Peter DeWitt Photography

John's Zither

2011-11-21T22:16:00.000-05:00

Hi have a precious friend named John who builds German zithers time and again. He just finished one. What an inspiration to me and my guitar building! It sounds beautiful. Very old-timey and comfortable. Just right. What an instrument and what a guy. Hope you enjoy some photos.

A detail shot from New York

2011-11-12T10:35:00.000-05:00

I like shooting details. i sometimes think the details tell the story the best. This was a small bar in the bottom of our New York hotel. Red leather booths, a ragtime piano player, a 70 year-old gentleman refreshing some of his dusty dance steps, and a friend's glass of port. The yellow background is a trash-truck outside on 47th ave. Not everything is a big deal, but some details tell the story.

Men's Retreat Photos

2011-10-22T09:42:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos from a Men's retreat at a camp in Southern Ohio and then a baby shower at a barn at a Central Ohio Farm.

Peter has been feeding himeself . . .

2011-10-20T23:32:00.000-04:00

and sometimes it gets in his mouth!

Some photos of the Biltmore Grounds

2011-10-20T22:56:00.000-04:00

We really enjoyed the countryside grounds of the Biltmore Estate. Megan took a number of these photos.

Some photos from the Biltmore Gardens

2011-10-20T22:49:00.000-04:00

Some photos from the Smoky Mountains

2011-10-20T22:34:00.000-04:00

We had an awesome Spring Break trip this past March. Still have not posted an photos I think. Here are some from the Smoky Mountains.

The photo I liked best from the last post

2011-10-20T22:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, when I post sequences, I feel like some of the photos get buried in the mix. I think this one was really nice and want to highlight it with a separate post too.

On another note, there are some cameras and lens now that are really beginning to "see in the dark." Able to perceive, capture, and render the beautiful light that is almost hidden from our natural eyes by the dark. But nevertheless, the light is there and the light actually may be most beautiful there is - in its subtlty, purity, and grace. All I have to do is retrain my eyes to see the beautiful light in the dark and let the camera do the work.

Night Hike with the Kauffmans!

2011-10-20T22:20:00.000-04:00

My Friend Kenton

2011-10-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

My friend Kenton is a visionary and lover of people. He cares for his family and others with purposefulness and an intention to call out the greatness in them. He is focused, fun loving, and searches for beauty in every situation. Megan, little Peter, and I had the great privilege of going to the park with him and his family for sunset on Saturday night. Here he is surveying the sunset for a chance to convey its beauty. I love it.

Running in the Apple Orchard

2011-09-26T21:43:00.000-04:00

I can't resist here's another one!

Little Guy and Mommy

2011-09-26T21:37:00.000-04:00

We had an amazing time picking apples with our good firends Saturday morning. Precious little kiddos running around with the biggest apples they could find. Some good to eat, some not. Ha! So fun.

So many pictures, that I don't have time to do them all right now. Here is one of the fun-loving little guy with mama!

Is contentment a bad word?

2011-09-21T21:24:00.000-04:00

I am not one for rest historically. Not one to sit idly by and let life happen to me. I am not one to slow down, to experience bordem or any other such thing.

But am I one to rest? Rest, as I have been learning (for 6 years!) is not so much about what I'm doing, but what my heart is doing. That said, I have been easing into a place of rest and contenment that I surely never thought was possible and am more convinced than ever is only the beginning. And I am accomplishing more than ever at the same time - from a place of rest.

We had a wonderful family morning this past Saturday. I haven't had much time for photography. It was good fun to be able to shoot some pictures while sipping some coffee and eating some apple fritters.

My brother is a real estate agent and he is good at it

2011-07-23T15:42:00.001-04:00

We took photos of my brother today for his real estate work. He started in the business a few months ago, and he is good at it. For years I have noticed that he is a wonderful salesman with great people skills. Megan and I were glad to be able to get some photos of him so that his signs and website can be rockn'. He is going to go far.

Outerbanks 2011

2011-06-25T12:26:00.000-04:00

Great trip to the Outerbanks with Meg's family. Here are some of the many photos!

Winter Sunset from our back porch!

2010-12-14T18:35:00.000-05:00

Thsnksgiving field

2010-12-14T06:46:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving!

2010-12-14T01:30:00.002-05:00

Sunday Morning Walk to Church

2010-11-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

This morning had rich soft, autumn light. I saw it when I got up. Wow, this is good light I thought. At the same time, I acknowledged that it wasn't quite that good - yet. It was a little too soft. Lacking contrast. Too cloudy. Too overcast. About 30 minutes before I was going to leave for church, the sun started to peak through a little bit. Still soft, but now with a crispness to the light as well. Perfect. It rained last night. Saturated colors, soft light, and crisp contrast. Perfect for macro. But church . . . So I decided to walk to church, camera in hand. Here are 10 minnutes of photos there. Another couple shots on the way back. Church was awesome. The walk was awesome. I love the Lord, his creation, and this day. Enjoy.

Recent Life and We Love Peter

2010-11-03T00:34:00.000-04:00

I've been taking pictures.

We've been picking apples.

Peter holds his first apple - a Fuji.

Meg's been air'n our laundry out - dryer broke :(

Dinner's been good.

Sunsets have been great.

Peter's been cute. He continues to amaze us. Enjoy the rest of the photos!

Prairie Oaks Rest

2010-10-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

I took some photos last Sunday morning at Prairie Oaks Metro Park. It was a chilly morning. 20 mph winds. Hat weather. A fall morning that acts like literary foreshadowing - of winter. I felt fully alive. It was restful.

