take a hike

into the desert like I did yesterday....

Scott Kelby tutorial (via DWF)

Thanks to Scott Kelby and to DWF for this lesson on natural light portraiture in front of a north-facing window.

memory in a flash

What kind and brand of memory do you use? I'm all CF and a variety of brands. Never had one tank on me (knock on wood!) and since I don't shoot much sports, write speed hasn't mattered too much to me. What works for you and why?!?!

review/contest

Recently entered some of these pix into a local review/contest. What do you think? (click on thumbnails for larger versions)

class reminder

Just a reminder that we will be offering a beginners photography class through Gilbert Parks and Rec. in June. Tuesday evenings (6:30p - 8:30p) June 1, 8, and 15.

The late June class has been cancelled.

Catalog of classes (pdf) is here: http://www.egilbertarizona.com/Gilbert_Parks_and_Recreation/page_1717352.html

Sign up today. It'll be June 1 before you know it!

Thanks, Ron

too perfect?

Are we going too far "fixing" people in photographs? Too much skin smoothing and teeth whitening? Too much eye poppin', sharpening, clarity, too much whites in the whites of their eyes? What do you think? Should we all use Photoshop brand toothpaste?

Harlem Ambassadors

The Harlem Ambassadors came to town last night and I was asked to go photograph the event. Check out their website for info on the organization and click on some of these pix for larger views!

one more from Sunday

interactive bokeh

Everybody knows (right?) that a wide aperture on some fast glass will throw your background into a lovely soft blur. But just look at what you can do with that blur!

OK, once again DWF is compelling and informative. Check out this terrific article about optimizing bokeh and even having it interact with your primary subject. Fantastic.

news about Gilbert classes

The good news -- we will still be offering the June 1-15 (Tuesday evenings) basic photography class for Gilbert Parks and Recreation. Yay!

The bad news -- the second session, scheduled to run June 22-July 6 is cancelled. Please contact Gilbert Parks and Recreation and switch to (or sign-up for) the class that begins earlier in June.

My apologies for any inconvenience.

yesterday's family shoot

(click thumbnails for larger images)

use auto to learn manual

DPS has another terrific idea.

I think this is a great idea for anyone intimidated by learning all the bells and whistles of manual shooting all at once. Try Auto or a specific basic mode, shoot, note the settings, plug the same settings into manual mode and tweek from there to start to explore the relationships between aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

I often do something similar in unusual light situations just to get a starting point and make adjustments based on my results.

Miss Arizona

Photographed Miss Arizona, Brittany Bell, at the ACS Relay for Life this past Saturday. Click here for more information about her and about the Miss Arizona and Miss USA organizations.

Tea Party

Went to a local Tea Party last night. Kind of felt like a sheep in wolf's clothing, 'cause you know I'm one of them thar liberal northerners at heart. I especially like the fellow with the actual teabag hanging off his hat.

(click pic for larger)

creativelive

Ok, this is very cool. Chase Jarvis and his pals have created creativelive.com which is a free series of educational videos covering several creative arts. Apparently they are free to view live, if I understand correctly, but to refer back to them or download, you have to purchase. Here's Chase with more:

It can be found at creativelive.com and there is other info at Chase's blog here. If you time things right, should be lots of great, free info. And if you don't time it right, well I haven't seen the pricing, but it's probably fair. Chase seems all about sharing and the photography community.

summer classes in Gilbert

The city of Gilbert has just put together their summer catalog of P&R classes. I'll be teaching 2 sessions of my Basics of Digital Photography class. 1 runs Tuesdays June 1-June 15 and the other one is Tuesdays June 22 - July 6. See pg. 29 of the pdf catalog for more info! All classes at the McQueen Rec. Center. Six hours of info on composition, camera functions, a little lighting and some photo critiques for only $89!

http://www.gilbertaz.gov/eservices/parks/pdf/lp/Summer10LP-Brochure.pdf

sexy cake killer

Once again, DWF has pointed us towards some interesting work. Check out this unusual photoshoot.

Behind the Scenes w Halifax Weddings Photographer, Liam Hennessey/Applehead Studio from Applehead Studio on Vimeo.

former trees

Yesterday I sold this photo to the local newspaper... (there is a local area of some 685 acres that had 57,000 dead trees on it -- they were all recently removed. Some of these lumpy piles of pulp are all that remain -- cost over a million bucks!)

local waterin' hole

doggy boudoir photography

Ron Warren Photography takes a bold step into the burgeoning field of doggy boudoir photography. Does your pooch need to rekindle a fire? Put him/her on a bed with a nice 50 thread count and command "give me smoldering eyes". RWP will capture it! (or maybe Cosmo was on the bed, again --- "as per usual, Doug!"....)

chains of artsy-fartsy

Looking for feedback here. What are your thoughts on this image of chains? What does it make you feel...??? ("...tell me about your childhood..." -- no, please don't, ha!)

just say no to tiny brides and grooms

Do I have something against short people? No, of course not. But take a look at this bizarre concept in creative wedding photography editing. And then, just say no!

http://thechive.com/2010/03/26/got-a-little-too-creative-with-the-ol-wedding-photos-17-photos/

lighter than air...

content-aware fill in Adobe CS5

OK, Adobe is just moving into the realm of freaky magic now. The functionality demonstrated here is possible manually, but can be waaaaaaay time-consuming. This is a selection and a click. Amazing. (and will probably help kill photography as a career)

side gig

DWF pointed me toward this. Too much fun not to share.

