Blog Move

I have decided to move this blog over to my own domain, Patter Photography. The new blog can be read at http://patterphotography.com/blog.

Roadsigns to Perdition

This image was one of my most popular photos in my recent Starbucks exhibit. I placed it near the counter, and I understand from the staff that this piece was a real conversation starter. No surprise!

These signs were really clustered this way. Other than color correction and cropping, this image is unaltered.

I hope the patrons of Starbucks enjoyed my show, and that some challenging conversations were started because of this image!

You can see more of my work at PatterPhotography.com.

Starbucks Exhibit

During the month of April, I have 10 images on display at the ongoing exhibit at Starbucks Coffee, 6490 Sawmill Road, in Dublin, Ohio. The Westbridge Camera Club has had an ongoing display of member work since January of 2004. Most likely the club thought, "Who do we want to hang their show on April Fools day?", and my name was at the top of the list! However that decision was made, the show is open.

Barred Owl Close Encounter

It's been REALLY cold here in Ohio this winter. So much so that I haven't gone out shooting much for the past month. Now that's COLD!

In true Ohio fashion, the temperatures recently jumped from the teens and twenties up into the forties and fifties. Naturally I could not pass that up, so Wednesday I hit the trail on my lunch hour looking for something to shoot.

How I Got the Shot:

It was turning out to be more of a walk than a photo-hike, until about 20 minutes into the hike. Don't ask me how, but I noticed a small shape in a tree that didn't fit. Looking closer, I realized it was an owl.

Now, I rarely find owls in the woods, so I grabbed a couple of frames from the trail. Even with the 300mm lens, it only occupied a small portion of the image. I wanted to get closer of course, but figured I'd better take what I could get. Owls usually don't hang around for a photo op...

The tree was in a ravine. I approached slowly, but far from noiselessly in the dead leaves. I continued to grab frames as I approached, always expecting my next shot to be the last. Finally, I was on the edge of the bank, only 40 or 50 feet away, pretty much on the same level as the owl. It was snoozing (this was around 12:30 in the afternoon), and would only open his eyes occasionally when I made noise. I was really surprised, I've never managed to get so close before!

Though I took a hundred or more frames, I basically only got two poses out of him! Well, it was his nap time and I certainly won't complain about these images. They are by far the closest, clearest images I've taken of a wild owl.


See more of my nature photography at Patter Photography.

Skeletal Remains

Skeletal Remains, originally uploaded by the patter.

These are the remains of a flower (a Day Lily) at the end of autumn. I set up a small black card as background, held the subject upright with some play-dough. I used a 50mm lens with extension tubes and lit it from the side with off camera flash.

This was a simple set up and subject, but it got me to thinking a lot about how I might expand the set up and use different plants, etc. This photo won 1st prize at the Westbridge Camera Club's monthly competition. Since making this image, I've started work on a series of images, one of which has also won first prize. More to come on the series, but for now, enjoy!

Boyer Boutique Shoot

I recently finished shooting the product line for the Boyer Boutique. They specialize in custom chocolate gifts and handmade cards. The Boyer's are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, so it was a real pleasure to help out with images for their website. For any guys reading this blog, here is a hint: Now is the perfect time to check out the Boyer Boutique! They have their Valentines gift line on their site. If you are not sure what to give that special girl this Valentine's, here is the place to go for a unique, thoughtful gift!

Though I do a lot of macro and close up photography, shooting candy/food is really a lot more challenging. Of course you want your image to appeal to the viewer as an appetizing treat, but there are also technical challenges as well. For instance, anyone who has photographed food before knows that some dishes only look ideal for a brief period of time. Fortunately I have a 'sun room', which is a true misnomer in Ohio in January. The room is cold during the winter months, so I didn't have to worry about the chocolate melting or softening from the temperature of the room. I also use small, battery powered flash units, so heat from the lights did not affect the product either.

A big challenge I faced with this shoot was dealing with reflections. Since some of the products are in glass bottles, I had to contend with some unwanted reflections. For instance, take a look at Figure 1.

Notice the white line just to the left of the '9'? That reflection was probably flash spilling onto the white T-shirt that I was wearing. So to kill that reflection, I used a 'flag'. I had a black piece of foam core that I held below the camera in lens in a position that would prevent the light from reflecting back into the glass. A simple fix, but one that I normally wouldn't have to worry about with a bug or a plant!

The Figure 2 shows the image with the white line eliminated.
Figure 1:

Figure 2:

















Here is the set up shot showing me holding the flag (the black square in the bottom/center of the image) to block the reflection. I guess I should have worn a black turtle neck!













Photo credit: Kaylan Patterson

Finally, you can see some more of the images on my website, patterphotography.com. Enjoy!

Heron at Sunset

Heron at Sunset, originally uploaded by the patter.

This heron was in a pond where I work. Well, I mean I don't work in the pond...it's on some land my employer owns. So I grabbed my 28-300mm lens - on another day I might have grabbed my ancient 300mm 5.6 manual prime. But lately I've been experimenting to see what I can get out of my lenses in different situations.

Anyway, I was half expecting to only get one frame, if that, before the thing flew away. Instead, I was able to shoot quite a few frames in t

hree different positions. This is a good example of how moving a few feet from your original position can completely change the image. Below are a couple of shots from the first two locations. The one at the top of this post is my favorite, which came out of the third (and final) position I used.

In the first couple of shots, I could tell the setting sun was giving me some nice reds and oranges where you wouldn't normally see them, but it wasn't until I moved to the final spot with the heron being back-lit by the sunset that I was really happy with the shot. So if you have the opportunity, keep moving and looking for ways to improve the shot!