Test 1,2,3

Just checkin out a new slideshow program I got...

P.s. The song is by Di Johnston. Awesomeness... I heard it on a Dove Commercial.

Pano!

Sooo... I was outside on Saturday just killin some time and doing a little reading. I saw Milwaukee and was like... hmm... I want to take a pano of that. So I leaned against a pole and took a ton of shots, pieced them together in Photoshop and presto, one hour later I had an 800meg file. Let me know what you think.

365 (Part Deux)

So. Back again to blog. I guess that is a good thing. A few thoughts about some stuff I am working on today. I still have a ton of backlog images to edit, but I am getting there. I am on pace to get the Face Off photos up by Friday, so hold on for that.

I started a 365 project last year doing a self portrait every day for a whole year. It was pretty intense and crazy. I did a ton of work and it was hard to take a photo every day, but I learned a lot. I got a lot of guff from people, mainly in jest, but things such as, "Someone is a little vain eh?". Part of it was that I had seen other people do that, so I thought, heck, I can do that (not really thinking that about having 365 photos of me). In the process of shooting that whole series though I had some fantastic shots and some not so fantastic shots.

i.e.

bad

good

The most amazing thing though, is that when you force your self to take a photo of the same subject for an extended period of time you need to find new ways to present the material or it will just get boring. To present the material in a new way, I needed to learn new techniques that would help me achieve the image that I had in my head.

I am doing a new 365 project, which you can check out at my Flickr site, and already I am much more impressed with the photos that I am taking. In about a year and a half I learned how to use lights, tons of post processing tricks and tips, and many things about actually using my camera. You can do a 365 project and learn nothing other then how to sit still (2190 days) or be consistent, but if you push yourself to get out of your comfort zone and learn a little bit, in a year you will be in a much better place creatively. You have to sift through a lot of dirt and mud to find gold. Here are a few examples of my new 365 that you can check out at my Flickr site.

Post Face-Off

Sooo.... shooting all day is pretty crazy. Not that I haven't shot a whole day before, because I have, but every time I do I remember how tired I get. For the Face Off I had a fantastic turn out and a great time, so a big thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. I will be working to get the images up on Friday so voting can begin. The voting will be open for two weeks and the winner will get a free portrait session from me and a gas gift card (because gas prices will make your face contort).

Setting up was crazyness. I was going to set up Friday night, but ended up needing to get some other things done. Big mistake! I showed up about a hour early to set up and get stuff ready and we were still finishing set up an hour and a half later! That was not fun. I don't really like coming across as un-professional (who does?), but I think that as I am starting this business I live and learn and that makes it okay. Next time I will get set up the night before.

I was shooting on an all white background with a huge roll of Savage brand paper. I got it off of Amazon.com about a week before I needed it, which was good. Planning ahead... always good. I ended up using a TV to display the photos as I took them, much to the delight (and sometimes dismay) of the people that I was shooting (Got the idea from Mr. McDuff). After I got done shooting someone I would hand the card off to my friend Tory who was assisting me for the day and she would dump the card onto the computer and preview them with the people I just shot to seletct which photo of theirs would be entered into the competition. That was really helpful to have. That way I didnt need to go through all of the photos I took just to figure out which one needs to be edited. I still have a ton to edit, but that will cut hours off of the time that I need to finish the photos. There were also a few behind the scene photos taken that will get put up here sometime soon. Be on the lookout for new stuff often!

That is a quick recap of the shoot... soo.... now that it is 1:10 and I need to go to work in the morning to my non-photo related job, I bid you good night.