Dgwphotos

While the camera and lenses usually get all the attention, often, it's the accessories that can make the photos possible. In this episode, we will be looking at the supporting cast, also known as tripods and other support equipment/accessories. Starting out with the simplest support, we have a bean bag. This is typically used folded in half with the lens on top of it to steady the lens and camera. More elabrate ones can be found with integrated tripod mounting screws. Next up, we have the monopod. This is primarily used for sports photography, where portable support for heavy fixed telephoto lenses and telephoto zoom lenses in low light is essential. The monopod can be mounted to the tripod collar found on most professional fixed telephoto lenses and telephoto zoom lenses. Mine is equipped with a ball head, although in actual use, the ball head wouldn't be adjusted unless the camera was mounted to it directly, rather than via the tripod collar on the telephoto lens. When...

Recently, I came across these photos from the Alternate Processes class I took at CWU. These were taken using a 4x5 view camera (owned by the university) and printed using the Cyanotype and Van Dyke processes. They were taken at Olmstead Place State Park, between Ellensburg and Kittitas Washington, which is a preserved pioneer farm. The prints are hand coated on watercolor paper. Both processes use contact printing and are only sensitive to UV light. Because these prints use contact printing, the print sizes are limited to the size of the negatives, so either a large format negative or an internegative (I have some larger photos printed using "digital" negatives) must be used. This is some of the old farm equipment on display at the farm. The farm is a living history museum, and they do demonstrations of old time farming, however, this equipment is a static display. This photo is printed using the Cyanotype process. This is a old one room school that was moved to the fa...

Much of my photography has been about seeing things from a different perspective, one that is not often seen. The medium of photography has been always that way, as it gives us a means of seeing the world as others view it, but the average individual with a camera tends to take photos without really looking closer at their subject or finding a diffrent means of photographing a subject. Macro photography is one of my favorite techniques of looking at a subject differently. It is a method that is effective because the human eye is not capable of seeing close up easily due to the nature of the eye, which is designed to see things from an average perspective. Cameras, on the other hand, can be designed to look at up to microscopic levels. Looking at the world from a life size or half life size perspective produces a window into things that we do not naturally see. This American flag is a prime example. Most people wouldn't notice without the aid of a camera that there are actually tiny...