Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 in Photos

2010 has provided some interesting opportunities to shoot. Since it's the end of the year, I figure it's time to post my favorite photos from 2010. Most of these I've already posted in other blog posts, but I like looking back and hand picking some of my favorites.

In February I took my friend's bridals at the State Capitol Building. I had been to the Capitol Building in the past and seen photographers at work, so it was fun to be able to go and do some work on my own. This was also one of my first times ever really giving my off-camera flash stuff a good run for the money. In retrospect, there are things I wish I would have thought of trying or things I wish I had done differently, but I was and still am really proud of the results. I really like the photo below because of the leading lines in the stairs. I just really like the composition and how she's framed in the lower corner of the frame. I had tried a few different angles to get the best results, and I think this is my favorite of them all:

Aileen's Bridals

Mushna and I traveled to the Philippines at the end of February - first week of March. We spent three days in Hong Kong. Admittedly, a few of my favorite photos from this year came from this trip. It was such a different, unique experience, not much in Orem - Provo Utah can really compare. This shot was taken during the Symphony of Lights show that happens nightly. These shots came out much better than I imagined they would. I didn't have a tripod with me and I was shooting at f4, 1600 ISO. It was definitely a "something is better than nothing" mentality, but I was very pleasantly surprised when I got the pictures unloaded. I've always been fond of this photo because I thought the couple in the lower left hand corner gave the buildings a very majestic feel. It also gives a good scale of how big everything is.

Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong

We printed this photo on canvas and have it hanging in our hallway.

Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong

Another one of my favorite shots from Hong Kong came from the very last night we were there. We checked out of our hotel at around eleven or something the morning we left, but our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until after midnight that night. Despite our feet killing us, I had to get out to wander around a bit to see Hong Kong at night. Again, shooting at 1600 ISO, f/4 just trying to get something because I couldn't allow myself to leave without at least trying. I'm very happy with the results.

Hong Kong at Night

We saw the Pleasant Grove rodeo in June. I grabbed this shot of the steer roping and converted it to B&W using the Exposure program Mushna bought me for my Birthday. I submitted this photo to a Pioneer Woman photo contest. It was selected in one of the groups, but I didn't end up winning. I still really like this shot, though.

Pleasant Grove Rodeo, 2010

During the summer we went to the Deer Creek "resort" with some friends. Mushna bought some bubbles. She was waving the wand around so the kids could pop the bubbles. I caught one of the bubbles as it was popping. I shot this on my 5D and was not in continuous burst mode or anything, so it was a total luck shot, but I really like it:

Day at the Lake - 08-15-2010

We attended the 4th of July parade in Provo again this year and I took this shot of a bunch of hot, bored kids.

Provo Grand Parade, 2010

Not long ago I photographed my sister's family photos. I enjoyed setting this up because I used two lights to emulate a sunset type of color. For those who follow this kind of stuff, I had my 580 EX II in a shoot-through umbrella, camera left. I had my 430 EX with a full(?) cut of CTO camera right, back behind them. That's what's giving them the orange rim light type of glow.

Family Photos for Erica

I also took some family photos for my friend Angie. I decided to try to grab some natural light photos right before the sun disappeared behind the mountain we were near. I had Mushna kick just a tad bit of light back into their faces.

Angie and Alissa Family Pics

I recently visited San Francisco for work. I was actually able to get out to see the city a little bit after the conference ended. I had been sitting in a room listening to very academic presentations for two days straight. While I was out wandering the night the conference got out, there was a street band performing in Union Square. I hung out and watched them play for a long while. As people wandered by, they got into the act by dancing and having a good time. This lady was dancing to the music. I just really liked this shot and shooting that night. This wasn't the sharpest photo, it was noisy as hell and far from perfect, but I just think it works.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th


I took this photo on Fisherman's Warf. The fog really made for a very moody scene.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

I've done a few children/baby shoots this year, too. This shot was taken of my cousin Blaise for his 18 month photos. The kid doesn't sit still for more than a couple seconds at a time, but it was enough to get some good shots. I like this shot because of the light and the candid feel.

