Monthly Archives: July 2012

 

I would like you to meet a new friend of mine, actually I’ve known Mike Moats for some time and he was very gracious to help me when I did the close-up classes for Kelby training.  I want to introduce you to him and his work, and give emphasis to how we, as photographers grow through out associations.  If you believe you know everything and need no help, it’s time to get over your delusions!!  We all learn from one another and the mark of good shooter is they steal or borrow as much knowledge as they can from others, whose work they admire.  I really admire Mike’s work!  Before I get into some information about Mike let me take you back about forty years and tell you that I’ve been blessed to get the chance to learn from some of the great masters of close-up shooters past!  Greats like John Shaw, Larry West, John Netherton,Tony Sweet, David Middleton,  and Bryan Peterson.  There were many more including one of my favorite teaching partners of all time, Cliff Zenorl  All of these people taught me a lot about close-up work.

 

When I started to get into close-up photography again I looked at the work of the current masters; the late Nancy Rotenburg, Charles Needles, and Mike Moats.  Back to Mike, Mike is a really nice guy and a tremendous close-up artist. One of the things i like most about his work is his utter lack of ego about it!  He could easily be egotistical, but he isn’t.  When we got to visit at length in Amherst at NECCC he shared with me that he used the D7000 not only because of how capable it was an it’s great advantage with the 1.5 crop factor, but because he wanted his students to see just how good of work you can do without spending thousands for camera body.  I was impressed with his philosophy!

 

Mike is an artist, he makes images that are more than technically perfect, he makes a strong artistic statement.  I believe anyone that has watched my Kelby classes and wants to learn more needs to be familiar with Mike’s work, his  eBooks and workshops.   Here are some links to Mike, followed by some of my favorite Mike Moats images!  Enjoy!

 

www.mikemoatsblog.com

www.tinylandscapes.com

www.mikemoatsbooks.com

 

 

I told you,  you would love his work!!!

 

* All images copyrighted to Mike Moats

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

I can highly recommend his new book below!!!!

 

 

 

Well, it’s another day, so it’s another burger!  Last night Francis Yeh, our star repair tech, and I ate at Kodiak Jack’s again, and I had the cheeseburger, and I have to say it was a pleasant surprise.  No suspense, I would give it a solid 4.0 and that is no slouch!   The burger was well cooked and seasoned and even though the bun looked like a train wreck it was very good.  The fries were pretty good too.  The restaurant is very popular and with this being the busiest week of the year in Oshkosh, it takes a couple of hours to get a meal, but it was a nice reward after a long wait!

 

 

When you’re on the road, away from home, it’s fun to continue the search!

 

God Bless,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

I woke up this morning to a beautiful sight as the light streamed into my bedroom window in Oshkosh.  I groggily  made my way to the couch in my bedroom and sat down to stare at the light, after a few moments I got my iPhone and made this image.  I was struck by one of Charles Stanley’s Life Principles to Live By, Number Nine, “Trusting God means looking beyond what we can see to what God sees.”

 

I love airplanes and I enjoy the airplane photographers but this is the end of a very long run.  I feel sorta like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day when he had to live the same day over and over.  My life as a Tech Rep is sorta like that, same stuff in a different city, day after day, week after week, month after month.  Just when you say why God, can’t I get off the merry go round, something happens that allows you to see what God sees.  I had an old friend drop by this morning and as God arranged it, the media center fell deadly quiet for about a half hour.  He shared with me that he had lost his son to a motorcycle accident some time back.  We shared deeply about life, his loss, and God’s good ministering to him.  If I had not been in the media center alone, when he came in, we would have never had such a meaningful conversation.  I know he ministered to me, and I think God used me to minister to him.  I’m pretty certain that is why I was in Oshkosh today.

 

So God does have a plan, and even when we can’t see it or understand, even when we are not too happy about it, it doesn’t prevent Him from making it come to pass.  I think my prayer should be, “Father, please let me see the light come through the window every day you want me to be where you placed me, and keep my heart focused on you, and keep me willing and ready to serve  you.  Thank you for working with me even when I can’t see the forest for the trees….”  Amen

 

the pilgrim

On my way up to Milwaukee today I saw a great set of grain elevators, actually a few hundred grain elevators!  These were very high detailed so I pulled off the road, killed the engine, ran up the ISO to 800 so I could get a really fast shutter speed, ( 1/2000th of a second ), and squeezed off a shot.  I converted it to Black and White to accentuate the sharpness and then zoomed into 100% on the original file.  My goal was to settle in my mind that you could get a super sharp image hand held.

 

The answer with a high enough shutter speed and good technique?   I think is yes!

 

Your thoughts????

 

the pilgrim

 

Technical Details:   D800, ISO 800, 1/2,00oth of a second at f 6.3.   Nikon 24-120 AF-S VRF f 4 lens, set at 120mm and with VR turned on.