Dreams

My earliest memory takes me back to the days when I was still in diapers. I actually remember wearing them and being just tall enough that I could peer out the window of my upstairs bedroom in New Britain, Connecticut. 

My view was from the second floor allowed me to see New Britain Fire Department station 4. I remember they had a red light outside the station, I could see it at night. I remember staring at that fire station all the time, just waiting for those doors to open and see the fire trucks with their blinking lights and siren, come rolling out. I don't recall ever actually seeing any trucks roll out of that station, but that didn't stop my imagination from pretending that they were. I had plenty of toy fire trucks to play with, something little boys love to do. 

Roy and Johnny

I also remember, with clarity I might add, watching the television show Emergency!. I remember thinking that they actually filmed the show inside the TV station that my father worked at back then, WHNB (later WVIT). I remember wondering how they fit all those fire trucks inside the station. I remember my dad bringing home autographed copies of 8x10 black and white photos of fire fighter " Johnny Gage" and  paramedic "Roy DeSoto". Such vivid memories and thoughts. I knew then what I wanted to do with my life, and that has never changed. 

Fast forward 40 something years, and am I pursuing this dream? I'm happy to say, yes! Of course, circumstances in my life never really allowed me the dream of being a full time 'career' fire fighter come true. It never seemed like either the time was there for the training, or the money, or whatever. 

I did manage to join a volunteer ambulance service once I was out from under my parents roof. In fact that was one of the very first things I did once I was moved into my new place at the tender age of 21. Being a stupid kid of just 21, I didn't plan things too well, and while I did have a great time driving for the ambulance service, I never finished the EMT class that I was in because I ended up moving to Florida. 

But while in Florida, I managed to join the Martin County fire department as a volunteer. I successfully completed a combat fire fighting class and volunteered my time when I could. It was short lived because I ended up moving to Maine. 

Rockalnd, Maine 

While in Maine, I joined the Rockland fire department as a volunteer. Again, more training, more classes, but in the end, nothing I could use to apply as a full time FF somewhere. That ended when I moved to South Carolina. 

While in South Carolina, I started the process of joining the Piedmont vol. fire department (which was full of good 'ole boys who were career firemen), but in the end, I just didn't like the feel of the department, so I never finished the process of joining.

About a year went by, and an EMT class became available to me at the local college, and I signed up immediately. Six months and $650 later, I was a South Carolina licensed Emergency Medical Technician. License #23106, and I could not have been prouder, I mean, if a person could literally bust open with pride, it would have been me. But not 'proud' in a boastful way, just sincerely happy and satisfied that I had accomplished one of my life's goals. Next thing was to join the local Rescue service in Pelzer, South Carolina, but not as a volunteer this time, but as a full time medic. My dreams were so close to coming true that I could taste it. 

The Pelzer S.C. Rescue service had agreed that if I came to work for them, they would reimburse me for the cost of the EMT class. This is common practice among both career and volunteer services. I successfully interviewed and got the job as a medic. I was beside myself with happiness. I was given a radio, a pager, and a sweet new uniform complete with shiny badge. I was to report to work the next day. 

Day one. I show up to work at Pelzer Rescue. My shirt has been starched 3 times, my badge...shiny as new. I can't wait to get started. The chief at the time brought me in to his office and sat me down to welcome me aboard. As I sit in a big comfy chair, surrounded by framed licenses, plaques, awards and pictures, the chief took his seat, lit up a pipe, and began to talk. 

The first words out of his mouth were as follows: "Let's get one thing straight right away, we don't hire no women, and no n*ggers".  End quote. My heart began to sink. I had a sick feeling in my gut, my feeling of total bliss had been crushed with 15 words. I suddenly realized something that everybody around me had been saying since I moved to S.C......racism was alive and well, so just get used to it. This was the deep south, the home of corn bread and pinto beans. 

I quit the next day, turned in my gear, and found a job in retail in the city. The only reason I didn't get a job with the county EMS service was I needed a hire level of training, something I could not afford to do. I would settle for a job in retail sales, and just suck it up. There was no volunteering as an EMT in the area that I lived, everything was county based, so I was stuck. 

I spent the next 6 years living and breathing thick, humid southern air. When the time was right, I high tailed it out of there and headed back to Maine where we found a home to rent in Liberty. I immediately joined the Liberty vol. fire department. But it too was short lived, I simply did not have the time to give them. Shortly after that, we moved to the town of Belfast, Maine. 

In Belfast, the local vol. department was 'full', because they only had room for a certain number of volunteers because each got paid 'per call' and the budget was tight. I would not be able to volunteer with them. But I became friends with the chief at the time, and he allowed me to show at accidents and fire to take pictures. 

About 7 years passed, and we found ourselves moving to Albion, Maine, to be closer to my parents. We were not even completely unpacked and I was knocking at the door of the local vol. fire department. I showed up in a sports jacket during one of their monthly meetings, stood there until the meeting was over, and when asked, I introduced myself (and my son, Robbie, who was with me that night). I explained why I was there, they gave me an app, and voted me in the next month. It was December 2012, and I was in. 

Today I train hard, such as in this car fire exercise. 

Today I am happy to say that I am able to respond to most calls that come into our small farming town of 1200 people. We also offer mutual aid support to many surrounding towns. In January 2014, a new EMT class starts, and I am determined to take it. It's going to cost me nearly $800 out of my own pocket, but I get that money back once I pass the 'National Registry" EMT exam. I will take the course. I will pass the exam. I will continue in my quest to provide emergency care to my neighbors and friends. 

Robbie at age 6. 

In the meantime, I have a son, who will be 10 soon. This young man has been watching my Emergency! DVD series since before he could talk. He would just sit and stare at the TV while Johnny and Roy do their thing. If DVD's could wear out, he would have done it. He has been crazy about being a fireman since then, his excitement

for being a fire fighter has never waned. Over the years, he has made friends with various firemen, some became good friends. He was just 5 when one of them gave him an old (but functional!) fire pager. Then someone else gave him an old turnout coat and helmet. Then the fire chief of Belfast gave him another helmet, a more modern one. All of that gear was much to big for him at the time, but he wore it with a smile and a twinkle in his young eyes. 

