Ken & Elaine . . .

Ken and Elaine Smith live and work in California's Central Valley, about an hour drive from Sacramento and an hour and a half from San Francisco. We have two sons and four grandchildren -- so we're not all that young. We hope that photography will provide an enjoyable reason for us to get up and moving each morning after we retire.

Evolution of Ken's Photography . . .

My interest in photography began at about 10 years of age when I received a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. The earliest photo that I took, (that I still have) is a black and white print of my Mother's family at Thanksgiving dinner in my Grandparents' home in about 1955. I didn't take a lot of photos because the cost of film and processing played havoc with my allowance.

It wasn't until college that I really got the "photo bug". I took a class in photography at San Jose State in 1968 to fulfill a physical science requirement. It was 90% theory of light and 10% photography, but that was enough to get me hooked.

My first 35mm film camera was a very basic, very inexpensive East German Exacta. It had interchangeable lenses and viewfinders, and that was about it. Manual focus and exposure were all that were available then ( "match needle" exposure control was available, but I couldn't afford it). There followed a succession of 35mm equipment, most of it was quite forgettable (except for a half-frame Olympus Pen F which was a little jewel).

After college I went to work for a wonderful couple who owned two portrait studios. They were kind enough to try to teach me both portrait photography and (more importantly) the business of photography. Over a period of eleven years I worked in color printing and just about every facet of portrait photography -- weddings, children, high school seniors, anniversaries, family groups -- you name it, we did it.

Studio work was done mostly with a very large studio view camera that had been adapted to use 2 1/4 or 70mm film backs. Weddings and outdoor portraits were done with a Mamiya RB67. I developed a remarkably strong left arm from carrying that camera and flash around for hours.

Eventually I purchased the smaller of the two studios. After a couple of years of running the business myself, I came to understand that I did not have the kind of temperament that lent itself to owning a business.

I sold the business and went to work for a steel distribution company where I had more than 27 years of service. During the first 20 years or so after selling the studio I did not take any photographs. When I got out of photography -- I got OUT of photography. It wasn't until digital SLRs became affordable that my interest was reawakened.

At about the time I got the D60 my boss decided that we were paying entirely too much for professional photography and put an end to the practice of routinely photographing our facilities. In order to provide images for line cards, catalogs, newsletters, events and a host of other projects that I was responsible for, I needed to get back into photography.

Up until my job was abolished in February 2009, the vast majority of my photography and just about all of my serious photography was done at work. Now, when not looking for a new job, I am able to make some personal images.

Digital Cameras . . .

In December 2002 I acquired a 6mp Canon D60 and loved getting back into an SLR.

As my wife, Elaine became interested in digital photography she began to use a Canon digital Elph. She quickly grew to appreciate the limitations of a point and shoot camera -- so, in May 2003 I gave Elaine the D60 and bought a Canon 10D for my use.

In April 2004 we sold the D60, Elaine began to use the 10D and I acquired the 8mp Canon 1D mkII. This was a great camera, but the size and weight were not fun to have on an all-day shoot.

The more Elaine used the 10D, the more competent she became -- framing and composition improved to the point that she was turning out very good work.

When the 8mp Canon 20D was announced I saw an opportunity to get her a bit more dynamic range and resolution in a slightly smaller and lighter package, so in October 2004 we sold the 10D and Elaine got a Canon 20D (her first brand new DSLR).

In October 2005 I got my first "Full Frame" digital SLR, the 12.8mp Canon 5D. During the three years I used this camera, I came to appreciate that it had the absolute best image quality of any camera (digital or film) that I had ever owned.

In December, 2008 I bought the 21.1mp Canon 5D mkII and Elaine began to use my beloved 5D.

Post Processing . . .

I am not a photographic purist. I like to put photos on my walls (mostly 24" X 30" and 24" X 36") -- so I'm geared to doing as much work in Photoshop as it takes to get my files to enlarge well. At 6 megapixels the D60 had enough resolution to make acceptable 24" X 36" prints from well composed, well exposed files. Certainly, they were better than the large prints I could get from 35mm color film. Each step up in resolution has improved the quality of the large prints that I like to make.

All of the images that I have made with digital cameras were taken in RAW mode, converted to jpgs in Capture One or Lightroom and post-processed in Photoshop to adjust levels and add the proper amount of sharpening for the size to be printed. Occasionally, I will remove distractions from the images.

The photos that Elaine did with the Canon D60 were done at Large/Fine jpg settings. Her 10D, 20D and 5D images are all taken in RAW with the same workflow that I use for my images.

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