Old Sturbridge Village ~ Sturbridge, MA

Old Sturbridge Village is hosting a Home School Day on September 14th. Jeff, the kids and I attended their last home school day in May. It’s quite a haul to get there, with traffic it took us about three hours. We also didn’t participate in any of the scheduled events (at least not the ones that required we sign up ahead of time).

Overall it was a fun day. Lots to see and do. People walking around in period clothing, engaging actors, animals, things to touch and inspire and if you love photography like I do there were plenty of things to take pictures of. If you have the time and/or the opportunity I highly recommend the place. We were lucky enough to even run into some of our online friends…making them real life friends.

Here are just a few shots from our trip with a link at the bottom if you’d like to see more.

If you are interested in seeing the rest of the photos from our day at Sturbridge Village you can do so here.

As always thanks for reading checking out the blog and if you do go come back and tell me about it.

Peace,

Kelly Halldorson

Yesterday we headed back to New Hampshire from a job in Albany, NY. A job which has taken up a great deal of our time and energy over the last month. We were winding things up last night but there is still stuff the family (and/or someone) needs to do on the project. It’s one of those things, you’re done but it’s not done. Which makes it all the more draining.

Our immediate reason for heading back to New Hampshire was my first gallery opening so things were positive on that end. I’ve never had my work hung in a gallery before. I had no idea how any of it works. I wasn’t even really planning on trying to get my work into a gallery. That was just something that hadn’t even occurred to me.

What happened was I messaged Jeanne’ McCartin, who writes a gossip column for Seacoast Online, about our book. She messaged me back saying, That’s funny. I’ve been meaning to contact you. About my photos, as it was. She manages a gallery in Portsmouth and was interested in my work, specifically my little creatures.

The inspiration for those little creatures sort of grew out of two things. My Something Beautiful (10,000 Photos) and the passing of my grandfather last March.

The music of NeedToBreathe, specifically their album The Heat and song More Time, got Jeff and I through the writing of Skeletons Don’t Sleep. We actually sat up late nights writing and listening to that song over and over until we finished the book. So, when we were done the book and I needed something positive to focus on to augment the darker subject of child sexual assault I started taking more photos. Then NeedToBreathe came out with the song, Something Beautiful.

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire, ’cause I just want something beautiful
To touch me, I know that I’m in reach
‘Cause I am down on my knees, I’m waiting for something beautiful
Oh, something beautiful

I felt like the lyrics were meant for me. It inspired me to try taking photos of *things* every day (people had always been my subject of choice) things people go about their days and miss. Things that were/are beautiful but we often miss. I took photos of landscapes, flowers, stars, snow, trees, paths and so much more…

Then when Grampy passed. I started looking even closer. I took close-ups not just of the flowers but felt a drive to capture the bugs on the flowers too. As I saw the uniqueness and beauty of so many different creatures I had before overlooked. I got a little obsessed. Now it’s become sort of it’s own project. In the beginning it felt as though Grampy (who wanted to be an entomologist when he was a kid) was whispering in my ear… Hey! Come here, check out this one or Oh, this one is great. Can you get closer? Now my kids and Jeff and everyone really help me find the bugs!

So, here we were driving back to New Hampshire for the purpose of going to my first ever (serendipitous) gallery opening and the conversation between Jeff and I drifts to Grampy. We both miss him so much. About three minutes into the conversation Jeff says, Do you want to stop by and see Barbara later in the week? Barbara is Grampy’s wife, my step grandmother. I replied, Yes, I think I’d like that. I think she would like that.

No sooner had the words parted my lips than a song began to play.

I was so caught up in the conversation I had completely forgotten we even had the radio on. Then all of a sudden it was all I could hear. I felt it in my whole body, my soul. Tears began to well up in my eyes and slowly it built by the second verse, I was in full sob…and driving.

And the water is risin’ quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can’t be sure when it will subside
So I won’t leave your side, no I can’t leave your side

Kelly? Are you okay? You’re starting to scare us here.

I love you. I’m sorry. I’m okay. It’s okay.

I came back to earth, though I’m not entirely sure where I went. Or what it was that came to me but it felt so wonderful, powerful, and beautiful, I can’t begin to do it justice with the limitations of my words.

We met my parents at the opening. My mother was having such a nice time she didn’t want to leave!

