REFLECTION OF A HEART BEAT

"We don't take photographs with our cameras, we take them with our hearts and our minds. They are a reflection of ourselves, what we are, and what we think."
~Arnold Newman~



Honestly people he was such a darling little thing. Very gentle and lovable! I had a great day on Sunday having session with little J and his family. Again Using three different lenses for the day. Canon 85mm L f/1.2, Canon 70-200mm L f/2.8 and Canon 24-70mm L f/2.8. I find the 85mm one very difficult for studio especially if I have to go and shoot on location. The room was big enough but not sufficient for such a long prime lens. Almost all the time I was glued on to the wall and it was so difficult to focus using my lights on minimum power, it was so dark, though I wanted to give it a go with the smallest aperture number I could afford. In that case it was f/5.0

So what about lenses?
Well, for children, you need fast reactions. Primes produce best quality, but it’s very hard to use when shooting children, especially running around little kids. You have to move in and out to change your frame. Of course, primes that are 50mm or less, still work just fine. Longer primes, like a 135mm prime, are more difficult. I actually prefer my Canon 24-70mm f2.8L zoom for shooting children. It allows me to zoom in and out of a scene, but because it’s an L lens with a fixed aperture, it still takes sharp, clear shots. Many times, I will shoot an entire child session with just that one lens on my camera. Of course, if the 24-70L isn't in your budget, Tamron makes a decent lens at a decent price. Most of their lenses have a slight red cast to them, but they still will take a good photo for the money.

THE CHANGE

I have a confession. I have a good job - it is with a respectable company, it pays reasonably well and there are excellent opportunities to advance further. But I feel unfulfilled. There you go, I said it. After months of people in my life asking about my new job, and me replying ―it’s going well, I am stating here for the record that I want more.
Ok, STOP and THINK!




Motivation to Change

What do I want? Well it is probably best I start with what I don’t want. I don’t want to only have a maximum of 2 hours each day with my daughter. I don’t want to be promoted to a job where this time will only diminish. And I don’t want a job where I find myself wishing the time away.

Well this is about to change!

Making the Change. Taking the Decision.

I will take 2 afternoons per week as “working from home” rather than the normal pattern of working Wednesday from home. I believe this circumstance is temporary and will change as my daughter will attend school until 15:15 pm after January and I won’t be forced to pay high fees for her “after school care club” but this will give me the opportunity to be away from the office and have some more stolen minutes spent with my girl. My Outlook calendar will be updated promptly and I will let the receptionist know immediately after the approval.
I did it and this made me very happy. I know my work will be affected very soon because I do believe in "the benefits of happiness"!

YEAR OF CHANGE

For the period between 2007-2008 my work circumstances changed three times in a exclusively drastic ways. The company I work for went through acquisition two times within a year. I have changed my line manager 3 times. Perhaps more importantly, during this time I underwent a personal transformation that changed both how I see my life and the world in which we live.
I also started doing something that, little did I know at the time, would come to be a passion of mine: Photography. In January 2007 my husband bought me a little digital camera (Canon 400D), and early this year I have Canon 5D, Studio Lightning (lights), couple of good lenses, internet site, that became very popular for incredibly short period of time and clientele that grows every day. But that’s not the end, it’s where everything starts!
This blog chronicles what I have come to refer to as my ― Year of Change.

I have always loved the outdoors, but it is only in the past year or so that I have come to fully appreciate the benefits of regularly connecting with nature. When I am outdoors in nature my mind feels at peace and my soul feels alive. Even on a typical working day, when I am in an office for most of the day, I will do my best to get outside. Our office lake as I call it. Immediacy’s lake!



Some tips I’ve learnt and want to share with you:

Treat others as you would like to be treated: this is known as the Ethic of Reciprocity, or the ―Golden Rule. Imagine if everyone lived by this principle.
Love yourself: I don’t mean this in a vain sense. I just believe that before asking another person to love you, you should take the time to find things you love about yourself.
Have good manners: good manners are said to be the lubricant of social interaction. Saying ―please shows you respect someone, and saying ―thank you tells them you appreciate them.
Be real: show a genuine interest in other people. And don’t be afraid to let them see the real you, even if it means you feel vulnerable. I believe it is when you are at your most vulnerable that people fall in love with you.

The ability to enjoy the now: it’s important to plan for the future, but too many people have ―destination addiction which means they can’t enjoy then present. Stop. And enjoy this very moment…
Find your purpose: in his book Happier, author Tal Ben Shahar defines happiness as: “The overall experience of pleasure and meaning.” Different people find different ways to fill their life with meaning. One thing is clear though: meaning comes from developing a sense of purpose.
Gratitude: instead of focusing on what you don’t have, try appreciating what you do have. If you are reading this, chances are you are better off than the vast majority of the world’s population.
Quality relationships: happiness is closely linked to the quality of your relationships in your life. Take the time to keep in touch with friends and family.

