c o x s w a i n

c o x s w a i n, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

Coxswain

Noun

1. The helmsman of a ship's boat or a racing crew.

Coxswain Kog is Norwegian for a cockboat; Welsh, cwch; Italian, cocca, etc.; and swain, Anglo-Saxon for a servant, superintendent, or bailiff. (See Cockboat.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Spring sports have started, and this year I have the pleasure of having each of my three sons participating in a sport. My goal is to try and document their involvement with photography that is purposefully artistic. Like many parents, I bring my camera to most events and try to get some good photographs.  I have multitudes of images from hundreds of competitions.  Now that I have learned some new photographic techniques, have a pretty good lens (Canon 55 - 250 mm) that lets me zoom in a little closer, and have some great post-processing software (Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop Elements 6), I want to try and make the average sports shot into something special.

The photo above was taken at my son's crew regatta this weekend.  He is the coxswain for his boat.  The challenges I faced in trying to get a good photograph were many.  First, I was positioned up above the pond where the race occurs.  The course is a long distance, so the starting point is far up the water.  Since I didn't have a schedule of the races, I had to use my lens to try and figure out if my son's boat was in the race.  Once  I determined that he was racing, I had the choice of zooming in as far as I could go, to get a better view of him, or staying out and getting a more panoramic view of the entire field of boats.  The choice was made for me, because I was zoomed in to try and confirm it was my son, and by that time the boats were under me and I had to shoot.  Thus, the next challenge involves time.  In races like this, or like track events, you only have a few seconds to get the shot before the race/event is over.  Many of the newer EOS cameras have a setting that takes continuous photographs.  I didn't use it here, but in the past I have, and it works really well as long as the light conditions are sufficient.

The processing stage of the photo entailed my normal procedure:

1. Photo is taken in RAW format
2. Upload to Lightroom
3. Work on Tones
4. Export to Photoshop
5. Play with Image (Working on Lighting, Color Saturation, Applying Effects like Textures, Blur, Gradients)
6. Presentation

In the top photo, I used sepia tones in lightroom, while keeping the red school color and the greens in my son's sweatshirt.  Once in photoshop, I added a fake tilt-shift effect.  I did it the easy way by just using a Gaussian Blur of around 4.6 and then erasing out the center.  There is a tutorial for a better looking, but more complicated way to do it  here.  I also added a subtle texture to the top one.  In the one below, all I really did was blur the top and bottom, to draw your eyes to the boat.

My other two sons are playing lacrosse this season. Since you have a full game of playing time to catch photos, the time limits aren't as pressing. However, when looking back at some of the photographs I took, I am finding that composing a good shot takes a bit of thought in terms of getting the timing right and making the photograph interesting.

This photo is one I took last week of my son who is the Goalie of his team. It is a little easier getting him, because much of the action surrounds him.  One handy feature in lightroom is the crop setting. I often pull that up because it has a nice grid for the rule of thirds. That way I can crop my photo and make sure it is properly balanced. I did that in this one, making the goalie line up right at the 2/3 line.

The last photograph is of my oldest son.  He is #22 in this shot.  Unfortunately, most of the photos I took of his games involved him running up the field, with other players in front or behind and they were all pretty boring.  This one seemed a little more interesting as it showed multiple players (full body) the Referee and the Score.  Unfortunately, it was a little blurry.  I worked on it in lightroom - using a lightroom preset that simulates hdr.  Then I moved it to photoshop and added a motion blur on the edges (at about 18%) and a texture.  Basically, I decided to make the blur work for me instead of against me.  It turned out okay (not great) but the main thing was that I learned I probable needed a higher iso ( I was shooting at 200 ISO) level to help out with that blur.  I will make that correction at the next game!

Traveling and Knitting Hints for Socks

There haven't been too many posts lately because we were off college tripping again! This time we went up north and saw Princeton, Yale, Connecticut College, and Wesleyan. 

One thing we learned, it is really cold up north!  We are so used to the mildest of winters in Maryland, that neither one of us was prepared for cold.   There is hope for us, however, as one friend indicated that it takes two weeks to adjust to a different climate.

There was a hint of spring in Connecticut. There were crocus blossoms in Redding; and,

witch hazel was blooming in New Haven.

Since the trip was spur of the moment, I forgot to take along a "travel project".  Usually, I try and bring some knitting for the car ride, and for quiet moments on vacation.  Once I was allowed to do a little sightseeing on my own, I headed out to find a local yarn shop.  Luckily, A Stitch in Time, located in nearby Bethel was easy to find!  The yarn shop was full to the brim with yarn and needlepoint supplies.  I decided that starting some socks would be the easiest thing to do, so I picked up 2 skeins of Summer Sox by Classic Elite.  I find socks are the easiest thing to knit while away.  The yarn and needles can fit right into your purse! And, once you get used to knitting simple sock patterns, you will find that it doesn't take a lot of brain power or planning to knit them!

Since I haven't blogged about knitting for a while, I thought I might walk you through the process of making these socks.

