From the first time that Sara, Matt and I sat down and discussed what they were looking for in their wedding photography I had a feeling that it was going to be one of the most fun weddings that I have covered. These two just have a chemistry between them that resonates to whomever they are around. Smiles and laughs are contagious. A few weeks after our first meeting we met at the Green Bay Botanical Garden for an Engagement Session and had a bit of fun – despite the hot temps, humidity and mosquitoes. It was once said that good people attract other good people – that was very clear at their wedding ceremony and reception with everyone that attended. I couldn’t have asked for better families to work with on their wedding day. We even made a quick stop at Titletown Brewing Company for a pint and a some pics. Thanks so much and congratulations Sara and Matt! Take a look at some of my favorites from the day, start to finish after the jump. 

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I’ve been excited to share Hallie’s senior pictures with you for a few days and finally now have time to share them. Hallie is a senior at De Pere High school and is also the daughter of a good friend of mine that I have photographed many times over the years. It was not the setting of your typical “senior picture session”. For the shot below I asked Hallie if she would mind standing in the Bike Lane directly next to moving traffic, I know, I’m crazy. We were standing only a few feet away from moving traffic drinking warm Hot Chocolate & Coffee from Luna Cafe about to finish up, and I felt really great about the images we made while the sun was out. But with fresh dose of caffeine my idea light bulb lit up when I saw all the tail-lights waiting at a traffic light. With Hallie’s dad filling in as a voice-activated-light-stand off to camera right and a sea of break-lights we snapped off lots of shots in a very short amount of time in the middle of the street. It ends up that it’s my favorite shot from the session, sometimes even when you think that you are all done for the day it pays to shoot that one more picture. The creative process works in awesome ways sometimes. See some more pictures from Hallie’s Senior session after the jump.

Related posts:

1. De Pere High School Senior Pictures, Lezlie – Class of 2012
2. Green Bay 2012 High School Senior
3. Nicole | 2012 Two Rivers Senior
4. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012

Viewing, discussing, and creating images can be a passage to self-discovery that enhances self-esteem. Studying photography can be the conduit to a further understanding of various cultures and different ways of seeing, believing, and thinking. Photography broadens our conception of ourselves and the world. ~ Cynthia Way

One of the joys of photography that we all can relate to is the historic sense of documenting a moment in time. Baby Joe can be captured at one, two, three years old for years to come. A moment can last for generations to come. A moment that can change history or a moment that can keep a deceased loved one close forever. As a parent you carry pictures of your children in your wallet, police use pictures to photograph crime scenes, many hire a photographer to capture their wedding day. Photography is one of the most universal mediums that is used in just about every avenue of our culture.  More after the jump….

I would like to share a few humbling experience that has only made my passion and personal motivation to work as hard as I can when shooting for my clients. Three years ago I photographed a high school senior and a week later he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a phone call that no parent wants to receive. This 17-year-old young man was involved in a life-threatening car accident only a few days after the photo session. This senior ended up suffering casualties to his face and body that were pretty severe, leaving permanent scaring and damage. I didn’t have idea at the time what had happened but when looking through the proofs that needed to be picked up yet there was a note sticking out from a name that I remembered. This senior’s mom left a note with our receptionist to let the photographer [me] know how much she appreciated the pictures and how much they mean to everyone in the family. She wanted let [the studio] know that she would be needing more time before she would be placing her order due to the nature of the situation.

Reading that note, my heart skipped a few beats and I suddenly realized the importance of what I do. It was more than just making pictures of high school seniors, it was capturing a landmark moment in their life that within an instant could be all taken away. I never though about my job like that before and have carried that experience forward to every session that I continue to shoot. Sadly this has happened more than once which only reinforces my dedication to being a professional image maker.

Even if it is “just” senior pictures, it is always important to take the session serious (does not mean that you can’t have fun) and work hard at getting it right in camera and shooting the best images that you are capable of. You never know when things can change, for yourself or your customers.

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See more of Nicole’s Senior Session after the jump…

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1. Green Bay 2012 High School Senior
2. Green Bay Senior Pictures, Betsy – Class of 2012
3. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
4. Sheboygan High School Senior Pictures, Aaron – Class of 2012

More Pictures after the Jump…

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1. Green Bay 2012 High School Senior
2. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
3. De Pere High School Senior Pictures, Lezlie – Class of 2012
4. 2012 High School Seniors – Now Booking Sessions

More about the Book Festival and lot of pictures after the jump!