Sometimes we photographers have to diversify a bit, don't we...???

Lightroom 3 v2 Beta

OK. on Monday Adobe announced the release of the second version of the beta of Lightroom 3. Yesterday I downloaded it (download here). It automatically bumped Lightroom 3 v1 but kept all my pics and catalogs. Yay! (the beta also has no effect on full release versions you may have on your computer, ie. LR1.4 or 2). I haven't explored all the bells and whistles but there is one huge plus that I am thrilled about. They activated the luminance control under noise reduction. This is one of the best tools for controlling noise, evening out colors, smoothing skin, etc.

My understanding is that this version also allows for video management (but not video editing). I'm sure there's a bunch of other goodies under the hood. I'll let you know if I stumble upon any of them!

fancy girl

She's a little bit fancy. Like a ladybug wearing a tophat. Only more like a golden retriever wearing pearls.

hula

About a week ago, Sun City Anthem had a luau to promote their community. Dawn and I stopped in for a few minutes, a little BBQ, a couple songs, and the hula! (click thumbnails for larger)

family portrait

Is this a good-lookin' family, or what? (click on image for larger)

bird in the hood

(click for larger)

Found this fellow an hour ago at the local waterin' hole. He was pretty squeamish but stood relatively still long enough for these pix. You can click on the images for larger views (especially the middle one -- I'm very pleased with that one!). Enjoy.

light scoop

DPS just did a great little review of Professor Kobre's Lightscoop. I've mentioned this in my class. It's the perfect little accessory for anyone with a dslr who wants to improve the quality of their flash without investing in a speedlite. Rather than direct flash, this device simply bounces your light off the ceiling or rear wall. Takes care of the ol' redeye issue, too.

It's only useful indoors and at relatively close range, but anything this clever and inexpensive (only about $25) has my vote. Read the review!

custom digital backdrops

Circumstances sometimes mean bad photography situations. And, although I would always advocate getting it right (or as close to right as possible) in the camera, sometimes you have to rely on Lord Photoshop to bestow a powerful blessing. Hence, custom digital backdrops.

coco myles

Brides! Bridesmaids! Have you heard about Coco Myles? This is a very cool resource for your bridesmaid dresses (among other things). All online and completely customizable. Go check it out!

Here's what they say:

Welcome to Coco Myles, the smart, affordable choice for both you and your bridesmaids when it comes to choosing bridesmaids dresses. Our unique web-interface allows the bride to choose the color while permitting her bridesmaids to choose a style that is right for her body type and feels comfortable. Our custom made-to-order dresses come in sizes 0-32, take only about 5 weeks to produce, and cost approximately $150.00!

Coco Myles has earned a number of distinctions for its bridesmaids dresses including: being named Editors' Choice for Bridesmaids Dresses by Brides Magazine; winning a Brides Choice '09 Award from WeddingWire.com; and being featured on The Today Show's 'Wedding Giveaway.'

um....yeah....

Brian & Eileen's Wedding Music Video. from LOCKDOWN projects on Vimeo.

exec. headshots

It's a week of mostly edits for the dance (see below), but we also squeezed in headshots!

more daughters (& daddies)

The week of adorable little girls continues with their dapper daddies, too.

b/w baby

Combining pictures from the recent baby photoshoot with my current infatuation with black and white photography. Take a peek!

babies is good

Had a terrific baby photoshoot yesterday and here is one of my favorites. Ain't she a doll?

picnik

I was just reminded about a terrific online photo editor, Picnik at www.picnik.com. Apparently Google, which already owns the very good free editor Picasa, just bought Picnik. Why they need two in their arsenal, I don't know, but it's probably all good for the amateur/hobbyist.

Picnik allows you to upload an image (up to 16 mb) and perform some basic tweaks to it. Cropping and rotating, some exposure control, redeye, color temperature (that's a biggy!) and color saturation, as well as resizing. That's in the basic version. Apparently you can upgrade and get even more features.

Don't get me wrong, it's no Lightroom or Photoshop. But most of us don't need that kind of power all the time, everyday, for every picture. If nothing else, it's fun and a great way to kill a few minutes at work! You can give it a test run with their demo pics, if you prefer.