Macro photography-the practical application
A grasshopper sits in tall grass in northwest Oklahoma City Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Until last week, my experiments with macro photography were just for fun. An interesting challenge that made popular blog posts on Alternate Crop, but that were rarely used in the newspaper. When I saw that the City Desk made an assignment to get pictures of grasshoppers for this story, I knew my chances of getting a picture of an insect in the paper had increased dramatically.
To get these pictures, I used a reversed 50mm macro lens and walked through a field in northwest Oklahoma City. I didn’t have to walk very far for the grasshoppers to fly away from me so I could follow them to their next hiding place. I didn’t know that grasshoppers came in such a variety of colors, or that if you sneak up slowly enough, some of them will hold still for as long as it takes to get good pictures.
As always, you can see more photo galleries by The Oklahoman photo staff by clicking here.
A grasshopper sits camouflaged in tall grass in northwest Oklahoma City. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Grasshoppers like this one are being driven into cities from rural areas during the drought to look for food. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Pictures I Like-getting caught up
Honor guard carries the flag draped coffin during the funeral for 2nd Lt Jered Ewy, 33, of Edmond, at Henderson Hills Baptist Church, Thursday, August 11, 2011. Photo by David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
In the last 12 days, the War in Afghanistan has affected families close to home, we’ve had swings in the weather between extreme heat and severe storms, OU and OSU started up the football season, students went back to school and grass fires started around the Oklahoma City Metro area.
Here’s a couple of pictures that stood out over the last two weeks. You can see all of our photo galleries by clicking here.
Music teacher Amy Thomas greets students arriving by bus as a thunderstorm moves through on the first day of school at Rose Union Elementary in the Deer Creek School District in Oklahoma City Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
Norman firefighters work to put out a fire that totally involved numerous apartments at 1111 Oaktree Avenue on Friday, August 5, 2011, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman
Scott Sanchez prays over Manuel Garcia, a homeless man, after providing him with water from the City Rescue Mission in Oklahoma City Friday, Aug. 5, 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman
Two women walk to further inspect a large fire in Edmond on Saturday, August 6, 2011. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
…and a golden Elvis
A collection of Elvis Presley decorations in a storefront window in downtown, Perry, Oklahoma on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
I pulled into a parking space in downtown Perry, Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon after photographing some minor storm damage following severe thunderstorms the night before. In a storefront window a few doors down from the Kumback Cafe, was a collection of Elvis Presley figurines, including a bright gold one that caught my eye. I’d been to Perry and the Kumback Cafe before to make this slideshow, but somehow I missed the golden Elvis.
Here’s a photo gallery with images from storm damage in Perry and around the Oklahoma City metro area. Remember that you can click on any image featured on Alternate Crop to get a closer look.
-John Clanton
Farewell to the summer interns
Derius Brown, 9 of Yukon, dunks his head underwater at Will Rogers Park in Oklahoma City Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman
This summer three photography students joined The Oklahoman Photo department as interns; Zach Gray, from Oklahoma State, Garett Fisbeck from the University of Central Oklahoma and Ashley R. West from the University of Oklahoma. Friday is their last official day as interns. Here’s a few our favorite images they produced that you may not have seen on Alternate Crop before.
Hopefully, we gave them a chance to photograph the different types of assignments that news photographers are typically sent to. You can see more images from the 2011 summer interns and staff photographers at The Oklahoman by clicking here. There have been a couple of new slideshows recently too, including one about the Oklahoma City Royals senior softball team, by Garett Fisbeck.
James Paul looks around at some of the more than 6,000 owls on display in the home that he shares with his wife, Doran Barrett, on Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Both Paul and Barrett are deaf and recently celebrated their 40th anniversary. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
Steve Bearfoot participates in the parade during the Red Earth Festival at the Cox Convention Center Friday, June 2, 2011. Photo by Ashley R. West, The Oklahoman
Jerry Dyre greats teammates on his way in to the dugout during a game at the Plex in Oklahoma City, July 19, 2011. Dyre played for the Oklahoma City Royals because they were short one person. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman
Tell Judkins wipes his eyes after resurfacing at Lake McMurtry near Stillwater on Friday, July 8, 2011. The group was looking for catfish to enter into the 12th Annual Okie Noodling Tournament in Pauls Valley, Okla. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
Anna poses in Tribal print clothing near the Oklahoma River and the Chesapeake Boathouse in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Photo by Ashley R. West, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Macro photography-Heat Dome version
A Blue Hawaiian sno-cone melts in he sun in Edmond on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
As you’ve read before on Alternate Crop, I’ve been using our “pool” 50mm macro lens, which can focus closer than my 50mm @ 1.8. For the really close pictures like these (except for the fish picture), I take the lens off and hold it up to the lens mount backwards. Focusing is a little more difficult with a reversed lens because you have to physically get the camera closer or farther away from the object to change the focus.
Here’s a few images I’ve collected over the last couple of days. You can see more macro photography posts by clicking here, or you can click here to see some of the hot weather images we gathered in the record-setting month of July.
An insect chewed holes through this sunflower leaf at the Dorothy Day Center at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Oklahoma City on Monday, Aug. 1, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A fish lies dead in the sun after water receeded from Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City on Monday, Aug. 1, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
A dried out plant lies near a crack in the ground on a beach at Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City on Monday, Aug. 1, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
A completely random sampling of pictures
The sun sets behind Kelly Haney's sculpture "The Guardian" atop the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, Saturday, July 9, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
I looked through Merlin today and collected a few pictures that probably deserve a second look. They represent what we’ve been up to over the last couple of weeks. You’ve seen blog posts on Alternate Crop about the triple digit heat here in central Oklahoma and about the International Finals Youth Rodeo. We’ve also been noodling, photographed fires, rain storms, and little league baseball.
