Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Baby Talon

A new addition to the family is always exciting, especially with a name like Talon. Napoleon Dynamite would be pretty stoked. Here' a few of the final shots from the photo shoot. Congratulations to the proud mom and dad!

Monday, May 17, 2010

No Dumping

I think it was the Five Man Electrical Band that said it best - "Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?" Ok, I'll give some props to Tesla too. But, despite our rules-filled world, sometimes you just can't argue with Mother Nature...

Monday, May 10, 2010

Spotlight Photo

Hello Everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I was recently inspired to fill an empty 5x7 frame we've had laying around. I wanted it to be something that was close and personal to us (myself and my girlfriend, Anne). In January, our hairless cat, Koala, who was a very big part of our lives, had passed away. I thought, a photo of Koala would be perfect, but which photo of her, and how would I portray her? Well, last week we watched a documentary called "The Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha". A VERY inspirational and captivating film on his life and his quest for inner peace and enlightenment. It reminded me of a photo I captured about 6 months earlier. Ya see, a friend of mine and his wife took a trip to China, and while visiting the Longhua Temple in Shanghai, they purchased an authentic Buddha statue for Anne and myself. Upon receiving this awesome gift, I set it up by the illuminated window to capture a series of macro shots. Well, if you know anything about hairless cats, they LOVE their sun - and the bright, sun-lit window sill just happened to be one of Koala's favorite hang-out spots. As I was capturing a macro shot of the profile of the Buddha, in the background, almost as if Koala had staged it, was her silhouette, in the exact same pose and profile of the buddha, almost like the shadow - a "reflection" of the Buddha and what he represents. This is the new photo in our 5x7 frame that sits on our dining room table...

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Spotlight Photo

Pepper the Chihuahua! See the "Pepperoncini Weekend" blog to get the story. 

This photographic effect, which I call the "Hyperreal" look, was achieved through a technique of over sharpening and exaggerated detail enhancement. Then after a few local touch-ups, fixes, and a few kicks to the tires, we have our final image. Ruuuff!

Pepperoncini Weekend

Last weekend we received the honors of dog-sitting "Pepper", our friend Riki's chihuahua. To say that Pepper is long in the tooth may be an understatement. Let's just say, if Pepper were in a tribe, he'd be the wise elder of the village. We built a barricaded living quarters for him in the kitchen, which I called the Pepperdome. Despite his new kingdom, he was very content to remain in his favorite bed (throne) most of the time. Early Saturday morning, I took the opportunity to capture the lil' guy. The style I created for these shots is a "painterly" effect, with desaturated colors, and exaggerated contrast. All Hail Pepper!