Just Stopped IN

to see what condition my condition was in!!

I am missing all my good buds here at the blog. I am trying to decide if the phototips will continue to be the mainstay of this blog, they may become a bonus for the blog but the blog may change to something a little more out there...........I am not doing as much photo work as I had but am still working on some new experiences so I want to include them into the ol blog.

I want to first off say Thanks for visiting me and as I had said my time is at a premium with working on stories by Josiah Kepner my {alter ego} of the past!!

more to come on that experience............

I am doing two assignments for the wonderful new Celebrate Gettysburg/
A wonderful glimpse into life in and around Adams County!!!!

There are four images in the Sept/Oct issue they are from past Apple Harvest Events Check em' out!!

Secondly Please come Visit Me at Pippinfest {space 154} Sunday September 30 on the streets of Fairfield, Pennsylvania.

Please stop by and say Howdy!!!!! There is always GREAT food, a Car show,
and lots of cool items to oogle and of course there is the situation of visit'n with all your old friends you may not have seen in eons...

With that invite I will close and say "Have a Great Monday"

"Honest Good Humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and the laughter abundant."

Washington Irving

It's 4 A.M.

Here I am on the night shift ,I worked for 8 years as a photojournalist and I don't understand yet today why all the bad accidents/fires etc. seem to happen in the middle of the night at any rate all of that late night photography has this ol' fart's body outta whack.

So I thought I'd poke out a blog.

I hope that all my blog phriends are happy healthy and spread'n their prayer field wide and positive as they walk down this ol' path we call life!

Please accept my personal invitation to visit Fairfield PA's Annual Pippinfest on September 30, You'll find my smil'n face at space 154 please drop by and say "howdy".

This is my first show so it is taking up a lot of time in preparation but I am really excited it'll be fun for sure.

I am formulating ideas and paths to follow with the "Tales of Josiah" I will be offering segments up as downloads on dickbloom.com as Josiah comes into his own as a young man growing up as a farmboy during the era of the Civil War with the highlight in the area being the famous battle of Gettysburg and watching his relative David Stoops heads off to see the elephant with Company G ,209th PA Volunteers with 79 other enlistees from Adams County.

Company G was organized in Gettysburg on September 1st,1864 just 14 months after the Battle of Gettysburg.

My photo find and discussion today is about my new camera, it is beautiful, it is a bellows style fold open Kodak 616 with its original case in nice shape. It appears to have had almost no useage, looks as new no wear a yardsale find for cheap. I am going to try to locate film

Howdy Blog phriends

It has been quite a whirlwind of a week this is the first time at the board for many moons.

That is the way it is when all of a you become a new person in just a couple of weeks. I must first off invite all of ya to come visit Gettysburg's freshest new and most novel ghost experience! for more information go tothecatsmeowofgettysburg.com

Things are moving rapidly so therefore I must adapt and do some research on the character Josiah Kepner it is really quite exciting to put the impression together from top to bottom.

Josiah is a young man who would 've been living near Fairfield in July of 1863 when the famous civil war battle Pickett's Charge was at its crecendo on July 3rd, 1863

He could've and most likely watched from cover as he and his cousin viewed a cavalary battle that took place at the same time as Pickett's Charge between Orrtanna and Fairfield known as the Battle of Fairfield.

That is the premise of the character Josiah Kepner......

I do not have time to offer up a photo comment today cause I just get to loooooong winded as ya'll know.

Please come visit me here for sure!!!!..... I will try to keep postin' they may be short and hopefully sweet. Ya'll ain't a fer piece from here no way...

"The Wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself " "I Shall to-day be uppermost."

Confucius

Howdy Folks

The {haunted} Sach's Mill Bridge in Snow by dickbloom

Oh My Golly gee I am coming up on Labor Day weekend....!

I was hoping to hear from ya'll bout the copyright thing, I know you're out there come come out wherever you are!!!!!! Let me know what you're thinking, about my info, my rants or whatever is running around inside the ol' noggin ya want to know what I have to say.


Still have not had time to get the pieces cut for the pinhole camera yet but it is on the top 5 list now and not at the bottom of top ten anymore!!


This is gonna be a short one today.


First off! More on the ghostly tales I am gonna be a tell'n around the streets of Gettysburg.

This is a brand new biz where ya don't have to worry about being run over
cause youre not a walk'n the ghoooosssssttttlllyyy streets of haunted Gettysburg, PA no you are riding on a trolley and listening to interest'n facts
and folk tales from ol' Josiah Kepner {me} my alter ego from the civil war period} I will give details as this gig developes over the next few weeks.

Now for the photography aspect.

