iNSPIRATION

It comes from strange places. While researching a new album I'll be offering soon (don't you love a good tease), I found this quote from Dr Seuss.

Did you know he started off doing political cartoons at Dartmouth...a far cry from children's books.

Anyway, here is the quote.

Be who you are and say what you mean because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -Dr Seuss

What an interesting place it would be if we all lived that way.

Melissa:Matt Matrimony

Here are a few of my favorites from Melissa & Matt's wedding at Houston Lake Country Club a couple of weeks ago. It was quite hot, but the wedding was beautiful and they never let us see them sweat...sorta. It was 100 degrees!

San Diego Part Trois

Here is a slideshow of images taken by Michael Andrew at the Shootshop in San Diego. I thought you might like to see a little more of the workshop, and I really appreciate him for offering this to all of the other photographers. He did a great job!

Picture Time

Here are a few images from my time in "sunny" Southern California. The first four are from Carlsbad. Enjoy!






GEEK ALERT!!!

San Diego's airport is known as Lindbergh Field because the famed "Spirit of St Louis" was built in San Diego by Ryan Aeronautical. To pay tribute to the airport's namesake, a replica of the "Spirit of St Louis" hangs over the baggage claim area. The original plane hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Oddly, I just saw it in October.



Sorry for the geek out, but I was raised around airplanes. To this day, I cannot resist.

"Sunny" Southern California

I'm in San Diego for a photography workshop called Shoot Shop given by the amazing Kaisers at the image is found. I've followed their growth and success for several years. I'm constantly amazed by the fun, creative images they create. When I found out they were offering workshops, I couldn't wait to attend. Unfortunately, I wasn't alone. The spots were harder to get than Rolling Stone tickets. I finally got a spot last month and have been anticipating it ever since. The up side is that they were well practiced for my class.

I learned too much to process. I have pages of notes to review on the flight home and new ideas to try out on all of you. If any of you are up for something different, give me a call. I'll be doing to test sessions to experiment. It will be a great fun, and you're guaranteed to be on the website and blog.

So, I've been here for almost 48 hours and I just saw blue skies. Ironic.

I'll be back to the studio tomorrow, so I'll be returning phone calls and emails then. I'll also post a few pictures of "sunny" California.

Two Loves

So, I've mentioned my love of TV...or obsession, but I don't know that I've mentioned my love of cooking. You might have guessed from the Simple Pleasures posts. Naturally, cooking shows are a big part of my day. I used to fill my need for cooking shows with PBS on Saturday afternoons, and they still have some quirky offerings (America's Test Kitchen being a prime example). Then Food Network changed everything. If you love supper slick, well produced cooking shows, Food Network will give you your fill. I do have many favorites, but it is refreshing to find a guy cooking in his kitchen with one camera and no fancy lighting. Sam the Cooking Guy fits the bill. Up until recently, you had to watch clips of the show on his website. Now, Cox has started airing his show on channel 15. They used to call 15 "Locals Only", but Sam is from San Diego. I guess local doesn't mean what it used to. If you haven't had the opportunity, visit his site. It is filled with great, easy to make recipes. He proves that you don't need a commercial kitchen and staff to make great food.

What are your dreams?

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
— Walt Disney

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Walt was so smart. He started with a mouse and created an empire. Who could of know that swamp land in central Florida could become the vacation destination for the world? He did.

I was just commenting that my bold (stupid) moves have reaped great benefits...thanks to all of you. When I've made great leaps, I have been greatly rewarded. THANK YOU!

BUT, I'm not going to rest on my laurels, so stay tuned.

The Internet Giveth

I was recently lamenting that you can't search for something on the internet with a drawing (This was spawned by a cryptic t-shirt my mother-in-law saw). Well, now there is a service to do just that...sorta. Retrievr offers the ability to search Flickr images based on a crude line drawing. Best of all, you can draw right in the browser window...you don't have to scan your drawing. It is far from perfect, but it is fun. I drew an apple and got an image of a little girl with her hair in a pony tail. I drew a capital letter "N" and got an image of a pug. It is an amazing idea that I hope is improved. Yet another way to waste time on the company dime!

Part of a Winning Team

I found out recently that the work I did for Wesleyan College's Annual Report was recognized with a Gold Addy award. Addy's are given by the Central Georgia Advertising Federation in a variety of areas from print, audio, and video. The images I captured were composed of alumnae and students. It was actually very interesting to see the interaction between the generations. The alumnae were quite accomplished women, and the students were some of the brightest Wesleyan had to offer. Thank you to Susan and Brandi for asking me to be a part of the project. They give me the opportunity to push myself to create images which are decidedly different from my normal work. I'm looking forward to doing it all again.

Image Editing for the 21st Century

Adobe has released Photoshop Express. It is a free online image editing application. Simply put, it is a simply version of Photoshop available online for FREE. You can upload your images, edit them, and then email or download them. It provides commonly used tools, such as color correction, brightness correction, cropping and red eye removal. You can even retouch ZITS! If you are thinking of purchasing Photoshop Elements, look at this first. It won't do everything, but it will do more than I could have imagined.

What to do with the $100 you just saved?

Seasonal Quote

I read this today and thought it appropriate of the season. Especially, considering my allergies are coming on strong.

