Commencement | ©2012 David Allio for Corbis

At a moment in history when an oil company is running advertisements on television about how the United States is falling behind the world in education and the United States Congress cannot agree on funding for low interest student loans, the Allio family gained two doctors within a 24-hour period.

M. Linsay Allio became the first doctor of the family as she earned her Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the Charleston School of Law on Saturday, May 12.  Fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 2011, the Charleston School of Law is both the youngest and oldest law school in the South.  Chartered in 1826, the legacy of the Charleston Forensic Club continues today as the Charleston School of Law.

Less than 24 hours later Jenny Allio received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) diploma from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Champaign.  She completed her internship earlier this year.

Now, for Dr. Jenny Allio it is straight into the workforce.  Meanwhile, for Linsay Allio, Esquire, it is on to the bar exams.

This illustration is an abstract depiction of graduates during the Final Procession at the Charleston School of Law Commencement Exercises.  The image was created for Corbis using a Nikon D3 camera equipped with a Nikkor AF VR Zoom 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens set to 122mm.  The hand-held exposure of four seconds was accomplished under existing light with an f/13 aperture at 800 ISO.

Collectors are encouraged to contact the photographer regarding acquisition of professional abstract photography prints on canvas.  Or, learn creative photographic techniques through the Experience Photography workshop programs.  Call or enroll today.

Orchids | ©2012 David Allio

The Orchidaceae family of flowers consists of thousands of natural species, with new hybrids being developed by breeders. Although considered a tropical flower, orchids may be found in a diversity of climates.

The photograph of this dark purple hybrid Orchidaceae Phalaenopsis was created using a Nikon D3 camera body fitted with a Nikkor AF 60mm f/2.8D Micro lens. Creatively, depth-of-field was a significant consideration, so an aperture of f/13 was selected. The shutter speed for the hand-held exposure of 1/60th of a second required a film speed of 1000 ISO under overcast skies.

Orchids are a compelling subject. An ordinary composition places a single flower in the center of the frame. This image made use of a group of flowers to create a composition line in the bottom one-third of the frame to support the main flower.

Ron Capps (28 FC) DSR Dodge Charger | ©2012 David Allio/Icon SMI

The technique of making an exposure while moving the camera with the race car is known as “panning.” Keys to a successful pan blur include proper shutter speed and appropriate lens focal length. The idea is to create the impression of motion in an image by following the subject, and keeping it sharp, as the foreground and background become distorted by the movement of the camera. The more the camera moves the more likely an error in the sharpness of the subject.

This exposure was made using a Nikon D3 camera with a Nikkor AF Zoom 24-70mm f/2.8G set to a focal length of 58mm. The aperture of f/14 allowed for a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second at a film speed of 400 ISO.

To learn more about motorsports photography techniques, register for the upcoming Experience Photography workshop at Kentucky Speedway.

Full Moon over Kauai | ©2007 David Allio

Every Full Moon, or for the occasional lunar eclipse, there are a bunch of lunatics who drag their cameras and telephoto lenses out of the bag without ever thinking about the subject. The Moon is a gray rock surrounded by a black void of space.

The proper exposure and color balance for a Full Moon is exactly the same as for daylight on the Earth. Cameras with built-in exposure meters usually get confused by the stark contrast between the reflected light of the Moon and non-reflective surrounding space. In most situations, a camera meter will try to balance the quantity of light and provide a reading that varies anywhere from two-to-five full f/stops. The smaller the Moon is in the frame, the greater the amount of probable exposure error by the meter.

Atmospheric conditions greatly affect the basic exposure calculation. Smog can affect the color temperature as well as reduce the amount of reflected light by one or more f/stops. Haze and clouds may have an even greater exposure impact.

When selecting shutter speeds, it is important to remember that the Moon is moving at a speed of over 2200 miles-per-hour. That movement will appear as blur when slower shutter speeds are selected.

The technical exposure data for this full lunar eclipse as seen from Puhi, Kauai, Hawaii, on Monday, August 27, 2007, is an aperture of f/8 and a shutter speed of 1/400th of a second at 100 ISO. The 560mm (720mm digital) focal length lens was supported by a monopod.

Green Frog | ©2012 David Allio

While governmental agencies in the State of Hawaii have declared many frogs, including specifically the little but loud Coqui – Eleutherodactylus coqui – to be an invasive pest and have been responsible for a variety of experimental eradication programs, other states are now attempting to save frogs from extinction. Three Governors from the adjoining Southern states of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have issued proclamations extolling the virtues of frogs.

