Maniac With Camera Blog: February 2010

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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Baby and Child Photography

I think baby photography is one of my favorite pastimes. Especially with one baby almost an year old and another one on the way, I’m learning baby photography the easy way with a ready supply of infants that I personally “have”. I also have children, one five years old (6 in June) and the other one is 8 years old in March, so I have those covered and if I really need a teenager to model for a portrait, I can call on a good friend of mine who has a teenager.

Child photography has been a hotbed of controversy; with parents up in arms about having their children’s picture taken. As a parent and as a photographer I can see the viewpoint from both sides. Pictures have always been a sore point especially with the latest child-sex crimes going on. You don’t know what people are doing…and unless you go with a legitimate child-photographer, you may not know what you’re getting yourself into. I hope to let my photography speak for itself about the type of baby/child-photography I do.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Aviation Photography

I have always been a fan of aviation photography. And one of the most popular books in that genre is the "how to" book written by T. Malcolm English, who is the editor of AIR International, one of Great Britain's premiere aviation magazines. This book is one of the best I've seen and considering it has been updated in the last few years, it's switched over to color photographs and has combined film photography with digital photography. English also talks about lenses and other hardware as well as techniques for taking better photographs of aircraft.

So far I've been able to get near civil aviation (mostly airliners) but I hope to get to another Abbotsford International Airshow at some point in my life and be able to photograph fast military jets again. Some of my friends like Randy Rothaar and Jose M. Ramos are able to get into the military installations and airshows and are able to photograph some wonderful shots of F-16s, F/A-18s and other birds of that ilk. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out there at Abbotsford and start nailing some shots in the next few years.

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Maniac With Camera Blog

This is my personal photography blog; the one that I keep separate from my corporate photography blog. This is where I keep everyday photography that I do. Whenever I go places I take my camera (either my DSLR or my point & shoot) with me. In that way, I have a way of documenting stuff at all times. Like it's said...people always wish that they had their camera with them when something happens. Well...if I keep my camera with me at all times, I'll never wish I had it when something does happen. ~ Hugo Chikamori, Maniac With Camera Blog Owner

Copyright Notification

This site comprises and contains © copyrighted materials.

YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE, COPY, PUBLISH OR USE THE IMAGES OR ANY PART OF THE IMAGES IN ANY WAY WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER. YOU MAY NOT ALTER, MANIPULATE, ANY PART OF AN IMAGE WITHOUT CONSENT.

All images included herein this Internet Web Site publication are the copyright and property of FalconRose Photography. COPYRIGHT NOTICE WARNING: The entire contents, as well as all individual parts, of this website are copyrighted by its creator and author, and are protected under the laws of the United States of America and member treaty nations. These laws impose substantial penalties for infringement, and violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The use of any images or other materials included herein, in whole or in part, for any purpose other than for the private purpose of the user, including, but not limited to, copying, reproduction, publication (including on Internet Web Site including third party web pages by any means, including "hotlinking", storage in a retrieval system (other than internet browser), manipulation (digital or otherwise), or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, is expressly prohibited without the written permission of Hugo (Haruo) Chikamori. All artistic and moral rights of the author are hereby asserted.

All inquiries regarding use of and purchasing prints and image use rights must be directed to Hugo Chikamori, via e-mail at falconrosephoto@gmail.com.

Sims 3 Exchange: Copyright information - All FalconRose Photography original photos that are used to create CC are considered the property of Hugo Haruo Chikamori (the original photographer) otherwise known as (NikkeiSimmer on the Sims 3 Exchange) and subject to personal distribution. The end-user may however utilize the photos in their Creative Content form within the framework of their games however are not granted license to distribute the CC. All FalconRose Photography photographs used in the creation of CC by NikkeiSimmer) will be distributed by NikkeiSimmer solely. However all C# coding to create CC for the framework of use in Sims 3 is attributed to Electronic Arts and their rights within.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

Due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and its ramifications world-wide, FalconRose Photography has ceased doing business with all American-based suppliers. FalconRose Photography will patronize Canadian suppliers and retailers of photographic equipment.

Also, this will result in sales of images to United States purchasers treated as if the purchase had taken place in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, and that all such provincial and federal sales taxes due will be paid by the purchaser (due to the complicated tax process involved, point of sale cannot be specified at location of purchaser.) Purchaser is responsible for payment of all US federal and state use-taxes as we will not be collecting those for the United States Government.

We are a small Canadian company and as such, we have had to take measures to protect ourselves (by removing all stain of US tax presence - being treated as a US taxable person; we are Canadian) from United States Taxation and its complicated methods of filing taxes under the United States Tax Code.

We are also boycotting any United States shooting locations and will proceed to shooting schedules in Canada only. Canada is a vast and beautiful country and there are plenty of places to photograph without having to step outside it. We look forward to continuing to bring beautiful images of Canada's wildlife and landscapes for your viewing pleasure.

Edit: upon further research into the confiscatory practices of the US Internal Revenue Service; FalconRose Photography recommends that any US based company requiring images refer to many of the talented photographers based in the United States. FalconRose Photography will not do business with US buyers.

I Do Not Critique Other Peoples' Images

I have had people ask me to critique their photos. Unfortunately, photography is a very subjective field. I don't like to give out critiques because invariably it involves "my opinion" which pretty much carries the same amount of weight as everyone else's - a very negligible weight.

I find that most photographers either want one of two things: They want me to a) praise them so that they don't feel bad about the photography that they are outputting. b) they want to be offended by minor criticism so that they can write the critiquer off as some hack photographer. So it doesn't matter how I give critique, it's a no-win situation.

If I am impressed by your photography, I will say so on my comments at your site: Flickr, 500px, or whereever you may be placing your photographs. If not, I will more than likely be silent. Remember the old adage of mothers everywhere? "If you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all."

Your photography is your photography, I cannot tell you whether or not it's good or not. If you wish instruction, I would suggest looking up a certified photography instructor. There are people out there who have dedicated their careers to training others. Unfortunately as a working photographer who is doing wildlife stock photography and getting his business off the ground, unfortunately, I do not have the time to do so on a gratis basis.

Above all, photography is essentially the way YOU see the world, not through being filtered by other people. So the only person who can really critique your images is yourself and if you are true to yourself, you will be the hardest critic of your own work.

The only people whom I've ever critiqued images or helped by instructing them on occasion are people whom I've gone personally to school with and they already know who they are on my friend's list on Facebook. So please do not send me your photos to critique, because invariably you will not hear from me.

About Me

Haruo Chikamori has been shooting photography in some shape or form since 1984 when his late father got him a Mamiya Sekor TL500 35mm manual focus SLR. Since then he has taught himself the basics of exposure, shutterspeed and aperture...and has progressed from the basics to running his own freelance photography business.

Hugo has had numerous cameras from point and shoot and SLR 35mm cameras to digital cameras (both point and shoot and DSLR). He now prefers to work with Nikon 35mm film and DSLR cameras.

Currently his photographic arsenal includes a Nikon D300s body, a Nikon D50 body, AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens, AF 50mm f/1.8 D lens, a AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VRII lens and a Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4 D ED-IF II lens. He also has a SB-600 flash.

In the future, he hopes to get the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VRII lens, as well as a Nikon D700 FX (full-frame) body and a Nikon F6 (35mm film) body

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Baby and Child Photography

Friday, February 5, 2010

Aviation Photography

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