Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Street Photography

I made this photograph over a year ago. It was when I first began using my Holga. While I was out this past weekend in the same town I made this photograph in I noticed there were actually a few people walking around shooting with a Diana camera. If you know your stuff you know that the Diana camera came before the Holga. They are both in the same family of medium format cameras. They are also the most basic of medium format cameras.

This also an attempt at scanning film. It looks like an actual print but alas I tried again to scan some film again and this is the best I came up with. There is actually one flaw. It scanned as a 35 mm photo. Not a 120. I don't know why it happened like that. I tried several times to set it to 120 but I could not get it to work to my advantage. But you can see what I was going for when I shot this photograph. Enjoy.

So I bought....

Today I bought a Canon Canoscan 8800p. I need it to scan some film for a portfolio. I was eager and excited to start scanning my film and possible start printing some of my film photos. I was sadly disappointed and very upset when I discovered I can not scan black and white film using this scanner's software. Not only that when I scanned a color negative I magnified it by 90 percent only to see the most amazingly magnificent collection of dust and spots. Mind you I already cleaned the negative compulsively. I am not in the best spirits right now.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Its A New Week...

So, here we are at the beginning of another week. This week is going to be a quite a busy one at that. I have to make a new purchase. I have to buy a new scanner. One that will allow 35mm and 120 film to be scanned. I have to put together a portfolio and send that out asap and the scanner will help speed up the process.

Come Friday I will be heading out to Boston to do a little shooting, meet up with a fellow photographer, and visit AIB. A few other appointments and of course cant forget about the dedication to the gym, and I have a jam packed week. Oh yeah, cant forget about work too.

Well, here is a photo to check out. Something to post just give you something to look at after listening to my blurb. It was made after a rainy night. Kind of like the past few weeks.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

5 Hours To A Success Email

I am sitting at 32%. The clock next to the percent accumulated tells me that I have 4 hours and 14 minutes left till 1 folder is sent to my client. To me this seems a little extreme for an email to be sent. Mind you it is already 130 in the morning and I still have 4 hours and 13 minutes till this 1 folder of a 2 folder email is sent. Does this seem to be a little bit how should I say, dramatic?Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Mannequin Love


While walking through the stock room one night at my old job, I happened upon some armless mannequins. Spending a minute or two adjusting the mannequins, this is what I came up with. A piece I like to call Mannequin Love.

*Edited Note* While I was in the posting frenzy I forgot to mention that this was shot with my cell phone. Therefore the quality is poor because its literally 2.0 mega pixels. But either way you can still see what I was thinking and going for.

Mannequin Fashion

So I spent a few hours one night walking around Northampton making photographs of the Mannequins that were in the windows of the clothing shops. Here are the results of that night. And FYI mannequins make great models, they hold their pose and don't complain.

As most of you know I have been working progressively with digital and expanding my style into a totally new bracket.

I am only posting two examples of the new series on this blog. The rest can be seen at my website, http://www.1stimpression.wordpress.com

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Legendary Name

If you are a photographer or know anything about the history of photography, then you know this name. Leica. Leica produces some of the worlds greatest cameras. I just came across this nice little Leica C-Lux 2 It boasts the name Leica with the little red dot. It has an increased mega pixel rating from 6 to 7.2. This camera would make a great addition to you arrsenal of cameras. If you are like me and need a small compact camera for those moments where you don't have your MASSIVE Dslr than I recommend that you seriously consider purchasing this camera. The price tag is at $495. And like I mentioned if you know your cameras than you know that the price tag is worth its weight in gold. Pick this camera up. You know you want to.

The Price Tag for Under Charging...


What is the price tag for under charging your clients? There are alot of negative aspects that can result from under charging a client for work you do. The advantage however, can be rewarding. Lets say a job you are doing runs longer, you have an accident while doing the work and need to do a reshoot. Thats your fault if you need to reshoot. Who pays for it? You do. It wouldn't be fair business practices to charge a client for your blunders. This is how I maintain my business.



