So what’s new?

Very good question… If you haven’t heard yet, on October 8th I was voted the best portrait photographer in Kansas City! Naturally I’m pretty excited about that. I didn’t realize I had so many fans. It’s been quite the surreal experience.

Aside from that coolness I taught at a fellow photographer’s workshop in the beginning of October. I absolutely love doing things like that. I get to meet great people and help them learn about new ways to look at their craft, their work-flow and their business… tons of fun. Plus I get to do some shooting too, and we all know I like that at least a little bit.

Overall I’d have to say that life is good. Sokah is huge, and healthy. I am medium-sized and healthy as well. I have some work coming up in a few magazines which I believe will be out before the end of 2009. I can’t be totally sure but I think one will be out next week. I’ll scan the pages or something when they hit so I can keep you all in the loop (it’ll have to be the ‘or something’ option since I don’t recall owning a scanner anymore).

Oh! I just remembered. One of my clients from earlier this month, Brad Sarver, caught a huge gig from the portfolio shots I took for him! Out of a pool of hundreds Brad was cast for a TV commercial with a major auto maker. How cool is that?

I don’t know which of my shots did it for him but here is the star himself:

We’re shooting again at 2pm today to round out the rest of his portfolio. After that, I’m going to get started on my book.

That’s right.

I’ve decided that I’m going to write a book on Photoshop techniques aimed at high-level users. I haven’t decided yet on if I’m going to limit it to one subject (ie. people, products, etc.) or if I’m going to make it all inclusive. So far the former seems to be the most likely.  If you have anything specific that you’d like to learn about, let me know and I’ll at least answer you directly even if your question doesn’t make it in the book.

Given how long it takes me to crank out a new blog entry I can’t really say how long it’s going to be before I finish this project…but it’s gonna happen. I have a feeling that once I get going on it, I’ll finish quite a bit quickly. On the same note, If there is enough interest I’ll start doing some video tutorials for you all as well.

I know more has happened this month, but for now I can’t remember anything else. My brain is trying to write chapter one of my book instead of wrapping up this entry with something resembling wit.

Anyway public, I hope each of your lives are going well.

Until next time…Keep the faith.

-David

First off…let’s hear a round of applause for me updating the blog in under a month! Wooooo!

Remember me saying I was going to revamp my style a bit? It’s here…and I love it.

This is by far the highlight of my week though…

Just a few days ago I was notified that I had been nominated for something called “The A*List,” I had no idea what it was so I figured I should go check. Well, turns out that the city gets to vote on who they think is the best of the best…pretty cool. I’m in the portrait photography category.

So I spread the word around thinking I might do alright, but that there were a ton of great photographers in this city.

Here’s where I have to gush a little bit…you all (clients, followers, friends, family, fans, etc…) are incredible. In a few short days your votes have taken me from the bottom rung all the way to 1st place. Knowing that you all support me so much is a truly incredible feeling! I’m not a clever enough writer to be able to say it any better than that.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, or just haven’t voted yet…go check it out. Voting ends on the 27th, so there is still a long way to go but with your help I know I can stay on top!

Let’s talk more about photos though, and the lovely Jessica Crider…

If you’ve ever worked with me before, you know that I’m a bit spontaneous. This time my spontenaity got me, Jessica and her boyfriend Jordan all soaking wet. All because I decided on a whim that we needed to shoot in a lake. Yes, in the lake.

This wasn’t so much of a problem for Jessica (except for her aversion to mud) as it was for me and her boyfriend (my assistant for the day), she had plenty of swimsuits. Jordan and I both came without something to swim in. It’s so great when people are able to go with the flow though, I love it. Jordan didn’t even flinch when I asked him to get in the water and hold a reflector for me. He waded in jeans and all just to help out, and that made all the difference in the shots. I couldn’t have gotten them any other way.

Thank you to both of you for catering to me. I know you agree that the ends justified the means.

I also had some time last week to sit down and finish going over my second shoot with the ever-beautiful Randee Jean.

I don’t know what it is…I think she understands what I’m looking for before I do. Either that or I’m just that good at communicating what I want (don’t laugh too hard).

A big part of what takes me so long to go through her shots is that I can’t decide which ones I like the most…there are too many!

All of these photos were shot at the same studio where the workshop I mentioned in my last post will be held. I love the location because of how versatile it is. There’s a ton of space and it’s right in the middle of downtown so I can just walk outside if nothing indoors fits the look. How could I complain?