A twinkle I suspect I had in my eyes when I was his age. 

Robbie wearing my helmet. Age 10.

Today I'm 43, and the dream of becoming a full time FF/Medic has not faded. Time has taken its toll, my body is not in the same shape as when I was in my 20's, but my spirit is strong and determined. My son is also determined, and I will support him in any endeavor he chooses. If chooses to pursue a career in the fire service, I will be there, supporting him. If that happens, the twinkle in my eyes will be replaced with tears of joy as I see my young fireman pursue his own dreams. 

Until then, I'll continue to watch him as we both share the same dream. I'll continue to watch him grow, and I'll stay safe in my own duties so I can be around when someday he puts on his department issue gear and takes his first call. 

Photography Class - Interested?

This is something that I have always wanted to do, but just never had the time: teach photography. A subject near and dear to my heart. The problem is, so many people are on so many levels of photography, and I could teach at so many levels that it makes it difficult to decide what exactly I will teach. 

So here is my thoughts; why not put it out to my readers and see what kind of feedback I get? Here are some of the topics we could cover in a typical 90 minute photography class. You're feedback here is so important! Email me with your interest! kevinkratka@gmail.com 

Beginners Class:  This would teach the basics. We could cover all 

the buttons on the camera, what they do, and why you would use them and when. How to get creative with your camera, and the possibilities and potential restrictions your particular camera might pose. Not all cameras are made the same, but todays digital cameras do possess a high level of quality like nothing seen in years past. Even the most modest "Point and Shoot" digital camera made today far outranks the possibilities that a $1000 digital camera form the 90's could do. And there were some pretty awesome cameras back then! What about sharing your photographs on the web? We talk about a website called Flickr and how you can safely store and share your images....for free! 

Intermediate Class: We dive into the specifics of what ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed.  How do they all talk to each other and what happens when you start to tweak those settings? What is noise reduction and why should you care? Why your tripod is your best friend and some unique ways of using it you may not have thought about. How do you track a moving object, like for instance quick little kids who never seem to stop moving? What about photographs at night, or extremely low light situation? Should you use the flash all the time? A digital SLR is recommended but not necessary.   

Advanced Class: The gloves come off! 

Let's talk about time lapse photography, HDR imagery, astrophotography, macro photography, focus stacking, panoramic imagery, stop action photo stacking using programs such as Photoshop. 

Meta tagging, organization of your image library and so much more!  A digital SLR is strongly recommended for this class to maximize your potential as well as a sturdy tripod and bring your laptop. 

Topic Specific Classes:  These are classes designed to focus (no pun intended) on a particular photography topic. Want to dive into HDR photography in depth? Pick a subject and we'll go over it in detail. The entire class will be devoted to one topic and covered well. 

 

Hello and Goodbye Fall

Fall in Maine is a special time of the year. It's marks the beginning of different hunting seasons, it's the time when the farmers bring in all of their corn stocks, and this year, now that we live way out in the country, we learned that fall is also the time when those same farmers spread manure all over those same fields. 

P. U. 

This year marked the first full year after my move from the Belfast area to the town of Albion. It's been a wonderful year. I've made lots of new friends, including some great neighbors behind us. 

Soon the snow will be flying and we will be in the thick of winter. Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, which is 90 miles west of my home, already had 130mph winds and snow on it's summit. Winter is truly on its way. 

In the meantime, we enjoy what is left of the fall season. This fall, my daughter and I enjoyed visiting the tiny town of Troy, where I snapped the above picture. 

Smiles that never faded

A number of years ago, there was this couple, an elderly couple, a loving, happy hearted, sweet couple that I just fell in love with; Ed and Katie.  I met them through my church and every time I saw them I couldn't stop myself from smiling ear to ear. They were the kind of people that just loved you unconditionally. Extremely outgoing, faithful to each other for 60 years. I just had to photograph them.

After working up the courage to ask them if I could photograph them together (I'm still working on doing things like that, I always feel so weird asking....), I was relieved when they smiled big for me and in a thick polish accent gracefully accepted my offer. I was thrilled.

On a cold winter day some weeks later, we arranged to setup my lights in their living room. It was an honor for me to take their photograph, and made even more fun because I was able to bring my oldest boy along with me in hopes that I might generate some interest in photography. (It didn't work).

When we arrived at their home, Ed was half dressed in sweat pants and a good shirt & tie and suite jacket. Katie was in a dress. The two of them shuffled around the modest country home while I got my gear setup, then they sat down on a dark red leather sofa and the rest, as they say, was photo magic.

For the next hour, Ed and Katie enjoyed talking with me and my son. I learned that Ed had survived the  nazi war camps and saw some pretty terrible things, but he survived. He came out of the camps a changed man, a better man. He never took life for granted and he lived every minute of it in the moment, always expressing his endearing feelings to others and to his wife of 60 years.

Just before the the shoot came to an end, I asked them if they would hold onto a portrait of themselves taken when they were in their early 20's. I had noticed it when I first entered their house and I had been staring at it on and off during the photo shoot. I felt it would make for a beautiful final image, and it did.

In processing the images a couple of days later, I noticed just how badly damaged that early portrait was. Water damage, tears, and the black & white image had faded to more of a black & green tone.

In just under 30 minutes, I had used Photoshop CS5 to fix that older portrait, restoring it to it's original beauty. About a year later it was officially their 60th anniversary, so I had the 'portrait within a portrait' printed extra large and mounted onto foam core. The final product was amazing to look at and Ed and Katie loved it.

Sadly, Ed passed away shortly afterwards, but Katie still goes strong, still smiling, still hugging.

