The Other Side of 60

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My talented brother, Bob, wrote a cool song about being over 60. Here's the YouTube link.

Below are the words. Thanks, Bob.

Rick

P.S. Yes, there is a reason why this post is running. Today. :-)

The Other Side of 60
© 2008 Bob Sammon, All Rights Reserved

From the other side of 60
20 don't look too bad
Thinking back to younger days
and all the friends we had.
Singing, playing, loving,
Testing our new wings.
Taking reckless chances
on damn near anything.
From the other side of 60
30 looked like it should.
That's when I met her
and life ahead looked good.
Sure, there were some changes.
Things settled down too much.
But kids and work were all we had
and slowly we lost touch.

         And you never see it coming
         No matter how you try
         To gaze into the future
         And let imagination fly
         There's always something coming
         You can't anticipate.
         So take a breath and hold it in
         And learn to laugh at fate.

From the other side of 60
40 was much the same.
Days turned into endless days.
But no one could be blamed.
But when she got real restless
She just got up and left.
The kids and me just sat there,
Stunned and left adrift.

         [Chorus]

From the other side of 60
Fifty was a blur.
Kids had grown, gone on their own
And I never heard from her.
Some things sure looked different
And some are much the same.
But somewhere deep down in my soul
was that ever burning flame.

         [Chorus]

Now from this side of 60
Things are looking good again.
Everything that we went through
has scattered with the wind.
There's music, friends and family
to fill up each new day.
And every step, each gain and loss
Is a price I gladly paid.

         [Chorus]

Part III: Chasing the Light with Light in Alaska

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All photographs © Rick Sammon

This is the third in a series of posts I am writing aboard the Northern Song, the boat the Light Photographic Institute is using for its first Alaska photo workshop of 2011. I'm co-leading the workshop with fellow Canon shooter Hal "Bull" Schmitt, the lead instructor and director of Light - which also produces the California Photo Fest – the must-attend photo event of the year. 

Each day, we chased the light, as photographers do every day - and night.

(I hope to see you on one of my workshops - perhaps in Alaska in 2012. Shoot me an email to get on my workshop list.) 

Because there is no internet on the boat, I'll actually be posting when I get back on land - so each Alaska post you read was actually written about a week ago.

I'll be including some of these photographs (with composition tips) in my next Kelby Training class: Composition - the Strongest Way of Seeing, which is scheduled for release later this year. For info on all my Kelby Training classes, click here.

 

Today's tip:

Never underestimate the importance of cropping.

Yes, there is something to be said for negative space, but when you want to emphasize the subject, follow this tip: The name of the game is to fill the frame.

I photographed these Dall's porpoises (the cheetah of the ocean – the fastest marine mammal in the world) while leaning over the bow of the boat. I used a polarizing filter to reduce the glare on the water. 

These animals are graceful and beautiful. If you need a reason as to why we should protect these animals and the marine environment, click here and scroll down.

Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) is a species of porpoise found on the North Pacific. It came to worldwide attention in the 1970s when it was disclosed for the first time to the public that salmon fishing trawls were killing thousands of Dall's porpoise and other cetaceans each year by accidentally capturing them in their nets. The Dall's porpoise is the only member of the Phocoenoides genus. It was named after American naturalist W. H. Dall.


By the way, the animals in the photographs are relatively clear because the water was relatively flat.


Camera Info:
Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD and 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras 

For more photo tips, see my iPad and iPhone app: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffett.

I hope to see you on one of my workshops - perhaps in Alaska in 2012 and at the 2011 California Photo Fest.

Explore the Light,
Rick 

Part II: Chasing the Light with Light in Alaska

in

All photographs © Rick Sammon

This is the first in a series of posts I am writing aboard the Northern Song, the boat the Light Photographic Institute is using for its first Alaska photo workshop of 2011. I'm co-leading the workshop with fellow Canon shooter Hal "Bull" Schmitt, the lead instructor and director of Light - which also produces the California Photo Fest – the must-attend photo event of the year. 

Each day, we chased the light, as photographers do every day - and night.

(I hope to see you on one of my workshops - perhaps in Alaska in 2012. Shoot me an email to get on my workshop list.) 

Because there is no internet on the boat, I'll actually be posting when I get back on land - so each Alaska post you read was actually written about a week ago.

I'll be including some of these photographs (with composition tips) in my next Kelby Training class: Composition - the Strongest Way of Seeing, which is scheduled for release later this year. For info on all my Kelby Training classes, click here.

