"Homebody:" A Photoblog of Kings Park (and Close By), #1: Welcome to Homebody

     Welcome to "Homebody:"  A Photoblog of Kings Park (and Close By).  You don't need to travel far to get great photos and have fun:  Kings Park will do nicely!I started this blog to share my love for photography and my love for Kings Park.

    My family moved to Kings Park in the '60s:  The 1860s!  I've been taking photographs for over 50 years, but only got halfway decent since I went digital in 2006.  (OK, so now you know I'm an old coot but I hope you won't hold that against me.)

     In the film days, I did get a few great shots once in a while.  I wanted my own home darkroom but was never able to make that happen.  When digital photography arrived I was able to rapidly improve and take advantage of the "digital darkroom:"  Photo processing and manipulation on a computer similar to the techniques of the film darkroom.

     The accompanying photograph, "Stasis," illustrates this.  This is a long exposure of Sunken Meadow Creek (Sunken Meadow State Park) taken at about 9 AM on a cold winter's day.  The exposure is 111 seconds at f/22, ISO 200.  This was only possible with the addition of a 10 stop Neutral Density filter to the lens of my digital SLR.

    This filter greatly reduced the amount of light reaching the camera this sunny day so that the moving clouds and water would blur.  The "normal" exposure would have been something like 1/8 of a second at f/22, resulting in very little or no blurring.  Just the right amount of blurring was what I was after, and what I think I accomplished here.

     I don't think I could have ever taken a photograph like this back in the film days, even though it would have been technically possible with film.  The amount of trial and error needed to make this image with film would have overwhelmed me.  With the digital SLR, I was able to make it in about half an hour.  I was then able to convert it to black and white, process it, and make a 13 by 19 inch print ready for framing in my digital darkroom.  I had a lot of fun making this image!

     If I've confused you with the technical details outlined above, why don't you come and check out the Kings Park Photo Club?  The club was formed this past January by Frank Mercuri, a Kings Parker and fellow local photographer.   There are presently about 16 members of all skill and experience levels.  And they're not all old coots either!  We meet the third Thursday of each month at the Kings Park Library at 7 PM.  Come on down for some photo talk, information exchange, and planning for photo events and outings now that spring has arrived.

     Speaking of photo events, come on down and check out Kings Park Photo Club's "Eye on Nature" Display hosted by the Nissequogue River State Park.  The display runs from Saturday, April 6 until May 3, 2013.  On Saturday, April 6 there will be a musical opening activity starting at 9 AM.  This all happens at the Park Administration Building located near the Park Marina.  There will be numerous photographs of Long Island's natural beauty that occur in State Parks in and around Kings Park taken by Kings Park Photo Club members.  "Stasis" will be there along with another long exposure shot of mine of the Nissequogue River State Park.

     Thanks for reading.  If you have any suggestions or requests for topics, please post them in the comments.  Next time, I'll post a section, "It Worked for Me," recommending steps to take if you are new to digital photography and want to take great pictures and have fun.