It was an honor and a blessing for me to photograph Ed and Katie. It was one of those opportunities that I so badly wanted and had to work the courage up just to ask for the chance. But had I not taken the chance, these pictures would not exist. Together they were a great example for married people everywhere. They were full of love for each other and for others and they never passed up a chance to express it, always in that thick polish accent.

If you know someone whose smile inspires you, don't hesitate to ask them if you can take their picture, you'll be glad you did, and you never know what you might learn about that smile along the way.

Kevin Kratka

Faded Summer

A stiff, crisp winter breeze cut right through me as I ventured out to photograph what looked like a lonely paddle boat. Stuck half way into mud and surrounded by ice, the faded red paddleboat looked like it had been abandoned years ago and seeing it immediately brought back memories of when I used one as a kid in New Hampshire at my uncles cabin on the lake.

At first I figured I fire off a few frames and then quickly jump back into the warm van, but as I got closer and framed up the image, I noticed that the contrast between the boat and the angry skies would make for a handsome HDR image.

But first, I would need my winter coat. Brrr baby.

After bundling up and realizing my tripod was safely home and not with me (when I needed it most) I decided to handhold the camera and squeeze off 3 frames as quickly as possible. In less than a second I had my shots, and then I quickly jumped back into the warmth of my vehicle.

Processed in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom 4, this is the final image. The amazing thing about HDR images is that basically what you see is what you get....in other words, the picture you see here is almost identical to what the scene actually looked like there at the edge of the pond.

Like the paint job on this boat, the summer of 2012 has faded away, soon to be replaced by ice fishing, snowmobiling and skiing. But for today, I'm happy to have captured an image that stands on it's own, a picture that revives long dormant memories of many summers gone by.

Kevin Kratka

Learning a new word: HDR (ok ok, so it’s not a word…)

It dawned on me this morning that, not only am I now a full time photographer, but by default, I’m also a full time blogger. What does this mean? It means that now I have both a creative outlet for making images but also now an outlet for sharing the stories behind those images!
Case in point…High Dynamic Range imagery, or HDR for short. I find the majority of people I ask don’t know what an HDR image is, but unbeknownst to them, they’ve probably been looking at HDR type images all their lives. More on that later.
Creating an HDR starts with making multiple images, all shot at different exposures, and then using special software and algorithms to blend the images together to create one beautifully exposed final image.
The different exposures are meant to bring out details based on the light levels of the given scene. For instance, a scene with high levels of contrast (the areas between bright highlights and dark shadows…and everything in between). A normal camera, or even a very high end camera, has difficulty exposing for all these different ranges of light at the same time. You may expose that beautiful blue sky perfectly, but the people in the picture (the ones standing in the shadows of a tree for instance) will come out to dark. Or perhaps you’ve experienced the classic “blown out sky” syndrome…..you take a picture of the kids in their Sunday best and the kids expose perfectly….but that blue sky is suddenly white? What happened? That’s known as blown highlights, and while it’s considered “normal” in many situations, it’s far from desirable.
With HDR images, we would make a minimum of 3 different exposures. In the scenario mentioned above, we would shoot one exposure for the sky (the highlights) the kids in the shadow of the tree (the shadows) and one exposure that’s kinda-sorta in the middle range (that’s the technical term for ‘take a normally exposed image).
Now to create our HDR.
Below is series of images I took of my children horse playing. Because I needed at least 3 images for the final HDR picture, I had to shoot quickly because they were moving. A lot.

Notice the three different exposures below. With my camera in MANUAL MODE, the first one is OVEREXPOSED by about 2 stops, the second exposure is UNDEREXPOSED also by about 2 stops, and finally the third image, which is basically a ‘regular’ or normal exposure just the way the camera originally wanted to take the picture.
Next comes the fun part. I open a program called Photomatix and I drag & drop the three images into that program. From there it’s just a matter of agreeing to various settings and then adjusting the image to taste. Once you get the picture to look the way you want it, hit <PROCESS> and then save the image to your folder of choice.
And that’s it! We’ve made our HDR image. It was fast, it was fun, and the details are fantastic. Here is the final image.

I should point out that I am in no way affiliated with the Photomatix software or HDRSoft, the company that puts out the software. However I am a huge user of it and I’ve been with them since the very beginning. The software has gone thru tons of updates over the years and it continues to get better and better with each update. It’s highly recommended.
So there we have it, HDR photography. This post just scratches the surface of what is possible with HDR photography. I encourage anyone to give it a try. The software runs $99 so it’s a very inexpensive but powerful way to get into this fascinating type of photography.  Below are some additional HDR images I shot over the years. Some of them exceed the ‘three exposure rule’, in fact some of them are up to 15 separate exposures!
Your feedback is always welcome and if you like what you read, please considering subscribing to my blog. I will be posting lots of tips & tricks in the near future.

Ready…..set…..

Wonderful news, I’ve decided to take Kratka Photography full time! As of December 1st, 2012, I am now a full time photographer, providing high quality images to the fine folks of Maine. If you’re local to Kennebec or Waldo Counties, (or even the surrounding counties for that matter), we want to hear from you.
We will be offering the following services:

• Senior portraits
• Family photo sessions
• Infant and children photography
• Professional head shots
• Special occasion imagery

Being mobile, we bring our services to you. No waiting in line at some photo studio. With one call, we can arrange a time and day that suites your schedule. We provide valuable tips on how to dress for family portraits, and of course all of our sessions are stress free, fun and productive.
We look forward to hearing from you! Call us today to book your next photo session.
In Maine, 207.619.3994, or contact kevin@kratkaphotography.com

Meet the photographer
Kevin Kratka has over 22 years experience as a photographer, his work has been published on a regular basis by Bangor Metro magazine and his commercial work has seen publication worldwide. Kevin provides a fun and lively, stress free photo experience for his clients, and with a keen eye for detail, he only provides his customers with the best quality images. When your looking to capture memories to last a lifetime, Kevin is the one you want behind the lens.

