The Aurora Ice Bar is located in Chena Hot Springs, Alaska.  It is just a little bit south of the Arctic Circle.  The resort is open year round for your vacationing pleasure.  They say it’s a great place to see the Aurora Borealis.

The Aurora Ice Bar is kept at about 20 degrees inside a specially designed building, so you can even enjoy it in the summer time.  We were there in August, but the nasty warm weather never bothered us.

The entire bar and stools are made of ice.

The bar is open during the tours, and many of the tourists tried their Apple-tinis.  You can see the glasses – they’re also carved from ice – lined up on the shelves behind the bartender.

The building is filled with ice sculptures.  They have a xylophone made of ice that is playable.  There is a workshop at one end of the building where you can watch current sculptures being made.  The artists there have sculpted jousting knights, ice fish, and the Coca-Cola polar bears.  They never seem to run out of ice up there.

We were only there for an hour because we had lots of other things to see, but we did look around at the two ice bedrooms, complete with an ice outhouse.  (No, the outhouse isn’t ever actually used.)

As you can see from these photos, I was in snapshot mode.  The bar wasn’t on our original schedule, so I was just carrying the camera and one lens.  I was really set back because I didn’t have my flash.  I hope to get back there someday with better preparation.

So, if you’re ever up near the Arctic Circle, looking for a drink, stop by for lots of fun.  Tell them I sent you….

So, how do you avoid this label when there is a big event like a college graduation or a wedding, and you are asked (or want) to bring your camera?  If you find yourself in this situation, think how you’d feel as the paid photographer.  They have a job to do, and they don’t want any distractions.  I’ve had the same feelings when an Uncle Harry came to one of my events.  Last weekend, my daughter and her boyfriend graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and I was asked (and wanted) to capture the moment.  But I didn’t want to be that guy.

You can diffuse the situation if you recognize it and act as professionally as the paid photographer.  I’ve found the easiest way to avoid this situation is to arrive early and seek out the photographer.  If you explain the situation and assure her that you won’t interfere with her job, you’ll usually get a wary, suspicious “We’ll see.”

I arrived at Norfolk Scope 90 minutes early and found the set up.  The new doctors would walk off the stage, and pose in front of an EVMS banner for a quick snap with their diplomas, before making their way back to their seats.

The photographer and her assistant had prepared well: they had a location away from the central stage; taped out a posing position to ensure quick positioning; and were testing their flash pack when I arrived.  I told her who I was and what I wanted to do.  I promised that I would tell her before I shot and that I would only shoot (with my resulting flash) after she had.  I told her I wasn’t an Uncle Harry.  Once her role and seniority were established, she relaxed a bit.  By the end of graduation, we were exchanging business cards.

Dr. Christopher Stallwood

After the ceremony, I had the privilege and fun of being the primary photographer for the families and at the graduation party in Virginia Beach.

Dr. Rebecca Dallman

Allow me a few lines to congratulate my daughter who declared, at the age of five, that she was going to be a doctor.  She never wavered and has been in school for 24 years following her plan.  Our family is proud of, but not surprised by, her success.

At the beginning of every year, I try to do some basic housecleaning on my Lightroom database.  Last year, I did a blog about deleting images (here) when you determine that you’re never going to use them.  I see no reason to keep photos that aren’t the best of that event or multiple copies of images.  I know hard drive space is cheap these days, but that isn’t my rationale.  I just don’t need the images I delete.  More than 600 were deleted this year. 

I also try to catch up on any photos that need keywords or ratings.  You should keyword your photos as soon as you can, and Lightroom lets you keyword during the import.  But, sometimes I’m in a hurry and don’t get to it immediately.  I have set up a Smart Collection to catch this error, and I go to that collection whenever I have some free time to work it down. 

While I was reviewing and updating the photos, I came across some old shots from the beginning of my film days.  I was living in Monterey, CA, and had a friend with an uncle who worked for the Professional Golfers’ Association.  She got us tickets to the 1980 Bing Crosby Tournament in Pebble Beach.  My brother came along for the ride.  We’re supposedly related to Bing, according to family legend.  I haven’t proven the link in my genealogy, and we never got invited to the mansion, so…

The Crosby Tournament is known for bringing out the celebrities.  I was using a the new Canon AE-1 and was just beginning to take photographs.  Looking at the photos, I can see I needed the practice.  I know many golfers dream of Pebble Beach, but I was just interesting in taking some pictures.  I grabbed my camera bag and some film and went out for something different.

