do i hear 12 into 1

I went to an auction last weekend and took a few shots of the action going on. They had 300 vehicles go through their bay and it was pretty cool to watch, for an hour or so anyway. I ended up shooting from a bunch of different angles but the one your looking at was the first one i picked. I was using a 24mm lens and although it brought a great deal of the room to the sensor, it did not bring enough. I held the camera vertical with the 24mm and did a few panos. This shot was made from 12 seperate images. I usually try to shoot close to a 180 degree view just to give me the flexibility to crop later. You always loose a bunch on the top and bottom of the image also which is why i shoot a wide lens vertically.

looking for an angle

I shot an event the other night where our premier spoke to 1000 people. I thought i would try some different angles and during the course of his speech i was pretty well all over the room. I really only needed a few shots of him but for some reason i decided that this was a good time to challenge myself. Motivation is a very good thing for a photographer. Some are motivated to do good work by money, awards, and other peoples praise of their work. And whats wrong with all that. Photographers are a weird bunch though. Their main desire, and what keeps them going and growing, is to please themselves. To look at a photo after you have spent time shooting it, and more time working it on the computer, and say wow. To see what you envisioned in your mind before you even took the shot come to life is a beautiful feeling. This is what motivates photographers.
I shot this at a wide open at f2.8 so the lights in the background would not have a hexagon pattern from the lens. I played with the composition so he was encompassed in lights and they were in a pleasing location behind him, not coming out of his eye or mouth. I set the camera to high speed motor drive and held my finger on the shutter release when he would turn his head my way as facial expression can sure make or break a photo. Camera settings were iso 800, 1/160 sec, and used an 80 - 200 lens set at 160mm, white balance set to tungsten. I took about 70 frames and ended up with one i liked.
There was alot of thinking behind the shot and even more patience used up but in the end i was very happy with it, and lightly, under my breath, all alone in my office, i might have even said wow.

adding "son" to the business name

My son had to take a photo for a school project tonight and i think he did a great job.
He needed a photo to bring in so he could write a story about it. Fred is his cat and only his. He sleeps on his bed every night and really doesn't pay much attention to anyone else in the family.
We used an off camera flash held to the left of the photo, that was my part, and he did the rest, as in taking the photo, doing all lightroom adjustments, and touching up in photoshop. I did add a vignette with his supervision but that was all.
Great shot, by a great young man.

many me

I had to set up the studio this morning for a couple head shots and when i do this i take a couple test shots of myself where the subject would be to see how the lighting is. I took the couple shots and then had an idea, which you see before you. I had planned on taking a bunch of shots of me in different shooting positions and then having me again posing on the chair. Then my buddy walked by and I decided to make him the subject with me shooting and primping him.
I was lucky with my positions as they didnt overlap each other and balanced quite well.
To do this i just set the camera to self timer on a tripod and the focus on manual. I would just hit the shutter button and then get into position. I then just opened all the photos i wanted to use in photoshop and drug then all onto one image, i think i ended up with 5 layers or so. I then created masks on each layer and painted with the brush tool on the masks till i could see what i wanted on each and have the rest hidden. It was very easy and really took no time at all. The only tricky parts were the shadows created by my different positions but i just blended them in by painting on the mask with a lower opacity brush.
My only complaint was that i look bald in photos (ha).

different shot to start the year

I thought I would start the new year with something a bit different.
I was going to use this post to talk about reflection on the past year and how photographers use the christmas break to analyze their work, past, present, and future.
Instead i think i will ease into the year by wishing all that read this blog the very best and hope we all have a fun and creative year ahead. I am very much looking forward to it.