More and more I enjoy photographing what is before me. I started with a 20mm lens that morning - intending to shoot big landscapes; I ended up doing most of my work around 135 - 200mm. Textures and details. Sometimes I think the story is in the details. The main subject of my photos were the creamy-colored tufts of FoxTail. I understand that fox tail is not a native grass, but it sure was beautiful. Enjoy.

Early August Evening at The Lake

2010-09-27T19:42:00.001-04:00

We had a lovely time at the lake this past august. I went out the first night to go fishing, but lost my only lure first cast. It was one of the moments where you don't even mind the aparent set back - because you knew it was no set back at all. I started taking pictures. I had a really great time exploring the sunset with my camera. It was just simply fun photographing. All shot with an 85mm lens around f/2. (Except for last photo of grill).

I am purposefully not editing any of these photos for this post - they are all straight out of camera. I also picked not only my best - partly because I like many of them - but also because it is nice to show process sometime. So, here is how the evening progressed in terms of almost studying the sunset. I had a lot fun. Hope you enjoy looking through them.

Smiling!

2010-09-27T19:23:00.000-04:00

"There's no way to describe it." "You won't know until you have your own." "Nothing can prepare you for it." Megan and I have heard these sorts of phrases on repeat from many people over the past multiple months. They are all right. Nothing can prepare you for having a child. And nothing can prepare you for what a joy it is to witness little "firsts." They are amazing.

Peter started smiling a few weeks (about 3 or 4) back. He now smiles all the time. His favorite time to smile is during his diaper change. He loves getting his dipe changed :) And you wouldn't think you would be a beaming proud dad about such small things, but I just am and it's fun. Here are some photos from about 3 weeks ago. Peter was dressed up in his new jeans and a handsome black shirt so, I took him outside on our back porch to take some photos with a mixture of evening light bounced off of a brick wall and flash bounced off the porch ceiling.

Farmer's Market

2010-08-23T22:58:00.005-04:00

We went to the farmer's market the other weekend. It was lovely. I like meeting the people we are buying food from and knowing that they are experts. Here are some photos I took. So much to take snap shots there. All with an 85mm lens.

Slowing Down and Speeding Up

2010-08-18T22:29:00.013-04:00

Some people have been telling us that life with kids slow down but speeds up at the same time. Amen. I feel like I am photographing a lot, but not enough. I want to post more photos, but run short on time. I feel like these precious "one-week-duration faces" slip past me before I know it. He changes often. I think this one is from about 3 or 4 weeks old.

Here is Papa holding Peter for the first time. Papa is my mom's dad. He taught me to fish, hunt for worms, and look for birds. Loves the outdoors. I love him, and it brings my great joy to share his first great grand child with him. "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers." (Prov. 17:6).

Olivia, Stu, and Saffron are back from New Zealand and got to meet Peter for the first time the same day Papa was in. Saffron is just walking (or by the time of this posting - maybe running!). She talks a lot. Sometimes we understand her. Someday the "gap" between Saffron and Peter (14 months) will seem much smaller.

Friends and family have made a lot of food for us. It has been wonderful - not only the gift of food, but especially knowing how many people love us and want to help us as we transition into this new stage of our family. Pesto chicken below.

One such friend is Diana. She likes to make people happy by feeding them good food. What a gift! I was working on some flash techniques and took a few pictures of her while her homemade sesame chicken, dumplings, and green beans warmed up.

Strawberry Shortcake from Mike and Cassie.

I liked the split warm and cool toned background of this photo of the tomatoes.

Our basil is rockn' in it's new bigger potting container.

I liked this edgey looking photo of our great white tomato plant.

Peter's New Friend: Merit Paul

2010-07-26T16:39:00.008-04:00

Here are some photos of Simon Peter's friend, Merit Paul. Merit is our friends Josh and Laura's new baby boy. 5 weeks old. Super cute. Josh and Laura are really loving parenting and it is really great to see how much they enjoy their new son. It was a pleasure to take some photos of their young family. Here are some favorites:

Thanks for looking. Praise the Lord for their great young family!

Life with Simon Peter

2010-07-21T23:17:00.012-04:00

Life continues with Peter. It has been a great week or so. Here are some more photos of the "early days" as a family:

Grandma and Grandpa Balog came down for some time with the little guy on Sunday (our 1st Anniversary!) Here's grandma with Peter.

Grandma and Momma loving on that little guy. He gets kissed a lot.

I mentioned last time that Grandpa B lacks no excitement for grandchildren. This is what I mean. I love it.

When our friend Christi first texted "congrats" to us last week, she asked us how much hair he had - she is a hair stylist and got straight to the important questions :) As far as we can tell, the full locks must be from Megan's side, as my parents say I did not have notable hair until I was almost 2! In this photo, Grandpa B took some liberty in temporarily shaping the sleeping babe's hair style.

The grandparents - getting ready to drive back home.

Most people who know us know that Megan can really cook. So, I have had a blast getting to be the cook for the last week. I cook every meal. Well, except for the meals that are brought to us nearly every day by our great family and friends. (We are really blessed in those regards). On Monday, however, I got to cook dinner. I started us off with a lemon coriander consomme with basil garnish. I was so proud of my work. Megan said it was quite good in her opinion (which is worth more than mine because when I am proud of my cooking, I am bound to exuberantly like it!). The funny thing about the consomme is that it was the water I had drained off the pasta and green beans I was cooking. Even once I told Megs that, she still said it was tasty :)

Tuesday night's dinner was really great. Jay and Cassandra brought over homemade lasagna. That really hit the spot. Jay and I split a really good beer. We had french bread, hand-picked string beans, and a peach blackberry pie that Natalie made. We sure had it made. Jay and Cassandra showed us awesome photos from their recent Western vacation. Very cool. This photo was the sunset after dinner and before the photos, decaf, and pie.