Next time I’ll send out the info beforehand so lots of folks can join us for it. Since it was my first time I didn’t know if an “artist reception” was just for the artists or what. Now, I know how it works and would love to have more people come to the next one. For now if you are interested in seeing my work (and a lot of other cool artists’ work, including Philip Cohen’s awesome Portsmouth photos) you can stop by 100 Market St in Portsmouth, New Hampshire from now through the end of October. If you like a piece drop me an email and it’s yours.

Right now I feel so incredibly blessed with opportunity and surrounded by people that love me. All three kids opted to come over and they gave me a fortune cookie. My very own, filled with love.

It’s truly all, Something Beautiful.

Peace,

Kelly Halldorson

We woke up pretty early because we had to get the plastic on the high tunnel greenhouse we (mostly Jeff) are building before heading to New Castle later in the day so I could take some photos for a Le Leche League brochure.

The temperature was warm but not hot and crisp but not cold. There was no wind. It could not have been more perfect weather to put the plastic on this greenhouse. The plastic came in a gigantic roll that weigh close to 100 lbs, if not more. Jeff had to first get it up to the top and then balance on the spine of the greenhouse as he unrolled it across 72 feet. Once it was unrolled the length of the green house he unfolded the sides and secured them down. We all had to help a little but Jeff really did all the hard work. It was no easy feet, especially seeing as our 80+ year old landlord came down on his tractor to watch. It was pretty nerve-racking but Jeff managed.

High Tunnel Greenhouse, if you need one of these put up anywhere in the US…contact us

While he battened down the sides Zoe and I did a little exploring in the yard. I chased a butterfly got a couple shots and Zoe found a great little green guy, missing a leg.

This may be a Red Spotted Purple. If you know otherwise please let me know and I’ll edit.

this would be Zoe’s find, a young Praying Mantis

It was supposed to start pouring around noon. Thankfully the rain kept away and Jeff was able to work on the greenhouse until I had to leave at 2:00 and head to the ocean. I had plans for a photo shoot. So, he was able to come with us! We stopped at Starbucks on the was for some cool drinks because it had gotten pretty hot at the farm toward the end of our time there.

It was  gorgeous at the beach, not too hot and not too cold. Complete with a cool salty breeze and breathtaking sky.

the sky in New Castle, New Hampshire

I started taking some shots of the kids. Jeff was sweet and played dad in a few of the shots. The theme for the Le Leche League conference I was shooting the promo shots for is, family…building strong families. I haven’t finished going through all the shots yet but while I was there I also tried to get shot of the individual families and/or moms with babies so they could have some pictures for themselves. Here are a few of those.

I have a ton more. I think I took nearly 200 photos. Not all are winners but certainly there should be a good amount to pick from for the conference promo shots. I’m satisfied with the shoot though I always wish I had taken just a few more shots!

It was also was an interesting photo shoot because it was the first time I’ve ever done a “photo shoot” without an SLR. That’s right, for these pictures and all the picture on this entry I used my Canon Digital Elph cameras. I have two.

Canon Digital Elph SD 960 IS

When Jeff, the kids and I were leaving there was another photographer setting up on the beach. He had a flash on a stand, a big family all dressed alike and a huge camera and lens. While I’m not opposed to big set-ups, I’m absolutely positive now that they are not *necessary* and like with many things in life we can often get by with much less than we think and still have a life filled with beauty.

We ordered pizza and picked it up on the way home. We also stopped at the grocery store and Jeff went in to grab a few things, including my new favorite…Truly Yours Bars by Tofutti. While Jeff was in the store the kids and I witnessed what had to have been the closest lightning strike I’ve ever experienced. I saw the actual line in my rear view mirror and while things were still lit up there was an immense BOOM.  It rattled everyone. Jeff said inside the store the lights flickered and people got nervous. He thought the building was struck. The kids thought the car was struck. I think it was just the ground behind the car and right in front of the store.

By the time we got home the storm had well passed over us. It was nearing sunset. I was sitting in the bedroom and suddenly saw the light from outside turn orange. I didn’t get up to look because I figured it was just a cloud passing in front of the sun or something. Then I heard Jeff yell for me to come take a look at something and Griffin shout, WOW! Oh my God!

I jumped up all freaked out but thought enough to grab my camera because generally that’s why people yell for me to come look at stuff these days.

