All posts filed under: Getchius

RAW and JEPG – Just A Friendly Reminder

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Please note that I started creating this post over a year ago. That was before I got sick. Well, I came across it yesterday and started to delete it. Though it is incomplete I think it gives enough food for thought to those just starting photography to check out shooting RAW. For those who are homebound and have not used RAW before this might be the perfect time to play around with it. I have a few friends that continue to snap images in the JPEG format. They think it is easier than shooting RAW and really don’t want to take the time to do any post processing. As a photographer it is hard for me to wrap my brain around their logic. In today’s photographic world it just doesn’t make sense. When shooting JPEGs you are so limited in your ability to get the best photo possible. You are kind of stuck with what you shoot is what you get. When shooting in the RAW format, unless you severely overexpose your photo, the possibilities …

April’s First Blog

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New April Blogging Being a nature photographer takes patience, perseverance, and talent. Except for the talent part, these also apply to the spouse of a nature photographer! My name is April Getchius and I’m married to Craig Getchius, a photographer. Traveling with him to some of the most beautiful places is the best part of my “job”. I act as his “mule” helping him carry equipment, running back to the car for a filter or a lens. We often joke that he really knows how to show me a good time! There are times when we sit for periods waiting for the light to change, waiting for animals to appear, or waiting for the time lapse to finish. Yet, somehow, these times, which some would say are boring, often provide some of the best memories for me. With the self-isolation we are all experiencing now, Craig has resurrected his CLG Photography Blog and I’m going to contribute now and then. It may provide a slightly different perspective and a bit of recognition for the significant …

Not Doing Nothing

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Not Doing Nothing I must admit for awhile this pandemic kind of got me down. Sitting around the house all day and not getting out and about is not my idea of a good time. When my wife and I first started self isolation I let boredom control my life. That is easy to do. If you have nothing you have to do it is difficult to self-motivate. My wife is kind of a “lets get this done now” sort of person. She was finding all sorts of things to do. Sewing, reading, exercising and cooking were just a few of her projects. I, on the other hand, just kind of daydreamed the day away while sitting on the couch. After days of living like this and getting fatter as my wife cooked away a lightbulb went off in my head, enough is enough.  I started making daily ToDo list in the TicTic app and as I completed a ToDo and checked it off my list my brain started to reawaken. I started being happy …

Random Thoughts

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I have taken a lot of landscape and nature photos and sold a few of those as prints. Nevertheless my stock collection of birds is really weak when it comes to eagles. So I have written down on my computer notes and in my notebook the following “MORE EAGLE PHOTOS”. A few weeks back, driving in the car I saw on the side of the road an eagle sitting on top of a rather tall tree. I started to drive on when I remembered my note “MORE EAGLE PHOTOS.” So I turned the car around, parked it, and tried to get a good photo with the Nikon D500 and Nikon’s Nikkor 200 to 500 lens. Considering my physical health. I did fair. While for now it is a keeper hopefully soon I will have a lot better photos of the Bald Headed Eagle and this one will only be seen in my accomplishments notebook. Note to myself: this proves you should always have a camera within arms reach. Also proves that because you can’t always …

Been playing around with Nikon’s new Z 6

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I have to admit that so far I kind of like it. With my current neurological problems this camera size and light in weight sure helps me capture images more easy  than any camera I have used before.  That includes Fuji’s. On the camera I have the new Z 24 to 70 mm lens. Some of my photos have been rather soft but that could just be user error. I’m slowly learning the ins and outs of this camera. I know it is going to take time. I’ll let you know more about this camera and if it’s a good fit for me after I have used it for awhile. Below is a photo from this new camera that of course has been reduced in size and quality for the internet. After that a time lapse from the Z 6. I have to say time lapse is one area that the Z 6 really shines. Again the video has been reduced for uploading to this blog. More as I learn and become more comfortable with …

Sickness, Photography and Starting Over

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I would like to say that around four months ago, before I got sick, that I was a great person and fantastic photographer. That would not be true. I was just getting by day by day. I would put off till tomorrow things that I could of gone out right then and accomplished. In my case too often tomorrow never came. I was a sixty-six year old man with a brain of a thirty year old. I thought I could accomplish about anything, all I had to do was put my mind to it and it would make it happen. But in reality I was loosing the will to do that. I also was a jerk, egotistical and I could go on and on cutting myself down but you get the general idea. The funny thing is most people didn’t see these negative attributes in me. But I was just getting by. With my photography I would make a dollar here and there. Just enough so I could call myself a professional. I had great …

A Quick Pullover

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I learned my photography with the help of Kodak Film. Black and white photos came to life in my basement using Kodak chemicals. When shooting color I would use Kodachrome 25 or 64. I have fond memories of those days. I was discovering and  learning. And darn it taking a pic with film, developing the film, then creating a contact strip and finally an enlargement, fills one with great satisfaction and accomplishment. Doing that work is tedious, yet awarding. In the days of film there was no instant gratification and boy, you really had to know the craft of photography. Mistakes were permanent and rarely did you have the opportunity to go back and retake the moment. I had to nail the photo and when it was all finished and I had created what what I had visualized the print to be, I would experience a creative high that would last for days. Today in the digital world I don’t experience that euphoria. It is all instant gratification and the feeling of happiness of nailing …

Fireworks And Being Creative

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Talk about bad timing, I am about to write how to spice up your fireworks photography and it is about two weeks after the Fourth of July. Oh well, I am not in the practice of photographing fireworks so I didn’t have the photos to complement this article. This 4th of July a did a little photography during the fireworks show at Timnath, Colorado.  Now I have photos to share. So lets see if I can give you some ideas for next years fireworks photos. If you have been serious about photography for more than a month most likely you know the tried and true method to get pics like this one: It is a pretty and standard fireworks photo. Here are the specs: ISO 100, F-Stop 9.0, Exposure 6.2 seconds, lens a 16 to 80mm at 22mm. Camera on a sturdy tripod with a cable release. Of course all these setting were set in manual mode and the focus was also set manually to infinity. Nice pretty picture. Throw a bunch of them in …

Back in the blog biz

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After a long time of neglecting my blog I’m back at it. A lot has been happening in my photographic life and I am rather mad at myself for not sharing with the world my photographic experiences. Also, I have been contemplating the state of photography and hopefully will soon put those thoughts down for others to think over. For now though saying I’m back and giving a brief glimpse into what I have been doing will just have to do. Also it should be noted I’m trying a new workflow with my blog. I’m using the App Ulysses to write this and from within the app I can post directly to my blog. If this works it sure is going to be nice. Here is the link to Ulysses: http://ulyssesapp.com/ Just got back from Ireland. Which of course was a total blast. Told you a lot has been going on in my life.  I traveled light, leaving all my Nikon gear at home and traveling just with my Fujifilm cameras. Don’t get me wrong …