Recognize the importance of your health: it is often said that ―your health is your wealth. Don’t wait until your health is gone to realize this.
A healthy diet: there is truth to the old saying ―you are what you eat. If you want to live a long and healthy life, make sure you maintain a healthy diet. Yes, this is common sense - but common sense does not necessarily translate to common practice.

DIVINE

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

I met the Sun today! She has gorgeous blue eyes and the most incredible smile in the world!
Using two new lenses. 85mm L, f/1.2 and the 70-200L, f/2.8 was a really great experience! Again setting up the lights didn't take me more than 20 minutes.
One of the main drawbacks is that my monitor is not properly calibrated. That is why I think my pictures are a bit insufficient and scanty.

Anyway...

For those who are just starting out, many times poor focus is the result of an inappropriate aperture/shutter speed for your situation. Generally, in order to get consistently sharp shots, you need to have a shutter speed of at least 1/100. And that’s for someone who has a steady hand shooting. If you’re a shaky shooter, then 1/200 should be your lowest shutter speed. Low shutter speeds result in camera shake and/or subject movement affecting your focus. The best camera and lens in the world can’t compensate for poor metering.

Also, be sure you completely understand aperture and depth of field. You can have a nice high shutter speed, but if you’re shooting a group of 8 people at f2.8, chances are your focus won’t be what you want it to be. Even shooting with your camera on automatic won’t get these parameters right for each situation. Most cameras aren’t too smart when it comes to figuring out metering on their own. You need to be able to understand the situation you’re photographing and meter it appropriately.

So, for the photo above, I was obviously shooting in studio. So I set my shutter to 1/200 and aperture to f/22 and then metered my lights to be the same reading. That gave me great depth of field and a shutter speed that was appropriately fast for a moving baby.

Additionally, practice holding your camera as steady as possible. The steadier you are, the less likely camera shake will affect the focus of your images. Use two hands when shooting, and oftentimes, I will stabilize the camera by resting an elbow on my knees (or anything else that's nearby).

Website I love!

After looking at various options ranging from completely custom built web site through customised template to complete ready to use package for a couple of weeks I finally decided to buy one of the templates from blu domain. They charge the same amount regardless of whether you host with them or somewhere else. I thought that if I host with them, I would not have as much control as I would have on my husband’s server. Unfortunately blu domain failed to inform me of the many problems one could face if their templates are going to be installed on windows server. Eventually after a week of resolving various problems we did move the website to a Linux server and once we did that the setup was only a matter of a few hours. Then I had to spend the weekend modifying the template to look the way I want: colour schemes, music, images plus many configuration options. Still thinking over the concept of what a website for professional photography should or shouldn’t contain. I wanted it to be very simple and easy to explore.


So I present you the offcial Dida Photography Webiste!

www.didaphotography.co.uk

What I have at present a.k.a. welcome to my world!

Camera Canon EOS 5D with 24-70mm 2.8 L, 100mm 2.8 macro
Studio Esprit Gemini GM750
The 750Ws Gemini GM750 offers the photographer total versatility for product or portrait work. With a safe sync voltage of 5V and precise power calibration across the five stop range, the digital user can work in the knowledge that they can achieve total consistency and reliability as users of film.

Everything I need to shoot in the studio or out on location!



Gemini 2-Head 750+Ws Travel-Pak Kits Contain:
• 2 x Bowens Esprit Gemini 750+Ws Head.
• 1 x Bowens Travel-Pak + Bag + Charger.
• 1 x Bowens Softbox 100.
• 1 x Bowens 115cm Silver/White Umbrella.
• 2 x Bowens Compact Lighting Support Stand.
• 1 x Bowens Wide Angle Reflector.
• 2 x Bowens Deluxe Kit Bag.
• Power Cords, Sync Leads, Travel-Pak cable & Modelling Lamps.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEND!

I've been provided with a special guest pass for UEM sidecar race today. For photoshoot of course! As far as I know myself and my own mind I don't like events like this but at the end I couldn't help the curiosity 'what is going to come out of this by the end of the day' so, there am I! Standing right there in the front behind my camera mounted on my tripod and nearly shaking. Troubled, nervous, alongside with all those professional photographers. Yeah, the guy next to me had Canon 1Ds Mark III with 600mm L. Big like a tube. In fact bigger! I am smiling here. What’s the outcome? Well, see yourself:



More to see on my flickr
Search for pictures from date 03/08/2008

PS The noise and the smell from the engines was totally awesome! Remninded me of my childhood and Dad, who used to take me with him on that little airplanes races. Miss you dad!