Good Ride, Good People, Great Cause

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the 1st annual Tour de H20 bicycle ride.

After being inspired to get back to bicycling, thanks to my man DJ who teaches a spinning class at the local health club, this was my first attempt at an organized ride in about 30 years.   So why Tour de H20?   We’ll I’ll be honest; As I looked for local rides I came across this one.   It was a reasonable distance (52 miles) for a first ride and the base fundraising commitment was within what I felt was achievable.   However, as I peeled back the covers on this fundraiser, the more intrigued I became.    With sponsors like Whole Foods and Global Partners for Development, I found this to be a true grass roots effort to help those in need.

Tour de H20 is the brainchild of Steven and Keely.   Both avid riders (although Keely is grounded for awhile – Congrats on the upcoming July baby) they decided to expand their giving ways by organizing a ride to raise money to build fresh water wells in the dry lands of Kenya.   Building wells and helping underprivileged people seems to have become a passion with this unselfish couple.  Check out their bio at  http://tourdeh2o.org/AboutUs.aspx for more details.

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For a first year event, I found TourdeH20 to be very well organized.  Apparently Steven and Keely really did their homework.  Food and snacks provided by Whole Foods, SAG services provided by BikeSource, plenty of volunteers, and well marked routes. (Okay, I missed one of the markers and went 1/2 mi out of way – shouldn’t I get extra credit?)  

The route consisted of two 27 mile courses that traversed the countryside near Galloway, Ohio.   Although the weather forecast called for rain, it turned out to be a great day for riding as it was a little overcast and the winds were moderate.

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The ride was fun and the old legs, butt, etc. held out pretty well as I maintained an overall average of 16.3 mph.  But the real victory was in the good that will result from the generous contributions from friends and families.   The end result was that the fund-raising goal was exceeded and it is exciting to learn that at least two water wells with hand pumps will be constructed in partnership with the Kakelo Community.

According to Steven, “These wells will be constructed this year! Women and children from this community normally spend hours each day fetching water from distant sources.  The Kakelo Community members will be so happy when they learn that their long-desired dreams for nearby, fresh, clean water will finally come to fruition.  With this project, the women will be able to use their newfound time much more productively, villagers won’t be debilitated by water born diseases, and children ’s attendance at school will increase thanks to improved health. “    

The ride was a great fun but the big satisfaction came from knowing that those contributing to the ride have helped to generate a bright new future for these people in need. 

Specifically I’d like to thank the following people who supported me in my fundraising efforts: (for privacy purposes I’ll keep it on a first name basis)

Mitch, Pat, Tom, Nancy, Jonelle, Shawn, Jeff, Belinda, Karen, Mike, Rachel, Geoff, Christine, Lysandre, Bill, Tom, Bil, Evonne, Randy, Lynn & Myron.

Throughout the year I’ll keep everyone posted as to the progress made on the wells.  I’ll also keep riding as I train for Pelatonia in August and I’ll definitely be back for next years Tour de H20.

See you next time!

 

Race for the Cure 2010

This Saturday my wife and I were once again privileged to participate in The Komen Race for the Cure.   A record crowd of over 50,000 runners and walkers were blessed by beautiful weather.  As always the crowd was excited and dressed for the occasion. 

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  As the volunteers prepared the post race drinks and snacks for the participants.   We were sipping our morning coffee as we watched the the crowd congregate.  

 

 

 

 

 

This years route was slightly different that last year and really showed off the size of the crowd.   It was an impressive site.   Yet

even with the massive amount of support for this cause, there was no escaping the fact that with every positive story of celebrating another year of survival, there were many more stories of loved ones lost.  Perhaps

toughest visual for me was a small boy, maybe 9, who wore a shirt which read “In Memory of Mommy”.      I have thought of this boy often as I am no stranger to the death of a parent at a young age.    Let the images like these be our motivation to always give back to our family, friends and community.  

Outdoor Sports - Get In Focus!

Okay, so you're out watching your kid play an outdoor sport, say lacrosse, and you are all excited to catch the action with your camera. Then in a flash your kid (#33 in this case) enters the action. You point your camera, autofocus kicks in and you shoot.



Now thanks to digital technology you look at the camera viewer to make sure you captured the shot. Got it! Later that evening you go home and download the picture onto your computer. Ahhh, there it is, the once in a lifetime shot of your son defending, arguably, the best offenseman in the state (okay I made that one up). Next you zoom in to take a closer look (that's your queue to click on the picture) and d#%@*^&, it's blurry.

This is an all to common scenario that often just can't be avoided. What you really want is to be able to follow the action all across the field and at the same time keep your subject in focus. To be honest this is not a trivial task and can be challenging even for the 'pros'.

In my experience, one of the biggest assets of a camera can also be one of the biggest pitfals. What is it? Auto-modes.

Here's the situation; when shooting sports you want the maximum light to achieve a reasonable shutter speed (around 1/500th sec for most sports with human participants). You would also like to have a reasonable aperture setting (I like f8 or greater) so that you attain a nice depth of field. Auto-modes, although pretty effective about 70% of the time, often make inaccurate assumptions when shooting moving objects, especially in situation where lighting is inconsistant.

So here's four tricks I've learned that might help:

1) Go Manual - I use the manual setting so that I can control both shutter speed and aperture. General rules of thumb for sports, shutter speed > 1/200th - Aperture >6.5.

2) Use Continuous Focus - if you've got it, use it (for sports). This will help your camera stay in focus as the subject is in motion.