Not only are we getting faster at diaper changes, but we are also getting more brave with venturing out into the real world with our little strong man. This morning we went to the new Scioto Audubon Metro Park. It's downtown. It's pretty. It has a climbing wall, ducks, and a place to fish. We had a nice time. Here is Peter before we bravely attempt to put him into the Moby Wrap (a.k.a. long confusing piece of fabric that is supposed to safely support our precious child . . .)

Native wildflowers. I love the meadow feeling. Often prefer it to woods.

At this point, he is hungry. Nowadays, parents like us "know better" about all sorts of things - like pacifiers. Ha! So, because we don't carry one of those (yet), Megan gave him her pinky finger. Her poor finger was prune-like by the end. Note the fancy Moby wrap. Seems to work great, but I still love poking fun at it. Photographer's Note: I have been loving pushing some of my portrait processing past my normal comfort zone. This photo of Megs is a good example. I ended up really landing on a look that I loved. Fun to experiment.

My industrial photograph for the day - or more like the year for me. Perhaps this could inspire a Drew Jones painting?

Megan and I sat on the porch tonight and talked. It was great. Sometimes no agenda is needed, just time. We were not only enjoying conversation, but the sky was also beautiful.

The pre-sunset sky from our back porch.

Megan had a vision for our back porch to be a real living space. She made it happen and I am glad she did; it is great. I go out there in the morning sometimes and drink amazing coffee that our friend Matt roasts and read my bible. Cannot be better. Part of what makes the porch space so inviting this time of year is the impressive vegetable garden Megan has planted and tended. Here are some eggplant blossoms.

Megan's hanging fuchsia. It has bloomed for about 3 months.

Tomatoes are coming along quite well too.

The sunset was so intensely colorful that it can almost look un-natural. I tend to prefer the more pastel sunset tones, so I captured this more subtle scene on the peripheral of the night sky's main event.

Here is how colorful the main sunset was. Really neat.

Final light from our back porch. A wonderful end to the day.

Thanks for looking! More to come. We have really appreciated sharing this joy with everyone, and all the kind, supportive, and encouraging words we have received.

Simon Peter

2010-07-20T11:50:00.007-04:00

Introducing Simon Peter! We call him Peter. What a blessing from the Lord he is. He is perfect. Wonderfully made, and a bringer of great joy. Megan has been amazed by how accurate the saying "bundle of joy" is. Me too. Here are some photos from our first few days with our son (I will narrate a bit because the stories are great):

Photo 1: Megan laboring. The baby's heart rate was seeming a bit irregular, so the doctors were a bit nervous. The praise is that Peter was totally healthy and Megan had a great labor and was able to do it all without medicine. She was incredible. I was honored to get to be her coach and see what determination she is capable of.

Photo 2: It's a boy! Our first child is born. I remember the moment of seeing he was a boy. Super cool. Cutting the cord, him being placed on Megan's chest for the first time. He was crying; he was breathing; he was our son. What a neat moment. Wow. Here is the first photo ever of Simon Peter.

Photo 3: He did not like being measured, etc. Even while being measured, I loved looking in his eyes for the first time. Very cool to meet eye to eye with my son.

Photo 4: Megan holding her son. I am starting to understand why mothers have such a connection with their children.

Photo 5: Our young family about 20 minutes after delivery.

Photo 6: Mama and little Peter.

Photo 7: The grandparents! So sweet having them all there. Here they are waiting for Peter to get his first bath.

Photo 8: Peter did not enjoy his first bath. My dad is commenting on his good set of lungs in the background!

Photo 9: Grandpa Balog holds Peter for the first time. He lacks no excitement for grandchildren. I love it.

Photo 10: Grandma and Grandpa Balog loving on that little guy! They came down at just the right time - the night Megan went into labor. It was so nice to spend some time with them that night before going into the hospital.

Photo 11: He loves being held by grandma.

Photo 12: Peter Sr. holding his first grandchild. In his words, "he's perfect."

Photo 13: This one's just cute.

Photo 14: When we found out we were pregnant last fall, we figured my sister Annie had been praying for that to happen! When we asked her, she smiled and said "yep, a little" :) Well, I'm glad she had. And here she gets to be an Aunt Annie for the first time. She smiled so big; it was great to see.

Photo 15: I gather that some people maybe don't like having to stay in the hospital for a couple of days after the birth. Megan and I loved it, however. It kind of felt like a honeymoon for having a baby. People came and visited. We ate slept, and got used to taking care of the little dude.

Photo 16: I love seeing this connection between Mom and son. She is a great mother. I know her. She will be firm and require truth and uprightness from him, and she will support and encourage him. Megan is steady, she is loving, and she is strong. She is going to be a great Mom.

Photo 17: On our second afternoon, my mom came to help us get some sleep. She brought lunch and held our little sweetheart while we each took a nap. Before I dozed, I saw this scene that I had to capture. My mom is like mother hen with kids - a natural gatherer and teacher. Really fun to watch. Here she is in her element.

Photo 18: My parents custom ordered a rocking chair for us to hold the baby in. It is made of cherry - all time favorite domestic wood for me and my dad. Here's Peter with my parents in our lovely apartment's family room.

Photo 19: Peter sleeping in the beautiful crib Megan's parents ordered for us.

Photo 20: My favorite thing is to hold him on my chest. I am told it creates good bonding, but I just know that I love doing it. I am trying to set up our computer so I can hold him like this and watch a few innings of a MLB game.

