Mr. Plug longs for some Hot-N-Fresh...Now

Frederick Augustus Olds

D300 35 f2 and Lightroom 2.0

minding my own business

1/320 @3.5 ISO 160
Nikon 105 VR Macro D300

fun and finicky

I was sitting on the front stoop, talking to a client and had my camera in hand. I haven't taken many photographs for myself lately. Not that this is a master piece or anything. I have so much post processing work to do that I'm getting lazy eye from staring at the computer screen. I still have over 1300 images in the hopper.

This was shot with my Nikon 105 VR macro. What a great lens. One of my favorites but also the finickiest. The depth of field is so narrow that half the fly is out of focus.
The 105 does great portraits as well as close ups. I highly reccomend it.

Botanicals through the viewfinder

While on assignment yesterday in Fayetteville, I spent my lunch at the Fayetteville Botancical Garden. I brought my Kodak Duaflex III for some through the viewfinder shots (TTV) with the hopes of capturing an old barn or farmhouse but the garden was right off the road and I didn't have much time. I figured I would give it a try on some flowers and what I could find at the garden. The Fayetteville Botanical Garden is absolutely stunning. It was very diverse and lush.

Another photographer, who's work I greatly admire, posed a question on my flickr account on what I'm thinking will work for TTV shots.

I don't have much experience with TTV and that causes me to not put much effort into the shot. Meaning, I don't plan for hours or set up the shots beforehand. The few times I have shot TTV it's always been to see what I find and hope for the best. I try to find subjects that lend themselves to the antique looked brought on by the old Kodak but I also feel that modern landscapes and portraits are worthy too. I have the TTV bug now. I want another Duaflex to try. I want to make some cool environmental portraits with it and might whip it out this weekend on a client. Heck, it might work on some type of food shoot as well. There are no rules and I plan to explore further.

nuclear cycles

One from the archives...

SPAM killer

I hate spam. I even get it on my cell phone now.


Don't ask me how I got the idea. I don't quite know. I literally found a free can of SPAM and thought I could do something with it. I was just recently given the pistol. It was my Dads when he was a police officer in the 50's. I wonder if he ate Spam back then? It's crazy tasty you know.

This is a two light shot. One SB-800, snooted to camera left for the spam. Another SB-800 to camera left, slightly higher and pointing towards the gun, snooted too. All fired via Pocket Wizards in my tiny home studio. The act of lighting and shooting a photo is quite relaxing and a nice way to interject in an otherwise stressful day.

Anolis Carolinensis

Carolina Anole

I just love seeing these little guys patrol the porch and yard around my house.



It's best viewed bigger.

This shot is was made with a 105 VR macro lens. The out of focus areas (known as bokeh) are really soft and pleasing with this lens. It was pure luck that I had my camera, with that lens, when the Anole popped up on the railing. Hannah acted as Director of Photography and made sure I was in position to capture the little guy.

More through the viewfinder shots: '64 Chrysler

I'm enjoying the through the viewfinder technique as a creative outlet. Yesterday, I only had 30 minutes for photography and needed something close by. I had previously photographed these two decaying Chryslers but decided the ttv technique would be a good fit and they are really close to my office.

A note about how I cropped these images. My digital camera shoots a rectangular photo and the old Duaflex shoots a square crop. Thus my photos are pretty much black except the exposed square of the Duaflex viewfinder. I could have adjusted my crop to align perfectly with the Duaflex square (like the previous post). Instead, I simply cropped a perfect square that fits my digital camera field of view. It illustrates how my digital camera lense was seeing the Duaflex viewfinder. It's not a photoshop border. Very little photoshop was done to these images. Mainly some contrast adjustments, slight desaturation and the previously mentioned crop.

Carter thinks these cars are ugly. I have to agree with him but there must be a reason they never went to the scrap yard?

Flu over....

Day 59
Pines over the pond.
Feeling much better, I stopped for some fresh air at a pond I must have seen a million times but never stopped.


Day 58
Eyes on Me. Thanks heavens for these two. Still reeling from the flu they offered me some comic relief and low stress subject matter. This is actually an ISO 2000 shot. Got to love the D300.


Day 57
Water droplets. I shot this while still in the clutches of the worst flu I've ever had. All I could do to step outside and point my camera.

Through the viewfinder = Day 17

While cruising the Strobist Flickr pool, I came across a really great photo from Sharon Neel-Bagley. It's shot through the viewfinder of an antique Kodak Duaflex camera. I had never heard of such a style. I immediately jumped up and grabbed my Kodak Duaflex (circa 1950) camera to attempt some quick snaps. What better subject matter than a similar camera to the Duaflex, a Compco Reflex I. I think its a Duaflex knock-off. I paid less than $15 for both cameras at the flea market. It sits among my antique camera collection decorating my bookshelves at the house.


The setup was quick and dirty. I used my 5K Sunpak light and set them on the counter. With a close focusing 35 F2 lens I was able to manually focus the subject. I shot it at 1600 ISO to give it some grain. After cropping in Lightroom, I used Lightrooms built in preset for 'antique' to give it an old film look.

Happy New Year and the first POD!

Alright, it's on. First Photo of the Day for 2008. I awoke in Snow Hill, NC after our New Year's Eve celebration. The location was quite rural. I snapped this before anyone else even woke up. I like the dew on the grass and I was drawn to the converging lines of the dormant crops.

Taking a photo every day will be harder than you think. I know there will be times when I won't want to go through the motions.

Caboose graveyard

I noticed these old caboose's located in a storage lot. They've been there for several weeks now. Seven old, graffiti covered dinasours from a different time. They are just sitting on the gravel. I kept telling myself I need to photograph them. I stopped by yesterday looking for an owner (seeking permission) but no one was around.

This morning I pulled in and created three photos all using a light painting technique. With a long exposure and I used a hand held light to fill in the shadows. I was only there five minutes.



I tweaked them in Lightroom a bit. Mostly increasing the contrast and desaturating the colors.
Nikon D300 with a 50 1.4.
When I was a kid, I loved the caboose. You would see them quite often until the mid '80s or so.

Convergence

Just a random photo really. Nothing special. I took it this morning outside of my favorite coffee shop in Raleigh (Helios Cafe). I was going for convergence as a theme. Nailed it the first try. I desaturated it a bit in Lightroom to give it some mood.

The picture is symbolic of Tim Broyer Photography, LLC. Things are coming together and I look forward to the next few months and making some changes for the good.

Bookings for 2007 Weddings are almost full. If you're getting married in November or December now is the time to book!

My first camera

I found this in the trash outside Peace Camera. They posted on Craig's list that they cleaned out the back room and had free stuff out on the curb. I was hoping for some props to use in photoshoots and I found this. It's the same exact model I had as my first camera. I remember the big green 1 on it. My parents bought it for me as a travelling gift. I was headed to France to spend the summer with my grandfather. I remember the camera well and I took lots of photos with it. Unfortunately, I don't know where any of them are now. Wish I had them.

This camera is now part of my antique collection.

East Coast School

I'm headed to the East Coast School photography workshop that will be held in Raleigh. I plan on attending Bob Boyd's portait class for the entire week. I'm really looking forward to class, meeting Bob and other photographers while working on my craft. Who knows what it could bring?

Have a great week everyone. I'll be busy!

Tim