Monday, July 20, 2009 | | 0 comments

a little sunday night monsoon for you


Sunday, July 19, 2009 | | 0 comments

is that a great face, or what?


This is Tom. He's the father of the bride (below). Terrific guy with a great attitude!

Friday, July 17, 2009 | | 0 comments

Katie at the window


Thursday, July 16, 2009 | | 0 comments

secret service of love

The two groomsmen in the background look like Secret Service protecting the happy couple from any and all anti-love factions.


Wednesday, July 15, 2009 | | 0 comments

Beck/Lerczak Wedding


Sunday, July 05, 2009 | | 0 comments

fireworks at tempe town lake 7-4-09







Saturday, July 04, 2009 | | 0 comments

wolf wants pork, of course

Friday, July 03, 2009 | | 0 comments

next round is on the bounty hunter








That could be a lot of beer!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 | | 0 comments

west town


Dawn randomly steered us to this little bit of wonderful over by the Superstition Mountains on Wednesday. There should be an old saloon/hotel around every corner!


Tuesday, June 30, 2009 | | 0 comments

Review of MeridianPro.com print lab



Last week I placed my first order with MeridianPro.com, an online print lab that I found out about via an ad in Professional Photographer Magazine. I'd like to tell you about my experience.

First, I applied for an account and was promptly emailed with an account number and information on downloading their ROES software. I had a little trouble with the download, but we got there sooner than later. Then I watched a quickstart tutorial video and they made it look very easy. Which it was. I selected my folder of images, picked a sized/format and dragged in a picture. Then another size and a whole batch of images at once. The system understood that I needed 20 images at 10x10 at a quantity of 1 each.

Finalized my order and sent it off. So.... system easy to use. Price very competitive. All that was left was the quality of the prints. Can you say "suspense"!?!

Note: I meticulously edit my images and did not want them color corrected by the lab, so I turned off that feature. Hence, I can't speak to their correcting.

Yesterday, I recieved my package via Fedex. I opened the package to find...... that the prints were bright, crisp, and (nearly) perfect. Nearly? Well the prints were great but there was a slight dent in the corner of the batch but I am going to blame Fedex for that (altough MeridianPro might consider more padding in the package).

Verdict? I have myself a new lab! MeridianPro.com will be getting my future business (I've already sent another batch) unless the quality or price dramatically changes for the worst. I recommend MeridianPro.com (and no, I'm not getting any consideration for this review, but it's never too late -- hint, hint MP)....!

Monday, June 29, 2009 | | 0 comments

AZ cliffs south from Payson




Saturday, June 27, 2009 | | 0 comments

new biz card

So I was at a networking meeting on Thursday and a terrific graphic designer (Erin) was talking about branding and having a unified look to your collateral materials. So I decided to design a business card that ties in, stylistically with my website. And this is what I came up with. Any thoughts, comments, complaints, suggestions?


By the way, the new cards were necessary because I am almost out of cards, but also because I recently got a local phone number for the business.





Saturday, June 20, 2009 | | 0 comments

Giant Evil Red Dragonfly

Today Dawn and I stopped by the grand opening party at the new Midfirst Bank over at the corner of Rittenhouse and Power. They made a nice presentation/introduction of themselves to the community with food, prizes, and face-painting and balloon animals for the munchkins. So, Midfirst, welcome to the neighborhood.

Upon leaving we spied this gigantic dragonfly enjoying the antenna on Dawn's car.


Thursday, June 18, 2009 | | 0 comments

marriage

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."

—Mignon McLaughlin

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evolution of dance

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 | | 0 comments

vulture

A vulture taking flight today in Q.C., AZ. To get away from me!


Friday, June 12, 2009 | | 0 comments

a little taste of terrificness


A great shot from Dawn from a couple nights ago. As always, enjoy!

Thursday, June 11, 2009 | | 0 comments

to amuse my fellow photographers

Found this at DWF. Between the CL ads for TFCD/TFP "work" and the clients expecting all sorts of ridiculous concessions, I feel this pain. I'm sure you've been there, too. Enjoy!

Monday, June 01, 2009 | | 0 comments

flowering photography


Sunday, May 31, 2009 | | 0 comments

the reluctant wife


Well, not reluctant to be my wife, just reluctant to have her picture taken! But I am a photographer and I do what I do.



Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | | 0 comments

macro flower fuzzy

Little diy macro action. A fuzzy macro flower. Mostly by way of experimentation. How'd I do it...?? Well, I handheld my 50mm f1.4 lens backwards against the camera body and focused with my feet (by stepping in close enough for a semi-focused image). Between my technique and my movement, its very soft, but considering the subject matter, I'm ok with that. Any thoughts?

Friday, May 08, 2009 | | 0 comments

orchard before the storm


Wednesday, May 06, 2009 | | 0 comments

finger pointing wednesday, May 6, 2009

Wild wacky wonders of the web from the wecent weeks (sorry, couldn't help myself).


That should keep you busy for awhile!

Thursday, April 23, 2009 | | 0 comments

finger pointing thursday, april 23, 2009

Wonders of the web from the week we were:

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | | 0 comments

bladt/hargesheimer wedding

Some pix from Saturday's Bladt/Hargesheimer wedding at the Phoenix Zoo.

Sunday, April 19, 2009 | | 0 comments

zoo

Worked a wedding at the Phoenix Zoo last night. Ceremony by the "savannah" and reception in an area decorated like a Mexican village. Here's a shot from the reception.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | | 0 comments

"American Character"

Just stumbled across this project on MSNBC.com. They describe it as,

"American Character" is a collection of portraits put together to capture the diversity of subjects across the country. Conceived by USA Networks as part of an ongoing artistic initiative, the book brings together 11 photographers to share their visions of “character” in America. Photographers include legends like Sylvia Plachy and Mary Ellen Mark, amongst many others."

Basically, environmental portraits of average Americans doing their average American thang. Honestly, not exactly amazing, but always nice to see a project with a theme (as broad as it is) put together in a tidy package.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 | | 0 comments

David Ziser seminar


Had the distinct pleasure of attending David Ziser's Digital Wakeup Call seminar last night in Phoenix. Let me tell ya, that guy is a dynamo! The tour continues in Tucson tonight and I can't recommend it enough. Especially for the price -- $59 advance/$79 at the door (although I believe you can register "advance" probably right up to about an hour before, but don't hold me to that). If you are somewhere else, check the schedule, they've got something like 50 more dates this year all over the country.

I won't go into everything he talked about or all the great perks you get -- go to his site and it's all listed there. But I will say that he fills every minute. He talks fast and gets tons of information in. When you take notes, do it fast, although he does provide a tourbook that has most of it in there. And he gives away a bunch of great door prizes.

One of the things that is great about David Ziser is he shows you how to accomplish some great photography without breaking the bank. For instance, up until recently his main workhorse was the Canon 40D, same as me, so that's nice.

I'd like to thank David and LaDawn Ziser for letting me be a part of the event and, of course, for the hospitality and beers afterward! It was great to meet you and I hope we cross paths again sometime!

Monday, April 13, 2009 | | 0 comments

finesse that retouching

One Big Happy
by Michael Johnston


Sunday, April 12, 2009 | | 0 comments

hoppy easter, too


Saturday, April 11, 2009 | | 0 comments

finger pointing saturday, april 11, '09

Check out the links for general awesomeness and specific examples of excellence!