“Just because I can” Video

In 8th grade, I took an interest in video production. I didn’t know the first thing about, well, anything really, I just thought it was cool. Apparently so did a couple of other kids because it was just me and them, all 4 of us.

Now I don’t recall the teachers name, but I do remember what he looked like. Long brown hair, long side burns, mustache and thick, dark rimmed glasses. Come to think of it, he sort of reminded me of Woody Alan. And I remember where he came from: Connecticut Public Television. This guy was my hero.

The details are somewhat fuzzy, but I do recall that our equipment. I smile with fondness when I think about the old fashion and very large black & white video camera, a separate reel-to-reel recorder (yes! reel-to-reel!) and a separate battery back. It took at least two people to manage all of that gear, or in our case, 3 eighth graders.

It’s amazing how far we’ve come since those days, and today just about anyone with a cell phone has the ability to recorder video. In color. In HD! And it all fits in your pocket. Amazing.

The video posted here is just for fun. I enjoy the song and I was looking for an outlet for some burning creativity. I went out and filmed some windy scenes (apologies for the camera shake in some of the shots, but it was really windy!) and then inserted some other footage and combined it all with still images that I have shot over the years.

If you like what I did, leave a comment! Even better, subscribe to my blog! And thanks!

Gear: Canon 7D & Canon lenses. Still shots on Canon 20D and Canon 7D. Edited using Sony Vegas.

Fall in Maine – the making of memories

My childhood is full of happy memories. Like the many generations of children that came before me, I enjoyed the change of seasons, especially the transition from summer into fall.

As a youngster growing up in the back country of northwestern Connecticut, fall was the most beautiful time of the year. The crisp morning air, the color of the leaves in the trees, the crunchy sound they made under your foot and the swooshing noise they made as you walked through endless piles of them along the route to school.

But the best part of fall was the smells. Leaves that have fallen gracefully from the trees gently float down and land all around the grass and the sidewalks below the tree, and eventually the hundreds and thousands of them start to breakdown. The smell of old leaves is heavenly, but now mix that smell in with the aroma of the smoke coming from the neighbors wood stove and throw in all the old apples on the ground from Mrs. Higgins's crab apple tree that I passed on the way to school.

This morning I watched my 8 year old stand at the end of our driveway, waiting for his bus. Unbeknownst to him, the synopsis's in his young brain are quietly forming memories that he will hopefully remember with fondness. His ears were making note of the crunchy sound of the leaves under his size 5 sneakers, the cool air on his face, and the familiar smell of diesel that arrived with a gust of wind as the bus pulled up. With the yellow flashing lights transitioning to red, Robbie stood there as he always does, waiving to the bus driver as she slowly came to a full stop and opened the squeaky bus door. With a quick hug and a kiss, he climbed up the steps, took his seat, and he was gone.

While many of the same smells and sounds are the same as they were when I was a child, the one thing I hope he remembers with fondness will be that of his endearing father, clicking away with the camera, desperately trying to capture the fleeting moments of time that he can never get back.

Making memories, making pictures; perhaps the combination of the two will help Robbie to further enjoy these little moments when he has children of his own and the memories he will help them create.

I'm up, so I might as well shoot something

So lately I've been getting up at 4am for no apparent reason. Something just wakes me up. The other day I woke up and noticed how foggy it was outside...nothing out of the ordinary for us here on the coast of Maine. But this particular morning I woke up itching to take pictures of something or someone. The rest of the house was still asleep, but I knew that I could get out and explore downtown for photo opportunities, and there would be no traffic to speak of...I'd have the place to myself!

Heading out the door, I made sure to grab the essentials; camera, tripod, portable speedlights, wireless triggers, coffee. Downtown was a ghost town, nothing to see or do, but the fog over the harbor was beautiful in it's own way. With nothing to see here, I decided to look for photo opportunities in a more unusual place.  

The Belfast Graveyard is not exactly your photo mecca, but with a nice mixture of old old tombstones and statues, the shapes and textures do make for some interesting subjects. This morning I choose to shoot one of the older statues, a beautiful work of marble that must be at least 100 years old.

Setting up the shot, I places two strobe lights, one on each side of the statue. The first light was raised up as high as the statues head and softened with a shoot thru umbrella, the second strobe was a bare bulb strobe, and it was low and pointed upward to fill in the shadows of the face.

I figured because the statue was so close to the road, surely the police would show up to ask what I was doing. With each shot I took, I considered myself fortunate that had yet bothered me. Turns out, my worries were for not; nobody came over to investigate all the flashing lights coming from the cemetery.

The resulting images were satisfying, and provided me with some practice so that the next time I photograph living people I will have an extra bit of confidence.

Reflections.

Every photo shoot brings with it challenges and opportunities. I always learn something new, and I'm getting better at not repeating past mistakes.Today's pictures were no different.

I only brought the one shoot-thru umbrella, hindsight says I should have brought both. This would afforded me the chance to soft the light coming from the second strobe, and while the lighting worked out this time, it's always nice to be able to soften things up when needed.  Sandbags...even though there was very little or no wind to speak of, my shoot-thru umbrella was at least 8-9 feet off the ground when fully extended. A very - and I mean very slight breeze came up and blew it over. It didn't go far, it came to rest on the statues head. I dodged a bullet this time. A simple sandbag would have prevented this and I left it home out of sheer laziness.

My tripod...I should have used it. Even though my subject matter was perfectly still, I, on the other hand, was not. Even a little bit of camera shake can degrade the image, and I was so nervous that the cops were going to come by that I decided to forgo the tripod. I should have just chanced it. The worse they could say was I would have to leave. I'm working on that aspect oh my photography...taking chances!

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of the images. The grass was wet and my sneakers got soaked, but other than that, I had a great time. It was time for my second cup of coffee, so I left the cemetery with a sense of peace. The photos I had just taken were not rushed, it was peaceful in the cemetery, and my subject matter was perfect. I am going back for more someday soon.

