Author: Gage Caudell

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Out of Place

There’s nothing wrong with traditional portrait photography but after a while I feel like I’m seeing the same thing over and over again. That is why I asked my nephew if he would be ok with shooting some non-traditional senior pictures. He was a great sport and I felt we got many great pictures.

Both of these pictures were taken in the country near their home in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison and the surrounding country side is beautiful. It’s full of many rolling hills, with great winding roads and old barns and buildings. We walked along a hiking path and came to this wide open field and thought it would be great for a few pics with his tie, white shirt, and black slacks.

Once we were done shooting at this location we decided to drive around and we came across this old church that was built in the late 1800’s and had this old outhouse.

Both of the these pics I really like because of how out of place he is in comparison to his surroundings. I think this is what makes the pictures interesting?

P.S. You should ask him about all the wasp above his head at the outhouse some time 🙂

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Want an apple?

Recently, my wife, our baby girl, and I drove to Madison Wisconsin to visit my sister and family.  My nephew Sage, who is a senior in high school asked if I would consider taking his senior pictures.  My comfort level for portrait photography has significantly improved and I decided I would be up for the challenge with the exception of one stipulation, I could be creative in the pictures I take.

I have to give credit for my wife for this one.  She thought a pic with Sage against a tree and an arrow above his head in the tree while going through an apple would be unique.  I would have to agree with her, these pics came out very well.

P.S.  The out of focus portions of both pictures is not created by post processing.  I was able to do this with my 50mm Summilux.

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Motion & Symmetry

Often, photographers are attempting to find symmetry or patterns within their environment that would be eye catching.  This picture is a great example.

I was standing in the airport waiting to get on one of the trains and noticed the adjacent train sitting there.  I noticed the ceiling tiles, train doors, windows, floor tiles, and even the trash can all had a similar linear pattern.  I felt this would be a great place to focus on the train and hope that a subject would walk through.  Fortunately, I got lucky.  This man carrying a piece of paper walked right where I wanted him.  I love that I caught him in mid stride because his front leg, back foot, upper torso, and paper all became symmetric with the environment.  By focusing on the train, I was able to blur the subject so the viewer could get a sense of motion.

 

 

 

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The Moment

This past week I’ve been in San Diego teaching. It’s always enjoying going to this meeting because I get the opportunity to assist in teaching future surgical podiatrists. Unlike some conferences I go to, where many of the participants are there to get their CME’s (continuing medical education), these participants (residents) are eager to learn and try to grasp as much information we can give to them. I also enjoy seeing colleagues of mine who are some of the best foot and ankle surgeons in the country.

Unfortunately, even though I get to travel for these meetings I typically don’t get much time to explore, thus there are not many picture opportunities. Fortunately, last year when flying to San Diego I happen to sit next to an airline pilot, Elijah Nicolas. He and I have very similar interests and I think we spent the entire 3 hours trying to one up each other in our knowledge of technology related stuff. Since then, we have kept in contact and I had the opportunity to meet up with him for dinner last night and a quick tour of some of the popular places in downtown San Diego. Elijah has a blog,elijahnicolas.com, if you have time please visit it. Thanks Elijah for a great time and good luck in your triathlon today.

Elijah drove me to Balboa Park to see if I could find any interesting picture opportunities. The area is very cultural and has many beautiful buildings and museums, hopefully I can return some day. As we were walking towards a large fountain in the park, a couple just happened to be standing there and both decided to show their affection for one another. It immediately made me think of my wife and daughter who I haven’t seen for 4 days. I can’t wait to get home and show both of them affection. Here is a picture of that “moment” I was speaking of.

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The Swamp

Here in northeast Indiana there are many nature preserves.  Probably the most well known is the ACRES Land Trust.  ACRES Land Trust is made up of many preserves throughout northeast Indiana.  All are free and have nice trails.

One after noon I drove to one of the preserves west of my home.  This preserve is mostly forest and swamp.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture any exciting shots (the foliage did not have much colors).  I took this one shot of of an isolated tree within one of the swamps.

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Pier at Dusk

I’ve posted many pictures from our trip to the Outer Banks last year.  We had a wonderful time and I was fortunate to capture many great pics.

One evening we went to the Avon Pier at sunset.  I setup underneath the pier to try to capture the waves that were coming in and the many post that held up the pier.  The picture is a 5 exposure HDR utilizing my old Canon 5d Mark II.  I really like the texture in the piers posts.

Here are other post from the Outer Banks:  The Orange Sunrise, The Empty Pier, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

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The Cross

Recently I decided to sell my Leica 21mm elmarit and move to a 28mm summicron.  This decision didn’t come easily.  I’ve enjoyed  shooting with wide angle lenses (I had Canon 16-35mm on my full frame 5d Mark II) but have noticed recently my interest is beginning to change.  As I have become more educated in photography, I’ve realized that wide angle lenses are not always the best for landscape.  Wide angle lenses can flatten your image and typically have a lot of distortion.  They are best, when you have something relatively close to you in the foreground and are attempting to add some depth of field.  Telephoto or at least 90mm lenses are often times better for true landscape with no subjects in the foreground.

Leica 28mm summicron is still considered to be a wide angle lens but it doesn’t have any noticeable distortion.  On the Leica M9 it also will allow you to use the internal viewfinder versus an external (needed for anything wider than 28mm).  This lens is very popular with journalist because of its wide angle, no distortion, low light performance, and sharpness.  So far i have to agree with their assessment.  Hopefully soon I’ll post a few more pics using the lens.

A few days ago I drove to a small rural Catholic church.  Behind the church lies a small cemetery.  I captured this image using my 28mm summicron at sunset. I really like the sharpness  and bokeh produced.

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Lets Play

Its been a few days since I’ve posted anything on the site.  I’ve really been busy with work and want to spend as much time with my little girl as possible therefore at times the website will just have to be on hold.

The picture uploaded today was taken in 2008 at my residency graduation party.  I have to give my wife credit for this one.  We were all at a friends house and the second year resident decided he would play guitar for us.  My wife took this picture and I later edited it with Silver Efex Pro.  I think she did an outstanding job.

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Flying High

I spent some time in St. Louis in late 2004 and early 2005.  On a few occasions we would drive to Alton Illinois to see the second largest gathering of Bald Eagles in the United States.  I’ve never had much interest in birds but Bald Eagles are the exception.  They are remarkable to see and an enjoyment to watch them fly.  I can easily understand why they are our national bird.

Probably, my first heavily photoshop image was taken of Bald Eagles in Alton.  The below image is made up of two different birds.  The five birds flying are actually all the same bird, I shot it using my Canon 20d and Canon f2.8 L series 70-200mm lens (best telephoto lens I’ve ever owned).  The bird on the branch was sitting next to the road.  Last, it was a very overcast day which allowed me to get such great pictures of these creatures without completely ruining their highlights.  The sky used in the picture was taken outside my apartment at the time in Des Moines Iowa.

P.S.  You got to stop at Fast Eddies if you are in Alton, they sell 1/2lb hamburgers for $.99 (they haven’t raised there prices in years)!!!

 

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