As you all know the haunted places in the world are now popular destinations for ghost hunters of every shape and form, they roam the streets and battlefields, visit boot hills, paupers graves, anywhere they believe there may be an errant spirit lurking about so they can capture the
friendly ghost on film and slip into the nether world with the ghosts that sit just across the realm in the other world.


Ol' Josiah hopes that you all will bring your imaginations, your thoughts, and your camera so maybe you too can capture orbs or what ever shape the ghost takes on, but just remember the ghosts that roam the nether world maybe looking to be captured on film so they can travel with you back to their new home with you. Did you know the Native Americans did not like being shot with a camera as much as they disliked being shot with a white man's weapon for they believed that you were stealing their spirit, there essence so to speak. So come to Gettysburg
take your best shot and see what happens.....!!!!

There may even be a contest sometime in the future!!!

So long til me meet again my friends. Thanks for visit'n email me.

Happy trails......
Dick Bloom

" What is history but a fable agreed upon? "

Napoleon

Sign What

"Hometown USA" by dickbloom

Today
I have great news folks it looks like I am going to be telling some tales of the ghostly type at a new attraction in Gettysburg. More on that later!!


I am going to touch on the subject today of dealing with COPYRIGHT situations!

My big brother called me today asking about a situation that has arisen with my great niece she is 16 and to my great surprise and happiness {You GO Michelle} is looking to be involved in a photography class, enrolled or whatever it is you do in a Las Vegas NV. high school.


Okay, this is the problem at hand: The school sends a form home asking her mother to sign away the girls right to any photo she takes while enrolled in the as far as I am concerned bogus photo class!! That any image taken will become the property of the school....!!

What the hell is the matter with a school district that takes a way a child's creative bent {a natural inclination} when the child knows that no matter how hard they try nor how good an eye they have, the so called instructors might take not only the credit for instructing you in the depth of field, aperture selection and all of the technical rules that are involved before pulling the trigger..... it is the childs intellectual property that the kid is seeing as they focus their eye and pull the trigger for that once a lifetime image they may capture.

WHY would the school have the rights to the image which is the childs intellectual property !!!! Why would the child want to do their individual BEST, when they know and have signed away their rights to any future income or fame that may or may not come from that image.

The AP wire service used to use the ploy that if the photographer cashed their AP{ten dollar check $10.00} the AP owned the image, pretty good deal for the AP that collects huge fees from the news outlets that use their AP images. That the in essence rooked away from an suspecting photographer.
I have personally have has numerous images run across the wire. I foolishly signed several of these checks. But I had a great Santa and pet image run out on the wire, It was super popular because of the subjects involved.

I have made thousands of dollars from that one image, if I had signed my rights away I would have had ten dollars and sore (.)hole and a discontented mind for being such a fool....!!!

So here is the definition of a copyrighted image:

A copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that is granted by the federal government. A copyright, however, is not "granted" in the same manner in which a patent is granted. A patent will be issued only after a patent application has been filed with and approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. To the contrary, a copyright is provided to the authors of "original works of authorship," regardless of whether the work has been published and regardless of whether the work has been registered. Unlike patents, copyrights come into being at the MOMENT an original work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. While there are significant advantages to federal registration of a copyright, no registration is required in order for a copyright to exist . Likewise, no registration is required for an author to begin using the familiar copyright symbol --- ©, but given the cost and benefit you should absolutely obtain a registered copyright.

So just remember don't ever sign your rights away folks it is just downright terrible to be rooked out of your intellectual property rights....!!!!!!

So please tell me what you think of those rules from Las Vegas NV. email me. Thank you.

So if your teacher has you compose a report on whatever does that also becomes the property of the institution? Is that what they are stating?

I will end on this note.

Be Careful my friends!! Many foes lurk behind the brambles of the so called
legal speak. Don't sign anything PLEASE....!!!!!

"STEAL! to be sure they may, and,egad serve your best thoughts as gypsies
do stolen children-disfigure them to make them pass as their own.

Sheridan

......................................................................................................................

"It is a dark sign when the owner { the student} is seen to be growing poor and his steward {the School}is found to be growing richer."

{Spencer} with comments from dickbloom

Hippie Trails til we meet again my friends!!

Dick Bloom

Contests worldwide exposure

"ABE at the Gettyburg Train Station before the Getysburg Address"

"At The Gates of Heaven in Your Mind" by Dick Bloom

Howdy Howdy

Ahh the weather here in Adams has cooled and is feeling fine this beautiful Monday I hope your week finds a smile and your prayer field spread wide and positive.

I received an email from picture.com Maybe some of you have seen or have had contact with the site it is a site that has prize money for GREAT Photos Supposedly!

They have a vote on this photo segment Please if you want to get an idea of what are good and bad photos GO VOTE picture.com And there are ton of photos cutsie photos of pets and kids and other stuff and folks very few are great very few are good and there is ton that just plain SUCK!!!!