Now it's your turn, get out there and take some pictures!

2012 - Let’s get this party started.

I’m sorry. I haven’t blogged in a while. I hope I can make up for it with the following update.
 
One of the best things about being a photographer is the ability to create an image in your head, and then chasing it down with your camera to make it a reality. It may take a few minutes, a few days, or maybe you have to wait months before you have the opportunity to get that picture.

While making plans for 2012, I decided that one of my fields of focus this year would be creating fine art, something I am passionate about. But fine art is so subjective…it can take the form of virtually anything, and as a photographer I have to be careful not to get too overwhelmed with all the possibilities that are before me. Heck, I live in Maine for crying out loud, the opportunities are endless!

Let’s take lighthouses for instance. People love lighthouses, and Maine has more than 60 (count ‘em! 60!!) lighthouses. Where does one begin? The logical place to start would be the beginning ….the Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. As it would happen we had a doctors appointment in Portland coming up shortly which meant we would be ‘in the neighborhood’ of this iconic lighthouse. With an air temperature of a whopping 3 degrees above zero, we made the trip to Portland, got the doctors appointment out of the way, then headed down to Cape Elizabeth, about a 20 minute jaunt.

One of the perks of living in Maine during the winter is that all the tourists are gone which means we got the place to ourselves, so arriving at the lighthouse, we found we were mostly alone in the parking lot aside from some seagulls. Stepping outside the van I realized that the excitement of starting my new fine art collection with todays images was going to be challenging. It’s winter time, in Maine, on the coast…it’s 3 degrees and the winds are just howling. To say it was cold was an understatement, but I didn’t come all this way just to sit in the van and watch the seagulls have all the fun. I grabbed my gear, my gloves and forced myself to walk up to the lighthouse.

The first images I took were less than stellar. I was using an extreme wide angle lens and a 10 stop neutral density filter. Each image took about 5 minutes to produce and my proximity to the lighthouse combined with my lens proved to be too much; the distortion the lens caused made the lighthouse look like it was stretched sideways and falling backwards. (see image to the left)  Weird. I had to get farther away…much…much farther away. With the winds still blowing in my face, the cold air was literally taking my breath away, I had to resort to breathing the air that was in between my jacket and my body by burying my face in my jacket. Even with gloves on my fingers were starting to tingle with cold. I needed to keep moving.

I managed to walk north on the public pathway and found some better views of the lighthouse, and after about 20 minutes I had some nice pictures, but I still wasn’t ready to quit for the day. More views and photo opportunities were here….somewhere….I just had to keep looking. Then I looked noticed the weather worn rocks below, and before my my brain could talk my feet out of it, I started to climb down the side of the cliff to get down to the ocean itself. In all the pictures of the Portland Head Light that I’ve seen, I’ve never seen one from the water’s edge. I just had to get down there. With numb fingers and tingling toes, I carefully took each step with extreme caution until I had finally arrived at the rocks below.

Setting up my tripod, I managed to find a view of the lighthouse that I felt was a unique one. With each exposure running close to 5 minutes each, I had time to hide my head in my jacket in between shots. At this point I could hardly feel my fingers and my toes were a lost cause, but it was all in the name of fine art, so I kept telling myself that it was all worth it. I would be warm again someday soon….as long as I didn’t freeze to death in the meantime.

With my pictures safely stored on my memory card, I made my way back to the van. Oh sweet warmth how I crave thee. With watery eyes and fingers and toes that I was pretty sure I still had, I climbed in the van, started it up and cranked the heat.

Whew! Now that was fun! 

If you have enjoyed my article and artwork, please consider subscribing to my blog and ‘liking’ me on Facebook! You can do all of this by clicking on the appropriate icon at the bottom of this article under the picture. My Facebook fan page is here

This and many other samples of my artwork are available at Fine Art America.

Pretty & Pink

No long story behind this picture, just a pretty girl holding a beautiful flower. My daughter Kaitlynn agreed to be my assistant so I could photograph my wife’s Pink Orchid – the very one that just keeps blooming and blooming. She got all dressed up in her favorite dress for the occasion.

Putting the Geese before the Horse

 

Has this ever happened to you: You’re fixing yourself a bowl of cereal, and without thinking, you put the milk back where the cereal came from…and the cereal? Yup, in the refrigerator it goes. It happens sometimes when I’ve got the flu and my head is all stuffed up.

For me, the normal way I blog works like this…first – I come up with a subject to blog about…then, conceptualize it…then shoot it…and only then…blog it.

Todays picture has me working the blogging process backwards, and I don’t even have the sniffles.

Last night I was at a friends house enjoying a bonfire and delicious BBQ (shout out to Shawn and Sonja…thank you!!!). Turns out, they had a horse…a beautiful horse…in a field…a field that, when the Sun sets, will be illuminated with beautiful early evening light. You know the kind…twilight; perfect for horse pictures.

So I ask the young lady who owns the horse if perhaps I could photograph him and her together; she agrees. I had waited until just before Sunset, and as if on queue, the western sky started to glow with pinks, oranges, deep reds, simply breathtaking late evening light. By now I’m starting to shake with excitement because I’ve been wanting to photograph a scene like this for years.

While setting up for the shot of Caitlyn riding the horse bareback across the field, my ears pick up a familiar sound; the squawking of Canada Geese flying overhead. I spin around and see the familiar ‘V’ formation of at least a dozen or so geese approaching from the north. Since there’s no reason to expect getting any details in the birds themselves, it made more sense to expose for the sunset instead, which of course causes the birds to became silhouettes against a beautiful sky. I find the perfect settings, wait for the shot then take it. Perfect!

By now Caitlyn and her horse were ready for the shot, in fact so ready that I could already feel the rumble of the ground behind me as the horse started it’s run. Furiously resetting my camera settings, I aim, focus and fire off 10 frames in under two seconds…just long enough to capture 3 good frames.