Photo 21-23: He has some alert time most nights around 10 or 11pm. A few nights ago we took some photos. I love these. The middle one is him flexing. He is tall, barrel chested, and strong. I'm digging it. We love this little guy.

Thanks for looking. There will of course be more to come! Praise the Lord for little Peter and the miracle and joy of life.

Pregnant and Beautiful

2010-07-05T00:10:00.003-04:00

I wanted to take some nice pictures for my wife the other day before our first child arrived. Here are my favorites:

Photographer's Notes: All ISO 100-200. F/16 and 1/250th. About 11am. Relatively full sun. 3 flashes mounted into a single 60" white reflective umbrella. All flashes full power and with 1/4 CTO gels. 5000K color temperature selected on camera.

Gracehaven and ComFest

2010-06-28T13:04:00.003-04:00

ComFest was this weekend in Columbus. Some friends put together an outstanding benefit for Gracehaven House. Gracehaven offers a safe home, hope, and healing for girls that have been forced into exploitation. Praise God for what they are doing to help!

The benefit raised money for Gracehaven. Very cool. It also got the word out for Gracehaven, their work, and their mission to end this sort of exploitation. Even cooler. And through it all, a lot of people had a great time. Here are some pictures of the scene Friday evening:

P.S. If you would like to donate to GraceHaven's work . . . Click here.

Summer Clouds

2010-06-16T10:20:00.004-04:00

It felt like summer to me last Saturday night. Graduation for my students that morning and a graduation party that afternoon. The party was out in the country. Horses, barns, and wind in the trees. As we were leaving the clouds were amazing over the farm. Megan patiently waited in the car as I renewed my love for my 20mm lens. Here are some of my favorites:

Photographer's Note: Took some fun freedom with these. Simply jpegs, not RAW. sRGB, not Adobe RGB. Messed a bit with contrast, added some warm tone, shot really wide angle, and even did some vignetting. Feels fun to shoot for fun and break all of my rules.

Memorial Day

2010-06-16T09:40:00.004-04:00

We had a great memorial day weekend. New puppies, family, lake house, boating, swimming, whiffle ball, and some sweet sweet ribs. Here are pictures of some of the highlights:

Amy and Mike

2010-06-16T09:32:00.003-04:00

What a beautiful couple Amy and Mike are. Full of laughs and lots of fun, we had a great time with them in Michigan a few weeks ago and look forward to their wedding this summer. Here are a few from their engagement shoot:

Now you can purchase Landscape Prints on ETSY!

2010-04-27T18:14:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone,

I am pleased to announce that I am starting to make prints of my landscape photographs available via ETSY. If you have not been to ETSY, it is an online marketplace for wonderful handmade goods. Many great products to browse through.

Here is the link to the start of my ETSY shop. Check it out.

Thanks,

Peter

Buckwheat and Caleb

2010-04-17T23:45:00.003-04:00

I was going to post this photo of Buckwheat and Caleb in the previous post, but I like it so much I wanted to let it stand on its own. Thanks again Caleb for letting us see who you are.

Caleb

2010-04-17T22:50:00.007-04:00

My friend Caleb is a man of joy. And tonight he threw himself a birthday party - one of the best I have ever been to. The party started early with horse rides and dirt bike racing. It continued with bonfire, sunset, s'mores, hotdogs, cake, and ice cream.

Tonight's party was who Caleb is. He is down home. Country. Farm-town. Humble. Horse-loving. Hard-working, and a lot of laughter. Here are some pictures I took of him in his element - on his farm back home.

I am Building a Guitar

2009-12-22T11:58:00.003-05:00

I have been working a lot on building an acoustic guitar. My inspiration is the guitar that James Taylor plays (made by luthier Jim Olson). It will have an Engleman Spruce top and an East Indian Rosewood back. For those up on acoustics, it will be shaped like a Martin OM, except curvier and deeper bodied. I have the braces on the back. Here are some pictures!

Luthier Notes: The back is assembled in a concave dish in order to put a dome in the back of the guitar (this I think aids in projection). The dish is essentially a section of the surface of a sphere that would have a radius of 15 feet. I profiled the braces in the dish (in their respective locations) and then glued them in place using hot hide glue (old school violin making stuff). Next, the braces are quickly clamped into the domed shape by using 24" long 3/16" fiberglass rods to exert pressure. The whole clamping structure is called a go-bar deck. The fun part is that I built all of it - it feels good to see parts of the guitar starting to come together.

Photo Notes: 20 mm lens. It distorts, which I think looked really cool here. Ansel Adams said to never apologize for your lenses. Interesting thought.

Advent Service

2009-12-22T11:33:00.005-05:00

Our friends, Aaron and Kristina (see last post with their son, Oliver :) put together a sweet Advent service at our church last Friday night. There was inspired music and sweet instillation-style art up. Here are a few long-exposures I took:

Photo Notes: 8 Seconds or so for the exposures. 20mm lens (good for interiors). F/11 for depth of field. Tripod and cable release for 1 and 3. Second one was an accident - gathered light as I walked to take photo 3 (had accidently hit my trigger release). I find that my camera's long exposure noise reduction is often a good call - I used it here as well.

Oliver

2009-12-19T10:36:00.002-05:00

Oliver . . . what a great name and what a great smile. Megs and I could not get enough of Oliver when we were photographing his family the other day. Here are a few of our favorites:

Photo Notes: Shot inside a beautiful home with two SB-80's. One had a 1/8 CTO gel. The other 1/4 CTO. All shot at 5000k for WB. 1/8 CTO was shot through a 24" Ezybox that was directed at the ceiling to bounce the whole room (1/2 power). The other was into a white shoot through that was directed at the ceiling as well. The shoot through was kept at eye level and relatively close to the subject. This allowed some light to fall sideways across the subject while the rest headed toward the ceiling to bring up ambient. It was a really fun lighting scheme to stumble on. It really worked great. Megan was the one who figured it out which was fun too.

