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Beginning a New Chapter…

For the last five years, my family and I have lived just north of Seattle in the small town of Edmonds, Washington.  Today I was looking back through all the images that I have made since moving here and realized how much I have not only grown as a photographer, but what a wonderful ride it has been.  From photographing someones wedding or engagement to changing someone’s life through one, single image, I am humbled by the wonderful people I have met along the way and those I consider to be life-long friends.  I have reconnected with people I haven’t seen in over 30 years and met people who I will keep in touch with 30 years from now.  Bottom line though, there is so much I have done and so many people I have met that it simply boggles my mind thinking about it.  I could carry on and give you all a long, sappy narrative about people, friends, family, places, photography, technique, light, land, yada-yada-yada…but I’ll spare you the details and try to let some of the more memorable images speak for themselves.  But before I do, if I have had any interaction or connection with you over the last five years, I thank you.  You have enriched my life and the lives of my family beyond any words that I could ever possibly conjure.  I am at a loss of how truly grateful I am.

In no particular order, here a just a few :) :

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Who are these people?

Forever...

“Forever…” – Mukilteo, WA.
© Doug van Kampen, 2013 :: All Rights Reserved

If there is anything I have learned through the years is that paying attention to the details is by far the most important thing when shooting a wedding or portrait session. That being said, it’s easy to go a shoot a wedding and have yoursubject produce the same canned gestures, the same canned posed “candids” (which some people really love!), and the same expressions. First a bit of a back-story…

I remember looking through my parents wedding album and smelling the leather, the rich smell of print chemistry, and the dust from it sitting on the shelf for a few years…. All those things trigger nostalgia in many of us, but what I noticed was that even though the images were those of my parents, they were, uniquely and quite utterly, not them.

The photographer had them pose – quickly turning a joyous occasion into a full fledged pose-a-thon, the likes of which have never been reproduced since the great “Ahhhh-nold” took the stage in a Speedo. Granted, anyone can be directed to pose for an image that the majority wants to see, but my idea is to always capture who the people I make photographs of are. What are their dreams? What do they think about while alone? What does love look like on their faces when it’s simply their love and the world in which they enjoy it? Does the whole world fall away and for a just a split second, are they alone with the person they care most about in the world…floating, planning, and enjoying?

I make images of people because of the seemingly unlimited possibilities of expression, faith, grace, steadfastness, and love that gets caught in 1/1000 of a second…people are beautiful. -DvK

Revisiting, Refining, and Learning to see again…

Smile of the Inner City

“Smile of the Inner City – Revisited” – Jalisco, MX
© Doug van Kampen, 2013 :: All Rights Reserved

Having given a fair amount  of thought to what I’d like to do after my government job, I often think of this image, which I made while on deployment in South America.  Depicting a child at her most vulnerable, she lit up in front of the camera as if there was a kindred moment the two of us experienced apart from what was going on around us.  The city, with a multitude of distractions – horns honking, people yelling, shop-keepers filling the daily needs of their customers, children of those customers playing in the streets as the sun goes down and the day hurries itself to end…

As I pointed out before, “Sometimes a scene crosses your lens with such grace, you can’t help but feel the need to capture it. The places of the world and the people that make up them often afford me such opportunities, which by their very nature leave me wanting no more at that single moment; I am simply and quite honestly, content. It is not until later, when I’ve had a chance to go over in my head what has happened within me, how the photograph I made has changed my soul, and how I take those changes and continue on, honing my craft and carving out a niche in my mind of what I desire my craft to provide to others. I can spend all day making photographs and not come up with anything I would call noteworthy and then a photograph like this materializes in front of me and it all seems worth it.”

I got to thinking about this image the other day after recounting my recent experiences in Costa Rica.  The processing I completed on the first go round was missing something…there was something about it that stirred me, that left me wanting more.  Contrast in this case.  It’s that moment you look at one of your images and say to yourself, “What does this need?”

I have a particular workflow that I use when importing images into Lightroom:

  1. Importing – I import all my images as DNG files and save them to two(2) locations, one for a backup, which I don’t edit and another for the working copies from which I’ll make changes.  Also, when importing images, I zero out all settings using a preset I’ve made; this gives me a blank canvas to work with, if you will.
  2. Keep/Toss – I do a quick run through on all the images I’ve imported and mark them either to ‘Pick’ (P), ‘Reject’ (X), or come back to (Color Label Green or 8 on the keyboard).
  3. I then proceed to step away from Lightroom for at least a couple of days and come back to these images with fresh eyes.

