5.28.2008

Amy's PREGNANT!

I'm so excited. We didn't think she'd be able to get pregnant again. Amy had an ectopic pregnancy a year and a half ago. They had to take one entire tube. The other side had severe endometriosis. We were told we'd have to get IVF for sure. I was going to switch insurances in the fall to get it partially paid for, but we got it done the old fashioned way! I'm not sure how much JJ actually gets it. He kisses mommy's belly, talks to the baby and repeats that we have to be gentle with the baby. He thought he and I both had a baby in our belly's too, but we got that straightened out. It seems like he's getting it, but it'll be progressive thing. He'll understand the phases as they come.

Anyway, of course I had to take some maternity pictures already:

Heart Hands

Kiss the baby

5.25.2008

He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.

Edit: I dont mean any disrespect to the teachers of the world. My sister-in-law is a wonderful teacher who cares deeply about her students. My wife was a 1st grade reading teacher when I met her (and she can read just fine). The title is a poke at myself since I don't earn my living with photography but think I'm qualified to teach others about it.

So I taught a photography workshop Sat. evening. I didn't post anything about it here, 'cause I didn't want anyone to see me in case I fell on my face. I think I did pretty well though. I followed guys who were talking about small flashes. They mostly talked about gear and technical ideas and I demonstrated lighting scenarios.

I had my big backgrounds and studio strobes and started with the basic 3 point lighting setup where you set your main exposure with one main light, then fill the shadows with a light a half to three quarters stop less than the main, and a back light no brighter than your main light.
Three Point Light

The next setup I went through was the standard glamour setup, the butterfly light. One soft main light upper and a soft lower fill light (a half to full stop less than the main) directly above and below the camera at about a half to full stop difference.
Butterfly lighting

The last setup I demonstrated was the newer trendy style I've been seeing alot of lately: Two hard light's 45 degrees behind the subject equal exposure value as the main soft light directly above the camera.
Trendy style lighting

People really seemed to be interested in what I was talking about. They were really paying attention to what I was doing (at times better than I was when I forgot to plug my camera into the lights). They asked good challenging questions to which I was able to give good answers. Some of the students you could tell had just bought their camera, and others had been shooting longer than me, but had never had the opportunity to use studio lights.

I had a really good time teaching. I'd like to do more of it.

5.21.2008

Engagement Session

I usually include a pre-wedding session of some sort if a couple books me for their wedding. This lovely young couple was a pleasure to photograph in DC over the weekend. They seemed to have a lot of fun, which in turn allows me to have fun too.

Joe and Cindy072



Joe and Cindy045

Joe and Cindy042

Joe and Cindy001

5.19.2008

My Latest Masterpiece

For my "day job" I'm an Audio/Visual Production Specialist. I'm a videographer, editor, and motion graphics animator. It's something I've been thrown into. I enlisted in the Marines to be a still photographer, but they made me a videographer instead. Instead of protesting (which may or may not have done any good given my prior experience as a still photographer) I thought I'd take that opportunity to learn something new. I never thought it'd take me this far. I've learned more than I ever dreamed and continue to challenge myself more than I could if I had been strictly a still photographer. I'm very lucky to do what I do, and especially to have been thrust into it. I've known all my life I wanted to do something with the visual arts. Ever since I remember I loved to draw pictures. I remember after I learned you could earn a living in the visual arts, I would sell my drawings to my relatives for a quarter each. I'm sure they felt obligated to buy them. I've come a long way from drawing in the church pew and hawking my scribblings.

Anyway here's a taste of what I do:

About the video. It's an opening to a conference for my agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency, or DISA. This year the conference was held in Disney World, and around 3,500 people attended. It was quite the production. Along with producing this opening video and all the posters and graphics, my shop was responsible for running video cameras during the plenary sessions to be displayed on 30' screens (sort of like you'd see on awards shows on TV). This video played the first day right before our director, a 3 star Air Force general, spoke. The opening and closing graphics were done in Adobe After Effects and the piece was edited in Apple's Final Cut Pro. I had never even opened After Effects just a month before starting this project and I was able to pull out these animated graphics consistent with the theme of the conference.

5.18.2008

Never Talk Politics...