Norris Woodworking Cutting Boards

2009-12-04T20:28:00.005-05:00

My friend Jim Norris is a fine carpenter with a great ability for design. Recently we had the opportunity to photograph a few cutting boards that he had made. It was fun for me because I got to do some "food photography" which I had been learning about by skimming through Megan's Donna Hay magazines. Here are the photos:

Photo info: Shot with a 24" Lasolite softbox (Ezybox). Megan did the raspberry and green bean lay-out.

Cutting Board info: The first board (with the tomatoes) is rock maple and cherry. The second board is figured bird's eye maple. Jim is available to make more cutting boards and can do custom designs. Email me if you would like to talk with him for more info.

Free

2009-11-30T20:00:00.006-05:00

I love posting to this blog. I also love not posting to this blog. It has been great taking a break, but tonight there is some sort of creative thing inside of me that just needs to get out, so here it is . . . some pictures that I took recently. My photography has never felt so free. The trouble with my hobbies in the past is that they have owned me. Recently I have been more in right relationship with photography than ever before. I like it. Finally, the pictures :)

Photo Info: Fun. Free. 150 mm Macro Lens.

Fall Wildflowers

2009-10-05T19:17:00.005-04:00

I love fall wildflowers. I particularly love the mixture of earth-toned grasses that have passed their peak for the year. We went for a run tonight at one of the local metro parks, and I decided to take my camera with me. All the shots were shot with my 150 mm macro lens around f/3.5.

Photo Notes: I had fun taking these pictures.

Waters of Rest

2009-09-24T21:35:00.003-04:00

I really worked pretty hard for this one. It is also from the Smokies this August (on Meg's and my Honeymoon Part II). This is Roaring Fork. It boasts the steepest decent of any stream its size in the Eastern United States. There is a beautiful little one-lane drive along it, and we stopped at this pool to fly fish and photograph. Fly fishing came first of course - don't want to scare the fish :) After no fish, I got in the stream, submerged my tripod (and myself bit), checked to make sure the front element of my lens was not getting totally soaked from the rushing water and clicked away. I am amazed at how steady the images came out with the water rushing on the tripod.

Photo Notes: Light is not always simply influenced by color temperature; it can often take on hues from surrounding objects. In the case of a stream surrounded by a sea of green, the camera will see the scene as having a green hue. A slight move toward magenta in Lightroom brings it back to how our eyes are able to see it. I am ever increasingly impressed with our eyes marvelous ability to render the most difficult of optical scenes with acuity.

One of the keys of success with panoramas is to shoot "on-level" - unless using a tilt-shift lens. In this case level was 6" above the water downstream of what I was photographing. Accounting for the shooting angle allows the resulting panorama to be free of distortion left-to-right.

First Light

2009-09-22T22:04:00.003-04:00

This panorama was taken within the same half-hour or so that Country Road and Down that Old Rusty Trail were taken. Beautiful light. I made use of the reflective puddle in the foreground of the horse pasture and let the first light of the morning speak for itself.

Photo notes: Panorama made as detailed here. This one was about 7 images. Prints about 60 inches. Sometimes you can go round and round with editing photos and end up where you started. I thought about trying to bring this one up a bit in terms of exposure, but found my field exposure was just what I wanted . . . I once met a gentleman on the trail to Half Dome in Yosemite (same day I took Vernal Falls Rainbow), and he told me something that has stuck with me about landscape exposures. "Pick your favorite part of the scene and expose for that; let everything else fall where it will." I have done that for years now. This photo was all about the first direct light of the day cresting that ridge, so I exposed for that. And after messing with LAB color space and levels in photoshop, I found that I had done it just right.

Landscape Website Updated!

2009-09-21T22:32:00.005-04:00

A quick note that the landscape website has been updated with beautiful music from Pete Huttlinger, and new gallery design. I have really enjoyed the process of updating the site; I am really happy with the improvements. Enjoy!

Tractors at the Fair

2009-09-16T22:02:00.010-04:00

I love a good ole' tractor :) We had a nice time at the Canfield Fair over Labor Day weekend. Here are some of the tractor shots. (I decided to combine the posts and simply have one tractor post :)

Photographer's Notes: All 85mm at about f/2.2 for all of them. About 8 pm, late summer's late sun. It was a nice night. Felt a bit like the end of the summer to me.

Baker at Heart

2009-09-14T21:12:00.005-04:00

Ever feel like you really see something specific in someone - maybe even before they are totally walking in it? Along those lines, my wife is a bread baker. I know it. It's one of those things that's less an activity of the hands and more an outpouring of the soul. She is going to be a great baker. This banana bread was one such example. I loved watching her prepare with all these mixing bowls and I loved the "Clabber Girl" can as a visual element. Wish I could share the bread too :)

Photographer's Note: Prep photos were taken with 43" shoot through positioned back and high. I have been getting into food photography recently and it seems that higher light sources have something to them when lighting food. Didn't bother with the lights for the bread - just ate it.

P.S. The counter space below was provided by Jim. It was constructed with 8/4 rock maple and 8/4 cherry. Really nice! Also, the vanilla is from Penzey's Spices. I recommend them too. For example, if you like to have 4 types of cinnamon to choose from - go there :)

Morning Light, a Fence, and a Bird

2009-09-12T09:32:00.005-04:00

Here is another sequence from last Sunday morning at Atwood Lake. Shortly after taking the shots through the windshield in the middle of the road, I saw this fence lit up with shafts of light through the nearby trees. I parked on the next road I could turn off on, grabbed my camera, locked my car, and ran 200 yards back up the road to this scene - landscape light does not last long sometimes! I will probably pick my favorite of the bird at some point, but I am not ready to yet, so here are the three to consider. Enjoy.