So view these photos with a critical eye and when you get the chance to view what people are thinking is their BEST Think back to your images.

Are they really the best that you can do?????

Are they well composed, are they artistic in there subject matter, do they show what the point is you are attempting to bring out ? What about the background? Cluttered,out of focus, a tree or an object growing out of someone's head. Don't just pull the trigger!! SEE what you are Shooting first!


Remember that to take GREAT images you must see the entire image then you can do the whole thing or determine what the focus of the iamge needs to be {Always CROP IN CAMERA} that is a basic rule for old school photographers that did not depend on Adobe or a digital camera to FIX BAD images.......!!!!! No such software exists a Bad image is just That a Bad Image!!

Choose your subject carefully and DO NOT pose your kids/pets in what you think will be cute for the family and try to pass it off as a Great Photo {It might Be} just because it is of your pet with a pair of sunglasses on, unless they started wearing your Foster Grants on their own!!!!

Sometimes those things work but mostly a Grand Portrait of baby will be much more appreciated than the funny hat you put on them, especially when they are a few years older.

Same goes for your precious pet, if they do something goofy on their own grab the camera! But don't make look yourself look foolish by you doing something Goofy {like look I put this cute hat I used to wear on Snoopy} unless they can use your point and shoot!!!!!!

An example if you must put a hat on your cat or pollywog on your dog
do a tight shot of the expression that the subject will bring forth by the action itself. Don't do the deed and then take a photo of the whole area where the pet is sitting. Focus on the ACTION.

Okay I am moving on and will hopefully get that pinhole gig happening SOON I promise.

Enjoy your day!!

Have a very hippie day


"Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere."
Chesterton

This is amazing

This image won a bronze internationally it was taken at the dedication of "Hanover Junction Railroad Station. "Peek'n Round the Corner" by Dick Bloom

I have a little window of time here so I am gonna post Saturday early IMAGINE THAT!!

I would like to apoligize for the screwed up posts Friday Blogger seemed to be having a brain fart wouldn' post then it didn't post the photo then it posted it twice and then disappeared, what a pain in the you know what (!)

This is a pretty cool site that I recently ran into and it is about doing pinhole images with a conventional camera, this is the link to the photo gallery lenoxlaser.com

I haven't got around to reading the whole site yet and as far as the laser hole I would give it the ol' college try with a drill for the price of a body cap. {they have a great calculator page with downloads for both mac and pc!} Use some of your survival skills and utilize some of that brain matter just waiting to be tapped into you know all that stuff you probably weren't pay'n attention to about the compass and finding the center of the hole etc.

I like to think outside of the box actually the farther away from the ol' conventional box the better! I like to use my imagination unlike some of my contemporaries who have very little imagination or no imagination at all "like lambs to slaughter." Remember that as a great race car driver once said "Second is first Loser" Just remember that the art that people remember is the odd one that sets apart from the conventional WISDOM no matter what media you work in!

It is nearly midnight here at buckhorn and my night is just getting rolling good {too used to work'n night shift} so when I am awake it doesn't matter the time, I just try to "Get E'r Done"

So check out the new idea about pinholes and for check out the images in their gallery.


Happy Trails til We Meet Again

Dick Bloom
dickbloom.com

"Learning without thought is labor lost, thought without learning is perilous"

Confucius

What a week

Howdy folks
Well here it is Wednesday already I swear I just don't know where the time gets to!!!!

The picture is just to remind us all what is to come in the near future!

Please visit.. dickbloom.com

Don't really have a lot of time to spend here today so it will be a short a sweet one.

Have any of you actually visited the pinhole site?
I picked up some of the blackfoam core board and will be starting to cut and assemble my camera over the next few days so if ya'll want to work along with me tune in daily for bit by bit instructions on the build.

I recommend getting your board at your local craft store or where ever you deal I got mine at the WAL it was like 2.50 a sheet, one sheet will do fine.

Make sure you have a good sharp razor or kraft knife. I will using my
matcutter for the precision cuts.I recommend using black duct tape, it is strong and durable and doesn't make your project look like Red Green did it.

Okay get your supplies gathered today and get ready to build. I may even try to photograph the different stages of the build for ya'lls reference.

Gotta run folks enjoy your day!! I am busier that a one legged man in an a--kick'n contest. No offense to anyone I have buggered leg myslf so I know!

Till tommorrow
Dick Bloom

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."

Napoleon

Sunday Sunday

Good Day Friends

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend. I want to first thank everyone for showing up to read my input!!

What shall I enlighten ya'll on this fine day Let me see. Folks Please give me some input in the email box email me. Thank you.