When we are little, our brains are like sponges. We absorb anything and everything that surrounds us. Our imaginations are limitless from playing an imaginary super bowl in our backyard to hitting a walk-off home run to win the world series. As the years pass we develop our own viewpoints and opinions and it seems that our imaginations lose priority to work and other stressful tasks. Just imagine how much of a change you can make in your mental health of you tapped into your creativity and imagination once a day? Some creatives refer to it as “recharging their batteries”; taking some much-needed time away from their daily responsibilities to focus on just letting go, and enjoying life. I say, Why not just set time aside everyday?

What a successful event that I am looking forward to covering again next year. Here are a few of my favorite images from the events.

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Related posts:

1. Sheboygan High School Senior Pictures, Aaron – Class of 2012
2. Green Bay Senior Pictures, Betsy – Class of 2012
3. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
4. Green Bay 2012 High School Senior

As many photographers do, I too spend a lot of time along walking with a camera in search of and on the lookout for the next victim to turn into pixel data. Ready to freeze that next spontaneous moment into photo history. Having a limited-controllable camera at my fingertips has proven to be priceless, this entire collection of Dailies would not exist without it. When I came across this abandoned child’s trike I immediately when into capture mode.

Checking out the different angles and how they played nice or not so nice with the composition. I know that I wanted to capture the scene that I came across: downtown, rainy and wet pavement, abandoned kids trike, mysterious, late at night. It was pretty late if I remember, about 12:45. Quite late for such a toy to be sitting unattended in a public park when it’s more ideal location would be in the garage or shed. My first reaction was spinning multiple 360′s looking for a child that might be lost. After nothing looked too supisious, I found myself making up a story that maybe this was the parking spot for some little tike’s vehicle. Their very own VIP parking spot. I can see them now, pulling up, jumping out and flipping the toy keys to bellhop.

Battling the time between I push the button and the the time that it actually captures the image, I got three shots before a car passed into my background. I had already pushed the shutter release button and initiated the capture countdown as the car surprisingly came to a full stop, instead of the rolling-stop that Sheboygan drivers are so famous for. The fourth shot, above, was the one that made the edit. Having the car in the background added another layer to the photo that I really liked, a bit like a spontaneous moment.

Your thoughts? What story do you see?

Related posts:

1. Dailies: Breakdown #1
2. Dailies: Breakdown #2
3. Dailies – What Are They?

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1. Green Bay Senior Pictures, Betsy – Class of 2012
2. Green Bay 2012 High School Senior
3. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
4. 2012 High School Seniors – Now Booking Sessions

Related posts:

1. 2012 High School Seniors – Now Booking Sessions
2. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
3. Green Bay Senior Pictures, Betsy – Class of 2012

I still have a few available sessions in August call 920-254-9087 or [contact me] to book your session today!

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1. Green Bay Senior Portraits, Ava – Class of 2012
2. 2012 High School Seniors – Now Booking Sessions

I ended up driving straight after the four-way stop for about a mile or two and contiuned to have this tall grass pictured in my head, I made an quick U-turn and found myself back at the four-way stop looking for a place to park the car out of the way of traffic so I could capture this shot that was pending. With the VW parked and off the road I headed into the tall weeds and grass, not knowing until my foot suck well past ankle deep, that the field was about six inches under water.

Wet feet and all I took about 12 shots, this one being the one that I liked the most. I forget what edit I selected for this, but I know that I had the contrast up and obviously some toning. Kind of reminds me of an ant’s point of view.

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1. Dailies: Breakdown #1

This is a self assessment, critique, and discussion about a certain photograph from my Dailies collection of photographs. In no particular order I wish to simply share what I was thinking and seeing when I took the photo. How it works and doesn’t work as a picture, what I would change if I could shoot it again.

The Dailies series has been a very large amount of fun for me so far. There is a certain amount of satisfaction looking back at some of these pictures, other times there are bittersweet moments of life.

Read more about this photo and share your thoughts after the jump…..

This picture, taken in the middle of a team bus ride to an away baseball game, pretty much sums up how a coach might feel on a noisy bus ride. Or at least debate the use of the “emergency exit.”