DECISION #1:  YARN CHOICE

I chose this yarn for several reasons.  First, for it's fiber content:  40% cotton, 40% superwash merino, and 20% nylon.  I thought that the cotton/wool blend would be a bit cooler for spring socks!  Second, I believe that superwash wool (wool that you can wash in your regular wash) is key when knitting socks (especially if you are making them for someone else!).  Socks always find their way into the wash and dryer, so 9 times out of 10, if you use 100% old fashioned wool, and someone else does the laundry, your beautiful knitted socks will be beautifully felted tiny socks! Another reason I chose this yarn was for the nylon.  Nylon in the yarn gives it some elasticity, so it stretches better.  Depending on how much yardage is in the ball of yarn you may need 1 or 2 balls.  The general rule of thumb is that you need anywhere from 350 to 450 yards of yarn to make one pair of adult sized socks.  Some companies sell all the yardage in one ball or skein, but for others (like this one) you will need two.

From summer sox

DECISION #2 - Needle Size

This type of yarn calls  for size 2 needles and says gauge should be around 7 stitches to the inch. Since I have knitted tons of socks, I know my gauge works for this type of yarn with this size needle.  I also know that I DON'T LIKE to knit on needles any smaller than a size 2 (I knitted some lacy socks on size zero and it wasn't a pleasant experience).  So, just in case, when I purchase sock yarn, I always check with the knowledgeable sales staff to make sure the yarn will work with Size 2.   

DECISION #4 - Type of Needle

A lot of the cotton/soy/natural fiber sock yarns are slippery.  So, I think that bamboo double pointed needles grip the yarn better, and you are less likely to drop stitches.  Sometimes, midway, I might change to one extra long addi turbo circular and do the "magic loop method" to make the knitting go a bit faster.  But,  I like turning the heel and doing the toe on double points.  I have also knitted socks with two circular needles, but this is my least favorite method.

DECISION #5 - Pattern Choice

This is where it gets tricky.  Since I have bought the yarn and needles before I chose the pattern, I have to come home and figure out what to do with the yarn!  Usually, I have three choices:  1.  I can search for a pattern in my many knitting books and magazines; 2. I can search for a pattern on line; or, 3.  I can make one up myself.  To make it interesting, I decided on #3 - Make it Up!  WARNING:  I don't recommend this option if you are just starting out with knitting socks! You must remember that when choosing a pattern, make sure your yarn weight matches that of the pattern you decide to knit!  

DECISION #6 - How many stitches to cast on.

I think that 60 is a good number because it can easily be knit on 3 or 4 needles (with stitches divided equally on the needles).  I started these by casting on 60 stitches onto bamboo double pointed needles (size 2). Also, I find that 60 stitches gives a good women's (or boy's) sock size.  

DECISION #7 - Stitch patterns for Ribbing and Body of Sock

With 60 stitches, I need to choose a pattern for the sock that will have a repeat that is a multiple of 60. 

For the ribbing I decide on an easy K2, P2 ribbing.  I decide that about 10 rows will be what I need (I eyeball it - but it's about 1 1/4 inches). 

Now the fun part, choosing the stitch pattern.  Actually, you should choose this before the ribbing, because you might want a ribbing pattern that goes well with your stitch pattern.  I didn't do it this way - I am not good at planning!

To choose the stitch pattern, I pulled an invaluable resource from my bookshelf, The Complete Book of Knitting"  by Barbara Abbey.  I found mine at a secondhand book shop - it is the original 1971 hardback version.  It has been reprinted and is available on Amazon in paperback.

 

From summer sox

This book has instructions for pretty much anything you need to know about knitting.  I wanted to search for a stitch pattern that will give me a multiple of 60.

From summer sox

I didn't have to look too far until I found one that would be perfect!  I chose the Herringbone Lace Pattern.

From summer sox

Here is what I have so far

From summer sox

This is one round of the 12 row pattern.  

TO BE CONTINUED....More choices like how long to knit the sock body, how to turn the heel, how long for the foot and knitting the toe!

Full House

My two older boys, 14 and 17, returned home this weekend from boarding school. We spent Saturday at the school attending workshops on the college admission process. It was extremely overwhelming but exciting at the same time. I can't quite believe that I will have a child in college in the near future!

With a full house, it is hard for me to focus on crafting. With the constant demands for food, entertainment and clean laundry, I don't think that I will be able to post much until after the Thanksgiving holiday. We are heading up to New England on Wednesday for a couple of days to spend some time with our relatives. I hope that there might be a little bit of snow. We haven't had a good snow here in several years. And, since it is basically flat, farmland, my kids don't ever get to go sledding. It would be such fun to get in a bit of that with the cousins!

I was able to finish up the little house ornaments for the Christmas Ornament Swap before the boys came home. My kids think that I am a little loopy, making so many. I also was inspired to make a couple of Christmas trees to go along with the houses. Then I finished off with the needle felted sheep that I make. Basically, I have a complete village now.

Joy!

2008.01.17, originally uploaded by poketypatch.

We weren't sure if it was ever going to snow again. But today we were given the gift of big, wet flakes pouring out of the sky. The kids got out of school at 1:30 and raced home so that they could get some sledding in before it gets dark. It has been so warm here this winter, the kids rarely wear winter coats anymore. Henry decided he would try to catch a few in his mouth.