Through the Windshield

2009-09-11T14:53:00.003-04:00

Adventure on a foggy morning! After stopping to take some shots of the cows and surrounding land, I was trying to find this small old bridge that I had taken a picture of before. Drove past the road, realized I had and then turned around. On the way back towards my road I stopped my car in the middle of the road, prayed for safety and shot four or five exposures through the windshield. My favorite of the bunch is below. I love going for drives in the country!

Photographer's note: I shoot landscapes in manual mode while making use of the spot metering pattern that is available in my camera. Sometimes, however it is nice to be able to move more quickly than that - like when stopped in the middle of the road! So, a quick change to aperture-priority and a +0.7 exposure compensation as the camera came to my eye helped keep the high-tone feel of the actual scene. Contrast adjustments in Lightroom for this one.

Cows, Windmills, and Fog

2009-09-10T19:21:00.005-04:00

Cows, windmills, and fog! My favorite! Got up early this past Sunday at my parent's lakehouse in eastern Ohio. Went out, looked over the water and fog - lots of fog. I walked back up to the house, grabbed my camera gear, and took a drive. Here are some from my first stop along the road:

Tired and Well-Kept

2009-09-10T19:14:00.004-04:00

School has been very rewarding and very busy recently. The new program we are doing is off to a rocking start, and I have not had much time for sleep :) Luckily, I have a wonderful wife who really has been taking care of me, supporting me, and helping me during this busy season. This picture (which she took) tells the story. Papers in the midst of being graded in the background and Megan's wonderful dinner in the fore. Rosemary and garlic pork with garden-fresh heirloom tomatoes and swiss chard!

Old Things and Waiting

2009-09-04T21:11:00.005-04:00

I was looking through some old photos today in order to get one ready to make a print for a friend's wall. What beautiful pictures they are! I think that I so often get caught up in the newest technology and the best technique and the growth of my photographic eye and vision, that I forget my roots. My roots are Fujichrome Velvia. My roots are a rickety tripod and a long hike to a secret spot. My roots are two weeks of shooting on 36 exposures. There is a certain naiveté in these photos that I am drawn to. Here's to looking back and realizing we've always had it.

Sept. 2003 - First shot of first photography class

Fall 2004 - Borrowed friend Brian's 20mm lens for the day

Fall 2004 - Another detail with the 20mm at the Farmer's Market

Summer 2004 - Vernal Falls from Mist Trail, Yosemite National Park

Summer 2004 (Below) - Penney Lynn's Windtoys, somewhere south of Bishop, CA

A Man and His Tools

2009-08-31T21:46:00.008-04:00

Our friend Jim is quite a man. Kind, slow to speak, strong, and steady. And man does he know his tools. He not only knows how to use them, but he knows how to build them, fix them, and hone them. His tool shed was a treasure trove of "tools of the trade" images for me. We had a wonderful time on his farm early saturday afternoon. Megs picked raspberries, green beans, pears, tomatoes, and onions - I shot some photos. Thanks Jim for the visit!

Organs and Things

2009-08-30T20:28:00.004-04:00

I have been enjoying taking pictures of "tools of the trade." When taking some pictures that set the scene for Erin and Derrick's wedding, I was drawn to the organ in the church and all the beautiful sheet music that seemed to lay about waiting to be played again.

Indoor Panoramas?

2009-08-24T22:54:00.004-04:00

Pretty fun applying my landscape work in the church before the ceremony!

Peace and Beauty

2009-08-24T22:37:00.005-04:00

Picture rain. Lots of rain. Hardest rain of the season. Well the weather was not speaking peace that day, but their faces sure did - our good friends Erin and Derrick walked in wonderful peace and beauty on their wedding day. What a joy it was to be there with them to document the first day of their marriage. Here are a few of our favorites :)

Griswold

2009-08-23T14:58:00.006-04:00

My Grandpa (Papa) has given me a lot of things. He has given me fun rides on his golf cart, fishing trips beyond number, many adventurous drives through Sandusky, and countlesss hours watching birds on the feeders from his kitchen window (and bb gunning the squirrels and cats that intrude!). For our wedding he gave us a wonderful set of cast iron skillets. Now, I have been becoming quite a foodie in the wake of our marriage - as any of you know Megan might expect! Couple that with my love of all things "gear," and you have my (personally unexpected) appreciation for fine cookware. So, these skillets are awesome. I think they may be older than my grandpa and they are seasoned to provide non-stick ability that probably beats teflon. The other thing they have going for them is durability. This pan is equally at home on a clean gas range as it is laying in the smoldering coals of a Smoky Mountains fire while searing some 2"-thick New York Strips. Thanks papa for another wonderful gift!

Detail

2009-08-23T14:21:00.005-04:00

I often find myself a bit frustrated with the inherent limitations of this blog to show the depth and breadth of detail in my landscap panoramas. They are meant to be seen big (5, 6, 7 feet long) in print format, not as 1000 pixel wide digital images. Nonetheless, the digital images are great and surely convey the overall mood of the scene. So, I figured I would share a small 100% view of the last panorama I posted in order to give a perspective of the detail that is available for perusal when they are printed large :)

So here is the whole photo:

and here is a 100% view of the mountain ridge detail from the red box:

So, imbedded in these massive panoramas are details like individual tree limbs on the distant ridges. The details allow for the prints to be appreciated as a mood from 10 or 15 feet back, and as treasures of small scenes at close inspection.

