Counting Crows

A few days ago at sunset, hundreds of crows came flying overhead from the west. It was a very surreal sight. Where were they coming from? Where were they going? Do they take bathroom breaks? The questions were limitless. Luckily I was able to leap to my camera and capture a few shots before they were gone as quickly as they came. Nevermore.

Full Moon

Well, today is the day of the full moon! So, that should either bring up thoughts of old high school pranks, or werewolves - or both at the same time. Last night I grabbed the opportunity to photograph the full moon. Moon shots are extremely tricky, because of the brightness factor in the night sky, and the distance factor. I used a tripod and a 300mm zoom lens with this shot (because of my sensor on the camera, actual zoom was about 480mm). Stopping down the exposure is also crucial to capturing the detail. Here's the final product, and I was able to get it all done before the hair and fangs kicked in..... hoooowwwlllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Photo of the Week

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July! If you're like me, you were outdoors somewhere - maybe at the beach - which is what inspired me to create this image for Photo of the Week. To create this image, in Photoshop I applied color burning and vivid light effects to the original photo. I was able to create this dramatic, over-stylized gritty look - which I like so much, I'm going to use it on other images. The name of my newly created effect? "Drama for your Llama". Stay tuned for more...

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Jason, happy birthday to me. And many more...... Time to blow out 38 candles - see you in a bit....

Photo of the Week

This week's photo was created while on the same photo shoot as the Shopping Cart series. This is actual evidence that I was, indeed, train dodging ;-) I call this shot - "Loco Motion". Ok, so maybe I'm making it sound a little more dangerous than it actually was - or am I? ;-) This shot was achieved by slowing the shutter speed to 1/8 of a second. Unfortunately, I didn't have a tripod at this time - but I was still able to pull it off with a steady hand and a little help from the good ol' image stabilization on my lens.

Shopping in the Recession

On the way to my studio each day, while on the 5, I pass over this giant drainage system. And each time, I catch a glimpse of this shopping cart way off in the back. I thought - "that would make an interesting shot", but what are the chances it would still be there if I ever went back? Well, after about a week of seeing it everyday, the shopping cart never left. I think at one point, it may have even called my name. So yesterday, I waited until the sun was nice and low, creating a softer, warmer light, and took the side roads on the search for the Shopping Cart in the Drainage. Eventually I found the spot. After jumping through dirt fields, crossing railroad tracks, and scaling the drainage walls, I was able to position my self to capture these interesting compositions. The best part - I was able to come out unscathed - despite slipping and almost falling many times, and train dodging twice. The worst part - that's not mud in the drainage system.

Photo of the Week

Happy summer everyone! This week's Photo of the Week is a sneak peek at a series I have been working on. It's a campaign of nostalgic-looking photos - most of them being centered around the beach/surfing theme. The effect is created by using a Photoshop Action called "Old School" from Totally Rad!. Of course, I have my hand in the creation of the photo - the subject, lighting, composition, and some tonal tweaking. I also manually apply the old lens effect with the vignette and blur. And for an added aged look, I hit it with that distressed effect. Voila! Was it taken in 1909, or was it created in 2009?

When the series is complete later this summer, I'll have a Coffee Table book available with all these "throwback" photos. I'll keep ya posted. The photos will also be used in some other "fun" ways. And as always, all of my photos are available in print at any sizes - just ask!

Enjoy the first week of Summer 2009!