We all walked out onto the front porch and everything and I mean everything was orange. It was as though we were walking into a sunset. It was still and silent and looked as though (one of my facebook friends described it) everything was in sepia. Almost as though you were part of some old silent film with the exception of our own voices. I took a few pictures but they really don’t do the experience justice. It was strangely creepy.

Overall a great day filled with lots of imagery, cool new people, bugs, learning, connections, happiness, ocean, sun, building and so much more. Thanks for letting me share a little taste with you.

Peace,

Kelly

I thought I’d put some of these shots together in one place. If you know what some of them are please let me know. I’ll probably come back to this post and add more as I find them…and add info too…

Found in our yard. Strafford, NH

Found in our yard. Strafford, NH

Found in our yard. Strafford, NH

Found on the house by the light at night. Strafford, NH

Tiger Moth. Found on the house by the light at night. Strafford, NH

These three photos are all taken with the same camera, at the same location, same time of day and same camera settings.

I used a Canon SD960 IS. It’s a low cost fantastic little camera that also shoots HD video!

They are all taken straight from the camera. No extra work was done to them on the computer. They are in the raw.

Why are they different?

It’s pretty simple and it’s a neat little trick I use, often, to get the light just how I want it. When using a non-SLR camera manual features are limited but if you work/play at it you can find little tricks like this one to get the camera to do things you otherwise wouldn’t be able to without the manual capabilities.

Here’s what I do. In the first picture I focused straight at the house. When I say focused I mean I pointed the camera with that area in somewhat the center and then pressed the button down slightly. You can ear and see the camera focus on the area and then stop. I took the shot. It was way too dark for my liking.

For the second shot (standing in the same place) I pointed the camera down and focused on the grass just below the house. I could see the colors brighten up on the screen. When I had the color where I thought I wanted it I moved the camera back up then took the shot. The sky turned out washed out. I really wanted to get the clouds. They were a stunningly colorful sight.

I tried again. Jeff and the kids were waiting in the car so I just took these three in a matter of probably two minutes. If I didn’t have a car full of hot sweaty family members I may have spent a few more minutes playing with the shot. This last time I focused on the sky at the very top of the area I was shooting then lowered the camera down quickly and for the shot. I got it, almost. It’s not exactly what I *saw* but it’s damn close. A little touch up in Paint Shop Pro and it will be perfect, by my standards anyway.

Here is my finished image.

I say *saw* because really I “saw” all these shots. Think about when you walk out into the bright daylight after being in a dark house. Think about all the different things you see lighting and color-wise as your eyes adjust. A lot eh? Thats what I try to capture…the one (or two or three) versions of the landscapes, bugs, flowers, color, lighting, etc I *see* whether or not my eyes are adjusting.

Peace,

Kelly

Bugs bugs bugs.

I love them. They are another one of the many things that this Something Beautiful project has given me a new appreciation for. There are so many different kinds of bees, spiders, worms, caterpillars, dragonflies, flies, wasps and so on and so forth that bugs make for incredible subjects.

I’ve been spending much of my photography time as of late shooting these amazing tiny creatures. Here are some suggestions if you’d like to try it for yourself.

1. change your camera setting to the MACRO setting
2. make sure you aren’t zooming in (if you are using macro) it won’t focus and will likely prove to be *extremely* frustrating
3. set the ISO as low as you can manage without getting motion warning
4. sit and wait for them to come to you sometimes
5. be patient it’s challenging and takes a good amount of practice so don’t get discouraged

I find flying bugs are best to sit and wait for. If you don’t you can end up with a lot of blurry shots as you watch them fly away just as you get close enough to get them. Bees and other bugs on flowers are pretty easy to catch. They are on a task. They’re busy.

Dragonflies are really hard to get, at least the ones on my pond. This shot is one of my favorites but it took 3 or 4 tries to even get *one* in focus.

So, relax don’t sweat it with a little practice you’ll be able to get nearly any shot your looking for. If you have any questions post them below or shoot me an email at kelly@halldorson.com

Oh yeah and I’d LOVE it if you posted some of YOUR photos (or links to them) below.

Peace,
Kelly

I stumbled across a quote today…

Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop. -Ansel Adams

All I could think was really? Twelve!? Sure he worked with only film but surely he could get more out of the world than that? I guess anything beyond my first dozen significant shots this year I should consider a gift…

I decided to check out some of his other quotes. I’m posting a few here along with some other shots I took today and yesterday.