There are plenty of photo galleries of those events and more that you can see by clicking here.
Firefighters walk approach a fire at the Twin Lakes apartments on 6103 NW 63 in Warr Acres, Okla., Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Two-year-old Kadence Stockman of Pauls Valley grimaces with her mother, Mary, as Bobby Arthur grabs the mouth of a catfish in a mobile fish tank at the 12th annual Okie Noodling Tournament in Pauls Valley on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
Two pedestrians try to take shelter from the rain as they run across the intersection of Main and Broadway in downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
Gage Gilchrist takes a dive to the base during the USSSA World Series youth baseball tournament , Tuesday, July 12, 2011. Photo by Ashley R. West, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Some recent unpublished pictures
David Downing, of Gatesville, Texas, rolls crates of dogs back to the grooming area of the exhibit hall during the OKC Summer Classic Dog Shows at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 30, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
I looked through all the pictures we’ve taken in the last 21 days trying to find the best pictures that haven’t been published in the newspaper. There’ve been several blog entries on this topic over the years. Sometimes there just isn’t room for all the pictures that we wish we could get in the paper. Here’s a couple that stood out over the last three weeks.
You can always see more photo galleries by clicking here or take a look at our slideshows page by clicking here.
Two-year-old Dylan Costener holds the head of a doll while playing in the splash area at Harvest Hills Park on Wednesday, June 29, 2011. Photo by Zach Gray, The Oklahoman
Mikala West, 13 of Mustang, a member of Youth Force, from St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City cleans a window screen during a mission trip cleans windows during a mission at Strawberry Fields Senior Center in Mustang, June 20, 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
All-American images from the holiday weekend
Boy Scouts of America and Cub Scout troops carry a large American Flag during the LibertyFest Parade in Edmond, Okla., Monday, July 4, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
The Oklahoman photo staff collected some pretty pictures from events of the Fourth of July weekend. We photographed parades, flags, fireworks, and festivals. It wouldn’t be complete though, without pictures of people in the 100 degree heat or firefighters putting out grass fires.
Here’s a few pictures from the weekend if you missed them. There’s a gallery of some interesting images from the weekend or you can follow these links to see pictures from the fireworks at LibertyFest in Edmond, the LibertyFest parade, the Summer Classic Dog Show, or the Blackberry Festival in McLoud.
Fireworks show concluding LibertyFest at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond on Monday, July 4, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman
Eight-year-old Emily Winstead of Midwest City takes a bite of watermelon during a watermelon-eating contest at the McLoud Blackberry Festival on Saturday, July 2, 2011, in McLoud, Okla. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Amanda Cone, a handler's assistant from Dallas, holds Amber, left, a Burnese Mountain Dog and Bonnie, a Mastiff, during the OKC Summer Classic Dog Shows at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 30, 2011. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman
Duane Fletcher, 7, of Clinton, Oklahoma, reaches into a lion water fountain to fill up a water bottle at the Oklahoma City Zoo in Oklahoma City on Thursday, June 30, 2011. Fletcher and other children from First Baptist Church in Clinton visited the zoo on Thursday. Photo by John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
It is hot
While looking for hot weather features on Saturday, I stumbled across this crayon that lost its battle with the sun. Photo intern Garett Fisbeck and I also traveled to Arcadia Lake and found a nice family with their puppy cooling off in the lake.
A melted crayon sits on concrete outside Pops in Arcadia, Okla., Saturday, July 2, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
Sadie cools off in Arcadia Lake, Saturday, July 2, 2011. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman
See all the Oklahoman pictures by clicking here
— Sarah Phipps
The Road To Recovery
On May 24, 2011 life was changed for many Oklahoman as multiple tornados tracked across the state leaving in its wake the devastation of destroyed homes and loss of life. The path of destruction hit Calumet, Okla. and leveled the family home of Jesse, Miranda and Copper Lewis. Luckily no one was injured, but the family lost most of everything they owned as the tornado spread their belongings for miles northeast from where their home once stood.
Friends and family start the search through what is left of the home owned by Jesse and Miranda Lewis west of El Reno, Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
The following day friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers voluntarily arrived to provide aide for the Lewis family, as they began the process salvaging any personal items they could find, and take the first steps of recovery after the tornado. Miranda Lewis was able to recover a few very important items like her undamaged wedding dress, husbands wedding ring and the boots he was married in.
Through out the process Miranda kept an extremely positive attitude as she picked through the rubble that was once her home, and even took the time to laugh as she modeled an undamaged red dress she found in the pile of debris.
Miranda Lewis makes the best of a bad situation as she models a dress that was undamaged by Tuesday's tornado that destroyed her family's home west of El Reno, Okla., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Photo by Chris Landsberger, The Oklahoman
Having experienced this life changing event, the Lewis family is now moving forward , and beginning to rebuild. They are living in a rental home just a few miles from their old home , and will rebuild where it once stood. Over the next year or so I will be following the Lewis family as they work to recover and rebuild, and will provide updates on their progress along the way.
On my first visit with Miranda and her family she took the time to read the emotional words she wrote down a few days after that express her sorrow of loss and gratitude for all those she knew and did not know that worked side by side with her and her family as they took the first steps on this long road to recovery.
-Chris Landsberger
