It’s natural for a father to want to share his passion for hobbies with offspring. My father tried endlessly to introduce each of his three kids to the philatelic world, but could not find a single taker among them. To this very day, he is continues to fill out duplicate albums in the hopes that one day, as if by sudden inspiration, his kids will wake up and fulfill his lifetime dream. Still, when it finally dawns on you that your kid’s interests may never intersect yours, there’s always… well there’s always your nephew!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had hobbies, but computers, photography, and guitar have always placed at the very top. For example, I was one of the first kids in my high-school class to own and program a personal computer at a time when most had never heard of these world-changing machines. This path eventually led to an entire career in 3D software development.

At 17, I spent $250 of my hard earned summer money on a Japanese Stratocaster guitar copy and amplifier, and have never stopped playing since. You can see some of my guitar and green screen work on my Youtube channel.

In the early 80’s my father gave me simple analog camera to play with. This is the same camera that I brought to Israel for my senior time abroad, as one of the few kids in my graduating class to bring one. In college I began experimenting early with double exposures and large print formats.

During the early nineties I took my first 3D shots in Mexico with an analog point-n-shoot. I was also an early adopter of the disposable panorama format cameras which came out at the time, and I used to capture the building of my very first home. By the turn of the century I finally owned my very own 1.3 megapixel digital Olympus camera with a super fast… serial port. Woohoo!

From there I moved from a consumer-level Canon DSLR to Nikon’s more professional cameras and lenses. I experimented with LOREO’s 3D lens on a Canon body, and few years later, I had built my own stereo 3D “still” and “video” rigs. I even built a robotic panorama capturing system which is also featured on this site.

During this time, my kids watched in mild fascination as I graduated from a cheap electric guitar Strat “copy” to a UHF wireless guitar with a new Floyd Rose Speedloader tremolo system plugged into an EVH MXR Phase 90, an EHV MXR-117 Flanger, a Digitech RP-500 pedal board, and several assorted amplifiers.

The PC and Linux box in the den eventually became a collection of PC desktops and laptops with a Mac-Mini, Mac-Book, and Mac-Pro thrown in for good measure. The simple Web-Expressions built web site soon became several WordPress themed sites and two BLOGs.

My computer interests which turned quickly from hobby to career is all to apparent for my kids who affectionately call me “geek” more often than they turn on a computer. I have never pushed my kids in the direction of any of my hobbies. Yes, it is true that my daughter is taking an AP computer course in high school, but I never suggested she take it – a teacher did. And yes, my son has written Google Scratch games just for fun in his spare times. But neither kid has the gleam in their eyes, the passion for a creative outlet that can magically turn a hobby into a career. At least not yet.

As far as computers are concerned, I can honestly see how today this could be possible. When I was growing up in the 70’s, computers were magic, held mystical powers, and their future was endless. Now that their future has happened, most kids don’t see why one would need to go beyond simply using these utilitarian devices. Little do they know how much more will be done in just the next few years by “geeks” with passion from the seedlings of a hobby.

And yet, I can see their point. Now that we have Google images and YouTube, every now and again I can’t help but notice the millions of photographers and guitar players who are better than I. In the back of my mind I know one doesn’t need to be a great guitar player to be a Bruce Springsteen. And, one doesn’t have to be a great photographer to frame up the twin towers and Fritz Koenig’s Sphere in the Plaza area. Much of the magic of photography and music is in the artist’s timing and vision.

Many of the greats started from obscurity. If J. K. Rowling once crawled out of a coffee house to become the world’s most famous children’s author, then who is to say what you can be – if you try. If you push yourself hard enough, you can easily accomplish goals often regarded for experts and professionals – even if you haven’t had their formal training.

Case and point: I am not in a rock band, I don’t have an IT degree, and I’ve never taken a photography course in my life. And yet, I can play through a variety of Van Halen and Joe Satriani songs effortlessly, I built my own professional looking website without taking an IT course, and the majority of photographs I showcase on this site are of professional quality. A few months back, I was stunned to find that one of Bob Dylan’s sons wanted to buy a particular photograph from me after it appeared on this very BLOG. Though I didn’t receive an enormous amount of money for the photography, it was a testament to how far I’ve come.