At the risk of turning this into a parenting stories blog, here's another parenting story:

So our neighbors had an open house party for their daughter who graduates college this week. Me, Amy, and JJ went over had some chicken and burgers and hung out with everyone. John has been an extra handfull lately and this night was no different. Everyone was going about their business and having their own conversations or watching the Celtics beat Cleveland when JJ paused and said "Backbama". Now I knew what he was saying and reading this, you may know what he was saying. I think everyone else had an idea what he said because they all focused their attention to John. Without prompting he said it again, this time much clearer: "Brack Bama". Tony, our neighbor and a DJ for a Jazz station on satellite radio said "Did he just say Barack Obama?" Yea, he did. I have no idea why or what prompted that. We were visibly embarrased. It almost made me feel like it looks like we have some political agenda we're so passionate about we're raising our son to think like us. That's just not the case (although we will emphasize the importance of our right to vote and to never talk politcs). Amy even said "It's not like we talk politics with him." After all we're ferociously non-committal, er, independent. Someone in the room said "What about McCain?" Well, he just hasn't been in the media as much lately. Besides Barack Obama is more fun to say.

5.14.2008

Nightmares

So my favorite way of keeping JJ from running off is to carry him on my shoulders. Well, he's potty trianing, and I've always been afraid he's going to pee on my neck. Yesterday it finally happened. He didn't pee while he was up there, but he went to run off, and I scooped him up and put him on my shoulders to a SQUISH sound and a warm wet feeling and knew that my worst fear had come true!

Shoulder Ride

5.01.2008

The Case for Film

Caution: The following post is my OPINION ONLY. I dont want to start the Digital vs. Film debate AGAIN (although that might drum up some publicity for my blog).

I started photography right on the cusp of the "digital revolution". In design school, we shot color film, had it processed and scanned the negs. I felt cheated. As a combat cameraman in the Marines, the year I got to my first duty station, was the first year they used their darkroom as a storage closet. I finally bought a home darkroom setup and learned to process and print black and white film.

I love it. I love the print. People say that you can do anything digital that you can do with film. Even my boss, a vietnam veteran combat cameraman who tells stories of souping film in combat helmets by a river on a moonless night, says I'm wasting my time in the darkroom. I still maintain that there is a difference in the final print. That's the thing. People are so used to looking at pictures on Flickr and in e-mails that they forget that it's the print that matters. Maybe it's not better or worse, I just think it's more artsy. I've seen tutorials on how to get that film look. I've got your tutorial: "Shoot film" Don't get me wrong. I still shoot digital, but you wont catch me trying to get the film look with it. By no means would it make sense for your average portrait, commercial, or wedding photographer to shoot film. It just costs too much for the consumables and takes way too much time to do any kind of volume. But for those who still want a beautiful silver gelatin print, it becomes that much more valuable.

The root of my belief is back in design school when we shot color film to scan. People would take the beautiful blues and greens of Fuji Velvia and desaturate in Photoshop. What a waste. I believe in exploiting the inherent qualities of a media to create a product that matches your vision. For the longest time, I never shot black and white film or even converted color pictures to black and white. I thought "why would you waste all that beautiful color!" I gradually started to see artists using black and white for a mood, texture or just a feeling. Now I wish I could do more. One of the challenges I'm facing is that it is more time consuming. With a young family and home to keep up, I havent had time to work in the darkroom in months!

Check out this blog from Black Star Rising: http://rising.blackstar.com/the-digital-influence-2.html
He talks about teaching out of date processes in design school where the digital revolution has replaced many techniques with many more precise tools. Photography is a different animal where precision isnt paramount. Take Holga cameras or "lomo photography" for example. They have quite the cult following for a camera known for light leaks and unreliable plastic lenses. They make some beautiful art though. People exploit the inherent characteristics of those cameras for their artistic purposes.

I recently wrote a comment in a Flickr group about how I'm bummed film seems to be going by the wayside. Someone replied "Ah, nostalgia. In any case, you can make arguments like these every time a disruptive technology affects a particular field..." I guess he's right. Maybe it is just nostalgia, but I'm banking on people looking at the classic techniques and embracing them for what they truly are. Art. A true craft. Not just "technology" to be replaced.

Here's a recent article in the NY Times about a photographer using antique processes.

Eventually I'd like to get into the real antique and "alternative" processes like Platinum printing. Check this guy out: http://www.garyauerbach.com/ He's got an exhibit in the Tucson Airport. $800 for an 8X10 inch print! $1000 for an 11X14! They're beautiful prints though. It's expensive to get into, but rewarding on the flip side. Not to say that I wont keep my studio set up in my living room to take those obnoxious pictures of JJ with my D200. Not to say that I dont crave that new D3, or 10 wireless flashes to go with it, but there has to be a balance.

My favorite film picture to date. It almost seems like it could have been taken when the car was new.

Vette Profile.jpg