Jenny "Take my picture"

My friend Jenny decided that she wanted some more pictures and this time she wanted to get a little more risque than the normal photo's we've taken until now - must be the new hair! So, I met Jenny on Sunday afternoon at the building that we work at as there were a couple of interesting shot ideas we wanted to try in the stairwell.

As always, my faithfull art director Amy was there. I convinced my wife Tara to come along and be my lighting vixen. Things started off slow, the lighting was bad. The clothes selection was off. As Amy said, there were "no tunes". We were stuck. Tara suggested that Jenny use the red fire extinguisher pipes as a prop so Jenny changed into a denim outfit that was about 3 sizes too small for her and we finally started getting somewhere.

After exhausting the shot opportunities with the pipe (this is still a PG rated blog!), we moved to the stairs with Jenny attired in a beautiful formal gown. I still wasn't terribly excited about any of the photos we were getting on the stairs so I asked "Are we done yet?". Jenny, Amy and Tara all sheepishly said "yeaaaaaah". Perfect! I had Jenny mess up her hair and strike a pose that is anything but feminine and got the best shots of the day (including the completely over-processed but still somewhat cool shot above).

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

Attracting plenty of stares...

My friend Robert was going to shoot some models in Tarpon Springs this weekend and asked me if I would tag along and assist him. Never one to pass up an opportunity, I met him at the Tarpon Springs Aquarium at 1PM.

Once the models arrived, we proceeded to receive several stares from the onlookers as we made our way up and down the sponge docks, seizing several different opportunities to get shots of the models. It was overcast and gloomy so this was a perfect opportunity to break out the flash and try some new techniques. There were several misses but I think my favorite shots are the black & white 'spotlight' shots. After about 3 1/2 hours of shooting, it was time to call it a day for it was getting dark and we were all tired and hungry!

(Click on photo to see full size image on Flickr)

Compelling Photographs - "Must Know" Fundamentals of Composition

A couple of months ago, my friend and photography mentor Robert LaFollette asked me if I would be interested in assisting him with a new photography course he was desiging for The Perfect Picture School of Photograph. Needless to say, I was flattered and jumped at the opportunity!

The course is called Compelling Photographs - "Must Know" Fundamentals of Composition. The goal of the course is to give individuals the tools they need to be able to capture that image they see in their minds eye with their camera.

Classes just started and it's not too late to sign up! If you're interested in learning how to turn those snapshots into true works of art, I strongly suggest checking out this class or others offered by The Perfect Picture School of Photography.

For more information on this course and how to sign up, go to this website:

Compelling Photographs - "Must Know" Fundamentals of Composition

Nice way to end the week

What better way to end the week than to snap some shots of a beautiful sunset! My friend Robert mentioned that he was going to stop by the Clearwater Memorial Causeway after work to try to get some good shots - I decided to head over myself and see what I could get!

Since it was already past sunset, Robert suggested trying some HDR images so I adjusted some settings on my camera and let it rip! Most of these are HDR's, but a couple of them are straight shots from the camera. Regardless, I was really pleased with what I got in forty-five minutes after work!

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

Have lights, will photograph...

My friend Jenny has turned into quite the camera ham - she's been pressuring me for about two weeks to go out and take some more photos. I found some examples of about 25 different shots that I wanted to try to add to my portfolio and this particular image is one that Chase Jarvis has in his online portfolio. Once I showed it to Jenny, it was a done deal - she had to have it!

After work, we went up to the top level of the parking garage and set up shop and I was able to get just the shot I wanted right away. Since my wife was out to dinner I didn't want to waste the opportunity of having a beautiful model at my disposal so we tried a bunch of different things to see how they would work - and managed to get some interesting shots in the process. Maybe spending all that time trolling the Strobist blog is starting to pay off!

Once again, props to Amy for helping out. I may have figured out how to make the camera and lights do what I wanted tonight, but Amy was the producer behind the scenes primping and preening Jenny, telling her how to pose, and making sure I got the shot "just right". Thanks Amy and Jenny for helping me add another shot to my portfolio!

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

Schmap.com

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Schmap.com telling me that one of my photos was chosen as a finalist for their 2008 Tampa Guide and wanted to know if I would give them permission to use my photo. It's not a paying gig, but I said sure, why not!

This weekend, I received another email telling me that my photo of Downtown Tampa and the Tampa Convetion Center had made the cut and it was listed. Yay!

It's probably not that big of a deal but it's nice to know people other than my wife and mom are looking at my photos!

Under the weather

Since I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last few days, I had no intention of going out this morning and taking pictures but when I woke up and poured my first cup of coffee I realized a dense layer of fog had descended upon us. This is exactly what I needed for the shots I had taken last weekend! I threw on some cloths, poured my coffee into a to-go cup and headed down to the intercoastal in Dunedin.

On my way to the location, I noticed that it was low-tide... REALLY low tide. I wasn't sure how that was going to affect what I was trying to do but I would soon find out. Once I arrived at the Fenway, I parked my car and headed down to the shore. There was an additional 50 feet of 'beach' compared to last week. I use that term loosely because as my boots can attest, it's more like mud than beach. I set up and fired off some shots but a combination of the low tide and a slight breeze picking up made it apparent that I wasn't going to be able to achieve the look I was after. So, not one to miss an opportunity to get some extra practice in, I walked about two miles along the intercoastal and took some photos of shorebirds before I headed home. I was disappointed in the outcome but I know that this time of year will bring many more opportunities to get the shot I want.

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)

New Year, New Beginning

My friend Robert had posted some pictures of the Bald Eagles and their babies recently so I called my mom to see if she wanted to go check them out. We got up early New Years Day morning and drove the 45 minutes to Pasco County. It was overcast and windy and it was looking as if it was going to be a bust but the clouds broke and the sun came out for a little bit.

It has been awhile since I had taken photo's of birds and I was having a hard time capturing them in flight but I still managed to get some nice shots out of the group - including twice catching one of the parents bringing a fish back to the nest to feed the little ones.

At about 10:15AM the clouds rolled in again and my mom and I decided to head back. All in all, a fun way to spend a New Years Day morning!

(Click on photo to see full sized image on Flickr)