Sometimes doing things in reverse works out for the best. and sometimes they don’t, like the time I was sick and I tried putting the cat in the refrigerator and the my cereal in the kitty bowl. Hey, now there’s something to conceptualize!

Kevin Kratka

Let’s Talk High Tech

 

We live in a Facebook world. Need an answer to a question? Google it. News seems to travel faster than it can develop, and what used to take days or weeks now takes mere seconds…or less. Reporters in the field needed to find a phone in order to get their reports to their employers, now they just tweet it.

During the Vietnam conflict, war photographers would send thousands of canisters of film back to the states for development and publication. Now they whip out the satellite phone and upload them from middle of nowhere.

Our high tech world comes at a price though; the lack of human touch. Our cell phone and our laptops allow us to talk with all of our closest friends without ever having to see them. Instant movies on our TVs means no more trips to the video rental store. The internet and a credit card is all that is needed to order up anything from groceries to replacement parts for our cars. Even the UPS guy seems like a phantom when a box bearing our name shows up from Amazon. When was he even here?

In our high tech world, there are pros and cons. As with anything, balance is needed. The photo in this post is my latest stock image, created specifically to promote a high tech world. From concept to shooting to marketing…there was no human contact needed. I suppose I’m doing my part to fuel our high tech world.

Even rainy days provide “Kodak Moments”

If your old enough to remember what a ‘Kodak Moment’ is, then you know that they are moments when you wish you had your camera with you…but don’t!

So where is it, huh? What!? You left it…home? Because of a little rain?

Never let the rain stop you from taking your camera with you. Many camera manufactures make rain gear specifically for your camera and can provide a great deal of protection from the elements, some even let you go swimming and even diving with your camera!

On the other hand,  even if you own these cool accessories, you may not always have them when the rain starts. Plus…they can be a little pricey, sometimes exceeding the price you paid for your camera in the first place! So what’s a soggy photographer to do? Improvise of course!

The last thing you want is to get your camera wet –digital or otherwise. One trick I’ve come up with is to take a large freezer bag, gently create a small slit in the plastic just big enough for your lens to fit thru. Before trying it on your camera, reinforce that slit with some duck tape to prevent it from getting any bigger!

Next, place your camera in the bag with the lens poking out through the slit. Now, gently cover over any exposed areas with copious amounts of either more duck tape or perhaps electrical tape (because of it’s stretchy qualities). The idea here is that if any water or spray gets anywhere…it gets on the very very front of the lens only. I keep a chamois in my back pocket and gently wipe my lens clean when this happens. Cool…your lens is cleaner now then when you started!!!

Depending on your camera type, you may have to fiddle with your camera settings since some  camera lenses might move in and out during focus and/or when the camera is powered on and off. Check your settings to see if you can disable or otherwise manage these settings.

Finally your ready to take some pictures. With the back of the freezer bag open, it’s easy to slide your hands inside and make adjustments to settings, viewer screen, etc. and best of all…you can still take perfect pictures without the fear of the elements. In fact, you can even darken the bag with additional tape as this makes it easier to see your pictures on your cameras screen!

Of course, commonsense prevails. This little trick is not for heavy downpours or for standing out in the pounding waves trying to get a shot of the surfers. But for those occasional drizzly days of summer where you want to photograph the beads of water on a blooming tulip, it’s perfect.

There you go…weather gear for you camera on a budget. The next time the weatherman is calling for rain, consider this little trick and see what kind of images you can create, and never kick yourself again for missing that perfect ‘Kodak Moment’.

Kevin Kratka

The day goes pop.

 

If you’re a parent, then you know the joys that come from watching your children grow up. As a parent of three children, I’ve had the privilege of watching my babies grow and grow and…grow. My youngest is now 7 and as much as I plead with him, he , like his siblings before him, refuses to slow down his growth spurts. Every couple of months, *pop!* new clothes, or  *pop!* a new personality trait emerges, most of the time for the best.

I present to you, muscle man, aka, Fireman Robbie.

This young man goes nowhere without his ‘fire gear’. Shopping, the park, grandma & grandpas house…Ok, I draw the line at bringing his gear into the Kingdom Hall.

Today he brings me outside to photograph him in his fire gear. It doesn’t take much convincing to get daddy to pick up his camera. 

Within minutes, out comes the lights, the soft box, extension cords, sandbags, uh….am I going over board here? Hey, these are my kids we’re talking about! Now where are those wireless strobe triggers…

However today will turn out to be one those days…one of ‘pops’, Today Robbie pulls a fast one; in the blink of an eye, he goes from fireman to just Robbie.

As I am prepping my camera for the picture I have in mind, testing the lights, taking some test shots…I slowly become aware that my 7 year old is taking off all his ‘fire gear’. He’s suddenly not interested, in fact, he’s walking away from the whole thing. Walking away…my picture was walking away!

‘Hey buddy…where ya heading?’ I ask, ‘I don’t want my fire gear on, I’ve changed my mind’ Robbie says, his voice trailing off as he drops his helmet onto the green grass at his feet.

“Oh no you don’t young man. Daddy didn’t pull out all this gear for nothing!” I think to myself

“Hey there, show me those fireman muscles before you walk away” I quip

Right away a he flexes for me, poses for a second, then walks away. I didn’t quite catch the smile, but I captured the pose.

“Ok daddy, no more pictures” Robbie says, his back already turned towards me, ‘you’re embarrassing me’.

For Robbie, it was just another day with daddy and his camera, but for me, I watched my son take the next step, one of many ‘pops’ yet to come, on his way to becoming more than just my little boy.

Kevin Kratka

Name that bug, win cool stuff!

 

WE HAVE A WINNER! Thank you everyone for your participation. Let’s do this again real soon!

 

Answer: Firefly Larvae

 

Spring is here! And while 55 degrees in the middle of the day – in the second week of May – may not seem like Spring, trust me, it’s here. Just ask the Black Flies.

