Saturday, September 29, 2007

Point 'N Shoot Fun!

With the extended summer we've been enjoying I've had a bunch of opportunities to shot until my heart's content. This post is brief as I'm recovering from Project Transformation (more on that later) but I just had to share these really cool images created using my point and shoot camera. Who would have imagined that you could enjoy great results and high resolution from something so small? Technology is truly a wonderful thing. Have a great weekend!







Thursday, September 27, 2007

I LOVE Weddings!



While reviewing a few images from my last wedding I decided to "play" around with this particular image. At first I wanted to create a classic black and white image with really rich black tones. But, after applying a few textures this image came "alive." During the post processing I felt more like a sculptor who simply helps the rock become what it already is rather than an artist forming something out of nothing. And that creative energy is what makes photographing weddings so much fun.

Not only is it an honor to be invited into a couple's special day of celebration, but when I transform the images I've captured and help them truly come "alive" I experience a joy that is beyond description. The only thing more fun are the tears of joy from my clients when they see the final work. It's hard to describe unless you photograph weddings, but every wedding photographer knows what I mean. It is a blessing and I thank God for opening this wonderful door of opportunity to me. Have a great Friday and be blessed!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

It's not the camera...



Happy Wednesday! Just finishing up editing the final images from a recent Baby Shower I covered and wanted to share this really cool image with you. This picture was created using my point and shoot camera and a little Photoshop "love." That old saying is really true, even in the digital age of photography, "It's not the camera but the photographer that creates the image." Use what you have where you are and if you believe in the gifts God has given you, there's no telling what you will create or accomplish! Just a little something to think about. Have a great Thursday!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Framed Love

Things are going well and we're almost ready to introduce the first set of prints available for sale. While we're working through sizes and pricing I thought I'd share a few more unique framed presentations created using Scott Kelby's Lightroom presets. Have a great Wednesday and never stop believing in your gift!



Sunday, September 23, 2007

OK, just a few more...

...here's a few more test shots from today while I was out and about. I guess it's safe to say that this digital body is OK. I've worked through every feature and used it on all but one of my lenses. Up next the "Grand Daddy" of them all - the telephoto. Have a great week!













Still "playing" around

Here's a few more "test" shots from the other day using my friend's digital body. What's so cool about this experiment is that I've been using what the camera shop guys call "old technology." It is a Nikon D70, the big "blockbuster" consumer digital body that put Nikon back into the digital game. This camera was introduced in 2004 and despite being a "consumer" camera many professional photographers used it because of it's image quality, light weight and reasonable cost. I guess it just goes to show that photography is really not about technology (as some would have you to believe) but about capturing the moment. I even have some SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) images that you'd swore I edited but I didn't.

Well, the sun is out and it's a beautiful day. Have a great Sunday and please get outside and have some fun!







Saturday, September 22, 2007

Portrait of a good friend



This is my friend Marshall. Some of you may recognize him from earlier post as he is the coordinator of our local Tennis tournaments. He's been a little under the weather lately and so I wanted to post a recent portrait of him to encourage him. He told me that my older pictures made him look like a dork. So, I hope this one is better.

Marshall, take care of yourself and know that you are loved my friend. And, I look forward to seeing you on the court real soon. :-)

Friday, September 21, 2007

A few test shots...

Today, I waited until right before sunset and shot a series of pictures as part of evaluating a friend's digital body. Before I knew it, I had shot close to 170 pictures. And, many of them are real "gems" that I'm looking forward to adding to my upcoming print collection. I guess I can let him know that there's nothing wrong with his camera body. Hmmm, maybe I'll tell him next week. ;-) Have a great weekend and never stop believing in your gifts and talents!









Thursday, September 20, 2007

A picture is worth a 1,000 words

Happy Thursday! Just wanted to share with you several really cool images that were edited using the techniques I learned at one of Scott Robert's workshops. Well, the weekend is almost here so have a great Friday and be blessed!





Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Why we do what we do



Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph a baby shower. The expecting couple are close friends as well as many of the people in attendance. This was truly a special event as you could literally cut the "love" in the room with a knife. Add some really great home cooking, smooth jazz music and a bunch of games and you have the formula for one magnificent get together.

Capturing "moments" between people is really what photography is all about. Call me "old skool" but I believe what makes a great image is not how sharp your lens is in the corners or how sharp it is at this or that f-stop or how fast it can focus in low light. No. What makes a photograph great is the emotion captured "in the moment" and your ability as a photographer to consistently translate those emotions in your images. I meet so many photographers who are caught-up with the "techno-this-and-techno-that" about their photos and they are missing out on documenting the true treasures of the "moment." And, isn't that why people hire us to begin with?

The next time you have an opportunity to photograph a special event don't worry so much about how technically accurate your images are and instead focus on how much emotional content your images possess. I promise you, if you let yourself "feel" the moments you will begin to translate what you feel into your images. And, your clients will love you for it.

Just a little something to think about. Be blessed and keep shooting!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

The seasons are a changing



Happy Tuesday! Just feelin' a little down as I'm beginning to notice the leaves changing colors and that means that winter is on its way. I know it sounds silly as this happens every year, but we've enjoyed summer weather well into November for the last few years and I guess I was getting use to it. Oh well, change is a good thing. Please enjoy each day as they are truly a gift from God. Be blessed and get outside!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Still enjoying the world around me

Happy Saturday! The conference is over and I almost slept the day away. Things went really well and God blessed everything - it was one of the best conferences we've ever hosted. I'm off to cover a baby shower but wanted to share a few more prints from the upcoming series that will be for sale shortly. Have a joyous, fun and blessed weekend and keep shooting!