Country Side

2009-08-22T14:05:00.002-04:00

The country side shone with the light of the dawn and a cool, blue morning breeze swept across the land.

This shot was taken about 10 minutes after the previous panorama I posted. The light sure was beautiful for that short while. This photo was not manipulated in photoshop. The clouds were very dimensional in appearance. The grass was well lit, and both the clouds and the sky happened to fall tonally between white and black on my camera's histogram.

Down that Old Rusty Trail

2009-08-18T13:18:00.008-04:00

"Down that old rusty trail . . . in the morning rays - not perfect, but just right. Down that old rusty trail in the pale summer sun. Down that old rusty trail in the fall morning gone, and cold apple rain. Over the hill(s) and back to me again."

What a beautiful morning in the Smoky Mountains! The rain the day before lent fog, thick and lit-up, to the following morning. Alarm did not work. I knew it was time. Sure enough, 6:30. 15 minutes 'till sunrise. Bathroom, Larabar, water, in car. Photos. Sunrise . . . still lots of fog. 30 minutes. Light! Lots of light, but subtle and golden. Light streaming laterally across the fields, the fog like low lying clouds capturing sunrise in their mist. What a beautiful moment to stand there and sweep my camera across this panorama. Enjoy!

Photo Info: Usual ISO 100, f/13. About 105 mm. 9 or so vertical photos stitched in CS4. Beautiful colors straight out of the RAW files. I am really meticulous about this. I have calibrated my camera with a colorchecker chart in Lightroom, and then shoot all these panoramas with that neutral profile at 5000 K (daylight color temperature). What results are colors that (in my opinion) are better, more subtle, and more beautiful (my main goal) than anything I could create (or re-create) in photoshop. So, I let the scene be the scene and I capture it faithfully with great quality, and I am than proud to say "it really was that beautiful." I am still amazed I saw this scene.

Foggy August Evening

2009-08-15T13:20:00.004-04:00

Megan and I recently watched Becoming Jane, which I then bought for the cinematography. I love that romantic, kind-of proper, yet very alive era. Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains often takes me right back there.

A little after a parting afternoon rain, the sunset lit up the fog that resulted from the moisture in the air. This photo was taken from the edge of this old gravel road called Sparks Lane. I positioned the camera between the barbwire of the fence that lines the road and took this panorama. I love thinking back to how beautiful the cove must have been back then and how the humble inhabitants of the cove saw these scenes, in color, every day.

Photo info: ISO 100, 6 seconds, f/13. 80 or 105 mm. About 7 or 8 vertical shots stitched together in Photoshop CS4.

Saffron

2009-08-14T21:20:00.004-04:00

All the way from New Zealand! Olivia and Stu came to our wedding with quite a wonderful present for all to meet - a beautiful baby daughter (my niece!). Saffron is a really peaceful young lady who has seen a lot of the world in her first few months. I was really thrilled to get to photograph their young family after Megan and I got back from our Canadian honeymoon, and I could not have been happier with how the photos came out. What a wonderful couple, and what a wonderful baby. Bundle of joy all around :)

Chicken Soup

2009-08-13T17:16:00.003-04:00

Megan is a true chicken soup connoisseur. She said this is one of the tastiest chickens she has ever had the privelege of turning into soup :)

Canadian Fashion Show

2009-08-13T16:50:00.004-04:00

While in Canada one morning we took a short walk through a rainy, drizzly morning to the lodge for a fine breakfast. The best french toast, bacon, and egg I have ever had. Beautiful views of the lake, and just a sense of relaxation as there were no sunny-day outdoor activities calling our name. On the way to breakfast, the cloudy-day light was nice to work with so I took a picture of Megan in the dress that she designed and made for her graduation this last June.

Photo info: No lighting, 85mm 1.8 about wide-open. I like the exposure in this photo a lot - straight out of camera - and achieved it by spot metering on her skin and calling that about a half-stop bright. Thanks for looking; have a great day.

A Healthful Heart

2009-08-11T18:27:00.004-04:00

Recently, one of our good friends described Megan as having a "healthful heart." I could not say it better. There is something about Megan that just makes you feel a little extra at peace when you are around her. I think that is what struck me about this scene on the dock - a visual of that heart. When I came back from fishing one morning, Megan was reading her bread baking book in a white adirondack chair; I got my lights and camera out and captured this image:

Megan and I had a wonderful honeymoon at Elmhirst's Resort in Keene, ON. My family and I went there each summer during my childhood, and we could not have picked a better place for our honeymoon. Relaxing, beautiful, boating, fishing, tubing, movies, GREAT food . . . I cannot recommend them enough.

This photo was taken at 1/250th f/13 or so and ISO 100. I shot an SB-80 at 1:1 with a 1/4 CTO gel through a 43" white shoot-through very close to her camera right. The 1/4 CTO changes the 5500K flash to 4500K and I therefore set my camera's manual white balance to 4500K; this makes the skin tones perfect but pulls a slight bit of yellow out of the sky (which I figured would make the blue of the sky subtly more intense). Hadn't tried it before but I love how it turned out.

MARRIED!

2009-08-09T10:29:00.003-04:00

Megan and I are married! We had a beautiful wedding and could not be happier with the arrangement :) The day after the wedding, we had the pleasure of seeing our family and friends for a send-off brunch and then we we went to Canada for our honeymoon. One of the best things about our accommodations in Canada was the fully-stocked kitchen - and therefore Megan's cooking! One evening Megan made a wonderfully flavorful meatloaf, and I made this photo of our rings.