I am Pricing Self Conscious, meaning I am unaware of what my value is to my clients and potential clients/customers. This is bothering me, because I feel as though I am under charging for a service I think people are pleased with. My work speaks for itself but doesn't price itself. Whats a photographer to do?






Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The perils of night photography

Since the first moments of using my very first tripod I have been obsessed with night photography. Long exposures, the challenges of the right aperture and f-stop make it night photography fun. With the perfect white balance and other camera settings you can achieve some amazing photographs. Here is a photograph I made on Sunday night when I was waiting for the storms to touch ground in my area. The storms were moving in another direction so I turned my focus else where. Of course the final result is post photoshop.

Monday, July 21, 2008

A Stormy Sunday Evening


Sunday evening I walked down the path of a spot I frequently visit. I could hear the rumble of thunder off in the distance. With my camera attached to my tripod and rested on my shoulder as I walked, I stop briefly to align my self with my surroundings. I stand poised ready to shoot the first thing I see. Having no luck composing a
photograph out of the existing landscape I move forward down the path. I am anticipating a powerful storm. Off in the distance I can hear the clap of thunder grow louder as I walk closer to find a view of the mountain. The sky has begun to grow very dark as the approaching storm got closer and closer. Not seeing any lightening yet, I move further down the path getting closer to the river. Sweat pours down my face. It was an extremely hot day. The weather all day was very odd. Our area was circled with storms but never touching down in our city. The closer I got to the river, the more I could hear the storm approaching. A gentle breeze has now turned into a faster moving breeze bring the water quickly ashore.

As quickly as the storm had begun to approach, it began to change directions and head opposite of where I was standing. I began to walk around see what I had to work with. There is a rich amount of history on the river banks of Western Ma. You can produce some amazing photographs given the right time of day and conditions.

I made it as far as I was willing to go. I came across a no trespassing sign and was not about to push my luck. Another reason besides the sign was I could hear oldies music playing in the area. I was unaware of any house in the area and was mildly freaked out by the type of music I was hearing. It reminded me of a scene right out of a horror movie. I made a few photographs of the area and turned to make my way back. By now the storm had completely vanished from our area. I was now in search of the perfect composition not just the perfect composition including a storm.

I made my way down to the dock and began to shoot the dock and the surrounding landscape. I am unaware of why this dock is there. The water is only about 5 inches deep. Before I had a chance to venture onto the dock there was a couple there enjoying the distant storm, sipping glasses of wine and relaxing as their Sunday was about to come to an end. Shortly after I began to shoot the beginning of the dock, they got up and made their way off the dock, leaving me the peace to shoot what I saw at my will. After some time I began to just lounge around and watch as the water and time passed. The better part of my time spent down there was on the dock. Just trying to document that I was there and what I was seeing as I stood there. I like to believe that I can separate myself from the numerous amounts of people that could have possibly made photographs in the same possible spot I was standing. But I know that even though I have made a dynamic composition there could be ten more that look just like it. However, just the mere fact that I was at peace and shooting an area that is just very beautiful made me feel more relaxed and calm.

I guess I have said all that I have had to say about my Sunday evening shooting. So I will leave you with more pictures instead of words. I hope you enjoyed viewing my work. I enjoyed being out shooting it way more than I think you could possibly enjoy it, but either way I wanted to share the beauty and symmetry that I saw.


Helpful

Check this website out for some awesome advice and lighting stuff, and even some model stuff...
http://www.lighting-essentials.com/

Saturday, July 19, 2008

New Discovery

While I was searching for some Avant-Garde fashion photography I came across this photographer. Paolo Roversi http://www.paoloroversi.com/ His work is just absolutely amazing. You can read his Biography as well as view his work from his website. You can see in this photograph how wonderful the color is. I am usually more interested in photographs that have a warm tone feel to them. However, lately I am turning more and more towards due tone and cool tone photographs. This photograph here is a great example of my new interest.

