Gary Fong Lightsphere

See what happens when I have a day off from work? You get two blog posts from me today.

I've been itching to write a post about some of the equipment I use and carry in my bag. Here's my latest toy, the Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere (Cloud). When I first saw this contraption, I thought...who would carry something like this in public? Kind of geeky, if you ask me. I did some research and found that this gadget actually diffuses light 360 degrees. I imagined something like surround sound. Off I went to my local camera shop to check out this nifty toy. I took my camera and flash with me as Roger wanted to be sure the lightsphere would fit my SB-600. Because this version of the lightsphere is called "universal", it easily mounted on my flash and then got strapped with velcro. We tested the flash with and without the dome. Bounced the flash around the store. I was sold on this product.

Here's some pictures of this geeky gadget on my flash.

The frontside of the flash with the lightsphere and dome attached:





The backside of the flash:






Flash at an angle:





The rubber band that goes around the flash head (to hold the lightsphere in place):




The pieces (lightsphere and dome):




I'm glad I got this toy. I can now take my creativity to a new level and well...I get to spend more time with my camera. I plan on using this lightsphere for portrait photography as it reduces a lot of shadow. Personally, I think it's better than the Sto-Fen diffuser by a long shot.


In case you haven't noticed...I took all these pictures without a flash at ISO 1600.

In the next post you will see one of the results of using the lightsphere. Also if you look at my profile pic/avatar, that was taken with the lightsphere. Pretty cool stuff!

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: None (I had to take it off the camera to take a pic of it)

Peonies & Lighting & Aperture

After working long hours this past week, taking a break yesterday to regroup and recover mentally, I was ready to get my creativity going today. I was out and about in our garden early this morning looking for some beautiful blooms to put in my vase. The peony blooms and buds are abundant this year thanks to the our snowstorm blizzard we had in early February. Right now, our gardens are looking lush and green.

I stumbled across three different varieties of peonies. Two are double flowers (white and pink):

(ISO 800) The only touch up I did with this photo is to auto adjust the colors. Typically, the image from the camera produces a dull white flower


The other is a single flower peony in a striking dark red color:

(ISO 1600) No touch up was done to this picture

Personally, I try to not to cut a peony stem if there is a blooming flower with buds attached. After the stem is cut, the tight buds will never open for me. I prefer not to waste a bud that could be blooming it's heart out in our garden later.

I wanted most of my flowers to be in focus with the background slightly blurred. I set my camera to Aperture Priority with an f/22 setting. Both pictures above were taken with this setting. I also used my SB-600 flash with a Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere attached (including its dome covering). I bounced the flash off my living room ceiling. I received a nice surprise.

I did take a few pictures with a smaller f-stop at 11. The center flower was in focus, but the rest of the flowers became slightly blurred.

After many years of working a hectic schedule, I'm learning to stop and smell the flowers. I'm learning to open my eyes and see God's creation and beauty around me. Photography is a great way to capture those moments. I'm glad I have the ability to do that.

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
ISO: 800 & 1600
Flash: SB-600
Accessory: Gary Fong Lightsphere

In the Garden and Learning About Aperture

I came home from work just in time to catch the last of the late evening light. With camera in hand, I snapped away at the flowers and plants that were blooming in our garden.

Peonies are my favorite flowers to photograph

After so many years of blooming, this is the first time we've had an abundance of blooms from this Clematis

This clematis doesn't like to climb our mailbox


This is a rogue Geranium that seeded itself amongst the ground covering. I would have liked to have seen three purple flowers in this pic, but will settle for whatever I can get.




Believe or not, this is a really small plant (Columbine) that grows along the edge of our walkway. I had to get really low on the ground to capture this shot.





** How-to-Series: Learning About Aperture **

I started this blog last year with the intent of sharing my picture taking experiences and what I see through my lens. I haven't been doing a great job of providing any insight on how I take pictures. So, I thought I would take a moment and share a "learning" experience.

Here, I am playing with the Aperture on my camera. It's the large "A" on my DSLR dial. No, it doesn't stand for "automatic". "A" is for Aperture. A small aperture number (large opening) produces this type of picture with the main flower in focus and the background out of focus.