Even with the EVO camera I am able to pull some close-focus and blur the background a bit, along with framing the shot with the bottom of the bus window. Composition plays a major role in ever photograph whether it be the rule of thirds, leading lines or a frame within a frame. The camera was set to over-expose by about 1/3 with a slight exposure vignette around the corners, (pretty neat that one can get that much control with “just a cell phone camera”).

What do you see? What does this photo do to you? Discuss. Narrate. Brainstorm. That’s what this is about.

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1. Dailies – What Are They?

[Flash backward six years] I first met Ava when I was handing over a small fortune monthly rent, to my then landlord for the apartment I lived in. I believe that she was about 11 years old at the time and had spent the day at work with dad. We all remember “Take your child to work day” right? Little did I know that a few years later I would be collaborating with her and shooting her senior pictures.

I had a wonderful time getting to know you Ava throughout your session. Thank you for letting me document this important moment in your life. I would also like to extend a thank-you to her friend, Amariah, who was there to help hold “the big shiny circle thing” when needed. Not only did you blind her at times you also added another element to the experience. Enough talking, here are a few of my favorites from Ava’s session.

To book your portrait session contact me today! Limited sessions are filling quickly. Don’t pay for portraits that look like everyone else’s, together we will make your 2012 SENIOR YEAR start with an experience of a lifetime and pictures to remember for years to come!

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1. 2012 High School Seniors – Now Booking Sessions

About 14 years ago the Camera and I were introduced and quite honestly it was love at first sight. We met on a blind-date, knowing only one thing about each other; That we are what we make of ourself. She [at the time a Pentex] was the most beautiful thing that I have ever saw through my lens [eye]. The way She taught me see the world around me. The mid-tones, contrast depth-of-field, and sharp-focus have never looked so good at f1.4. The bokeh; breathtaking. As my Camera and I got to know each other the next few months we became deeply in entangled a love story that even Disney would want the rights to. We even shared a similar point of view on politics and believe it or not, religion – but we are often forced to see both sides equally when at work together. We clicked on so many levels that when we were apart, neither one of us worked, and our batteries would slowly trickle to empty. When united again, it would take some time to get along….but after that, we clicked just like always.

Starting with hot-lights we explored the different shutter speeds and depth-of-fields, shooting bracketed exposures with our then, mutual friend (currently a Facebook friend) Kodak t-max 400 we worked well together in daylight and learned that I could really push t-max to 3200 in low-light conditions and still be friends, the hard way. We would spend hours in the darkroom together, listening to the same old tunes through some mismatched speakers that I had rigged together out of pure desperation as a cure for silence in that dimly red-lit room. With all the experimenting, dodging and burning, and happy accidents that developed we soon knew one another like the back of our own hand and could produce an image out of just about any negative that we captured – some were pretty rough I will admit.

As She [a Pentex] has been replaced by a couple different Nikon’s over the years, She [the Camera] remains the same. Having moved from hot-lights to strobes we now have taken our relationship to new levels. Creating images that we see ahead of time and making pictures that we could only have dreamed of a few years ago. Strobes, modifiers, reflectors, bounce cards, flags and not to mention photoshop and the digital darkroom tools have changed the way of photography, but haven’t changed the black box, it’s still an image frozen in time.

Why am I in love with this black box that captures a moment in time? Because I have spent more time with this black box than any other thing in my life. I have committed myself to push my own limits and make mistakes when my a$$ is on the line. Not because I don’t care, but because I want to create the pictures that i see in my head. I want to create the pictures that will open the door to the next idea and the next challenge. I want to create the pictures that others don’t see.

It’s a very tightly-knit relationship, perhaps like a musician and their lyrics. It’s who I am, it’s what I do. It’s a passion that no one can take away from me. Thank you dad for opening that box of your college photography class black and white prints with me some 15 years ago in our basement. You have been with me every for “click” of the way.

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Mike Wiesman offers FOUR High School Senior sessions; this means that you get an awesome photography session with Mike that brings out your best qualities, along with a print credit to get you started ordering the photos that you want. No “packages” to figure out, no minimum purchase requirements; only the freedom to order EXACTLY what pictures you want.

