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Author: Jim Pearson

Kids, Photography and a Roadtrip

Kids, Photography and a Roadtrip

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Xavier, 5, using the Fuji Wide Instax instant camera.

Kids and Photography… (hang in there, the roadtrip part is toward the end of this post). With the advent of digital photography being in the hands of just about everyone via smart phones, tablets and digital cameras, the world of photography is in the hands of many kids starting at an early age. I personally have been photographing most of my nieces and nephews since the day they were born, even more so for their kids and their kids kids. As a result the youngest ones, my great-greats, started reaching for my camera or smart phone from a very early age. 

About a year ago I started a project with my oldest little ones and photography. I decided that, once they turned four years old, I was going to get a camera that they could use and start taking them on photography adventures where I’d go with them in a one-on-one situation. It’s been a wonderful trip with the three oldest among my great-great nieces and nephews that live in my area.  Going out shooting with them and seeing the world from their viewpoint has been a blast.

Jayden with the Fuji Instax

I started the three of them out sharing a Fuji Wide Instax, a Polaroid type instant camera. I wanted to have them use something that would give them a tangible print that they could hold in their hand and watch develop, much like many of us older folk did when we were kids. I feel that has helped them enjoy shooting photos more. I also got each of them a photo album to keep their pictures in so they can share them with family and friends. All three of the boys, Xavier, Jayden, and Damion have moved on to shooting a digital camera lately.

Now, the instant camera is in reserve for our next young photographer, Elaina, who turns four in July. Damion, her brother, still wants to shoot with the instant camera sometimes, but at $1 per photo I’ve  decided to move him and the others more into the digital realm. This way they can zoom and take as many photos as they want. I just make sure and get 4×6 prints of the best of the photos they shoot by the next day and give them to them for their photo books. I really can’t stress too much how important I feel this is. For the young photographer to have an album to thumb through, to relive and to share his or her adventures in taking the photos is very important. If the image sits on the camera, which they need to have adult supervision when using, or on a laptop that they can’t use without an adult, it’s hard for them to go back and look at their pictures whenever they want to. I feel having easy access is a very important part of their growth in this visual world!

Damion shooting with a Fuji FinePix S4250

Now, they are 4-5 years old and, with this in mind, I didn’t want to start them out on a expensive digital point and shoot camera. I’ve worked with them on handling the camera carefully and to keep the camera strap around their neck when they use it and they all three do a good job, but still, they are kids!

I shopped around our local pawn shops and found a lightweight Fuji camera, with a viewfinder and LCD screen, they could use that wasn’t real expensive. I wanted the viewfinder as that’s what they were used to with the Instax camera. I paid $50 for a Fuji FinePix S4250 which is a 14mp camera with a 24x optical zoom. It only weighs a pound and is just the right fit for small hands! They’ve been using it for about six months now and it’s still working great, with limited drops! I just looked yesterday at a local pawn shop and they had one just like it for $30. I think if you shop around you can find something in the same price range.

I’ve been showing the kids copies of the pictures I shoot of them, pretty much their whole lives, so they’ve been exposed to what I consider photos with good composition for sometime. On the shooting and direction aspect of kids shooting photos at a young age, I’ve not tried to guide them a whole lot when it comes to composing their photos. Occasionally I might recommend they move in a little closer or perhaps stand in a different spot but, for the most part, I don’t look over their shoulder, point the camera for them and tell them when to press the shutter. I feel if I do that, it’s not really their picture they’re shooting. Do they always come back with what I think might have been the best photo? No, of course not, none of us do when we first start out in photography and many of us still don’t even after doing it for 40+ years, like myself! 

As their photo editor (haven’t started the post production with them yet) I do occasionally crop their photos (digital) and make other minor corrections in editing, but for the most part the photos they shoot are theirs, the way they saw them. 

Damion and uncle Jimmy at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park. – Photo by April Pearson

And, now, the Roadtrip…. Recently my sister, April, and I took Damion with us to the Spring Photography Weekend at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park in Dawson Springs, Ky, for his first photography competition in the children’s division. We all three had a blast! We’re planning to take Jayden to the Fall weekend there and then Xavier next Spring for their first “competition.” Getting the kids out shooting where other kids are involved I think is just another step in their adventure with photography.

Damion loved exploring and capturing photos along the way during the weekend. He told us that he hoped he’d win a trophy and he did!! First place in the landscape category and a third place in the water category! Not sure who was prouder, him or us! What he referred to as “Secret Caves,” were among his favorite spots, along with the waterfall, and his “Secret Steps” which is the photo that won him his first place trophy. I love the fresh viewpoint that the young kids have with their photography.

