South Caldwell’s golden child, Madison Bumgarner, seems to be making an impression with the San Francisco Giants already.  I have been following news releases on Madison since he became the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. 

THIS ARTICLE had the following to say about Madison earlier this week:

Instructional league also gave the Giants’ braintrust an extended look at their heralded 2007 Draft class, including their three first-round selections: left-hander Madison Bumgarner, right-hander Tim Alderson and outfielder Wendell Fairley.

The Giants handled Bumgarner with care, limiting him mostly to throwing bullpen sessions and batting practice, since he signed too late to play professionally this season. But he showed club officials enough to fuel their optimism. “He’s going to move fast,” Evans said of Bumgarner, who was drafted 10th overall. “He’s very comfortable out there.”

I was disappointed that Madison didn’t get signed early enough to see some action in the minors during the 2007 season, but we’ll get to follow him in spring training and the 2008 season.  I’m still curious to find out where the Giants will place him in April.  There is, hopefully, a possibility that he will be placed in the South Atlantic League and we’ll get to see him play in Hickory :)

I was at the Historic Murray’s Mill again today to photograph a sports event and I had some free time on my hands.  I have photographed this mill quite a few times, but I have struggled to come up with something out of the ordinary.  Since this is a historic site in our community, it gets photographed regularly, and I bet every photographer I know has a shot that looks like those in everyone’s portfolio.  This mill sits on a beautiful landscape, but the landscape doesn’t interest me in a photographic sense.  I don’t really want to add that image to my portfolio since everyone else has it already.  There is one idea that I hope to pursue one day of this mill with the entire landscape, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do it yet.  Maybe I will get that chance before long… 

My 1000 Faces project has slipped lately.  I started this quest to collect 1000 semi-random impromptu and candid portraits of people I encounter in my everyday adventures, and I’m still a long way from being finished.  I made the first photo (above) in this project on September 24, 2005.  I have only made 186 photos for the project in a little over two years that I have been working on it.  I really want to get back on track with this project and make it grow.  With each photo, I write a blurb about the person to go along with it.  During 2005, I made 99 photos for this project.  During 2006, I added 65 more.  During 2007, I have only added 22 images to the set.  That’s not healthy at all!  I’m going to get back on track with this project and see how many more photos I can add.  Click on the photo above to see the entire collection…

The drought conditions here are actually starting to get frightening.  I don’t know the exact calculations, but I think we have had less than 3″ of rain here since mid June or so.  We had one day of rain (on a Friday) several weeks ago, and that was the only significant rainfall we have seen here in a long time.  The lake level is down 5-6 feet as you can see in this photo I made this afternoon.  The place I stood to make this photograph would normally be about 3 feet deep in water.  You would not normally be able to see any dry land in this scene short of the tree line.  We have been on water restrictions for several weeks now, and they are probably going to tighten those up even more before it’s over.  There is a chance of rain in the forecast for this coming Thursday and Friday.  We have been so dry here that it would take several inches of rain every week between now and the end of the year to bring us back to normal…

Recently, I saw a post on another website about this device called the Trikke.  I have been looking at it in more detail in the last few days and I’ve sorta decided that I would like to try one out sometime.  I did a little research trying to find  a dealer in my local area, with no luck.  I have found lots of places where I can order one, but I would really like to check it out first-hand.  If anyone knows where I might be able to do this, please let me know :)

Well, I spent the entire day downtown at Hickory’s 2007 Oktoberfest festival.  As usual, the crowd was thick and the smell of food was unbearable.  The highlight of my day was getting the opportunity to see The Little River Band play some classics such as “Reminiscing,” “Happy Anniversary,” “Night Owl,” and “Cool Change.”  If you click on the photo above, there are some more images of The Little River Band available… I would also like to mention that the crowd at this performance was thicker than any I have ever seen at Hickory’s Oktoberfest in the past. 

I must also admit that I was blown away by the opening performance of The Alabama Blues Brothers.  A modern-day rendition of Jake and Elwood on a stage in front of several thousand Oktoberfest-goers in Hickory was a good recipe for some foot-stompin’ toe-tappin good times :)  If you wanna see some of the more mundane stuff I pointed my camera at today, take a look at the images I posted to the newspaper’s website…

As far as entertainment in Hickory, North Carolina is concerned, this weekend is one of my favorite times of year.  The local Oktoberfest celebration in downtown Hickory cranks up around lunch time tomorrow.  As a photographer, I love visiting this event to take photos of people and things I encounter throughout the day.  I also love browsing the craft vendors and listening to the live music that fills the air from three or four different stages around the downtown area.  One of the main attractions on the music front at this year’s Oktoberfest is The Little River Band.  These guys were a favorite of mine when I was younger, but I still love their music.  They are the headline event on Saturday night. 