More on the editing process later. ;)

I have found  that over the years, as with most things, coming back to something (sometimes even years later) enables my mind to process things I may not have seen before.  The beauty in this lies in the details, those small things that escape us when we’re in a hurry or worse, on a deadline.  Taking an adequate amount of time to review your images will reep it’s benefits in the long run, forcing your mind to think critically about what the story is behind each and every scene you encounter.  Before long, you’ll undertake each shutter click, each photographic journey and endeavor, with eyes for the world in which you want others to be immersed in.  Food for thought… -DvK

Purity of Light…

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“Early Morning on the Outside” – Pavones Beach – Costa Rica
© Doug van Kampen, 2013 All Rights Reserved.

Some of the most magnificent places I’ve ever been keep me so close to the sea.  Making a photograph is simple, for the most part.  Paying attention to the details, on most occasions, takes many hours and much experience reading your surroundings and tuning into the area that surrounds you.  Having spent a couple days in the area familiarizing myself, Pavones Beach is an area made up [mostly] of locals and people who are kind, warm, and generally want you to be there.  It is, by no means, crowded.  Traveling light, I have become accustomed to hand holding shots of up to a second, but only on a good day when coffee hasn’t been part of the mix. :)  I simply cannot say no to a cup of Costa Rican coffee… So, without the use of a tripod or any other sort of stabilization platform, I made this photo while walking the beach early one morning with the Costa Rican sun at my back.  Simply put and going back to where I began in my photographic adventures in a darkroom and with Tri-X, I considered color and decided from the get go that this would be a monotone affair, lending its details to the purity of light which could be pulled from even the most void scene.

Always shooting in manual, this is where I ended up with the help of stacked Lee soft  0.3 GND’s (above and below), and a Singh-Ray Warming Polarizer.

Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 (1/8 second, f/11, ISO 400, 20mm)

Please Enjoy!

Pavones, Costa Rica – Corcovado National Park

COSTA RICA – PARQUE NACIONAL CORCOVADO (FEBRUARY 27, 2013): The most biologically intense place on earth, established in 1975, Corcovado National Park boasts over 500 different tree species, which provide the necessary habitat for animals ranging from the very rare Herpy Eagle, to the extremely venomous Bushmaster snake. Explained by its diverse plant life, this habitat provides an adequate, “human free” environment in which these animals can thrive.

Visiting this place, though my time was short, is like nothing I have ever seen before in my life. Oddly, with the variety of animals and plants that are quite dangerous, I felt quite safe with a bit of know-how and a local guide to point out which hazards to avoid. For the most part, all but the plant biodiversity wants to avoid human contact. That being said, we did encounter a Bushmaster snake, a troop of Mantled Howlers, Parasol Ants (leafcutter) and several different species of spiders, including the very large, and extremely venomous Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria), known to exist in Central America. I didn’t know this until I asked our guide what I had just photographed…Yikes! As long as they are not disturbed, they are docile…thank God!

The highlight of our trip was Pavones Beach (the longest left point-break in the world) and the fact that we arrived during a spectacular swell, which consisted of 6 to 8 foot breakers that were nearly double overhead out at the indicator. Having not experienced surf like this before, being able to ride a wave for nearly a minute was exhausting, in such a wonderful way! The people, the food, and the hospitality (Carolina at Hotel La Perla) were all first rate and exhibited that laid back lifestyle Pavones Beach is famous for…Pura Vida!!! -DvK

Air Station Los Angeles – MH-65C Dolphin 25th Anniversary

FEB 10, 2013 – U.S. COAST GUARD (PACIFIC OCEAN) – It’s Just another day for a United States Coast Guard aircrew – it’s a balmy 80 degrees as the aircrew awaits the green light to begin a daily sortie across the big blue of the Pacific Ocean.

Having arrived in Los Angeles in 1962 as a small aviation detachment with a single helicopter (HO-4S), the detachment quickly grew into larger presence on the west coast and was commissioned an official Coast Guard Air Station a few months later. During their 47 year tenure, Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles has grown into a multi-mission asset for the service by which it is employed. Consisting of four(4) MH-65C helicopters, AirSta Los Angeles is based at the Los Angeles International Airport just across from the new, multi-million dollar international terminal, which is still under construction. It sits on a 3.8 acre plot leased from the City of Los Angeles and is often the last building people see before take-off to destinations around the globe.