Okay today I will stick with the job of the day, which is to set up a shooting area where I can get reflection free images of the new product line, and also be free of background distractions etc. I have made up a shooting box which consists of 3 pieces of black 1/4" foam core board, a base and two sides. I have attached black duct tape to the outside edges so that the unit can be stored flat and out of the way. Keep it simple!!

Now comes the photography part I am using a 35-70mm zoom with a 62mm circular polarizer attached. This will allow me to shoot the framed/glassed images with out reflection.

I am using studio lights with a 24 inch soft box. At this time I do not have the settings for the entire project. I will enLIGHTen all you folks with the particulars on this in future blogs. Now I must go and work at the actual project.

Enjoy your Sunday. "Enjoy Life and spread your prayer field wide" {more on prayer field in later blogs}!

I leave you with this thought.

"The greatest prayer is patience."
Buddha

Better Late Than!

This is a photo of my new item line I am promoting

This is the Idaho State Quarter presentation, the 43rd to be released in the state quarter commemoratives,mounted with it respective state flag. 43 states are available the rest are yet to be released for more information go to dickbloom.com

I know I know! Even though it is nearly tomorrow, here I am at the pinhole.orgol' blog desk! What a gorgeous day here in Adams County you know it just reminded me that fall is right around the corner with that great feel fresh air smell in the atmosphere I even took my camera for a ride but did'nt really see anything that compelled me to say "WOW" I need to shoot that. So it was a great day for having that ol' camera out in the sun.I drove by some streams{trickles} and YES Adams County is having a dry spell for sure.

Now the pinhole camera thing

I hope ya'll had a chance to check out the pinhole link, if not pinhole.org

This is a cool thing I am trying out You can use an oatmeal box or any type container that you can make light tight.
Now I suggest buying some cyanotype paper or "nature print paper" this is paper that just uses sunlight to capture the image and it makes a cyan colored print, then you can process the paper in plain water {no chemicals to mess with} let the kids help!! Make different size pinholes cameras/ big containers/little containers this paper is available at porters.com item #261076 pack of 40 5x7 sheets for $8.79 or #261077 8.5"x11" 20 sheets for $10.99 ask them for a catalog for everything you can think of in the world if you are a photo hound. Like I aid try this out post your results to my e-mail. I may even have contest of some sort , we'll see!!
Remember it is all about being creative and having a blast doing what you are doing.
"Nature is man's teacher, she unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence!
Street

Enjoy Life
Later Folks
Dick see ya tomorrow

Can Ya' Believe "IT"

Where do I start ?

Okay here goes I know that you all are interested in photography and or Adams County PA or both. My proposal that we all stay away from the digital world long enough to explore the world of the pinhole camera. {Learn Something OLD but NEW to most of you Check out the Fun at:} pinhole.org

My course for the pinhole camera course at the IS {I will now begin to call it the NIS "NO" Imagination Station} {as it looks to me exclusively digital world} at NIS at the Adams County Arts Council has been turned down, the reason being was it just couldn't sell the course {of course no testing, questioning, no demographics research looked at by the coordinator, not sure she even new what a pinhole camera was} but yes some other photographer will be teaching the supposed ins and outs of yes digital photography! {Many Many free courses and tutorial for free on line!!}

{Got a point and shoot READ THE MANUAL}

Oh yes that NIS course will be a how to on working with an imaging program on your computer {a pc I assume} so if ya own a pc {500.00} and a digital camera {400.00 more or less} and the money for Adobe CS3 release {upgrade $1399./new $2499. pretty cheap compared to a pinhole camera for NOTHING, {use an old oatmeal box just for fun}. You can learn how to get your computer camera how to work with your computer but you may still not understand the basics of photography/

Which is LIGHT.

Photography on the other hand is lost to the computer world for remember the digital image is +++++-------+-+-+- yes thats right it is not necessary to be a photographer if the computer{digital camera} is figuring it out for you. With a few simple lessons in the REAL world of black and white and the understanding of how it all works will make you a better photographer and more attentive to your subject.

Not just another person with the funds to buy a point and shoot and take a course

I am getting kinda long here so Tune in for tomorrow's input

AND REMEMBER

"No man is wiser for his learning: it may administer matter to work in or objects to work upon; but wit and wisdom are born with a man.

Selden

Oh My God!!!!!

Okay Im Back! Yeh I know you've heard it all before!!

I just can't believe how the time flies. I have a wonderful CD set from Sandy Denny who sang with Richard Thompson in his band Fairport Convention many a moon ago. The set is "No One Know Where Time Goes" I don't know were it goes, but I know its going there at breakneck speed for certain.

