Shutter Mike Photography

My initial reasons for going with a Sony DSLR over the generally more popular Nikon or Canon were based almost exclusively on practicality.  I had (and still do in fact) a Minolta SLR film camera and several lenses when I started shopping around for a DSLR.  At the time Sony and Minolta had partnered to develop a new line of digital SLR cameras with the Minolta lens mount.  That meant I would not need to invest in lenses in addition to the camera body.

However, when I did my research I did take a few other factors into consideration.  I knew I wanted image stabilization in whatever camera I bought.  At the time, the Sony Alpha line of cameras had this feature built into the camera body whereas most DSLRs have that have this feature have it built into the lens.  The in-camera option means I have stabilization regardless of the lens I use.  Combine that with the fact that I already owned a few non-image stabilizer lenses from my Minolta and there were two pluses in favor of the Sony.

Price was also a big factor of course.  At the time I bought my first Sony Alpha it was a new line from Sony and the Alpha 100 was their first release.  Sony’s pricing model was (and still is) to present feature rich cameras at a price that opens the DSLR market to more consumers.  So the pricing worked and sealed the deal.

I used my Sony Alpha 100 for about 3 years and had been very happy with the features and performance so when I went to upgrade I stuck with Sony for pretty much the same reasons that brought me to Sony the first time.  Only this time, the additional features of the newer Sony models that had been released since I first got my a100, such as the 24 mp full frame sensor of the Sony Alpha 850, basically kept me from even looking at the competition.

I have used the Sony Alpha DSLR cameras for several years now, first the a100 and now the a850, and have been very happy with the cameras’ features as well as the image quality.  I feel Sony produces a quality camera and would definitely recommend them for both first time DSLR users and more experienced photographers.

This sign is off 7th Ave and Indian School Rd in central Phoenix in a neighborhood known as the Melrose District.  I really like this neighborhood and it has a lot of photography opportunities.

Phoenix Good Samaritan Medical Center

The Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, designed by Bertrand Goldberg, can been seen from Interstate 10 and I have driven by it multiple times but knew little about it.  With the oval windows it looks very 1960’s space age to me but was actually built in the early 1980s.  This is the north facade on McDowell.

I wrote about the 26 Blocks exhibit when it opened last month.  The project involves pairing 26 of the best photographers in the Phoenix metro area with 26 of the best writers and assigned the duos one of 26 downtown Phoenix city blocks.  Their assignment was to capture their assigned block’s past, present or future in one photograph (with up to four images in it) and 500 words.

I missed the opening of the exhibit, but now the exhibit is beginning a tour of the city and will be displayed at various venues arounand runs from 5:30 to 7:30.  As an added bonus, the opening of the exhibit coincides with the first public unveiling of the College of Medicine’s renovation of the old Phoenix Union High School into their Phoenix campus.  So you have a chance to see a great photography exhibit and an architectural restoration of a historic Phoenix building.

My photography tends to go in one of two directions, urban/architecture or nature/landscape.  As a result most of the Phoenix photography spots I write about fall into one of those two categories or a blend of the two.  One spot that I have written about and photographed often in the nature category is the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.  Always on the look out for new places to photograph in Phoenix and the Valley, I happened upon a similar spot not too far from the Preserve.

The Chandler Veteran’s Oasis Park is located in the Southeast valley at Lindsey Road and Chandler Heights Road.  The concept of the park is very similar to that of the Gilbert Riparian Preserve.  They both serve first and foremost as water management facilities but they have also been designed to serve double duty as urban parks and environmental education centers.

The Chandler Veteran’s Oasis Park has a main lake fed by a water fall similar to the one you will find in Gilbert.  The lake is part of the Valley’s urban fishing program and you can usually find anglers trying their luck to pull the next big one out.  A traditional park surrounds the lake with ramadas, picnic tables and a playground.  But for the photographer, it is the trails that branch off from the main lake that are the true gem.  The 4 1/2 miles of trails lead off to several catch basins that serve as habitat to many of the same wildlife you will find at the Gilbert preserve.  Although keep in mind, for wildlife photography, especially birds that may be migratory, you will have better luck at some times of year over others.  June, when I first visited the park, is probably not the best to photograph the birds as many have already returned north.  But until fall rolls around again and I can get a better idea of how many wildlife photo ops there are, there are still a variety of birds as well as other desert wildlife for photographing.

Sometimes even the most ordinary subject, such as a simple building corner, can be transformed with the right lighting.  This building at Encanto Park in Phoenix is rather nondescript in and of itself.  But when the lighting is just right, such when this photograph was taken at the “magic hour” it can make all the difference.  It requires patience waiting for just the right lighting but is well worth it.

I am participating in a 365 photo project from Faded & Blurred and am a bit surprised that I am still going.  As of yesterday there have been 160 days in the year so we are almost half way through.  Admittedly, my Flickr set only has 151 photographs in it; meaning I missed 9 days.  But it is a lot more difficult than you might think to work photography into your schedule every day.  I find myself scrambling sometimes at 9 o’clock at night to find something to photograph.  And some days I just don’t have it in me to shoot.  So I am going to look at missing only 9 days as more of an accomplishment than a defeat.  I’ll try to keep the total number of days missed under 15 (being realistic that I am bound to miss a few more).

Although just a sampling, as you can see, my images have run the gamut from food to my dogs to everyday random sightings.  The great thing about a project like this is that it makes you think about photography everyday (or virtually everyday).  By doing so you are constantly viewing your surroundings as the next great photograph and hopefully improving your photography day by day.