Where do I hope the kids go with this photography thing? Well, my hope mostly is that they have a love for photography and the world it opens for them.  So, when to start your young photographer out? I personally picked 4 years old, but you can start them whenever you feel they are old enough so that you can communicate with them, when they can understand and follow simple directions.  So that you can converse with them and they can understand you and you them!

Below are Damions two winning images from his first photo competition.

First Place Children’s Division – Landscape – Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park.
Third Place Children’s Division – Water – Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park.

If you’d like to follow the Shutterbug Kids, they have their own Website, Facebook and Instagram pages all maintained by me, their uncle Jimmy. Below are links to each of them. The boys aren’t directly involved with the social media aspect yet, although they do ask if I’m going to put their picture on Facebook sometimes, so they are aware.  That lesson will have to wait a few years, but they really enjoy seeing their pictures online.

Damion

Facebook, Instagram, Website

Jayden

Facebook, Instagram, Website

Xavier

Facebook, Instagram, Website

In closing, get out with your little ones, make memories and capture them together! You’ll be happy you did and they will as well!

A Final Roadtrip

A Final Roadtrip

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Davie and I on a cruise to the Bahamas with family.

Losing a family member to sudden death is probably one of the hardest things that one will experience in life. While my sister April and Davie’s twin brother Dannye, have seen our dad, mom, and another brother make this trip before, it’s a little easier for us, but still hard. For all his nieces and nephews, great and great-great nieces and nephews, it’s been a lot harder as he’s been like a second father to all of them.

A little over a week ago we laid Davie to rest, or to many of his kids, Uncle Davie, next to his mom, dad and brother who made this trip before him.

Davie loved life, there’s no doubt about that at all. He was also probably one of the most christian men I’ve ever known in my life. A role model I’ve tried to follow over the years. No, he didn’t attend church on a regular basis and I honestly can’t ever recall him saying a prayer out loud, but instead he lived his faith in love and service to his family, friends and in some cases those he didn’t even know that well. That was my brother Davie.

As with any loss of a family member we all have had our “what ifs” that we must deal with, but I know my brother and he’d be the first to say, don’t even think of going there! When it’s time, it’s time and only the Lord knows. The saving grace in all this is that he didn’t suffer as his dad, mom, and brother did for several years before they passed. I personally think that would have been much harder.

All the family made it to Davie’s Celebration of Life service, even his nephew Brad and family, who are currently serving in the Air Force and stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, were able to take part thanks to today’s modern technology by using Facebook’s video chat feature and our nephew Kenneth who kept the camera rolling through some difficult moments for himself.

Davie’s service was just what the name implied, a celebration of his life and I know he was there in spirit enjoying every minute of it. All the little ones running around, yes running around, and playing, along with family and friends telling funny stories about him and celebrating the life he led. I can see Davie through the lives of his nieces and nephews. I know from the bottom of my heart that he loved us all and is proud of all of them!

Davie, like his dad, older brother, and myself, served his country and the military service and honors given him at the graveside were moving to say the least. I’m sure he’s humbled at it all, because again, I know my brother.

I’ll miss him here on earth, but I rejoice in knowing that we’ll be together someday down the road! Till I take that trip myself, I’ll try to carry on the love that he had for his family and friends.

 

 

 

A different kind of (rail) Road Trip to Fort Branch, Indiana!

A different kind of (rail) Road Trip to Fort Branch, Indiana!

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Me working on shooting CSX railroad changing out a bridge at Ft. Branch, In. – Photo by Dave Kunkel

Earlier this week I set out on a day-long road trip to southern Indiana to shoot what’s called a time-lapse video of CSX Railroad changing out a bridge just outside Ft. Branch, Indiana.

Time-lapse photography is a technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing. For example, an image of a scene may be captured once every second, then played back at 30 frames per second; the result is an apparent 30 times speed increase. Time-lapse photography can be considered the opposite of high speed photography or slow motion.

Processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, e.g. the motion of the sun and stars in the sky, become very pronounced. Time-lapse is the extreme version of the cinematography technique of undercranking, and can be confused with stop motion animation.

Work was supposed to being sometime around noon, but I wanted to make sure that I was there in case they started early, so I was up at 5am!! Yes, I said 5am!! Any of you know that as a rule my climb out of bed time is 8am, so yes, this was a bit of challenge. 