The BASIC Session $225 // 1-2 outfit changes, $75 print credit
The DELUXE Session $385 // 2-3 outfit changes, $100 print credit
The DELUXE-PLUS Session $550 // 3-4 outfits, $175 print credit, custom album
The SIGNATURE Session $1100 // 4-5 outfits, $350 print credit, custom album, digital files

Get talkin’ and receive free print credits! // Referral BONUS! – Send your friends our way and I will give EACH of you a $20 print credit! Yes, that’s right, $20 for you and $20 for your friend!

All sessions listed above include a customized photoshoot to your look with urban or scenic background and environments, professional make-up application (must let me know at time of booking), facebook photos, a private online gallery to preview and order your images, and a complementary yearbook photo – all part of my exclusive Senior Portrait experience!

Many clients find the DELUXE session ideal because of the keepsake custom designed album with images YOU PICK from your session. Clients looking for digital files are encouraged to choose the SIGNATURE session.

Mike likes to keep it green and save paper and chemicals when possible which is why every session includes a FREE online gallery. Printed proof books are available upon request ($20) or are included with the purchase of a DVD of all your images.

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I have always been inspired by Clay Enos’ street portraits and the ease that he handles the random subjects. The amount of interesting people who I met while spending a few hours on the beach and lakefront yesterday was a great time. Taking some impromptu portraits was pretty cool in itself, but how nice everyone was about it was humbling. I think that less than a handful of people declined politely, everyone else was “ready to be famous” as one guy put it.

From vinyl collectors, exotic pet owners, lots of big sunglasses and even a few old high school classmates the afternoon at the beach was worth the sunburn. One lens, one camera and 1,000′s of people. I think I traveled too light, should have brought some sunscreen. Enjoy the portraits and leave your thoughts in the comments below.

-mw

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As some have already noticed, everyday I have been adding to a new series titled Dailies. This is a new album that focuses on pushing creativity as an always present constant priority. All pictures so far have been taken entirely with the camera on my HTC EVO, mixed with various camera apps. from the Android Market. After having an awesome amount of feedback so far I decided to make a post talking a little bit about what inspired me to start posting and sharing a part of my daily life that I have been doing for a few years now to fuel daily creativity.

Not only is the HTC EVO the best phone I ever had, it’s the most handy point-and-shoot camera I’ve ever had as well. Not only is it with me wherever I go, but also because of the amount of camera control that it offered. (Keeping in mind that it’s “just” a cell phone camera.) This beast boosts an 8.0MP main camera with variable file sizes to save to along with allowing me to control the brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, ISO, Geo-taging, exposure metering mode, flicker adjustments, face detection, and to top it off a grid on the screen for composition.

Tech-talk aside, the connivence of having this little compact camera with me at all times has given my memory a backup system as to where some of the most random ideas come from throughout the day. It’s like having a huge database of locations for future shoots and concepts. And at the resolution available to me, I could make a print if it lends itself to be worthy. Here are a few things that have come-up, crossed my mind, or have been asked about.

Shooting notes:

- I have had a fun time learning how the depth-of-field on this camera can be worked with.
- The focus system – at times has taken up to 10 seconds to focus, granted this is usually in low-light situations.
- I have started shooting with certain “filters” and adjustments in mind, much like I do with a “real” camera. Visualization.
- The limitations on post-production within the phone I have actually come to enjoy. It brings a little bit of the “guess work” back from the film shooting days. Back then we would pick a film for it’s “look” or color representation. Now I have to pick the settings pre-exposure. Granted having the instant file within seconds shortens the learning curve compared to the hours of processing and waiting time.
- Have come to respect Creativity. It comes when it wants, and is only there long enough to forget. When it hits I have the ability to capture an image without hauling my Nikon around with me.
- Yes. There are many times that I have wished I did have my Nikon with me.

What Camera are you using?

- The camera that I have used entirely so far is the HTC EVO 4G. The editing and “filters” are done in various apps. The EVO slings a 8-megapixel camera with Auto Focus and 2x LED Flash.

How many pictures do you take in a day?

- It varies. Some days I see multiple things or am in more new places. Those are good days in a sense that I am seeing well. There are days that I have to make time to see. I have really enjoying setting aside time to purposely be creative.

What inspires you to continue to create images on a daily basis?

- All my life I have been a visual person. I asked a lot of questions if I didn’t understand what I was seeing. There is a lot of learning that goes on when watching or actively seeing. I see things, I capture them. My tool of seeing is my camera, it allows me to share with you what I see. When I think about it, it’s already something that I do on a daily basis so why not share it?