I see that folks are visiting my humble home here so I am going to attempt to get my lazy backside on here daily. I can't guarantee that y' all will always get a photo tip it just might be my ramblings who knows at the point. I would like to ask all my guests that visit me to Please connect to my website dickbloom.com I am working on having a new weekly image on the landing page. So Please go enjoy my site there is a state information page, an Adams County Pennsylvania page with various images with more updates to come.

I know that this is the world of the digital photographer but keep tuned in to learn how to build and shoot images with a CAMERA that you will build !

Please tell your friends to visit the site and the blog and please let me know what you think about the blog and the website, input is always appreciated. email me

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity"

Thoreau

Hazy Hot Humid

Tis the days I dread for it is stink'n hot here at dickbloom.com

Thanks to the ya'll for visting my blog I hope you find it informative, send me an email let me know what you think or what you would like me to help you with.

I am stil waiting for someone to tell me what the images are actually of. Come on I know some of you folks can figger it out!

I guess you all are camped out waiting for the BIG I Phone release.
Not me sorry to say.It looks cool but I just don't need to stay that much in touch with the world and the internet as well, I heard that some folks with obviouly to much cash are paying folks to stand in line for them so they can get the latest tech toy.

Crazy Crazy Crazy
The U.S. is get'n
Lazy Lazy Lazy Lazier

Fooling Your Folks

No it is not what you think it is about fooling folks that view your images to take a real look at what the are viewing.
You can accomplish this by moving in on a particular aspect of a scene whether it is the texture of the sidewalk or the awesome green vein of a leaf! Who is to say? Do you ever watch a movie or a show on tv and you see more than the talking heads in front of your eyes? Can you remember the time on the clock in the background or what the sign read in the far left corner, what color was the car that just went by, can you remember the liscense number?

These are all exercises in helping accenutate your visual accuity. What and how much can you see in your minds eye as well as with your peepers.

Just remember exercise your minds eye to see MORE !

"Don't Despair of a student if he has one clear idea"

Emmons

Any guesses what these abstract art images are actually a photo of ,if so let me know at kidfalcon@comcast.net

Check out my website dickbloom.com or email me at kidfalcon@comcast.net

First Summer Weekend

Howdy
Hope this post finds everyone in great spirits on this first Saturday of Summer. I am sorry once more for my lack of posts, gotta get my brain in gear and do a post EVERYDAY no matter what.
I am invited to a summer solstice party today so I reckon I'll go for it.

Should be dragg'n my camera along for shots for posterity or whatever.

I am in negotiations for a photo gig with a new startup local magazine sounds like an interesting situation we'll see!........... I will keep ya all posted!!

Okay Dokie A photo tip, Let me see what is in the ol' cobweb laden brain pan today!!
Are you a tack sharp kinda person every detail in the image has to be sharp
or its not a great image, well I am kinda of the same way but have learned that selective focus for arts sake is always a great tool to make em' drool!

You do this by focusing carefully on the most important part of the scene/subject by opening the aperture up to it's widest aperture to minimize depth of field {longer lenses "my favorite all around workhorse is an 80-200 2.8" produce less depth of field, so therefore they work better for the effect} but use whatever lens you have and just be certain to have it open to it's widest aperture. An out of focus background is also a great way to disguise a funky junk filled background!

So there ya go folks


"Oh the summer night
Has a smile of light
And she sits on a sapphire throne.'
B.W. Proctor

No one knows where time goes!

Hello to all you fine folk on the start of this BIG Memorial Day weekend,

Thanks to all have come visiting my blog, Sorry I have been missing in action
I am under a ton of items here at the studio that are requiring way too much time. I know that is not your problem you just want those fun photo tips and my view on the world. RIGHT

Recently I have had to become a sewer worker thanks to the township I reside in. The good thing is that while working on that situation I discovered a 15,000 year old artifact( a tomahawk head) pretty cool!
So now I have moved on from that project only to find that the end of the month is move'n on up . Ford Carlisle is coming and I need two Rancheros inspected NOW. So with that I gotta get going and get my hands dirty.

But my tip and info are: Check out pinholecamera.com to see what Great images folks are producing without hightech gear.

I hope to be offering a pinhole camera course through the Adams County Arts Council's Imagination Station. So as I put the course together you can check it out at my website {dickbloom.com}!

Folks have a Great Memorial Day Weekend, Stay SAFE.

I am doing a wedding the 26th a shorty second marriage and outside Thank God!

Till next time, I hope to be back up on a daily basis in June.

I bid you adieux friends.

"Wedlock's like wine, not properly judged of till the second glass."
Jerrold

SUMMER TOO SOON

What a wacky wonderful world we live in here in beautiful Pennsylvania it snowed just north of here last week and today it was look'n at 90˚ STRANGE Spring weather!!

