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Welcome to Stay Focused

01st January 2021

Great photos are born in the camera

By now you know that Stay Focused is part the arnielee website.

We’re here because we love taking pictures. We’ve been adding new photography articles that should interest you which you’ll see under RECENT POSTS.

To search for articles that may be of interest, click on a keyword under TAGS.

You’ll find articles based on our 50+ years of experience in photography. We happy to share our know-how with you so in hopes that you’ll discover new ways to enjoy your picture taking even more.
Note: You can click on most of the photos to enlarge.

Post tags: ArnieLee.com, ezine, magazine, online, Stay Focused, welcome

Posted in: informational,personal | | Comments (2)

Showing Their Age

27th October 2022

Old Photos In My Collection

You may already know that I have quite a large collection of photographs. The overwhelming number of them are photos that I have taken over the many years that I’ve been a fan of photography. My personal photos start about 1960 making them about 60 years old.

Additionally I have a few hundred photos that I’ve been archiving for relatives. A large proportion are older – many dating back to the early 1900’s. A few are one hundred years old.

Below are some of these photographs that I’d like to share. Not all of them are ancient but they represent items or events that should harken you back to an earlier era.

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Apple IIOne of my personal computers from 1977

Belgian DraftMy late mother-in-law with one of her horses in Lima, OH about 1935

Canonflex RMMy first single lens reflex interchangeable camera - about 1966

Chromega EnlargerMy darkroom companion was a dichroic enlarger for b&w and color photography - about 1971

Coca Cola CoolerA legacy cooler for Coca Cola and other soft drinks - about 1950

CommodoreA notepad from meeting with Commodore about 1980

Commodore Pet, Commodore 64 and Apple IIA trio of personal computers with Osborne portable beneath the desk.

Crayola CrayonsMy box of crayons from elementary school about 1959

CultivatorAn early wheeled cultivator aging against a barn

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Take a few minutes and go through your collection of photographs. You may unlock some of those nostalgic memories.

Post tags: Amoy, antique, Apple II, baseball, C64, century, circus, Coca Cola, Commdore 64, Commodore, Crayola, DT&I, Elston Howard, family, Four Tops, Kodachrome, military, old, Osborne, Remington, Tim Horton, Willie Mays, World's Fair

Posted in: events,informational,personal,photographs,portraits,stills | | Comments (0)

What is Your Angle?

27th September 2022

Photography Points of View

Experts stress composition when they’re referring to how to place your subjects in the viewfinder to get that best looking photograph. Your subject may be a face, a full body portrait, a tiny flower or a majestic canyon.

You have many ways to approach those subjects: move closer, move farther away, bend your knees to lower your viewpoint, point the camera upwards slightly, climb onto a nearby bench to take in more of the subject, and so on.

By simply changing the angle of your camera in relation to the subject you can get totally different – and hopefully better – results.

Here are a few samples of how I’ve come up with different angles.

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Along the RailHere I'm using the bright metal rail to lead my eyes to the subject 2019

Close UpI've included the movement of the hands to highlight the active craft of knitting 2010

Down BelowIm perched on the bridge at Hoover Dam to view the cars on the roadway beneath 2011

Fisheye ViewA fisheye lens captures 180-degree view of the numerous Ponderosa Pines 2013

Follow The TextureHere the camera is sitting on the fence to take advantage of the wood texture leading to the main subject 2015

Ground LevelI'm lying on the rocks to capture the colorful shoreline at Lake McDonald 2021

High AboveI'm standing a few feet from the palm to capture the entire tree crown 2019

Leading LinesBoth of the rails form a perfect lead to the subjects 2014

Lined UpStanding directly in line with the runway to capture the landing aircraft passing over the approach lights 2011

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It doesn’t take much to make your snapshots slightly more interesting. And remember that these days with digital cameras (or cellphones) – it’s pretty cheap to take a few extra “experimental” photos. Have fun!

Written by: Arnie Lee

Post tags: angle, closeups, compositon, point of view, scenic

Posted in: composition,informational,landscapes,personal,photographs,portraits,presentation,scenic,stills,tips,travel | | Comments (0)

Panorama Photos

17th September 2022

Taking In A Wide View

I enjoy taking panorama photographs. When I look at one it’s as if I can scan the horizon from left to right or from right to left and experience an entirety of what’s in front of me. A panorama is wonderful way to capture landscapes and scenic subjects.

I have a couple of cameras that are able to automatically take panoramas. My cellphone camera also has this feature. The amount of detail that is recorded in a panorama is quite amazing. Keep in mind that the enlarged panoramas displayed here have been reduced in overall size to fit on your screen – about 1600 pixels wide. Most of these original panoramas are more than 10,000 pixels wide!

Below are a few panoramas that I’ve taken over the years.

Click on any of the images to view the enlarged panorama.