Category : Photographers
Inspiration At Imaging USA Photography Conference-Phoenix, Arizona
I was down in Phoenix recently for one of the largest photo conferences in the country. Imaging USA is three days of seminars from technique and tech talk to business practices with a few parties thrown in and an expo with every photo company seemingly out there. I had a great time meeting new people and bumping into friends from my home town like Kevin Kubota. I found an immense amount of information beneficial for my business and I’m using that new inspiration now to direct me in constructing a new booth for the Bravo Wedding Expo coming up on Saturday the 31st of January 09 in Redmond, Oregon. I’m excited to see it finished! Come visit us at Booth #111 and say hello!
This is a photo taken from the photo convention center in downtown Phoenix! This church seemed to be out of place but with the mountains in the background it was quite a sight.
I’m standing on the right with world famous wedding and fashion photographer Jerry Ghionis. He has a photo educational site called the ICE Society and at the show he was also a speaker. Charismatic and inspirational!
The Nikon booth of course! They also had seminars with well known photographers giving great advice.
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones at the Tower Theatre-Bend, Oregon
Last Sunday I had the opportunity to shoot photos of the Tower Theatre/Bela Fleck concert to be used on the Tower Theatre’s website. Bela is regarded as one of the premiere banjo players in the world and that was apparent with a sold out crowd. I had a fun time trying new angles on a building that has seen many photos. I brought my monopod rather than a ladder and put my camera on timer mode to allow time to stick my camera up in the air. Not always the most accurate but can yield some cool results. I was also able to shoot from behind the stage as well and that was fun in and of itself. For this I love my 50mm 1.4 as it’s indispensable in low-light situations where flash is out of the question. Somehow, Nikon needs to make a 16mm 1.4 and I’ll be very grateful. Thanks to Bela Fleck and their tour manager for allowing me to capture the show.
Kubota Photo Bootcamp of Infinite Wisdom
The week I’ve been waiting for eight months has come and gone and all I can say is WOW! I’m speaking about Kevin Kubota’s photo Bootcamp, held twice each year in Bend, Oregon, that works on improving literally every skill for a photographer, with or without intentions of running a small business. Rubbing shoulders with one of the leading authorities regarding image post-production techniques was a lifetime experience that I know will play a major role in my future success as a professional photographer. I had met Kevin several times before but didn’t know the depth of his experience in photography and can say confidently that his reputation is no joke. This workshop overloads and humbles many people, however I feel that within only a week my confidence has grown further than what I could have ever imagined within such a short time. Below are some photos I shot at Bootcamp during a mock wedding photo shoot. Some of the images are shot with only available light and one or two are with one SB900 hand-held behind a circular diffuser. With the Nikon D300, I’m using my pop-up flash to trigger the speedlight through the infrared syncing of Nikon’s (CLS-Creative Lighting System). This is one area (probably the only, other than weight) that the lesser priced cameras have on the D3. Since the D3 doesn’t have a pop-up flash you need either a transmitter or SB800/900 on the shoe as the commander. Ok, really a small price to pay for a camera that set a new benchmark in digital photography. I can’t wait to get one but the D300 is equally amazing in it’s own right.