My Photo tip for the day is; Always crop in camera, make your subject the focus of the feature, allow the viewers eye to be drawn into the subject, try to have a clean uncluttered background {ie.} no trees protruding out of the side of a subject's head.

So get out there shoot some film! Play with black and white film.

"One pound of learning requires ten pounds of common sense to apply it!"
Persian Proverb

Check out my website dickbloom.com

Man O' Man

UnBelieveable!!! That I have not tickeled the keys of this computer for a week. AS some may know This weekend is the Spring Carlisle Car show which I had hoped to attend in my 1962 Ford Falcon Ranchero, but with not getting the tax man satisfied until late Tuesday I won't be getting to the car show which is really a cool thing to attend. I've been going there for over 30 years BUT the Great thing is that in June they have the Show I will Definitely HIT It is the ALL FORD show. That way a guy can focus on the cars I have been loving to play with since I was a boy cleaning my parents red Falcon up and painting the letters G O O D Y E A R in on the tires which was the way white letter tires came to be.
So now that you are sufficiently bored with my Falcon story on to the photo tip. When photographing cars at shows or just your own rod. Try to remember that not all car folks are into the arty images from weird angles they want to see the whole of the vehicle or the soul of the creation {that what is not easily seen by the untrained eye} so don't just take a close up of that cool grill or hood ornament, capture the soul of the creation for all to see!

"No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfils a man's ego like an automobile."

Sir William Rootes

Nor' Easter/No Easter

Howdy Folks
Hope your weekend is going okay wherever ya'll may be.Let me see what tidbit of helpful info I want to give you folks to help you on your way to grabbing those unforgetable images.

Do you worry about you and your digital/film gear getting wet on those rainy days.
I am going to tell you how to keep both you and your gear dry with my patented foul weather umbrella. Go to any local dollar store, Wally world,or wherever you can find an umbrella that attaches to one of those event chairs in a bag, attach it to your monopod and now you can stay dry and keep your gear safe as well!

By golly if you are out there today you'll need something to keep you dry fo' sure pardner.

So keep shoot'n and check back for bits and pieces here at Dick's niche on the web.

"The ignorant man marvels at the exceptional; the wise man marvels at the common; the greatest wonder of all is the regularity of nature."

G.D. Boardman

As we can see mother nature cared just a bit about History Meets the Arts this weekend in Gettysburg.

What is mother saying about her assets in and around the area when she sees an event is going to happen, ahh! yes maybe some rain to dampen the SPIRITS of the folks around the town?

Let me know what you think!

Check out my website dickbloom.com or email me at kidfalcon@comcast.net

The TAX Man & ME

Image from first ever Gettys-burg Bike Week an original copyrighted image by dickbloom©

Howdy Photographers and Friends

Sorry for my delinquency, but the TAX MAN has been seen just round the ol' corner so I've been chained to Turbo Tax and not doing much { 'cept figger'n out how to get er' all done" Hope ya'll got yers done already'}

So now for a regular ol' special effects photo tip for free;

You know how sometimes when you are trying to grab that perfect image and your playing with the depth of field, focus, and shutter speed you get an image that is distorted ,out of focus, or just shot at too slow of a shutter speed. Don't despair, in this wonderful wacky world we exist in. Exaggerate the issue and now what you have are special effects you can use at will
for fun and offbeat images to play with. Combine a few to create a weird collage or load then into an imaging program and play with them as a watercolor or a color pencil drawing or whatever strikes your fancy. As I was told in photo school. "This was no mistake this is {ART}! Thanks to the ever present Photo Gods"

"Give it a try! Have Fun and Don' take life or yourself too SERIOUS. Smile More this year"

Later
Dick Bloom
dickbloom.com

"The perfection of art is to conceal art."

Quintilian

Check out my website dickbloom.com

"Panning for Gold"

Howdy all you chilly photo grabbers.

Today I'm gonna chat about a special effect with your camera with out any extra gear! Works with digital or film.

Great something for free at last. Panning for photo gold.

Have you ever admired the image that looks as though the subject is traveling at a high rate of speed but the subject is tack, this is accomplished by the photo technique know as "panning" which simply stated is keeping the subject in the same position in the finder and in focus as you track the motion which will keep the subject sharp and the background will be your speedy blur.

Generally speaking, the speed of the subject relative to the distance of the camera and the focal length of the lens, speeds of around 1/30-1/60th will provide tack subjects with a speed blur for a background. Speeds of 1/8th or slower will give superartistic effects while still being able to indentify the images.

There ya go get out there in the world give it a try folks!

Have a G R E A T Easter Holiday
Peace Out Sisters and Brothers

"We Know God easily,if we do not constrain ourselves to define him."
Jourbert

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Dreary & Gray Wednesday

My oh My! Where does time get to?

Wednesday already!