When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. -Ansel Adams

These people live again in print as intensely as when their images were captured on old dry plates of sixty years ago… I am walking in their alleys, standing in their rooms and sheds and workshops, looking in and out of their windows. Any they in turn seem to be aware of me. -Ansel Adams

We must remember that a photograph can hold just as much as we put into it, and no one has ever approached the full possibilities of the medium. -Ansel Adams

To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things. -Ansel Adams

In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. -Ansel Adams

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. -Ansel Adams

Do you know any good photography quotes? What photographers do you admire?

Peace,
Kelly

Are you looking for a little more color in your photos?

This is absolutely one of the simplest ways…GET UP CLOSE to something colorful. All the photos on this entry were taken in the last couple of weeks and they are all taken straight from the camera, meaning I used the camera settings to get the colors/lighting/focus etc I was looking for instead of doing it afterwards with cropping and color enhancements.

The yellow shot above is a lily flower, despite being surrounded by mucky water and pond scum the color up close is really remarkable. Sometimes it takes a little effort and patience when shooting close-up shots. With the lily I had to find a way to actually get to it and not be knee deep in that aforementioned pond scum.

And don’t be afraid of bugs! They are beautiful…they are colorful and they give added character to flower shots.

If you get up right inside the flowers you’ll find it even more colorful and fascinating to look at. The deep floral shots remind me of the works of Georgia O’Keefe and my recent appreciation for her work with flowers.

Another great thing about shooting bugs…we have LOTS of dragonflies on our pond. All sorts of different flavors. They are stunning. Recently we went to a homeschool group near a small waterway. There were a gazillion dragonflies there as well and they were all different than the varieties we have on our pond. The group was less than ten miles from the house so it was especially remarkable to me how many different types of dragonflies there really are. (I actually think I’ll be doing a blog entry on that soon).

Dragonflies are really hard to photograph with the little digital Elph. The shots come out great when you get them but they are so fast it’s hard to actually capture them. It’s best to just sit in one place and wait for them to come to you. That’s what I did with this shot.

When you look closely at something through a lens even the most mundane things can become inspiring and beautiful…like this clover and this dead dandelion with the bright blue sky behind it.

And with your camera settings set to MACRO (something I’ve done for every one of these shots) you are sure to get some spectacular depth of field effects. Check out this shot of Jeff holding the dragonfly by it’s wings even his fingers provide added intense color.

I’ll warn you though. You’ve GOT to get close. If you have a bigger SLR you can use a zoom lens and get the shot but with the digital Elph and other similar point and shoot type cameras I find it’s best to just use the macro feature and get really really really close. I’m talking less than a centimeter in some cases. I’ve even been known to bump the camera right up against the subject.

Get out there and get up close. Post your photos online somewhere and post some links to your work below…I’d really love to see and hear other folks ideas…and here some experiences.

Peace & Thanks for taking the time to read,
Kelly

I get this question all of the time. As for this photo, no. It’s straight from the camera. No editing. No cropping. No color enhancement. No blending. No nothing.

Does that make it a better photograph?
Does that make me a better photographer?
Does it make me a better artist?

I don’t really look at things that way. I think of each as step in the process. It is just a process. A woman, Brenda, wrote on my Something Beautiful page recently, “A shot should come from the camera needing very little editing done to it.”

I don’t agree. I think it’s a choice.

When it comes to the few thousand photos I’ve taken for that project I’ve made some principles for taking the shots…but it’s not the way it has to be…and sometimes I make exceptions. It all really depends.

For the Something Beautiful project I decided to take shots that won’t/wouldn’t need cropping or other editing of the sort mainly because of time restrictions. If I allow myself to edit every photo I took for the project, there would be no way to finish. There just wouldn’t be enough time. So, I’ve chosen to aim for the shots to be what I want them straight from the camera. I do occasionally still crop, usually for action-type shots that I was after a subject…like a bird. But for the most part I opt not to take the photo in the first place because I know it will need editing that I don’t have time for.

I do often run some of the Something Beautiful photos through a filter on my photo-editing software of choice. It’s 95% of the time a single filter…so it’s quick. I have a handful of filters customized for my taste. I can easily pop open the software, filter the photo, save it and move on. But sometimes even that takes too much time, for example on a day I’ve take 200+ photos and want to get them posted.