Do you post every picture that you take?

- No. There is a criteria that I hold myself to along with a personal level is visual satisfaction that has to be met. I feel that the camera apps bring a little of the guess work back to photography. It adds to the process and the development of the final photograph. The best thing being that I can see results instantly. If I don’t like it, it didn’t even cost a penny.

What do you do daily to feed your creativity?

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Awhile ago I talked about enjoying The Process of photography. Ignore the social media feedback, shoot what you are passionate about. Don’t shoot it for reactions and feedback, don’t shoot it for the most “likes” on Facebook. Shoot it because you WANT to shoot it.

Ever since I was a child I looked forward to thumbing though National Geographic looking at some of the best photography in the world. The photographers that shoot for NatGeo are among some of the best of the best. If you are a photographer, or even just an advocate of anything passionate, I suggest taking some time and listen to National Geographic Photographer Michael Nichols’ passion come through as he talks about the iconic 300-foot Redwood photograph he made. It’s truly inspiring listening to his speak about the entire process of making this this unique photo. Take a watch and leave a few thoughts in the comments.

I would suggest that as a young photographer – finding your voice. And then finding your voice; you’re going to find something that you feel you’ve got to scream to the world about. -Michael Nichols

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Awhile ago on the PDN Photo of the Day they featured Photographer Deborah Luster. It got me to thinking, a circle crop.

What are you thoughts about this circle view-finder?

It brings a entirely new point of view to photography. It makes me think that I am in a submarine looking thought the porthole at the world around me. I am not negatively influenced, nor positively. I simply find it intriguing and engaging. So much so that I have gone thorough a lot of my images and cropped them circular.

Problem being that in our day-in-age, the circle crop is iconically ruined by the “sports button” that soccer-moms wear to proudly boast that their child is playing on the school sporting team. I played sports in high school, they are great for students that have the talents and can succeed in it, but it’s strange how my mind signifies the circle crop back to a sports button reference.

Perhaps this is where my infatuation with the fish-eye lens comes from? What ever the effect, it surly draws all the attention to the center of the photograph. But wow, it also does soo much more, I just cannot put my tongue on it. Let discuss this and figure out what it is about this circle crop that is so addicting!

-Mw

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We are living in a society that instantly gives us feedback and interacts and spreads like wildfire. We also have adapted that the “success” of the photograph  is how many comments we have socially received. The more the better is what social media is telling us, the most twitter followers, the most published photographs, Google Analytics, and of course Facebook fans and friends. I too am guilty of getting caught up in the social success of a shoot, and often have forgotten where my true passion for photography came from. The Process.

“There is only one time in the process of creating art that the artist owns his work. I’m not talking about copyright or intellectual property laws. I’m talking about you, in your soul, owning your work. There is only one time in the process and it’s during the process of making it. While you are crafting the idea it is yours. You control it. You can make it fly or slit its throat. It’s up to you. But once you finish it, once you’ve handed it over to the world, the world owns it.” – Nice Photography Magazine

The creative process, the planning, the composition, the challenge of a tough exposure, building a set, your gear not working properly (or not working at all), the really late nights, the early mornings, all the blogs and web sites that have taught you along your way,  and don’t forget the people that we work with along with way. These are the elements of The Process. A process that we enjoy so much that sometimes we tend to over look it. We have to take a step back, and look at the overall, picture. (pun intended) All the little things that go into photography, or any art, is what many of us enjoy the most. The story behind the photograph is sometimes the best part.

“An artist’s life is like that of a boxer’s. You beat yourself up learning the art, you beat yourself practicing, then, if you’re lucky, you get a chance to go in the ring where everyone can see what you’ve got to show them, and you get beat up again. Maybe you win. Maybe you lose. Either way you’re bloody and bruised. Enjoy the process, it’s what gets you where you’re going.”  - Nice Photography Magazine

Don’t be afraid to shoot new things. Chances are that if you feel uncomfortable shooting them, you have little experience in that subject matter. With experience comes confidence; also part of the process. Unbuckle yourself from your shooting seatbelt and get out there and make pictures. Have fun with it, enjoy making your story. Keep some notes if you like. But there is one thing you should do, share your story.

