forward. But, what might not may be obvious is how important this can be. Especially, in times of loss. I spent hours looking at pictures from my Dad's past from his early childhood to most recently at a luncheon. The thought of what would happen if those pictures were not available to me. Lost, damage or even worse never taking at all.

So, I hope that you will consider this very simple advice from someone who has learned the hard way. Take pictures! Take a lot of them. Don't be shy at the next family gathering or party with friends. With the age of digital photography there are no more excuses....And, the array of online photo storage websites the possibility is endless.

One other quick note and that is a brief update on the website. We are still on schedule for the end of the month to go live. A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15 with ARC to discuss the status of the site. So, stay tuned!!! It's coming..

Thomas

Personal Privilege

Today, I am setting aside my regular posting of a photography related topic and share with you the passing of my Dad. He left us last night, October 6 in Palm Beach to go on to a more peaceful and joy filled world!

As a boy, I remember his many interest from tennis to travel and yes, photography. As a matter of fact, I remember going with him to Fleming's Photo Center in South Miami on a weekly basis to pick up film and then returning home to watch him proudly put them in the slide projector. And, then, spending hours reviewing his shots then picking the right one's for others to see and enjoy. His choice of equipment, Pentax. Nothing but Pentax equipment graced his camera bag. Honestly, I think that it was only because that's all the the photo shop carried. He liked the owner, Fred and did not want to give his business to anyone else. So, maybe you can see where I got my interest in photography.

So, in the next few days family and friends will gather to share their memories of Dad. And, I know there will be many! Thanks to all of those that have called with their best wishes and prayer's. I know that I speak for the entire family when I say thank you.

Dad, I know that "little slip of paper" is gone forever but in my mind will remain forever.
Namaste

My City

Came across an interesting blog last night about photography and it sparked my interest! The blog provided one photo everyday for a year. That's right 365 pictures. The blog address is http://pad.focalization.com . It's interesting so check it out. Although, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am not going to post 365 pictures.

But, I am going to show you a photo that was taken this weekend during a friend's visit. It's a shot looking from South Beach toward downtown Miami.

Came across several upcoming photography show's in the Miami area and wanted to give you a head's up. I will post them in the next several days. That's it for now....

A touch of Nature

One of my goals in the creation of this blog is to introduce friends and followers to two very distinct genres of photography. Last posting, I introduced you to a photograph that falls into the Street or Urban catagory. Which, I encourage you to view with an open mind. So, today I am showing you what is obviously a nature shot. This picture was taking at Fairchild Tropical Gardens which is a wonderful place to photograph.

What I find alluring about nature photography is that you can be creative. Don't just point your camera at the subject and shoot! Look at it from different angles. Up/down, side to side. front/back! This can really enhance your photo and give it a truly different prospective. Try this with all your photography and create that special shot.

Picasa 3

Just a quick test of the new Picasa 3 (Beta) Program. For those out there that have used Picasa know that it's actually a
really good program for storing images on your computer. It offers basic adjustment options for photo's and the best thing is that it's free. If interested Picasa is offered by Google and can be found at www.google.com/picasa. One suggestion that I highly recommend is that no matter what you always make a back up copy of all your photo's....It's easy, fast and safe.

I have talked a little about street photography and the picture with this blog is a sample. There will be more available on the website and future postings...