President Ford came by with Arnold Palmer.

Telly Savalas was having a rough day.  He was grousing about the crowds.

Jack Lemon and George C. Scott were crowd favorites, with Jack cutting up on the two holes I watched him.

And it wouldn’t be Carmel without Clint Eastwood.  He was in his Dirty Harry phase then, so the crowd was pretty rambunctious.  He must have been doing poorly, too, because he seemed like he was in surly mood.  Maybe he was just in character.

Lots of memories. Another reason why you should review your images every year – to relive the good old days.  Have fun.

These sessions are more stressful than a wedding.  At least, with a wedding, I have a second shooter and a whole ceremony to take the photos.  Here, your beloved, little tykes get about two minutes with Cinderella in a big room (no flash bounce), and you can only carry so much gear since you’re going to breakfast immediately afterwards (no reflectors or umbrellas).  That means a single flash, softened with a light modifier.  I had my wide-angle zoom ready, so I could get close.  I dialed down the flash a bit to keep it from completely blowing out the scene.

Since I’d never seen the Cinderella set, I had to work through the problem before we got into the park.  As soon as we got into the castle, and while standing in line, I was plotting out my strategy.  The Disney photographer was also using just a single flash, so I had guessed correctly there.  She moved to the side to let me in when the girls were first in line (very polite).  I had time for about six shots each, and we were out moved out for the next girls.  It was very fast and there were no do-overs. 

Grace and Cinderella

Rebecca and Cinderella

  During breakfast, there were other Disney characters visiting the tables, so I took a few more of the kids in the cluttered restaurant.  The 16-35mm zoom was great – have I mentioned enough how much I love this lens?  Again, the Disney folks were very accommodating.     

The girls with Ariel

Jasmine stopped by, too

The pictures pleased the granddaughters and, way more importantly, their mother and grandmother.  Whew! 

The lighting is still a little flat, but the photos are about as good as you’re going to get without moving other diners or moving the characters around the resaurant.  That wasn’t going to happen anyway, so I’m satisfied.  And, as we’ve said before, the most important audience is your subjects.

I had lots of other photo experiences during the trip, as we careened through four different parks in four days.  I’ll save those for another day.  Here’s hoping your new year in photography is both productive and fun!

As usual, you need to think about your subject matter and set up your camera properly.  Today’s digital SLRs can focus manually, to allow you to adjust the specific focus you want.  The autofocus can be set to focus once (partially depress your release button) or continuously.  Use the single focus for static subjects like landscapes and portraits. To capture images of those hyper-active monsters on the run, you’re going to need a fast shutter speed and a continuous focus mode. 

This setting is called different things on different cameras: Nikon, continuous focus; Canon, AI servo; and the action setting on most point and shoots.  When this setting is enabled, your camera will maintain focus on the subject in the focus point you select, even as the subject moves.

You have to keep your autofocus point on the subject; this is crucial.  Here is what happens if you miss it:

This shot is 1/800 of a second, so that is certainly fast enough to stop the motion of a rope-swinging five-year-old.  The aperture is f5.3, so the depth of field is not too shallow.  Everything in the background is crispy sharp.  The problem is clear – the autofocus point is not on Grace.

As soon as I saw the LCD, I realized I was in single mode and shifted it to continuous.  You can see the results on her next swing as I caught her release from the rope.

With the continuous autofocus on, I was set for the day.  Here Jenipher and Rebecca come out of the shadows and immediately into focus.  The famous big slide race is in focus, with Andy and Grace leading Cathy and Drew. 

Most of today’s cameras are much faster than the manual focus we used in the days of film.  The most important thing is to know how your autofocus points work.  Then you need only line up your subject for in focus photos. 

Following moving objects is more challenging than focus on a landscape, but the rocks don’t give you hugs at the end of a fun day.  We all had a great time.  Jenipher used my camera to catch me at the end of a harrowing slide ride.  The continuous autofocus ensured she caught me in focus.