This photo is basically straight out-of-camera. The ring is on a white porcelain plate and lit by a SB-80 at 1:1 through a 43" white shoot-through. The background was created by shooting a crimson-colored Rosco gel (at 1:128) through the bottom of a "bubbled" drinking glass. 150mm macro lens at about f/13 or so.

Hurray; we're married!

Craftsman

2009-07-14T18:40:00.002-04:00

As I have been preparing for my wedding (this Saturday!) I have come to appreciate more and more what my father has meant to me and who he is as a man. For the longest time, he has told me that some things are hard to understand until you experience them for yourself, and I think that marriage is bringing out some of those things in me already. My outlook on life and priorities seem to be shifting in a good way in my heart, and I think a certain extra appreciation for my father has welled up as well.

Out of that place, I was drawn to my Dad's first tool box the other night. Megan was assembling some new chairs in the apartment we will live in once we will return from our honeymoon, and I saw this well-worn steel box that my Dad also started me with. Such powerful connotations on the face of that built-like-a-rock box. Craftsman - yes. Highest quality - yes. Guranteed - yes. Thank you Dad for being my father. Love you :)

Bam!

2009-06-26T00:34:00.004-04:00

I have not really had a chance to photograph landscapes since last November. It has been a good chance for me to learn to "cool it" with my hobby and live the life that is before me with passion. I have had a good break, but tonight I was back! Megan went to hang with a friend, and I had a feeling lightning was on the way. Looked up weather.com and sure-nuf! Headed out quick with some frozen strawberries in hand and ended up north and west of West Jefferson surrounded by a beautiful golden soybean field and very majestic/temperamental skies. I love how storms humble us.

I ran in and out of the car a few times in the hardest rain, got my camera gear significantly wet during the lighter stuff, drove back in a blindingly thick downpour, had some car trouble, a bit of road flooding, and a wonderful time. Such an adventure! Praise the Lord! There were many great shots that came of the evening. None caught my eye this one did during my first edit of the photos. It really was that beautiful there. The way the soybeans lit up in the golden light was amazing when back-dropped with the deep-grey storm clouds. Lighting was cracking and I stood out in the field with my tripod and clicked away.

This is a panoramic image composed of 7 vertical images taken in succession, then stitched together into a seamless panorama in photoshop. Slight curves adjustments were applied to honor the contrast of the original scene. This image will print out 60" by 16" when printed at its full resolution. I would love to make that massive print if anyone is interested! See you later!

Mayah

2009-05-25T13:37:00.006-04:00

It was my pleasure to take some pictures of Mayah and her family the other night. I have been wanting to photography Mayah for about 2 months. In fact, I don't think Kirk and Karla made it through one homegroup with us before I asked if I could photograph her. I was immediately taken by her wonderfully engaging eyes and some awesomely expressive smiles (see photo below with Karla!). Thanks Kirk and Karla, the three of you are truly a beautiful family.

My she is lovely

2009-05-21T23:38:00.006-04:00

I cherish my fiance. I have some new flash equipment - in fact basically my first flash equipment. So, of course I have been itchin' pretty good to try it out, so Megan volunteered her second evening this week to model for me and my run-back-and-forth flash setting photography session.

We were taking one of our meandering drives through the country this evening when she spotted this beautiful fence. After some "how do you set this umbrella thing up," I began to photograph her with her utilitarian bag that she made a few months ago. We have a dream that in the future we will shoot "anthropologie - style" catalogs of her handmade goods and sell them across the country. But for now, Balog Bags are getting off the ground on this here blog. She normally only makes one-off bags, but she is willing to replicate this one. It can accompany a nice dress for a sharp bohemian look . . . or carry a Bible, some knitting, a softshell jacket, running clothes, and a pair of shoes for the ultimate in adventure versatility. Love you, Meg. Thanks for being my girl :)

Thanks for Looking!

Thanksgiving Farm Morning

2009-05-03T21:57:00.003-04:00

Here's another from that wonderful drive to my grandparents for Thanksgiving. My fiance often wishes she could see more of my photos - I do too! Sometimes all these large format panoramas rest latent as single images waiting for me to stitch them together in Photoshop. When I do, I am always amazed - "Oh that is why I took that set of shots; wow!"

Here is one of a horse farm north of town. What a set of sun, rays, and shadows it was! I loved the textures and the tones of the scene. I am impressed with how many beautiful moments exist every year - even on say, one farm. I am glad to have experienced and rendered this one for my fiance, you, (and me!) to see.

Perfection Seeker

2009-05-03T20:46:00.002-04:00

I love to work towards perfection. I have always had a thing about that. By God's grace, my perfectionistic tendencies are becoming healthier - but there is still something in me that loves to work towards perfection.

I have not had much time to photograph recently with preparing for the wedding and all, but I did photograph during a beautiful and very memorable drive to my grandparents house this past Thanksgiving. Highlights of the trip were a heavy crystalline frost, foggy morning air, a Northern Harrier Hawk I got to watch for many minutes, and of course - my grandparents.

My grandmother has since passed away and I have since gotten engaged. And Psalm 65 is written on my soul: "where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy."

This photo is a large format panorama taken with minimal aperture. I love the buttery smoothness of the high-tone colors that are so subtly beautiful. Let me know what you think.

My Sister Ann Marie

2009-03-22T18:36:00.005-04:00

I recently have had the wonderful opportunity to photograph my sister Annie's senior pictures. It has been a wonderful opportunity because I love her and she is a beautiful model with a great smile! Here are a few evening shots from an Eastern Meadowlark-filled field west of Columbus. Can't wait to show you all of them Annie!

Enjoy! Feel free to post a response.