I recommend looking at his work if you're interested in fashion photography. Especially if you're interested international fashion photographers.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

The Dog Days of Summer


We are reaching a beautiful time of the summer and I can't help but think, I really wish I was sitting in a beautiful coastal town at the moment. You know, one of those beautiful towns that lie neighboring the ocean. Old beautiful buildings, massive gorgouse houses, and beautiful people walking around. The sunsetting as you're sitting down to a beautiful dinner. I just want to escape the office and find my way to one of these towns, with my camera of course. I just want to spend the rest of the summer relaxing near the beach. Watching the sunset and the stars rise every night. Listening to the sounds of the waves as they lightly crash against the shore. Feeling the sand underneath my feet and the sun against my skin. The coastal breeze against my skin. Now that sounds like what summer should be like.
Go enjoy the summer for me, as I sit behind my desk thinking about where in the world I'd rather be.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Big Blog, Bigger Ideas

With the creation of this blog, I have begun to form new ideas and have been trying to take this blog to a new and higher level than it is. I am open to suggestions and prehaps some advice to bring this blog up a notch. So bring forth your ideas and suggestions.

I am also looking for reliable photographers to partner with. I am also looking for photographers assistants to help me with shoots. So those are a few other things to think about. For the photographers though, I am looking for people that can produce amazing photographs and have extremely strong knowledge of almost all aspects of photography. So let me know if you or anyone you know fits this catagory.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Lighting stuff

I was feeling a little inspired over this weekend to try some new lighting techniques. So I chose a composition with a product that I really enjoy. I love vitamin water and thought hey why not. So here is the result of the shoot. I wish I had gotten paid for this shoot though.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Photoshop Stuff

If you're like me, and love to manipulate photographs in photoshop than you will love this new tutorial I just found. When I look at this tutorial, I think it has the potential to be something really interesting. On its own it is a great process, but I think if you were to explore the possibilities and add a few of your own steps to the tutorial I think you could have yourself something much more dynamic.

So without further a-do here is the link.

http://http://vitaminpsd.com/index.php?act=cms&com=view&id=199

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Nikon D80 10 Mpixels of furry...

The Nikon D80 is what I am currently shooting with. This camera is an absolute wonder. Its been about a year and a half since I purchased my D80. Its almost time to move up in the ranks of Nikon cameras. The more I shoot the bigger my jobs get the more I need a bigger and more powerful camera. Though I will not stop using my D80, it is almost that time to start looking at the higher up models.


Here is a link for the Nikon D80. http://http//nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25412/D80.html It appears that the price has been reduced since when I purchased mine. I stand by my D80 and will try my hardest to convince people why they should purchase a Nikon camera. The one feature I love the most though, is the Color Matrix system they have. Nikon cameras that have this feature produce photographs with brilliant and accurate color.

I also recommend the Nikon SB-600 AF Speedlight. It is a great midrange flash that can be used on camera or used remotely off camera. I am also currently using an SB-600. Here is a link for that too. http://http//nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Flashes/4802/SB-600-AF-Speedlight-Unit.html
I strongly recommend checking out the Nikon D80. If you're looking for something less expensive, but along the same lines they have the Nikon D60 which is also a 10 mpixel camera. Below that is the Nikon D40x and I believe they still have the D40. This are entry level D-SLR camears but do not have full camera control like the D60 and up. Check out Nikon. I think you will be very pleased with the products they offer.




Wednesday, July 9, 2008

One Tough Decision

I am faced with a problem. In order to pick up more work and be able to expand the look of my work I need lighting equipment. I need to have some portable lights and or strobes to be able to set up in locations that have bad, little, or no light. I have been searching for some affordable strobe kits and or continuous lighting kits. I have found a few so far. But I am wondering what people suggest? What do you use and what would you recommend?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Its time...

