What is a Pixelographer?

I do consider myself a professional photographer. I mean I do make all of my income from shooting images that are printed in a newspaper. I have been doing this for over half a decade. (That sounds a little more impressive that 6 years). But why not be called just a photographer.

Well let me explain. I first and foremost relate myself to being someone who creates photographs that specializes in journalism photography. That would refer me most to being a photojournalist. However, I do not only have a concentration in a documentary style. I shoot anything I see. Weddings, portraits, landscapes, strobe, underwater, nature, animal, sports, news, features, experimental, and creative photography are all categories that I have developed skills in. You see it, I can photograph it. This extends my concentration in photojournalism more wide spread to being that of a more encompassing photographer. So why is it not ProPhotographer.blogspot.com?

With the digital photography reaching mass markets, it changed the way photography was looked at. Photography was the process and reaction of chemicals to light, thus creating photographs. These pictures were a tangible artifact of history.

Take it from the literal meaning of photography is "Writing (graphy) with light (photo)".

"Everything is the past, unless it is recorded; then it becomes History"

Or better explained by Ansel Adams as "Only the print contains the artist's meaning and message."

With digital photography, there are so many pictures taken and so little actually are published. A lot of my work is published, yet there is so much more that is stored in the digital space of hard drives and DVDs. These images I intend to showcase online. There will probably be ones that have been published as well. I do not feel that these images should be considered appropriately called a "photograph". From a digital perspective, this would make me someone who should not be considered a photographer at all, being that these images are primarily digital and not photographic. Therefore the name "Pixelographer" was created. It was meant to mean "writing with pixels", which is a pretty good definition for this blog. And besides it is easier to bookmark than:

http://www.photographerduringhisdayjobthathedoesprimarilyphotojournalismbecausehepublisheshistorybutcanactuallybeconsideredafullfledgedphotographerfromhisextensiveskillsinotherformsofphotographybutwouldratherbecalledapixelographerwhichisawordhemadeuptofeelcreativeandalittledifferentthateverybodyelsewhogotacamerathatisjustlikehisorbetterthanhismakinghisappealsbethatmuchgreaterwhichisablessingisdisguesethathopefullyotherswithfindhumorousandallowhistounderstandwhysomeonewouldcontinuereadingtheselongdrawnoutweblinkforaguywhocallshimselfapixelographer.blogspot.com/

Yeah, I think I'll keep it short.

Prime Time for Lenses

I always enjoy taking a bit more time to not rely on the good ol' 17-35mm f/2.8 or the 70-200mm f/2.8. It is a joyous opportunity to leave these lenses behind and reach for the 50mm f/1.4 or the 100mm f/2.8 macro from time to time. This is what I was able to do Saturday.

I first ditched my bag of gear and carried only the two latter lenses and a single camera body and headed into the woods. Earlier, last year I was able to capture and abundance of frost on grass blades. This day I did get a bit of a late start, but was able to capture the frosted dew drops on one blade and on another the frost had melted leaving the more known dew splattered across its threads.

Dew collects in drops along the lining of a blade of grass in Lower Bidwell Park Saturday, January 3, 2009 in Chico, CA.
(Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Dew droplets are frozen on a blade of grass in Lower Bidwell Park Saturday, January 3, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)


This is something I am sure that so many people pass by while walking in the park. The images depict what I could only see just centimeters away. Even a foot distance away can make the whole world seem new.

Later, I was able to shoot Chico Bigfoot indoor soccer. They play at Off-the-Wall Soccer which has to be the dimmest known sporting facility next to Pleasant Valley High's gym. What was nice is that because the arena is so small I can basically reach out and smack any player in the face if I wanted to. This allowed me to forget about using the 70-200mm (or event the 300mm f/4, which I generally use for soccer). I could us my normal 50mm and rely on its f/1.4 to really make things sharp. I also had the liberty to find a nearby ladder inside and use it to get some height. This allowed for the rich green carpet to create a really nice background.

Chico Bigfoot's Scott Krum (left) dribbles against Basin United's Justin Osborne during their indoor soccer game Saturday, January 3, 2009 at Off the Wall Soccer in Chico, CA.
(Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

I really enjoy the times I slow down and get to play with prime lenses. Zoom lenses are great, but there is nothing better than a lens in its prime.

Creativity a Little Foggy

I would normally like to start the New Year off with some amazing photograph that gets the creativity rolling. But I can never predict what will happen or expect a busy news day. It is generally when you want something to happen, nothing does. And as soon as you become busy, the real action won't stop. So the best thing to do is get busy. I do know that this blog will challenge me to continue to do what I do best...take pictures. If I am not feeling creative, it will force me to not just dream of a great picture, but actually head out and take it.

Vehicles drive cautiously along Hwy99 between E. 20th St and Skyway as heavy fog rolls in Friday, January 2, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Today shows exactly that kind of mentality. The picture of fog can be nice and set a mood. It isn't that creative, but it is one step closer to seeing what it takes to get the creative juices flowing. At least it is a start. It just goes to show that my creativity is looking a little foggy.

A New Year and a New Blog!

So it begins. I figure it is about time that I start writing my thoughts. Is it the idea to better myself as a journalist or to catalog my adventures for the rest of the world. I don't quite know, but I figure a New Year is a good time to start. I have had this idea of starting a blog about 8 months ago, but was always too busy. Then I had a intense fire season, travels across the country to witness history and was part of a major opportunities in my career. Now I wish I would have started it that long ago. But as the press well knows, news becomes old fast. So this wishing of yester-year will become old soon and hopefully 2009 will be filled with many adventures too. This blog is intended to be an ongoing journal of my photographing career. It will start with simple posts about me and who I am. As it grows, I hope it will evolve into something I cannot plan. We will just have to wait and see what the camera focuses on.