Today's tip: Tell the whole story.

When traveling, try to "tell the whole story." Envision a slide show or photo gallery that gives the viewer an overview of your trip. Use different lenses - wide-angle, telephoto and macro – to help you tell your story.

Here are photographs I used to help me tell the story of two visits to two glaciers. All photos: Canon 5D Mark II.

Canon 15mm fish-eye lens - opening image.


Canon 15mm fish-eye lens.

Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens.

 Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens. 

 Canon 17-40mm lens.

 Canon 17-40mm lens.


Canon 17-40mm lens.

Canon 15mm lens.

Canon 15mm lens.
 
For more photo tips, see my iPad and iPhone app: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffett.


I hope to see you on one of my workshops - perhaps in Alaska in 2012 and at the 2011 California Photo Fest.

For all my workshops, click the tabs at the top of this page.

Rick

Part I: Chasing the Light with Light in Alaska

in

All photographs © Rick Sammon

This is the first in a series of posts I am writing aboard the Northern Song, the boat the Light Photographic Institute is using for its first Alaska photo workshop of 2011. I'm co-leading the workshop with fellow Canon shooter Hal "Bull" Schmitt, the lead instructor and director of Light - which also produces the California Photo Fest – the must-attend photo event of the year. 
Each day, we chased the light, as photographers do every day - and night.

(I hope to see you on one of my workshops - perhaps in Alaska in 2012. Shoot me an email to get on my workshop list.)

Because there is no internet on the boat, I'll actually be posting when I get back on land - so each Alaska post you read was actually written about a week ago.

I'll be including some of these photographs (with composition tips) in my next Kelby Training class: Composition - the Strongest Way of Seeing, which is scheduled for release later this year. For info on all my Kelby Training classes, click here.


Hey, I know there are a lot of bald eagle shots in this post. A wider variety of shots, which "tell the story" of my Alaska adventure, to come.

First, some tips for photographing bald eagles - which, by the way, have an average wing span of 82 inches.


• Before leaving home, practice getting a good exposure of a small, light subject (eagle's head) again a dark background (water).
• Practice following a fast-moving subject in the viewfinder.
• Practice your patience.
• Use shutter speeds higher than 1/500th of a second.
• When hand-holding your lens, make sure Image Stabilization is turned on.
• For extra steady shooting, use a gimbal head and a sturdy tripod – but master using this gear before you leave home.

Technically speaking, this was one of the hardest subject I've ever photographed – because the boat was moving slightly and the birds were moving very rapidly. I say technically because going into a remote village in Bhutan, for example, and getting the people to accept me and allowing me to photograph them was indeed a challenge – just one of a different nature . . . a personal nature. Photographing the nerper (fresh water seal) while scuba diving in a dry suit under three feet of ice in Lake Baikal, Siberia, was another challenging photo situation.

Okay, here are some general tips for photographing fast-moving subjects.


Choose the AI Servo (focus tracking) focus mode when photographing fast-moving subjects.

Make sure the focus point is on the subject.

When it comes to photographing animals, make sure the eyes are well lit and in focus - and try to shoot eye-to-eye to the subject.


Use back-button focus when the subject is moving fast.

Expose for the highlights. If the highlights are more than one f-stop overexposed, you can't recover them in the digital darkroom. Check you histogram!

When the subject is moving, leave some space in the frame into which the subject can "move."

Watch the background - it can make or break the shot.

Shoot at the fastest available frame rate.


For more photo tips, see my iPad and IPhone app: Rick Sammon's 24/7 Photo Buffett.

For all my workshops, click the tabs at the top of this page.

I'm big on setting goals, photographically and personally. The opening shot for this post is the result of setting the goal of getting a good reflection shot. Hey, if you don't know where you are going, how the heck are you going to get there?

Above is a look at the kind of view we saw from the boat each day at daybreak. HDR process: Photomatix. See my Creative Plug-ins page for info on and a discount on Photomatix.

For the pictures that have a painterly look, I used Topaz Clean. Info on all Topaz Plug-in on my Creative Plug-in page.

I used my Canon EOS 7D for all my eagle photographs. I shot with either my Canon 100-400mm IS lens, my Canon 400mm DO lens (most of my shots), or my Canon 70-200mm lens. For the wheelhouse HDR photograph, I used my Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon 15mm fish-eye lens. All images were hand-held.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. For more Alaska photos, click here.