Having used a 35 mm lens for the majority of my photography, having documented this small town that is Bristol, RI with an ultra wide lens for story telling experimentation, and having still the fifty- nifty go-to staple lens by my side, it would be a shame not to share the images taken with this lens which has produced some of my favourite photos.
First off,
Happy New Years everyone!
To start off 2021 I thought it’d be a good idea to address everyone who follows my blog and latest posts.
The other week I took to the streets of downtown Bristol after dark with my camera and trusty tripod. Taking photos at night is a much more technical process than day photography, but I found it to be a great learning experience and I enjoyed it immensely nonetheless.
-Photos taken sometime in late November/ early December, 2020.
Photos taken December 17, 2020 Bristol, RI Second snowfall If you like what you see be sure to let me know. Like, Comment & Share Check out my other 75+ photo collections and essays
If you love traveling and your enthusiasm for foreign cultures prompts you to buy a one-way ticket, chances are you follow a certain set of unspoken rules that I call: The Avid Traveler’s Code of Conduct
Hey guys, I took the commuter rail from Providence, RI to South Station in Boston, MA. With me I brought: Canon ae-1 program 35-104mm f/3.5 lens One roll of fujifilm superia xtra400 One roll of Tri-X 400 b&w (Part 4 coming soon) If you guys haven’t checked out the previous Boston Street Photography photo collections […]
My thoughts on the Canon Ae-1 Program I picked up the other week! This article isn’t a review, or guide. It’s just some initial observations I had as I took this camera out for the first few times.
This article is a friendly reminder, from one photographer to another, to clean your camera’s sensor.
If you haven’t cleaned your sensor since you bought your camera the chances are your images have spots, smudges and blots.
Look how bad my sensor was a few weeks ago:
I was out shooting in Boston when I saw a bunch of lines and smudges in the sky. When I got home I imported my SD card and the majority of the photos were unusable.
I tried cleaning my sensor with what I had laying around the house only to make it 100% worse.
How to Clean your Camera’s Sensor Properly
Honestly, it doesn’t take much.
I should’ve cleaned my sensor forever ago. It literally takes 5 minutes.
Hopefully you don’t make the same mistake I did.
A DSLR sensor cleaning kit costs anywhere between $10-50 USD on Amazon. I bought a full frame kit that came with,
swabs
cleaner
blower
microfibre brush
dry+wet cloths
It cost me like $17 dollars.
When buying your sensor cleaning kit, make sure you buy the right size swabs. It makes cleaning the sensor that much quicker.
To properly clean your sensor, go into your camera’s settings and click “manually clean sensor.”
Once it’s open tilt your camera down and use the blower to puff out any floating particles. Then, use the microfibre brush and lightly go over the sensor a few times. I like to repeat this atleast twice.
Now, the last part to properly clean your sensor is wetting ONE side of your swab with the cleaner and making sure to gently pass to the other side and back in one motion. It’s important to note to use the dry side of the swab to pass back over the sensor.
And that’s it.
Make sure you throw the swab away after using it. If you want to pass over it again use a new swab.
ahhh nice and clean.
Before/ After
If you bring your camera to a local shop for a cleaning it’ll cost you somewhere near $100. It’s not worth doing considering the materials are cheap and it should only take you 10 minutes tops to fully clean.
Even if your sensor isn’t as bad as mine was, I think its a good habit to start cleaning your camera sensor at least once every month or so.
For this photoblog I scrolled through my phones camera roll and picked out 8 photos I wanted to share with you today. These photos aren’t necessarily my favorite, or best capture, but they’e meaningful to me and I think you’ll like them!
Camera roll stories
I took this photo while walking around downtown Bristol, RI. It’s actually composed of two photos. I used a picture I took of a blue cloudy sky to frame the group of friends watching sunset. I then used a white border to bring it all together. I’ve been finding it interesting all the ways you can compliment a photo using borders and frames.This is the canon ae-1 program I picked up last week. For those of you who don’t know, the canon ae-1 was a popular film SLR back in the 80’s. When I did my research for what camera I should buy a lot of people recommended I start with the ae-1 for its price and simplicity. I’ve only shot with it a handful of times but so far I’m having so much fun with it. Another example of how I’ve been experimenting with borders lately. I took both photos a few years back in Pico, Azores and I used a shot of the ocean to frame my subject throwing up a peace sign. The ocean picture alone is boring, but when paired with the second I think it really brings out a cool aesthetic.The sign reads, “Wall of Lost Soles” I stayed at a cottage over the weekend down near Cape Cod, MA and our neighbor had a wall full of lost &found sandals, flip flops, crocs, and swim shoes. On my last day there, I lost my own slides trying to cross over to the beach. I hope they too end up on the Wall of Lost Soles one day.I took this photo on a camping trip to upstate New York this past summer. Pictured is my Uncle and Auntie overlooking Lake George from one of the many viewpoints at Prospect Mountain.When I was staying in Buzzards Bay, MA, the cape cod canal was perfect to walk and get good exercise. A lot of the times I’d bring my camera with me and take pictures along the way. There’s always a bunch of people camping, fishing and doing outdoor activities which makes for awesome scenes to photograph. A few more:
# 7
I took this photo while I was visiting my brother in North Dakota. I found Minot beautiful in its own empty way. On my walks I would get to a certain point where for miles and miles all I could see was fields and winding hills.
Another shot at sunset:
#8
For the last photo I picked this one of me waiting at the airport. Long layovers are the worst.
Check out my other articles on travel and photography!
I turned 24 years old last week. Throughout the day I took some time to think about what I’m grateful for.
It occurred to me that we don’t stop enough to appreciate all the good in our lives. Sometimes it’s easier to focus on what’s missing than it is to focus on what we’re already fortunate enough to have.
Down below is a simple list of 5 things I’m grateful for.
5 reasons I’m grateful.
1. Family & Friends
Since March I’ve relied on my family and friends for just about everything. They’ve given me food, shelter, and love. I couldn’t ask for more.
I’m grateful that I have a large family and that we’ve been able to stick together even through long passages of time without talking, seeing, or hearing from one another.
Now more than ever I realize how important a solid foundation is.
2. Youth
My uncle has these philosophical moments.
“Enjoy it, kid!” referring to my youth
He says one day I’ll wake up and be old and what took me 5 minutes now takes 15. I’ll start saying things like,
“Oh I remember when I used to…”
I think about time and how valuable it is. I don’t want to waste these years.
I want to be young and energetic before the day comes when everything takes an extra 10 minutes to get going.
3. Good Health
I’m grateful for the fact that amid the Covid 19 pandemic my closest friends and family remain healthy.
I’m fortunate to be in the position I am where I don’t worry about my health, safety and well-being. Not everyone’s as lucky.
I wake up, breathe, eat, drink and everything works smoothly. That alone is a treasure.
4. Travel
Back in late February I took a flight from Pico Island to Boston where I’ve spent the last 7 months living in New England.
Even with tight travel restrictions, and initial stay-at-home orders, I spent a lot of time between Massachusetts and Rhode Island and had the opportunity to go camping at Lake George in New York.
In late June,early July I visited my brother in North Dakota for the first time. Two years passed without seeing each other! I’m just happy we made it happen and were able to celebrate 4th of July together.
5. Pets
I have two darling black labs at home, Lucy and Diamond. I miss them terribly.
I was thinking the other day, how much impact animals had in my life for teaching me about empathy.
They’re a perfect example of teaching a child how to play, take care of, and love unconditionally.
Without pets- be it dogs or cats or snakes or hamsters- the world would seem much greyer.
Luckily while I’m here I get to play with Eevee and my Nana’s best friend, Princess Mica.