Enter my Nephew – who I simply call Zander. It turns out that my wife’s sister doesn’t live that far away, and we get together often enough with her family so the cousins can see each other. Zander is the oldest of the local cousins, and generally likes to explore a breadth of interests on his own. He doesn’t need a push – just a “spark”, and with that, often a bonfire ensues. Over the last decade, he has had a lot of exposure to many of my interests through visits, and some of these have taken hold naturally. Today, Zander plays acoustic guitar in a band, edits photos on his very own MacBook, manages his own website: AlexanderJonesi.com, and owns several DSLRs.

At some point in the past, my company decided to offer an alternate schedule, where employees to could work longer hours, but have every other Friday off – giving them a three day weekend. Several years ago during the summer months, it was suggested that maybe I could use one of these three day weekends as an intensive computer-photography training session with Zander. And thus was born “Geek Camp”.

While quite intensive physically and mentally, “Geek Camp” has turned out to be beneficial to both Zander and I in more ways than I can count (unless I have a computer handy). Geek Camp works something like this. We take a venue, say Washington DC, and plan our visit. Then I introduce a specific technique worth exploring when we arrive, say Panorama collection. During our visit we practice the new method and begin to perfect it. In the evenings, when we arrive home and download our pictures, we edit some of them, and discuss which pictures worked, and which pictures did not. We talk about ways to improve our camera’s settings, our editing techniques, as well as photography composition. By the final day, we experiment with printing and discuss the final products and how we can present them best on our websites and social networking accounts.

What Zander takes away from this is exposure to my experience, equipment, and maybe Zen. What I get from this long weekend is some quality time with my Nephew, a fresh perspective, and a waiver-free model. What we both get is an enormous weekend of fun, and a generous helping of both physical and mental focus. It’s not an easy three days, but we have a great time, and we always come away with results that contribute to our portfolios.

This year, we chose four venues to be spread over the three days during the camp. We decided to revisit both Washington DC and the Billy Goat trail because these trips always provide the backdrop for good experimentation. These two venues usually focus on what I call: medium range photography. That is, most of the pictures are taken with focal lengths in the middle range. Given that, I decided to add two other venues which would require more macro and telephoto opportunities and exposure (no pun intended).

I have been to the base of the Conowingo Dam, and previously documented my success at capturing bald eagles with my friend Tom in the late Fall. But the Summer months aren’t migratory months. I knew it would most likely be a bust, but there would be some good lessons from a quick visit to this nearby venue. And, just a half an hour beyond the dam lies the Longwood Gardens. An entire day can easily be spent at the gardens perfecting macro shots on flowers, dragon flies, butterflies, and an infinite array of exotic plants in a dazzling number of settings.

In this year’s Geek Camp, we planned to experiment with many new techniques. For example, we had done simple composites before – e.g., Alexander does a yoga float above the reflecting pool. But, we had never done complex multi-exposure shots like the one above of Zander in various poses at the Lincoln Memorial.

I had previously done various animated GIFs with my son, and decided to introduce this goofy corner of photography to Zander. We came up with several scenarios and captured them nicely. The results from the Lincoln memorial shoot are particularly memorable. We also got lucky with an osprey helicopter that decided to parade back and forth as we worked the Lincoln Memorial.

Because these are the summer months, Zander and I always wear sunglasses while we shoot. Zander wears shiny mirror-like sunglasses which he often leaves on for model shots. I thought of a great idea to capture various places of interest in the reflections of his glasses along with his close-up. Many of these shots worked out well.

When we went to the war memorial, we experimented with a new kind of composite photography. Previously we had super imposed a subject (e.g., Zander) into a scene where they couldn’t be normally. At the memorial, we decided to superimpose a subject onto another memorial shot taken separately. To do this, we found Zander’s name amongst those listed at the memorial and shot it centered. Then a separate shot of Zander was taken against a much plainer background for easy separation later. An example of this work is shown above.