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• David E Jackson is the Monthly Guest on Glyn Dewis’ Photography Blog. Some great reading from a photographer that’s CRUSHIN’ IT right here in Wisconsin. Glyn and David go through an extensive Q&A session that I think everyone can take something away from.
• Big announcement this week from two of the best in the industry, Joe McNally and David Hobby have teamed up with a load of sponsors to launch a 29-city tour titled, Flash Bus Tour ’11. You will for sure see me as the Madison Wisconsin tour stop. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning.
• My favorite test-shot web site is back up and running with a new look, light-test.com. Submit your test shots daily for a chance to be featured!
• Ever hear of a 80-Megapixel camera? Well, it’s here. Phase One Announces a new medium format camera back. (at 80-Megapixels I don’t know if that quailfies as medium format?)
• The PDN Faces Photo Contest deadline is approaching quickly. If you don’t plan on entering, at least take a look through the entries for a rundown of some pretty awesome photography.
• Just for the fun of it, here are 20 fun shots of Lizards.
• As Still and Video have started to overlap in digital production, some photographers turning into videographers find it hard to work with art directors fearing that they will have to give up creative control. Jeff Newton, a Phoenix based photographer, was hired by FOX to shoot a national campaign…with one exception; he would have to work with a director of photography instead of shooting it all on his own. Jeff decided to take it as a learning experience, and says he’s glad he did. Check out the article and videos here.
• Ever wonder what someone would use 500,000 ladybugs for? No? Me either, until now. Ed Zipco used them for a fashion shoot. I’ve include the video below.

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Making great pictures isn’t about the gear at all. It’s more about knowing the gear that you already have, and putting it to work to produce the results that you envision. I too find myself caught in the gear battle. Saying things like, “If I only had that 200mm f2 that Nikon just released,” and “I wish that I had this lens because then I could shoot this.” I often am embarrassed to show my camera bag off because of the age of my lenses……..and that I don’t have a dreamy Nikon D3s or D3x glowing when I open it. But I am OK with that. It was not easy, and yes it is much like  a running race….it’s a 90% mental battle. Again, it’s NOT about the gear that you have.

Not to down-talk professional level gear…….there are many reasons that it is pro-level gear and I will get into that on another post in the future. But pro gear is the best because as professionals, we demand the most out of our gear, and have to count on it.

My trusty MF Nikkor 5omm f:1.4 – Not only is it old, it’s also one of my most used lenses,  it’s also manual focus. Some of you might even refer to it as “Old School.”

The portrait of Dean above was shot at 1/125th sec @ f1.4 with the 50mm. What I have discovered as my most efficient way of shooting with my MF lenses is that I will often set the lens to the closest focal length and actually physically move my body  either closer to or further away to my subject to achieve what focus I want. Instead of turning the focus ring on the lens barrel, this is my way of focusing, it also allows me more time to interact and talk with my subject. It transforms the process of auto-focus, which requires nothing more than picking a AF-spot and hitting a button – into a compositional melody and dance that connects me with making the image that I see. I have entire control and am in complete harmony with my images being captured with the camera. I would not have it any other way.

The above image was shot with a MF 14mm f3.5 fish-eye. (Captured on a DX sensor camera, so the fish-eye effect is not as magnified as usual.)

This hood-ornament on the Chevy was taken with a MF 105mm f2.5 @ 1/8000 sec f2.5. An old lens that anyone can pick up on eBay around $100. Again setting the focus-ring at the closest focal distance and moving closer to or further away as my way of focusing.

This city bokeh shot above was taken with the 50mm lens described above at 1/160s @ f2.8. Again, it’s not about what gear you have, it’s about capturing what you see and doing it with your personal style, touch, and eye. I cannot stress that enough.

I will add that Nikon users will find that most of the older lenses are able to mount on the new digital bodies. Obviously the AF won’t work and you will have to shoot in “M” mode, but to a pleasant surprise the exposure meter still works with most lenses. How wonderful is that?! Canon folks cannot say the same, Canon has changed their lens mount more than a few times so the compatibility with lens and body isn’t as happy as Nikon. So go dig up Grandpa’s and Dad’s old lenses and have some fun with your photography!

-mw

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Go Pack!

-mw

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This was a pretty simple setup, a 24″ Lastolite Ezybox HotShoe Softbox with a SB-900 on remote channel A, with a SB-600 as a kicker on channel B. I used a SB-800 on my camera as a master to control them separately. Shutter speed was around 1/60th-1/80th to let some of the ambient fill in the background. Now that I think of it, I also had the SB-800 putting out a 1/128th power as a on-axis fill, of course with the diffusion dome attached.