I firmly believe that the location can make or break a shot. I know that looking at beautiful people can make us critical of ourselves. Beautiful locations do something different though…they allow us to imagine ourselves there, I feel like they give the audience a kind of freedom. I wonder if it’s possible to shoot models in a way that eases individual insecurities while granting that feeling of freedom and empowerment.

Alright friends, it’s time for me to wrap up. A big thanks again to everyone that has supported me so far. Even if you choose not to go vote for me, the fact that you are here reading and looking at my work is enough!

Labor day is knocking on the door so, please have a safe and relaxing weekend.

-David

How you guys put up with my inconsistent blogging I’ll never know. All I can say is that if I had the time to sit down and blog, it would probably mean I wasn’t out shooting and that would be no good.

Full update after the jump…new photos included.

So what’s been up for the past couple of months? Well, those of you that follow me on twitter, flickr or facebook have probably seen me talk about all the stuff as it happened. Which makes me wonder if I can blog as easily from my phone as I can update those sites…I’ll have to check into it.

The flood situation is still in the hands of the insurance company…it’s taking forever and I’m not thrilled with them overall, but I suppose it could be much worse. Overall I got very lucky that so little was damaged.

Let’s talk about the exciting stuff though. Hmmmm….

Well, for starters there is a workshop coming up hosted by another KC photographer, Marc Grant. I will be teaching high-end retouching and editorial fashion photography. It’s a 2 day long workshop and reasonably priced considering what you can learn while you’re there. I can only speak for myself as far as curriculum is concerned but I guarantee that you will learn at least one thing that will change how you work. Plus, the location is a really cool 10,000 square foot studio with all sorts of interesting settings to shoot in and beautiful natural light.

I’m obviously a little excited…it’s been a while since I got to teach a workshop.

Most of my time lately has been spent planning out concepts, booking new talent and working on some new developments in my own personal style.

More than anything I’m working hard to rebuild my presence in Kansas City now that I’m fully settled in. I forgot how much work it is to do that! There have definitely been some nights where my poor dog was a little lonely since he can’t come to help network.

I’ve been feeling like fitness modeling was going to be getting some attention soon so I’ve spent some time working towards an updated series of shots in that genre.

I have a few big shoots coming up with some very well known people…but as you all already know…I’m not blabbing until it’s shot. It’ll be cool though, and very different from what you’ve seen from me to date.

In looking through the work that I post online, I’ve noticed that I generally show off the headshots or portraits more. I love portraiture because I love people but, I don’t like being one-dimensional. So I’m gonna change some things around and show another side for a bit I think.

But here’s another portrait anyway.

I did get one day where I had nothing to do but relax and it was great, I actually discovered a shoot that I had forgotten about!

Jessica and I shot just before I moved back to KC, it was a great session. Finding it was like finding a pile of gold in my living room (ok slightly less cool, sorry Jess).

Well folks, I have to run. I’m in a rush every day lately but I’m glad I had a spare bit to let you all know my random news. I will try to post again soon.

Until then…go on an adventure!

-David

That’s what has been up over here as of late. I would post photos of the damage, but guess what…the cameras got soaked too!

I’m thankful though, I turned them on a day or two ago in blind hope…and they work again. If they hadn’t though, I have insurance so it would all be fine regardless.

The terrible thing is that two very important hand-made japanese swords were water damaged. I’m still waiting to hear from the claims people on what can be done about them. I’m very uneasy about that given how difficult they will be to replace, the sentimental value is immeasurable.

Good news though in the fact that my computer and all of my data storage drives are in tact. I’m pretty sure this is the first time Murphy’s law hasn’t cost me some photos.

So that means that as soon as I can get everything cleaned up and get my home back in order I’ll be posting those photos I took last week!

Keep your head up,

David

Now that I have a few minutes I can actually post up a real update too!

Over the past month a lot of things have happened with him. First off, he’s doubled in size. I took him to the vet in early May and found out he was riddled with parasites from the shelter so he was on meds for about 3 weeks to take care of all of that. He’s a bit underweight still, but I’m guessing that it has a lot to do with how fast he’s growing. It seems like his weight just can’t keep up with his bones yet.

He started losing his puppy teeth last week. I was giddy, and so was my skin (I’m kidding, he doesn’t bite me…ever). I am hoping that his chew toys might last a bit longer now though.

Overall, he’s doing great even if I can’t spend as much time with him as I’d like. He’s training well, and his puppy retardation is starting to diminish. Awesome.

In photo news, I have a new shoot set up for Sunday, so be on the lookout for photos of humans very soon.

Hope all is well with you!

-David

I know he looks noble and mature and such…but it’s a lie.

He’s nothing but trouble. 40lbs of trouble.