Blaise - 18 Months

I've also been shooting our friend Toni's baby photos every month until she turns one. This fall, just before Halloween, we headed up the canyon and I was able to get some of my favorite shots of her.

I really liked how this shot turned out. The bokeh of the leaves in the background, coupled with the light and the big smile really makes it for me.

Toni Marie - Nine Months

Finally, Mushna bought me a backdrop support for Christmas. I bought a black backdrop so I could do more shots at home. This is a shot I took of one of our friend's daughters the first time I set the back drop up.

Kids Photos - 12-19-10

Going into 2011, I'm looking forward to doing more shoots for money and hopefully growing a side business out of this. As far as gear, I'm really interested in big lights. I've been eying some Alien Bee's for a while now. That and a big softbox are on the top of my priority list.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

San Francisco Dec 9th-11th

I visited San Francisco to attend a conference for work. I attended the same conference a few years ago, but we flew in early the day it started and flew skipped the last session to fly home the next day so I wasn't able to do much of anything.

This time, though, we flew in the night before it started (Dec 8th) and flew out late in the afternoon on the 11th so I had a lot of time to get out.

The morning before the conference started, and Friday after it finished we spent a little bit of time in Chinatown:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Friday, after visiting Chinatown, we decided to hop on the trolly cars and ride down to Fisherman's Warf. We also spent some time in that area Saturday morning before we flew out:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

During which, I was fortunate enough to see the crazy bush guy. His gig is hiding behind a bunch of these branches and scaring people as they walk by.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

We also visited Pier 39, but I didn't get many photos there because it was very touristy:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

The halls in the hotel we stayed in had a very Shining type of feel to them.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Friday night, we started heading back to the hotel after hanging out in Fisherman's Warf, but I decided to wander around the Union Square area for a while instead of turning in so early. I'm so glad I did because I got some cool night shots and hung out watching these street musicians perform for about an hour. After two straight days of staring at graphs and hearing about methodology and sampling error, music and a good time was very much needed.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Some other random views from the city:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Finally here are my favorite shots.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

This was down on Fisherman's Warf:
San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

This is near the beach by Fisherman's Warf:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

This girl was dancing to the street musicians I was watching in Union Square:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

I tried to take a picture of this bird while it was sitting on this post, but it flew away right as I got there and snapped the photo. It became a completely different photo:

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Finally, the Bay Bridge in heavy fog from Saturday morning. This was taken from behind the Ferry Building while we were at the Farmer's Market.

San Francisco, Dec 9th-11th

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Toni Marie's Nine Month Photos

If you've been following my Flickr, you know that I've been shooting our friend's baby, Toni Marie, every month. I plan to blog a full blog about the experience once it's all finished, but wanted to post a few shots I got from this previous shoot:

She is Snow White for her first Halloween:
Toni Marie - Nine Months

Toni Marie - Nine Months

Toni Marie - Nine Months

I also took some family photos for their Christmas card:

Toni Marie - Nine Months

Toni Marie - Nine Months

And, as I mentioned before, I love B&W:

Toni Marie - Nine Months

Toni Marie - Nine Months

Family Photos for My Sister

My Sister Erica asked me to shoot some family portraits for her Christmas cards a couple of weekends ago. We headed up South Fork in Provo Canyon and found a small field to shoot in. By the time we set up the sun had set behind the large hill next to us, so I improvised by setting my second flash up behind and a ways away from them gelled with a cut of full CTO.

My nephew Rylan is barely one year old, so obviously we were at his mercy...

Here are some of the results.

Family Photos for Erica

Family Photos for Erica

Family Photos for Erica

Family Photos for Erica

Family Photos for Erica

My Sister really likes the antique/sepia type of look. I'm a huge fan of Exposure 3 and its ability to age photos and replicate film. Here is the shot I decided to work on:

Family Photos for Erica

I'm also a big fan of Exposure 3's B&W abilities.

Family Photos for Erica

I really liked the photos that came from this shoot. Most of the shots look very close to how they came out of the camera, which makes me feel really good as a photographer (especially when it comes to lighting and stuff).