Later, As we rounded the corner to the back of the White House, we saw a demonstration in progress. The result was a good learning experience in a new different kind of photography: “live” and “unpredictable”. It’s one thing when you have endless time to plan your shots. But if you arrive upon an unfamiliar scene that moves in unpredictable ways, you need a new method of shooting – I like to call “anticipatory” shooting. I have used this technique with many of my “wildlife” shots. For example, I watch a bird, over the course of several minutes. Once I understand its movement patterns, I then decide how best to capture it.

Zander moved in and around the crowd. He watched their movement for a bit first, and then took some sample shots. We were soon approached by one man and given an animated lecture on the nature and importance of the protest. Zander listened calmly and did not resume shooting until the man “blessed” us and left. This was a good learning experience for both of us – and you simply don’t get this kind of exposure unless you put yourself in the “middle” of a “live” environment such as this. And we did. We ended the day at the top of the Old Post Office as we have in the past for some great panorama shots and good way to cool off.

The next day, the Conowingo dam did turn out to be a bust – at least in terms of eagle shots. There was only one eagle that day, but it never came close to our side of the river. Perhaps we should visit this venue in the fall migratory months – when this is an all-but-guaranteed success. Still, I’m glad we went. Before we left, Zander asked me: “Which lens do I need for the dam?” This is the kind of question you ask before you have actually gone eagle shooting. After a shoot like this the answer is always the same – your longest lens – period. It’s one thing to sit in a stadium and shoot a football player catching a ball. It’s another thing to try and capture a bird flying low across the other side of a river. You need all the “reach” you can get even with good lenses. Combined with the speed required for a sharp shot, this is a difficult task indeed. One that you can only master through experience. Zander did gain some respect for this kind of shooting as the lone Bald Eagle moved from one perch to another. Between shots, he learned that observation and patience are also key factors in the art of nature photography. Wildlife shots are a mixture of luck and perseverance. But, we were in the right place at the wrong time, so we pushed on.

At Longwood gardens we both had a great time capturing flowers and plants, as well as pretty butterflies and dragonflies. We shot a few animated GIF sequences and several composite shots. It was a long day, and the heat took its toll as we shlepped our equipment across the park and back. By evening we were ready to skip out on the fountain light show and begin our long journey back. As we crossed Havre De Grace, the sun finally set over the river. Zander slept most of the way home, which was a good thing, considering what we did the next day.

On the final day of Geek Camp, we tackled the Billy Goat trail once more. For those who don’t know, the Billy Goat trail runs along the Maryland side of the Potomac river. It’s name is appropriately given as it is filled with steep and dangerous rocky sections. But, in many places the view is as stunning as the trail is challenging. We both took a variety of panoramas and landscape shots of the trail, river, canal, and locks. We took several composite shots, including one of Zander appearing to jump off the cliff into the river below. On our return along the canal a large cooperative local bird posed for us rounding out the shoot.

This was Zander’s first time with his new Nikon D7000, and he learned a few things about the camera which offered quite a bit beyond his D60. Zander also brought over his new MacBook which we spent some time configuring. By Sunday evening, we were both quite pleased with this year’s Geek Camp experience. Both of us gained invaluable experience and a treasure trove of pictures to keep us busy well into the Winter months. I presented his Geek Camp graduation picture on Facebook (a Longwood gardens shot shown below), and we said our goodbyes.

In a week or two, Zander would be off to College (You can see and hear his graduation here) for the first time, and our family would help him move as the first local cousin to jump the nest. From there it is unclear in which direction he will head. But, even if his eventual career doesn’t intersect music, computers, or photography – his passion for them will surely follow. And perhaps someday far in the future, Zander will have a chance to introduce his kids to a bit of his childhood – though I suggest he lets his nephew tag along too!

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