I once was told by a learned man about a photographer whose book of images took years to create but his shutter was open for only a matter of seconds for the images in the book.

So was he able to capture and save a moment in time or just a mere milli- second, the blink of an eye, so try to think in terms of shutter speeds as one views the internal as well as the external world each of us exist in!

If we live our lives always remembering that {we, all, everything} only exists in that millisecond of time, Existing for the moment is truly all that exists for time that has past is just GONE!

Most of us expect, hope, pray, concern ourselves with future time.

Carpe diem!!

So capture that so called Kodak moment when you see it, for it will never exist again! Another words always be a good scout {boy or girl} by being
prepared but never scared; fresh batteries, the camera always on the general settings for the day, say maybe use the sunny/16 rule I spoke of earlier in this blog.
Learn to see your images as an integral part of the world you exist in, not separate.

Good Shooting

" The hours of a wise man are lenghthened by his ideas, as those of a fool are by his passions. The time of the one is long, because he does not know what to do with it; so is that of the other, because he distinguishes every moment of it with useful or amusing thoughts; or, in other words, becasuse one is wishing it away, and the other always enjoying it."

Addison

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A Breath of Fresh Air

On a day like this in Pennsylvania one can only smile and be happy to breathe the air even though it is laden with airborne pesticides and God knows what else since the fruity farmers are spray'n for who knows what when { all night } sometimes or where. Sorry for complain'n there for a minute!

Okay my photo tip for the day is to go out and find, beg or buy a film camera and shoot a roll of the things you love and truely want to preserve for the future to see.
The reason I say this is, as we speak someone in this digital world just lost their photo memories to the cyber/digital world we all have put our trust in.
Just remember light can be made to work for us in a darkroom even a flash light will produce an image, but when the powergrid goes OFF your digital based images are as dead as the proverbial doornail.

Let us all relearn the value of the real darkroom!!

"Go forth into the dark{room} and create light !{images}"
RLB

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April's Fool

I have just won the Universe Wide Intergalactic Lottery. I just got the email from S.P.A.C.E. {Serious People Attempting Comedic Ethnos} What I won was all of those skids of money that they haven't been able to locate over you know where. It is now widely reported on Jupiter or was it Uranus UFO's came down a used their gigantor money sucker to make all those green U.S. dollars disappear so they can help redistribute all that wealth to more underpaid unemployed internet folk like myself.


HO HO HO A HO P HO R HO I HO L HO F HO O HO O HO L and AMF

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Hope your all fished out and getting ready for the new week.

Remember to always keep fresh batteries for you particular unit handy! You don't want to miss that award winning shot for a few dollars worth of duracells! Don't forget the flash batteries!

Sunday Morning Coming Down was the song that launched Kris Kristofferson's career. Thanks to The Man in Black Johnny Cash!
Which just goes to show that networking is the path to follow.

A little Luck doesn't hurt either.

Good Luck with the week's shooting. Get out there and network this week set your dreams ablaze with action this week.

Watch for an update on a photo ezine.

"The secret of success in life is for man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes!"

Disraeli

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Fishy weekend PF&P

Hope this weekend finds all you photographers out there fish'n for the biggest fish'n story of the day!

Remember to take your filters with you to knock that glare off the water.

Your polarizer will make all the difference in the world for you to capture that award winning photo of your young one reel'n in the biggest trout at the fish'n derby or maybe you fall'n in the water trying to get that GREAT shot.

I mention PF&P, in the little town where I used to live a lot of guys I knew participated in a ritual sacrifice of their well being and health to PARTY, FISH & YES FOLKS PUKE and escape their everyday rat race and their womenfolk!
To drink liquor,eat sushi {just cuz I kant kook to gud} which brings us to the end where the Puke'n part comes in!

Enjoy!! Cause Monday is com'n at us lickety split!!!!

So lots o' luck to ya all out there catch'n fish, colds or wild women left behind by the first day of fish'n.


"It is not the quanity of the meat , but the cheerfulness of the guests, which makes the feast"

