This weekend’s horse show…

My teenage daughter is into horses. By into, I mean INTO.

She takes lessons every Saturday and Sunday, reads all kinds of horse magazines (who knew horses could read and write) and every inch of her bedroom walls are covered with horse pictures and posters.

I compare it to being a boat owner, a hobby that requires you to throw large sums of good money at it on a regular basis.

Here are a few images from a show we went to this past weekend.

Click on any image to view it larger (and in a new window).

A sneak peak at Photoshop CS4...

If you are like me (no, not fat and old), you're wondering if it's worth the money to upgrade to Photoshop CS4, or because of the significant changes from Photoshop CS3, do you want to invest the time to learn a new program.

Thinking back to the last 2 weddings and portrait sessions that I've edited (about 3000 images) I don't remember opening Photoshop once, all my work was done in Lightroom.

So I was seriously leaning towards "no update", that was until I came across Rich Harrington's website/podcast CSFour.com.

As I was watching his tutorials I kept saying "that's cool", "nice", or "I could really use that". I realized I was sounding much like Homer Simpson, "oooooh doughnut".

So now I am leaning (strongly) to upgrading, not just for me, but for my clients too. Like I often say, if you use something (even once) that makes your client happy it's worth the investment because it's not just about that sale, it's also about that client coming back in the future and singing your praises to all their friends.

I would pay $199 for that kind of good publicity/advertising every time (the cost of the upgrade).

Looking at it strictly from the business side, It only takes one good sale to recoup your investment.

So if you are wondering what CS4 has to offer you, be sure to watch this video from Rich discussing the new interface in CS4, and be sure to check out his podcast because you'll find a bunch of videos showing the features of (and benefits of upgrading to) Photoshop CS4.

The LensPen is a gem!...

Have you ever reached down to take off your lens cap and realize that the cap was already off but not before you smudge your glass? Or blow really hard in an effort to get some dust off only to accidently spit on your lens?

And then pull out the tail of your shirt in an attempt to cleanup your mess only to make it worse?

No hands up? So I'm the only photographer in the world who has ever did this?

;)

For the last couple weeks I have been test driving the LensPen from Hakuba and have found it to be an incredibly useful tool.

It's small (a little larger than your standard pen) and easily fits in your pocket, pouch, or camera bag. And its compact size allows the LensPen to clean in areas that you finger could not fit.

On one end of the LensPen you will find a retractable cleaning brush and on the other you'll find the cleaning pad that will never dry out and is safe for any/all lenses.

Accessories like the LensPen fall into two categories, "nice to have" and "must have". The LensPen is a must have and if you go on an assignment without this tool in your arsenal it would be a big mistake.

It's all about getting the best image you can, and having a LensPen in your bag will help you make that happen.

Such an important tool can be yours from places like Adorama for only $9.49, a small cost for such a big help.

It's pretty easy to understand why the Hakuba LensPen has been the winner of PTN Product of the Year award five times.

A wedding that was for the dogs…

My last wedding had a first for me, dogs in the wedding.

As I was shooting the bridal party heading towards the alter I could see that one of the gentlemen was accompanied by two beautiful black labs, each with a red collar, red leashe, and white roses.

The original plan was to have the dogs in the front row during the ceremony, but as the wedding began both dogs began to softly whimper, until the bride finally had the dogs brought up to be with her and the groom.

It certainly wasn’t a distraction, quite the opposite, because of the personality of the bride and groom it actually added nicely to the day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Deanna Gomes…

I can’t even tell you how I came across Deanna, but loved looking at the images on her website and reading about the passion she has for photography on her blog… and thought others would enjoy learning about her as much as I did.

World, this is Deanna Gomes, Deanna the world:

I’ve been a hobbyist photographer since I was 10 years old, in the Girl Scouts, were I learned how to make a pinhole camera with a roll of 110 film, some cardboard, and heavy duty tape. It wasn't until I was 37 that it evolved into a business. I was sitting on the beach in Lompoc, California at sunset while contemplating what I was going to be when I grew up. I heard a shriek of laughter from a little girl and turned to see her dancing in the surf. The sun was low and as the waves rolled in around her feet as she danced. It looked like the ocean was filled with glitter! It literally caught my breath!

