WOW

SO today I decided to check out how my new Nikon D700 really performs iin low light situations. All I can say is WOW!!!! I've been using it at 6400 iso at weddings because alot of the churches that I shoot in are REALLY DARK. But I had never really pushed it all the way up to 25,000 ISO before.

So today I was sitting in the office, and I've been having trouble because I forgot to file taxes for 2 years while I was in college 4 years ago making minimum wage, and I needed something to make me smile.

The preformance of my camera did just that. All that these photos have done to them are auto white balance and the black and white one was converted to B&W.

Nothing else at all. straight out of the camera for you to see is incredible high ISO performance from nikon. Now if they could just answer the Canon punches with some really great wide prime lenses I would probably havea heart attack.



and the Black and white version

As far as I am concerned, both these images are totally usable in a clutch situation, and this camera will allow me to shoot in situation that I never dreamed possible.

I know I look irritated, and thats because I honestly am. But tomorrow will be better, and I'll get to the SSA office before 4 nad have everything sorted out by the end of the day.

On the plus side, its a beautiful December day, in the mid 40's and as long as the snow doesnt melt on the mountain, I'll be out snowboarding this weekend at 7 Springs. If anyone wants to join me, hit up the cell. The past two weeks were amazing skiing for how early in the year we were able to ski, nad i have a great feeling that the winter is going to be awesome.

Here's a pic from 7Springs on Saturday from my iPhone, "its beginning to look a lot like Christmas"Have a great day. See ya on the slopes.

Still Moving

As I mentioned last week, I am still in the process of moving into my new apartment, and I do not have internet or my desk set up yet. Hopefully by the end of the week, but I am not sure if they will get there that fast. So today I am writing from my old house before I turn the internet off for good.

The move was stressful, as they always are, but the plus is that I have a bigger room than I did before. The downside is that the kitchen is the size of my old bathroom, that means less cooking, and more simple things like sandwiches. 

Saturday was a long day. But it was worth waking up at 7. Now for some, that my seem like sleeping in, but for me, that might as well be 5am. But I did get up, made french toast, and had a great day. 

I started off with a photography workshop for a company that I am freelancing with, and there we played around with wireless TTL (flash photography) and composition. They wanted to make sure that I knew what I was doing, even though I assured them that I did. :)

Here is a shot I grabbed that is balancing the ambient light with the flash, 

The shot is produced using 3 Nikon Sb-800 flash units triggered wirelessly by my nikon D200. 

Exposure: 1/25 sec f/3.5 at 18mm 640 iso. 

Here is an available light photo using just a table lamp that I placed above David Maki as he sat on the floor.

So that was the big part of my saturday, and I'll throw some more of the weekend up soon, but for now I have to keep moving, be blessed!

Cool actions and Textures

I recently found some cool actions that are free, as well as some cool textures. While many people use textures, I have never used them, but think that I am going to start shooting some of my own. Every once in a while, I like to create images that aren't typically associated with my style of photography. 

I do this because it helps me to think more about the final image of the photos while I am shooting them, and allows me the freedom to shoot a little bit more creatively. I do this so that my clients continue to get the best images that I can produce, and to keep me on my toes. The last thing that I ever want, is for my images to begin to look tired, boring and expected. 

The actions and textures that I used on this image are courtesy of Dror Eyai. A South African Wedding photographer.  His 8+5 pack has some nice actions and textures, and are easy to use. Plus they are free.

On the exciting part of typical life, tonight is guys night. This is a night where a group of guys from church get together and shoot some pool or play poker. tonight I am hosting the evening, and making a Beef BBQ, and a homemade sauce. It is kinda spicy, but it should be awesome with some coleslaw on the sandwiches. any ways, we are gonna hang out a play some poker, and catch up on life.

In a few weeks, I am going to see the AMC Best Picture Showcase, featuring all five best picture Oscar Nominees. Seeing as I haven't seen any of them yet, I am really excited. Michael Clayton, There Will be Blood, Atonement, and No Country for Old Men are high on my list of must see, and Juno looks really good.