Clarendon

Til Next time
Happy Hippie Trails

Dick

Happy Hippie Birthday

Welcome Friends
Today is the day for [Me] we all like to call our birthday, the day we entered this strange place however many moons ago that was, we wonder/wander around acting out as though we have an idea what is going on. You know by following the clock, the calender or what ever the measure of time be that most of us have to adhere to, to attain money, a paycheck; I worked xxx number of hours!
Let us look at that word hour it is Middle English from Anglo Norman French "ure", via Latin from Greek hora, season, hour. Is it not strange that when we look at the main part of the word which is "our" very little of the hours are ours! When we look at "ours" and its origin it comes from Old English "ure" of Germanic origin; related to us and German "unser". As we peer even deeper into the word "unser" it is used in this way "{unser}ious or lighthearted" or {unser} viceable, not in working order!! But We all know that an hour in the mind of getting paid is neither lighthearted nor {unser}viceable! I have always been able to tell with fair accuracy what time of the day it is, no alarm clock, no wristwatch, no "big ben" pocket watch like my beloved "Frank" my WWI veteran cousin who I always called "Uncle Frank" who when asked what time it was he would reach into the watchpocket of his green union suit, set a stern eye at "big ben" and state." Well by my time it's noon but by them crazy bastards it is 1:00! Frank never believed in changing his timepiece for daylight savings time. So as he said "By MY TIME it's noon! We should all just try MIND {OUR} own time and to hell with everybodys elses time and timepieces. Today is MY DAY MY TIME MY LIFE. "Carpe Diem"

As I continue on my quest at 58 years or approx 21,170 days, 1764 months old I leave you all with these immortal words of Longfellow:

"What is time?--The shadow on the dial, the striking of the clock, the running of the sand, day and night, summer and winter, months, years centuries-- these are the arbitrary and outward signs-- the measure of time, not time itself. Time is the life of the soul."

Longfellow

Back tomorrow with photo tips and more if there is T I M E!!!!

Experimentation Ah' Yes

I trust your week has begun with a smile! Have you had your trusty camera working these past few days experimenting with perspective by using different lenses from the same aspect.
Let me know how your doing and please come back for more tips and projects from me.

"A rocking horse makes motion but no forward progress"


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Sunday Sunday

My tip for the day is to relax and enjoy the blast of winter that has beset upon us folk here in the frigid north. How about doing a creative project with your images. Start by choosing one lens of your choice, say a wide angle 28mm fixed only, {no zoom} shoot a weeks worth of images in your everyday enviornment with it, then for the following week choose a different lens shoot all images from the same aspect compare your images and see what you learn about creativity and perspective. Take your newly found creativity and do a collage or a mobile. Make the mundane Monster. Let me know what you learned. Pop me an image of your creation. Happy shooting.


"It is the treating of the commonplace with the feeling of the sublime that gives to art its true power."
Jean Francois Millet


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Home on the Range

How much flash range do you achieve by moving to a faster ISO?
The rule is: "Double the distance four times the speed." Hence if your flash range is good to 20 feet at 100 ISO, at 400 ISO it will be good to 40 feet. This should be true for digital as well as film.


"Common Sense is the Measure of the Possible"
Henri Frederic Amiel

The winds of Ol' man winter has set upon me here at dickbloom.com blessing me with over 9 inches of fluffy white snow in South Central Pennsylvania.
The forecasters said 3-6 inches! I want a job where I can usually be wrong and still get PAID.

BRRR over and out!

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Whole Lotta Shak'n Going On

Remember the slowest shutter speed which you can safely handhold a camera is one over the focal length of the lens being utilized, as shutter speeds slow camera shake will result in a overall fuzziness or loss of sharpness {rule of thumb is 50mm lens equals 1/60th.}

You can always try bracing your camera on a steady surface or break out the flash and the tripod or monopod. Just quit your shak'n baby


'Tis hard {but glorious} to be poor and honest: an empty sack can hardly stand upright; but if it does,'tis a stout one.
Ibid

Sunset perfection

To capture a perfectly exposed sunset, meter the area directly above the sun, but not the sun itself. If you want the scene to look as though it is later say by a half hour or so stop down one f-stop or use your camera's exposure compensation and set it to-1.

"Man comes as a novice to each age of his life"
Nicolas Chamfort


Here in the north spring shows it's head as old man winter reminds us that even though we have sprung forward early, winter is not to leave for a bit yet.
So enjoy the weather for if you don't like it have no fear it will change.

Grey Card blues

A great way to get a midtone reading that will render a good overall exposure of the scene at hand is to use an 18% grey card. What you say you don't have one handy, no problem just taking a reading off your open palm facing the light source, then open up roughly one stop, then shoot! Skin tones do vary but rarely make more than a one stop difference in the setting.

Enjoy your spring like day and Get out and shoot a spring time scene.

"The happiest of all lives is a busy solitude."
Voltaire

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Thanks
Dick Bloom

Spring has Sprung!!

With all of these sunny days on the way, remember the old tried and true rule the "Sunny 16 Rule" which is the basic exposure for an average scene taken on a bright sunny. The rule is f/16 at a shutter speed equivalent to one over the ISO setting or f/16@1/100 sec at an ISO of 100 from this you can interpolate You can try f/11 on a bright but cloudy day and give f/22 a go at the beach.

Spring

"Spring Hangs Her Infant Blossoms on the Trees,
Rocked in the Cradle of the Western Breeze."
William Cowper

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