The drive up was smooth, this early in the morning on a Monday, so I guess that’s one thing that was good about getting up this early.

Weather was wonderful! Only thing I wish was there were a bit more clouds in the sky! I love clouds in my photographs and in a time-lapse they really add to the movement of the overall scene. However, it was mostly clear for the duration of my 6 hours of standing around the site where the work was being done. Yes, I said six hours! 

I had to park a good distance from the location where the work was going on, so at least I got a good bit of my daily 10,000 steps in by walking back and forth to the car for things like water, fresh batteries for the camera and so forth. I packed for the day long shoot with snacks, water, things to read and plenty of batteries for the camera. Only thing I forgot and didn’t think of until I was about 4 hours into the shoot, was suntan lotion! By the time, I remember it was a bit too late so for a few days after I was red faced! I did at least wear a hat and long sleeves! Next time I won’t forget! My face is still peeling!

The crews got clearance to start their work at about 9:50am and by that time I had figured out how I wanted to position my camera and the rate that I would shoot pictures for the final video. In case you’re interested, the camera was set to take a picture every second for the six hours! That’s a total of about 21,600 individual photographs! Once they were combined into individual movie clips I had a total of 23 video clips of the operation with about 15 minutes of video that I edited down to the final clip of just over 7 minutes that you see below.

I really enjoy doing time-lapse videos, but they are time consuming and take a bit of planning. Plus, there as to be plenty of movement that takes place to provide interesting visuals! While it’s not something I think, I could do on many of the longer road trips that my sister and I take, I plan on trying to do some more often for everyone’s enjoyment and pleasure!

Off to see the rabbit!

Off to see the rabbit!

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On Maundy Thursday afternoon we loaded up two vehicles, my sister’s “camper van” (as the kids call it) and my SUV, with my great-niece Tracy and her kids, Jeremiah, Jordan, Journey and Jayden along with her sister Ashley’s kids, Elaina and Damion, and took off to Owensboro, Ky in search of the Easter Rabbit!

Every year their grandmother, Jeanne, has us bring them all down to visit the Easter bunny at her work. They have Mr. and Mrs. Bunny there to pass out gifts to the kids and they always enjoy it. Plus we take them to the Owensboro Riverfront afterwards so they can have some play time on the wonderful playground there.

Damion and Jayden rode with me and it never ceases to amaze me how they entertain each other from the back seat!

On the ride down they both brought their tablets and had a great time battling each other. Even though neither one had the same games, it didn’t stop them! They both still had a ball!

One of Damion’s remarks cracked me up when he said, “Jesus, help me level up!” Afterwards, he said, “it’s not something you really should ask Jesus for though.” How did they get so smart at 4-5 years old? With that being said, a short time later he shouts out “alright, I’m at level 4!” So, was it an answered prayer from an innocent 4-year-old? 

The visit to see the Easter Rabbits at Jeanne’s went very well and everyone had a good time. Jordan wouldn’t approach them closer than a few feet this year, so he’s not in the group shot! Funny thing is that last year I seem to recall it was his older brother, Jayden, that had the issues, or maybe it was one of the other kids.

After we finished at Jeanne’s office we headed off to the riverfront. Sis and Tracy took the van with the smaller kids, while Jeanne and I took the four older ones and walked the three or so blocks to the playground, which made it a little bit more of an adventure. Plus, Jeanne and I both needed to get our step-count up for our family FitBit weekly challenge!

The playground at the riverfront park is really a great place to take kids! Sis took over care of our youngest, Jeremiah, while Jeanne, Tracy, and myself attempted to keep up with the five older kids on the playground. Talk about a job!!! I don’t know how my mom and dad kept up with the 5 of us when we went on outings. It’s a full time job! They all took off in several directions at once, running, climbing, jumping and having a great time! Even Jordan, who is wearing some braces these days, to fix a issue with his left leg, had a great time and didn’t let the braces slow him down at all. Mom Tracy, of course, stuck close by him to help, but he didn’t miss a beat with the having fun part! There’s a gallery at the end of this post of the kids from today’s adventure.

However, all good things had to come to an end and we loaded the little ones back up into the van while I headed back to Jeanne’s work with Damion and Jayden on foot while Jeanne to the two girls by a different route. On the way down they were, of course, full of energy and excited, but as always, when it’s time to head back they were less enthused to say the least! To help make the return trip easier I allowed them to be a little more adventurous. The fountains along the riverfront were, as always, a big hit and, while on the way down, we had told them to stay off the ledge that surrounds them. On the way back, however, under a watchful eye, since they were no longer spraying water, I allowed them to walk on the wide ledges! They seemed to me to be built for that purpose and I’ve seen plenty of other kids doing likewise with their parents help, so I let the boys be boys! 