So in honor of all the bugs who wake up and come out to play this Spring, I have decided to do a giveaway! All you have to do to win is:  IDENTIFY THAT BUG!

What to do:

The first person to email me the correct answer (just the common name will do), Wins!

The Prize:

The winner receives:

• Set of 5 hand made, photo greeting cards from the Kratka Photography
• Each card comes in its own protective plastic sleeve with matching envelope
• Each card features a different photograph of a Maine scene
• Cards are blank on the inside…perfect for any occasion

$20 value

Here are the five images that are included, one on the front of each card:

 

 

Aren’t they pretty? All five are included, one per card. A $20 retail value!

Ready? NAME THAT BUG and WIN!!!

Have fun!  (ok ok…one more hint….your kids love these things!)

The View from Above

 

If you’ve ever visited Maine, you’ve likely seen some of the ‘standard’ tourist sights; Cape Elizabeth "Two Lights", Portland Head Light, Pemaquid Point, L.L.Bean.

Ok, assuming you got seeing those sights out of your system, and you have some time to kill…are you ready to see some real beauty?

From Portland, hop on Rt.1 for a leisurely cruise up the coast, and depending on weather or not you stop for lunch at Moody’s Diner, in a couple of hours you’ll arrive at one of the hidden gems of Maine; the Midcoast Region. Ah, the Midcoast, my home-sweet-home and your chance to visit places like the Rockland Breakwater (bring comfy sneakers and sunglasses), and, amongst other things, Mt. Battie.

Now stick with me, because this next part is difficult, but trust me, it’s worth it. Continuing north on Rt.1, drive thru the towns of Rockland, then Rockport then Camden (about a 15 minute drive) and then...don’t… stop in Camden. Be strong. Just stay on Rt. 1 another mile or so out of town, and you will arrive at the Camden Hills State Park. Pay the small entrance fee, take make the quick jaunt up the motor road and you’ll arrive at the 800’ summit overlooking Camden Harbor and the town of Camden. Make sure to bring your camera and a lunch. The last thing you want to do is get hungry up there (because that would mean you would have to come back down!!!).

Enjoy the views. When your down ingesting all the natural beauty and fresh air, you can now go back into Camden. When you get into town, take a glance back up at Mt. Battie…see? Wasn’t it worth the drive? Don’t forget to update your Facebook friends and show everyone the pictures you took!

Kevin Kratka

 

Interstellar Road Trip

Canon 20D     f/7.1    2002 sec (33.36 minutes)  ISO 400

 

Remember when you were a kid and your parents dragged you along on some really long road trip? And do you recall that sitting in the back seat for all that time would almost always result in one of your siblings getting car sick and ralphing all over your coloring books? Yuck!

 

Sad to say, that car sick sibling would have been me, except I was quick on the draw and somehow my parents always managed to pull the car over just before I....well, you know the rest.

 

One of the things my Dad would tell me was to lay down on the back seat and close my eyes and that I should feel better. Sure enough, Dad was right...laying down in the back seat of my parents Buick somehow always brought much needed relief from the car sickness. I don't know if it was the gentle rumble of the road noise, or if it was just the power of suggestion, but laying down and closing my eyes always helped to keep my lunch where it belonged and my brothers coloring books clean.

 

It was during these long road trips that I also discovered something else; if I wasn't looking out the window at the passing scenery, I found it impossible to judge how fast the vehicle was moving. As far as I was concerned, we could have been sitting idle in at a red light. Since everything inside the car was going the same speed, like the seats (thank God!) my kid brother and sister, my parents...everything.....it made the notion of movement almost impossible to detect, that is, of course until I sat up and looked outside the window. Oh...don't do that! Lay back down!!!!

 

*whew!* close one!

 

Today we take for granted our interstate highways and byways. We hop in car, crank it over and off we go. Need gas? No problem, there's a Texaco and hot coffee at every exit.

 

So just what in the world does all of this have to do with my picture post today?

 

Consider this...

 

Just like that kid in the back seat who could not judge the speed of the car when his eyes were closed, so it is with the humans today living on Earth. Without so much as a hint of speed, we wake up, start and end our days without every stopping to think that we are all moving very quickly as Earth rotates and travels through space.

 

At the equator, the Earth is spinning 1,675 km/hr, and you along with it! But do you feel anything? No of course not. And yet space agencies take advantage of this fact by launching rockets into space as close to the equator as possible so that when the rocket lifts off the ground, it's already in effect traveling that fast...which helps it along as it speeds up to the needed 28,000 km/hr needed to reach orbital velocity. Pretty fast eh?

 

Just like that kid looking out the window of his parents car and watching the world go by, a camera can, in effect, stare at the stars above and actually watch them go by. Because a camera is stationary -mounted on a sturdy heavy duty tripod- which is in turn 'mounted' to the Earth...each pin point of light is dragged across the cameras film plane, leaving a streak. Given enough time, a stationary camera with an open shutter can capture the movement of light traveling past it. Depending on the speed and distance of the object, you either need a great deal of time to capture that movement, or you need very little. In this example, the stars are very far away so they appear tiny. However the Earth is rotating (in the Western Hemisphere) from right to left at 1,675 km/hr. Despite such fast speeds, it still takes a long time to convey motion simply because of our distance from the stars we are photographing.

Canon 20D,    f/7.1    7 seconds   ISO 400

 

To contrast this, consider fireworks. They explode quickly and loudly. Want to take a picture of them? You will drag the shutter here too, expect the subject is much closer and much faster. A 30 minute minute exposure would be useless, so instead we aim for somewhere around 7 seconds. Yes...seconds. Hopefully you'll be a fireworks show that fires off plenty of rockets, this will give you time to experiment with your cameras settings. First and foremost, get yourself a sturdy tripod. And secondly, mosquito repellent!