Taken @ f/5.6. Extreme fuzzy background


Taken @ f/8


A large aperture number (small opening) produces this picture with the background somewhat coming into focus along with the flowers.

Taken @ f/22

I will be back with more "how-to" posts. In the meantime, grab your camera and start taking some pictures.

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
Flash: None

Taking Pictures Without Flash

I'm making an effort to get out and take pictures each weekend. I have the Nikon D5000 which is touted for its low light picture taking capabilities. I have been putting it to the test...without flash of course. It's taken me awhile to learn how to use this DSLR with all the settings and features. I'm learning a lot about what to do and what not to do. What to set and what not to set. So far, I've owned the camera for a month and I've taken over 800 pictures. With lots of practice, I think I'm getting a handle on it. On to my adventure for the day.

I believe we broke a record today. It felt like it...90 degrees and hot! I decided to visit someplace colorful and would keep me out of the heat. My assignment today took me to Merrifield Garden Center.

Here I am in the greenhouse. It was a nice steamy hot area to be taking pictures. I hurried along, snapping away.







I enjoy roaming the garden center. You never know what you might find laying around.










There many areas decorated at MGC. I feel like I walk into different living areas. Different themes with different arrangements.






















** How-To Series: Adjusting the ISO levels **


All of these pictures were taken indoors with no flash and a steady hand. I've managed to find the setup range on the camera that will automatically set the highest ISO level at 1600 and the lowest shutter speed at 1/30 sec. My ISO is currently set at 200 automatically. I couldn't figure out why the camera kept defaulting to ISO 200 whenever I was taking low light pictures. Not good when people are in movement and the results are blurred images. So by setting the camera range to an ISO 1600, this allows the camera to adjust the ISO from 200 to 1600 in relation to the amount of light that is available. By setting the lowest shutter speed at 1/30 sec, the camera will automatically adjust (go no lower) to get the best possible picture.

This D5000 is a true winner in my book.

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
ISO: 200-320
Flash: None

Happy Easter Weekend!

DB came for a long weekend visit. On Friday, we got up around 4:30am and left the house around 5:10am to catch a train down to Washington, DC. We ended up at the Smithsonian station around 6:15am and took a hike over to the Tidal Basin to take pictures of the cherry blossoms in the wee early morning hours. We weren't the only ones waiting for the sun to rise.

(Nikon D40 photos)

Washington Monument in the wee hours

As we were all snapping away at the monuments and the cherry blossoms, I happened to look to my right and noticed something extremely white. It was a young lady getting her bridal pictures taken. So, naturally I took this opportunity to capture the moment.

A photog moment with a bride

As more and more folks arrived and the Tidal Basin was getting a bit crowded (joggers, walkers, and photographers), we decided we had enough and started our hike to the other monuments. We visited the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and many sites along the way.

Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial


We took pictures of the Washington Monument and the Capitol.

Washington Monument

They do exist, the Segway Tours.

Segway riders


Trees blooming around the Capitol





We grabbed some lunch at a local Thai restaurant, just south of the Capitol in a quiet neighborhood. Afterwards, we headed to the US Botanic Gardens and took pictures of their orchid collections.










My DB and I walked over 12,000 steps, covering 8 miles. Thanks to my nifty pedometer, we kept track of the distance traveled. After several hours of walking, I had experienced multiple cramps in both legs. I had to end our photo adventure. As we headed back to the Smithsonian station, we were in for a huge shock. The crowds of people, both coming and going from the train station. We were crammed into the trains like sardines. As it turned out, that Friday was the 2nd highest ridership day (900,000 riders) using the Metrorail. To go along with that astounding number, I took 600+ pictures on that same day!




The next day (Saturday), we headed over to Arlington Cemetery.













A beautiful find at Arlington Cemetery









Early Sunday (Easter) morning, we were the only early birds in downtown Manassas. Back to take more pictures. Here are pictures taken with my new Nikon D5000:

My DB with his cool Nikon (D5000)


A view in the middle of the street in downtown Manassas (D5000)


One of the old buildings that houses Okra and The Foundation Restaurant (D5000)

Local signage (D5000)

Note: the only modifications made to the my pictures: cropped and copyright added.