Its time to put my camera, and well myself fashion foot forward. I came across this really niffty site http://http://www.fashion.net/ and well needless to say the content is pretty much an industry and a lifestyle I am interested in being a part of. Check out this site. Im sure you will all learn something from it. If not there are some other cool links from the site. Content includes, fashion, photography, art, models, and other things along this nature.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Manfred Baumann

It is not every day that you come across someone who inspires you and yet reminds you of where you want to be. Some times when I am working on something, a project, or just have a thought, I find it a coincidence that I come across something that I can correlate to that project, thought, or particular something I am working on.

I recently picked up a magazine at B & N and as I read through it I came across a photographer who's story I found to be some what related to where I want to be in life. Manfred Baumann is an international photographer whom I find to be an inspiration. He has worked with countless celebrities, models, and has a few books out. Here is the link to his website so you can stop reading what I am writing and go check him out for yourself. I hope you agree with what I say...

http://www.manfredbaumann.com/main.html

Sunday, July 6, 2008


I was unaware that pay phone still existed. Now a days everyone and their grandmother has a cell phone. I even see bums using cell phones. However I have yet to come across a bum with an Iphone. When I do I will be the first to photograph it. But while I was out shooting for a client today, I came across this here pay phone. Are these things antiques yet? I'm willing to be there are not to many more left.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Almost every time I am out doing a job for a client I can always manage to produce at least one piece of work for myself. This photograph was made while I was out shooting for a client. This photograph also has a new photoshop action I am trying. I am very pleased with the results that I have achieved. Please feel free to leave me some feed back.

Digital Split Toning

Here is a split toning tutorial. The way the tutorial shows the process the original image is black and white. So make sure you have the proper image settings.

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-effects/split-toning.html

Dramatic Wrinkles

This tutorial shows you how to increase the dramatic effect in a persons wrinkles.

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-effects/dramatic-wrinkles.html

Ray Of Light Tutorial

This is a very intersting tutorial that shows you step by step how to put a few rays of light into your photographs.

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-elements-tutorials/photo-effects/ray-of-light.html

Digital IR Photography


Digital Photography has made some very strong advancements over the years. Here is a link to a very great site that talks about Digital Infrared Photography. And gives you all the information needed to make Digital Infrared Photographs. If you are intersted in Infrared phtography you should really check this link out. Infrared film is on its way out of the market and is almost obsolete.

PhotoShop Actions

Here are a few photoshop action links that I came across. I thought Id make a post and give a few actions out. There are a lot of free actions that can be down loaded. The link also has instructions on how to install the actions. So go and have some actions fun.

Soft Skin Effect
http://www.turningturnip.co.uk/photoshop/photoshop-actions/soften-skin-actions.php

Soft Focus Effect
http://www.turningturnip.co.uk/photoshop/photoshop-actions/soft-focus-actions.php

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Nikon D700

This past year Nikon released the D300. If you are a Nikon lover like myself then you must have at least read one review or heard at least one positive comment about the D300.
Being a step above the already fabulous D200 the D300 is an award winning camera that is category leading piece of equipment. Nikon has always put out a great camera in my opinion. I shoot with a Nikon D80 and love every minute of it.


Now, today while I was at work I was informed that Nikon again has released another model for this year. Thats right boys and girls the D700. I will provide a few links to reviews and sites that talk about the camera's features.







The new Nikon D700
Nikon USA
http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25444/D700.html

Review
http://www.photographybay.com/2008/06/18/nikon-d700/

A Step Forward


I, like most other photographers rarely describe how I achieved the results that are seen in my work, in full detail. The only people who ever get to fully understand my work are the people that I work with or partner with.

Here is an old photograph with a new post-shot process that I have begun to use. This photograph is actually about a year old. But the look is very much new. And if you're local to my area then chances are you have seen this man. Its actually a very sad story. I was fortunate enough to speak with him at which time he allowed me to make this photograph.

Keep an eye out for more photographs that have this visual feeling and look to them. I will be continuing to use this new process and explore the possibilities of it. Just the other day the article I read about this process labeled it as "The Future of Photography". I will be posting more as I create them.