A Very Cool Gift!

This is one of coolest gifts I’ve ever gotten… a coffee mug that is an exact replica of a “Canon” EF 24-105mm camera lens.  The detailing is impressive, right down to the auto focus and stabilizer switches that move.  It doesn’t have a handle (because camera lens don’t have handles), but it doesn’t need one.  I filled mine with hot coffee and felt no heat on my hand, so holding it without a handle works just fine.  I thought it might tip easily because the bottom is narrower then the top, but it is actually very stable.  A very cool gift idea if you know of anyone who likes photography!

They have both a “Canon” lens and a “Nikon” lens depending on the preference of the photographer in your life.  Find out… because photographers tend to shoot one or the other, not both.  Give a “Canon” shooter a “Nikon” lens and chances are they will re-gift it to someone they don’t like!  Loyalties run deep!

Shonee bought my mug through the online “Photojojo” store.  They have a lot of other cool gift ideas for photographers.  Here’s the link… Photojojo

It’s too late for this Christmas… but there is always next year… or a birthday… or just because…

Happy New Year!!!

Reception for Governor-elect Sandoval

I was recently asked to photograph a small private reception for Nevada’s Governor-elect Brian Sandoval.  The following link leads to a public gallery of those images:

Reception for Governor-elect Sandoval

 

Fixing Old Mistakes

Not only is today Thanksgiving, but it is also Shonee’s and my 21st wedding anniversary!  If we were to give advice to any couples planning a wedding it would be this. 

First… don’t get married on or near a holiday… it is much better to spread out your reasons to celebrate.  To make matter’s worse… Shonee’s birthday was yesterday. 

Second… hire a professional photographer to shoot your wedding.  Long after the cake is eaten and the blender you received is in a landfill somewhere, the photos will be all you’ve got.  We had a “family friend” take our photos to save some money and Shonee says that is the only regret she has (and it’s a BIG regret)… which is good news for me.

Since it’s our 21st anniversary I decided to take a look at our old wedding photos and see if I could improve them at all with some of the technology and cool computer programs we have today.

Here’s one of the photos I pulled out of our album…

At first glance, one assumes that our wedding took place on Mars due to the orange glow.  The image is also out of focus and there are some compositional elements that could be improved.  This is actually one of the best images from our album.

I took the photo and scanned it into the computer, saving it as a jpeg.  In Lightroom I corrected the colors so that Shonee is wearing a white dress.  Next I opened the image in Photoshop and played around with “painting” the background using the Mixer Brush Tool.  I also added the date.  It took about five or ten minutes to get this image.  It’s far from perfect… but I think it looks a lot better and that’s the point.

 

I wanted to see what it would look like without color so I created this black & white image using Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Now Shonee wants me to redo all our photos and create a new album.  She says, “her life will be complete if I do that for her.”  I guess I know what I’ll be giving her for our 22nd anniversary…

Happy Thanksgiving!

Through a Father’s Eye’s

I created this composite image a few weeks ago.  It is a teammate on my son Ander’s football team. 

The reflection of the boy is in his dad’s sunglasses.  I thought it made kind of an interesting father/son portrait.  I sort of wish I had captured a bit more of the Dad’s face.  Live and learn.

“Fragrance”

Here’s an image from a wedding I shot up in Seattle.  The flower girl (who did a great job I might add) wanted to smell the bouquet.

“Splash”

Sometimes things happen really fast at a wedding.  This was one of those times…

The festivities were winding down when one of the bride’s brothers decided to grab the groom (his new brother-in-law) and leap into the pool.  I had no warning this was about to happen.  It was one of those times when you just have to “shoot from the hip” and hope something turns out.  I think I got a pretty good shot of them entering the water…

Problem was… earlier that day the bride told me about a nearby field with a great view of Mount Rainier in the distance.  She had asked me if I would mind sticking around after the wedding was over so we could go take some pictures in this field. 

Needless to say… her new husband taking a swim in his tux was not what she had planned.  Never-the-less, the groom was a great sport.  He climbed out of the pool, dabbed himself with a towel, and we hopped in the car.  A few minutes later we were standing out in the middle of this field surrounded by blackberries.  Cars were driving by and honking their horns.  The groom’s pants were making that “sloshing” sound pants make when they’re soaking wet…  I think you get the picture!

Even with all that… I think we got some great images.  This was one of them. 

And as Paul Harvey used to say… “now you know the rest of the story.”

“Grandma”

Here’s another of my favorite images from the weddings I shot this summer.  The bride leaned over to kiss her 92-year-old grandmother… and grandma seemed to love every minute of it!

“The Kiss”

The bride and groom were sitting in front of this large stone fireplace after the ceremony waiting for the minister so that they could sign their marriage license.  They had been married only a few minutes and decided to steal a quick kiss.  They were not aware that anyone was watching… or didn’t care.   But I was.  This turned out to be one of my favorite images.

“The Hug”

At the reception following the ceremony the bride found her dad and… well, it made for a great moment…

“Watching”

Groom’s brother watching the first dance…

“The Modern-Day Wedding Photographer”

“The Toast”

Raising a glass of the bubbly in honor of Josh & Breanne…

Breanne & Josh, Sept 3, 2010

Last weekend I took a 1,700 mile road trip with my 17 year-old daughter, Courtney.  Along the way we stopped in Seattle to shoot Breanne and Josh’s wedding.  We had a great time meeting their families.  Here are a few images from that shoot.

The wedding was held at the Copper Falls Golf Course in Auburn, Washington.  The local high school golf team was practicing and I thought they added kind of a cool element to this image.


Never pass up a shot of the flower girl…




The groom and his brothers…




Even if the lighting ain’t that great… you can’t miss a Dad’s last hug…

It was a beautiful day for a wedding in Seattle… the next day it was raining as we headed out of town!

A Few More of My Favorites

I thought I’d post a few more of my favorite images from Caleb and Molly’s July wedding.  I love the unusualness (is that a word?) of this image.  Molly knew about this field where we could get some great shots with Mt. Rainier in the background.  I thought the “For Sale” sign made for a great touch.

Molly wanted some photos with her nephews.  This little guy, however, was more interested in the flower in Molly’s hair than having his picture taken.

He finally gave up on the flower in Molly’s hair… but now he’s thinking that bouquet might taste pretty good!

So… Molly thinks this guy is good lookin?

Tearin’ up the dance floor!

Caleb’s and his sisters.

“Dancing with Aunt Molly”

“The last hug”

“End of a long day… start of a new life”

Caleb and Molly Lind Wedding – July 25, 2010

Last Sunday I had the honor of shooting Caleb and Molly’s wedding at the Orting Manor in Orting, WA (just south of Seattle).  It was a beautiful wedding and Mnt Rainier provided a perfect backdrop for some great images.

One of the highlights of the wedding for me (besides getting to shoot Caleb and Molly of course) was getting to take a photograph of Molly and her mom Betsy, with Molly’s 92 year old grandmother.  Molly kissing her grandmother’s cheek, and the smile on her grandmother’s face is one of my favorite images… that’s what it’s all about!