Different isn't a bad thing.

I ran into a friend of mine as he was preparing for an art show. There were a couple of dozen images laying on a table, all matted and packed in plastic. They were beautiful, and as I looked at them, I remembered back a few years to when I had alot of fun with photography. Do you know what I was shooting back then? Scenics, animals, birds, beach scenes, and cool insects made up the majority of my portfolio. Those are the images I have in my office, not bikini models, and glamour photography. Those are the images I love. So what happened? Why don't I do that anymore? I don't know. Here is where the different comes in. I am gonna get back out in the woods, I am gonna walk the beach and sunrise. I am gonna get the shots of the images I love. Look for them here on my blog, and if you don't see them, drop my a line and tighten me up.

Here is a photo of a owl that I took years ago. It is one of my favorites.

My friends name is Kevin Shufelt. You can check out his images here.

http://cflphoto.com/home.html

"It's cold as $#%,or You gotta be ready.

The Sunshine State.....plenty of sunshine. It is reflecting off the frost on my windshield. All I have to say about it is thank God for "Global Warming" or it would really be cold. And no I am not typing this while driving. I saw the windshield when I went outside to get more firewood. The cold reminds me of a shot I took while on vacation last year with my sister's family. We were at Massenutten doing a little snowboarding, well my kids were snowboarding, I was still recovering from a traffic accident from the year before. (I bet that is a run-on sentence) I was taking some shots of them falling down a lot, I mean snowboarding, when up pops this beautiful Ice Princess. She looks right at me and BAM, I got the shot. I had full intentions of giving her a biz card and getting some info from her so I could email a copy of the image to her, maybe even send her an 8x10 glossy. I also wanted to ask her to sign a model release, but I didn't have one with me. I looked down at my LCD monitor, to see my prize, and when I looked back up, she was gone. Was she a Snow Ghost? I couldn't find her anywhere. It really didn't matter because my closest copy of a model release was back at the cabin. As a result, no model release was signed so I can't really use that shot for any commercial purpose. Did I learn anything from this? Not really, but you should. I still don't have a release with me half the time,but if you think you may want to use any shot you take of people for commercial stuff, keep model releases handy, and don't be affraid to use them.

I gotta shoot!!!!!!!!

Well, it's a rainy Sunday morning, the kinda weather that makes you want a big bowl of chili and a Pittsburg Steelers football game on TV. I haven't shot in a week..... A WHOLE WEEK! Are you hearing me! I've had to work overtime on my "real" job and it gets dark so dang quick now. I have a big shoot coming up soon....but that is not helping now. I am just gonna have to look at some shots that I have taken in the past like this one from Rock Springs.

Nothing is worse than a boring background.

Except a sharp stick in the eye....maybe. I always try to find an interesting background when I am on a location shoot. It can be anything from an old dead tree to pilings from the Cocoa Beach Pier as in this image. If nothing else, try to find a background with some cool colors and shapes and then shoot with a shallow depth of field to blur it some. You can always jazz up a background with a gel'd off camera flash....We will talk about that more later.

You meet the nicest people at the beach.....

Yesterday I did a commercial shoot for Blue Threads Clothing at Cocoa Beach. I had never been to the shoot location or met the owner Barbara before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect when I arrived. I persuaded my trusty one woman support group, my wife Melinda, to tag along with me which she reluctantly did. Barbara greeted us in her driveway and I felt at ease almost immediately. She has a way about her that makes everyone feel welcomed. It was a very low pressure shoot done in her beautiful backyard on the river. The sunset was gorgeous. The shoot was to showcase her clothing line which has a certain coastal look to it and appears to be very well made. Her pride in her work was easy to sense. You can take a look for yourself here. http://www.bluethreads.com/

So.....where is your studio?

That is a question I hear alot. The answer is, my studio is everywhere. There are interesting places and little quirky backgrounds all around. All it takes is a little scouting. For instance on our way to Walmart today, my wife and I noticed at least 5 places that I want to use in the future. The more I shoot, the more my eyes start scouting for new places, almost as if they have a mind of their own. That being said, there are times when I have to shoot with a certain color backdrop. For those shoots, I can turn my livingroom into a "studio" in about 45 mins. I have white, black, and gray seamless paper and a background stand that folds up in a bag. I can also rent studio space in Orlando at an hourly rate. Don't let a lack of space keep you from shooting. Get out and get the shot. If you would rather have someone else take a portrait of you, then drop me an email.

Location: My livingroom

Model: Em Rachel MM# 1403678

Senior Pics with Haleigh Wed. 24 Nov 2010

My daughter Haleigh has been putting off getting her senior pics done for weeks. I think once she saw how beautiful Dana looked in hers, she was ready. We headed down the dirt road we live on to a shady spot. Haleigh is a natural. Once we started shooting she just went with the flow and we nailed some awesome shots. My favorite is another fence shot. The "Private Property No Trespassing" sign worked perfect for Haleigh as she is a very private person, until she gets to know you.

Senior Pics with Dana. Tuesday, 23 Nov 2010

I met Dana late in the afternoon to take advantage of what photographers call the "Golden Hour". It seems to me it should really be called the " Golden 40 Mins." Our first stop was an unamed farm trail near my home. It is now know as Mosquito Alley. We managed to get a few shots in before we made a retreat for the truck. Dana never complained even though I whined like a little kid. I have got to buy one of those foggers. Next we hit a 6 foot chain link fence to shoot what I think is the shot of the day. I love fences. They add so much to an otherwise boring background. A couple of shots in the tall grass at my house and it was dark. I had a great time working with Dana. Hopefully we can shoot again soon.