After working upstairs on a few shots we moved to another location to shoot a few more environmental portraits of Dana in his “workshop”. Here I wanted to make sure that I got some detail in the background, so I used a shutter speed around 1/30th-1/60th with the speedlights firing on Rear-sync to assure that if there was any movement, it would get burned-in crisp at the end of the exposure. I Some people ask why I shoot so slow, I don’t know, I guess it’s my style. I tell them that it’s just way I have always done things. Plus I like to use the lowest ISO that I can.

Thanks for the shoot Dana!

-mw

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I have had a lot positive feedback so far from the past few weeks of Sunday Coffee Links that I have put together. Thanks to those who have followed along. It’s one of my more time consuming posts that I put together so it’s good to get some feedback on it. Feedback in mind, I would like to hear a bit about what it is that you are interested in? What makes your creative juices flow? What are you surfing the web for and what keeps you distracted when you just can’t stay away from photography? That being said, here’s this weeks links;

• Sigma released a 85mm f1.4EX DG HSM lens that rivals Nikon and Canon name brand lenses. Check out PDN’s Product Review and it might just save you $500!
• Remember Huck Finn? I sure do, but I don’t remember the characters in the book ever looking like this! Great photography by Kent Marcus and a great BTS video too! (He also lost some equipment to the river thanks to a wind that kicked up out of nowhere. — not cool, but something that many of us can relate to.)
• A blog that I have started to follow, The Sartorialist threw me a total spin the other day with this post. Got me thinking about how many things like this go unnoticed in our lives. There is also a neat video about how he works.
• A day in the life of a Paintball Photographer. There’s a niche of photography that I never thought of!
• How does one turn a water-stained plain white hall into a photo studio? Watch and read how David Hobby makes something out of nothing and turns a Nikon SB-800 into a laser.
• Last but not least, Jared Polin. FroKnowsPhoto.com. Photographers of all skill levels should check him out. From product reviews, to behind the scenes videos, contests and tutorials, Polin is sharing his passion for photography with the world and his form of communication is addicting.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Coffee Links
2. Sunday Coffee Links!
3. (Sunday night) Monday Coffee Links!
4. Sunday Coffee Links!

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This has been a great week for reading RSS feeds although I will admit I’m a bit behind in reading the ones that I subscribe to. But I made progress on 200+ feeds this week but still have 456-and counting to catch up on.

• As a recent follower to fstoppers.com, I have dug deep into their content and found how valuable their site really is. One could spend an entire year learning from what they share. Great content and behind the scenes videos, daily. From How to Shoot Fashion Photography In a Pool to their latest Product Review (Nikon Pocket Wizard FlexTT5, MiniTT1 and AC3 Review).
• This goes back to July 2010, but it’s a great way to deliver your photography to new clients. Clark Vandergrift I have mentioned before, but he’s a very creative guy and deserves a mention here because this package that he put together to promote himself is AWESOME!
• Lastolite opened a new section of their website lastyear and have been adding valuable tutorial videos on how to get the most out of their products. Check out the Lastolite School of Photography’s FREE tutorial videos!
• Check out this Idiot with a tripod.
• Here is a VERY creative guy and what he did with his boat. Part artwork, part boat. French artist Julien Berthier has designed a fully functional boat to look as if it is sinking.
• Another link from fstoppers but I had to share this footage that NASA captures of every shuttle launch. This particular footage just might be some of the last footage, as the funding for the space program has been cut.
• Last but not least I’d like to share an interview with a photographer that inspired me a lot lately. Jeremy Cowart explains and discusses his photography to Chase Jarvis. Cowart is also the brains behind Help-Portrait. What I really enjoy about this interview is that it brings in into Jeremy’s personality and shows how humble of a guy he really is. He’s another guy in this world, following his passion, giving back to the community and producing some amazing work. To save you a jump, I’ve included the video below.

Related posts:

1. Sunday Coffee Links
2. Sunday Coffee Links!
3. Sunday Coffee Links
4. (Sunday night) Monday Coffee Links!

Please update your reader or feed as needed. Thanks to everyone who follows!

Related posts:

1. Sunday Coffee Links!