After the Storms...

What a week. Last Wednesday morning we were just waking up when our weather emergency service called to let us know there was a tornado warning for our immediate area. That started a crazy day and week. In the first round of storms a large pine tree in our front yard fell on my middle son's (Cody's) car. Although it will still run, his car is about 6-8 inches shorter than it once was and not safe to drive. Due to strong straight-line winds in our area we lost power from about 7:40 am Wednesday until about 9:30 pm on Saturday.

The rest of Wednesday brought wave after wave of storms with the last two bringing tornadoes both to our northwest (Flat Rock and Pisgah) and east (Rainsville, Sylvania, and Henagar). By the time the day was over, 33 DeKalb County residents had lost their lives.

We were blessed to have lost nothing more valuable than a car. My oldest son Devin, who works with the student weekly at his college, got press credentials for President Obama's visit to Tuscaloosa. After that was over he returned home to visit, shoot some footage for his paper, and to be with his family. During the next couple of days he shot several photos and a good deal of video footage, some of which he compiled into this video. Check it out here, or through this link to YouTube. Click the link to be able to watch it in full-screen, HD mode.

I will post more in the coming days, but wanted to get something out there this week. Thanks for all the kind words and for those who inquired about our well-being. We are truly blessed... MK

One more thing...If you want to see a video of the Rainsville tornado as it formed, check out this eery video. Rainsville, Alabama tornado

Stormy Weather

Hello all:

Our area was hit hard by storms yesterday. We are fine but without electricity. We lost several trees and my son's car in the storm. I'll post photos later. Sadly, many of our neighbors lost so much more.

For a few storm-related photos please check my Twitter feed @manualdslr. Once we get electricity (which could be as long as two weeks) I'll catch up with blog posts.

All the best...

Sent from my iPhone
Mike Kennamer

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Hi, gang! You haven't heard much out of me lately because I've been busy with a number of other projects. Here's a quick rundown of what I'm currently working on:

•  Writing Projects - While I can't divulge the details, I am working on three significant writing projects--all in different stages of completion--related to my background in healthcare. These are the jobs that pay the bills, so you can understand why they have been a top priority. While some of the these projects will be active for a number of months, I hope to get back to The Manual DSLR project very soon. 
• New Business Structure - After seeing a large percentage of my writing income going to Uncle Sam in the form of income and self-employment taxes, I have worked with a CPA and an attorney to restructure my business from a sole proprietorship to a sub-chapter S corporation. This change should help us to avoid (not evade) excessive taxation while building a business structure that will allow for future growth. It also allows us to combine what we do in photography with our writing business. I took several of the photos in my first book (published in 2002), but because I'm getting paid primarily for the writing, I have never considered myself to be a "professional" photographer. But I guess it's official now.

Our company is called Kennamer Media Group, Inc. Look for more details as we develop it further. Thankfully, most of the leg work in putting together is complete, so I'll be able to get started with manual flash soon.

I'm considering ordering some of Kerry Garrison's Black Belt Lighting products as that would be a good way to learn manual off-camera flash. Look for a review once I get a chance to order it.

Until then, all the best...

Chickamauga Battlefield

Aiming toward Chattanooga

Here's a shot of a cannon on the hillside.

Last Saturday I went to the Chickamauga Battlefield near Chattanooga Tennessee and took a few shots. There is not much to say about these other than it was a fun day with my son Lane and about 20 other guys from church.

I hope you enjoy!

MK

Signs of Springtime

Looking Back...

They say that time flies when you are having fun...

I suppose that is true, especially when it comes to the past year during which I have blogging on this site. While I am preparing to move to the next phase of the Manual DSLR Project, I want to take a moment to mention the highlights of the journey.

Since I am both a blog reader and a podcast listener, I was thrilled when Kerry Garrison, of Camera Dojo, posted an encouraging comment on one of my posts. And I was super excited when David Ziser mentioned my blog on his Digital ProTalk blog. I have enjoyed reading comments posted by photographers like me who are working on being the best that they can be.

As soon as I started the blog I also started a Twitter account (@manualdslr) and have excited to get to know some of the photographers (amateurs and professionals) around the world who love to learn (and teach) more about photography. There are too many to mention them all, but I do want to mention some of those who have encouraged me the most:

Shane Lund @swlund an LA-based wedding photographer
Joakim Berndes @jBerndes_Photo, of Stockholm Sweden
Kelley Young @TheYoungsYall 
Roar Engen roarengen, of Norway
4square 5 square Productions @4sq5sq
Mary Jane Sparrow @MaryJaneSparrow of Arkansas
Alex Racanelli @AlexRacanelli of Danbury, CT
Kimberly Logan @Much2Restless of Saratoga, NY
Lensbaby @SeeInANewWay of Portland, OR
PostalPix @PostalPix of California
Trevor Current @TrevorCurrent

As I move into the next phase of the Manual DSLR Project I want to thank everyone who encouraged me, pushed me, retweeted me, #FFed me, or just read the blog, enjoyed my photos, or followed my tweets. One of the greatest lessons learned from this project is that the photography profession has some of the nicest, most supportive people in it that I have ever known. Thank you for letting me be a small part...

All the best... Mike