When we got within less than a block of Jeanne’s office, where we had parked, Damion was pretty much tuckered out and ready for me to carry him. Instead I let him and Jayden take a laying down break on the nice spring grass in front of the Owensboro Convention Center, till they were rested enough to prod them along to the parking lot and meet up with Jeanne, Elaina and Journey. 

After a quick stop at the convenience store to pickup something to drink for everyone, we hit the road back home. The kids, at this point, all tore into the bag of goodies that they got from Mr. & Mrs. Easter Bunny. 

Jayden and Damion finished up the last 45 minutes or so of our trip home by each one telling the other stories, ranging from zombie tales to stories about ninjas and other superheros! One thing for sure, all of our littles have great imaginations! 

Above is about a 4-minute audio file of the boys and their stories. There’s a lot of road noise, but I think if you play with your volume you’ll get the idea. All in all everyone enjoyed the trip and sis and I made it back to town in time for the Maundy Thursday service at church!

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”6″ gal_title=”Off to see the Rabbit”]

A day railfan trip that turned into a night trip!

A day railfan trip that turned into a night trip!

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March 25, 2017 – The Princeton railroad station was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued in the late 1960’s. The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.

Sometimes I start out planning to do one thing when I set off on a railfan trip, but end up doing something different which usually results in nice photos I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise!

I try to do some railfan photography several days during the week, usually Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Mostly because on CSX’s Henderson Subdivision, which runs here through Madisonville, Ky, these are the busiest days.

Well, last saturday, March 25th, 2017, the weather was overcast and it was drizzling rain off and on most of the morning as I sat here working on the computer and trying to motivate myself to get out the door and on the road. Yes, I too sometimes have to motivate myself to take pictures! LOL

After posting a few queries on Facebook to a couple railfan groups, about current traffic for trains in the area I want to railfan, I finally decided that I was going to point my Toyota RAV4 north and see where it’d lead me!

Responses to the  Facebook posts were providing some info that trains were out there moving, just not a lot of them, so it seemed, but that never deters me as I always seem to find them. For me it’s not about the number of trains, but catching unusual or different angles, scenes or trains when I’m trackside. This day seemed to start out challenging, to say the least!

March 25, 2017 – CSX Autorack train Q247 arrives at the north end of Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana.

Out of Madisonville I followed CSX’s Henderson Subdivision north to Evansville, Indiana and during the whole trip I only saw and heard (I use a scanner to listen to the train traffic) one train, a southbound, which I was too late in catching to get a photo! It wasn’t looking good! 50 miles and only one train? Maybe I should have stayed home, but the clouds in the sky were fantastic and I was determined to catch some trains with them!

My first stop was CSX’s Howell Yards in Evansville, Indiana. This is a spot where you can drive all the way around the yard and get good shots from various angles. My favorite location however is on the west side of the yard across from the engine service facility. This is where I caught a autorack train coming into the yard heading south and empty coal train northbound from the yard. Knowing the route the coal train would take I decided to head on north toward Princeton, Indiana to get ahead of the coal train to catch it along its way north. This way I’d be sure of at least getting a few shots with a train.

March 25, 2017 – Empty coal train CSX E234 heads through St. James Curve at St. James, Indiana as it makes it’s way north on the CE&D Subdivision.

The first spot I wanted to catch the coal train was a location known by railroaders as St. James Curve, which is just outside the small hamlet of St. James, Indiana, just past I-64 off of Hwy 41 north. After arriving and waiting about 5 minutes the coal train, E234, graced my presence as it swept through the curve into the frame to allow me to catch this sweeping photo with the beautiful clouds in the sky! First photo I was really happy with from the day!March 25, 2017 – CSX empty coal train E234 heads north through St. James Curve at St. James, Indiana, on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision.

Knowing how fast the train was moving I knew I only really had one other spot I could get to before the train and that was the restored depot in Princeton, Indiana, which was the furthest I planned on going on this trip today. 

Again, I was rewarded with this shot as the coal train prepared to pass the station as it continued its trip north. 