Either which way, my goal is not necessarily to capture exactly what I see. I don’t think that is ever possible. Our vision isn’t cropped in a perfect rectangle.
I also think what I *see* is going to be something entirely different than what the next person sees.

A couple of months ago, I was working for my aunt at her machine shop. It was only for two weeks they had a run of parts they needed extra help with. I had to be there early and every day I would drive in and watch the sun rise up from below the horizon.

One morning I had the radio on, there was a silly song on *Everybody Just Wants to Be Loved* it’s poppy and peppy not deep and I drove around a corner and witnessed a most beautiful sunrise. Tears welled up in my eyes and then streamed down my face. I was truly in awe of the beauty, nothing else. It barely lasted until the end of the song. I was fine. I was not sad. I was overcome with the beauty. It moved me.

When I photograph things *that* is what I’m trying to capture. No, I don’t want to everyone to cry. I don’t think my work is so strong or good that it’s going to bring people to tears or otherwise move them. None of that matters to me. It does in the sense that if my work *does* move someone I’m happy for that person. But what I really want to do is just share with the world my vision.

I want to show people that if they look around there is beauty everywhere. There is magic everywhere. There is peace, joy, love, inspiration everywhere…everywhere. You just have to be open to see it and it might look different to you but this is how *I* see it.

Now what does that all mean to the questions I posed above? If my goal when taking a photograph isn’t to recreate exactly what I see through the lens then why would it matter if I photoshopped the hell out of a photo or I just pointed the camera and snapped the shot? Answer is, it doesn’t.

Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro (what I use) or any other photo editing software are just tools. They are *no* different to me than ISO settings, shutter speed, zoom or macro lenses, polarizing filters, flashes or any of those things that are camera-based.

You want to shoot great pictures all of the time? Turn off your flash.

Play with your settings, the aperture, shutter speed and the ISO. If you are afraid to do those things just keep the camera in auto mode and turn off the flash…the camera will find settings to compensate. The biggest problem you might encounter if you do this is an automatic slow shutter. You’ll get a warning…a little camera with motion marks on it. That means hold the camera REALLY still.

There are also the presets on the camera. You know the little pictures of the person, a pet or a landscape. Don’t be afraid to play with those settings they are a good transition to the more advanced settings.

Practice. Take the same photo three different ways. See what happens. Observe the differences in light and focus.

Now onto a couple of more advanced settings.

ISO: This is film speed. With the digital cameras it’s simulated film speed. It’s really kind of neat with digital cameras because you can switch back and forth from on shot to the next. You can’t do that with film. Anywho basically if you are in low light conditions you want to have a higher ISO…how ever the higher the ISO the grainier the photo. That means the it’s much less smooth, crisp and clean. I try not to go higher than a 800 ISO with digital or with film I would stay under 400.

SHUTTER SPEED: Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open to let the light in. The longer the shutter is open to more of a possibility of a blurred shot if you are not using a tripod. You can do some really fun things with shutter speeds though. Maybe I’ll touch on a few of those things another day. A fast shutter speed is for fast action where as a slow shutter is for still life or scenery…generally speaking. There are obviously ALL sorts of different applications for everything. Some of those other applications I’ll share with you at some point.

This barn shot was taken with the ISO 100 and the flash off. The shutter was slow but not slow enough for it to cause a blur. The longer shutter and low ISO is was gave the picture clarity in the wood and allowed for the light to bleed through the cracks so nicely. If I had a flash on…I wouldn’t have gotten this shot.

Peace,
Kelly

If you are just starting out taking scenic shots in natural lighting then sunsets (or sunrises) are a great place to start. It’s lmost impossible to mess these shots up. The vivid color and drama is done for you. All you need do is point your camera and capture it.

Do make sure you have your ISO speed set to 200 or higher if you aren’t using a tripod. If you see the camera warn you of a slow shutter at whatever speed you pick…listen to it and switch up to a higher ISO…400 or even 800. If you are using a tripod no worries shoot it at as low an ISO as you can go!

I would love to see people post some of their own photos or links to their own photos.

Any photo questions? Please be sure to message me on facebook or drop me an email at kelly@halldorson.com

Peace,
Kelly