I know that it is a waste of a god day, but I don't go to movies much, and that is my birthday present to myself. 

Friday and Saturday are concert nights, so I'll post after I have some good images from that. Saving Jane is on Saturday, and I am excited to see that show.

One Republic

This week has been a crazy week for me. It is obviously Christmas time, and that means a ton of parties going on. This week has been exceptionally busy because I am shooting at Diesel every night this week. On Monday we started off the week with a KILLER concert by new group One Republic, and they put on a crazy show. They currently have two songs on the radio, but the one it is best known is "Apologize".
I am also getting my Christmas cards finished up. I owe everything that I have right now to the clients and couples that have become my friends and given me a chance. This year the theme is "Who Needs Mistletoe" I am also offering a discount on all of my photography right now. For a limited time, weddings, events/parties, lifestyle sessions, and portraits/head shots, may take 15% off. But this is a limited time offer and is not good for events that happen after May 1st.



This is the back, and you will have to wait to see the front, but I think that it is one of the best looking cards that I have ever seen.

In keeping with the "Who Needs Mistletoe" theme, I would love to hear some funny mistletoe stories from parties, the office, etc.

Tonight we are shooting a music video at Diesel. Actually it is over the course of the next two nights, and it is more of an intro to the website, and a My Space commercial. It should be pretty cool, and I will try to get something edited before the Steelers game on Sunday to show you the club and what we are trying to do.

Anyways, something that Jasmine Star mentioned on Tuesday was creating a notebook with ideas and thing that you learn about photography. Two years ago i started a folder that I would place pages from magazines in. It was shots that there was something more to than just plane visual stimulation. On those pages are notes about lighting, poses, trends, anything that I can come back to and see something new in. There are times when life is just to busy to get to try everything that you want to, so for me this folder is a way of going back in time, seeing past present, and since we know the cycle, future trends in clothing, posing, and lighting. For me, this is a way to help me through technical problems, and inspire me when I am slacking.

I would love to hear what other folks do for inspiration. How did you get yourself through that period of brain block?

Brides, I believe that this is a great way for you to prepare for your wedding as well. If you see certain poses, or types of locations, things that you want included in your wedding, flowers, linens, dresses, colors, anything, this is a great way to convey what it is that you are looking for, and when you get stuck on a detail, you can look into your folder, and work past your current problem or indecisiveness. Sometimes we all need to be inspired, let others help you do that.

EDIT: Last night was the 102.5 WDVE Christmas party, and it was a blast. Pittsburgh Steeler Big Ben showed up to do a Christmas song for the crowd, and Brett Keisel joined in for the fun.
Here is Ben Roethlisberger and WTAE Tv's Sally Wiggins hanging out during the show.

Many of you are not familiar with the albums that I offer, and to show you the quality of the product, I wanted to show you the albums as they come.

The first album is a Kiss Wedding Book. These are beautiful hand made albums, and they are what I use for an engagement book. They are a beautiful album, the turn around is unbelievable, and the customer service is the best that I have ever experienced. These albums are the standard album that I use for my engagement/guest books, but they are also available for family, children, and senior sessions, as well as wedding albums.

They are a really cool albums that comes in great colors like brown, blue, black, purple, and green, and the leather is so soft and supple. They get shipped in this really funky bag to protect them. As my business grows, I am intending to move all of my storybook albums over to KISS. Their customer service is honestly probably the best that I have ever experienced anywhere or in any industry.
My second album is an Leather Art album. These are also beautiful albums, they come in a wider variety of sizes, but you only get to choose brown or black. These are also great choices for family, children, and senior sessions, but they take about 8 weeks to receive.

They really are a beautiful albums, and I am very pleased to offer both.

As a side note, for other photographers out there. Kiss Albums was started by photographer Kevin Swan, and their customer service ROCKS!!!