Ceasar Sharper
After retiring as a Colonel following a career in engineering and program management, he began to dabble into digital photography. He purchased a bridge camera in 2005 and a D70 digital single lens reflex in 2008. He made the commitment to grow his photography skills after seeing the juried-in photographs at the 2009 Nature Photography Expo at Meadowlark. Those outstanding photographs rekindled his interest in photography and caused him to seek membership in one of the clubs represented at the Expo to support his renewed passion for photography.
Ceasar attributes much of his improvement in photography to his joining NVPS in 2009. He learned a lot from the critiques during competition to allow him gain confidence to enter his first competition in May 2010 where he earned a 3rd place in Black & White prints. The following club year he continued to sharpen his skills to enable him to receive the 2011 Versatile Photographer of the Year in the Novice Category.
While he enjoys several different types of photography, his passion is wildlife and landscapes. With eight weeks into his recovery from a total knee replacement, he’s looking forward to hitting the road again to photograph locations on his bucket list.
Ceasar is a Nikon D800 shooter and expects to add a D500 in April to replace his D300. However, Ceasar acknowledges superior technique will always yield superior results regardless of the gear used.
This is Ceasar’s third Member’s Gallery contribution; his previous two contributions were (1) a digital presentation on Civil War Reenactments and (2) selected photographs from juried-in prints from Nature Visions and NVPS End of Year winners.
His website is http://csharperphotography.com/
Ceasar’s presentation is entitled All Directions – A Year in Review. It includes images from across America and foreign travels with an equally diverse selection of images from wildlife and landscapes to street photography, with a capture date of August 2014 – August 2015.
Two Puffins
John Singley
Actually, after 300 color slides of Europe during a student tour in 1959, I thought maybe I had an eye for photography. But, alas, except for sporadic point-and-shoot, I did nothing to cultivate it until the fear of retirement forced me to acquire some hobbies about 10 years ago. Of course, I immediately bought my first roadster since college. First things first. But soon thereafter I bought a Canon Rebel (in 2006), and I was off to the races. I knew how to drive, but I didn’t know how to make a photograph. At first I read all the good books I could find. Well, a dozen or so. Then I took all of Wayne Wolfersberger’s night classes, which were a good mix of classroom instruction and field work. At Wayne’s suggestion, I joined NVPS in 2008, but was inactive until 2011 when I started to enter the monthly competitions. I did ok the first two years, and then, bingo, I earned Photographer of the Year in 2013 (for color prints in class 2). Of course, as luck would have it, I have lapsed back to almost ok. But, I am very pleased to be able to share some of my better prints with you.
In addition to books, classes, and videos, I have participated in several multi-day photo workshops in an effort to learn how to make a photograph. They have been great opportunities to learn. Their downside is equipment envy: her lens is bigger than mine. Of course, now that I am actually retired, I have had to apply the brakes on the acquisition bandwagon. I have settled into shooting with a Canon 5D Mark III on a Gitzo tripod and Kirk ball head, using a number of Canon L lenses. When I apply what I’ve learned, it all works pretty well.
I am a social scientist by training (PhD in Sociology) and did related research and analysis for the federal government, but I guess I am a techie at heart. Digital photography allows me to indulge my left brain in the photographic process. It is, after all, very technical. Sometimes my right brain gets crowded out and I make not-so-good photographs. Post processing has allowed my left brain to flex in the development of my digital darkroom. I built a powerful PC, connected it to multiple displays, a Wacom tablet, and to two external hard drives. My printer is a Canon Pro-1 (see a trend here?). I recently bought a Logan Platinum Edge mat cutter and have started to cut my own mats (and some for my artist wife).
Come to think of it, I set up this digital darkroom the same year (2014) that I earned only one honorable mention in photo competition. Hmmm. I didn’t compete most of this year. Sabbatical. And indulgence in my third hobby, listening to great music: concert, jazz, and whatever strikes my fancy–like Seasick Steve. He can make a tune with a one-string guitar. Definitely a right brain kind a guy. …Where did I put my old point-and-shoot?
I hope you enjoy my presentation: “I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left” (Seasick Steve, American blues musician, 2008).