AirSta Los Angeles is responsible for 20,000 square miles of coastline and inland terrain, stretching from Dana Point in Orange County, north to Morro Bay in Monterey County. Having advanced avionics and communications packages aboard each aircraft allow for greater coverage of their operational area and better interagency cooperation with federal partners, including LA County Fire, LA City Fire, LA County Sheriff’s Dept, Customs and Border Patrol, US Border Protection and many more. Each and every day, crews from AirSta Los Angeles conduct Living Marine Resources missions with California Dept. of Fish and Game, flying AMIO/CD missions along our southwest border, providing security for one of our country’s most vital maritime infrastructures (the Port of LA/LB) and our most visible maritime mission, bar none, search and rescue (SAR). In this past year, over 300 sorties were flown with well over 90 lives saved or assisted.

Due to the importance of a Coast Guard presence in a highly populated area such as Southern California, in 2012 alone, aircrews from one of the Coast Guard’s smallest aviation detachments were able to directly reach over 250,000 people through air shows, static displays, flyovers, career days and motion pictures.

To celebrate the 25 anniversary of the MH-65C (Dolphin) (formerly HH-65) helicopter, the Coast Guard had the aircraft painted in the original 1987 “Soup Can” colors to commemorate the occasion. -DvK

Nieces are cool…

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It just so happens that I was in San Diego on the weekend of my neice’s Winter Formal Dance and was able to make photographs of her and her friends for the occasion. Not to mention, I got to spend time with my Sister, and my Brother-in-Law, Rich *and* get together with some lifelong friends I haven’t seen in about a year! We had some wonderful and memorable times and made some great memories.

Some would say the “the stars aligned”, but I’m more inclined to know that God surely had something to do with it. :)

Regarding the images above and how they were made:

- One(1) diffused SB-900 (powered by Powerex rechargeables) through a Photoflex Umbrella up on a Bogen monopod (the Bro-in-Law gripping for me)
- Nikon D700 fitted with a Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 EFS Lens
- Triggered on manual with Pocket Wizard Plus II’s

Just remember, getting that light off camera and in manual mode gives you all the control to make a big difference in your photographs. -DvK

San Diego – Blend Study I

Trying to focus on a good lead-in here and blend several images to expose for foreground, background, and highlights in the trees surrounding roadway below.

Used a Lee 0.6 GND Soft mounted on the Lee Foundation Kit for a 77mm lens. Shot on a Nikon D700, with a Nikkor 17-35 f/2.8 lens at 20mm…Singh-Ray LB Warming polarizer to bring out the subtle color variations in the trees.

It is important to note the crop on this image as well…4 x 5.5. I’ve found that through trial and error, most people prefer the 4×5 to 4x 5.5 crop above all others. Enjoy! -DvK

Fun in the So Cal Sun!

2013 Ford Mustang by thewoodenshoes
2013 Ford Mustang, a photo by thewoodenshoes on Flickr.

The above is the result of a passion for beautiful automobiles that a shipmate of mine has. Granted, it’s no Ferrari or Lambo, but beautiful nonetheless. The 2013 Ford Mustang is a car that I wouldn’t mind owning, but where it lacks in off-road capability is a deal breaker for me. How am I going to drive to the racetrack of Death Valley in a Mustang!? Yeah, I know, some people have done it in a rental Civic, but I’m not necessarily willing to take that chance.

Working with mid-morning light, I set up the shot with a 35mm f/2 lens while kneeling on the ground to get a [fairly] low angle and magnify the cars sleek lines. The post processing is a blend of seven frames worked in PS CS6 and Nik silver Efex II. Enjoy! -DvK

Classic Monhegan Island

Monhegan is a small, rocky Island ten miles from the nearest mainland and scarcely a square mile in area. It is accessible only by boat and there are no cars or paved roads on the Island. Since long before the explorer John Smith visited it in 1614, it was known to Native Americans as a prime fishing area, and today its economy is still ruled by those who make their living from the sea, fishing and lobstering. The year-round population has seldom exceeded 65 in recent times.

For more than 100 years, Monhegan has been a summer haven for artists and other visitors who appreciate its isolation, the beauty of its wilderness areas, its quiet relaxed atmosphere, and its unhurried pace.

It sound like such a perfect place to seclude on self after such a busy holiday season….enjoy the frame! -DvK