is that a great face, or what?
This is Tom. He's the father of the bride (below). Terrific guy with a great attitude!
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.
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!
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)....!
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.
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.
marriage
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
—Mignon McLaughlin
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!
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.
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?
finger pointing wednesday, May 6, 2009
Wild wacky wonders of the web from the wecent weeks (sorry, couldn't help myself).
- David Ziser offers insights on added service and digital mats.
- Photo Business News & Forum has Lotsa Little Things Are Actually Really Big Deals
- and.... Is the Amateur really a threat to the pro?
- Pixelated Image suggests that we sharpen our tools and offers suggestions.
- Photocritic poses the question: Why is wedding photography so expensive?
- A throwback tip on back button focus from Melissa Jill
- Flashflavor shares American Photo Magazine's Top Ten
- DIYPhotography talks about "voice-activated light stands" and...
- Get Your Flash 100% on Axis With Your Umbrella
- You'll laugh your tush off with Photographer's Math
- Been hearing good things about Yanik's Photo School
- Photopreneur offers up the five most inspiring people on flicker
- and six great posts from my favorite, Digital Photography School...
- How to Take a Perfect Headshot with a single light
- Top Ten Articles
- Intro to Time-Lapse Photography
- How to maintain your memory cards
- A great DIY softbox idea
- Five Keys to taking beautiful maternity portraits
That should keep you busy for awhile!
finger pointing thursday, april 23, 2009
Wonders of the web from the week we were:
- What looks to be a swell wedding photography book, Jacqueline Tobin's Wedding Photography Unveiled discussed/touted over at DPS
- More DPS sharing a basic lesson on ISO
- Oh, still DPS..... 14 great tips, tutorials and videos from around the web
- Cameradojo takes on color space. Specifically Adobe RGB vs. sRGB vs. ProPhoto RGB
- Pixelated Image suggests a plethora of photo blogs that you should be reading right now!
- Are you shooting any nudes? If you are, check out Photo Attorney's warnings about a law known as section 2257
- And... speed photography over at DPS. It's all about the flash, not the shutter speed!
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.
"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.
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!
finger pointing saturday, april 11, '09
Check out the links for general awesomeness and specific examples of excellence!
- 50 Totally Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory by our friends over at psd tuts!
- Painting with Light by photocritic.org
- Creating Depth of Field with Filters and Masks by Digital Photography School
- Very cool yabadoo demo that interactively introduces you to the ways aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. come together for exposure and effect
- family portrait tips by Digital Photography School
- Night Landscape Photography by Nice
- Environmental Portraits by Digital Photography School
- Using Ambient Light and Strobe for a Natural Looking Still Life by Lighting Essentials
- Seven Lighting Tutorials to Make Your Photos Stand Out by Photography Bay
- Custom Business Cards for Marketing by David Ziser at Digital Pro Talk
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