Thursday, September 13, 2007

Having a little fun...

...still playing around with Scott Kelby's Lightroom presets and the different framing options available in Lightroom. I'm going to stop talking about this program as I bet I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. Here's a few more images from my upcoming fine art series of prints that will be available shortly. Be blessed and keep shooting!





Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Fine Art Printing with Adobe Lightroom

Happy Wednesday! Still working away at our conference but that hasn't stopped me from squeezing out some time for photography. And, I have to encourage you once more time to run out get Lightroom!

The more I play around with it the more I love it. And, I never would have imagined that the printing features could be so powerful and easy. For example, these fine art prints were literally created in 5 minutes using Lightroom and Scott Kelby's Lightroom presets. What makes this feature so much fun is that if you don't have Scott's presets, Lightroom has it's own that are very useful. Plus, you can create your own frames in Photoshop and import them into Lightroom as templates. I'm already creating new frame options for bridal portraits as part of my wedding workflow.

We'll talk more about Lightroom and your digital workflow in another post soon. But for now, be blessed and keep shooting!





Sunday, September 09, 2007

Chocolate Euphoria



Well, the conference has arrived. But, despite being away from my computer this week I will still keep blogging as I have some really cool candid children portraits to share with you. Have a great Sunday and be blessed!

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Life Abundant

Happy Saturday! I'm off for some final conference prep but just had to share a fine art print I created using Scott Kelby's presets. Isn't this cool? And "yes" I will add this image to the upcoming fine art photos we will be selling. If you haven't already you gotta check out Scott's website as it is loaded with helpful information for both digital imaging and Photoshop. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

I LOVE Adobe Lightroom!

Well, they got me, they really got me. I can't help myself, I LOVE editing using Adobe Lightroom. In fact, I'm seriously considering a totally new workflow so that I can maximize my time while incorporating Lightroom into my workflow. And, using Scott Robert's Lightroom presets really helps to make my work stand out from the crowd. Wait until you see my new Lightroom creations using Scott Kelby's presets - but more on that a little later. Gotta run, have a great Friday!









Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Motionless



Happy Wednesday! We are in final preparations for the biggest conference of the year so I will be "in and out" over the next few days but wanted to share a true "gem" from this past weekend with you. Be blessed and never stop dreaming!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Labor Day Weekend



I pray everyone had a restful, peaceful and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend. It was truly a blessed time and the weather could not have been better. Have an empowered and victorious week!

Monday, September 03, 2007

The Adobe Lightroom National Tour

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Adobe Lightroom National Tour featuring Scott Kelby. Now, for those of you who don't know who Scott Kelby is, he is "the man with all of the answers" in the Photoshop and digital photography world. Scott is a writer, teacher, Photoshop expert and television personality extraordinaire. And he was here to teach us how to use and maximize Adobe's newest photography-based application called "Lightroom."

Adobe Lightroom is a wonderful photographic tool and after learning how to use it correctly, I can honestly say that Lightroom will be with us for a long time to come. It doesn't replace Photoshop but it will eventually find its way into 80% of your digital workflow.

Although the interface is very intuitive, having "played" with it without instructions and now having been taught how to use it I highly recommend using instructions. There was so much I wasn't taking advantage of simply because I didn't know many of the features and the shortcuts that existed. And, we also learned what not to use as this is only version 1.1.

I won't bore you with all of the technical details of the seminar, but if this tour comes to a city near you do yourself a favor and attend. I have found that I can use Lightroom as an editing tool to help distinguish my work from the myriad of photographers in my local market. The competition is getting "thick" and you will need a way (aside from great images) to stand out from the crowd and Lightroom can help you do that.


The location - as a wedding photographer you could have a lot of fun inside of this place.



Registration


The Vendors





Drobo was on-hand and they had a great presentation to showcase their new "Drobo storage robot". Checkout their website as it looks like they've got a winner in their new storage system.


Ah, light - a photographers best friend. F.J. Westcott was also on-hand to feature something they called the "Scott Kelby System" that was very impressive. In fact, I'm seriously considering purchasing one. And just for the record - I am open to being sponsored by this fine company to use their excellent lighting system free of charge to help spread the good news. ;-)


There was a really cool Corel Painter demonstration during lunch. For those of you who use your computer to paint, you've got to checkout Painter X from Corel. It is really the "bomb" computer painting application!


Graphic Authority was also on-hand to showcase many of their Photoshop ornaments and custom frames. I use a bunch of ornaments and various frames as artistic elements and have found that my clients love them. If you don't know much about Graphic Authority then checkout their website for some really cool creative tools.


This picture is for all of my Canon friends who keep trying to get me to switch systems. I don't know but I believe Scott uses both systems, BUT he chose to bring his Nikon gear to the seminar. Hmm, could it be the ease of use? OK, OK, I'm just teasing - well kinda...


There were plenty of friendly people on-hand to help answer all of our questions (and as photographers we had a bunch of questions). This looks like one of those "super-technical-only-an-Adobe-engineering-expert-could-answer" type question. Hmm, maybe it's a good thing that I stayed away.


The Master at work...


Unfortunately, I didn't recall this gentleman's name at the time of publishing but he was very friendly and extremely helpful. So, if you decide to attend this seminar please walk up to him and give him a hug. Despite the intense look in this image he's really a nice guy. :-)






Thanks Scott for taking so much time to meet, greet and answer all of our questions. You are a special person with a big and giving heart and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to meet you. And, I'm so happy to see so many good things happening to a good person like you. You deserve it my man, be blessed and keep shooting!