 

For this picture at the top, I aimed my camera roughly in the direction of the North Star and left the shutter open in my Canon 20D for 30 minutes which I went inside to watch TV. The time the shutter was open allowed the streaking of the stars across the camera's film plane, forming semi-circles as the Earth rotated 'below' the North Star. Our eyes and our brains do the rest by filling in the missing data and giving us the sense that they are moving overhead when in fact it is us that did the moving.

 

You following all of this?

 

Now it's your turn! Make sure your batteries are fully charged, then grab your tripod and camera and find yourself a nice clear view of the night sky. I highly recommend bringing something to entertain yourself if you plan on making long exposures (I just went inside and watched Star Trek). I'd love to see your work, so please feel free to contact me!

 

Now go take some pictures!

 

Kevin Kratka

Ajax Saturdays

Most days begins like any other. I wake up and saunter slowly down the stairs to my beloved coffee pot where the caffeinated catalyst that jumpstarts my day awaits me. On weekdays, I’m out the door by the second cup of coffee and on my way to the office where I slowly finish waking up. But on the weekends, I generally find myself tooling around the house, wondering what I will do with the day. Here in Maine summers are short, which is the perfect excuse for getting out of the house. I could go down to the harbor, the beach, take a cool ride in the country, anything. It’s the weekend!!!


But as the coffee kicks in and the cobwebs in my head disappear, It dawns on me that all week long, no…strike that….all month long, parts of my house have been seriously neglected and are in need of a good cleaning. No problem! I’ll just tidy up around the house and let myself off the hook. With that thought, I gulp down the rest of my coffee, but as I do I see the reflection of my own eyes and nose glaring back at me from the inside the bottom of the cup. Seeing myself at the bottom of the coffee cup is like seeing my conscious, and it’s giving me a dirty look. Almost immediately I hear my mother’s fills my head, “if you’re going to do something, do it right” Rats!! I hate it when my sense of responsibility overrides my sense of ‘eh, who cares’. Welcome to Ajax Saturday!


I have many fond happy memories of my childhood. Ajax Saturdays are not amongst them. My dear mother, famous for her spontaneous and ambitious cleaning streaks, was and still is the best example I had when it came to cleaning house. Of course when your 15, you’ve got better things to do on a Saturday morning, or at least that’s what I would tell her. Sadly, that argument never did get me very far. Resistance was futile with mom, and if I complained, there was always the garage that needed cleaning. So with a half hearted smile and a murmur under my breath, I would accept my list of recently invented chores from mom, scribbled on the back of a half torn, coffee stained white envelope, or some piece other scrap of paper. Those days became known as Ajax Saturdays, the days when things didn’t just get cleaned, they got Ajax cleaned.


Let’s take the refrigerator for instance. Any other day of the week, one of us kids might wash down the outside of the fridge, or maybe wipe up some unidentified muck stuck to the shelves inside. But on Ajax Saturdays, this simple cleaning just would not do. Ajax Saturdays meant taking all the food out of the refrigerator, then all the shelves. Next, mom had us fetch a great big bucket of hot soapy water which would be used to douse the entire inside of the fridge. If there were parts that just wouldn’t come clean, out came a tall can of Ajax. The stains always came off. While all of this was going on, the glass shelves would be soaking in the bathtub, a combination of dish soap and Ajax in the hot water. Oh, and since the fridge was empty we might as well pull it out from the wall so we could vacuum and mop back behind it. Say your prayers dust bunnies! Mom’s got the ShopVac out and she’s not afraid to use it!


I don’t know where we came up with the term Ajax Saturday, or if we even came up with it at all. It’s just always ‘sorta been there, a part of my childhood. I guess it probably stems from how we approached household cleaning projects. It didn’t matter if it was the tub, the toilet, or the fridge; there was simply nothing a can of Ajax and some elbow grease couldn’t tackle. To this day, the smell of that cleaning agent always takes me back to bright sunny Saturday mornings as a kid. While my friends came and knocked on the door beckoning me to come out and play, I’d be checking items off my chore list, silently praying that the Ajax would run out before I got to the bottom of it. My mom took great pride in the appearance of her kitchen and her house, and she still does today.


This past weekend, with drier, cooler air moving into Maine, I found myself strangely invigorated, you might even say excited. I’ve been wanting to clean my front porch for months now. The weather was perfect, so out came the big bucket filled with steamy hot water, lots of soap and a couple of big brushes to get the job done. A couple hours later, water droplets still quietly dribbling off the freshly washed vinyl porch ceiling, a sense of accomplishment fell over me. The vinyl siding, once dingy and dirty from years of accumulated dust, now looked brand new.


Mission accomplished.


Perhaps this is the feeling my mom had when she put all the food back into the refrigerator. That feeling that comes from knowing you did a good job, a complete and thorough job. Now her entire family can enjoy the fruits of her labor; she knew for a fact that there are no science projects growing amongst the potato salad, no penicillin inside that two year old jar of applesauce. In fact, the slight smell of Ajax coming from the refrigerator meant it was clean, which also meant it was healthy.


I never did like Ajax Saturdays. I always knew that there would be some cleaning project waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs when I woke up on Saturday mornings, but in hindsight I wouldn’t change a thing. It taught me doing a good job either at my secular job, or just cleaning my front porch, a job worth doing is worth doing well, a virtue I hope to instill in my kids. But over the years, I come to appreciate that once you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to do; the relaxation you enjoy later seems sweeter, well deserved. So Saturday afternoon, after cleaning my porch I went into my studio, and worked on another project, this one more of a personal nature. I set out to create a portrait of some flowers on a clean white background, an image I would soon use for stock photography. The beautiful pink Orchid you see here was shot on a white background to isolate the subject (the flower and stem). In photography, it’s known as an isolated image.
For my mom, who instilled a good work ethic in me by setting the example of how to do things right, I love you, and thank you.


The clean white background of this image was possible due to the abundant amounts of studio lighting used, but I’d bet if I had to, a can of Ajax could accomplish the same thing.
Kevin Kratka