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

- Anne Bradstreet

It also speaks to the idea that life is all about perspective. We often become wrapped up in our daily situation, and forget that many have it so much worse. We should all be thankful for what we have.

I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.

-Chinese proverb

A Little Bit Nerdy

So, more about the tricks your eyes/brain play on you. Below is a classic example of how difficult it is for the human eye to discern color and tone. The eye is very well equipped to notice differences, but not absolutes. Squares A and B seem to be vastly different shades, but as you can see in the second image, they are exactly the same tone. B seems lighter because it is surrounded by darker squares, and vise versa for square A. Here is a link to the "explanation" by the scientist at MIT, Edward H. Adelson, who created the figure. I say "explanation" because I need the explanation explained to me. This is why I love photography!

How cute is Ella?

I'm actually quite lucky to photograph some of the cutest kids around. It is also quite an honor to photograph the children of couples whose weddings I photographed. It is so much fun to watch the transition from bride and groom to parent. I photographed Robyn and Casey's wedding a few years ago. Here are a few recent images of Ella. Also, the great outfit is from The Lillipad. Amazingly cute clothes! You might even recognize some of the images on the website.

Our World Is But A Perception

For those who have known me a while, you know that I am fascinated by how our eyes and brains perceive the world. What we "see" isn't always what is there.

The moon is a great example. I tell this often, so bear with me. The moon seems very large when it rises over the horizon early in the evening. Later at night, the moon seems to be quite a bit smaller. The moon has a circular orbit about the earth, so the size difference isn't a result of distance from us. Instead, it has more to do with the distance from the horizon. We see the moon as being larger when there is something to compare. When the moon is high in the sky, it "looks" smaller because we can't compare. You see what isn't there.

In that vein, here is a very interesting paragraph for you to read.

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan
mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the
frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The
rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mni d
deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a
wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

It is amazing! Of course, this is also why it is so hard to proof read your own work. You see what you want...not what is tehre. ;-)

PS
The best part is that spell check only identified one misspelled word!

Storytelling

I wanted to announce the new newsletter, Storytelling. It will be a monthly email to keep everyone up to date with news and monthly promotions at the studio. There will also be blog only specials, so check often. Storytelling will be archived on the web and can be accessed through the link to the left.

The inaugural issue contains a reminder about the Wall Portrait Upgrade Special and the new shooting space I have rented downtown. I've even included a recent image of Stephanie and David from the space.

Lastly, I would love to find out what you would like included in Storytelling, so email me with your suggestions.

One of My Favorite Things

There are two things I love to include in my images...Lens Flare and Motion Blur. These concepts are hard to incorporate well, so they have become a bit of an obsession. Oddly enough, the Lens Flare is usually carefully composed; the Motion Blur is usually accidental. So, I am very excited when it works. Here are two recent examples taken in the client's bathroom. It was a really amazing location full of natural light. I love it when people think outside the box.

The first is a closeup of Gavin running past me. The second is a little less obvious, but his legs blurred as he swung towards me. Best of all, his face is sharp. There are many where it isn't.

Something Cute

Here is my favorite image from Banks' session this week. Simple and beautiful!

Quote of the Year!

Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification.
— Martin H. Fischer

This sums up my goals for 2008. Running a small business requires me to wear many hats. Some I am keenly qualified to wear. Many others don't fit. I've outsourced many parts of my business, but I'm always looking for ways to allow me to do what I LOVE. I do not LOVE running a business. I LOVE photographing and interacting with my clients. The relationships I have built with many of you are the reward for all the hard work.

We should all find ways to simplify the "busi-ness" that occupies our time. Then we would have time to do what we LOVE with those we LOVE.

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil

I think we are out of order, but I couldn't resist. This image of my niece and nephews grew from my nephew, Mat, trying to point out his ears. I only need a spark of an idea.

I've Been Busy!

Sorry for the sparse posts of late. I've been a busy, busy guy. I started the year by attending Imaging USA (the national Professional Photographers of America convention) in Tampa. Fortunately, I was not alone. There was quite a large group of photographers from Middle Georgia. Here is the picture Johnny Mullis took of us at dinner at the Columbia Restaurant. Included are the group from Delaney Holliman Photography (Delaney, Kerri, and Jenny), Impressive Images (Jim and Linda Barber), Forever Young Photography (Danielle Bodony), K H Mason Photography (Heather Mason), and Stephanie Lynn Photography (Stephanie Gober).
It was nice to be surrounded by friends, and we had a great time! I hope there will be more of these moments. Besides having fun with friends, I did get some new ideas for 2008. Keep checking to see what is in store.



Then I had to get ready for the Macon's Wedding Ring Bridal Show. I try to do something different each time I'm involved in a bridal show. This time I went with a more contemporary approach. I had a bench where weary brides could sit and enjoy flipping through a few sample albums. I think the respite was well appreciated.

It was an amazing show. There were 125 brides in attendance (More than ever before by far). One lucky bride even won a weekend getaway to the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. Thank you to everyone who came by the booth. I hope to see many of you in the very near future. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my own booth to show. Bad photographer!

Now, I am working on preparing for my Digital Photography Class. This will be the first time I've done a one day class. I want to inform without overloading. So much to share in such a short time. There are only 3 spaces left, so please don't wait to register.

I'll try to be better this year about posting regularly. Have a great day!