I don’t have a whole lot of time to write today..but check out the shots anyway!

Until next time.

Ciao!

We’re in the last days of week #2 and he’s doing great. Though, he is the only puppy I’ve ever seen that learned how to heel before learning not to pee in the house. I suppose I understand how that’s happened, I mean we do spend substantially more time walking than peeing. Thank God.

His food aggression issues are getting better by far, not completely gone but definitely better.

I thought I would hate getting up at 5:30 to take him for a morning walk. While it would be substantially easier if I would get a good night’s sleep, I really enjoy those times. Same for when I come home. Especially since that’s when he gets to meet the other neighborhood dogs. I wish I could give him a constant playmate like he would have had were Otto still around. Right now that’s just not possible though. I am taking him to the vet this weekend so I can make sure he’s healthy before I take him to the dog parks.

He’s changed a lot in the time that I’ve had him. The most obvious being his physical changes. He’s gained about 5 pounds and his topcoat has started coming in so he’s getting much darker.

Last week:

This morning:

Much much darker. No tricks of light either, he’s just that different.

I hope you can all forgive me for the quality of these photos. I know I’m supposed to be the pro and all, but we take snapshots too.

I’m still working hard at exposing him to new things/people/animals. The last thing he needs is to become an 80 pound dog that is afraid of everything. That just leads to fear biting, and that leads to someone getting hurt.

Anyway, as I get him more well trained I’ll be able to grab better shots but for now…yeah right, I’m lucky he’s not a blurry grey streak.

Ciao for now.

According to the shelter he’s a Siberian Husky/wolf mix. I’m going to get a DNA test on him somewhere down the road just to know for sure.

He’s not the easiest little guy to take photos of, I can say that much for sure. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a young dog and I forgot about the curiosity they tend to have.

And the sharp little teeth.

Ow.

I still haven’t decided on a name yet. “Koda” is looking like the most likely but I like  “Sokah” and “Okami” too. Someone mentioned “Logan” as well, and I kinda like that one too.

Who knows at this point. I still need to learn more about his personality before I decide.

He’s very quiet, in fact the only time I’ve heard him bark was when he discovered the little springy door-stopper thing.

We have lots of work to do, we got “sit” pretty well finished in under 10 minutes today, but things like “don’t bite and yank on my pants while I’m changing” will be a bit tougher I think.

Alright, my toes are being eaten. I’ll write more later.

G’night audience.

You may remember reading about Otto a few months ago. Well, due to the circumstances that I alluded to in my “hey I’m not dead” post, Otto is no longer mine. Since I have no idea if I’ll ever get to have him back in my home…I’ve decided to adopt another dog.

He doesn’t have a name yet , and I won’t actually have him for a few more days while he’s getting his shots and stuff.

Kind of neat how I came across him though.

I spent most of Thursday night on petfinder looking to see who was adoptable in the area, and I found two, one was an Akita mix, and the other was a Husky mix. I went to meet the Akita that night, he was a good dog, but we just didn’t click. I called up Wayside Waifs (the shelter with the husky). They were closed in preparation for a big adoption event happening this weekend. So I went up to on friday at about 6am.

When I was walking around the shelter I couldn’t find Maizie, the dog I had come to see. On asking about her I found out that she had a litter and wouldn’t be available for the next 8 weeks.

Sadness.

As I was turning to leave though, I saw this other dog and knew right away he was the one, but the staff told me he wasn’t available either with no reason as to why.

Sad again.

I went to my office to start my work day, but couldn’t get this puppy out of my mind and decided to head back up there over lunch. Turns out he wasn’t available because a staff member thought she might want him. I said, ok well let me know cause I want this dog.

I got a call an hour later saying he was mine.

Happiness.

I went up there this morning to play with him and make sure we were right for each other. We bonded right away. Now he’s getting his shots and getting neutered and I get to pick him up on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I forgot to take my camera so the best shot I could get on my crappy phone is this one:

Not great, I know…but I’ll make up for it soon. Eventually you will get tired of seeing photos of this dog.

I’m super excited. If any of you readers in the KC area have dogs, he’s only 2 months old or so and will need plenty of socialization with other dogs so get hold of me and we can do the whole “puppy play time” thing.

I promised a reward for sticking around…so here it is.

I know many of my readers are also avid Photoshop users, so I’m giving you a set of high-res textures to use on your images.

There are 19 images, making a nice large download of 213mb. So take some time and grab it.

I use textures like these in Photoshop to make everything from custom grunge brushes to other image effects like in the image below.

So get ‘em, play around…and if you ask real nice maybe I’ll post a tutorial about my process with things like that.