March 25, 2017 – CSX empty coal train E234 passes the depot at Princeton, Indiana as it heads north on CSX’s CE&D Subdivision. The station was built in 1875 and has been beautifully restored. Once housing the C&EI and L&N railways, it was the lifeline of commerce and transportation for the county. Passenger service was discontinued in the late 1960’s. The Princeton Train Depot is now home to the Gibson County Visitors Center and features a railway museum with a restored train caboose.

At this point I was satisfied that I had a couple nice photos in the camera, but still I wanted more!

I had been in contact with fellow railfan photographer Ryan Scott via Facebook Messenger and phone, since I got to Howell Yard in Evansville. He also was out railfanning and we decided to meet up at the depot in Princeton to visit and railfan together.

That’s where things started to change from my original plan! We spent time looking and shooting at the Norfolk Southern Yard at Princeton and along the other lines in and around town and at the Alliance Coal Mine loop where coal trains load. Ryan then suggested night photos! He’s not had much success on shooting photos at night and was looking for some tips and help. I hadn’t planned on staying trackside that late, but it had been quite awhile since I did any night work so I went for it.

March 25, 2017 – The red light from signals light up the front of NS 871 with an empty Norfolk Southern coal train that tied down in Lyle Siding at Princeton, Indiana, waiting on a crew to take it on east on the NS Southern West district.

Now, for the railfan friends of mine that read this, here’s some of the tips I passed onto Ryan as we were shooting at Norfolk Southern’s Lyle Siding and in downtown Princeton during our night shoot that you might find helpful as well.

First, before we got out of the car, where we had some light, we set our cameras as follows: 

  • Turn off auto ISO if you use it and set your ISO to 250.
  • Set your camera on manual and the shutter speed to 20 seconds with your lens aperture to it’s widest opening.
  • Remove any filters that might be on the lenses you’re going to shoot with. Otherwise you can get some ghosting in your photos when the lights reflect back into the filter.
  • Place your camera on a tripod!
  • Then set the self timer on your camera to somewhere between 3-10 seconds. This is to insure that there’s no camera shake, resulting in a blurred image, when you trip the shutter.

Review your first photo on your LCD screen. If it’s too dark, increase your exposure by giving it more time, ie 30 -60 seconds. If your camera won’t allow beyond a 30 second exposure then increase your ISO setting to give you another stop of light. That means go from 250 to 500 ISO, or something equivalent. I try to keep my ISO as low as possible as this helps to keep the noise (grain) down in the photograph. Keep adjusting like this until you get an exposure that you like and feel you can work in. If the photo is too light then of course you go in the other direction with your exposure.

March 25, 2017 – Great time shooting some night action with fellow railfans Ryan Scott and Dave Kunkle! We caught this empty Norfolk Southern coal train that tied down in Lyle Siding at Princeton, Indiana, waiting on a crew to take it on east on the NS Southern West district. A big shout out to Dave Kunkle who was gracious enough to be our “grip” and use his hat to cover a bothersome light on one of the RR Boxes next to the crossing!

Focusing can be an issue when shooting at night as well. I usually bring a bright spotlight to shine on my subject to aid in focus, but since I didn’t start out planning to shoot night photos, I didn’t bring one. So, we had to improvise.

Change your focus point to center weighted so you have a single point to focus with. Then pick a bright spot on your subject and try to focus. If the camera can’t lock in the focus using the brightest spot, then see if there’s not something brighter about the same distance away that you can focus on. Another thing you can do if you are shooting with someone else, is to have your friend stand in a safe spot next to your subject and turn their smart phone’s flashlight on facing the camera and focus on the light from it. Of course you can manually focus as well, but for my aging eyesight I find autofocus works better for me.

Now, once you have the camera focused you need to turn off the autofocus on your lens or camera. Otherwise when you press the shutter button on the camera it’s going to try to refocus when you take the photo, probably resulting in an out of focus photo. I personally use the back focus button on my Nikon D800 and turn it off on the shutter button. This way I don’t have this issue. Most of your DSLRs have this feature. If yours doesn’t then you’ll have to turn it off on the lens between subjects.

Other than that, shoot a lot and check your focus after shooting each photo! Do this by viewing the photo on your LCD and zooming in tight to check your focus. Nothing more disappointing than shooting a bunch of photos to find they’re soft or out of focus, after you get back home.

As you can see from several of the photos here, I came away with some nice photos for not really having planned for shooting at night.

Oh, by the way, I left to start this trip at noon Saturday and by the time I got back home it was 12:30 am Sunday morning. Sometimes, things work that way though! All in all a good trip! Be safe out there when you’re trackside or traveling!