a.k.a. a blog by Jeffrey
family, photography, & soccer
A number of weeks ago the Magic House opened its doors just for the members of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis. I can't tell you how fun it was. The place was not at all crowded and I knew most of the people who were there. Olivia and Mia had an absolute blast running, playing and trying everything they could. Of course there were a number of good photographs to be made, a select few are below.
The annual Jackson Park School picnic is the JamBearee. While I am not really sure where the name originated, considering the mascot is a lion. None the less, it is a fun time for the kids to run around playing carnival games and for the parents to relax, listen to some music and enjoy each other's the company.
Being that it is Mother’s Day, we started with breakfast in bed, specially made for a real mom. But once that was over, we had to decide how to spend the rest of the day. After photographing in Forest Park last Friday evening, the idea came to us to go on a paddle boat ride in Forest Park.
The timing was great and we walked right up and got on a boat in no time at all. With ducks keeping us company, we paddled though the small lake and waterways, under bridges until we made it to the Grand Basin of Forest Park with its large fountains and view of the Art Museum.
It was a really great time and Jennifer repeatedly said she was so happy and could not think of a better way to spend her special day. I am pretty sure Olivia and Mia enjoyed themselves as well. After peddling back to the dock, we ate at the Boathouse restaurant, on the edge of the lake. Really a great day. I cannot believe we have this wonderful park only a few minutes from our home, and we rarely do anything more than stop by the zoo. If you ever get the chance to take a paddle boat ride, take it.
NOTE: Once again, all of these photos were made with the camera on my Blackberry and adjusted in Lightroom. I chose this style of post processing because the history of Forest Park, just calls for this look. See more images on my Flickr page in the Mother’s Day in Forest Park set.
Taking what many people have said and Chase Jarvis has made gospel to the photography community, the best camera is the one you have with you. The other evening in Forest Park here in St. Louis, my best camera was a BlackBerry. The fountain at the base of the World’s Fair Pavilion is a classic location in St. Louis for wedding parties, families and any tourist with a camera to stop and get an image.
On Friday, after the kids going to prom had left, there was a few minutes before the sun went down when there were very few people around and it was a great photo opportunity.
One trick I have found with the not so hot camera on my BlackBerry is that if I change the color setting to sepia or black & white, the resulting images are often much more interesting. With the tradition of the pavilion, the sepia look works pretty well. It removes the distracting color and lets the interesting structure be the focus. It can even work with Mia hiding in the tall grass.
Then at times, black and white together with a moving subject and a moving camera and a slower shutter speed can make for an interesting image.
Unfortunately, I have not found any apps for manipulating images in the BlackBerry, and as Frederick Van Johnson believes, “pixels were born to be punished.” That is very true of these images. The exposure, brightness, contrast, fill light, and black levels have all be manipulated in Lightroom. A vignette has also been added along with some grain to enhance the feel.
Here is before and after:
Or when to really have fun an image of a tree can be transformed.
Jennifer likes the before image better than the after image. I disagree. I don’t think she likes either of the tree images. What are your thoughts?
The two kindergarten clasess from Jackson Park Elementary School took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. Above is the Animoto video made from the photos taken during the outing and the photos can all be found in the Jackson Park School gallery under Children heading on www.jeffreyphoto.com