I’ll post a gallery of photos later in the weekend from this event.  I’m trying to come up with a personal theme to work on over the weekend…

Pastor Daniel Duke of Bethany Lutheran Church blesses Catherine Houser’s dog “Calley” at Saturday’s Blessing of the Animals service… 

I had an interesting photo assignment this morning.  I went to Bethany Lutheran Church for a service conducted by Pastor Daniel Duke called “The Blessing of the Animals.”  This service was held outside and the weather was quite nice.  I think there were about 25 or 30 dogs and a few cats in attendance with their owners.  Here is a prayer that was published on the cover of the bulletin for this service:

A Prayer for the Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals, especially for animals who are suffering; for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry; for all that must be put to death.  We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity, and for those who deal with them as we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.  Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals and so to share the blessings of the merciful.

- Albert Schweitzer

I went to the Catawba Science Center this morning to attend the media tour of the new Millholland Planetarium and the new aquarium exhibits.  I can’t begin to tell you how nice this new facility is.  You should make it a point to go visit it as soon as possible.  The public opening of this new facility is Sunday, October 7th from 1 until 7pm.  The Millholland Planetarium is just fantastic.  The planetarium also has a laser light show (pictured above).  The media presentation this morning provided a demonstration of both.

I also stumbled across the Hickory Daily Record’s wayward son, Nathan Armes.  I rolled into the parking lot at the Science Center and thought to myself… That looks like Nathan standing there… sure enough… It was.  He had just flown in from Denver and will be visiting family and friends for a few days…

Lens Buying for Dummies
A Practical Guide

By: John M. Setzler, Jr.
July 5, 2006
Photographers tend to ask two basic questions over and over again. The first question is: Which camera should I buy? When this question is posted to a public forum, the same answers begin to roll in. It’s like a broken record. The same situation arises when it comes time to buy lenses.

Camera lenses come in the following categories:
1. Wide-Angle Zoom (28-80mm Type)
2. Telephoto Zoom (70-300mm Type)
3. Super Wide-Angle Zoom (10-20mm / 17-40mm Types)
4. Super Telephoto Zoom (100-400 Type)
5. Wide Angle / Telephoto Zoom (28-200mm Type)
6. Prime Macro (100mm Type)
7. Prime Wide-Angle – Telephoto (fixed focal length non macro)
8. Fisheye and other Novelty Lenses

The average SLR camera user will own a collection of these lenses. Most own at least one wide angle and one telephoto zoom. Those two lenses cover a majority of situations you will encounter. Each of these lens types is available in various quality levels and price ranges. This is what makes it difficult to choose the right lens in many cases. In the wide-angle zoom category, you can generally find lens options between $99 and $1200, so there is a huge difference in what you are getting. You have to know what those differences are and why you are buying a particular lens before you shop.

If you are a new SLR owner (or soon to be) and aren’t sure which lenses to buy, your first lens should be a wide-angle zoom. In terms of point and shoot digital camera zooms, this lens will offer 3x or 4x zoom factor. It’s not a lot of zoom but it’s the perfect lens for general-purpose photography. Your second lens should be a telephoto zoom. These lenses offer approximately 10x zoom. The combination of these two lenses will cover most opportunities that you would want to photograph.

Now that we have our general purpose lens options covered, there are a few specialty lenses that you may wish to consider. The first thing you need to consider when making lens purchases is the specific types of subjects you like to photograph. Here are a few of those scenarios:

Landscape Photography

If landscape photography is your main interest, you may want to consider a super wide-angle lens. You can find these in zoom and fixed focal length options. There are several 10-20mm and 12-24mm options in zoom lenses. You will also find some 16mm and 17mm fixed focal length (prime) lenses for this type of work. Most landscape photographers wish to show a huge expanse of landscape in their photos. The super wide-angle lenses are perfect for this.

Nature Photography

As a nature photographer, you are probably interested in capturing wildlife (plant and animal) in your journeys. For animal life, you will probably want to use a zoom telephoto lens (300mm or greater) to bring you closer to your subject. That same telephoto zoom lens may be adequate for filling your frame with a flower as well. If not, a macro lens would do the trick. Both of these lenses are a must for an avid wildlife photographer.