I said out loud, “I wish I had my camera!” and it was right then that I knew I’d be a professional photographer some day!

In my search for knowledge and information on photography I realized how difficult it was to find. There seemed to be more websites and forums for photography than any other craft, but they only contained hints of what I needed. I was frustrated, but I was determined.

Yearning is such a creative force me. It drove me to find the knowledge and develop the skills that would help me create the images that lived in my imagination. As my portfolio and my business grew, the desire pushed me to understand the trinity of good exposure, to create a beautiful website and so on. No matter how much I learn and what I become skilled at, the drive for more remains in me.

It was shortly after moving to Colorado Springs that I joined a photography club that was just starting, I wanted to hang out with the beginners and hobbyists with the hunger to learn. There’s nothing like standing beside photographers with passion coursing through their veins, reaching out, sharing what they know and opening their minds in amazement.

We have 300 members in various stages of skill and development. Some of our members are seasoned professionals with fully outfitted studios and other members are moms with point and shoot cameras who just want to get better snapshots of their kids.

The group meets twice a month for education based instruction as well as once or twice a month for some fun photography outings. We are very active and very social group!

“Friday Nights with Studio Lights” started as an extension of the club members' interest in learning more about studio photography. I vividly remembered what it was like to hunger for the knowledge and have it be so difficult to come by, so I opened my small studio on a Friday night and invited 6 brand new, fresh out of the gates photographers in to learn and play. The only requirements for participation were that they had to bring an SLR camera and a bottle of wine! One of our fellow photographers modeled for us, we drank wine, moved the lights around, discussed lighting patterns, f-stop, shutter speed, focal length, posing, backdrop choices, and drank more wine.

We laughed hard and bonded strongly! Word spread, and as the photos were passed around I started getting calls from other photographers asking to join us on “Friday Nights with Studio Lights”.

Today the event still hosts only 6 photographers at a time as well as two models. I enjoy bringing other professionals in for these studio nights as it rounds out the experience and knowledge sharing quite nicely. We all learn from each other, the environment is so rich… and the best part is that it's totally free!

If you are interested in participating in a “Studio Night” feel free to contact me.

Professional Wedding Photography...

Yesterday a new book was released: "Professional Wedding Photography: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers" and you can find it here on Amazon.com.

I wanted to congratulate my friend Stacey (Kane) for not only contributing one of the books chapters, but for having her image featured on the cover of the book.

The fact that I get to shoot with her on a regular basis makes me feel incredibly lucky, and luckier still to count her as a friend.

Congratulations Stacey!

The September 2008 Photo Contest Winners...

Another month has flown by and it's time to announce the photo contest winners for September.

Feel free to click on either image to view it larger and in a new window.

The fist winner is "Seen better days" from Marcus Brammer, you may remember Marcus as he was featured on our blog here (some many months ago)

Location: At his home in Texas
Equipment Used: Canon 5 a with a17-40mm lens with an exposure of 1/50 sec at f/5.0
Post Production: Lightroom was used to remove all but the color green

From Marcus: "My photo "Seen better days" was taken in my house with light coming thru the window. I used Lightroom to removed color except the color green."

Marcus is a member of the Fort Worth Camera Club.

And our second winner this month (and first ever international winner) is Drew Lawrence and it's called "Pier at Dusk".

Location: Clevedon Pier, Somerset England
Equipment Used: Olympus E-3, a 14-45mm lens; iso 100; EFL 40mm; 1.3 sec; f22. Natural light.
Post Production: CS3, added an Alien Skin color film filter, sharpened, and levels balanced.

From Drew: "The only Grade 1 listed pier in the UK and was a favorite of John Betjeman. I had to wait for the pier lights to come on, then took a series of shots."

Prizes: Marcus Brammer will be getting the Pocket Bouncer from Lumiquest and and Drew Lawrence will be receiving the Photoshop plug-in "Ultra Image", also from Lumiquest.

You can read our reviews of the Pocket Bouncer here, and Ultra Image here.

Please start sending in your October Photo Contest images.