3) Use Auto ISO - as dusk approaches or if shadows are a problem, Auto ISO will allow you to maintain your preset shutter speed and aperture by simulating the use of a faster speed film (in the 35mm days). Caution - when using this feature there is a point where your picture will degrade and become grainy. Find that point on your camera (around 800 for me) and manually re-adjust your shutter speed or aperture to keep below that point of degradation.

4) Use a tripod or monopod. This is especially important with zoom lenses as it is harder to hold the longer zooms steady.

As a bonus tip, use your continuous shooting mode liberally. Believe me, the pros don't rely on a single shot to capture the action. I shoot around 150 shots in a 1 hour game. The good news is by using these techniques over 95% of my shots are keepers.

Think about these tips at your next sporting event. Let me know about your success or failures. Also, if you have a tip you like to share, make a comment.

Until next time - keep shooting


PS On May 22nd I'll be riding in the Tour de H2O. A bicycle ride to support the effort to provide clean water to impoverished areas of the world. Check my Facebook page for more details and help if you can! Thanks!

Out of Hybernation

After a long cold winter it's finally starting to feel like spring, and for me it's time to start shooting sports. Right now it's 8th grade lacrosse which is an interesting game with lots of action and lots of good shots.

This is my son Caleb in the green #33.

For those of you not familiar with lacrosse, he plays a position called 'long-pole defense', or pole for short.

His experience in hockey has helped him progress very well in lacrosse, not to mention he plays a physical game which is another transfer from hockey.

Shooting lacrosse in Ohio is always interesting because of the changing conditions throughout the season, not to mention throughout the game itself. During a single game you may see bright sun at low angles, overcast, rain and yes even snow. As a photographer I've learned to dress for the conditions (maybe even overdress).

Aside from the weather, another challenge is that the games start at 6:00p and end around 8:00p. Well with spring in Ohio, it starts getting dark around 7:30p. So good shot are harder to compose as the evening grows later.

Over the course of the next few weeks I'll discuss in more detail some of the challenges of shooting outdoor sports in the East. I'll share with you some good shots as well as some bad ones. But most of all I'll share with you some of the techniques that I use to capture the action, without having to take a second mortgage on your home or sell your hierlooms.

Capturing the action under the best of conditions takes patience and persistance. If you're a perfectionist at heart, you may be in for a lot of frustration as you try to overthink the shot. But if you just become one with the "photographic zen" (see earlier posts) you'll soon begin to anticipate the action before it happens.

Communicating the action to your audience is how you get those attention getting shots. Because even though I'm all for that still shot of the player on the sidelines, it's the action shot that the players, families and friends really want to see. The shot that says "yeah I did good" or "that's my kid"; that's what brings the smile to the audience.

Well it's gettig late here so I'll leave you for tonight with a simple hint on shooting action shots.

HINT: If you study your subjects before you begin shooting, you'll be more equipped to anticipate where the action will be.

See you soon and keep shooting!

DFL Colts Championship Football Team

On October 25th, 2009, the Dublin Football League, Colts, won the Fifth Grade Championship. It was a convincing win by a very talented and disciplined football team. Here's a sample of the full video that is available to the players and families @ http://jkuamoophotography.com. Enjoy the show!

What is it??? – Fun photo ideas

 

   Are there times when you have trouble coming up with creative ideas for your photos?  Are you getting bored with taking the same landscapes or stills?  If so, check out this shot.    What do you think it is?   Perhaps a field of neon dandelions?    Maybe it’s the Northern Lights.   I guess it could just be an accidental shutter release (yeah we’ve all done that).

 

Now let’s rotate the picture by 90 degrees CW.    Does it look more familiar now?   Well if you guessed that it’s the dashboard on a car, you’re right.   But wait, it’s not in focus so it’s not a very good shot.   Well, that’s the fun.   Try using timed exposures in low light situations and see what you come up with.    This picture was shot with a 10 second shutter speed @ F8.     Slow enough to capture the low light of the dash while not fast enough to freeze the image.  

The following series of shots were taken in a moving vehicle while traveling down a local freeway.   As you view the shots, take note of the different colors and curves as the road twists and turns and the camera vibrates from the bumps on the road.    Fun  stuff?   Give it a try, you just might like your results.   And don’t worry about whether the results are correct because it’s art, and there are no right or wrong shots.  But please don’t try this while driving.    I want you around to read my next post. 

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So what do you think is it art, crap or just plain fun?   Often it’s a fine line between the two.   Let me know some of your fun photo ideas that get your creative juices going.

See you next time!

Kuamoo + Oldaker Wedding

It’s early in the morning on the 6th of September and the sun is just beginning to peak over the clouds that blanket the Gulf. But over Houston, the skies are clearing in what is shaping up to be the perfect day for a very special event. On this day two young hearts will become one. Two families will be joined by the bond created when their children are joined in matrimony.

The day before the ceremony the celebration had already begun. The dogs were anticipating that something big was about to happen. Andy and his dad, Kevin, spent some quality time sipping some home brew while watching The Buckeyes/Navy football game.

In the mean time Lani’s family was flying in from Ohio to join the festivities. Okay, so they didn’t fly in on F-15s, but these fighters took off from Port Columbus Airport on their way to a fly-by engagement at the Buckeye football game.

Soon after Lani’s family arrived at the apartment, it was off to a Japanese Steak House for a wonderful pre-wedding dinner. The meal was hot, but come wedding day the bride and groom were hotter!!!

Today is no doubt a very special day for all, but for daddy, yes that’s me, I played the dual role as father of the bride and photographer. The dual role, although somewhat complicated at times, is gladly accepted since today I give my princess away to Andy’s loving care.

It’s a grand day full of family friends and even a duck or two.

So check out Lani and Andy’s photo album of their special day and give them some love as you view the festivities. Enjoy!

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