Portrait Photography

Doing studio quality portrait work usually has some specific lens requirements, as well as studio lighting. Most portrait photographers prefer fixed focal length lenses in the 85mm to 135mm range. These lenses should also be capable of larger aperture sizes. The 85mm f/1.8 lens seems to be a favorite choice. Using a fixed focal length lens also assumes that you will be able to position your camera properly for the photo and not have to rely on cropping. I believe that longer focal length lenses are good choices for portrait work. Lots of people will recommend the 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens for this, but I believe that a longer lens is better. A longer lens allows you to increase the working distance between you and your subject. Some of the professional portrait photographers I know choose a 135mm lens for head and shoulders portrait work.

Candid/Street Photography

This type of photography is almost a general-purpose type of work. You can use about any lens you like. If you are going to be a part of the action, a wide-angle lens is a good choice. If you are planning to be a spectator from a distance, a telephoto lens works best. This type of photography would also cover situations such as birthday parties, family vacations, et cetera.

Wedding Photography

Wedding photography is much like street and candid work with one exception. Unless it’s an outdoor daytime wedding, you will generally be working in poor light. You would generally want higher quality versions of the same lenses listed in the Candid/Street photography section.

Sports Photography

Outside daytime sports photography can be done with a standard telephoto zoom lens (300mm range). These lenses give you a good zoom so you can position yourself at a shooting location and cover a lot of the action without having to move around too much. If you are working night sports or poorly lit indoor sports, you need one of the higher quality telephoto lenses with a wider aperture to get adequate shutter speeds. You may also need weather resistant gear.

Still Life Photography

Still life photography is just like studio photography in most cases. The photographer has complete control over the scene and the lighting (most of the time). In most cases, the wide-angle zoom lenses or wide angle primes are best for this type of work.
Choosing the Correct Lens Model

Now that we have covered most of the scenarios you will find yourself in, we need to determine which quality level of lens you need for the job.

The first thing you have to do is determine what will be done with the photos you make after you press the shutter button on the camera. In my opinion, there are two groups of photographers when we get to this point in the game: 1) Internet use and small prints (up to 8×10) and 2) professional grade printers (larger than 8×10 prints).

If you fall into the first category and won’t often make prints larger than 8×10, you can purchase the less expensive lenses. You will not be able to determine a very noticeable difference in print quality between a $100 lens and a $1000 lens. If your prints aren’t being sold to customers and are just being used for family albums and keepsakes, don’t waste your money on more expensive lenses (unless you simply have the money to burn).

If you are planning to sell prints or make larger prints of your work, the more expensive lenses will benefit you quite a bit. Let’s take a look at why some lenses of similar specs are more expensive than others…

Lens Quality Variations

There are several major differences between a $100 lens and a $1000 lens with similar focal lengths. Whether or not you need the more expensive lens is up to you.

Build Quality:

More expensive lenses are generally built with durability in mind. The lens barrel material is stronger, the lens mounting mechanism is stronger, and the internal mechanics are stronger as well. These lenses are built to professional standards and can withstand the repeated installation and removal on the camera.

Auto Focus:

More expensive lenses have faster and quieter auto focus motors. Your lens won’t spend as much time hunting for focus on your subject.

Glass Quality:

More expensive lenses tend to have higher quality glass elements inside. Some cheaper lenses have plastic elements inside. The higher quality glass is beneficial when you plan to make larger prints (larger than 8×10 or so). The higher quality glass also produces slightly better color reproduction and sharpness than the glass found in cheaper lenses.

What should I buy?

Now that you know what lenses are good for your applications, how will you decide what to buy? You can ask for advice from friends if you like, but you will get the same answers almost anywhere you go. Your friends will suggest that you buy what they already have in most cases. Your friends may or may not have experience with anything other than what is in their bag. Ultimately, when you ask a group of people, you will get recommendations of the most expensive lenses in whatever category you are shopping.

Don’t rely on photos you see online to tell you how good or bad any particular lens is. You don’t know what has been done to the photo in post processing. If color saturation, sharpness, contrast, and brightness of a photo have been adjusted, you can’t draw a conclusion about the actual quality of the lens. You also can’t tell a lot about the quality of a lens by looking at a small photo online. You really need to see a professional quality print to compare lens performances.

This guide to lens buying may not be any more useful than anything else you read, but it sums up everything you will read most of the time.