This photograph selected for Save the Frogs Day was created in a natural setting using a Nikon D60 camera equipped with a Nikkor AF VR Zoom 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED lens set to the maximum focal length. The hand-held exposure was made under a partly obscured sun at 1/250th of a second with a lens aperture of f/9 and a film speed of 400 ISO. Regarding composition, subject placement was critical in an image that is more weeds than frog.

Iris germanica | © 2012 David Allio

Last year, she shared a rhizome of a Bearded Iris Iris germanica. One year later, the member of the Iridaceae family has bloomed for the first time in my garden.

Now an Iris may be one of my mom’s favorite flowers, but I have never felt that it has been one of the best photo subjects. Maybe it has something to do with how that particular flower does not fit my compositional eye and the resulting photographic failures. Yet when it flowered, as a dutiful son, I felt compelled to share the emerging bloom – it would make my mom happy to see it growing.

After a few traditional still life images of the full flower, I began to explore other angles and compositions. Thanks to Surrealist influences and a Nikkor AF 60mm f/2.8D Micro lens on my Nikon D3 camera the resulting photo was satisfying, even though it may not be immediately recognizable as an Iris.

The exposure was made with a lens aperture of f/14 and a shutter speed at 1/250th of a second. A film speed of 1000 ISO was needed to hand-hold the camera with the available light through the overcast sky.

Tony Schumacher | © 2012 David Allio

This driver candid was created in the existing light of open shade using a Nikon D3 camera with a Nikkor AF VR Zoom 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens set to the maximum focal length. The exposure settings were an aperture of f/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/640th of a second at 1600 ISO.

@shoeracing @nhra

Cornus florida | © 2012 David Allio

At the University of Virginia in a local flora class, I learned that the Flowering Dogwood is a member of the Cornaceae family. Cornus florida has a small, perfect, greenish-yellow flower with four large white (or pink) obovate, involucral, subtending bracts. These bracts are commonly mistaken as the flower. (I hope Dr. Rex Baird, the course instructor, appreciates the fact that I was paying attention in class when this discussion took place and still recall some significant elements of that study.)

From the time I began playing with cameras in the 1970s, flowers have been a great and constant diversion. Lighting, depth of field, and composition have been the primary challenges to the success or failure of my flower photography. This photograph was made using a Nikon D60 camera body fitted with a Nikkor AF VR Zoom 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED set to the maximum focal length. The exposure data included an aperture of f/9 for adequate depth of field, a shutter speed of 1/2500th of a second to avoid blur of the wind-shaken Dogwood, and a film speed of 400 ISO in the bright sunlight.

For those interested in the identification of the bug on the bract in this photograph, remember that my class and studies were limited to the local flora, not fauna. As such, it would be inappropriate for me to even hazard a guess.

John Force NHRA Funny Car | © 2012 David Allio

“You have to keep testing because if you aren’t moving forward you are falling behind,” said 15-time @NHRA Champion John Force @JFR_Racing. “I love to be at the race track in my Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang.”

The same principles apply to photography. You may love making photographs, but if you aren’t trying new ideas and applying new concepts to your images you are not growing your skills set. When the professional racers are testing @LVMotorSpeedway that is an opportunity for me to test and establish a foundation for a knowledge base to be used on future assignments.

A Nikon D3 camera body was fitted with a Nikkor AF VR 400mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens for this photograph. The exposure was made with an aperture of f/9 at 1/1600th of a second, and a film speed of 500 ISO.

Spencer Massey | @ 2012 David Allio

Spencer Massey (2 TF) @SpencMassey DSR @shoeracing @NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driver climbs into his car before the second round of eliminations in the 13th Annual SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Massey defeated Steve Chrisman, Terry McMillen, Steve Torrence, and teammate @AntronBrown in consecutive rounds of elimination on his way to the victory.

According to the team press release: “Every time I win, I can’t believe it until about three days go by and I see the Wally sitting in my house,” Massey said.

“It was a tuners race all weekend,” said Massey. “They had to make so many adjustments throughout the weekend, it was extremely tough.

“We go up there to try to win our round and not beat ourselves. That’s what our game plan was all day long. We weren’t trying to go out there and set low elapsed time. We were trying not to beat ourselves.

“Competition has stepped up tremendously. Everybody is running extremely strong. You have to do flawless on the run and count every thousandth of a second. It’s that close.”

This backlit exposure was created using a Nikon D3 camera equipped with a Nikkor AF VR Zoom 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens.  The selected focal length was 150mm set to f/8 with a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second and a film speed of 1600 ISO.